IST

In-service training started on my birthday. The few days before Alicia, Becca, and I visited one of my teachers and played with her adorable children (I'm holding/tickling Palesa, pronounced like Melissa except with a P, left). Then we went to IST and quickly started to the other education volunteers in my group as if we saw each other every day, not once in five months. They greeted me with 'Happy Birthdays!' and even sang.

Despite the good beginning, the first part of IST wasn't exciting. On most days, we listened to a speaker, we politely asked if the speaker could direct their talk to what we actually are doing, the speaker got confused and continued talking, we verbally shambocked (a reference to the stick with a piece of rubber on the end popular with the teachers for corporal punishment) the speaker, we gave up, we stopped listening, and the speaker kept talking. I have to admit that a room with 40 Americans is a little intimidating especially to a South African not used to people who voice their displeasure if the topic isn't exactly what was expected.

At night, we would go to a bar and dance (Heidi and Hossam busting a move below) or chat. Plus, there was a mini-performance of the Vagina Monologues. I did the monologue about the angry vagina, believing that there is nothing wrong with a woman who is angry, but still knows exactly what she wants (including sex). It was a lot of fun and everyone seemed to enjoy the performance because they kept asking (me especially) if we had acting experience and saying that we should act when we get back to the US. The second half of IST was better. Each volunteer invited a counterpart from their village (usually a teacher) and we were trained to facilitate discussions/sessions using the Life Skills hand book provided by the Peace Corps. Part of the training was to facilitate sessions for our peers during which I actually heard the teachers comment on their culture and HIV/AIDS without changing the topic, a welcome change compared to my village. My favorite sessions including discussing gender roles and another mimicking what it's like to wait to be tested for HIV. Because of the good time that I had at IST I expected to be a little depressed when I got back to my village. I'm not. My teachers are the same as before, but I'm starting to do little things around the school. Yesterday I helped the teachers with self-evaluations for the circuit. I'm hoping that by filling out the evaluations, they get good ideas about what I can help them with. It's a slow process, but maybe there's a little light?

on the run

At IST, I started running again. It was nice to run with people. It reminded me how much I like running and that I actually do miss it. The reason I stopped? Well, I have a bunch of excuses. It is hot. I wake up way too early in the morning to run before school. The shebeens are full at dusk. I'm lazy. . .

But, after talking to Jesse (a fellow peace corps volunteer) at IST and making plans to run the Longtom and Comrades ultra marathons next year have inspired me to start again. I'm pleasantly surprised. I started running at dusk and oddly enough the drunk men don't bother me. Instead, kids run next to me for about 30 seconds then say, "Ke lapile!" (I'm tired!) and stop. Grannies and kids greet me and cheer me on; there's nothing like hearing your name chanted at the end of a run. It's cooled a little (usually around 30 C [88 F] at dusk) and with all the rain the landscape has finally changed from brown and ugly to pretty. The picture below shows a field of flowers on one of the paths I run down. The field alternates between pink and white splotches and smells kinda like lavender. I also run past fields planted with mealies and surprise the men and women still working there. I hope the rains never stop!

bike up-date

Yes, my bike is still missing but that doesn't clear up all of my questions.

I was expecting the police to say something like, "Well, you didn't lock it. It's kinda your fault. There's nothing we can do." Instead, they keep looking for it in earnest. There could be a couple of reasons: 1. Bikes are expensive, 2. I'm considered a respected member of the community, 3. All thefts are treated very seriously. I think it's a combination, but it's hard for me to forget my teacher telling me that the people who stole it will be punished (she didn't mention anything about my bike being found). The earnest search made me think that it would be good. The police have come and asked me if two bikes are mine. Neither were. I told them the exact make of the bicycle and described the colors on it (red with a little gray). The bikes that they have shown me were blue or a unique comibination of black and neon. Both were in such bad shape that I would be happy to have the bike stolen.

Also, the Saturday night after my bike was stolen three men were shot and killed in Shongoane 1 at a soccer tornament. (Two villages away from mine and where all of my village's infrastructure is. I come here every week to use internet.) The argument was over a girl that the shooter accussed the others of sleeping with. A few days later, the killer committed suicide. My bike is taken so seriously but the police are also dealing with murders? I mean, it's ok if my bike is never found again if it prevents people from getting shot.

Alicia, one of the two closest volunteers, has given me her bike. It is exactly the same as my previous one. It is currently locked inside our house in a closet.