tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9953839418581687962024-02-19T01:33:21.418-08:00persistent to serveMy Peace Corps journey to Lesotho, AfricaJenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995383941858168796.post-69320472337147858322013-05-07T06:17:00.000-07:002013-05-07T06:17:35.825-07:00Gender-Equality on a Taxi in LesothoLast month, I made sure to arrive in Mt Moorosi as early as possible so I could claim the front seat of the taxi to Ha Makoae. I always want the front seat because then I'm able to roll down the window and my legs don't go numb during my 2 1/2 hour taxi ride to site. I arrived at 11am for the taxi that leaves anywhere from 1pm -5pm. I was the first person there so I put my bag in the passenger seat. An hour later, a man put his bag in the middle-front seat next to me. Then the taxi continued filling up. My host mother even boarded the taxi! At 3pm, we were ready to go. So the man who put his bag next to mine told me in Sesotho that I must move to the middle. In Sesotho, I asked him why. He told me that 'women sit in the middle and men sit by the window'. I told him that I didn't understand this because I am taller than him and I arrived an hour earlier. We began a friendly argument in Sesotho where I was trying (and failing) to talk to him about gender-equality. Luckily, my host mother, who is used to my broken Sesotho, jumped in the conversation and explained my reasoning to him. He laughed loudly and got in the middle-front seat of the taxi. During the taxi ride, the man's friend kept asking people why I was in the front seat. People responded by saying "'M'e Palesa understands you so you can't talk about her". We were all laughing; including the man who I made sit in the middle. <br />
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An hour into our drive we saw a monitor lizard. The taxi driver stopped and all the men in the taxi got out to catch and kill the lizard. They failed. When they boarded the taxi, they asked me if I was scared of the lizard. I accidentally said 'ha e tsotsi' (it is not a criminal) instead of 'ha e kotsi' (it is not dangerous). Everybody agreed with me and after replaying my response in my head, I laughed at myself for mixing up my Sesotho words. <br />
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This ride to Ha Makoae confirmed how integrated I've become since first arriving in Lesotho. Two years ago, I was an American stranger on the taxis to Ha Makoae and now I can laugh and communicate with my community members. Jenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995383941858168796.post-23722145635124640202013-02-07T22:33:00.002-08:002013-02-07T22:33:19.167-08:00I'm Lucky to Have Three Fathers
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is my host father, Ntate Thembisili (Ntate Thembi is his nickname), who
keeps me positive when life as a PCV gets tough. Ntate Thembi knows how to
speak to me in Sesotho (slowly and by using simple words); we can speak in
Sesotho for hours and understand each other. A conversation with Ntate Thembi
will never fail to put me in a good mood. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I do feel fortunate to have and African father in addition to my 'real'
father and my step-father. Because all three of the fathers in my life are
good, honest, hard-working men, that support me and are proud of me. All three
fathers encourage me to 'keep my head up', loan me money when I get short, brag
about me to their friends, and are ultimately good role-models for people they
know. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ntate Thembi owns a shop in Ha Makoae, is the community livestock
veterinary, and is an active member of the church and is also on the board of
directors for the Secondary School. He mediates when people have issues and he
always makes people around him feel comfortable. He is a giant<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Xhosa man and has a kind wife and 6 children
including me. He lets his children do whatever they want, leaving them to get
into trouble and then he beats them as discipline. Luckily, I stay out of
trouble and remain the spoiled child. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ntate Thembi cares about people around him. I used to think it was just me
who he handed cans of fish for free from his shop, but I also see him giving
bags of maize meal and oil to people in need. When my house was leaking, Ntate
Thembi ordered men to repair my roof in a thunderstorm. When my dog was
repeatedly sick, he would inject and give medicine to my dog. He would always
tell me "Don't worry, Paly (my nickname in Sesotho), if this dog dies, I
will buy you a big beautiful one". When my dog did eventually die from being
poisoned, he gave me his dog. Unfortunatly, the dog he gave me got poisoned 3
weeks later. However, Ntate Thembi still didn't get down on the community for
poisoning my dogs over jealousy. Instead he invited me to a community meeting
where he re-explained my purpose as a volunteer so people understood that I was
truly here to be a part of the community. He also added that I had been sewing
jewelry and clothes by hand, resulting in all the women from the community
meeting asking to see my work and requesting a hand-sewing club. Currently, our
Ha Makoae Sewing Club is thriving. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Ntate
Thembi and his wife 'M'e Nosi are truly kind people and throughout the two
years I've been in Lesotho, they have always supported me. When times have been
hard for me, I go to their shop and chat. When I think about my time in Lesotho
coming to an end, I think of my family here and I know it is going to be
difficult to say goodbye. Having African parents in Peace Corps is proof that
people can live together peacefully in a foreign environment and love each
other like family dispite any language or cultural barriers.</span>Jenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995383941858168796.post-10185622930555809042013-02-07T22:31:00.002-08:002013-02-07T22:31:05.272-08:00Wrote this in October but am posting it now
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>September 21<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cultural Day<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Last Friday I went to the district’s cultural day with my
students. All of the secondary schools in the district attended the event and
participated in traditional Basotho dances. Some schools did traditional Xhosa
dances (another African language and culture) too. Two of our students
qualified for the national cultural competition that will take place next week.
One of these students recited a poem/rap and another student made a guitar out
of a metal container and string. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another
Peace Corps vol was there and so I was able to meet her students and the
teachers she works with. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Spring is here…finally!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The weather is starting to warm up and I no longer need to
use heat or heavy blankets. The grass is turning green and the sun is staying
out longer. Now that I’ve been in Lesotho for over a year, I’ve realized that I
better appreciate this spring in its entirety, because it will be my last
spring in Lesotho. I’ve planted carrots and swiss chard in my keyhole garden as
well as lavender and basil in the dirt in front of my house. Now it’s up to my
little host brother to keep the sheep away from eating my vegetables. I’m
excited to see if I’ll be able to keep up with my gardens. I’ll need to carry
an extra bucket of water each day in order to maintain my gardens. I don’t
really mind carrying water, but it’s still not my favorite thing to do. I time
how long it takes me to get my water. I try to go to the pump and back in 8
minutes. My neighbors make fun of me because they say I’ll never be able to
balance the bucket on my head with no hands since I walk too fast. But that’s
okay, when I time my neighbors; they take at least 20 minutes to get a bucket
of water. It shows the difference between an American and a Mosotho. I try to
get my water as efficiently as possible without stopping to chit chat with
people and they walk as slow as possible and stop to chat with every person
they see. My patience for visiting people is still very good compared to my
life in the US, however, it is still hard for me to spend a whole day just
saying “hi” to people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">All has been well. Summer in Lesotho is dry and hot and some
nights we have huge lightning storms. My roof is made of tin so even if it’s 80
degrees outside, it feels about 100 degrees in my house. I try to do all of my
cleaning early in the day so I can spend my time outside in the shade. The
schools are closed for the holiday break and won’t re-open until Jan 28<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>.
This leaves me a lot of time to work on random projects. I’ve been doing a lot
of hand sewing and making earrings. Sometimes I teach kids who are interested
how to sew, but fabric can’t be found in the village. Typically, people buy
their fabric in town and have dressmakers take their measurements and sew their
dresses. We have one dressmaker in the village and she sews with a hand-crank
machine. I choose to sew by hand instead of asking to borrow the machine. That
way, I can take my sewing projects wherever I go. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Other than my personal projects, I’ve been helping out at
the orphanage that is in the village below mine. I’ve gardened, sewed, and
spoke about nutrition with the kids at the orphanage. The English woman that
runs the orphanage is my friend and we get together about 3 times a week for
lunch. She is always sharing her good food with me…like feta cheese, oregano
from Portugal, chocolate waffles from Amsterdam and vegetables from the
capitol. The only thing I can share with her is my lettuce that I’ve grown in
my keyhole garden. We do a lot of talking about life in Africa and life in
general. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Jenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995383941858168796.post-9742102976665969252012-11-07T06:59:00.002-08:002012-11-07T06:59:12.228-08:00I came out of my village for my mid-service doctor appointment and for the Volunteer Advocate Committee meeting. It takes a lot for me to get out of my village because the trip up to the capital can take me 10 hours-2 days. Needless to say, I'm a 'site rat' in Peace Corps jargon. But since I was out, when I got invited to a week-long working meeting with PSI (an HIV prevention organization), I knew I just had to attend. I'm always down for opportunities to discuss HIV prevention and gain strategies to help out my community. We've been creating materials for condom use instructions and HIV testing information. <br />
<br />
Several weeks ago, I actually asked PSI to come to my site and test my students and the community. 117 people came out to test for HIV. I was really pleased with the outcome and my students and community members were proud of themselves for testing. Of course there were those that were still hesitant and scared, but at least they had the opportunity to test since currently there is an HIV test shortage in Lesotho...resulting in our village clinic to be completely out of tests. It's pretty difficult for me to encourage people to get tested since it is almost impossible for them to access a testing kit. Well, luckily for PSI, my community got this opportunity. <br />
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Aside from the testing event, I was busy visiting with a missionary group that came through to the orphanage close to my site. The missionaries gave me all kinds of donations to give to my community and they also donated to me! I got hooked up with shampoo, sugar, and soap. I take any free stuff I can get because after all, I'm a volunteer. They left behind a missionary from Durban and him and I chilled during the month of October. We did some fishing, made good food, and spoke a lot of english together. <br />
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All in all, I've been great. I wish all my friends and family a happy month of Thanks, and know that I'm always thinking of ya'll. <br />
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Jenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995383941858168796.post-9967285760125148272012-09-03T03:56:00.000-07:002012-09-03T03:56:01.467-07:00Blog Slacker<strong>Winter Break</strong><br />
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It's been a long while since my last post. I'll just say I've been hibernating in my village. Now spring is here in Lesotho, school has started again, and my projects are slowly coming back together. Today I'm in Maseru, Lesotho's capital, to attend a mid-service Peace Corps training with the group of PCVs I arrived in Lesotho with. MID-SERVICE...and there were times in this past 15 months where I really didn't believe I would be able to make it this far! <br />
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After my mother left in April, I was givin a new perspective on my life in Lesotho. She was able to get me to laugh about the things that don't make sense to an American in Africa. Her sense of humor allowed me to ease up on myself and people around me. I stopped becoming depressed when I heard about sad stories of HIV, death, and orphans. I realized that I couldn't be a successful volunteer if I let the weight of the village problems overcome me. Now I know when I can help, and when issues are beyond my control. Since then, I spend my days lauging and joking with my host family, community members, friends, and my students. I am a more successful volunteer when I focus on cultural integration and acceptance. <br />
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<strong>August</strong><br />
<br />
August was a blur for me. I visited the US for two weeks to see my best friend get married. I saw almost all of my friends and family and had a great time. Before arriving in the US, I was worried that my friends and family would think I've gone crazy because I've changed so much...but once I landed on US soil and reunited with my everybody, I realized that they are equally as crazy and silly as I am. <br />
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My sister came back to Lesotho with me and stayed at my site for a week. I introduced her to all of my Basotho friends and family and she was treated very well. Basotho love it when I have visitors and they welcomed her by baking her bread, giving her canned peaches, and even sharing their traditional beer with her. My sister loved the community and really loved chasing around babies. Every child she saw, she wanted to hold and kiss. The kids loved it and we got some good pictures. My sis adapted well to my living conditions and by the second day she was cooking and cleaning like a Mosotho woman. I told her she could easily be a PC volunteer because she was flexible and patient and cared about the people in the village. <br />
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I've had a week alone to adjust back to a Lesotho lifestyle. The adjustment is challenging because I'm finding myself homesick all over again. My cure for homesickness...or really my cure for anything is exercise, but I've still been to lazy to put on my running shoes or do my workout videos. Once I return to my site next week, I'll get back into the swing of things and be just fine. <br />
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Jenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995383941858168796.post-38836445208437771842012-04-21T17:21:00.001-07:002012-05-09T18:47:16.240-07:00<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>April 20<span style="font-size: x-small;"><sup>th</sup></span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">My mom spent the last two weeks with me at my
site in my village. She lived my life with me for a couple weeks and never
complained about anything. She carried water on her head, did a lot of hiking,
and cooked me good food on my two burner stove. We had an amazing time together
and it went by all too fast. It was nice to share my life with her and now she’ll
know that I’m safe and sound in my village. My mom met all my friends and even
learned a little Sesotho. I want to keep
her with me, but I guess she must return back to her husband and to her job.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cape Town Vacation</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I just returned from a vacation in Cape Town. Wow, the
vacation was absolutely perfect. I’ll remember it forever. My vacation went a
little like this. On April 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>
I got a ride from my nearest town to Bloemfontein and took a flight to Cape
Town. On that flight there were 3 other
PCVs who were also visiting Cape Town for the Easter holiday and the Two Oceans
Half Marathon. We all had our catching
up time and were extremely excited to be re-introduced to the little things in
life that matter…electricity, running water, <span style="font-family: inherit;">good food, coffee. I stayed in a
backpackers (hostel) that night and went out to Mexican food with another
volunteer. The followin</span>g day I picked up my mom from the airport. I don’t think
I had ever been so nervous. I was just waiting in the airport pacing around
until my mom came through the departure gate.
We then went to a super cute B & B called La Rose B & B and
relaxed for a little bit. Since last Thursday was so beautiful we knew we had
to go up Table Mountain that day because the weather is so unpredictable. We
went up to the top on a gondola and took lots of amazing pictures. The weather was crap the next day, so we spent
Friday at the Two Oceans Expo and picked up our race packets. The Expo was a
really good one and they gave VIP service to the international participants. We
were able to skip the big crowd, get our packets, and then sit in the
international room and eat cookies and get free drinks. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Last Saturday was the big race day. My mom and I were
goofing off the night before and were eating tons of chocolate and laughing
instead of sleeping. We decided that since we really didn’t train for the race,
we were just going to have fun instead. We called a cab to pick us up at 5:45
for the race at 6. Of course we knew we were going to be late..I just didn’t
know if I could tolerate the start line crowd. Typically that is the worst part
of a race for me and since I live such an isolated life I knew I was going to
get overwhelmed by the crowd. We ended up being over 20 minutes late and when
we got to the start line the half marathon runners were long gone and the ultra
marathon runners were just starting. I got lost in the crowd and after about 30
minutes I realized that I had missed the turn for the half marathon route. I
decided I would continue to run with the ultra runners until I got tired. I
just kept going and going and ended up finishing the ultra marathon – 56 Km
(around 35 miles). I had promised myself I wouldn’t run another marathon..but I
guess I lied to myself and completed an ultra somewhat on accident. I’m
thinking next year I could run it again and if I train the next time around,
I’ll be able to run it faster. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p>The next day, I got a massage and then we moved to a nice
hotel at the waterfront. The waterfront in Cape Town is really swanky and there
is a huge mall, lots of small cruise ships, and good restaurants. My mom and I
took a little day cruise with a bottle of wine and did a lot of shopping.
Overall, the trip was amazing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>March 2<span style="font-size: x-small;"><sup>nd</sup><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I love being back at my village. Especially because I know
I’m not going to leave for a while. The transportation out of my village is so
hectic that it’s nice to know I won’t be spending a ton of money and several
hours in an organ-jumbling taxi ride. The ride is so bumpy, that sometimes I
have bruises on my arms or legs after my journey. I’ll tell you why I like my
village so much. First of all, I can get everything I need here. I have a
vegetable guy that delivers all types of produce to my door. I can get tons of
spinach, potatoes, onions, and mushrooms all for under 5 dollars. Also, I go to Sesotho tutoring about 4 times a
week and I love my teacher. We typically joke about my dog and talk about my
life in Sesotho. We always talk about this mythical dwarf called a tokalosi and
I tell my tutor about how my tokalosi cooks and cleans for me. Learning Sesotho
keeps me sane and really has helped me adapt to Lesotho. <o:p></o:p></span></div>Jenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995383941858168796.post-17383223800689694372012-02-26T08:22:00.003-08:002012-03-03T20:48:20.895-08:00Time for an update<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIY26FDCI3prGbNl-WVxbVE4BE244yvaGO6BzPsT8gfVwTw3O7-Ss1nHOXps_foxPzX4GjorV_mHn_AWD4agmWbONxY5MUTbi_zAu4tYyjxh8BNsojF_eVvzud6Ly9N2hLuBRzO2dWQ88/s1600/herdboy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIY26FDCI3prGbNl-WVxbVE4BE244yvaGO6BzPsT8gfVwTw3O7-Ss1nHOXps_foxPzX4GjorV_mHn_AWD4agmWbONxY5MUTbi_zAu4tYyjxh8BNsojF_eVvzud6Ly9N2hLuBRzO2dWQ88/s320/herdboy.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Feb 26th</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m in town for a PC committee meeting. I plan to withdraw my allowance and go shopping for some groceries that I can’t find in my village and then hopefully go back to my site and stay there for several weeks – including weekends. I miss my home when I’m away in town and I really have a lot of work that needs to be done before Easter break. Next week I’ll be working with the local nutritionist to help the women in my communities with healthy eating habits and even sewing. The nutritionist is my friend and the goals in her job description align well with mine. I look forward to working with her. Also, next week my other counterpart and I will be conducting some HIV related activities at the herd-boy school. It’s important for herd-boys to receive HIV information, because most of them will not go to formal school which makes it impossible to learn about HIV facts. You may be thinking, “what is a herd-boy”? Well I’ll tell you. It is a man or boy that looks after livestock for their family. Typically goats, sheep, and cows. Boys can begin herding as soon as they can walk. My host brother herds sheep and he is 7. The boys take the animals to fields so they can graze and they sit and watch them all day long. Because this job can be so boring, the boys may try to make their lives more entertaining by drinking, doing drugs, or smoking. It’s a tough life for the boys here, but they don’t know any other life. In Lesotho, there are more educated women than men because of herding. At the school where I work, there are 100 students and only around 20 students are boys. Sometimes there are informal night schools for herd-boys where they can learn some basics. Since we have one in our area, this is the school my counterpart and I are going to target. We will play simple games having to do with HIV and it should be a good way for these boys to be entertained while learning something. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mom, will you please look up a picture of a Lesotho herd-boy and post it? Yes, these boys/men do look scary because they were big blankets, carry sticks, and where facemasks, but all of these herd-boys that I pass on a daily basis are very friendly and will even help me out if I ever needed anything. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Jenny....I have posted a herd boy photo although not one with a ski mask on. Could not find one of those. Mom.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">February 12th</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I took a break from blogging for a little over a month. I wanted to start up again when I had the motivation and positivity. It is suggested that Peace Corps Volunteers should blog and write letters when we are happy and when we are down, it’s best to journal. I don’t keep a journal, though. It’s not like I had a terrible month, it was just a difficult month personally, culturally, and work-wise. I also forget that my quiet village life is still entertaining and interesting to those of you back home. When I look out my window and see a man driving a wheelbarrow with a pig in it, its normal here but definitely not normal if you compare it to my US life. Or when I’m sitting in my latrine and a snake keeps poking his head out of the corner to look at me, I need to remember, this is not normal! Needless to say, I’m doing great and want you all to know I’m thinking of you!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So since I’ve neglected to update you on my life…I’ll keep it short. School has started up again and I’ve been teaching Life Skills to Form A, Form B, and Form C. The school’s results were extremely poor from last year, so the teachers are being strict on the students and forcing the kids to speak English. There are a lot more students this year because the Ministry of Education has decreased the school fees. The decrease in school fees allows more children to go to school, but has resulted in the schools having to give up their free lunch program, which means the kids don’t eat lunch. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Other than that, my organization hasn’t been meeting regularly because the members have been working in their fields. I look forward to getting our projects and meetings up and running again once the members are ready. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I just got back to my village from a week at a Project Management and HIV/AIDs Training for Peace Corps. PC split our CHED 11 group of 19 into two parts: North and South. I’m in the southern part of the country, so I met up with all of the south vols and we stayed in a hotel for a week. A hotel with showers, electricity, and food! It was too much fun. All us volunteers were averaging 3-4 hours of sleep a night, but it was worth it to spend time together. Plus, we were still really productive at our training so I was extremely happy with the resources and information PC shared with us. PC invited our counterparts to the training and we all worked together on activities that we can share with our organizations and communities. I was especially impressed with the HIV/AIDS training. All of us PCVs have had days and days of HIV training, but it was important for us to share the things we’ve learned with our counterparts. It is our Basotho counterparts that will have the lasting impact in Lesotho in regards to HIV/AIDs awareness so I felt it was a smart move on PCs behalf to invite them. Now we have the skills to mobilize our organizations and present HIV information to our communities. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">To top off an amazing week, I received a giant package from an old co-worker and a pile of letters…like 20 letters. I feel extremely loved. It was really nice for me to read about all the things my friends have been up to. The letters make me feel like I’m still a part of the pregnancies, holiday celebrations, struggles/successes, new houses, etc. Thank you guys!</span></div>Jenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995383941858168796.post-5503401754553675472012-01-14T04:24:00.001-08:002012-01-14T04:24:16.966-08:00The Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency -Lesotho<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">January 10<sup>th</sup></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m thinking of starting a detective agency in my village. Just like the “The Number One Ladies Detective Agency” series by James Alexander Macall. I love the series. It’s about a woman in Botswana, Africa who starts a detective agency to solve mysteries. Usually the mysteries are silly, like a father will hire a detective to follow his daughter after school to see where she goes. But usually at the end of the book the detective solves a legit mystery. I think I could start a detective agency because a lot of mysteries happen in the villages. First we have my dog swap. I still don’t know how that happened in that situation. Also, my organization’s fisheries project is without fish. The members of the group think all of the fish were stolen during the holidays. This theory is interesting to me because I’ve never seen a fish in the dam since I’ve been here. The water has always been too murky and high to see what is in the water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now the water is so low from the heat that we are able to see in the dam and…there are no fish!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we have the big mystery- just the other day, my host father’s shop was broken into! The criminal stole 1000Rand, but while doing so, dropped his phone which contains all of his contact information. Now my family is trying to get a hold of the police so they can track the numbers in the cell and see if any of the contacts will tell them who the owner of the phone is. I believe they will find that thief…and he’s going to be sorry because the village is too small for a criminal to live there once he has been caught. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">To keep ‘The Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency –Lesotho’ a sustainable project, maybe I can train somebody on what it takes to be a detective and then help them write a business plan</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">January 8<sup>th</sup></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A couple of days ago I returned from vacation in Durban. Richard came to Lesotho two weeks ago to visit me and see my life here. We had a great time and spent several days at my site and then headed to Durban where we had such a good time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">(To Richard: I will be writing about you in this post. Hope it’s okay ;))When we rented a car, the rental company had upgraded us to a BMW. In a typical situation I would have been excited, but it made me nervous because I was worried people in my village wouldn’t believe me anymore when I tell them I don’t have money…but it worked out fine and Richard was able to navigate the horrible road to my villages. At site, I introduced him to all my friends, my host family, and my co-workers. He seemed to enjoy seeing my life and I believe it made him understand what the hell I’ve been up to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We did a lot of walking since that is what I do. I showed him how to take a bucket bath, carry water, and light the house. Richard carried his own water and people were laughing because it’s usually a woman’s job. But it’s really good for people in these villages to see that stereotypical gender roles can be shared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also got to eat all of the traditional Basotho foods like Motoho (sour porridge) and try Joala (traditional beer). I don’t think he was impressed with either, but he was a good sport. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I When we headed to South Africa, we stayed along the coast in a town called Port Shepstone. We stayed in a backpackers /hostel for several nights where we met really cool people and spent tons of time on the beach. After that, we went to Durban and stayed in a really nice B&B on the hip part of town. Everything was perfect and I’m super stoked about planning my next trip to South Africa. </span></div>Jenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995383941858168796.post-7858928208696731302011-12-17T12:31:00.000-08:002011-12-17T12:31:03.801-08:00A Christmas Puppy<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">December 17<sup>th</sup></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I came to town today to meet with the local counselor and head of Quthing’s Land Use Planning Dept. I found out that if the organizations in my village can mobilize and register themselves with the government, the groups may qualify for financial assistance. Good news. We’ll see what pans out. Other than that, today I spent time with my supervisor at her house. I’ve been making her family banana bread every time I come over and they love it. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">December 16th</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Last night a puppy was stranded outside of my house. It kept whining and whining and it was just so cold last night. So of course, I had to do something. I wanted to ignore the dog because I really didn’t want to get a dog while I was in Lesotho. However, I couldn’t leave it to die and it looked so weak. I emptied a cardboard box and put one of my towels in the box. I was going to bring the dog inside but there were bugs crawling all over it so I left the puppy outside. Then this morning my host father asked me what was in the box. I showed him the dog. He asked if it was mine and I said “I guess it is now”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He told me that he will have my host brother build the dog a house. Luckily, my host father is the district’s animal husbandry employee for the Ministry of Agriculture. He had some medicine for the bugs and bathed the dog with the medicine. Within about 10 minutes, all the bugs were dead. They were still stuck all over the fur so when the dog’s fur dried, I brushed her for an hour to get the dead bugs out. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She’s cute, though. She is all white with one big brown spot on her back. I’m going to wait a week to name her because I really don’t want to get attached to her until I’m sure she will survive long enough. My host father said she can sleep in my house just for tonight. He promised that the bugs are all dead. They better be, because I will leave Lesotho if I get bedbugs again (jk). Tomorrow I’m going to town for the day for a meeting with the local counselor and district officials, so my host brother will take care of the dog until I’m back. My host family promised me that they wouldn’t kick the dog and they even taught me how to say “don’t kick my dog” in Sesotho. I had to learn how to say that because Basotho don’t like dogs. They think of them as the lowest of the low in terms of animals. Plus, they typically beat or whip the crap out of dogs…and any other animal for that matter. In Lesotho, dogs are meant to be guard dogs, not friends. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">December 13<sup>th</sup></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yesterday, the World Food Program (WFP) came to our village to conduct a pitso (village meeting).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People came from all of the villages in the area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some people walked over five miles to attend the pitso. At first, I didn’t know what the pitso was about. I just kept asking people walking by what was the purpose of the meeting. I had gathered that WFP was handing out food because of the drought. So I decided I would attend the meeting too because I’ve been running low on food (totally jk). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I arrived, the chief immediately had me sit on a chair in the middle of the entire crowd. It made me uncomfortable because I really don’t want to be associated with handouts. Apparently, WFP is giving a 1 month supply of maize meal, oil, and beans to 50% of the families in need in each village.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The donations are coming from some other country…probably the U.S. After the meeting, I spent the rest of the day debating the pros and cons of foreign aid with myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The poor crop production is very serious, though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The soil in Lesotho is sandy and doesn’t retain moisture very well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then on top of that, it rarely rains, but when it does…it pours. So then the water just runs off of the mountains and ruins the crops. Or it rains and hails too much and destroys the vegetables. The gardens that my organization has planted are failing, as are most of the gardens I see. People are hungry because they live off of maize meal and porridge and the corn/sorghum yield is so low this year. Life is hard here in Ha Makoae. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">December 10<sup>th</sup></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So a lot has happened since the last blog post. Thanksgiving and World AIDs day has come and gone and I’ve also finished Phase III training. Thanksgiving was nice at my village, but I’ve realized that holidays make me a little too homesick, so I may try to refrain from celebrating or figure out some new traditions to keep me from thinking of my mom’s mashed potatoes or my father’s gravy. What it came down to is that I just can’t cook very well…especially with a two-burner stove. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But, World AIDs Day was a hit and I’m very proud of how the event turned out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was able to coordinate for the District Administrator of Quthing to bring a tent and a PLWA (Person Living With Aids) speaker…ALL the way to my rural village. I think his staff was a little surprised when they drove over 3 hours to show up to an event in the middle of nowhere. We were able to reach out to the entire community through AIDs dramas, songs, dance, and speakers. Testers from the clinic came to the event to test for HIV and also brought male and female condoms to pass out. I was extremely impressed with the amount of women requesting female condoms and the instruction sheet for their use. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Two PCVs came to support me and also our PC Country Director came to see the event. Our Country Director helped me immensely by driving me around the villages to collect important items like the PA system, HIV testing equipment, and the petrol and generator for the sound system. I’m still amazed at how open the community was to the information presented.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At one point, there was a toddler holding condoms during a skit…I know that may sound shocking, but unfortunately, HIV/AIDs messages need to be presented all day-every day in Lesotho.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, a highlight was our village police rode in on horses at the end of the ceremony and did an act where one mad stood on a horse, whispered in its ear, and the horse immediately laid down on his side with the man still standing on him. Awwmazin. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Phase III Training was really cool because we were able to ask PC staff all the questions that we’ve been wondering for the past 3 months. Of course, we could have just called them at any point during this past 3 months, but this training made us all come together to talk about our similar successes and challenges. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We gained more knowledge about establishing Income Generating Activities (IGAs), teaching computer skills, teaching Life Skills, Safety training, cross-culture integration, Sesotho language, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The best part of training was seeing my awesome CHED 11 PCV-mates and catching up on our past 3 months where we were separated from each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We spent many hours after school chillin on my host-family’s lawn and laughing together. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Just a quick nag: Ugh, my clumsy-self lost my backup cell phone on the taxi today. Not the end of the world because it was my crappy one that doesn’t have internet, but still…I had 100 R of air time on it and it got better signal at my site. Oh well, my great supervisor told me she’s going to get me a new SIM card and airtime. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div>Jenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995383941858168796.post-19834921683599851372011-12-10T13:04:00.001-08:002011-12-10T13:04:34.256-08:00End of Phase III<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">December 10<sup>th</sup></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So a lot has happened since the last blog post. Thanksgiving and World AIDs day has come and gone and I’ve also finished Phase III training. Thanksgiving was nice at my village, but I’ve realized that holidays make me a little too homesick, so I may try to refrain from celebrating or figure out some new traditions to keep me from thinking of my mom’s mashed potatoes or my father’s gravy. What it came down to is that I just can’t cook very well…especially with a two-burner stove. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But, World AIDs Day was a hit and I’m very proud of how the event turned out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was able to coordinate for the District Administrator of Quthing to bring a tent and a PLWA (Person Living With Aids) speaker…ALL the way to my rural village. I think his staff was a little surprised when they drove over 3 hours to show up to an event in the middle of nowhere. We were able to reach out to the entire community through AIDs dramas, songs, dance, and speakers. Testers from the clinic came to the event to test for HIV and also brought male and female condoms to pass out. I was extremely impressed with the amount of women requesting female condoms and the instruction sheet for their use. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Two PCVs came to support me and also our PC Country Director came to see the event. Our Country Director helped me immensely by driving me around the villages to collect important items like the PA system, HIV testing equipment, and the petrol and generator for the sound system. I’m still amazed at how open the community was to the information presented.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At one point, there was a toddler holding condoms during a skit…I know that may sound shocking, but unfortunately, HIV/AIDs messages need to be presented all day-every day in Lesotho.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, a highlight was our village police rode in on horses at the end of the ceremony and did an act where one mad stood on a horse, whispered in its ear, and the horse immediately laid down on his side with the man still standing on him. Awwmazin. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Phase III Training was really cool because we were able to ask PC staff all the questions that we’ve been wondering for the past 3 months. Of course, we could have just called them at any point during this past 3 months, but this training made us all come together to talk about our similar successes and challenges.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We gained more knowledge about establishing Income Generating Activities (IGAs), teaching computer skills, teaching Life Skills, Safety training, cross-culture integration, Sesotho language, etc. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The best part of training was seeing my awesome CHED 11 PCV-mates and catching up on our past 3 months where we were separated from each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We spent many hours after school chillin on my host-family’s lawn and laughing together. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Just a quick nag: Ugh, my clumsy-self lost my backup cell phone on the taxi today. Not the end of the world because it was my crappy one that doesn’t have internet, but still…I had 100 R of air time on it and it got better signal at my site. Oh well, my great supervisor told me she’s going to buy me more airtime to make me feel better. </span></div>Jenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995383941858168796.post-20915839159526694522011-11-23T22:40:00.000-08:002011-11-23T22:40:59.405-08:00Thankful for Life<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">November 16</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I somehow, some way made it back to my village yesterday. I went to Maseru for a doctor’s appointment this past weekend and did some much needed grocery shopping. I had left last Friday and on Saturday woke up with severe stomach pains. This happens to me almost every time I leave my village…I get intestinal problems when I leave because I start eating junk food and eat random stuff that’s sold out of the taxis. I’ve learned my lesson at this point and will be much choosier when I leave the next time. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I lucked out on my way home because I got a taxi-bus that was completely empty so I was able to lie down on the seats instead of being cramped in a stuffy taxi. The driver also knew I was sick so he stopped for me two times along the way. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yesterday after I arrived at home, all the teachers and the principal were worried about me so they came and hung out with me…even though I had tons of work to do and severe stomach pains, I tried my hardest to sit and talk to them. Then the funniest thing happened, a bat flew in my house and two of the teachers jumped up and tried to hit the bat with brooms. The other two teachers ran out the door and ran home because they’re scared of bats. I was just laughing and laughing…while holding my stomach. Then I took the broom and hit the bat to the ground. Of course I didn’t want to kill him (even though everybody was telling me to) so I scooped him up in an empty jar and threw him outside.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Today my counterpart and I had a business workshop in Ha Machesetsa. This workshop was the reason I was so determined to get home yesterday. We planned it a month ago and the women in the village woke up at 4am to prepare food for the workshop lunch. Needless to say, it was really important that I made it today…however I felt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went over the importance of scheduling daily, weekly and monthly tasks and goals and also basic Income Generating Activity (IGA) steps. Overall it was a great success. But I just prepared the materials…it was my counterpart that made the workshop amazing. He has a talent for entertaining people while teaching about dry topics. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without him. He translates for me, but makes what I’m saying so much better. He’ll start giving analogies and stories to help people understand the subjects presented. I usually just stare at him in aw when we do these types of trainings. It’s funny because even a woman in the village will tease me in Sesotho about how I can’t live without my counterpart..and it’s true, when I can’t find him, I’ll ask everybody in the village where he is until I find him. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">November 17</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A good good day. Peace Corps came for a site visit today to check out my projects and living conditions. The visit went well and the community members were excited to tell PC staff all that they’ve learned from the trainings I’ve done thus far. They re-capped our various meetings and workshops so PC could understand what they’ve been working on. It was neat because it meant they’ve really gotten a lot out of the information I’ve presented to them. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Peace Corps also brought me a new bike since the first one I got was broken. The new bike can actually change gears, which means I can ride it back and forth between the villages I work in. Of course I’ll have to deal with people asking to ride it all the time, but hopefully that will stop after the community gets used to seeing me ride it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sure it will be just like the first month here when people constantly asked me for candy and money and I continuously told them I don’t have any until they eventually stopped. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Aside from meeting with all the people I work with, PC checked out my new housing situation and made sure I have everything that PC requires (burglar bars, pit latrine, smoke detector, water filter, access to water, etc.). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have it all and now I’m comfortably settled into my house and community. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">November 18</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s Friday and I plan to stay in my village this weekend. This will be the first weekend I stay in my new village – Ha Makoae. I’m actually happy about staying here because I have a lot of things to do. Like attempting to fish and riding my bike around. I think I’m going to ride my bike to find better cell signal so I can call my family. We’ll see if any of my plans work out. I try not to make plans in Lesotho because I find that most of the time I’ll just end up waiting around for people most of my day and I don’t accomplish my personal goals for the day. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Today was good. My organization met with the nutritionist to talk about family management today. My organization really doesn’t get much work done, but we’ve been having a lot of meetings to help build their confidence and in my opinion, these meetings are worthwhile for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The meetings we have are always fun and we usually start by praying and singing and end by praying and singing. After our meeting today, I brought some paper and we made signs for World AIDs Day. The women were afraid to write and draw on the paper, but after my counterpart and I did about five flyers, the women caught on and started being creative with their flyers. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When I got back to the village I live in, I visited a couple of the teachers and they were making me laugh so hard. We talked about staying a weekend in the village instead of leaving. One of the teachers told me he thinks living in this village will make me always appreciate anywhere I go because I can always compare it to life here. He said “this place is the worst worst worst worst place EVER! And I know this because I’m from Lesotho and I’ve been throughout the country. If we can all live here, we can live anywhere.” We just laughed and laughed at his statement. It’s really not too bad, but yes, life is hard here. Especially for the teachers because they all have families in the towns in Lesotho and they commute for the weekends. Sometimes it takes them 10 hours to get home, but they go home almost every weekend. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I got an awesome package from my mother the other day. The package has all the things that I could ever want. Some Aveda shampoo and conditioner, socks, oreos, etc. etc. I especially loved the letters that my sister and my step-dad sent. I know it’s not appropriate to share, but the last paragraph in my step-dad’s letter is so hilarious that I keep reading it over and over. It says, “Lori is asking me if I want to put anything in the “box”. It would be inappropriate to send you any porn even though if I were in your shoes that’s probably what I’d want. In lieu of that I’ve enclosed a nice little knife. If you cut your wrists with it Lori will leave me so please be careful. I plan to rummage around to see if I can find anything else. Take care Jenny, hope the bedbugs don’t bite.” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Oh, I love my family…as crazy as they are. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">November 19</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This morning I woke up early to go down to the river. I need to start working on getting a little color on my white skin so when I go to Durban, South Africa for Christmas, I won’t burn like crazy. My arms and feet are super tan and the rest of me is never exposed to the sun. I went down and sunbathed near the orphanage because people in that area are used to seeing white people swimming in the river (because of all the missionaries who visit).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plus it was safe because a whole group of children just stared at me the whole time…so if any strange men came around they would be sure to help me out. Kids are really helpful in Africa and are always looking out for me. Then I went fishing with some fishing line and a lure my dad sent me for my birthday. I wasn’t successful, but I’m going to try again next week with worms. I just need to find the right spot. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">After my river adventure, I helped two people who live in separate villages with proposals to get funding for chicken coops. One of the people will be requesting funds to start a coop of 100 egg-laying chickens and the other person already has a coop of 50 chickens and will be requesting 200 more chickens and three months of feed. I explained what the various parts of the proposal were asking for and what they would be expected to present (Executive Summary, Marketing Plan, Financials, etc.). I left them to write the first draft and gave them a tight deadline of Monday to present the draft to me. They better do a good job because we need eggs in these villages. I’d say 4 out of the 7 days a week the shops are out of eggs. The shops buy their eggs in Mt Moorosi (2 hour drive)…it makes absolutely no sense as to why there aren’t more people with chickens, but these two guys are lucky because they have no competition!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Other than that, I just visited one of the primary school teachers and she taught me Sesotho and baked me bread and gave me canned peaches. I think if I just hung out with people all day long, I’d never have to buy or make my own food. People are always giving me food in this village. I feel bad accepting food because I honestly don’t have enough money to share my food with others. I share as much as I can, but I’ve just realized that I have to get better at accepting help and food from people. I think it’s just an American thing for me to want to take care of myself without anybody’s help. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">November 20</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Today was the first day I’ve had completely by myself to do what I wanted to do. I rode my bike 10K<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to a village with a shop that has things like AAA batteries, popcorn, and yogurt. It was a fun adventure. The fruit and vegetable guy found me there and gave me a ride back to my village. Then I went down to the river and layed in the sun to read a book. One of the herdboys just stared at me the whole time, so I eventually left. Then I ran 10k on the road. For the first 2K I was on my own and it was nice, but then a herdman ran with me for about 3K. He ran in rainboots and a wool blanket and I was disappointed that he could keep up with me…that’s how out of shape I am. On the way back, some kids ran with me and then one of my students joined us for my run back to the village. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was a good day alone, but I do have to say, when I saw the teachers and principal arrive in the taxi, I was so happy to see them and ran down to the stop to of course…accompany them home. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">November 21</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Did some more World AIDs Day planning with my group in Ha Machesetsa. It’s been really fun planning with them. It’s interesting to hear about their strategies to get money together for the food for the event. They are requesting 2 Rand (about 30 cents) from everybody in the community. They are even planning a special meal for my guests – a few PCVs and staff members. They are very concerned about getting good vegetables into our meals. I told them they mustn’t worry about PCVs because we are used to eating whatever, but they just insisted on me telling them what we would like to eat. I told them rice, chakalaka (tomato gravy), and chicken would be more than fine. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The women are trying to get a tent or tarps together so we can have a makeshift stage for their drama and the poetry readings. Tomorrow, my counterpart and I will be hitting up the clinic, orphanage, and church for assistance..mostly help with finding a PA system and generator. We’ll see what comes out of it. And, after I contacted Peace Corps today, they assured me that they will try to get us a speaker who is open about their status to come and speak to the communities. I’m super excited about that and I hope it all pans out smoothly. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m also trying to get Thanksgiving dinner together so I can have the holiday at my place with the teachers. One of the teachers brought me real butter, a green pumpkin, and cheese from Maseru last weekend. I was counting on the fruit and vegetable truck to bring potatoes, apples and carrots last Sunday, but he only had a truckload of cabbage. He assured me that he’ll have potatoes on Wednesday, but I’m not holding my breath. If he doesn’t have potatoes, I may have to go to Mt Moorosi on Thursday to get them, or have the taxi driver bring some back for me. Other than that, I have no idea how I’m actually going to cook a Thanksgiving meal on a two-burner stove and paraffin heater. Obviously, finding a turkey was impossible, so a member of my organization is going to give me a chicken. My organization wants to teach me how to slaughter it, but I really don’t think I’m ready for that task. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">November 22</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM and RICHARD!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">November 24</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Going shopping in town for potatoes, carrots, apples, and chicken since I couldn't manage to find those things in village! It's alright, I got a ride out at 4am this morning, so at least I didn't have to take a taxi and listen to gospel for the whole ride out. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">To all my friends and family - Enjoy your turkey and know that I'm thankful to have all of your support and love. </span></div>Jenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995383941858168796.post-56794927948471578572011-11-11T22:51:00.000-08:002011-11-11T22:51:46.348-08:00Random update<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><strong>November 8<sup>th</sup></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I went to a pitso (community meeting) in my new village, Ha Makoae. The pitso was about me moving here and the chief explained to the community my role in the village and he was sure to tell everybody I had no money. He also told them to never ask me for food either because he told the community that PC only brings me rations of food at the end of the month (which isn’t true).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, it was a good meeting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I even made a small speech in Sesotho and wore a long skirt and scarf on my head to be respectful to the chief and the community. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><strong>November 9<sup>th</sup></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Today was quite the success with my organization and at my old village, Ha Machesetsa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still go to Ha Machesestsa every day for community development and return to Ha Makoae to teach at the school in the afternoon. We had three meetings in Ha Machesetsa today. First I met with my organization and the new Ministry of Agriculture nutritionist. The nutritionist came to introduce herself and offer help for workshops that we are interested. My group requested a family management workshop that we will hold next month. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">We also had our umbrella group meeting (reps from every support group and organization) in the village. My counterpart and I started this community rep meeting three weeks ago and we meet once a week to hear about the progress the groups in the village are making. Last week we started planning an event for World AIDs day and it’s amazing to see how motivated the village is about this day. World AIDs Day is on December 1<sup>st</sup>. It’s less than a month away, but my village is determined to make it one of the biggest events the village has ever had. We are inviting all the surrounding villages to come celebrate awareness with us. We will hold an AIDs walk from village to village and apparently even have the village police ride horses to lead our walk. There are also plans for poetry readings, songs, and speakers. Our goal is to find somebody who is open about their HIV status to come and speak at the event. Unfortunately, this isn’t an easy task…because even though Lesotho has a 23% HIV infection rate, people keep their status to themselves. Most people keep their status locked away and often times don’t even tell their families. So, this event will hopefully encourage people to support those with HIV and be a good day to remember how HIV affects the community. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">My last meeting for the day was on nutrition for the woman’s group I started last month. Since I love nutrition and fitness, I picked nutrition as the safest and easiest topic for today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first meeting I had with the women last month scared the crap out of me when they opened up their secrets to me and asked me for advice. Their questions and concerns were far beyond anything I could comprehend at this point so I told them we can start with healthy eating, and then we will get to the more difficult topics in the future. They were really excited to hear about new healthy eating tips and they promised to start drinking more water and using less salt. Next month I’ll be presenting on contraceptives and family planning. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Overall, I’m extremely pleased with the turnout I’ve seen in this village. When I first arrived three months ago, people were flaky and were sometimes over 2 hours late (which is typical Basotho time). But now I see people showing up on time for meetings and participating in discussions. I’m not going to take credit for this though, because it is most definitely my awesome counterpart who keeps everybody in check. He makes learning and working fun for our community members and to be honest, he makes my day too.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><strong>November 12<sup>th</sup></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Last Thursday, the Form C class had their Farewell Party which is like a graduation party before they go to high school. Of course, only a minority of the Form Cs will pass their exam (they’ve already taken it and it has to be formally graded by outside teachers), but they still had a party. During the preparation I kept comparing the differences of a party for these kids and what we would have had in America. The main difference was that the students (girls) did most of the cooking and cleaning for their own party. Whereas us American students would have been spoiled and our parents would have done it or it would be a catered event. But these students are used to working and they wouldn’t know any different.</div><div style="border-bottom: windowtext 1.5pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding-bottom: 1pt; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">The teachers had bought most of the food from South Africa or from Maseru because we can’t get the variety of food in our village. We ate carrot coleslaw, cabbage coleslaw, fried chicken, rice, and beetroot. The students sat with their parents in a room where we set the tables with table clothes, dishes, and forks and knives. I watched the students trying to hold their forks and knives properly – some would give up and just start eating with their hands. Then we had music (powered by a generator) and the kids just danced and danced.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><strong>Thanksgiving</strong> - I’m super excited about it because it will be the first American holiday I've celebrated here. I’m going to have a Thanksgiving dinner at my house. I’d really - like to be with some PCVs for the day…but they are all too far for me to see since I have to stay around my site to prepare for World AIDs Day. I’m having my dinner with my Basotho friends and they’re going to help me cook. It’s going to be a huge challenge because we don’t have the things that make this type of dinner..like turkey, electricity, running water, cranberry sauce, butter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I’m planning substitutions like maybe 3 – 4 chickens (I’ll have somebody else kill them for me), we’ll use a 2-burner stove with gas, we’ll carry water in buckets, and maybe I can pick up cran sauce and butter this weekend while I’m in Maseru (they have a grocery store that caters to westerners). </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">I even plan to sew my own skirt out of red sheshoeshoe material (a traditional fabric) for T-day and World AIDs Day. I can’t make any promises with this, though.. because I have to borrow a hand crank sewing machine to make this possible. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll see. </div></div></span></div>Jenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995383941858168796.post-24808892696466843642011-11-05T05:32:00.005-07:002011-11-05T05:32:36.615-07:00Happy in Lesotho<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">October 23rd</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My birthday was last week and I received so many packages from my friends and family. THANK YOU EVERYBODY for making my birthday so special.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got candy, toiletries, magazines, books, etc. everything I could ever need to be happy! Some amazing PCVs also threw me a birthday party with a chocolate cake that we dove into with our hands...good times. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I'm headed back to my site today and am excited about my projects that are beginning. My organization is growing vegetables to sell and building a veggie stand for the side of the road. I'm teaching Life Skills at the secondary school this week and also developing plans for a school library.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Ministry of Agriculture has challenged our village to build key hole gardens, so I'm also teaching people in the village to construct their gardens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Overall, things are moving forward and going well. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Oh, and the other day I was invited to a Basotho feast where I ate mutton, papa and beet root.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I danced and sang with all the members in the village while they drank 'joala' - a traditional brew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It felt nice to be so connected with my village.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">However, my enemies are back -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>BEDBUGS! So, when I get back to my house, I'm going to need to implement some strategies to get rid of them. That, or I'll just sleep on my table again because I hate them so much. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I'll end on a positive note though. I plan to run in a half marathon in Cape Town in April.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since my site is at such a high elevation and I walk so much, I'll be able to get back into shape "no problem". </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">October 24th, 2011</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Today I held a planning meeting with my organization and they were brainstorming about ways to generate income for the organization. I typically take a stand-back approach and just ask the group questions. So far, I've tried my hardest to let them come up with their own ideas for projects. I was very impressed with their idea today because they told me they would like to hold a party called "Stockfest" (dunno bout the spelling, but apparently its Afrikaans) where they will charge money for joala and food. With the money they earn, they will buy materials to make jewelry. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The group is trying hard and I'm very proud of them. Since I've been here, we've made over 30 garden plots and we were hoping to sell the veggies. However, there is so little rain and most of the time the pumps are dry so the vegetables are struggling. Pests are also eating the plants in full-force so tomorrow we plan to make a pesticide out of aloe plants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I see the gardens looking so pathetic it makes me sad, because I was the one who showed them how to make the gardens. If we can't harvest any vegetables, than we would have worked too hard for nothing.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">After meeting with the organization and working in the gardens, I went over to the Secondary school where I taught my Life Skills class. The Ministry of Education had given our school some Life Skills books and the kids couldn't stop admiring the books. They were holding them close to their hearts and didn't want to give them back at the end of class. It seems so funny from my perspective, because personally I think the books suck. Primarily because they are just these flimsy books with typos and silly activities. But these kids barely get to touch books, so they were in heaven. They requested for me to teach them about page 9 - where there was an activity on "saying no" to sex. I told them OF FRICKIN course I'll teach them that section. Their reaction to the books really made me understand that these kids need a library before I leave. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">October 25th, 2011</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Today was the day I've been waiting for since I came to my site. Today was the day where I felt like myself in country that's not mine. I'm not going to lie, these past three months at site have been the hardest months of my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I've been through a lot of self-doubt, stress, loneliness, sadness, etc. and to top it off, my body is beat up with bug bites, wounds from falling, and bruises. But, as Peace Corps and Peace Corps Volunteers promised, "it gets better". So today on October 25th, I was happy...extremely happy for a WHOLE day! It was a day full of those high high moments that will keep me going strong. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Daily Highlights</span></u></b><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Waking up to a goat basking in the sun at my doorway</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The members of my organization showed up 5 minutes EARLY to work</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My organization singing to me...even after I told them the news about my move (see next paragraph)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Peace Corps being on top of their game and taking care of my situation</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hugging a girl along the side of the road</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The sky was beautiful today...like in Big Sky Country!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My supervisor bought me peanuts</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fetching water for a friend who was tired</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dancing on garbage with my host sisters</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And...top highlight - teaching my students what the word "litter" means and by the end of the class, they were chanting "WE WILL NOT LITTER, WE WILL NOT LITTER!" </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yes, a great great day. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">About my move:</span></u></b><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I spoke with PC and they have agreed that I should move to the neighboring village, Ha Makoae. There are several reasons why I'm moving, but the main reasons have to do with my relentless bedbugs and the unreliable water in this village. Basically, I've been debating the standards at my site and realized that even though I want to be as badass as possible, I need to communicate with PC and keep myself in check when it comes to staying safe at my site. I should be moving this weekend. My jobs won't change. I will just be doing the reverse walking commute. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">October 27<sup>th</sup></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another great day! The primary school had a party for their last day of school. The kids from my village had been practicing a play for the event and I wanted to see it. The play was supposed to start at 11 and of course, a set time in Africa means that it will happen at some point within the day. So I waited until 2:00 for the play to start, and it didn’t, so I had to walk an hour to the secondary school where I taught my Life Skills class on “caring for the environment”. I was sad to miss the play, but luckily a teacher took video footage with my camera.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt so good about the day because I realized that waiting for hours and missing the event would typically cause me stress…but since it didn’t, it means I’m adjusting to life in Lesotho. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">After school when I was walking home, I got attacked by a dog because I went to say “hi” to his owner. It was my own fault for approaching his owner without a stick or rock in my hand. Luckily, the dog only attacked my skirt. Of course it happened to be one of my favorite skirts that he tore up! But, I still felt lucky. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">October 31<sup>st<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></sup><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- November 1st</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I didn’t celebrate Halloween by dressing up or with any candy, it started out to be an ordinary day for me until Peace Corps came to help me move. I won’t get into the details, but there was some village drama associated with my departure to the next village. It was chaotic and I was extremely worried I would lose my job in Ha Machesetsa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luckily, I work with some awesome teachers in my new village and they spent the evening making me feel better and helping me move into my new place. The teachers fetched water for me, unpacked my things, and made sure my laundry lady knew of my new living situation. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The next day, Peace Corps came back to my village to rescue me from any miscommunication that occurred between my move and the two villages I work in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was so happy that PC didn’t waste a minute when it came to saving me from my situation. PC swooped me up in their Landcruiser and the driver sped through the mountains to a community meeting to discuss my living arrangement with the chief and my two supervisors…along with 20 community members. At the end of the day, it all worked out and I was able to keep my two jobs in two separate villages. Needless to say, I’m extremely grateful with all the support Peace Corps has given me. They truly have made a huge effort to make sure I’m safe and happy in this remote area in Lesotho. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">November 3<sup>rd</sup></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m all settled into my new place. I feel like my new home is right for me. I was even able to put pictures of my friends and family up on my walls. Until this point, I rarely have looked at pictures of my life back home because it made me miss everybody too much and would make my heart hurt. Now I feel content enough to put them all up and look at them every day! However, I still couldn’t manage to put the pictures of Pepper, those pictures will stay tucked away…maybe next year. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">November 4<sup>th</sup></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The thing I love about Basotho is that they love to “accompany” you places and walk you to wherever you are going.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since I’ve never been one of those girls that needs another girl to accompany her to the restroom at a bar, I’ve never understood the point of needing company to get to your destination. But here in Lesotho, it’s nice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The funniest part about somebody walking you from some place, is that you have no idea how far they will walk with you. Sometimes they walk you to the road and sometimes they walk with you for miles before turning around. The other night I was with two teachers. One of the teachers and I walked the other teacher home, then I walked the remaining teacher home…and then she wanted to walk me from her house to mine. It made absolutely no sense, but it was thoughtful. I know it sounds confusing, but the jest of it is…if you walk somebody home, they will turn around and try to walk you back to your home. I just haven’t learned when the “accompanying a person home cycle” is supposed to end. </span></div>Jenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995383941858168796.post-1593376521349753732011-10-02T10:23:00.001-07:002011-10-02T10:23:39.570-07:00Updates<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Let me start by saying, I'm very sorry for not updating my blog. I thought I could be one of those people that keep a blog and journal to express their thoughts to their friends and family. But what I realized is changing who you are does not happen easily. A person can move to a different country and live a completely different life, but still not change their habits. Failing to record my life through words and pictures will be something I regret if I don't try harder. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Life in Lesotho</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I've lived in Lesotho for four months now. Every day is different and has its challenges and rewards. As for right now, the challenges typically outweigh the rewards, but I'm hoping that will soon change once I get the hang of this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The first 9 weeks in Lesotho, I went through Pre-Service Training with 19 other volunteers in a host village. I actually loved training, but I may be one of the few volunteers to admit that. I liked it so much because we were extremely busy and there wasn't too much down time. I also loved my host family, our teachers, and the other volunteers. We learned about the culture, language, and our role requirements. I believe training definitely prepared me for life in Lesotho. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For the past six weeks, I've lived at my site in a village called Ha Machesetsa in the district of Quthing. I live on a mountain in a big rondaval (round house) with a thatched roof and a side bedroom with a tin roof. I have a big kitchen table, a 3/4 size bed, several cabinets, and a gas heater and stove. I don't have electricity or running water. The closest water pump is about a football field length down a steep hill. Every 2 or 3 days, I fill a bucket with water and attempt to carry it up the hill on my head. Half of the time, the pump is dry and I have to walk to the next pump that is about 1/4 mile away. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My daily routine consists of waking up around 8:00 and doing random shit until 10:00 when I meet with my organization. I assist the group to gather knowledge to build their skills with various projects. I've just finished teaching the group basic gardening practices and now we have over 30 plots started. Currently, we're digging over 150 holes for fruit trees that the Ministry of Agriculture is donating to us after seeing our hard work on the gardens. The goal of the organization is to learn skills like gardening, sewing, candle-making, etc., etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and then find a market to sell the products the members produce. The aim is to have the organization members and community be able to sustain their lives with these Income Generating Activities (IGAs). </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Back to my daily routine... I work with the group from 10:00-1:00 and then I walk to the neighboring village (an hour walk) to teach Life Skills to Form A, B, and C. Life Skills is a course that focuses on HIV/AIDs awareness, life goals, and various other important topics for kids. After school, I walk home with some of the kids and we sing songs or they teach me Sesotho while I teach them English. Once I get home, I start cooking dinner which consists of the same thing every night - rice, vegetables, and eggs. Then I read, make lesson plans, attempt to clean, text message, talk to my American family on the phone, and do more random stuff. In order to use my phone, I have to prop my cell up on the window pane and search for signal. Some days I have one bar of signal, but it cuts in and out constantly. The wind makes the signal worse and some days the wind is so intense that I have no signal at all. I charge my phone with a solar panel and car battery I bought from another volunteer. The solar panel set-up was the best thing I've bought since being here. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So that's the most of my day. During the times where I'm alone...which is most of the time, I do a lot of thinking on ways I can help my organization and the Secondary school. I also think about strategies for keeping myself sane. I have a list I read every day to remind myself of my must do activities. This list includes; exercise, wear sunscreen, floss, smile, and laugh. This list may sound basic, but it's easy to stop caring about myself when I compare my life of luxury to the lives of the people in this village. And when I just can't figure out what the hell I got myself into. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My site is beautiful. I'm surrounded by huge mountains and there is a river running through the valley that I can see from my house. I hike to the closest shop (about 20 min) to purchase basic items like candles, paraffin, oil, eggs, and rice..but if I need anything special, I need to travel to Mt. Moorosi (2-3 hour bus ride) to buy it. Even then, it's difficult to find things I want, like CokeZero or oatmeal. Gum is another thing I have issues finding. Of course there is no Big Red, so my consolation is Orbits Wintergreen. When I go to a big enough town, I buy as much gum as I can. The last time I was in Maseru, I spent over $15 on gum and the cashier told me I shouldn't be buying expensive gum. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is just a glimpse of my new simple life. However, I will be much more vigilant about my posts once I figure out how to get internet access at my site. Loving my family and friends! Hope you are all doing amazing in the wonderful US of A. </span></span></div>Jenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995383941858168796.post-30457057359206143212011-06-21T13:44:00.000-07:002011-06-21T13:44:05.714-07:00Update from LesothoIn order to update everyone, for at least the next 6 weeks, I (Jenny's mom) will be writing on Jenny's behalf.<br />
She does not have Internet access so cannot update this blog directly. She does have a cell phone now so I am able to get updates...<br />
Jenny arrived in Lesotho on Saturday, June 4th. She traveled from Philly with a group of 22 Peace Corps volunteers. Once in country, they split the group and she and 9 others went to live in a village named Titsa, about 15 kilometers from Lesotho's main town of Maseru. She lives in a house with an older Basotho couple. She loves her host family. They do not speak any English, so communication is difficult, but there are others in the village to help translate sometimes. Her Mme (mother) feeds her very well. Jenny says that she cooks her huge meals. I think that her Mme thinks that Jenny is too thin! <br />
There is no electricy or running water in her home. They do have a solar "outlet" that Jenny can use to charge her cell phone. <br />
Jenny will be in Titsa with her host family for a total of 9 weeks. During this time, all of the volunteers are in class most all of the day. They are getting language and culture lessons. Jenny says one of the hardest culture lessons to learn is that the Basotho do not have our same concept of time usage. They do not worry about being late and in turn do not get irritated when others are late. Jenny, being a punctual person, is struggling with the concept.<br />
Next week the volunteers are pairing up with another person in their group and going on a field trip. They will be spending 5 days with another PC volunteer that has been working at their job for awhile. This will give them an idea of what it might be like once they are done with training and on their own in a new place. Since they have to make some choices as far as what type of work they might want to do or where they might want to live, this should help out a lot.<br />
So, for all of Jenny's friends and family, she is doing great and is really having the time of her life. I will try to keep this blog updated as long as Jenny is not able to get to the Internet. I will include the basic updates along with some stories that she is able to tell me.<br />
Kgotsong (Peace)Jenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995383941858168796.post-90563306873235837942011-05-29T20:35:00.000-07:002011-05-29T20:54:14.465-07:00Farewell Party<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Last night I had the best going away party ever! My friends made sure to do it up big by cooking 20lbs of meat, making various side dishes, and bringing tons of alcohol to the party. Every person there made me feel very loved with all their kind words and creative gifts. We celebrated from afternoon till night with outdoor games and karaoke. Highlights included watching the boys climb a super tall tree, finishing a keg of local brew, and my friends signing a magnum size bottle from the best local winery. </div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Of course, there was a little rain to deal with but we couldn't let it bring us down. People were still outside playing the games Richard made and huddling around a makeshift heater. Oh, and how can I forget how awesome the outdoor movie theater was! To top it off, I got to wake up to an amazing brunch that my dear friends slaved over! Overall, it was a great party and I cannot thank my friends enough for putting it on for me!</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">The hardest part was saying goodbye, and I'll have to admit that I've been tearing up all day after leaving the party. </div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">I'll keep in touch with all of you guys the best that I can. I don't think I'll have internet access at my training site (I'll be there for 9 weeks), but I'll try to keep you posted through letters and/or Richard. Alright, well now I'm off to do my final baggage weigh-in and get some sleep for my flight to Philadelphia for staging. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0rZPxY8gJAnQogSaWDewugMOlTbOZaBuTs_kgVmV_-dn20lWGcfeyf3ekjaFMZQumT0rsP8IoIlID4ZKbnud0W8EPqmrhz2VKHJF1Wr39MoC-nGDiu3wX3IvjWeOco4Tbpmw4Mgh3a2A/s1600/tending+to+meat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0rZPxY8gJAnQogSaWDewugMOlTbOZaBuTs_kgVmV_-dn20lWGcfeyf3ekjaFMZQumT0rsP8IoIlID4ZKbnud0W8EPqmrhz2VKHJF1Wr39MoC-nGDiu3wX3IvjWeOco4Tbpmw4Mgh3a2A/s320/tending+to+meat.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Richard cooking up the butt</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiLm6kPt0ptlKYQDS-cxA63gAU2kWaC39ltb74sxhaWTGNeIF__CM8_LGclShmOk6JmROyrthCq6mYG3tunI2JKeDFsW2XZA3-juxYmpFXzhGsAZjUgFBrjC-Qm9NtxHJk90GwuRIyxFQ/s1600/nicole%2527s+spread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiLm6kPt0ptlKYQDS-cxA63gAU2kWaC39ltb74sxhaWTGNeIF__CM8_LGclShmOk6JmROyrthCq6mYG3tunI2JKeDFsW2XZA3-juxYmpFXzhGsAZjUgFBrjC-Qm9NtxHJk90GwuRIyxFQ/s320/nicole%2527s+spread.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Nicole's spread</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL-kUdMot_U7NfOpbtK9zP1G_iEILbjIGPLogOLN4fPQcPSv9yyhxSgf4N0l5x7F-fLaW6AbGpgAmoVodFrY9rbzoTbaXPnV0wWya-oJXzp6DQMGVAr18C9cFsGGV5baCjQOqB0ZrwmGw/s1600/me+and+shan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL-kUdMot_U7NfOpbtK9zP1G_iEILbjIGPLogOLN4fPQcPSv9yyhxSgf4N0l5x7F-fLaW6AbGpgAmoVodFrY9rbzoTbaXPnV0wWya-oJXzp6DQMGVAr18C9cFsGGV5baCjQOqB0ZrwmGw/s320/me+and+shan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Shannon surprising me with her 27 letters prepared for every month I'm gone</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizo-vkkEsTJdmJL3jkBCsg4U4pbLt_tQzZQiKJbP580-0N2BCieZlSCZU1rgO50B5701KmY6BuNEv-inDDKVvOmpojgbUXvt8CX9GGroL5ZzIyB2OtNPXAeDw5SLMCoavr8WMk3KTVIaA/s1600/shan+sarah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizo-vkkEsTJdmJL3jkBCsg4U4pbLt_tQzZQiKJbP580-0N2BCieZlSCZU1rgO50B5701KmY6BuNEv-inDDKVvOmpojgbUXvt8CX9GGroL5ZzIyB2OtNPXAeDw5SLMCoavr8WMk3KTVIaA/s320/shan+sarah.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Family</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVL-0MPQQZav6grsOxSrO2LQdxGdaFrJnrxwL79KaGYIs4UTWGvpd5gkev5_iyhMYBs7Na01fJKe4DGQkgq2ffLMzmlpSjoe6Xb_igc7QDMA3NnQcuR2WYT65dAcGSACb9x8hhK7WJBqE/s1600/joe+and+wine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVL-0MPQQZav6grsOxSrO2LQdxGdaFrJnrxwL79KaGYIs4UTWGvpd5gkev5_iyhMYBs7Na01fJKe4DGQkgq2ffLMzmlpSjoe6Xb_igc7QDMA3NnQcuR2WYT65dAcGSACb9x8hhK7WJBqE/s320/joe+and+wine.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Joe licking the magnum wine bottle</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5OOniSJRHr3tsp0r_JPt67pUdE7OGTEwRqyiNWGngBa9vND52HNUFcqBu-VEBL5kIxQb6l1iosZENae8tWd_lB08WMCDHIsnBMPz9nmYDbxD1aH7yzSNCywcz8SOvbD9iDpbxeSRbBK0/s1600/Richard+and+cup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5OOniSJRHr3tsp0r_JPt67pUdE7OGTEwRqyiNWGngBa9vND52HNUFcqBu-VEBL5kIxQb6l1iosZENae8tWd_lB08WMCDHIsnBMPz9nmYDbxD1aH7yzSNCywcz8SOvbD9iDpbxeSRbBK0/s320/Richard+and+cup.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Richard and his party cup</div><div><br />
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</div>Jenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995383941858168796.post-61904358220580631042011-05-27T16:35:00.000-07:002011-05-27T16:35:32.292-07:00How I feel about leaving for africa in a couple days."How do you feel about it?" That is the number one question people are asking me about my upcoming departure to Lesotho. Well, I feel mostly overwhelmed with tasks, but otherwise, excited and nervous at the same time. Over the past month, I've spent so much time with friends and family that almost every moment has been filled with fun. I feel spoiled and happy about that. <div><br />
<div>When I'm by myself, that's when I start getting a little nervous. I don't really think too hard about what to anticipate when I'm in Lesotho, because I know it will all be new and I will be thrown into a whole different lifestyle than what I'm used to. I'm okay with that, and luckily, I love the unknown. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Packing for Lesotho has been the most difficult thing for me. That, and tying up all the loose ends like finishing up work, volunteer work, and canceling services and memberships. I've mostly followed the suggested packing list that the Peace Corps Lesotho desk sent me. My two bags now total 100 lbs (my limit) and I feel like I'm as set as I can be. Luckily, I'm ultra fortunate to have my parents and Richard to help me out with anything I need on the home front. </div></div><div><br />
</div><div>I think the main thing I've neglected to pack is stuff to support my hobbies. I can't think of what to bring for hobbies, so I'm not bringing anything. Instead I've packed my bags with just tons of clothes. Yes, I know this might be a mistake, but my hobbies include working out, hanging out with friends, and staring at the wall. So therefore, I don't need that much. Most volunteers and the PC handbook suggested loading my computer with tons of movies and music. I have yet to do that. That's where Richard will most likely come to the rescue and put a ton of media on my tiny netbook at the last minute (probably Sunday night...I leave Monday morning). If we don't have time, then I'll just be screwed and figure it out as I go along. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Other than, I feel set. And, to my friends and family: I want to thank you for dedicating the last 3 weeks to me and supporting me 100%. You guys are the best! </div>Jenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995383941858168796.post-72141329613575478432011-04-20T14:54:00.000-07:002011-04-28T13:42:26.893-07:00Six Weeks Until StagingWow, now I'm down to the six week countdown to staging. This means I need to get my act together. Currently, my priorities involve spending time with friends and family. I'm typically not much of a planner, but considering the circumstances, I've planned out all the remaining weekends I have left in the US. (1. Winery 5K Run & Easter Beer Hunt, 2. Weekend in Sacramento to see Wendy and Nana, 3. Possible girls shopping trip to Portland, 4. In Montana with dad, 5. Mom visits Eugene, 6. Prepare to leave). <br />
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The next important thing I need to do is move out of my house. Richard lucked out and found a perfect rental house three houses down, so moving will be no problem. We'll move next week and it will be the perfect opportunity for me to start packing for Lesotho and giving away stuff I don't need. Then, I will quit my job on May 10th. <br />
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Currently, I'm just living for every day and enjoying every moment of my time in Eugene. I think the hardest part about leaving will be putting a hold on my perfect life here with all my amazing friends and beautiful family. If you guys think I'm crazy for doing this, then let me reassure you that I am! But at least I realize it, right?Jenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995383941858168796.post-18873763282615324282011-03-23T10:46:00.000-07:002011-03-23T10:46:39.081-07:00nextPCVs - Peace Corps BlogCool, I was added to PC's blog for new volunteers <a href="http://nextpcvs.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/jennifer-cain-of-los-angeles-selected-for-health-assignment-in-fiji/">http://nextpcvs.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/jennifer-cain-of-los-angeles-selected-for-health-assignment-in-fiji/</a><br />
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<b>Jennifer Cain of Missoula Selected for Business Assignment in Lesotho</b><br />
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NAME: Jennifer Cain<br />
AGE: 26<br />
HOMETOWN: Missoula, Mont.<br />
HIGH SCHOOL: Homestead High School (Cupertino, Calif.)<br />
ALMA MATER: University of Montana, Class of 2007 (Business Administration)<br />
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COUNTRY OF SERVICE: Lesotho<br />
ASSIGNMENT: Community Health and Economic Development<br />
DEPARTURE DATE: May 2011<br />
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WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO BECOME A PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER? My 11th grade history teacher spoke well of his experience as a Peace Corps volunteer and encouraged his students to explore similar opportunities. Ever since then, I dreamed of volunteering for the Peace Corps and continued to attend recruiting events until I had the education and skills necessary to become a volunteer.<br />
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OTHER PERSONAL INFO: Over the past 3 years, I’ve worked in marketing and graphic design for a civil engineering firm and a contract furniture company. I’m also an avid runner, mountain biker, and hiker. I have run in five half marathons and two marathons.<br />
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ABOUT THE PEACE CORPS:<br />
In 2011, the Peace Corps celebrates 50 years of international service. More than 200,000 Americans have served as Peace Corps volunteers in 139 countries since President John F. Kennedy established the agency in 1961.<br />
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Through their service, volunteers increase awareness of America around the world and help our country gain an understanding of other cultures beyond our borders. Currently, 8,655 Peace Corps volunteers serve in 77 countries – the largest number of volunteers in 40 years.<br />
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Peace Corps service is a 27-month commitment. Volunteers live and work with a community overseas to reach goals in education, health, business, agriculture, the environment, youth development and more.<br />
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Peace Corps volunteers spend their first three months of service in training, living with a host family and studying the local language and culture.<br />
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Volunteers receive many benefits, including transportation, a living stipend, medical care, graduate school opportunities, student loan deferment, $7,425 upon completion and much more. Peace Corps volunteers must be U.S. citizens, at least 18-years old, and in good health. There is no upper age limit and no cost to participate. Apply online.<br />
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For more information and online applications, please visit www.peacecorps.gov.Jenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995383941858168796.post-69193150560851859382011-03-08T17:01:00.001-08:002011-03-08T17:01:39.703-08:00Best Dentist in the WorldSo the Peace Corps is having me get another dental exam. Last year I got my dental exam and x-rays on May 6th and PC says that a PC applicants records need to be updated after a year. Since I leave May 31st, I'll have to get a couple new x-rays and a check-up for my records. I called the best dentist in the world, Dr. Jay Lamb, and asked if he could check out my teeth again for no charge. His assistant said "no problem" that he is glad the PC asked for another check-up since I had a couple problem areas. What a nice dentist. I'm really really hoping the problem areas haven't turned into cavities...especially since I chew excessive amounts of Big Red. <br />
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For my last free check-up, I sent my dentist and his assistant a thank you card. A thank you card was somewhat pathetic since he spent 30 minutes explaining my x-rays and telling me about his dental trips to developing countries. He also showed me a picture of him giving free check-ups to people in Central America..they were all sitting outside in plastic chairs while he pulled teeth and fixed them all up. What a good guy! This time, I'm thinking his generosity deserves a bigger thank you...maybe I'll send flowers to his staff or something.Jenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995383941858168796.post-85875914814999436892011-03-02T09:20:00.000-08:002011-05-09T10:01:46.243-07:00PC 50th Party<div><span class="708522016-02032011" style="font-family: inherit;">Last night's 50th PC party in Eugene was quite interesting. There weren't really any chances for mingling at the rally or party because of the speeches and music, so I didn't meet anybody that had been to Lesotho or any invitees at all. Most of the RPCVs were from back in the day. It was funny because they all looked the same too....everybody in their typical Eugene REI attire. </span></div>Jenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995383941858168796.post-44197683877797593742011-02-28T22:33:00.000-08:002011-02-28T22:33:52.461-08:00Happy Anniversary Peace CorpsTomorrow, March 1st will be the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps. It all began with John F. Kennedy inspiring volunteers to serve overseas to promote peace. Throughout the past 50 years, Peace Corps has had significant changes that you can read about on the PC website, www.peacecorps.gov. The history of this federal agency is very interesting and the reasons behind its establishment are more than you would think.<br />
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In Eugene there are two events going on. There is a rally at Broadway Square at noon and a party at 7pm. From the newspaper, PC website, and postcards, it seems like there will mostly be Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs). I'm sure there won't be too many invitees, but if there are, I'm super excited to talk to them. I'm also hoping to meet some RPCVs and hear about their stories. Richard will be coming with me, and lucky for him, he gets to hear even more about PC then I tell him already! Hopefully, we will see the RPCV that we saw present at the U of O over a year ago. I don't know her name, but her stories triggered me to start my PC application. Well, it was actually the fact that she went into her service in a relationship and was still with her partner at the meeting. I would like to talk to her or other volunteers that have had a long-term relationship while serving. I hope tomorrow will give me some good insight and I can't wait to be a part of the celebration.<br />
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Here is to 50 years of the Peace Corps! I thank the US for giving me the chance to serve in Lesotho.Jenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995383941858168796.post-31669974231526279772011-02-16T12:35:00.000-08:002011-02-16T12:35:25.805-08:00More on LesothoThe more I read about Lesotho, the more I get anxious to go. Although, I'm extremely excited about my adventure and I'm making sure to enjoy every day I have in the US before I depart May 31st. I'm lucky to have three months to spend time with the people I love and prepare for Lesotho!<br />
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I really don't know what my Peace Corps job will be like in Lesotho. I'm coming in as a business volunteer under the Community Health and Educational Development (CHED) program. Jobs can range from teaching computer and business skills, to helping people start businesses. Volunteers are also encouraged to promote HIV/AIDs awareness, which is something I'm highly interested in doing.<br />
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Addressing the issues of economic development and HIV/AIDs is ultra important in Lesotho because there is a high unemployment rate and around 30% HIV/AIDs infection rate. Almost half of Lesotho's economy is dependent on farming and animal husbandry. Their economy also consists of diamond mining, exporting water, and manufacturing. I've even read that there's a Levi's manufacturing facility in Lesotho. <br />
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It's pretty tough to find information on Lesotho because it is so small and most guide books are on South Africa....but I'm still non-stop looking up as much as I can.Jenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995383941858168796.post-76407665568918266002011-02-03T20:20:00.000-08:002011-02-03T20:20:00.966-08:00Some Research on LesothoHere's some information I've gathered from Lonely Planet, Peace Corps website, and various other sites.<br />
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Lesotho (pronouced Li-soo-too) is a small country within South Africa and is nicknamed 'kingdom in the sky'. Apparently, it's extremely mountainous which makes me happy because I'll be able to do some hiking. Pony trekking is quite popular there, too. I don't know if I'll be riding one of those poor little ponies. I'm sure they're much bigger than I'm imagining, but I'm a tall girl and I don't want to tip one over. I'm sure I'll be cool with doing a lot of walking....I really hope I can get a mountain bike, but from what I've read on other blogs, you may appear well-off with a mtn bike. Peace Corps rarely allows volunteers to drive, so I won't be touching a steering wheel for over two years. I'll be quite the scary driver when I get back, but if I come back to Oregon I'll fit right in! If anybody has ever driven in Oregon you know what I'm talking about.<br />
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Anyway, more Lesotho facts.<br />
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<ul><li>Lesotho's population is approximately 2,067,00 and the capitol, Maseru has a population of around 175,000. I will most likely be living in a rural village or in a "camptown". </li>
<li>The coldest part of the year is between May and September and temperatures can even drop below zero degrees. Lucky me, I get two winters! And everybody who knows me is laughing because I have some major circulation problems and am going to freeze my @$$ off! </li>
<li>Which brings me to another fact about Lesotho, wearing blankets. Apparently, Basotho (people of Lesotho) wear wool blankets to display style and status. I'll surely be rockin an awesome wool blanket! </li>
<li>It sounds like Basotho don't regularly eat meat because it is expensive and saved for special occasions. They mostly eat a cornmeal porridge with some vegetables. Yumm!</li>
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I'll do some more studying and then report back. There are many serious facts about Lesotho, which I will most definitely touch on with future posts.Jenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995383941858168796.post-40771803499542445852011-01-31T20:08:00.000-08:002011-05-09T10:00:39.253-07:00Application to InviteSince I'm now calm and collected with my thoughts, I decided it's the time to start my blog. From September 2009 - until a couple weeks ago when I received my invite to Lesotho, Africa, I've been all too worried that I may not be selected to carry out my dream of serving with the Peace Corps. All the waiting and wondering during the application process is quite stressful and I read blogs of other applicants to try to determine where I could go and when I would receive my invite. I really didn't think I would end up in Southern Africa, but after reading so much about Lesotho, I'm just so excited PC invited me there. The staging date for Lesotho is May 31, 2011.<br />
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</div><div>For this post, I'll concentrate on my timeline thus far...and for future posts, I'll write about all the exciting things I've learned about Lesotho. </div><div><br />
</div><div><ul><li>September 2009 - Started Application</li>
<li>October 2009 - Submitted Application</li>
<li>December 2009 - Interview with University of Oregon recruiter and initially nominated</li>
<li>January 2010 - Interview with Seattle recruiter. She told me that there weren't any openings for business volunteers and if I wanted to join PC I would need to take french to qualify for a business program in the future. She also had me fill out a Romantic Involvement Questionnaire about my relationship.</li>
<li>January 2010 - February 2010 - Took a french class</li>
<li>March 8, 2010 - Contacted by Seattle recruiter telling me an opening for business volunteer in Africa opened up, leaving Feb 2011 (no french required)</li>
<li>March 2010 - Received Medical and Dental Kit. Found an awesome dentist that did free checkup and x-rays for future volunteers. Dental paperwork went well. Medical was more extreme since I needed over 5 vials of blood and several vaccinations. Also, since I had seen a free counselor in college when my grandpa died, I had to write several personal statements and contact the health clinic to verify that I was mentally sane and wouldn't kill myself if I became lonely in another country. Lots of faxes back and forth.</li>
<li>April 2010 - Medical/Dental packet complete and sent to PC. </li>
<li>April 20, 2010 - Contacted for additional bloodwork (white blood count low), re-took test and count looked good. </li>
<li>May 14, 2010 - Cleared Dental</li>
<li>August, 2010 - Cleared Medical</li>
<li>October, 2010 - Legally Cleared</li>
<li>December 20, 2010 - Told my slot was filled and would have to wait till May/June departure. I cried. A lot.</li>
<li>January 3, 2011 - Placement interview. My placement specialist asked me about my relationship status and also asked if I was willing to serve ANYWHERE (even though I had expressed a preference for Burkina Faso, Africa). I said I was still in a relationship and would still serve ANYWHERE. She said she would still try to get me into a program in Africa. </li>
<li>January 4, 2011 - Sent off another Romanic Involvement essay</li>
<li>January 12, 2011 - Received invitation to Lesotho, Africa (staging May 31).</li>
<li>January 13, 2011 - Accepted invite</li>
<li>January 23, 2011 - Sent aspiration statement and resume</li>
<li>January 26, 2011 - Sent forms for no fee passport</li>
<li>May 2, 2011 - Received staging email with details on the orientation in Philadelphia</li>
<li>May 2, 2011 - SATO (gov travel agent) booked my flight from Eugene to Philadelphia</li>
</ul></div>Jenny Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280789969156050780noreply@blogger.com2