Diana's Out of the Box Adventures

I'M BACK!

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 01:25:23 GMT

So didn't 2 years go by quickly! Ha, ha. I found I don't like NOT being in control of my life. Who would of thought I needed to be in control? Again, ha ha. Here are the particulars:

As you can see from earlier entries, I've been living "in village" as they say during my 10 weeks of training. It's Winter in June so it's dark by around 6 p.m. and we are required to stay inside when it is dark. (Dogs run loose at night protecting the homes, etc...plus other safety issues I guess but those are the Peace Corps rules.) I found this somewhat claustrophobic - can't go anywhere, can't do anything. Also, it's dark. I mean, no electricity dark - just the kerosene lamp or a flashlight. Go into a room and turn off the lights and close the blinds at night. Now just use a flashlight (best if mounted on your forehead so that you can use your hands) to find things or read from 6 pm until you go to sleep. Of course, have nothing in the room to do but read a book and do that for several hours every single night. I didn't like the constant dark.

Then there is no running water which isn't actually that bad. The pump is near & we can boil water and we have tons of buckets for different things plus a sort of tub for bathing - see 6/18 pictures. However, I never really felt properly clean. I don't know what the problem was except there just never seemed to be enough water. I always felt gritty. Of course, the wind blew constantly and everything is dirt so maybe that was it.

Next is the "big picture" issue. I'm a big picture person. I was having a hard time dealing with information "as needed."  For example, we are going to Maseru (the big city) Saturday, do I need to buy my set up dishes, etc. for when we are living on our own in a few weeks or will we be going back to Maseru or a different camp town for that stuff later? Do I bring extra money or will have I have internet time instead?  Do I make a list of stuff I need? Whats the plan? The answer, "we will let you know on Saturday, don't worry." We are told Saturday what we are doing on the way to town.

Finally was the training which was fun except when we received hand outs and had to read them on dark rainy days again, with no electricity so it's DARK in the classroom. I'm finding myself getting headaches trying to see in all this constant dark....

So I'm gritty, freaked out by being shut in & bored in the dark and I cannot plan. Not good for me.

We are supposed to decide in those training weeks if this is really where we want to be at this point in our lives and I finally decided after much thought and some great help from the Peace Corps staff that perhaps, for me, the answer is No. I decided I would rather be in a different position with the Peace Corps now instead of 2 years from now. Since I've proven to myself once and for all that I need the comfort of electricity and running water, I can better serve the Peace Corps in paid positions where we have those things such as a Recruiter, or a Trainer. Maybe even some day a Country Director.

So, I'm back with the option over the next year to return to a different post as a Volunteer. I retain my PC employee status & have insurance accordingly at the Fed wonderful rates (first mo back free) and the Country Directors have offered their names for my resume and reference so all is well. I'm just 2 years ahead of schedule which is probably good at my age!

Here are some photos of my last days in Lesotho and back at the Training Center in Maseru - it snowed!

I'll miss my Lesotho family and the other 27 great volunteers I went out with who seem to be having a great time! I wish them the best of luck. I"ll miss also some great volunteers I met those last last few days who were at the training center for things they had to do in Maseru or to go to one of the World Cup games. I put a reference to one of their blogs to the right. She's been in country forever so has great photos - enjoy & thanks Tarsha.

See you all soon.

Village Life through 6/16/2010 #2 of 2

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 18:56:42 GMT

Continuing with pictures of local animals - the "current" family pig & 2 young donkeys possibly awaiting sale:


And then there are the kids! They love photos - "shoot me" they yell. They like to follow us on walks - this is a weekend so they are not in their usual school uniforms.

Have I entered my buckets? I'm thinking not - the bottom black one is actually pig enough to sit in & is used for baths & washing clothes. The rest we use to manage the boiling water with cold water. One for soaping & one for rinsing when taking a bath. The smallest one is the pee bucket - yes, this is needed as we cannot go outside at night once it is dark. Roving dogs (they are NOT pets but do guard each house & very attached to their owners.) Plus the night is not considered safe for us Americans. It probably is fine but we are VERY protected.   Sound like fun yet? Missing would be the 2 buckets for carrying water. One is used for drinking - to be steamed or boiled & the other for random cleaning, etc.. A bucket for everything when there is no running water. AND they are to be kept in certain places in the room. One corner is the bathroom, one corner the kitchen, etc..

So, there you go. Life as I know it as of June 16, 2010. Winter is coming. Temperatures the first week of June when we got there are about the same as the Bay Area of California...cool in morning & night but nice during the day in the 60's. The next week it got colder & rainy & very windy. Coats for us came out and the blankets for the villagers - plus scarves & gloves. The wind is intense. A couple of great thunderstorms.

Village Life through 6/16/2010 #1 of 2

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 18:29:58 GMT

Update through 6/16/10 - This is a summary since my "Details on Leaving..." posted May 17. I’m with a great group of new CHED’s (Community Health & Economic Development). 28 of us total. (27 Trainees & 1 transfer volunteer extending his service for a year from the Gambia.) 11 men, 17 women. 2 married couples in that group & 5 over the age of 30. Other than us over 30 group I’ve checked & pretty much everyone else is 23 or 24. All are from the States except Benja (red plaid like shirt) who grew up all over Africa.
Here is our picture taken when we arrived in Maseru, Lesotho.

Here is our first sight upon arriving by plane at Maseru, Lesotho from Johanasburg (sp?) South Africa. Yes, we are still in Africa, lol! Welcome to "The Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho:" I've so far only been in this "lowlands" area of the country - still at 3,000 feet above sea level though....

Here is the Training Center in Maseru, Lesotho, Africa, where we spent only 2 nights. Then directly to our respective 3  villages.
Maseru PC Training Center
Training Center yard
View of downtown Maseru from the training center.
Hanging out at the Training Center
Our teachers/trainers, who will also go to village with us - some will live in village with us for the 10 weeks.
Training Center Dorm kitchen - bedrooms and bathroom flank this kitchen. 4 bedrooms total w/ bunk beds and one bathroom on each side. Yes, running water & electricity in Masero. We do boil our water though - see big steamer on the counter top. Sitting room is in front of this kitchen - partial photo below:

After the above 2 days I’m next at a village near Mesero who’s name we are not supposed to give out. I had no trouble with all my wheeling suitcases fortunately. They wheeled quite well over the dirt paths as pulled by the children in my family...I was left with nothing to carry to the new home!  Below is where we were deposited in the village from yes, white vans as Bryan suggested would be carrying all our "gear." This is also where we also came to class each day. It's a tin roof with holes we found out when it started raining. Plenty of buckets laying around though:
Village meeting center which we used for our daily classes in our 10 week training. We were met by singing & dancing women (our new mothers) welcoming us & scattered children - sorry - no picture of that! I left my camera in Maseru in the safe the first week in village....don't ask why...

I’m with the Majara family (surname). My village 1st name is Kathleho (prounounced "Kaklayho"). My "mom" speaks excellent English as do her 2 eldest. She has 4 children total, 18 & 16 & 7 year old boys & 1 girl, 13. We tried to get the whole family together at one time for a photo but it didn't work out until it was too dark. Below is what I have:
Mom Maneo Majara (pronounce like a Spanish language.) and youngest son, Mokhachane in left photo.
Eldest daughter (my "sister") in brown sweatshirt, is Matoka, Mom & Son again & 2 cousins. Mom's sister lives next to us across from the pump....coming up.

Our home is very nice - I'm very surprised at the size & how much new construction exists. My room is actually the kitchen but she moved that to another part of her house which has several bedrooms and a very nice "sitting room" with leather sofas. It's easy to move a kitchen when there is no electricity or running water... The floor remains painted concrete for easy sweeping & mopping & the roof is new and the ceiling is still open in the main part of the house - finished in my room though.  The house is wired for electricity - see white tube on outside - See below:

House with vegetable garden in front with water pump & field for donkey, pig & chicken coop. Door on left side leads to my room. (see door w/ young boy (an abuti.) The window left side is for the house sitting room. I have a window in back that cannot be seen:

Same vege garden - our house to left where stones are & the house by our tractor is the Majera clan mothers house. (My "mom's" mother-in-law.)

My room

Above is the view from my door/yes, a straight walk to the pit latrine & same house in the background in both photos.

The Besotho (people of Lesotho) start learning English in school at age 6 and continue through graduation. The elders may not have attended school so not all could be counted on to speak English. School was only "free" for the last few years.  School is pretty much the same as us from 5 till 17 and then on to "university" if they can. School has only been free for a few years but books & uniforms are required which costs money. In my village it looks like everyone sends their children to school at this time so education levels may be looking up in the future if something can be done about the high death rate from Aids/Hiv.

Village school & playground with a PCV hanging with the kids on the weekend:

Career paths are minimal though unless they leave the Country, which many do since South Africa is so close, and unfortunately for the future of Lesotho. My "dad" for example has a university education in agriculture & was a farmer but he works now instead as a boss in the mines in So. Africa. Farming is subsistence only - providing just for the family. No getting rich there. Corn is the only crop I saw at my village. There is some industry here (Levi has a plant for example) but those are jobs for people living in the capitol of Maseru which is just over the border from South Africa. Below are village pictures. It's winter so no flourishing corn fields at this time.

Other than a Farmer there are Herd Boys who are of all ages on through manhood who herd the cattle or sheep or goats. If they are lucky they have a horse for any long distance moving of the herd. The village also uses donkeys for short hauls.
Younger & older Herd Boy below:

I didn't have a camera when I saw these men riding their horses across the mountainside - this is a photo of a photo. There was one horse in our village, black and I saw it's owner on weekends riding for fun it appeared as he was racing his horse alone without any cattle. A fabulous sight. The hat by the way takes its shape from the mountains of this country - see the photo at the beginning of this journal entry.

Below shows the importance of the corn crop - corn is used year round & the stalks are for firewood so carefully stacked. The corn cobs lie in piles, covered with a tarp, to be scraped & used throughout the winter.  Small puppy lying on this corn cob pile - how could that be comfortable?


Next are family and village animals:

Typical style of dog - this one our young pup and our donkey-very important for long hauls. I saw kids riding them bareback sitting often on the rear with packages held in front of them.

Our chicken coop (see our house in background & vege garden). Being one of the poorest countries in the world you'll see they make use of everything - nothing goes to waste. Our "junk" makes a lovely chicken coop roof. And some friendly chickens & rooster in the coop:

Arrived in Lesotho!

Sat, 12 Jun 2010 11:58:54 GMT

Hi all, I am in an internet cafe today while we are in the capital for a visit. I have now completed 1 week of training living in the village. They kept us at the Peace Corps training center here in the Capital for only 2 nights & sent us then directly to our villages.

My room is very very large. I'm guessing 15 by 12. It is attached to the main house with my own door to come & go. Everything is very very clean also. My "mother" and her family are very sweet & she and the older ones speak English very well. I have found that English is taught starting at 6 yrs of age & continues through what we would call High School so the older ones can all be counted on to help us. They try to make us speak Sesotho though which is good. I'm a very slower learner as I expected.

We are in the lowlands so "high desert" is my view. The village has many nice homes (mine is one) built of what looks to be concrete blocks with beautiful wood carved doors and multiple rooms with glassed windows. These are mixed with "poorer" older homes but all have glassed windows it appears. We have what looks to be an acre for my family on which there is the vegetable patch out front with the water pump. Around us are other homes with donkeys, cows, chickens, horses & a few pigs.

I haven't time to load pictures so those will come. I also only have 7 minutes left so got to go. More later!

Visiting my Marine & friends

Tue, 18 May 2010 00:35:10 GMT

Yes, for everyone who has asked - I get to see Bryan in North Carolina before I leave for Lesotho. Since the PC departure ended up being June 2 instead of earlier and can visit him during the only leave he has been able to confirm which is over Memorial Day Weekend.

He came up with the idea of meeting me in Raleigh, the capital of North Caroline as an easy fly in for me & for him, a chance to finally travel & have some fun away from the base for once. He's allowed to go that far but not to DC and certainly not to Philly to see me off.

So, I fly all night, Friday May 28 - Happy Bday Jerimy that day by the way & get in to Raleigh around 11:30 a.m. EST on Saturday. We'll have Saturday, Sunday & Monday to hang out and see the sights Bry and I. Hopefully Chris & Reg will come down from the DC area to visit also.

June 1 I'll fly up to Philadelphia for my staging meeting 6/2 & departure to Africa 6/3. (see prior blog posted today also). Bry is due back at the base the same day so all worked out perfectly thanks to the Peace Corps who kept my 6/1 hotel stay for me as originally arranged. They also reimburse me my flight cost for what it would have cost them to fly me directly to Philadelphia.

Anyone else who has time to see me during this week & the next - call me - I'm near Placerville now so local...CALL CELL # or send me a message on FB.

Memorial Day Weekend with my Son & hopefully Aunt & Uncle from DC will end my whirl wind tour of visiting friends throughout the State of California this last month. Next time I post I expect to be doing so from Africa - YEA! FINALLY!

DETAILS ON LEAVING & UPDATED MAILING INFO

Tue, 18 May 2010 00:07:34 GMT

Final details on when I leave - pushed out a bit but now finalized... I would fly out 6/1 except I'm leaving earlier to visit Bryan in North Carolina first. More on that later. For Peace Corps details:

Staging: Wed., JUNE 2, 2010 in Phladelphia 12:30 registration and meeting ending 7:00 p.m.

JUNE 3, 2010: 3 a.m. check out of hotel (what?aghhh) & 3:30 a.m. bus arrives for loading & departure to NY JFK Airport. 11:35 flight departs to Lesotho trhough Johannesburg South Africa by South African Airlines. From Lesotho we go to Maseru, the capital of Lesotho. Why we leave so early for 6 hours at the airport since it's a 2 1/2 hr drive max I have no idea...

We are to dress comfortably but upon arrival professional attire is expected - it will also be the beginning of their Winter so slacks are ok for women. Otherwise long skirts are appropriate. Business casual is the expected attire.

JUNE 4 & 5: We are at the Peace Corps Training Center in Masero - classroom, dining room & dorms for initial briefing, begin language classes, walk around Maseru (part of training) and our only "phone home" call to confirm arrival.

JUNE 6 thru AUG 5: June 6 after language lessons we depart to our Community Based Training Villages (CBT) were we will meet & stay with our own Host Family for the rest of training. the CBT site is about 15 kilometres from Maseru (1 kilometer = about . 62 miles) so aka a little more than 9 miles from town. So starting Monday June 7 we walk to this CBT from our new host homes nearby.

Training during this time includes language lessons (Sesotho Language), job training, safety & security briefings, lessons on using public transportation, the use of local money, etc. June 12 we have a field trip to Masero again for shopping which appears to be our one time "out" during this time period. This may be when we get cell phones & set up bank accounts....just guessing.

AUGUST 6: SWEARING IN CEREMONY. Assuming we've attained the level of language we needed to graduate, we graduate at this swearing in ceremony and become legitimate volunteers. Until this time we are trainees.....

NEXT STEP:  We will now be posted somewhere in Lesotho in villages where we will be "adopted" by families and the community in that village for the balance of our 2 years.
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HOW TO REACH ME:
- I will have little to no computer access from June 6 - Aug while training & then getting up & running at my permanent post.
- I will have no cell phone after June 2 until I get one "in country" as noted above & this may or may not happen June 12. If not, it eventually will happen...I just don't know when.
- I've just now added in the Masero address from letters which may be the only way I can communicate for awhile. (look to the right under my profile)

MISC.:
I've decided to memorize immediately the following:
Bua butle (boo-ah hop-ay) aka Say it again.
Bua butle (boo-ah boo-tlay) aka Speak slowly

LOL

Clothes for the winter June

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 05:14:13 GMT

Between lucking out on sales in San Francisco and my Christmas present which can now be decided on - I believe I have almost all the cold weather clothes I need - yea! Thank you Chris & Reg for the wonderful goose down coat. Did you notice it is incredibly compressible & can be packed into its own pocket and even used as a pillow at a pinch per the description! Perfect considering packing issues. And perfect gift idea since I really, really, didn't want to spend that much. Now I don't have to make do w/ layers & my only coat not in storage good for Bay Area weather only.

- I found sweaters for $15 & $14 at 70% off at Macy's.
- Scarf & great funky fur hat with those hanging flaps like dog ears that go under neck or wrap above the hat for a total of $20 at an odd shop on Mission street.
- fur lined snow boots by Sketcher for $4, yes $4 as used at a "garage sale" at my friend Kips school in San Fran last weekend along with 1 pr of leg warmers & another paid of warm boots with soft soles for inside my little home. All for $15 total.

I've got a fuzzy pair of gloves in my existing coat so unless I decide to add water proof ones, I am good to go!
Spending 2 weeks in San Francisco to practice walking 5 hours per day - LOL and finding all those bargains was a great idea.

Friday it's off to Sanger for a wedding & Fresno to see friends & then back to Sacramento until I leave for Lesotho.

NOW I NEED A SLEEPING BAG.

Lesotho Nomination

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 23:47:54 GMT

The mystery is solved! I am going to Lesotho - the Mountain Kingdom. Staging is 6/1/10. So, of course, I guessed wrong on the Country. While I will be a Community Health & Economic Development Adviser, built within this is the Small Business Development sector. So...to answer the ongoing questions of "what will I be doing?" I will either be providing business plan development, general business skills, training on internet use or promoting collaboration among business & government agencies. Also, all volunteers in Lesotho do some work in the HIV/Aids sector. I will be matched to a site & host organization based on my skills, strengths & interests for my specific job duties so I won't know more until I get to training I suspect. I have forwarded today my Aspiration Statement etc as requested to help them determine what job I will be assigned to. So much paperwork! Here is a copy of the packet I received last week.

This is a country completely in the mountains and totally surrounded by South Africa. I will have 4 seasons! It snows in the higher elevations! So much for looking forward to humidity... none. As I will be below the equator it will be Winter when I arrive - will I ever be warm again? I thought Winter was already extending far too long in to our California world! No malaria issues though & possibly no water issues due to the mountain streams providing water.

Traditional food is corn meal, porridge, well cooked greens (spinach, swiss chard or cabbage) and a meat dish of mutton, beef or chicken. Fruit is available in season. Each town has a supermarket that carries basics. Maseru, large city, has most everything needed and I'm told we can arrive with nothing & buy what we need there. Good, in case I forget something. It's not like it will be close though once we leave the 3 mo training....possibly 5 hours away. I doubt also they have things like clips etc for the hair as the people of Lesotho, Men & Women keep their heads shaved it seems from the photos..... So, it's best to consider my essentials may not be their essentials - ha ha.
Maseru:

It's a beautiful country - I'm adding some photos I've found. Incredibly clean also and quite conservative due in part to colonial traditions and the Catholic & Protestant missionaries. Please read more about the country, if you are interested, in Peace Corps Wiki - you will also find this journal there under Lesotho.

Tons now to do to get ready.

1. I have NO winter clothes for example - all in storage except a casual waist length coat for San Francisco weather. Also in storage are the sleeping bags - 1 is recommended... The women also wear skirts which don't look like anything I've found in the stores so far. I found a great pair of fleece lined winter boots with a good thick sole for $4 at my friend Kip's school "garage sale" however! I'm using up my vacation points staying in San Francisco for a couple weeks this month. I lucked into a sale at Macy's at Union Square and bought 3 sweaters for $15 each - wow - 70% off. I've never been able to find a sale like that before. I will need scarves, flat dressy shoes with good soles for long walking (work is business casual), gloves, and the list goes on.

2. Tons of misc, such as register cameras & computers with US customs to avoid paying for their return to the US, getting immunization records and mammograms. Considering additional life insurance, personal property insurance, coordinating payments to storage, etc., etc. Can I use rolling suitcases or not? How did we ever live without the Internet? Sell the car sometime from the middle to end of May.... Anyone need a 2 1/2 yr old Honda CRV - fully loaded with GPS, heated seats, etc...

I'm going to need every moment of the next month to get ready. I"ll be back in Sacto sometime in May to complete everything.<input ... ><input ... >

Its Official!

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 22:23:30 GMT

So, as commented earlier, I would have no further posts until my house sold and I had confirmation from the Peace Corps that I was good to go. Finally an update! My house closed escrow 3/30/10 and all final paperwork was sent to WA DC the next day. 4/2 I received a confirming email that the Placement Office had completed my file review, no further information was required and my file was being forwarded to my Placement Officer for the final review.

Today, at long last, I had the Placement Officer discussion and she confirmed she will be sending me the final Invitation in a couple days - YEA - after she was able to confirm with me that YES, I am available for leaving in an earlier program than originally nominated for. We discussed dates and she has a country (still Africa) with programs departing 5/24 thru 6/1 that she will now review to determine which best matches me for the small business program. Very exciting and still a mystery. Dates can be discussed but not countries. Interesting.

I've applied my investigation skills against the Peace Corps wiki web site for staging dates and I see Kenya with a 5/24 departure date. Could it be Kenya? 6/1 is Ghana or Lesotho although Lesotho does not have Business as one of its programs. Could it be Ghana? I won't know until the paper Invitation comes by snail mail - should have next week! I've been waiting to know since July of last year so I guess 1 more week ...

For all of you who are still wondering why I left a 20+ year career with an early retirement pension, let me just provide you with a little quote from a fellow blogger in the Peace Corps currently in Kenya who hopefully will not mind if I plagiarize, "It is beautiful here and I spend some time many days walking on the beach, eating mango, and enjoying a little quiet smug solitude. Why smug you may ask? Kwa sababu I used to just work a 9-5 I didnt like , just like most everyone else. Now I do this. "

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Peace Corps beginning

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 05:06:23 GMT

<input ... ><input ... >This begins my Journal of my hopeful Peace Corps adventure. After a quick Application completion and meeting with my Recruiter I was nominated on July 21,2009 to a Business Advising assignment in the Africa region. My anticipated departure is JUNE 2010.
The next step is to complete all medical and dental exams and paperwork which went smoothly due to my having both a fabulous doctor and dentist. My doctor was familiar with the Peacecorp process and made sure everything was scheduled and completed quickly - thank you Dr. Nulton! Then my dentists office did a wonderful work up with putting all the records together and completing the form in one day! A shout out also to the staff of Dr. Chun! Everything turned in by September and October 3 I'm notified I'm cleared medically.
The final step - the legal clearance - involves a background check, no problem and showing your finances are taken care of. For me, that means renting or selling my house. So. Here I sit since October until escrow closes on the house. I am hopeful this will be by mid February since the house is now sold, the bank has approved everything and we just need a escrow closing date.
They say patience is primary during this process and boy are they right. Mega patience needed when selling a house in this market. And now even more patience needed waiting for that final Invitation! Once I've moved out of the house I will let my Placement Officer know I am open and ready to leave any time if there are any openings before my actual June nomination and hope that my final legal clearance comes through quickly.
In the meantime I clean out closets and garage and take carloads to the Salvation Army, get moving and storage quotes, transfer my Son's car to his name so that he can have it on his Marine base at Camp Lejeune, and volunteer 4 hours per day at the Boys & Girls Club because lets face it, I'm used to working 8+ hours per day and I'm going CRAZY.
So...no more posts until I have my final clearance and then the invite!

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