Some talk about the sacrifice that people make in joining the Peace Corps in terms of leaving friends and family, abandoning the comfortable amenities of home and making only a meager living stipend to cover your essentials. While I think Peace Corps is a beautiful experience for both the young and the old (this is also part of what is so appealing to me), I would obviously advocate that it is a great opportunity to people just out of college. I was working random part time jobs in addition to babysitting, trying to postpone my commitment to the real world and riding out the lingering remains of social liberties from my college lifestyle. So for me Peace Corps has been a pay raise and a steady income that I’ve never known. Granted I’m not making bank and saving any money, but even breaking even and covering all monthly expenses feels so good with a little wiggle room to treat myself to some cheese or chocolate every now and again. I’m only accountable for myself in terms of food, cell phone, household items, and transport and no one is dependent on my besides my dog, so it may not seem like such a large feat. It’s just nice to not feel any financial dependency and that looming urgency to bring in enough money to do the things I want to do. It may have something to do with the fact that my “recreational” expenses are typically allotted to edibles being that there isn’t much else to indulge in, well occasional travel. What I’m saying is that the financial side of Peace Corps is not something that I feel like is such a large sacrifice on my end (please remember I speak only for myself. I’m sure some would disagree). There are those that transitioned from six figure salaries to the Peace Corps and I think that is commendable in many ways. While I imagine that would be difficult to adjust to, I’d like to think it wouldn’t deter me from serving in the Peace Corps either. Also bear in mind that the standard of living is also very different. To just say that one has a lesser income doesn’t mean that you can’t provide for yourself in the way you used to. It’s just a matter of being more mindful of costs and where you allocate your monies.
There is also a component that I didn’t anticipate before coming here and that is a new kind of financial self-consciousness in a public regard. It is not totally applicable to everyone, but being in a village setting away from the city, people take note of you on any and every occasion. In addition to trying to combat the assumption that I have endless amounts of money flowing from every orifice of my body, I try to minimize that image or façade of having money with the way I dress in both style and variety and the material possessions I am seen with like groceries or my phone, etc. Even when I go to the grocery store I find myself conscious of how often I’ve been there in a week and try to limit myself to once a week, even if I have forgotten something. Being that there is only one grocery store in Moshupa, most all of the employees recognize me and I generally have the same cashiers when I go. They always evaluate and comment on what I’m buying, how much I’m buying (asking if I am cooking only for myself) or ask me how I plan to cook with a particular item. Even when I splurge on something like soda or buy thinks like cereal in bulk it doesn’t go unnoticed. I just enjoy living within my means and getting by on what I need, and discovering what exactly I NEED to get by. I’ve found it to be a bit more of a conscious effort than I anticipated balancing my habits in the States with a hyper self-awareness here…if that makes any sense. In any case, it’s been a good exploration and discovery of what it means to provide for myself in the given circumstances.
So in addition to evaluating my life in terms of America to Bostwana, I am also still assessing the transition from college to all that is post-college (be it “the real world” or what have you. While I never got a taste of this in the States, I have my initial exposure to the standardized work hours here in Botswana (half seven to half four). What I don’t so much willingly endorse is this whole 8-5 deal. I understand that operating on a standardized schedule is important for communication and accountability purposes. However, the notion of being present from 8-5 merely for the sake of fulfilling a most minimal level of responsibility is not my cup of tea, particularly when you have little to show for it. I am finding more and more things to occupy my time productively, but sometimes I find myself in the office asking to help do anything when there is simply nothing to do. I don’t know if that happens at home. I imagine so, but here we don’t have the Internet in the office to fill that void. I also don’t know if this is something you transition to or just a dynamic that you resign yourself to until you become accustomed to the routine.
I try to balance my week with a few days that are filled with miscellaneous activities and projects that I’m working on like going to the primary school to help organize the library and then going to the secondary school for a peer support group discussing issues like teenage pregnancies and such. I love that my week changes day to day and I only have about 2 days where I had a “desk job.” On these days, various tasks keep my butt glued to a seat and my day is broken up by teatime and lunch break. Speaking of tea, tea breaks are how I survive those days that drone on and seem to alter the passing of time in a most inactive but exhausting manner. The other days I operate generally on the same hours, but I’m constantly moving around. Being that it takes me about an hour to get anywhere on foot, much of my time is accounted for in the commutes between places.
Ha, it’s when I think about and elaborate on these aspects of my service, I’m reminded that I’m only 23 with not too much “life” under my belt. On any other occasion I would feel weird discussing my financial status on a blog, I figure some might be interested to know how that goes here in my Peace Corps service. How exciting it is to say that I’m learning a lot about myself in terms of financial responsibility and the like on a completely different continent. I wonder how that will translate to life back in the States.
Other things I wanted to comment on…clearly in no orderly manner:
One thing some might be surprised to find is that there is essentially no homeless population here. Even in reading a government publication, they were discussing a new plot of government housing that was recently completed with various large name contributors. The relevant authorities mentioned that the premise of the project was to preserve an individual’s pride and decency as a member of society by providing adequate shelter for them and their families. I think it’s a beautiful idea and I try to explain to people here that we do in fact have a homeless population in America. Oftentimes I only address the subject when people go on and on about how wealthy Americans are and how everyone has nice things i.e. clothes and cars, etc. I’m not sure they fully consider what it means to be literally without a home and to evaluate the kind of lifestyle and dangers that may entail. Granted, some in marginal regions live in temporary, shack-like structures that many Americans would qualify as homelessness. However, here the people are innovative when provided with little and you’d be surprised at the spirit of a home that exists within even a most unsightly house.
I have been away from home for almost a week. I met with a few volunteers at the Rhino Sanctuary near Serowe, Botswana. We went on a 6 a.m. game drive and saw white rhinos, giraffes, wildebeests, warthogs, and ostriches. A few others went on a later game drive and got to see ZEBRAS! Being that this was my first game drive, I found myself squealing at the thrill of chancing upon animals, at which time I was shushed by Tija haha and all the more conscious of my giddy excitement. This element of surprise was probably what makes game drives better than anything a zoo could ever be.
What was particularly interesting about this sanctuary was that it started in 1992 when the white rhino population was extremely low in Botswana. South Africa donated something like 200 rhinos to repopulate and this became a community-based project. It is still operating as a self-sustaining organization and hasn’t been absorbed by the government- a point worth noting.
A few of us were camping and stayed next to the few who rented out a chalet. We had a bird that we just named Zazu (from the Lion King) staying around our campsite and he ate from our hands. One of the nights we opted to have a campfire and a candlelight dinner outdoors. Sometimes I just love having vegetables cooked on an open fire with no butter or salt or anything. It just completes the camp feel. The weather was so cool in the morning and warm in the afternoon with perfectly mild evenings. The long awaited rains finally decided to present themselves on a night that I am in a tent. My tent didn’t have a rain fly so that made for an interesting night of trickling drops on my face and soaking my feet. The sound of rainfall was more than welcome though and we woke to the strangest sounds of birds. We even asked each other if someone had a weird alarm tone only to discover that they were in fact natural noises.
Immediately after the Rhino Sanctuary I returned to the South to meet with my co-workers. I attended my first Evidence Based Planning retreat to the bush with no network coverage for three solid days of deliberating on and “strategizing” plans for the upcoming year. I found it to be an exhausting process that really highlighted so many of things that really frustrate me with the general processes of doing things. There was some good that came from the meeting but I’m still struggling to find that balance of participating in the discussions and capitalizing on those opportunities for suggesting improvements. I am hesitant to voice an alternative opinion in fear of sounding so high and mighty or totally irreverent for their customs and practices.
On another note,
I’m going to try to make my own yogurt in the next few weeks. Apparently you only need one small yogurt to create your own and then you don’t have to buy any more b/c you keep the cultures alive with each batch.
With the weather warming up I’m missing having my car more and more, being able to get places in a timely manner and control things like the A/C and radio. Riding a bus here… wheewweee Batswana do not like open windows and free flowing air for fear of “catching flu” (not to be confused with influenza). My counter argument always pertains to the increased likelihood of catching TB, but the joking nature of the suggestion doesn’t ever translate very well. There is an incessant battle that goes on between me opening the window and being asked to close it. Either we take turns suffering in our respective windstorms or festering sauna of stale, musty heat or we reach a happy medium where the window is open with a 2 cm gap. Some days I’m more tolerant and accommodating than others. I believe 104 degrees is a nonnegotiable need to open the windows.
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