DONATIONS PLEASE!!!

CHILD WELFARE IS IN NEED OF DONATIONS FOR THE CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE. CURRENTLY THERE ARE 60 CHILDREN IN CARE AND THE DEPARTMENT WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A CHRISTMAS PARTY FOR THE CHILDREN. SOME OF THESE CHILDREN HAVE NEVER SEEN A BOOK, CRAYONS, TOYS ETC. TO HELP PROVIDE SOME OF THESE ITEMS AS WELL AS FOOD, I AM ASKING FOR HELP. IF YOU OR ANYONE YOU KNOW COULD POTENTIALLY ASSIST BY DONATING AS LITTLE AS $10.00 US DOLLARS, I WILL BE SURE TO UTILIZE THE MONEY IN PURCHASING A GIFT FOR EACH CHILD IN CARE. YOUR HELP AND GENEROSITY HAS THE POTENTIAL TO CHANGE A CHILD'S LIFE MORE THAN YOU TRULY CAN IMAGINE.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.

EVENT: CHRISTMAS PARTY
DATE: NOVEMBER 15
DONATION: $10.00
ADDRESS: 18015 SE PORTLAND AVE., MILWAUKIE OR 97267

Some Things Will Always Be The Same

After all the moving around and changes in my life the last several weeks, I can't help but reflect on some things. I've just learned today that I'll be living in White River permanently rather than moving to the smaller village of Sabie. I'll be living in a flat with running water, a bathtub, large bedroom, carpet, closets, kitchen etc. It could not be more different than the situation I was just removed from. My safety will be much higher and life itself I suppose will be so much "easier."

As I'm driving around seeing things here, I realize that some things really aren't that different from home. Movie theaters, shops, music, restaurants. Last weekend I had a burger with a friend here while they played Avril Lavigne and displayed rugby on a wide screen tv. Looking around, there was not a single thing that said, Hey, you're in Africa! Today, I drove to Nelspruit for work something or other and they have car dealership after dealership, just like McLoughlin back home. Mazda, Chevrolet, Nissan, Buick, BMW, Toyota on and on...

There are parks, clean roads, smaller kiosks, and MALLS! The malls here drive me absolutely mad. In Nelspruit, 10 minutes from my flat, there is Riverside Mall. A giant Casino where people gamble their money away. They have every store you can think of, including Toys R Us. It's the typical stucco type building material and shaped exactly like any mall in America. In Pretoria, I went with Greg to Menlin Mall which is out of control. Ice cream shops, three floors adn reminds me of huge malls I saw in Chicago. They have a drive in theater on the roof, an ice rink, skate park and playground deal all outside on the roof of the mall. Mug and Bean which is like a fancy version of Starbucks and Prada! Yes, Prada. There is a music hall, a bird sanctuary and gilatto palaces all inside. More shoes and bags than I could fathom and all the while, I just forgot I live in South Africa. Escalators, elevators and even McDonalds! Truly America.

The children in my village all laugh when they burp, fart or see any naked body! The boys stick their hands in their armpits and make farting noises and the girls gossip and keep secrets just like any child in America would. Stepping out of village life into this new one I'm living now, I realize it's not so new! Many things seem the same. Road rage, people in a hurry, people struggling to live and survive. Even the marked difference in poverty here is similar to that which you can see in America. It's certainly different in many ways, but sometimes I realize that we really are not that different. People cover poverty, they hide it and brush it aside. There is never enough money for schools, people need pay raises and the government tends to sit back and do not much. Money comes in and money goes out, nobody really can say where it went. There is red tape and beurocratic bullshit along the way, all similar to America. I find it hard sometimes to articulate the differences in poverty between here and home. They are there. I just can't think of how to describe it all sometimes.

Clearly, all I felt in the rural village was how different things were. Here, in mini America, White River, things are easier and my attention seems to be more on my surroundings rather than on living. That may be case in point! Though there are westernized areas with wealth and resources, most of this country is living without it, without their basic needs being met, but can see it around the corner. Merging these worlds, these resources seem to be the key factor missing in the strength this country could display. If I could pick up my village and move it to America with me, show them my life and how I live, I wonder how the impact would show? Perhaps one day...they will see for themselves.

While in White River...

I moved to White River yesterday after three weeks in Pretoria. It's absolutely beautiful here but I'm torn over leaving my village. Saying goodbye to my family and friends and support system there was like a Hallmark movie (aka: heartbreaking end while waving from a car window, driving off into the sunset). Nobody understood why I could not return to the village and are angry and upset at what has happened there. However, the relationships there are monumental and have changed my heart, my soul and my perspecitve on life which I will carry close with me as I proceed through life. What I learned and experienced there is a once in a lifetime experience that most people will never come close to. I feel honored and blessed at having met these people. They are young and courageous and more honorable than I ever could be in my life. I will be back to visit as often as I am able in the next year and a half here.

White River could not be more different. It's clean and beautiful, surrounded by mountains and very green trees. The roads are paved with shopping malls and restaurants making up the main square. It's quaint and reminds me a lot of Montana. Similar to Kalispell or Whitefish, just with an African nature about it. I've joined a gym, there are movie theaters, white people all over, English speaking children with functioning schools and the town is swarming with NGO's and financial aid. The flat I'm living in for the next few months has carpet, a balcony, running water and a large bathtub. There is a stove to cook on with a large fridge in the kitchen. I can sit outside and read and actually feel safe, whatever that means to me anymore.

I'll be in White River until sometime in December, perhaps until I leave to visit Uganda and Rwanda. I'm learing policies and shadowing the projects that Megan, the other pcv, is involved in. I'll be visiting Sabie, where I'll eventually end up, and Graskop as well as surrounding townships. As gorgeous and "easy" as it seems to be, I think it will be significantly difficult to adjust to this "normal" way of life. Things amaze me and I can't help but eavesdrop on conversations since they tend to be in English here.

The amazing gift of all this is I will have experienced both extremes which make up South Africa as a counry. I cannot discount one end of the spectrum without having experienced the other. There is no one way or another here and the distinct line between poverty and not is crucial in understanding how South Africa functions. I feel my time here has been productive and meaningful, as I expect the next year to be as well. New adventures and New beginnings...

Finding Meaning

I've been in Pretoria for nearly three weeks. The Jacaranda Trees are in full bloom painting the streets purple. There hasn't been a cloud in the sky and I keep hoping for a gigantic thunder storm. Laying out on the grass of the hostel looking up feels like I'm floating in a sea of blue! The palm trees and purple flowers surround my thoughts and seem to fill the air with a new freshness that only South Africa seems to provide. In my time here I've made a new friend Gregg. Gregg is an American traveling throughout different countries in Africa, doing research on environmental affairs. He and I have bonded in the strangest ways and I believe he's now officially been inducted into Peace Corps by default, unofficially!

In our weeks here together we have built our resume on hostel cooking and cleaning, dishwashing and speed reading. A group of 11 year old students from Kwa Zulu Nat'l visited Pretoria for a week creating a noise I feel certain only 11 year olds are capable of. Without shedding blood, they managed to break the filter in the pool, entice ants to crawl over everything in their trail of crumbs and lost a room key because they tied it around the cats neck in hoping that would ensure it's safety! For four nights in a row, myself Greg and the hostel staff served and dished up food for 80 eleven year olds. I was asked repeatedly how many famous people I know and am friends with and how big my car was! After awhile it became more interesting to just make something up. Of course, I now have met and spent a significant amount of time with the infamous Jennifer Aniston! (I will hear no laughing from you out there, Melissa!)

Yesterday, Greg had to meet with some environmental hotshots at the Botanical Gardens. I decided a change of scenery would be great and decidided to join him in his trek. The gardens are a fair distance but seriously walkable! And after all the cheese I've consumed, walking is a good thing! We asked Monique, my new friend who runs the hostel, if it is a safe walk. She looked at us sideways and said, "let me put it this way. One wouldn't ordinarily walk there, but you CAN do it!" and then she sauntered off. In hindsight, I'm thinking she must have been cursing the American mindset in ever thinking this was a good idea!

Greg and I set off and stopped at McDonalds for a fabulous mcflurry! While crossing the highway, yes the highway, by foot, I looked to my right and there standing alongside the highway were two enormous elephants eating the reeds and grass! In the middle of Pretoria!? Yes, seems to be the circus has come to town and clearly they were allowing the elephants to stretch their legs a bit. After a moment of watching awestruck, and confused, we moved on. Time and time again, I asked Greg if he was sure this was the right road. He assured me over and over that it was. So, after crossing a highway, dodging busses and trucks, walking alongside the freeway on broken glass, waste covering the ground and pokey trees catching my hair, we finally made it to the gardens, which were fabulous. We saw muir cats and walked along some great trails. Had a beautiful view of a new side of Pretoria I'd not seen yet. Walking back, we again took on the highway and crossed through some wetlands to avoid some of the freeway walking! The elephants were there waiting for us again as well as lion cubs, tigers, horses and ligers (lion crossed with tiger). It was odd. At the end of the day the cold beer and cheesy calzone were the perfect remedy for sore feet covered in mud!

Greg is leaving for Madagascar on Sunday and I will be leaving Monday for my new site. I'll be moving to Sabi, down near the gate of Kruger Park in the middle of canyons, high mountains and rivers. Sounds beautiful. I hear I may have a shower, running water, grocery store delux and be surrounded by other volunteers nearby. Though it sounds "easy" it will be a huge adjustment all over again and I am quietly thankful to have beautiful scenery which I can escape into when I'm feeling overwhelmed!

The beauty of Peace Corps is that you never know what is coming. The nature of our villages and site placement is filled with ambiguity and is unnatural in that we are thrown into a mix which we are not programmed for. The challenges and life changes that one goes through is forever life changing and creates resilience and growth in areas which I've never known possible.

I have never felt so unsafe, insecure and frustrated in my whole life. I've been made to create a home out of nothing, did it above and beyond and have been told I will not return. I have been betrayed by my co workers in ways that they must speak out in so that they can continue living there long after I've left. My instincts have left me empty and created fear in unreasonable places that I knew not to exist. I trust no one and fear everything. This in time will fade and I know that the nature of South Africa will again become welcoming and pleasant. Within my fear, it is a great feeling to know that I can continue to feel blessed and honored at serving in Peace Corps. It's relieving to realize that my instincts are not to go home, but rather to face this head on and begin looking forward.

This journey of mine has been extraordinary and one that has caused mor joy as well as tears than I ever anticipated. Saying goodbye and finding closure in the village that became my home and my refuge will be devestating but I am pleased that all I invested in will be there when I take my parents to go back for a visit. I'm thankful for the exposure and know that how I lived, survived and understand now is something that will be carried with me into Sabie, South Africa and all the places I have yet to see. At the end of this adventure, I am sure that my world will be opened in ways I never thought possible and my soul will, in the end, always look back to Makgato where I lived, laughed and survived! That will always be my home here in South Africa!

September Sucked!

September was the most challenging month of my life! Two phones stolen, caught in the line of fire in the mall, the Home Base Care sabotaged all the work I've done with them and my housing fell apart in the village leaving me homeless and living in Pretoria! Who knew Humanitarian Aid could be so tough.