Donkey Jive

So…yesterday I shook hands with Thabo Mbeki. That’s going to be hard to top, either in this blog entry or the next two years – maybe I’ll just head back to the US now.

I was at the dedication of a monument to Samora Michel, and both he and the president of Mozambique were there, planting symbolic trees, making speeches, interacting with their public, and generally being good politicians. My key-school principal had taken me there – he likes to act like my own personal tour guide of all that South Africa has to offer – and we had arrived early enough that I was sitting towards the front with a crowd of gogos (who offered me candy and would start yelling at anybody who stood in front of them and blocked their view for more than 30 seconds. I love gogos.). When the little pocket of dignitaries paraded past us, of course everybody ran up to try to see the president. I wasn’t going to at first, but then I thought: what the hell, when am I going to get this chance again? So there I was, shaking hands with the President of South Africa. Seriously, how cool am I?

Like I said, that’s going to be hard to top, but I do have more to say. So I’ll let you admire these pictures for a few moments while you collect yourself, and then move on:

Hmm, just kidding. Photos are harder than I thought. Maybe later.


As far as my actual job goes, I think that things are going well. I’m getting to know my teachers – which as far as I can tell really is our only actual job for the first few months. The trick is in building relationships, keeping your mouth shut, and really doing very little, while appearing to actually be useful and beneficial. I did help one of my teachers use a computer for the very first time though, and the look on her face was awesome. She’s a cool woman, very intelligent and strong, you can just tell. She had asked me to type up a letter for her and I told her that I would show her how to do it herself. She was almost terrified to use the computer, she told me that she had never really done anything but look at one before. So together we opened word, I explained the basics of typing, and she started to type the letter. It took about 20 minutes for a 3 line letter, but the majority of that was just figuring out where the keys were placed. She was so excited that she was literally clapping her hands together. It was awesome. By the end we both agreed that computers were easy, and that I should start teaching computer lessons there ASAP. Its nice to feel like you’re really doing something.

I do feel like I struggle sometimes with giving all three of Peace Corps goals equal weight. (A refresher: Development work, sharing American culture in a foreign country, sharing a foreign country’s culture back home). The second one is easy. The question invariably starts with “So, in America…” and will be followed up by anything from questions about livestock to politics. People are continually shocked by the fact that we really do have cows, but no pap. (“But what do you eat?”). The third one I imagine won’t be too tricky either. God knows I’m opinionated enough and have a big enough mouth to be ‘sharing’ my knowledge for the rest of my life – whether my audience likes it or not. But of course the reason I joined Peace Corps was for the first. I continually hear that the smaller you set your goals the happier you’ll be. That I shouldn’t expect to see results for at least a year – if ever. That, to quote the Bhagavad Gita, “To the work alone are you entitled, never the fruit.” In other words, the problem is a big one, and the mindsets pretty entrenched. I know that the work I’m doing is important, that eventually I will make a difference – even a little bit – but its hard now when we’re all still getting used to eachother. When my only goal is to get my teachers to trust me enough to let me work. So I rely on the fact that I’m certainly taking care of 2 and 3. But that feels like a little bit of a cop-out.

I remember having a conversation with Dana before I left. I acknowledged that the work would be hard, that I wasn’t about to change the world, “but if one more girl goes to college then I win.” My poor 14 year-old host sister, Latoya (whom I love, and who is completely awesome) has mentioned to me on several occasions how much she loves to read and write, and that she wants to be a doctor. I hope the poor girl knows that she’s pretty much sealed her fate in my eyes. I’ve already started researching universities and scholarships.

This is getting long, so I’ll cut it short. For those of you in Davis-land enjoying homecoming today: have a good time and Go Ags. And Happy Birthday to Dana, Erin, and Chad. Your gifts are in the mail, I swear.