So There's These Two Pies Chilling in an Oven

Partially because I am lazy, and partially because I always wished that people would, on the myriad Peace Corps blogs I myself used to read before landing here, today let me describe to you a typical day in the life of Nomvula (whom absolutely nobody calls Becca). Also let me provide the caveat that to label any of my days here with words like "typical" or "routine" is sort of a vast stretch of anything resembling the truth, one that I assume can only make the gods laugh. But hey, you know, who doesn’t like a good joke?

At 5am my alarm goes off, at just the time I conscientiously set it last night. I immediately turn it off and go back to sleep.
5:07am – alarm goes off again
5:14am – and again
5:21am – and again.
5:28 – and one more time. This time I actually get up. I would just throw the stupid thing across the room, but my alarm happens to also be my cellphone, which I love because it keeps me in contact with the outside world.
I roll out of bed, put some sandals on, unroll some toilet paper, and head for the outhouse. Hopefully I get there early enough that the goats haven’t already started hanging out in it for the day.

After wandering back to my room, I plug in my electric kettle to the outlet that I assume is going to horribly electricute me at some point in the very near future. It hasn’t yet though, score. While the water heats up, I get the clothes I plan to wear today together (the sniff test has never been so gloriously useful as when laundry involves 2 hours of scrubbing in a bucket under a hot sun). I roll them up in my towel along with my fabulous Dr. Bronners. When the water gets hot I pour just enough into my watering can (yes, watering can). I then trek everything out to the enormous water tank next to the main house, fill the watering can up, and head for the outdoor "shower." Said shower actually consists of a cement stall where I can dump water out of my watering can and onto myself, but it still beats a bucket bath. It works surprisingly well. The only trick is to get there early enough that the adjacent outhouse hasn’t started to smell too bad. I dress in the shower and head back to my room.

I usually leave for my schools somewhere in the neighborhood of 6:30, and once there…who knows. I may be observing classes, chatting with teachers, re-typing obtuse department of education documents, putting on a workshop, trying to put together a school newspaper, or just writing in my journal and plotting how, exactly, I’m going to manage to take over the world from this tiny village. It varies, really.

School gets out about 2, unless I’m mean and keep my teachers late for a workshop (this makes them grumpy, so I try to avoid it). I head home, where I now have approximately 5 hours to kill until bed. I read (a LOT), or talk to my sisters, or write, or sms other volunteers until I think I have thumb sprain. I go for walks or head to the post office. I really should work in regular siSwati tutoring sessions, but I sort of suck and haven’t yet. Occasionally I’ve been known to knit (one hat, one sock, and 2.5 phone cozies down. It’s the one sock that’s really the pain).
I make some dinner in my sweet kitchen (hotplate on a TV stand next to a mini-fridge). Currently I’ve been eating a lot of beans and rice and cereal. Maybe I’ll read some more, maybe use my phone to check my email. When we had a TV I would watch Generations religiously every night at 8:00pm (South Africa’s favorite polyglot soap opera. Its awesome). And by 9pm…I’m in bed.

Exciting, no?

Of course all of this ignores the possibility that somewhere in there I might also meet the President at a Memorial dedication, or find myself giving an ad hoc inspirational speech to a group of graduating grade 7 learners, or chatting about the biblical ramifications of corporal punishment with the local pastor, or making friends with a bus driver, or discovering that at some point in the near future I will probably be expected to eat a grasshopper, or making kushe with my family, or hanging out with a random gogo on a mat next to a mud hut, or having an intense debate about the value of the women’s movement to South Africa (that I did NOT initiate, but had no problem giving my opinion in), or…

The possibilities are endless.

Also:
Happy Birthday Hortensia!
Emily I got your package and I'm so excited to have your address.
Kelsey kicks ass, AND:
My baby brother just got accepted to Chico State. Hooray Robbie!!

And a Happy New Year

I've been hanging out in Durban for Christmas break for the past week or so, and its been really fun. We started out at a backpackers that was not at all far from the beach -- only 5 minutes -- so of course first thing in the morning we all grabbed our suits and towels and quite literally sprinted for the ocean. And just as naturally I instantaneously got a vicious sunburn that decided to haunt me for the rest of vacation and severely cut down on my beach-going time. But just having the ocean nearby, having that familiar smell in the air, watching enormous tanker ships navigate into port, seeing the waves and the vastness of the gray Indian Ocean blend up into the horizon -- its been like visiting a little bit of home. Not to mention the fact that we found a Mexican restaurant just up the street from where we're staying. You can NOT find Mexican food in South Africa, its just impossible. There's some Portugese from time to time, but its not even remotely the same (despite the occasional viciously deceptive name like "Amigos." How can you call a restaurant something like 'amigos' and then not sell tacos? Its just wrong.) But we found Taco Zulu, which was amazing, and large groups of PCVs have been invading it lunch and dinner (and possibly breakfast) for the last 10 days.

All in all its been a good Christmas and an excellent New Year's as well -- a nice way to bring in 2007 -- but I'll be happy to get back to my village. School starts on the 8th and I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and actually get to work -- my observation time is over and I am itching to actually do something. Wish me luck.

Shortly I should have a power cord for my computer again, so I'll be able to type these in advance and go back to more and better updates.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2007, its been a good Summer break.