I'm back!

Wow, I didn't mean to not blog for almost 2 years. So, same blog, but new adventures.

In a nutshell...

I completed Peace Corps and went to Mozambique for a week!

Then I came home, saw lots of family, and enjoyed the holidays in the states.

Babs and I went to Williamsburg right before New Years.

Then I became interim youth director at my church, and got to hang out with lots of fun teens for most of 2015.

After I finished that job, I took a roadtrip down to Tennessee and Atlanta, to see friends and family.

I also went with friends to Frank Beamer's last football game at UVA.

We got a LOT of snow in January of this year. 

I also started being more of a bird nerd and photographing birds.

Karen and I and a few hundred thousand of our closest friends went to see the cherry blossoms on the national mall.

I went to the National Zoo a few times this spring, and PANDAS!

My church went on a mission trip to Charleston, SC and I got to help lay some floors.

I visited Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion (pictured) National Park with friends.

I also went white water rafting down the grand canyon again. 

And now I have a job! I'm a project coordinator for a public health project in Malawi with a cool public health/international development company in Maryland.

So, more adventures coming, and I'll back-blog on some of these and other things from the past 2 years as well. 

Maybe

Maybe it’s okay that I’m not one of those volunteers that completely fell in love with the neighborhood children.

Maybe it’s okay that some days I preferred goats over children. Maybe it’s okay that happened most days.

Maybe it’s okay that I tried to do as much as my sanity allowed with them, like letting them in my yard frequently to play, and sometimes playing with them. Maybe the fact that I didn’t let them inside my house isn’t the end of the world.

Maybe it’s okay that even though I didn’t learn all of their names, I learned some.

Maybe it’s okay that I never gave them candy, but I did give them time. And water. And tin cans.

Maybe it’s okay that I didn’t let them in my yard 24/7. Maybe it’s okay that I hid from them occasionally, rather than yelling at them if I wasn’t up to kids that day.

Maybe it’s okay that I yelled at them a more than few times. Maybe it was the first time someone had given them boundaries like, ‘you can only come at this time’ or ‘don’t throw rocks at my house’. 

Maybe it was good for me that even after I yelled at them, they still came back to play.

Maybe it’s okay that most of them won’t remember me very well because they are too young. Maybe it’s okay that they’ll probably confuse me with other volunteers that have lived and will live in this village.

Maybe it’s okay that I didn’t satisfy their need for attention, because it might not actually be satisfiable. Maybe it’s okay that I made a dent.

Maybe they didn’t learn a lot of English at my house, but maybe they learned some. Maybe they learned even more than the funny looking foreign lady liked them.

Maybe it’s okay that I have conflicting emotions over these kids; I love them and they frustrate me and wear me out. Maybe that’s how parents feel a lot.

Maybe it’s okay that I’m not going to miss the stress of small fists banging on my door. Maybe it’s okay that I will miss those smiles, and shouts of ‘Lesego? Lesego! LESEGO!’

Maybe time is more important than new words, skills, or tokens.

Maybe I did enough for them even if it doesn’t feel like it.  

Maybe.

These kids... They are awesome

Teaching these kids has been a highlight of my service. 

Not all of them pay attention, there's a few in the back that usually sleep.

The form 2s, in the formal picture above, are a bit more well behaved than the form 3s.

These are some form 3s :)

But they liked having the American teach them.

They thought my lessons were both weird and interesting, I think.

And I certainly woke them up when I pulled out condoms for condom demonstrations :)

The future of Botswana, y'all.

As I'm finishing up my time with them, I'm finally understanding the true value of Peace Corps. 

Yes, it matters that I taught them and that they learned something. But what matters even more to them, and also to me, is just that I was here. 

I struggled mightily with building relationships with these guys; most of them won't talk much, and sharing feelings isn't really something that people do here much if at all. So whereas in the US, I have lots of close friendships where we talk about lots of things, I didn't have that here but with a handful of teachers. I desperately wanted that with some of the students, but it didn't really happen. 

And that's okay. The relationship I have with these guys isn't what I thought it would be coming in, but hey, isn't Peace Corps all about turning your expectations on their head? :)

We spent time together, some of them talked, lots of them giggled, a few slept, and I hope many know how much I care about them, even if we didn't have that many one on one conversations. 

My goodbye party

Some teachers at my school planned a going away party for me.

After I sweet talked them, we had it in the teacher housing instead of my house, so it would be easier for them to come. 

They made a little program, with speeches and music.

We had a in house DJ, the business studies teacher.

A master of ceremonies who wanted us all to polka.

My friend Mma Modiakgotla, who did all the work.

They wanted to toast me.

 Apparently here, you stand on a table to be toasted :)

I gave a little speech, as did a few of my friends.

Food was had.

Meat was braiied.

A beautiful fire.

The local dogs all showed up for the meat scraps.

And there was a lot of dancing!

These people, these friends,

I am going to miss them.

Salt Pans and Meerkats

We visited the largest salt pan in Botswana, the Makgadikgadi pan near Gweta. It's about half the size of Switzerland. And the whole thing looks like this. During the rainy season you can't go out on the pans because they are under a foot or two of water and you'd get stuck, whether on foot or in a truck.

It's a perfect place to take fun pictures.

Kate carry both Karen and me.

Me on the salt pan!

Then we went and saw a meerkat colony! This guy was digging for food.

This guy was trying to figure out what my camera was. We could get pretty close to them and they didn't mind.

A dog was spotted far off, so they all took up the look out post to keep an eye on it.

One of these guys is the patriarch of the family, maybe the one on the far left?

And finally, a lilac breasted roller, the national bird of Botswana. So beautiful!

Kate and Karen's visit part 1

My friends Kate and Karen came to visit me back in June and July! Sorry it's taken me so long to post about it.

 We visited the national museum and saw rock paintings in my friend's village.

We hung out with a bunch of my PCV friends in Gabs for my burfday.

They also collected tons of letters for me from my friends and family back home, so I had something like 40 birthday cards to open on the actual day!

We got a nice hitch in the Chubuku truck out of my village. Like you do.

Then we started exploring Maun, Gweta, Kasane, Vic Falls, and Serowe.

Termite mounds give good views.

We saw lots of animals. I don't even know how many giraffes are in this picture.

And we saw the big five: elephants

Buffalo

Lions

There's a leopard in that tree!

And rhinos!

I feel like I've already posted a ton of animal pictures from previous trips, so I'll leave it at that :)

We also went to Vic Falls.

Ponchos were a must; the spray was so heavy on the Zim side they couldn't see anything!

Awesome friends on one last boat cruise.

Me and Aileen, my PCV sanity :)

Part 2 coming soon with salt pan and meercat pictures :)