Well Longtom is almost here and I am pretty excited. Of course the training is the big part of any big run so I am trying to eat a lot of good food and push myself to run farther and faster. Training can be tricky because sometimes you have to push yourself to do things you really don’t feel like doing. I have found though that eventually your body kind of takes over and your brain can just get out of the way. Good stuff.

 

Also, I said a while back that I would write about my vacation to Cape Town at New Years so I will very briefly. Cape Town is an amazing place. I spent about a week there and aside from the pain my wallet went through it did not feel like it was nearly long enough. The most striking thing about Cape Town is its location. It has a stunning juxtaposition of the ocean and mountains, especially the incredible Table Mountain. It also has a very diverse culture, a different flavor from the other big South African cities. I was there with one other Peace Corps Volunteer and as a result we hooked up with other people at our Backpackers to do things (a surprising number were themselves alone) So, I got to climb Table Mountain twice (second time was better) see the Cape Town Karneval, (a New Years Parade put on by the city’s Couloured majority) visited all different kinds of neat little shops, bars and restaurants, see historic Robben Island, took a very enjoyable wine tour. I tried salsa for the first time. Anyway the place is a blast and a half and it seems like no matter what you do with your time there you will enjoy it. I really want to go back, but like I said, it’s a bit pricey. I am thinking I might take another week there to close out my time here in April 2010.

January 28 2009 marked the anniversary of my arrival in South Africa. This marks it as a time of reflection, it has been a year away from country, friends, family, and a year of new experiences both cultural and professional. To clarify, Peace Corps Volunteers are not sworn in until a little over two months of training is completed so April will be the anniversary and official half-way point of my actual service here (ending April 2010.)

 

Looking back, training was an experience probably necessary to go through but somewhat painful, as I learned about South Africa but was not really a participant. After that I came to my site and to my job at Tinghwazi. There have been successes and failures working with them, a festival that I tried to plan but never got funding for, some papers written, a groundwork for education programs that is still slowly being laid. I have also over the course of the months gotten involved in other village activities, started a small scout group, tutored, etc. but it is still a work in progress finding different ways to help and contributing. I have learned a bit of the home language here, though in the long run I still depend on English for most of my interactions. I have made a lot of great contacts both in my village and professionally, still they are not completely a substitute for the friendships, family, and connections I had back in the States before I left so I do get lonely sometimes. My attitudes towards international development have gained a certain amount of depth I think that I did not have before, I see education of the youth and economic innovation for adults as being the two legs that development must stand on and those are the two areas I have been focusing on lately. I went over with very vague goals, a general desire to do good without really knowing what good things I would be doing, something one cannot get without being here I don't believe. Now I have very specific goals that I want to accomplish before I go and a set of steps to get me there, I have become more pragmatic towards facing my service here. I have went from being somewhat wide eyed towards the country and the culture to getting used to it. It is not exactly home, and I have only been here a year or so but I still kind of have an idea of how things work here and a general comfort. Gone to a certain extent is that wild eyed experience where everything and anything was new and different, which I find opens the door for boredom or ennui if I am not careful. I have become an even more avid reader seperated from the major media and I have been writing a lot. My plans for my life and career, which have always been vague are taking shape. More clearly, I am continuing to define what I believe as an adult human being. My religious faith, my political opinions, what I want from myself and others have been thrown into clarity here and for that I am grateful. It has not been all sunshine and roses, especially lately as homesickness has become a constant, nagging background noise to my thoughts, still I feel I can use even this to grow and develop and come up with a measure of happiness for the present.

 

This is all very broad and reflective I suppose. On a more narrow note, I had a wonderful vacation to Cape Town in January and I may revisit, I certainly recommend it to anyone thinking of a vacation to somewhere exotic. It's got great wine, fantastic views, and a vibrant culture. Wonderful town. I may put a brief blow for blow account of what I did up later but needless to say it was an exciting experience. Aside from that work is going along, I am trying without much success to start a garden, goats being my main enemy. And life without a refridgerator is difficult. Anyway, I hope to write more of these entries in the future as I have been lax, I guess not many people are reading them anyway, but for those who are interested I want to make sure more info is up. Longtom is still coming if you want to donate let me know.