Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika

To all my readers, if you're even still following this blog, let me offer my deepest apologies for the absence of posts.  I sent out an email before leaving for Africa saying I would be posting, but unfortunately, my access to internet since arriving has been extremely limited.  I am at a mall today, though, and am hoping to purchase a modem that will allow me to access the internet with my netbook using the cell phone network.  If I'm successful, my posting should become more frequent.

That being said, I'm not sure where to start with this post, given ttat there is so much to tell about my experiences so far.  The title above is the national anthem of South Africa and means "God Bless Africa" Xhosa, which is the native language of Nelson Mandela.  I figured that would be appropriate to start my tales. When I first arrived in South Africa, the other volunteers and I stayed at a college for the first for days of training.  There was electricity, hot showers, catered meals, and tea breaks, and I think we were asking ourselves if South Africa and the Peace Corps were really going to be that difficult.  The only thing that really made us realize we were in Africa was the presence of a game reserve next to our lodgings.  This resulted in one seeing the random baboon from time to time, just strolling outside of the dining hall.  And in raccoon-like fashion, they also enjoyed going through the outdoor trash cans, or rather the rubbish bins (South Africa still displays many evidences of British influence).  The training while as the college consisted of basic linguistic training in 4 of the 11 official languages of South Africa as well as seminars on safety, health and the like.  Nothing to really write home about.  By the way, Mom, I did mail, I mean post, a letter last week, so check your mailbox in about 2 weeks.

After 4 days at the college, the Peace Corps experience experience began in earnest.  We were transported to the village of Makapanstad where we are training for 8 weeks.  I was introduced to my host mother, a wonderful, hard-working widow in her 50's with a son, 2 grandsons, and another relative also at the house.  The house has running water; however, it comes from a water tank, which runs out from time to time.  When that happens, I have to switch on a water pump that causes a hose connected to the municipal water supply to begin filling the tank.  We were told by Peace Corps that we should always boil and filter the water before drinking it, but I have had it several times straight from the tap and haven't yet experienced any problems.

While the house does have running water, it does not have a water heater and consequently also has no hot water.  Given that it is winter here in South Africa, this could cause bathing to be quite unpleasant if nothing were done.  I have a large basin in my room that I use for bucket bathing, and in order to prevent hypothermia, I heat up water on the stove before taking a bath.  And yes, I did say bucket baths.  You pour the water in the basin, strip down to your pants, and use a soapy washcloth to wash your upperbody.  You then take off your pants, step into the basin, and wash your lower body.  The first few times I did it, it looked like I had opened up a waterpark in my room, but I've gotten skilled enough now that I can keep most of the water contained.

Luckily, though, my family also has a bathtub in the bathroom that one can use to take a normal bath.  To do so, you make a fire outside and then place a huge bucket filled with water on top.  After about 45 minutes, you have enough hot water for a decent bath.  I do this most nights and then take an abbreviated bucket bath in the morning where I only wash my face and upper body.  Despite having hot water, it can be very cold at night and in the mornings (like 45 degrees Fahrenheit cold), and taking a bath always requires some psychological preparation for the frigidness.  Oh and in case you were wondering, there is no heating, so like I said, things can be very cold.  Well, I need to attend to Facebook and email for right now, but hopefully another blog post will be soon to follow.  Like I said, there really is a lot to tell.