A brief summary of the last 5 months....

It's been a little over five months since I packed up my suitcases and I left my downtown apartment in Wilmington, NC to start my new life in South Africa. A lot has changed in those five months, and my life back in the States of walking my dog, working with at risk children, sunbathing on the beach, and long nights out with friends seems like a dream.

Pictured: Me and my dog at a St. Paddy's day parade while I was still in the States (she is now living with my parents, and getting spoiled rotten).

I don't know why it has taken me this long to start my blog, I guess I wanted to make sure that I had something to say before I started one. Now that I'm five months behind, I have no idea where to begin.

I guess I can start with where I live. I live in a city in South Africa, and not a village, like most Peace Corps Volunteers. And not only that, I also live on a game reserve. So I spend a lot of my free time jogging through the game reserve and running into rhinos, kudus, zebras, and giraffes (hence, the name of my blog). I love the game reserve for so many reasons. For one, being close enough to a giraffe to see its eyelashes is an incredible, and beautiful experience. Another reason the game reserve is wonderful is that it's a vacation spot and because of that I get to meet people from all over the country. Due to ubuntu (which is the belief that "I am because of you" or as Desmond Tutu states "One of the sayings in our country is Ubuntu – the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can't exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can't be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality – Ubuntu – you are known for your generosity"), I always get invited over to my neighbors' braais (cook outs).

Pictured: Two White Rhinos in the Game Reserve.

 

Pictured: Some University Students who were spending the night at the game reserve who invited me over to braai with them to celebrate the end of the term.

 



I am also split between two different jobs. One in the city that I reside, and one working in a school in a tiny village about 30k away from my home. I love both of my jobs, and they show me the two different worlds that inhabit South Africa, but to have one without the other, my Peace Corps experience would not nearly be as complete. In the city I have helped out with "Bring a Girl Child to Work Day," as well as done condom demonstrations at fairs. At the school, I teach grade 7 English, and grade 10 computer class (which is a daunting task when you have a class of 42, and only 4 computers), as well as run a library, a running club, a handwriting class, and homework help.

Pictured: With my coworkers helping out at an event in the city.

 

Pictured: Three of my students proudly showing off their handwriting skills at the end of the term.

 

Living outside of my community has been difficult. It has taken me longer to integrate into a community that I am only around during school hours, and trying to integrate into a city of 630,000 people is a very daunting task. When I first started living in the game reserve I felt like I was missing out on the "Real Peace Corps experience." But if you ever talk to two Peace Corps volunteers, you will quickly realize that no two experiences are the same.

I learned to integrate into the city by joining an athletics club, and rotary club. In the village, I started a running group for my students, and I integrated quickly as first being known at the "lekgowa" (white person) who runs through the village with her students, and then later as Mam (Miss) Katie.

Pictured: Myself, another Peace Corps Volunteer, and one of our friends after completing a race.

Pictured: My students running with me after school let out for the day.

 

Being split between a city and village has so many advantages. I have been able to be the bridge between the two, and have been able to identify the needs of the villages, and find the resources in the city. For example, from the rotary club, I was able to obtain ten new dictionaries for my students, which I never would have gotten if I was not living in the city.

Pictured: Two of my students using their brand new dictionaries.

 

Through my work in the city, I have been able to team up with my coworkers and run a girls' group at my school. My coworkers have been able to bring in speakers, food, and connections. All things I could have never done on my own. She also went above and beyond and planned a field trip for the girls' which was bigger and better than anything I could have imagined on my own.

Pictured: With my girls' group after leaving the mall. 



Thus far, I love my life here, and couldn't imagine being anywhere else. Right now, South Africa is home.