I know, I know. I promised a flood of blog posts, and its been almost a month since my last one. I am terrible. But, in my defense, I have been studying for the LSAT, which I took Saturday the 9th. I think I did well, and will receive the scores hopefully by month end.
I took the LSAT (the entrance test for law school) at Wits University in Jozi (Johannesburg), and it was such a different experience from when I took the test in 2007 in Southern California. In 2007, there were several hundred test takers spread out over at least three lecture halls. At Wits, there were ten of us in a massive lecture hall. The coolest part about the Wits test was the representation of Peace Corps. Of the ten test takers, five were PCV’s; one from Mozambique, one from Swaziland, myself, and two from Namibia. It was pretty cool to see everyone come down for the test.
As for law school, my first application (to the University of Illinois) is due by the end of this month. I have everything ready except the personal statement, which I am working on furiously. To all of you who are helping me edit it, I really appreciate it. Without all of you, I probably would have given up and set my career path for a future of living in a cardboard box under the I-294 overpass. Luckily that future doesn’t seem so likely anymore!
So! On the work front, My Home Based Care was nominated for the best project in the province . On Friday myself and several co-workers went to Nelspruit to a banquet dinner for all the nominees across the province (it was quite swanky). It involved a tortuous 7.5 hour (one way) bus ride because government officials were so disorganized, but a really great hotel! In the end we won out of the whole province! It was great to see my 4 co-workers dressed up in their finest (think prom dresses), and for them to be recognized for all their hard work was just great!
As for my girls club…it no longer exists. But! It has morphed into a co-ed youth group. Every Wednesday I teach a little class to about twenty OVC (Orphans and Vulnerable Children) youth. Recent classes have included a debate about gender roles (what is ok for men? Women? Both?), sexual reproduction (every time I draw a uterus it looks like a monster), and condom use (this was the best day. Ever.). I think things are going well.
I was thinking last night (when I should have been sleeping) about doing a “Take Back the Night” rally here in my village. Take Back the Night is about rape awareness, but it seems so important to do it here because of the fear people have (literally) of things that happen after dark. I will talk to my organisation tomorrow and see if it’s feasible.
Additionally, my supervisor was applied for a grant from the US Embassy here in South Africa several months back, and we were awarded US$20,000 to start a bakery! This is such great news not only for my org, but for our community. It will help with income generation, and will create bread that can be sold for less than current loaves that are imported from other towns. Even if they are only R2 less, this will help the impoverished people here.
Right now there are a lot of exciting things happening for my org, and I am excited and proud to be a part of it. In the near future there will be a bit of a shake-up as both myself and my supervisor will be leaving early next year, and I am honestly a tad nervous for the future, but I know that the ladies we leave behind will do an awesome job!
On a personal level, I am getting ready to head to Mozambique at the beginning of November. Myself, a few other volunteers, and some South African friends are going to do some diving. Mozambique is known for whale sharks, and giant manta rays, and I am hoping to see both! By early December I will have my COS (Close of Service) conference. I am almost done! I can barely believe that two years has literally flown by! At the beginning (and various bumps along the way), when the full two years stretched out in front of me, I didn’t think I would make it. And now, with less than 6 months to go, I am already sad at the prospect of leaving.
To date, my service has been filled with a lot of smiles and tears, but overall I think it has been worht it. At what cost to my personal sanity remains to be seen, but all in due time!
Cheers!
jesseosmun Said:
on 20/10/2010 at 19:40
I think a “Take Back The Night” idea would be a great thing to do, but given the deeply rooted taboo about being outside after dark, might be difficult. Hopefully you’ll win people over!