Photo Reflection: Month 3 (June 2011)

My first birthday away from home. Number 28.
Alongside my cohort, Bots 10, at the overlook in Kanye.

Swearing In Day - 7 June 2011
The day every trainee looks forward to.
Officially a PCV.
Together with my Mafhikana ward posse.

In my first few weeks as a PCV, I got the opportunity
to meet US Ambassador to Botswana Michelle Gavin
at her home, where she hosted FLOTUS Michelle Obama. 

Meeting FLOTUS. What an inspiring woman.

Photo Reflection: Month 2 (May 2011)

My host family.
The strangers that became family and my home away from home.

Site Announcement - the moment I learned where I would call "home" for two years.
Kumakwane, the village that stole my heart.

Kesaobaka, my host brother, celebrating his birthday.
Before this day, he had never truly celebrated his birthday.
On this day, my host mother told me that I showed her how
you can make someone feel truly special, even if you don't
have much to give. This was the first time I knew the potential
we have as Peace Corps Volunteers to give back in simple ways.

Photo Reflection: Month 1 (April 2011)

The day before departure - this is what it looks like when
you pack your entire life into two bags totalling 80lbs and a carry on!
The most exciting, scary, and exhilarating day of my life.

Our first steps and our first moments in Botswana!
This was a moment that was a lifetime in the making.
Stepping foot on the land that would host the most memorable times of my life.

In Commemoration of 38 Months of Service

To commemorate my 38 months of Peace Corps service in Botswana, I am going to post a picture or two a day for each month of service until my Close of Service date on June 26th. That is when this journey will come to a close and the sun will set on my three years as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I think it's only fitting to look back and honor the ups and downs and everything that made my service so amazing. I hope you, my fellow followers, supporters, and friends, will enjoy recapping the awesomeness with me. We will begin reflecting tomorrow...

Ek trou! The Proposal Story

The words of Paulo Coelho could be the anthem to my fiancée and my love story. 

I travelled halfway around the world to meet him. To meet a man that only my heart knew existed. I say this because the draw to Africa, and to Botswana in particular, started long before my journey here. It had to be kismet. Once I met him, I knew. And I think he did too.

Then I had to search high and low throughout the city where we finally met in order to find him once more and to hear the words that would make the entire universe ours - "Will you marry me?"

No words needed to be spoken. Yes.

The story is a great one, though. Both the love story itself and the proposal. The latter is where this blog post takes us...

For months, my (then) boyfriend and our friends plotted the proposal. They met in secret to deliberate and to plan. It would be a scavenger hunt, with clues leading me to a number of significant places in our relationship. It was an activity my boyfriend and I had talked about doing for a long time. I wouldn't suspect a thing. It would be interactive, exciting, and utterly romantic - like a timeline of our nearly three years together. And it would be leading me to a spot where we would declare a lifetime more.

Travel along with me as I recount the tale of the most romantic and best thought out proposal ever told...

Clue One:

Hearing only a brief snippet of the song, I knew exactly where I was supposed to go. The week prior, my boyfriend and I had taken a lazy afternoon stroll to a park near his apartment complex. In the middle of the park was a large rocket ship installation and we had spent quite a bit of time around it, just talking about all the activities that could be done in the park and about how the city should utilize the space more. So I took off in the direction of the rocket and, sure enough, there was a clue attached just out of my short arm's reach inside the ship!

Clue Two:

What is a gourd? What is another word for a gourd? Where in the world could he be sending me?

With a little help from my friends, we deciphered the code! Before too long, we were jumping in the cars and headed to the Calabash, a local watering hole that was around the corner from his old house. Many a hot summer night was spent there, beer in hand with belly aches from laughing so hard. We often reminisce about our times at Calabash and smile. It was also a year of our relationship and probably the most pivotal time for us because it was then that we fell in love.





Clue Three: Following his directions, we uncovered clue number three...


It was fitting that he wanted me to drink a beer at Calabash before proceeding on to the next clue...

Inner city off-roading? We deliberated. There were very few places in Gaborone that would be considered "off-roading" and even fewer that are of any significance to us... bread and cheese? PIZZA! With that, we knew exactly where he was sending us... BULL AND BUSH!

Bull and Bush, or more lovingly referred to as B-N-B, is a restaurant and bar that we have spent a lot of time at over these last three years. It is where we used to go on weekends with our Irish friends and crew, where we play pub trivia, where we spent my 29th birthday, and where I ate a copious amount of margherita pizza! It absolutely had to be the place!

On our way to clue number four, the car-full of us girls danced and sang and rocked out. Cars pulling up next to us joined in the merriment, laughing and dancing from their vehicles. Even a duo of police officers smiled and waved and urged us on. Happiness was literally infiltrating the streets! It was beyond entertaining and one of the more fun car rides I have ever taken. Bless these ladies for making this drive (and the hunt) so ridiculously fun!

Clue Four:

We were right! The clue had led us to the right place! And after only a few seconds of confusion, I knew where the next clue was leading me... "Athos, Pathos, and Aramis" were cover for the three chiefs of Botswana and the Three Dikgosi Monument. But my main squeeze had more in store for us at BNB than merely finding the next clue...

He had arranged for pizzas to be waiting for us upon arrival - because who wants to go to the best pizza joint in town and not get to nom on some, right?! - and for a tray of "his and her" favorite shots. Yes, that means tequila (my favorite) and springboks (his favorite) were waiting on us. Wow. I later learned that he negotiated BNB to open two hours early for us specifically for this scavenger hunt. Talk about planning! It didn't take long for the group of us to eat two pizza and down the shots. And, with that, we were on our way to the monument!

Clue Five: "Are you Tija? ... Are you Tija? ..." "I'M TIJA!!!" The security guards at the monument had been waiting and were so excited when our car pulled up alongside the entrance gate! They were a part of something special and they knew it and were delighted to share in the joy of the hunt! Not gonna lie, I felt like a celebrity when I hopped out of the car and went bounding for the gate. Photo op with the fans?! But, really, it was exciting and I was full of energy.

The quest master, a friend of ours, gave me the "hint": "Endurance, like what you're going to need at the end of this..." And, with that, I knew where to go...

This monument means more to me than it does to my (now) fiancée and it significance is greater for me. He says he put it in to "throw me off" and "make me question what was happening" but it was fitting that he sent me here. For anyone that has been in the early stages of a relationship, there's a point where you wonder if you're compatible - can you sit in silence with the person, can you carry on a conversation with them, are you truly compatible? The first time he brought me here, I was wondering those things and had all those things proven to me. We had wandered to each element of the monument and been silent as we read the plaques, we had discussed them and their meanings, and we had been goofy and playful as we moved on. It meant something to me. And, having read each plaque with him, I knew exactly where "endurance" stood so I went running!

Clue Six: "The Ancient Westerosi King has a hospital named after him in Gabs"

This clue was harder. But there were only so many hospitals and clinics in Gaborone and only one that I knew had meaning to us... And this one was extremely special... BAYLOR. Get it, like Baelor Targaryen from Game of Thrones (his favorite series ever). That had to be it.

This is the site of the first time we met. Although we haven't spent a lot of time here since that day, it is probably one of the most precious places to me because this was the beginning of our love story.

The clue was nowhere to be found though... We looked around and couldn't find it... But then a breeze picked up and we heard something from the road behind us. There, having been swept away, was the clue!

Clue Seven (my lucky number): "Find the phytological stars amongst the green diamonds"

What in the world?! This dude is crazy with these clues!

We had to break it down... 

phytological... plants... Sanitas Nursery? 

but what about the green diamonds?... they are found in the Jwaneng mine... but that's three hours away... that doesn't make sense... hold on, whoa, wait a second, holy smokes... engagement! GET ME TO SANITAS!!!

Hint: "Find something unique to you at the nursery"... That could only mean sunflowers...

So I went searching... and searching... and searching...

After what felt like an eternity of scouring the nursery, I ventured to the Linnaeus Art Exhibition Area. And this is what happened next...

ENGAGED!!!!

I traveled the world and then scoured the city for our hearts to meet. And I would do it over again forever and ever for eternity.

August Winds

People talk a lot about how Peace Corps changes you as a person. It shapes and molds who you are and returns you to the world you once knew with new eyes. You give for a few years and you get so much more in return. For me, this experience has given me the world.

In August of 2011, just four months after arriving in Botswana, I went to volunteer for my first time with the HIV+ Teen Club at the Botswana-Baylor Children's Clinical Centre of Excellence, part of the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative (BIPAI) at Texas Children's Hospital. We were set to play ultimate frisbee and to discuss the importance of physical fitness for health. The winds delayed us and, in the end, forced us inside to put on short dramas and have small group discussions instead.

While waiting for the teens to assemble and everything to get sorted out for the change in schedule, I chatted with another volunteer - a cute boy who was also passing the time. Something caught my eye about him and I was instantly intrigued. I remember feeling awkward as I searched for words to say to this adorable stranger and I made him repeat himself many times while I struggled to understand his accent. We exchanged phone numbers as we were sent in opposite directions across the Centre to work with different groups. I wondered if I would hear from him.

Some hours later, after the day's activities finished, a friend (who was also volunteering that day) and I slowly meandered from the Centre towards the bus rank where we were meeting up with someone. As we reached the main road, we heard a man's voice shouting at us. It was that same cute boy who entertained me with quirky stories while we waited. He offered us a ride. He stayed with us all afternoon and we had drinks into the evening.

Our paths crossed again. At first only by coincidence but, in time, it became intentional.

My closest friends know that I was skeptical as we began hanging out more. I hadn't come to Botswana to meet anyone. In fact, I had come with my blinders up and with my eye firmly locked on my mission to serve. But we kept talking and kept growing closer together. I found myself getting giddy with each text message that cute boy would send and I succumbed to the permanent smile I had whenever he was around. Giving in to him taught me the true meaning of love. He showed me that "love" is also a verb. He made me a believer in all the love stories long told. And we hadn't even kissed yet.

But then one day he held my hand. Before I knew it, he held my heart.

...And, as of a few days ago, he will be holding it forever...

There was no way of knowing that the August winds that fateful day were blowing me exactly where I belonged... into the arms of that cute boy.

Global Youth Service Day

This week marks the 2014 Global Youth Service Day (GYSD), which celebrates and mobilizes the millions of young people who improve their communities each day of the year through service. This special day is celebrated each year in more than 135 countries, with young people working together - alongside schools, youth organizations, civil society organizations, government agencies, national service programs, and more - to address the world's most critical issues and change their communities. Established in 1988, Global Youth Service Day is the largest service event in the world, and the only day of service dedicated to children and youth. While this day has always been near to my heart, it is extra special this year because I am actively participating in it.

Yesterday I was contacted by a press officer from Peace Corps Headquarters inviting me to be teleconferenced in to the Global Youth Service Day Conference being held in Washington DC. Two other PCVs and I will be broadcast live to the National Mall to talk about our service and do a Q&A for viewers. We will represent the 7,209 currently serving Peace Corps and, hopefully, inspire youth to continue giving back to this interconnected global community.  Wow.

I feel very honored and extremely humbled to have been asked and a little bit intimidated by the task. But I am up to the challenge. I am inspired every day by the work we are doing abroad and I believe in the capacity we each have to help. I  have seen the impact in Botswana. This is my chance to share it with a much larger group at home. How very exciting!

If you want to learn more about GYSD, please check out their website at http://www.gysd.org/ and if you're in the Washington DC area on Friday and see my face up on the screen, send me a wave!

Reconnecting in the Motherland: A Mother and Daughter's Story

I have been asked countless times what was the best part of my mom's trip to Southern Africa. Of course, having road tripped thousands of kilometers to visit three countries has a lot of perks to it. We got to spend time at my boyfriend's family's farm; bask in Mozambican sun; snorkel at the mouth of the Indian Ocean; see lions, cheetahs, and wild dogs; get caught up in a glorious African thunderstorm; and explore the history of South Africa. We ate delicious food and drank jugs of wine. There were so many things to share and stories to tell about my mom's trip here. But, when I took the time to really think about what made her trip so special, I have to admit that it was a very simple answer: the quality time we got to spend together, reconnecting.

Despite talking over instant messenger or email almost every day, living 8,000 miles away from my mom has been one of the harder things about living abroad. We are incredibly close - even having lived together in adulthood (which is totally different, fyi) - and that type of connection is hard to facilitate over the internet. Typing fatigue is real, as are time differences and bad internet. And, honestly, sometimes you just want a great big hug from your mama! So the time we were able to spend just talking, laughing, and getting to really truly catch up was amazing beyond words. You forget sometimes, when you get overcome by your own life, how important that is. Her trip was a reminder and it made me feel whole again.

Reconnecting like that was also important because it brought me back to the core of who I am. It connected the changes in me with the beauty of my past. It brought my lives together, sewing them up, and giving me confidence in ways I cannot fully explain. The last time my mom came, it felt validating, like the whole Peace Corps experience was real and I hadn't imagined it. This time, it was that who I have become is real. That was a very powerful thing to realize.

When asked what the best part of my recent travels around Southern Africa was, I have to say "my mom". But the rest of the adventures weren't half bad either...

Cheers to grand adventures with great people!

RIP Ashley

Today I received news that my friend and colleague, both from my previous employment in America and also here in Southern Africa, has passed away.

I am saddened and startled to hear that she is no longer with us. I talked to her not long ago about her upcoming COS (she was set to finish her service in the next few days) and about her future plans. We commiserated about service and laughed about all we had overcome. And now she is gone.

I will always have fond memories of her teaching me to play Risk over coffees at Indaba on cold winter lunch breaks in Washington and of the moment we learned that each of us was applying to Peace Corps. And again when we found out we would be neighbors abroad. And once more when we both planned trips to Thailand only a few days apart. Our lives were intertwined and I am so grateful they were because my life was enriched by having her in it. She will be deeply and forever missed.

Rest in Peace Ashley...

Perplexing Botswana Observation #987

There are many things that, even after 1,075 days in Botswana, continue to confound me. For instance, in a country where sunshine prevails approximately 360 days per year, why not turn to solar power to charge the nation?

While this thought has perplexed me for some time, it is at the forefront of my mind these days because the entire country has been without electricity for nearly a week now. Yes, that's right, in darkness.

Why? you might ask. Because Botswana imports its power from South Africa.

South Africa has its own supply issues and has been clamoring to Botswana to address its own needs because they would need to cut back on delivery in favor of addressing its own needs. In other words, get your act together Botswana because we can't provide you power forever.

So, when the darkness came, it wasn't a surprise. We knew power would become more and more scarce and we expected load shedding to become commonplace. But when the power didn't come back for twelve hours and then twenty-four and then longer, we knew something else must have been the problem.

Rumors started circulating but one always sprang to the top: someone at the power plant in South Africa left the coal out in the rain so they can't use it until it dries up.

WHAT?!

Africa is a funny place. It makes me smile that something as simple as "the coal was left out" is reason for an entire nation to be without power. Indefinitely. And few are crying out about it. It is a much simpler place here in Botswana.

I laughed a little and then gathered my things and came to my boyfriend's apartment because he is one of the lucky few (very few) that has a generator. Which is how I am typing this post to you now. Oh life. TIA.