You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em

For the last 2 weeks, I've been trying to write a blog update.  Clearly, I've been unsuccessful.

Namibia's been tugging at my heart strings, hard.  And consistently. 

I've already expressed that I feel  so good about the coming 8-9 months that it almost makes 2010 seem like wasted time.  I know that without 2010, 2011 wouldn't hold so much promise, but somehow I wish I could turn back the clock, do some things differently...  but you know, hindsight's kind of a bitch.

The PVCs who'd been here a while when we arrived in country kept telling us that year 2 would be better then year 1. My goodness, they were right.

This year I'm focusing on tolerance, patience, understanding, and positivity.  Gone (I hope) are the days of wondering WTF I'm doing here, of cultural intolerance and impatience.  Part of all this is knowing how to pick my battles.  Sometimes, the better option is to smile, nod, and walk away.

I received some news yesterday that put a bit of a damper on my obnoxiously optimistic moods... but even this morning, riding to school, I found myself with a stupid, shit-eating grin on my face.  I hadn't been to school in a week, and I was happy to see most of my colleagues again and get back down to work.  Even kids from other schools greet me by name in the morning now, and I still get great joy from shocking people (in a good way) just by greeting them in the morning.

2 things in particular made me smile today.  I made a turn at Yolande's (the secretary) house after school today.  I forget what we were even talking about, but I made the comment that I'm only white because that's what color my skin is. She replied that I'm blacker than lots of people she knows. Even writing about it makes me smirk.

Most of the shops here have security guards at the entrance/exit that check your receipt on the way out.  If I only buy a couple items, I usually just put them in my purse instead of taking a plastic bag.  Today I bought 3 cans of cat food, and stowed them in my bag.  I handed the receipt to the guard, who couldn't work out why I had a receipt but no bags.  He's not the first to be baffled by this, but he went so far as to call over the other guard to help him figure it out. He, in fact, reacted as if I had too MANY items, not too few.  In the end, it was too much for him to work out, and he sent me out of the shop (I did then show him that my items were in my bag).

Last week I was at GTOT (General Training of Trainers), the week-long workshop required for anyone participating as staff or Resource PCV at PST (Pre-Service Training) for incoming groups.  It was a great week.  I hope to write a little more about it soon.

 I'm starting to plan out my secondary projects for the coming year.  Computer classes and adult basic literacy classes are on the top of the list.

Lately, I've been traveling alot, so I've had the opportunity to talk with a diverse cross-section of people while hiking.  However awkward, upsetting, pleasant, compelling, or interesting the conversations are, I always come away with something I didn't know before.  I had particularly interesting conversation with a South African this past Sunday, which I hope to write about in more detail soon. 

I'll close with a quote from an episode of This American Life that I watched earlier, that struck close to home:


Everybody hears what is easier for them to believe.

Thanks for reading!