Questions South Africans ask about America.
1. How long did it take you to get to South Africa?
2. How much did plane tickets cost?
3. Do you eat pap in America?
4. Do you eat pap here?
5. Have you tried the mopani worms?
6. Have you ever seen a goat before moving to South Africa?
7. Is there much crime in America?
8. There’s no poverty in America, is there?
9. Do you support Barack Obama?
10. Are there rural areas like this in America?
11. Do you have your driver’s license?
12. What kind of driver’s license?
13. Do they speak Afrikaans in America?
All of my answers are met with great exclamation or hysterical laughter (the latter usually follows all food-related questions).
It’s an odd list, I know, but then, the average American probably has just as strange ideas about South Africa.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
The Yard Smells Like Cow Manure
Back during training, before I had internet access, my primary hobby was reading ahead in "Everyday Tsonga," one of our grammar manuals. In one of the later lessons, one of the vocabulary words was "ku sindza." This means, "to smear mudfloors with cowdung." I thought, "Uh huh. Okay, not going to learn that word."
I went on site visit. By the end I realized, "Hmm...these agricultural and cowdung-related terms might be useful after all."
Today, there was much sindza-ing at home. The yard, as perhaps you noticed in earlier pictures, is made of hard dirt. This is not the kind of thing you can allow to take care of itself. Every morning my sister sweeps the dirt off the dirt floor, and every once in a while it has to be re-paved. I missed much of the process since I was at work, but I gather that basically it involves taking cow manure and spreading it into a thin layer on the ground, then smoothing it out with a stone or other tool, and then letting the sun dry it out. Mainly I witnessed this last bit.
The process for a fairly large yard was completed in a day, thanks to the help of our neighbors. My mom, Masingita, has occasionally gone to help other friends in the neighborhood with the same process. It's a nice network, being able to rely on other members of the community to help you out when you need it, because they know you'll do the same for them.
I went on site visit. By the end I realized, "Hmm...these agricultural and cowdung-related terms might be useful after all."
Today, there was much sindza-ing at home. The yard, as perhaps you noticed in earlier pictures, is made of hard dirt. This is not the kind of thing you can allow to take care of itself. Every morning my sister sweeps the dirt off the dirt floor, and every once in a while it has to be re-paved. I missed much of the process since I was at work, but I gather that basically it involves taking cow manure and spreading it into a thin layer on the ground, then smoothing it out with a stone or other tool, and then letting the sun dry it out. Mainly I witnessed this last bit.
The process for a fairly large yard was completed in a day, thanks to the help of our neighbors. My mom, Masingita, has occasionally gone to help other friends in the neighborhood with the same process. It's a nice network, being able to rely on other members of the community to help you out when you need it, because they know you'll do the same for them.
Monday, September 1, 2008
New Blood
SA 18 just finished their site visits this weekend, and will be
swearing in as volunteers in about two weeks. About five of them are
slated to be in the Giyani area, three of them fairly near the town
and two of them further away, about halfway between Tzaneen and
Giyani. One couple, Pam and Dan, will actually be housed at Giyani
College, which is where my organization rents its office space.
swearing in as volunteers in about two weeks. About five of them are
slated to be in the Giyani area, three of them fairly near the town
and two of them further away, about halfway between Tzaneen and
Giyani. One couple, Pam and Dan, will actually be housed at Giyani
College, which is where my organization rents its office space.
I'm looking forward to having some fresh faces nearby, and wish them
the best of luck in their last few days of training. I hope that
they will come to love Giyani as much as I do.
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