PCSA Journal Excerpts - Staging, Flight, Mankwe - July 2007

In the coming weeks and months, I will be going back into my journals from my time as a Peace Corps volunteer in South Africa.

I decided to post excerpts from my journal intermittently as this process goes on.

I hope you'll enjoy.

Staging, the Flight, and Mankwe - July 2007

"The best part of the past few days - as it should be and as is expected, is the people.  Just stunning how together everyone is, on a mental plane, I guess to some extent a spiritual plane, and now, on an actual plane."

"My friend Tom Barker has stood out for me in particular.  He has been my roommate, and he has been incredibly open and considerate, not to mention hysterical.  He has an endearing ability to mix up or forget names of people or places.  CVS has become CVC, Rite-Aid has become Rite Stuff, and Carrie Underwood has become Carrie Underpants.  It's wonderful."

[caption id="attachment_1659" align="aligncenter" width="540" caption="The Good Doctor, Tom Barker"][/caption]

"The stewardess on this flight is a beautiful dark haired German girl - or at least I assume she's German.  She has those very identifiable "piercing" eyes.  I haven't spoken to her yet though.  She'll be coming down shortly with drinks.  Oh - here's the flight attendant now.  She has nice hands I can see."

"There was an attempted Toga Party tonite that didn't really get off the ground, but I still wore my sleeping bag and danced for a spit.  Me, Ben Barr-Wilson, and Craig also had a mini spur of the moment dance party with Craig's hand cranked short wave radio.  Don't know what it was, but we danced to it."

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="540" caption="Short Wave DJ"][/caption]

"I talked to one of our South African LCFs (Language and Culture Facilitator) today about Afrikaans as a language, and the protests that took place in the 70s over it being forced as the main language of instruction.  Mama Cecilia said they were protesting against Afrikaans being used as the means to teach content subjects like science, math and history.  The black South Africans believed it would hold them back from the rest of the world even more because no one spoke Afrikaans outside of South Africa and parts of Namibia.  She said they didn't have anything against the language itself though, which, incidentally is the language group she is teaching.  Oh, she also said she wanted to spank me for not being in her language group.  I told her she knew I wouldn't be in her group because I wasn't part of the Education program.  She said she wanted to spank me anyway.  Just for fun."

[caption id="attachment_1657" align="aligncenter" width="540" caption="Mama Cecilia - I can't believe this is the only photo I have of her..."][/caption]

More excerpts to come in the near future...

-JoeySee