Mid PST

Dumelang!

The past 6 weeks have been amazing in South Africa. Although it has been very difficult to adjust with new families and communities, each week is a different learning experience. So far there has been lots of language learning and that in itself has been super difficult but surprisingly enough, I’m catching on a lot quicker than what I ever thought I would. You never realize how effective 5 weeks of language intensive learning is until you’re there and you’re speaking a language that before coming never knew existed. We have 3 weeks to go until our final language proficiency test! Along with language, cross cultural training has been a main focus which will be important when trying to implement projects and integrating into our permanent communities. It’s always good to understand the culture that you are surrounded by for various reasons.

It’s been very interesting learning about the South African cultures. There’s so much diversity and each culture has their own individual structures and beliefs. Currently I am learning about the Sepedi culture/language but, most cultures here are revolved around the family and very community oriented. I sometimes relate this to the Samoan culture that I grew up in. The way that they treat their families, visitors, and how rooted they are to their culture resonates with me more than I expected. This makes it a little easier to feel at home while in a vulnerable environment. Honestly, I sometimes forget that I’m in SA because I do feel so at home and the community I’m in has welcomed me with such open arms.

Recently, we have had practicums in which we have practiced different activities to educate young men and women about different life skills. For once during this period of time I felt like I was in SA for a reason. It has been really hard to sit through dozens of sessions through the week and still feel like I’m here to do a job. With that being said, I am excited to see how I’ll be able to help the community I’m in to fit their needs.

On the flip side of that, coming out of sessions and going back to my host family is always very relieving. Most days I have many kids waiting for me who want to teach me the language as well as learn English. The youth in this country are so smart and very open to new people and things. It has been a pleasure to teach them things that they may have never known.

We have 5 weeks left! (: