Victoria Falls Marathon

Four hours, 13 minutes after I passed through the starting gate, I crossed the finish line at the Victoria Falls Marathon. It was the second time in my life that I completed one. The first marathon was in Baltimore in 2008. Seven years later, I was able to do it again.

If you would have asked me if I wanted to run another marathon when I finished running the one in Baltimore, I would have quickly answered “no”. As time has passed, though, my answer softened and even turned positive. I had thought about doing another marathon, and I even signed up for one. Unfortunately, though, I wasn’t able to train enough and had to settle for a half-marathon (nothing to scoff at, I know, but still short of my goal). The desire to run another marathon was still within me.

Halfway through the Race and Feeling Good!

After I got settled into my permanent site, I started looking around to see what kinds of races took place. I was surprised to see there were a lot! It seemed like each province held its own set of races. As I browsed the list, I thought to myself, “It would be pretty cool to run a marathon while I’m a Peace Corps Volunteer.” With that, I made up my mind; I would run one while I was in South Africa.

While looking at the marathons listed online, I noticed that most of them took place while school was in session (granted on the weekends, but I would need to account for traveling to and from the race). The ones that didn’t were ultra-marathons and I would first need to qualify for one of them by running a regular marathon first. But then I noticed that there was a marathon listed for Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. I clicked the link and was delighted to see that it took place during my June-July break from school. Perfect!

It was about December when I decided the Vic Falls Marathon was the race for me, which meant I had about six months to train. I had a good base already, so I had to focus my efforts on building up the distance. To read more about what I learned about training for a marathon while living in a rural village, click here.

Fast-forward to the weekend of the marathon… Michelle and I found a nice travel package through Wild Frontiers that included accommodations, shuttles, meals, a sunset river cruise, and marathon after-party. I’ll save descriptions of the cruise and after-party for another post. Suffice it say for now that it was a fun and eventful weekend on top of the running the marathon.

The Race Technical Tee

On the morning of the marathon, I was nervous with anticipation and excited to run the race. I hoped I had had enough training. I knew there were going to be hills on the course, and, since my village is as flat as a pancake, I wasn’t sure how I would fare. I was also nervous that I wouldn’t be able to finish. What if I got too tired, or injured, or passed out? I was excited to run the course because I knew it would go over the bridge that crosses the Zambezi River providing a great view of the Falls.

Catching the Sunrise over Victoria Falls as I Crossed the Bridge

A couple of minutes before the race started, Michelle took my picture and wished me good luck. I then walked over to a friend I made while I was there, Alan, who had flown in from Kentucky to run the marathon to wish him good luck. And then the countdown began…

Three… two… one… Start! I was running! The first couple of miles were slow-going because the course was congested with runners. I had to remind myself to take it slow. The last time I ran a marathon, I started too quickly and I hit “the wall” around Mile 18, leaving eight more miles of what felt like torture to go. By the time I got to the bridge, a nice spread was starting to grow between runners and I felt more at ease.

Pre-Race Pic

I carried my phone with me so I could take photos along the way. Alan saw me trying to take a picture of myself while I was on the bridge and he kindly offered to take it for me. I continued over the bridge to the gate that stands between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The gate was closed for the race, but that didn’t get in the way of dozens of Zambians who were there to cheer on the runners. I turned around at the gate and continued back toward the bridge. The scene at the Victoria Falls was stunning because the sun was starting to rise. Running the marathon also enabled me to see the Falls from another vantage point, which was really cool.

Running Over the Bridge with Victoria Falls in the Background

Once over the bridge, the course turned into the Zambezi National Park where I saw lots of elephant dung and Park Service Rangers on the lookout for wildlife. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any elephants. However, the runners in the half-marathon did. In fact, they had to re-route because the elephant didn’t want to get off the course!

Along the way, I saw a few groups of local kids. They were all smiles as runners passed them. At one point, I heard a kid counting the runners as they passed. I was #124 according to his count. Too bad there were only about 300 runners registered for the marathon; otherwise, that would have been pretty impressive!

Running through and then out of the national park showed to be quite the task because it required climbing uphill for several miles. When I got to the top, I felt worried because I knew I would have to do it again (the course looped twice through the national park). The course then worked through a residential neighborhood before the second loop began. Shortly before the loop, I spotted Michelle standing alongside the road ready to hand off some Energade gummies and a bottle of water. I ended up not needing the water bottle because the course was well-stocked with water, orange slices, bananas, and juice. (I was surprised not to see Coca Cola because I had heard that that was a thing at African races.)

Joe with His New Friend Alan After the Race

Running down the hill toward the entrance into the national park, I felt my thighs start to burn. It was a sign I wasn’t happy to see. I kept on running and hoped for the best. As I made my way through the park, I started to climb again, which my thighs definitely did not like. It was at that point I made the decision to alternate running when I could and walking when I needed it. As I neared the park exit, I spotted Alan in front of me waiting to check in with me.

(As it turned out, Alan and I were hoping to run about the same pace, so we saw each other a lot throughout the race. When that happened, we checked in with each other and offered words of encouragement. Near the end of the race, I was extremely grateful Alan was there because he helped me keep my mind off the pain emanating from my thighs.)

Alan looked down at his watch and then back up at me and said, “Well, it looks like we’re going to miss the 4-hour mark. How do you feel about running together and taking it easy toward the finish line?” I was more than happy to welcome that suggestion because I knew I would fare better if I had company as I finished the race.

The finish line was at one of the primary schools outside Victoria Falls proper. The closer I got to the school, the more people I could see and the more excited I became about finishing the race. I turned onto the school grounds and I could hear Michelle’s voice/cheer. It was at that point that I felt tears welling up behind my eyes. I felt elated to have finished the race (or what I thought was the finish). I trained for months and now all of that work was coming to fruition.

Nearly There! (You can spot Joe in the center of the photo.)

The further I got into the school compound, though, the more I realized the course kept going. It was then that I heard Michelle tell me that I needed to run a lap around the compound. What?! According to Alan’s watch, we were already at 26.2 miles! Well, I kept running and could feel my head buzzing with the excitement of having run the race. Within a few meters of the finish line, I turned to Alan and grabbed his hand. “Thank you!” I exclaimed. I turned back in time for the photographer to take a picture of my bib number and then I crossed the finish line (at 26.6 miles to be exact).

Woohoo! I made it!

Post-Race Pic

Post-Marathon Thoughts
I’m stoked that I was able to run the Victoria Falls Marathon. It was a great race with lots of support from the organizers. I totally recommend it to anyone who’s looking to run internationally. In addition to the marathon, there is a lot do with safaris and water sports; not to mention that Zambia and Botswana are right there with their own attractions.

I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Alan again for all of his support throughout the race. You were a lifesaver! Thank you also to my friend Greg, one of my running buddies from Baltimore, for the advice about running in hot temperatures. Thank you to Nic, a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer, for the words of encouragement throughout my training. Thank you to my family (Kowalczyk and Harper both) for your excitement. I carried you with me as I ran. Last, but certainly not least, thank you to my loving wife and partner for being the lead on my race team and for cheering me on when I started running at 5:00am every Saturday morning during training.

Now, I have a new fun fact: I have completed two marathons in two countries on two continents. :)

Joe’s 12-Month Reflection

On 3 July, Michelle and I celebrated our first year living in South Africa. It was a big milestone. Interestingly, we were with several other Peace Corps Volunteers that day preparing to host workshops for the next group of incoming education volunteers. Thinking about their arrival got me thinking about the experiences I have had since I arrived one year ago. A few reflections surfaced.

Normalcy
In quick succession, I moved away from Tacoma, took a road across the US to visit family and friends before departing for South Africa, met the other volunteers with whom I would spend the next two years fulfilling Peace Corps’ mission, flew across the Atlantic, spent two months training and living with my first host family, moved to my permanent site, formed relationships with colleagues at my school and my new host family, and taught two academic terms. Phew!

A Panorama of Our Training Village

For most of that time, I was met with newness, difference, novelty, and change. It was exciting and exhausting. And for most of that time, I felt like a visitor; someone who was here only temporarily. In the back of my mind sat the reality that I was only going to be here for a short while. At first, I found this thought energizing because it gave each day a sense of urgency – to make a difference, to teach a learner, to talk with a teacher or villager or member of my host family—to do something. What I found, though, is that this elevated level of determination left me feeling fatigued.

Sometime during the second academic term, I started to relax and sought to make a difference where I could but also allowed myself the grace to be okay with not necessarily doing anything. Figuring out how to do that isn’t easy for me and it’s something I’m constantly working on.

Another observation I noticed during the second academic term was that the conversations I was having with my colleagues at school were changing. They were becoming deeper. When I first arrived, the teachers were friendly, warm, and welcoming. Now, they were talking with me about bigger life issues: how they saw teaching making a difference in the lives of learners, family concerns, and life passions. It was a profound feeling because it made me feel like I belonged. I was no longer an outsider, but South Africa was now my home.

With this feeling of home, my life started to feel normal. I knew what to expect out of each day. I knew where to buy groceries. I felt closer to my host family and I was making friends. I felt comfortable.

Detached Investment
I mentioned above that I felt a sense of urgency. This feeling presented itself mostly at my school where I felt like I needed to get projects rolling (and completed). One of the most common mistakes committed by Peace Corps Volunteers is working on projects independently. This mistake hurts the long-term impact of a volunteer’s presence because it’s not sustainable. The host country nationals (the people whom a volunteer is here to serve) don’t learn anything about the project and worse still is that the HCNs normally don’t feel connected to the project. (Michelle talks about this in her 12-month reflection.)

   

Eating Breakfast during One of My First Days at My Permanent Site

Fortunately, I recognized the feeling and didn’t indulge the impulse. Instead, I tried planting seeds within my colleagues and regularly revisited conversations with them about goals we were trying to accomplish. This change in behavior was trying for me because with it came frustration, impatience, and, to some degree, hopelessness. I had to remind myself that these weren’t MY projects but OUR projects and, even further, to keep from being the lead. I started thinking about my approach as a “detached investment”. While I would invest myself into whatever projects the principal, teachers, and I thought were the most important, I would remind myself that the principal and teachers needed to be the main drivers and I filled the role of the supporter.

I did a pretty good job at not taking charge of projects when I first arrived at my school, but it was becoming increasingly more difficult because I was being asked to do more things by my principal and fellow teachers. I felt like I/we were losing sight about why I was here.

To help navigate these situations, I started asking myself, “How does this connect to the reasons I’m here?” It helped to ask my colleagues as well. I’m still working on this with them, but I have noticed that it’s causing them to be more reflective and cognizant about the finite amount of time I’m here.

Over the Hump
With one year in, I feel like I’m over the hump – I feel like I can do this. This assuredness wavered back in January because it was a particularly tough month. Several volunteers, some of whom were close to me, left South Africa to go home. It made me question whether I would be able to serve the full 27 months because what would I do if things got too tough? There was a part of me that wished I didn’t know quitting was an option because it would mean that I would have to face “the difficulty”.

Six months later, I feel more confident about finishing my service, and at this point unless something absolutely horrendous happens to either Michelle or me, I don’t see any reason why I would go home early.

Friends - What a Great Support Network!

A Time to Reinvest
While I’m glad that I now feel comfortable in my new home, I know now is the time to reinvest myself. I still plan to practice balancing urgency with self-grace, but I also plan to deepen relationships with my host family, colleagues at school, and friends in the community. I plan to dig deeper into the culture and I’m going to do so by trying to speak more isiZulu in my everyday interactions. I’m also going to try not to fill my schedule too full because I want there to be space for the unexpected things that will help make my time here memorable.

How to Train for a Marathon (When You Live in a Rural, South African Village)

The following are a few tips about training for a marathon when one lives in a rural South African village (as is often the case for Peace Corps Volunteers).*

Safety
PCVs receive useful training about how to be safe and to mitigate risks during their term of service. Apply these skills even while you’re running. Know your surroundings. Get to know people along your routes so that you build a safety network. Make sure someone knows where you’re going and how long you plan to be gone. Maintain respect for the culture by staying modestly dressed (e.g. keep your shirt on even when it’s tempting to cool down without one). Pay attention to the time the sun sets (you don’t want to get caught running in the dark).

Set Goals
Forty-two point two kilometers (or 26.2 miles for those not on the metric system) is a long, and potentially daunting, distance. Set smaller goals that feed into the larger goal of completing a marathon. For example, run a 5k (3.1 miles), 10k (6.2 miles), 21.1k (13.1 miles/half-marathon), or 30k (18.6 miles). If possible, try running races with these distances (see here for a listing or ask around). They’ll get you running with other people and get you in the race mindset.

Building and Maintaining a Base
It took me a long time to build up to 42.2k, and I noticed that my body went through some changes as it happened. Pushing too hard too soon could result in injuries. You’ll also need to get used to running 3-4 days per week. Ease into running longer distances. If you’re feeling pressured to up the distance because you want to do a particular race, consider waiting until the following year or running a different one.

My Running Log

Running Groups
Ask around your village to see if there is an established running group. NedBank keeps a listing of all of the running groups in South Africa (click here for the list). You could also check with the local hospital or clinic. I also created a WhatsApp group called Running South Africa to connect with other PCVs who like to run. (Let me know if you'd like to join!) Running groups are great for motivation, support, and accountability. If a running group doesn’t exist, start one! It could be a great secondary project.

Nutrition
If you’re like me, your diet changes when you become a PCV. It can be due to a number of differing factors: access to meat and produce, ability to refrigerate, and how you choose to spend your Peace Corps living allowance. Despite these factors, proper nutrition is key to supply your body with the energy it needs to run and to recover after the run. Look around your village to see what foods are available. While the grocery store might not have energy gels, it may have bread, peanut butter, bananas, and milk; all great items to fuel a run and eat after you’re done.

Enjoying a Breakfast Taco after a Long, Morning Run

Heat
Many PCVs in South Africa live in areas that get really hot (above 25° C (or 80° F)). My ideal running temperature is 10°C (or 50°F). Fifteen degrees is a big jump! If you find yourself in this situation, run slower and increase your fluid intake. I carry a water bottle with me and I keep some money in my pocket in case I need to buy something to drink.

Vary Your Workout
“Hills are like vegetables. You may not like them, but they’re good for you.” This is a mantra I recite to myself whenever I’m doing a hill workout. The same goes for speed workouts too. It’s tempting to run the same route over and over again. However, your body will get used to it and you’ll plateau. Running hills and doing speed workouts will prepare your body for the different route conditions it might face on race day. They’ll help with building strength, recovery, and rounding out your physical condition. If you find that you live in a flat area like me, squats make for an adequate substitute to hills.

Boredom
Separate from varying your workouts with short runs, long runs, hills, and speed workouts, vary your routes as well. Running the same path repeatedly can become monotonous and, thus, de-motivating. Changing your route keeps your mind awake and alert, and the change also means your body has to work a little differently. Running with a group helps with boredom, but, if that’s not an option, running with music can help too. Just be careful to not listen to music too loudly because you want to be able to hear oncoming traffic, as well as be able to shout “hello” back to villagers when they greet you as you run by.

Keep Routes Interesting!

Grass Mat
When I first moved into my house, I thought it made for nice decoration. Much to my delight, the mat doubles excellently as a quasi-yoga mat. I use it while I stretch, work on my core, and cool down. I love my grass mat!

Listen to Your Body
You know your body best. While others may be able to give advice about what to do about various aches and pains, you’re going to be the first person to discover when something isn’t going well. Pay attention to how you feel both during your run and after and make adjustments as needed. Likewise, if you feel like you can run a little farther or a little faster, go for it – see what you can do.

Be Kind to Yourself
Part of the adjustment to living in the village includes fetching water, washing clothes by hand, and various other chores that take a considerable amount of time and energy. It’s important to be excited about running instead of feeling likes it’s another thing to do on your checklist. If you feel tired from working on your primary project or from carrying groceries back from your shopping town, show yourself grace by taking a break and storing energy for a run later in the day or perhaps the next day.


We Want to Hear from You!
What tips do you have for running? What has worked for you? What hasn’t worked for you? What are your favorite foods to eat while you’re running? Please share in the comments below!


*Please note: I am amateur runner. The above tips are based on my personal experiences and should be taken with a high level of discretion.

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Running Resources

Runner’s World: good for advice and news about running

Runners' Guide: list of races throughout South Africa and neighboring countries

NedBank Running Club: list of running clubs throughout South Africa

Coach to 5k: programs to get started running

Trail Running: good for advice and news about trail running

Community Assets (Part 2): The Strength of Our Community

[Note: The context for why highlighting my community’s assets is so important to me was provided in a previous post. You can visit that post by clicking here.]

Many times when we as PCVs talk about our host communities in the Peace Corps, we share about the community’s challenges and deficits. Every community faces challenges. We are missing the real beauty if this is the only story we tell. Today, I want to brag on just a few of the great things that my community has going for it. This will be a bit difficult as we cannot name the organizations specifically (as Peace Corps discourages us from posting information that suggests our specific location), but I hope this hindrance isn’t too much of a distraction.

Educational Attainment and Support

The winners of one of our many educational competitions hosted by these organizations.

There is a local foundation that provides support for students in understanding the college application process. They also host awards banquets to honour high-achieving students and best-performing high schools. There is a district-sponsored center for educational resources, including educator training and a small library. A few local schools host adult programs at night for those who have not yet finished high school. Our host siblings just graduated from a local computer skills course that will set them apart from many of their peers, who have likely never had access to a computer. We also have a public library within a 45-minute walk.

Public Hospital and Clinics
The hospital provides healthcare to the community, including surgery, circumcision, HIV/AIDS treatment, childbirth, to more routine illnesses, like the flu. The hospital works in collaboration with both a local clinic and a mobile clinic to deliver services that are more accessible to the community. On certain occasions, they also come into the school to provide education and vaccinations.

The hospital serves as a major employer for the area, providing a steady wage to many families. More of our learners are likely to know a doctor or nurse personally than most youth in other rural communities in KZN. Therefore, a larger number of them aspire to be health practitioners when they grow up. It gives them hope and makes this field feel more accessible. The hospital also provides a place for building community gathering and organizing. For example, there is a hospital choir, workers’ union, and a variety of social groups that stem from hospital employees.

HIV/AIDS Nonprofit Organizations
Our community has a handful of different organizations that support the prevention and treatment of HIV and AIDS in our community. Many of these collaborate with the local clinics and hospital to augment their programs and increase their outreach.

Environmental Conservation and Awareness

The organizations encourage and train schools to plant gardens. The produce is used in school lunches and sold to raise school funds.

This organization does great work in managing recreational and conservation activities in our local natural areas. It also provides incentives, guidelines, and curricular connections for local teachers to improve the environmental education provided in the schools. They have sent representatives to our school events on multiple occasions to talk about topics, such as: the impact of poaching on the rhino population and the impact of gum trees on water access. Finally, they host annual volunteer days to engage the students more actively in conservation and clean up work.

Community Training and Skills Development
This organization provides everything from water sanitation support and education in local schools to small business development and ownership courses for the community. They have started a new program for unemployed young adults that teaches them basic job skills and assists them to identify and work towards their goals.

Thriving Churches
I cannot remember how many times I’ve heard an educator talk about attending a church conference, a women’s group, or prayer meeting. Our local churches provide a network of support and belonging. Many also host workshops where locals can learn new skills to advance their personal and professional goals. For example, Joe's school is partnering with a local church to host an intern. The intern assists with administrative tasks at the school and gains real-world experience to augment her resume.

A Strong Tourism Industry
We are blessed to live in a place where the natural environment is just as beautiful as its people. Tourists come from all over the globe to visit our little corner of South Africa. This continuous flow boosts our local economy and provides jobs for local tour guides, lodge owners, service industry folks, and artisans.

A Strong Connection to Family, Even Extended Family

Our extended family!

This may be less of a tangible “resource” and more of a cultural asset. We have also highlighted this value in previous blog posts (here and here). However, this is such a strong safety net and support in our community that I would be remiss not to mention it here.

And many more…
This list is inherently incomplete because it would be impossible to highlight all of our wonderful assets in one short list. The message I hope to send to the world is this:

Our community is profoundly beautiful and is filled with strong, passionate individuals who want to build a better future. I am regularly inspired and humbles by the dedication and sense of communal responsibility that I witness in my village. 

Thank you for letting me share this with you.
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We'd love to hear from you!
As we share more about our life and host community, what questions would you like us to answer for you? What would you like us to write more about?

Community Assets (Part 1): Peace Corps Approach to Service

[Note: This reflection provides context for why highlighting my community’s assets is so important to me. If you want to jump straight to the list and benefits, click here.]

When I was first applying to Peace Corps, I will admit that I was a bit nervous about how I would “fit,” philosophically, with the organization. This hesitance came from two sources:

1. My work within the university service-learning field has given me a more critical lens of volunteerism. I have a better understanding of the values I hold (and conversely, do not hold) when it comes to approaching this work. Specifically, I want to volunteer with organizations that seek to understand community desires AND existing assets. I value a servant-leadership approach to service. I especially want to work with an organization that challenges all of its volunteers to reflect on their personal biases related to the community and actively seek to move from “us versus them” thinking towards a more community-focused approach.
2. My long-time obsession with the Peace Corps led me to devour as much information as I possibly could about the organization. I sought out as many varying viewpoints as I could, including some pretty harsh criticisms. I knew that the original philosophy of the Peace Corps was very volunteer-centered. Meaning, the volunteer came in with his/her own skills. The volunteer decided the community’s needs. The volunteer designed his/her projects and was the driving force behind their implementation. The community was in the back seat or left behind. [For a sample of this philosophy in action, simply rent the Tom Hanks comedy “Volunteers.” This movie makes me angry. The community didn’t even WANT the stinkin’ bridge!] ...This approach was highly criticized and I knew (from my aforementioned veracious reading on the topic) that the Peace Corps had shifted its philosophy a few times over. But, what would this look like in actuality? I wasn’t sure.

Photo Credit: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91BYyqon3GL._SL1500_.jpg

The [Current] Peace Corps Approach to Service

“The Peace Corps describes development in human, people-to-people terms—helping people develop capacity to improve their own lives… A capacity-building approach focuses on empowering local people to be their own decision-makers and develop the skills to carry out those decisions and improve their lives…Thus, information gathering begins by acknowledging what is working at the present time, what resources are already available in the community and what assets are present for creating change.” 
(Peace Corps OPATS, 2005). 

This new approach is aligned with the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) model, which is a model I was inspired by in my former role. I believe that ABCD is essential for sustainable, motivational community change and am excited to explore this model further in my service with the Peace Corps.

The Danger of a Single Story (or…Why is this model so important for service work?)

All of us receive a constant stream of narratives about the deficits (poverty, unemployment) within the many disenfranchised communities in our world. This becomes the “single story” of the place and the people within it, which leads to a sense of “otherness” from dominant society and is used to justify indifference and discrimination. But, there is never a single story and to be content with this narrative is harmful and divisive, as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi explains in her TED Talk, The Danger of a Single Story.


With this context, Joe and I made the decision to be more explicit about the many assets of our community. The purpose of this blog is to provide a window into our service/community. It would be a disservice to our readers if we neglect to highlight the elements that make our community strong. In Part 2 of Community Assets, you will read more about the specific assets of our host community. Stay tuned!

Reference:
Peace Corps OPATS. (2005). PACA: Using Participatory Analysis for Community Action. Washington, DC.

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Dig Deeper...

• Fundamentals of Asset-Based Community Development: http://www.uniteforsight.org/community-development/abcd/module2
• The ABCD Institute at Northwestern University. They have a treasure trove of resources for teaching and implementing ABCD: http://www.abcdinstitute.org
• Download the PACA Manual for yourself: files.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/library/PACA-2007.pdf
• NPR article titled "Ugandan to Aid Groups: Don't Tell Us What We Need--Ask Us!" http://n.pr/1Gq3MEb 

Michelle's 1-Year Reflection: A Father's Advice

"Over time the novelty of the experience wears off and one day becomes just like the last, new news becomes less apparent as life finds its routine. 

I hope it doesn't happen too fast, and that each day you find something of a surprise.  Resist the mundane and find magic in each moment."
- David Harper, my daddy, August 7, 2014

The Harper clan in front of the Berlin Wall, 1990

A Little Nostalgic Context
If anyone could offer advice on how to adapt to life (as an adult) in a new country, it would be my mom and dad. We spent a lot of our life moving from culture to culture and place to place. In each place, they made an effort to learn the history and culture. My mom took German lessons from a neighbour friend and kept in touch with them for years. My dad is the perpetual explorer, seeking new information and history at each stop. Add a little revelry and that's a perfect snapshot of their life together. 

As their child, I learned how to take advantage of cultural exchanges in our community. I went to an all-German-zero-English kindergarten. My brother took French immersion classes. We would visit our neighbour's farm in England and "help" them with their lambs (I say "help" because it was more "watch" or "get in the way" than helping). 

I also remember going on infinite car trips, because they taught us (and I still believe this is true) that you cannot know a country until you SEE the country, explore its history, and meet its people. By 5 years old, I was an old pro at car games: license plates, the alphabet game, and "cows" (a game I'm pretty sure my parents made up when we were too far off the grid to see any signs, cars, or people. The goal is literally to count the cows that you see before anyone else does... riveting, I know, but we were seriously competitive).

I say ALL of this to say: when my parents give me advice for moving to a new place, I take it to heart.

"One day,  the novelty of the experience wears off... and life finds its routine."

I am blessed that my "routine" includes spending time with these ladies.

When we first arrived in country, our senses were overwhelmed with all of the new sites and sounds (which is totally justified because South Africa is a truly beautiful country). My thoughts were preoccupied with how to improve my bucket bathing techniques, the proper way to greet a person, and reading between the cultural lines to interpret what was happening but not being said.
At first, it was intoxicating. Then, exhausting. Now... well, now it feels just "normal."

I didn't really notice this "normalness" until very recently. We have been travelling and preparing for the next cohort of volunteers, so a lot of people have been asking, "What's it like to live in a village?" And I realized that I get a bit surprised by their asking... so my response is something like, "It's great! My school is supportive. My family is awesome. The place is beautiful. We have a dog..." and I quickly run out of things to say. I have to REMIND myself that they really want to hear about "village living" (water and electricity access, transportation, cultural exchange), so I add those in as, somewhat, after thoughts.

In 2011, when people asked us about what it was like to be in Tacoma, I would never have thought to say, "well, we have indoor plumbing, electricity 100% of the time..." I didn't think about it at all because, at that point it was my normal. (I'm laughing at my future self who will move back to the US and will be fully overwhelmed by these things that used to simply be normal, but I digress... ).

These are signs that the novelty of village living has worn off for me. I feel some shame in admitting it,  but, to be honest, I think it is a good thing in many ways.

First, "intoxication" and "exhaustion" are, for me, not adjectives for a sustainable, healthy way of living. Adjusting to village life is an emotional roller coaster. My heart is happy to have found some solid ground.

The second point is still a bit rough around the edges, because I am unpacking it just now... Now that it feels more routine, it also feels more authentic. I used to feel so uncomfortable with aspects of village life/cultural each that I found myself in my head a lot. I would focus on every word coming out of a person's mouth plus the spaces between each word. It took energy. I didn't feel present. It was hard.

This "new normal" is allowing me more space to share my authentic self. I feel connected. I feel relief. In other ways, I want to sit with what else might be lost when I lose this novelty. Wonderment? Have I lost any gratitude? Or awe? These are things I will be more intentional in considering as I am at my site.

So... "the novelty will wear off and you will find routine? " Yup. Truth. Check... 

"I hope each day you find something of a surprise."

Mopane worms, a type of caterpillar, are a common snack in the springtime.

Yes! Also true!
I am always reflecting on the small moments that have made me chuckle and think, "well, this is South Africa." Days when:

• Your colleagues offer you caterpillar (see photo above), cow intestines, or goat's tongue for lunch. 
• Your students sing your favourite prayer song BECAUSE they know it is your favourite prayer song. 
• Your learners do something to touch your heart and amaze you, such as, bringing their own ideas to manage the library, teaching each other the things you have taught them, or strutting in some new-found confidence that they wear like a comfortable, worn-in shoe. 
• The one million tiny, unexpected,  acts of kindness that warrant a moment for pause and gratitude.

If you blink, you can miss these everyday beauties and small surprises. I want to be more intentional to share these things with those of you at home, because these are the connection points that build the fabric of this experience for me (us).

"Resist the mundane and find magic in each moment."

Joe captured this sunrise on his way to school one morning. Beautiful...

This was my daddy's main charge. This is the piece that I want to carry forward into my second year. 
Resist the mundane. Seek magic.

To me, that means, to pause. Celebrate. Be present. Look around you. Find beauty. Giggle. Ask questions. Go deeper. When I feel like I am in comfortable depths, then I should go deeper again.

All in all, I can say that, even after 29 years of "wisdom" and a full year's Peace Corps experience (dad, get ready to take a screenshot to commemorate the time and date), a father's advice still holds water.

And, just to lay it on thick because I love you and you are so far away...

Dad, you were right.

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Tell us what you think:
- How do you find magic in each moment?
- How do you resist the mundane?
- How do you "go deeper" once you have started to feel comfortable?