Joe’s 18-Month Reflection

As has been my custom, I have written a reflection about my time in South Africa every six months. This one marks my third overarching reflection.

Looking back over the last few months, I observed I hadn’t written as much as I had previously. Pondering the cause, I realized it was because of a renewed sense of normalcy; one I hadn’t felt since before traveling from my home in the US and making a life for myself here in South Africa.

A New Normal
Of all the times I have moved to a new place, it has taken about a year for that new place to feel like home. Baldwin-Wallace, Baltimore, Colorado State, Tacoma… each place felt foreign for a time, until the familiarity of repetition through events brought recognition. In my present circumstances, that familiarity wasn’t truly felt until around the celebration of Heritage Day (held in September). It was at about this time in 2014 when I first arrived in my present site. The learners and teachers dressed in the garb of their tribes, traditional songs and dances were performed, and a meal was shared among kith and kin. I had the honor of bearing witness, and this time participating, in the celebration for a second time.

Prior to it, however, I felt restless, and even lost to a degree, because I had not seen what it was like to live in my permanent site the year before. I had reached the year-mark in South Africa (in July) but not a full year where I was presently living. I was still in a state of change; a state of newness. Living like that left me wondering what was in store each day and wondering what uniqueness would present itself to me.

My Cohort and I at Mid-Service Training

Thankfully, I had Michelle, my host family, my colleagues and learners at school, and fellow volunteers upon whom I could lean for support. It was the relationships I had been built with them that showed me through that time.

And then familiarity came… At school, I was starting to see lessons from the previous year and talk of preparations for what would be my second Grade R Graduation and Grade 7 Farewell was heard. At home, the mango tree started to fruit again. Most easily noticed was the change in weather – warmer, hotter temperatures, humidity thick and heavy as a wet, woolen blanket, and frequent rain showers – the signs of the approaching rainy season.

Standing with One of My Grade 7 Learners at the Farewell

With the familiarity of repetition came a comfort. My permanent site felt the most like home as it  ever had. I no longer felt like a visitor but, instead, like someone who lived here. Unfortunately, there was another feeling that came coupled with it all – boredom.

As my family and friends will attest, I typically don’t do well with boredom. I ask myself questions like, “What should I do now?” or “Is it time to move on?” In respect to my current home, what once seemed novel and interesting now seemed… regular. I found myself feeling uninspired and unsure of what to write and share with people back home. Would they still find my life here interesting or has the novelty worn off for them as well?

Girding this feeling, thankfully, was a sense of responsibility. I had committed myself to serving 27 months with the Peace Corps. Not that I was ever contemplating leaving early, but it served as a reminder that I was here to serve, which meant thinking about what I was going to do with myself in the time that remained:

• a library to finish setting up
• co-teaching with some of my colleagues
• hosting workshops for teachers
• teaching learners English
• instilling in learners senses of self-confidence, resilience, and perseverance
• spending time with my host-family and the kids who live next door
• doing what I can to share the beauty of South Africa and its people with family and friends

Michelle and Charlie at the Lake

Moving Forward
There are nine months left until the completion of my service with the Peace Corps. It is my aim to fulfill each of the tasks mentioned above. Throughout all of, it is also my intention to chronicle my experience; partly for anyone who reads this blog and... partly for my own memory, so, in the future, I can look back upon my time as a Peace Corps Volunteer and remember the finer points of my experience; the ones that give it its depth and detail.