Wow. It feels like a very long time since I last posted. I suppose it has been.

Where to begin? I will start with the basics.

I live in a village called Mabula, which is in the vicinity of a city called Mokapane. Mokapane, in turn, is the province of Limpopo. Where I live, there is one paved road; all other streets are sand and dirt. I live with the Chauke family. The matriarch of my immediate family is Lina, our mom. I have two brothers and a sister as well that live in the house with me. The brother’s are 18 and 13, while the sister is 18. I love spending time with the family. We do all sorts of things together- homework, soccer, laundry, and a host of other things. I am very happy with my living arrangements.

My family speaks Xitsonga, also know as Tsonga or Shangan. I attempt to speak the language as well. 5 days a week (more or less) I take classes from a wonderful teacher by the name of Cordillia. I have three other people in my language group that learn Xitsonga with me, out of the whole South Africa Peace Corps group of 29 people. After Language in the morning, out group combines with the other language groups and we learn together about things that pertain to us all.

The area that I live in, while having a significant Shangan population, is predominantly Sepedi speaking. Because of this, we also have learned a little bit of Sepedi, otherwise known as Nothern Sotho, just to get by. Just knowing the greetings to these indigenous languages is a shocker for the local inhabitants. In fact, my very presence is surprising. I am often greeted with “Lachua”, which means “white person” as I walk down the street. In the US such a moniker would be rude. Here, race plays a more defining role in ones life; due in large part to the overwhelming legacy of Apartheid.

When I am greeted as such, I make of saying “e-e. Hi mina Tsakane, hawa Lachua.” in my broken Xitsonga. That phrase, by the way, means “No. My name is Tsakane, not ‘white guy’”. I think I forgot to mention that I am not known as Oliver in these parts. I was dubbed Tsakane, which means “be happy” within 20 minutes of my arrival in Mabula by my host mother.

Mabula itself is quite rural. Donkeys, cows, chickens, and goats roam the neighborhood in vast numbers. When out on a run, I have, all too often, found myself staring down a huge, one ton steer that blocks my path. Out of courtesy, I will generally find another way around. We have fairly regular electricity, except when it rains. Rain has been frequent lately. Water works most days as well. So, I am living the cushy life—I am very lucky.

In two weeks I will learn where my final site placement will be. On April 3rd I will be sworn in as a Peace Corps volunteer and will begin my two year long job. Until then I am still training, which is infinitely frustrating. But its fine. I would write more—and I have so much to write—but my time is limited. At 30 rand for 50 minutes, I need to be brief.

Right now, I sit in an internet café in Mokopane. This is the first shot at internet that I’ve had for a very long time. It may the last I have for a while as well.

In closing: I think of home often. I am also very excited and happy with where I am and where I will soon be. All is well. My previous posts have the postal address where I can be reached. If you’d like a letter, I will need your address. So, write me and I will be thrilled and write you back. I hope all is well at home, I will write when I can.

The Night Before

This is my last night in Des Moines for roughly 27 months. My bags are packed.

A few hours ago my parents hosted a goodbye party for me, which was wonderful. I was so grateful to everyone who came. I was especially touched by all of my friends who drove the 100 or so miles from Iowa City to see me off. So, once again, thank you so much. I know that thoughts of my friends and family will be a source of strength and pride for me in the next two years.

Speaking of the next two years…

Tomorrow I will wake up at 3:45 in the morning. I will then take the 6:00 a.m. flight to Philadelphia from Des Moines International Airport, via Detroit. Philadelphia is the location of what the Peace Corps calls a staging event. The staging event will take place over two days and will introduce me to some of the basics of what it is to be in the Peace Corps. During the staging event I will also meet some of the other volunteers I will be training and working with. On the 29th of January, 2008 I will depart for Johannesburg, via Frankfurt, Germany.

Once in South Africa, we will take a two hour drive to a city called Mokopane, in the Limpopo Province. For the first ten days I will live in dorms somewhat like those in the U.S. After this initial period I will begin living with a South African family. I am especially looking forward to living with a family. My family stay will last until April 3, 2008 when I am officially sworn in as a Volunteer, rather than the previous status of trainee.

During my training period I will learn one of five languages: Sepedi, IsiZulu, IsiSwati, Xitsonga, or Afrikaans. I am not sure which one I will learn or exactly how they would even decide such a thing. I will be happy learning any of them. I will also learn more about the culture of South Africa and the nature of my eventual assignment.

What exactly I will be doing after April 3rd is something of a mystery to me. It is my understanding that my performance during the training period will have an impact on the assignment I am given. What I do know is that my task will last for two years and will involve HIV/AIDS prevention. I also know that I will be working with NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) that are dealing with HIV/AIDS in some form. It is very likely that I will move to some other part of South Africa after training.

My mailing address, at least until April, is:

Oliver Borzo
Peace Corps
PO Box 9536
Pretoria 0001
South Africa

Easier ways to get a hold of me include my email (oliverborzo@gmail.com), facebook, or the blog itself. My phone is now dead, my number lost to the wind.

So, that is the skinny. To say I am nervous or excited would be true but also a gross understatement. Mostly though, I think the overwhelming feeling I have is happiness. I am happy because I have incredible and supportive family and friends. I am also happy because Peace Corps is exactly what I want to be doing with my life right now. I feel blessed.

Thanks again for all of the support and encouragement I have been given over the last few months. It means more to me than I can properly express. And thanks for reading.

Perfunctory Initial Post

Tomorrow I receive a long awaited package from the Peace Corps.

For nearly five months the cogs of the Peace Corps application process have slowly turned, providing me precious little in the way of information or encouragement. Now, finally, I am able to get at least a vague idea as to what the next 2 years of my life will be like.

This is extremely gratifying.