Recently, I've had people say that they don't know how to get in touch with me and that's really sad for me to hear. So I wanted to give you two ways and then I'll get to what you all really want to see - pictures.
First Method. You can call me via Skype or your phone and I will receive your call on my cell phone. Below is my number that you would dial into either Skype or on your phone. I have called a few of you guys back home but it is expensive for me to call the USA (relative to my Peace Corps stipend) and not so expensive for you to call me in SA (something like US 0.09 per minute on Skype but you have to have Skype credit). Here's the number (feel free to call but remember that there is a significant time difference):
+27-76-0877471
(SA country code) - (2-digit area code) - (7-digit number)
Second Method. You can mail me letters and/or packages to the following address. Keep in mind that as of this post, I'm almost completely positive that my school hasn't checked the box since the beginning of February. And that's not even an understatement. I actually had to pester the Administrative Clerk to check it for several weeks in order for her to retrieve the mail. It should be noted that remarkably this behavior does not surprise me in the slightest. Things certainly happen when they happen here. Anyways, here's the post office box address:
Mvelo Sigubudu noma Chad Wolver
℅ Mampunga CPS
P.O. Box 1749
Nquthu 3135
Republic of South Africa
I do want to thank everyone who has sent mail. Your letters and packages have been so much more uplifting than you can imagine. Taking a job somewhere in another part of the world where your customs and "normal" behavior are considered strange has its way of irking the mind from time to time. It's hard to wrap my head around the fact that I'm the only American (read: time-oriented and efficiency minded person) in my village. Everyone could care less about time, planning or efficiency. Think about it: as a complete cultural outsider, I'm trying to inspire sustainable improvement in the education system when I don't even speak the local language fluently. Let me put it in a perspective for you...
I've been presenting classroom management workshops that aim to give educators methods to control their learners by implementing discipline instead of punishment. One of my main goals of the entire seminar is to sell the educators and administrators that a school-wide discipline plan would benefit all of the stakeholders of the school (parents, learners, governance, educators, management). A hefty part of a "school-wide discipline plan" is a set of 4-5 consistent rules that would be posted in every classroom. Surprisingly this is the most heated topic in my presentations because educators feel that learners should partially construct the rules of the classroom. They say that the Constitution of South Africa affords learners the right to democratically and consensually own the classroom, extending even to the discipline of the classroom. This is a foundational view of schools here in South Africa - that the school belongs to the entire community, not just the administration or government. As you can imagine, this has created several cultural challenges. In the States, you walk into a classroom (from kindergarten all the way up through college) and are handed a syllabus with a numbered of rules that you are expected to follow. That would not be acceptable because it seems dictatorial here in the Rainbow Nation. Different ideology, that's for sure.
So my point is that that it's nice to hear about what everyone from back home is doing and how your lives are progressing because it reminds me of what life back home is like. It's also revitalizing for me to read all of the positive words of encouragement from everyone who has mailed me. It reminds me of why I am truly here - to share a part of myself with others and to be a servant leader for others. Love you all and miss every single one of you!
Okay here's the promised pictures (I know this is the only reason you clicked to read this blog post):
This is a picture of the valley behind my house. I had to climb the mountain that my family's plot sits on in order to see the valley. As you can see, it looks like a storm was moving in on that particular day…
The next few pictures are of this Orphan and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Center, called Isibindi Park, that another Volunteer works at in one of the neighboring villages. On this particular day, she organized a work day to clean up the park and paint a building. After investing a few hours of work, we broke to feed the children that were helping and the children who needed food…
Sunset picture with a silhouette of Isandlawana Mountain (famous Zulu battleground). I took this picture at Katie's house after the Isibindi Park clean up. Her house has the best sunsets bar none.
The next few pictures are of Mangeni Falls again. Usually we just braai (barbecue) next to the mouth of the falls but this time we decided to do a little hiking to see the entire glory of the falls. After a short experiment involving a stopwatch and a rock, we determined that the waterfall is approximately 125m high (good old physics), which is pretty epic...
PCV Katie Petersen and I doing a little exploring…
This last picture is of Katie and her friend from the States, Annie, who is traveling the world for a few months to get away from the hectic life. While she's enjoying experiencing other cultures, she's also keeping a blog about how the different food she's eating and learning to cook influences and directs the social culture of that country. If you have time, I would suggest you check it out here and follow her on Twitter here. Oh and I put this picture in here because I'm trying to get you to come visit me in South Africa... Since Annie did it, you should too :D
Final thoughts: Although I am almost exactly on the other side of the globe (relative to both methods of cross-sectioning the globe), I am no way in hell as far as E.T. was in Spielberg's movie. Hope to hear from you all soon-ish!
Impilo imnandi ngempela, phila!
Mvelo Sigubudu
Life is really awesome, live in it!
Chad Wolver
