For Lisa

Meercats!

Lions and Cheetahs and Giraffes, Oh My!

I was lucky enough to be able to visit a game reserve here in South Africa, not too far away from Pretoria. I’ve heard that South Africa is one of the best places to go for game reserves because there are so many wild animals who habitate here (can I conjugate that like that?).

The pictures mostly speak for themselves, so there’s not much more I have to add to this one. I went with other Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs), some of whom are in Pretoria because they’ve been med-evac’d from their countries. Only three of us in the group photo are actually PCVs in South Africa. The others are scattered in various African countries north of us and the person in the Panama Jack hat is the visiting medical officer from Paraguay.

The group of volunteers and med-evacs playing with the baby lion

(as you can see, the green scarf has made it into another photo : )

The baby lion got freaked out and started walking across people's laps

Baby lion and me

Rarrrrrr!

(look how small his teeth are!)



I love that this baby giraffe has a cloak and a little log cabin.
What an eccentric giraffe to be wearing a cloak! Next comes black nail polish.




Cheetah through the fence - they are so beautiful!

Video with a lioness walking towards us (we think she's pregnant).
Sorry it's a bit Blair Witch with the camera movement, they backed up the car while I was shooting this. Oh - and the background is sort of silly. Enjoy!

As for me...more later. Still homeless. Still trying to figure it all out.

Sala sentle,

Casey

Chocolate Chai Latte Exists!

Last week was one of the more fabulous weeks I've had, in terms of picturesque landscape. I have been planning a trip to Cape Town for the International AIDS Society Conference since last fall when I knew I'd be in Africa.

I volunteered for the conference for each of the four days. It was faciniating to hear the findings of the leading scientists in the field of HIV/AIDS research. Having been on the ground, so-to-speak, for the last six months in the country with the highest HIV incidences in the world, there were some glaring gaps in what the West is doing and then how that's going to work in the rest of the world. All of the session's PowerPoints are online as well as the overview Rapporteur reports. It was a very interesting experience and I'm so glad I got to be part of it while I am in South Africa.

I extended a couple more days to do some sightseeing (pictures below). Since I'm a fan of lists, here are some highlights of my trip to Cape Town, South Africa:

• Saw those African penguins! They're actually called Jackass Penguins for the donkey noise they make when mating. Hmm.
• Got sprayed with lots of frigid Atlantic waters when I did a tour around Cape Point. It's the height of winter here, but luckily the temperature was in the low 20s C, which is around 70F, so not too bad for winter. My friends in Michigan would laugh that this is what people in Cape Town call winter!
• Discovered chocolate chai latte! Who knew that existed?! I had it every morning I was in Cape Town except for one. The guy at the shoppe probably thought I was crazy. I tried to do a silly "hello again" in a funny voice with a little courtsey to be sort of funny that I was coming back again for the tasty chocolate chai, but he didn't really find it funny, so I didn't do it again.
• Met lots of fasinating volunteers at the conference representing the diverse history of South Africa. It was nice to have a week break from people yelling "lekgoa!" at me b/c of my white skin. There's only so much racism one can tolerate.
• Got to walk around at night! Seriously, we (PC volunteers) can't do that in most of South Africa due to safety, so this was a treat not to have to disappear w/ the sunset.
• Climbed the mountain at the Cape of Good Hope! My calves were screaming at me for a couple of days about that. For awhile, it's almost a straight incline, so it's a killer for the calves.
• Walked all around Table Mountain. It's so funny to think you can just walk all around on the top of a mountain. There are all these stone paths marked out too, very cool.
• Ate sushi! My long lost love! I found a place that had half off rolls! Super-great prawn and calamari sushi for half price, who can beat that?!

Me and a girl from Bombay, India (who goes to Harvard, hense the hoodie) and a girl from London who is backpacking her way around the world. These are the girls I climbed around the Cape of Good Hope with and now have the picture to commemorate how ridiculous our hair looked after the screaming winds and Atlantic spray gave us a blow-out.

Me and Obama at an overlook on Table Mountain with the city of Cape Town in the background.

Proud to be an American : )

The welcome sign at the International AIDS Society Conference in Cape Town. I volunteered for all four days of the conference - it was fabulous!

Clouds sitting in one of the crevases of Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa. I think it's so cool how the clouds just sit there. I also walked right to the edge of that cliff on the right.

A gorgeous rainbow over one of the seal islands around Cape Point, South Africa

'Jackass' Penguins around Cape Point, South Africa.

They're super tiny. I just watched Zoolander on a bus trip, so the small penguins remind me of "what is this, a school for ants?!"

As for me, well, I continue to be homeless in South Africa. But this week I've met with Peace Corps and I think we're moving in a direction. We'll see, I'm taking it one day at a time. I was able to eat some more sushi last night, so I'm feeling pretty happy.

Sala Sentle,

Casey

Ke a leboga thata! (Thank you very much!)

So my parents, who are so lovely : ), sent me a care package from America! And in this care package along with some surprises for me, my mom sent small toys for my host brother and host sister! They were super excited!

For Realeboga (ray-ah-lay-bow-hah) who is 5, my mom sent some little cars. One of them has a sticker that says “Police” which Realeboga loves because his dad is a police officer. I’m so serious, within two days, they were super dirt-covered and looked like he had them for months! He was so excited!

Realeboga, my 5-year-old host brother

(He's quite a cut-up!)

For Ororiseng (oh-roar-ree-seng), who is 9, my mom sent a package of three small plastic dolls. She loved them! She gave them all names from High School Musical, haha. What’s really cool about these dolls is that one is black, one is Hispanic-looking and the other is white – and the white one is a redhead too! Talk about diversity!

Ororiseng, my 9-year-old host sister

Toys aren’t really around in any household I’ve been to around South Africa, at least not in the way you may see an entire playroom at someone’s house in the states. Which is why I think Ororiseng and Realeboga really appreciated these toys my parents sent.

But having few to no toys makes kids creative. For instance, last weekend, Realeboga made a “helicopter” out of a piece of stick-on-tile that he cut up. I was pretty impressed! Since the family is converting their house into a guesthouse, there’s a treasure-trove of construction goods that he makes toys out of. He's quite clever.

Ororiseng, Realeboga and me
(p.s. I love that he's eating a carrot! It's just so silly!)

Thank you again mom for sending those toys! They loved them so much! Here is a short video of Ororiseng and Realeboga saying thank you. At the end Ororiseng says thank you in her first language, Setswana. You may need to turn up the sound. And sorry it's dark. I'm not really sure how to fix that.

Thank you video from Ororiseng and Realeboga
(29 seconds for those of you with slow Internet)

Ke a leboga, thank you and dankie!

Casey : )

My New Mecca

Splish Splash Laundromat in Mafikeng

You know what they say, cleanliness is godliness, right? : )

But You're So Fair-Skinned

When I told people I'd be living in Africa for two years, I got a lot of "but Casey, you're so fair-skinned..." I then usually made some joke about stocking up on really high SPF (which I did, in special thanks to my Godmother!) and talked about how much I like freckles - which I really do.

Even with SPF though, I've managed to get quite a few new freckles. Most of them came out during training when it was still summer (February and March). I thought I'd do a classic Before & After to show you some of my new African Freckles, especially my forehead.

And, yes, sadly my hair also gets frizzy in hot environments, so my pre-PC hair was much smoother. Remember, I moved to Michigan for college for a reason : )

Now that I'm working and not having to tredge through the sandhills everyday in direct sunlight, it's a little easier. The sun is pretty intense here. I pray for cloudy days - even just a little! It's funny because I equate bright sunlight with beaches and I am soooo far away from a beach right now. Thank God vacation is coming! Or, holiday, I guess they say here, thanks to English influence : )

Sala sentle,

Casey

How I Spent My Weekend

Tusk Mmabatho Hotel & Casino pool and dining area

Seriously.

It started by going to Tusk Mmabatho Hotel & Casino for some drinks with fellow volunteers.

It ended with a complimentary night's stay, breakfast buffet and lounging by the pool the next morning under a large canvas umbrella.

I love my life.

Casey : )

Winter is Coming

It's kind of funny; people keep telling us that "winter is coming" but it's hard to believe when the sun shines bright everyday and the temperature is 28 C (around 82 F). At night it gets kind of cold, like low 50s and will apparently get into the 40s by July. Generally my theory is that winter only comes at night and then goes away.

In any case, I'm very excited for winter! It sounds like it's just about perfect - beautiful and warm during the day and cool for sleeping at night.

I thought I'd put up some pictures since I haven't had good connections before to post photos.

Mandela sign at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg (Joburg)

Scenery in Marapyane, Mpumalanga Province

(Just down the road from the training college)

Our Setswana language group at swearing-in: Amy, Glenn, Magdeline (teacher) and me

(not pictured from our small group: Jackie)

Anne and Casey at Swearing-In

Some of the ladies at the Family Farewell function

Back row: Laura, Casey and Amy

Front Row: Nadine, Nisah and Sharleen

The whole group at Swearing-In

As goes the curse of being tall when pictures are taken, I'm in the back, you can kind of see my face near the middle...

(The country director, McGrath, is on the far left of front row and the associate director of training, Lisa, on the far right standing.)

Two Weeks

Dumelang! I have less than two weeks before I am an official Peace Corps Volunteer!

On April 2 I will be sworn-in and on my way back to Mafikeng, where I will live for the next two years. I am incredibly excited! (I should also have better Internet access once I'm in Mafikeng!)

This past week we had a Supervisor's Workshop to meet our new supervisors and then do a site-visit. The organization I'm going to be working with, South African Men's Action Group (SAMAG), is fairly well-connected in the community, so I was able to meet with various partners and board members. The office has 7 (now 8 with me) and it was so great to meet everyone. I am excited to get back there and get to work!

My Setswana language is coming along ... but where I am, the language of business is primarily English. I am still going to try to learn Setswana so that I can speak to people and surprise a few when I'm the American who can converse in Setswana!

In Mafikeng, I'm staying with a big family - mom, dad and 5 kids! The youngest kids in the house, Ororiseng, 9 and Realeboga, 5, are so much fun! I never had younger siblings, so it's been lots of fun to get to know them. They also speak English incredibly well; I'm so impressed!

Since I have had trouble uploading photos, here are a few pictures. There's my homestay, local school kids, tribal dancers and then a few from a Braai that Peace Corps had for us, it's like a bar-b-que.

Oh, and sorry about my green scarf being in two pictures! I actually do have other clothes, I just really love that scarf! And apparently the only time I take pictures is when I'm wearing it!

Much love,

Casey : )

p.s. I got a cell phone! The number, when dialing from the US is: 011-27-71-278-4962. The actual number is 071-278-4962, but you have to add the country code and such.

I wouldn't normally put my cell phone out there like this, but what are the odds someone will spend the money to prank-call me in South Africa?! (Or, in Setswana, 'diatura!', too expensive!)

My current Seabe homestay

Grade 1 schoolchildren at a Seabe primary school in the Mpumalanga Province

Tribal dancers
(If you look closely, you can see the pink feather dusters in their hands!)

Almost-Volunteers Nisah and Casey at the Braai

Almost-Volunteers Anne and Casey at the Braai