Destination Mountainview: My New Home

The time is starting to really pick up now that I am at my permanent site. I am finding my transition to my new home to be quite smooth and effortless. My new family consists of my mother and father, Katherine and Alfred (their Christian names), 13 year old brother, Dumisani, 11 year old sister, Ntokozo, and 9 year old sister, Busisiwe, or Busi for short. My family gave me a new South African name, Dumi. Dumi is short for Dumisani, meaning “praise.” They wanted to shorten it to Dumi because I am now their first born. So I go by Dumi and or Mpho, my former South African name given to me by my first host family, meaning “gift.” Both of my parents are educators at the middle school level. My father also serves as pastor at the family’s church. They are wonderful to me and have helped immensely with the transition.

My home or room is a 15ftx15ft dwelling. It is quaint and I am in the process of doing some homemade decorating to make it my own. My actual family lives in a house that is separate from my room, which has been nice for me to have my own space as well as sharing the common space. Like many rural villages, my home has electricity; however there are many brown outs, as the electricity in SA isn’t regulated. I have to fetch water from an outdoor tap and store it in a 5 gallon bucket in my room. Purposes of the bucket include, bathing water, cooking water, brushing teeth, mopping floor, and just about everything else.

I have truly embraced the everyday routines taken for granted in the states, such as, taking a bucket bath, hand washing my clothes, fetching water from a tap, using an outdoor pit latrine. Many of these routines have become therapeutic for me in SA. For example, when I am doing my “washing” on Sundays, it is a time of to reflect and relax. It is somewhat like painting, thoughtless. Unlike other PCVs who are using their family’s washing machines or dreading washing their clothes or taking a bucket bath, I have enjoyed the new lifestyle.

I am currently working with one school grades R (kindergarten)-9th grade. It is a combined primary and middle school. There are 1,300 learners making us the highest enrolled school in our circuit of 21 schools. The school has grown so much that there is a new school being built for 7-9th grades. The new school is set to open sometime next year. When this opens I will also be working with the middle school. I am anxiously awaiting its opening and excited about being involved in the process of a new school. I hope to get some photos uploaded to my picasa web albums for viewing, as I am having problems uploading them on my blog. Apologies.

I have a bit more connection to internet so I hope to post updates more frequently. I wanted to thank everyone who has sent me letters/packages again. They have been wonderful support and provided uplifting moments.

My New Address

The following is my new address for the next two years. You can now send directly to this address and I will recieve it at my post office near my village. Make the most of your day!

Adam Karsten
c/o Kgantsho Primary School
P.O. Box 20217
KwaMhlanga 1022
Mpumalanga, South Africa

Same information applies for sending as I stated below with my old address. Ngiyathokoza! (Thanks)

Lotjhani...its been sometime now...

Lotjhani (hello in my new mother tongue IsiNdebele). It is nice to be able to update my blog for everyone who has been asking. It is overwhelming to try and capture all of my experience in just one blog or letter for that matter. So I am going to take the same approach I have with Meredith and blog according to chunks of information and experiences so I can capture more detail and not generalize.
I have officially began my new life as a PCV, Peace Corps Volunteer. After being sworn in as a PCV last Friday, by the US Ambassador to SA, I moved in with my new host family in my new village for the next two years. The last 8 weeks have been spent studying/learning language and culture. I successfully passed my oral Ndebele exam, scoring a higher mark than I expected. I also have grown very close to my homestay family during PST. They welcomed me with open arms and I am fortunate to say I have a new family residing in SA. Needless to say it was very hard for me to say goodbye as I departed for my new site. Fortunately, I am close enough to them that I can catch a taxi to visit them in the future.
This week is well underway and I have some planning to complete tonight. I wanted to get on to give a brief update and to let you all know that things are going well. I hope to open a post office box this week and will update my new address for you all if you choose to send letters. P.S. For those of you who have already sent letters or packages, thanks a million they truly have been a blessing and kept me upbeat and motivated. Love you all.