Hard Labor and Halloween

I realized this weekend that it is much easier to feel like a real live Peace Corps volunteer when you are hot, sweaty, and exhausted, with blisters on your hands after a day of hard manual labor. Even though we all tried our hardest to enter Peace Corps without expectations, on some level I think most of us envisioned ourselves hard at work building things and working outside in some tropical setting, even after we were told that we were placed in offices and clinics in a mid-income country. It's what most people picture when they think of the Peace Corps, so it was very satisfying to have a day where we were doing exactly that. Mike, one of the Peace Corps volunteers up in Francistown, the second largest city in Botswana, works at a community center that focuses on orphan care in one of the more poverty stricken areas of the city. Usually on Saturdays, orphans from the surrounding area gather at the center to play football (soccer), have fun on the playground, and eat a meal provided by the center, but this week, Mike called on any available Peace Corps volunteers to come down to the center and help with some development projects he had planned. Eight of us were able to make it, and he put us to work tilling the soil for a planned community garden, clearing some land for a basketball court, starting a compost pile, and lining the driveway with tires so cars would avoid running over the football field. We arrived around 8am, and by lunch, we had accomplished more than any of us thought we could accomplish in one morning. The garden plots are ready for planting, the basketball court is about ready for cementing, composting has begun, and no one will be driving over the football field anytime soon. We were an absolute mess, covered in dirt, sweat, bruises, and blisters, but absolutely excited to have done something concrete and visible. Since Botswana is a mid-income country and we are mostly here to work on HIV/AIDS issues, we don't often get to see the results of our work. We discuss, educate, and attempt to work on behavior change, but never know how much of what we teach is taken home and used. Statistics can be helpful in the long run, but we are only here for two years, and it is very likely that we will never know how much of an impact we've really had on people's lives here. It can be very frustrating to work on programs without seeing results, so the occasional physical projects we come across can be very rewarding, and very helpful in boosting morale. And to see the kids get really excited about what we were doing, and wanting to help dig and rake, was just icing on the cake.
Of course, this weekend was Halloween in the States, so we couldn't let the occasion pass when we were already gathered together. We did the best we could to celebrate like we would back home, complete with candy corn, Thriller, and costumes thrown together from china shops or whatever we had at the house (one volunteer was a tree). We had a great time, even if we may have gotten a few extra stares from locals as we walked the streets of Francistown in our costumes.
Halloween is a fun holiday, and it was nice to be able to celebrate it, but it was a reminder that the real holidays will arrive quickly and that for the first time, I'll be thousands of miles from home and family and tradition. I'm a real sucker for the holidays, especially the tradition part, so I'm not expecting this to be easy. Luckily, our Peace Corps group has formed its own little family, and while I'm sure I'll still miss my real family like crazy, I think I'll survive. We already have our Thanksgiving menu planned out (although if anyone wants to send over anything to help make our feast more home-like, we would really appreciate it), and we're planning a big vacation to Victoria Falls and Zambia for Christmas. Even if I know I'll miss home, I can't help feeling like this will probably be one the more exciting holiday seasons I'll ever have!