Looking into my future....

This week, I have been involved in early planning meetings of a Health Extension Worker (HEW) pilot program for the Ministry of Health. The district of Opuwo was selected to be piloting the program in hopes that it is successful and will roll out to the rest of the regions in the country in the near future. In Namibia and also in many other low-income countries, it is difficult for many people to get to a clinic and get the necessary health services due to the terrain and distance to the clinic from their village. It is the hope of the HEW to provide prevention education as well as basic health services to people in hard to reach areas.

So this week, some development partners, representatives from the Ministry of Health and traditional leaders sat down to discuss how we could roll out this pilot program in Opuwo district. While in our meetings, I also found out that almost all of the international development partners were 1) Americans and 2) returned Peace Corps volunteers! So cool! One woman was a returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) in Guatemala and now works for C Change in Namibia. C Change is a USAID-funded project to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of social and behavior change communication (SBCC) as an integral part of development efforts. Another woman was an RPCV in Zambia and now works for US Agency for International Development (USAID) in Namibia. And a third was an RPCV in Namibia and now works in Namibia for Project Hope, a program that helps to strengthen health care services and provide health education.

To hear that there were returned Peace Corps volunteers now working in the international development field came as no surprise to me. It’s like saying someone who loved history and playing in the sand as a child is now an archaeologist. But to actually hear from returned Peace Corps volunteers who are working in international development was wonderful! It definitely gave me an insight into the life of an international development worker but also some insight as a RPCV…..two things I would love to be!

The life cycle of a PCV

For any returned or current Peace Corps volunteer (PCV), you know that there are many crazy ups and downs during these two (or more) years of your life. This diagram was put together by a group of COSing volunteers in Senegal in the mid-1980's. I thought that it might be good to share it with y’all. Whether you’re a friend of a PCV, a relative, someone currently serving or someone looking into serving in the Peace Corps, it’s worth a look.

Month	Issues	Behavior/Reaction	Interventions
1 Pre-Service Training (PST)	Depart States Arrive in country Disorientation Health Self-consciousness	Anxiety Loneliness Feeling  incompetent Nervous about personal changes over 2 years	Build relationships Social events  Establish routine  Maintain link home  Develop interests, hobbies, "positive habits"
2 PST	Too much structure Too routine Group constancy Fatigue Impending affectation Language, language, language	Withdrawal Anxiety Restlessness Easy irritation Low tolerance level	Explore independence (e.g. go for walks on day off) Make plan for first 3 months Establish relationships/familiarity with host country nationals, PC staff Build skills for immediate use
3-6	Assignment Separation/solitude Uncertainty of role	Fright Frustration with self and others Loneliness Weight/health changes Homesickness Uselessness	Develop in-country correspondence Host visitors Visit peers/friends Establish links with local organizations Do technical research with local organizations Language study, language study, language study Establish schedule, routine sense of “home” Simple projects: plant trees, plant garden, play with kids
7-10	Slow work progress Language plateaus Cross cultural frustration/”shock”	Comparison to others Over zealousness Homesickness Uncertainties about adaption abilities Intolerance with host country	Reconnect with other PCVs Cards, letters home to forgotten relationships Talk with friends about slow starts & failures Simple projects: cooking, personal crafts, meetings, garden for self Consolidate friendships with host country nationals Refer to this sheet/culture shock sheets
11-15	Mid service crisis Doubt about program, role, self, government Various failures over time Reflection: disillusionment, confusion, resolving frustrations with victories New trainees arrive in sector Holiday time	Impatience with self, program, system Blame on program Constant complaining Lethargy Haughtiness w/new trainees	Holiday planning/mini vacation Review work plan, set new goals Review personal goals for service 1 year anniversary celebration Develop new recreation options Write long lost acquaintances Explore better relations with government and NGO folks Return to language study and practice
16-20	Increase/more defined work pace Project work Awareness of time constraints Realization of own limitations Consideration of “post PC” life	Hyperactivity or apathy Procrastination Self-recrimination Resignation Disappointment Downplay achievements Over-identification in behavior	Visit new volunteers Physical activity – “get in shape” Focus on relationship in the town Re-examine goals and time frame Research post-PCV activities (talk to other PCVs, do web search) Explore work possibilities in neighboring towns
21-23	Prep for COS: work/follow up Depression about perceived lack of accomplishment and/or lack of time Anticipated separation Demanding work pace Consideration of extension, post PC options Acknowledgment of chance for unmet goals	Monumental building Withdrawal into  work details Panic Procrastination Frustration with self Moodiness	Vacation/travel Review work plans, assess feasibility Plan “closing out” and follow up Work with counterparts, government, town groups on planning for departure, follow up Collaboration with 1st year PCVs Consider post-PC planning, first draft of resume Create a four months personal calendar Give quality time to colleagues/personal friendships
23-27	Trauma of departure Concerns about social re-entry Bridging host country with US/former identity Re-definition of career Closer or re-definition of country based on relationships	Fright Confusion Alienation Anxiety Panic Giddiness Impatience Obsession with planning and scheduling	Ask PCVs about trends, US popular culture Do self-analysis (i.e. factors of self-growth, work accomplishment) to consolidate self-confidence Work on self-image Shop for local art, crafts, etc. Write friends, make social plans Post PC travel plans Transfer work skills, area-specific knowledge to trainees Arrange for gifts to host family

Omeva (water in Otjiherero)

I never thought I’d be writing a blog post about water. Water is such a simple thing, and something I easily took for granted when I was in the States. But here, water is such a precious resource. In town, the water is shut off every night around 9pm in hopes of trying to regulate the water supply. And in the hospital where I live and work, the water isn’t shut off every night but when we least expect it, the water shuts off randomly and sometimes is off for days at a time. For a hospital to not have water for days at a time used to baffle me. How would the doctors and nurses wash their hands before treating a patient? How would they keep the hospital clean and spotless? But after understanding how the hospital works on a daily basis and seeing the disrepair of the hospital itself, it’s sad to say, but I now understand it. Even hand washing is a somewhat new practice. It's still something that is being taught in schools and in after school classes in hopes of it clicking into the learners' (students) heads. For many people, it is not something you do automatically after you go to the bathroom or before you eat dinner.

So when the water went out this weekend in the hospital, I was prepared physically but maybe not so much mentally. I knew the water occasionally went out and has already gone out quite a few times since I’ve been here. So I was aware that I should keep jerry cans and 2 liter soda bottles full of water in my house….just in case. But what I wasn’t ready for, was the time it took to do something that used to be so simple. Imagine your morning routine before going to work or school. You hop in the shower, turn on the hot and cold water faucets so the temperature is just right, then soap up, rinse and towel off. Simple enough, right? Well let’s just say that I will really be appreciating the simple things in life from now on. It’s just a good thing that it’s starting to be summer weather and not winter. Because if it was winter, I would’ve had to pour some water into my electric kettle and boil water so I wouldn’t have ice cold water for my bucket bath and then attempt to get myself clean with the limited water supply. Luckily though, in the summer I’ve been able to time it just right so I can take a semi-luke warm shower if I shower between 1-5pm (if the water’s on at the hospital of course). Wahoo!

And when I woke up this morning, I heard the lovely sound of the water being refilled in my geyser (hot water heater). The water's back on!

The world revolves around cheese, right?

When I signed up for Peace Corps, I knew that I was going to give up certain things in order to have an experience of a lifetime halfway around the world. I was ready to give up electricity, running water, the freedom to drive whenever and wherever I wanted, high speed internet and many other familiar items. So when I arrived in Namibia and found that I do have electricity and running water (for the most part, except no hot water) and many other Westernized amenities, I started to get very comfortable with having them all the time.

But the ironic thing is, is that if I were to walk into the grocery store on a random weekday, I wouldn’t find some of the foods that I would normally find in a Westernized grocery store or even an outside market for that matter. In order to buy fruits and vegetables I have to time my visit to the store juuuuuust right. Although as the weeks and months have past, I have been able to perfect my visits so that I do get fresh apples, bananas, cucumbers, carrots and other produce. One item though that is rarely on the shelves is cheese. Now remember, as a child I lived in Wisconsin (land of cheese and all things related to cheeseheads) and then I went to Vermont for college (land of Ben and Jerry’s, Cabot cheese and all other dairy yumminess). So not having cheese readily available for my consumption has been a difficult thing for me to process.

So fast forward to last night. After work, I met up with Ann (a PCV about 40k away from Opuwo), John (a PCV in Opuwo) and Johannes (a German volunteer in Opuwo) for dinner and a movie. And for dinner, plan A was going to be pizza but knowing that the OK grocery store probably wouldn’t have cheese, we needed to have a good backup plan. So when Ann and I walked into OK, we quickly bypassed the produce, bread and sweets and ran for the dairy section to check to see if any cheese was there. And much to our amazement, there was feta, cheddar and even gouda cheese!! I was in heaven! After finding out from Ann that cheese freezes really well, I stocked up and got a few packages of gouda and cheddar for my enjoyment in the coming weeks. With the Peace Corps cookbook at my disposal, I intend to cook some very delicious and cheesy dishes.