Inspiration

   Last weekend ended up being one of my favorite weekends in Botswana so far. I was able to meet up with some good PCV friends and two returned Peace Corps volunteers and their friend who works in South Africa. One of the RPCVs lived and worked in the JSS in my village, Werda, in the '90s! It was incredible to hear about how things were in Werda at that time and to see pictures of my village. The students looked the same as students now because they wore the same uniforms, and the school itself looked very much the same. At that point in time the paved road ended in Jwaneng so it was much more difficult of a drive to Werda and took much longer than just a 5 hour bus ride to get to Werda from Gaborone, the capital. Besides having interesting stories and cool pictures, the RPCVs clearly looked back upon their Peace Corps experiences positively and as something that truly impacted their lives. They were inspiring, kind, and thoughtful people who seem happy with the paths their lives took following Peace Corps service.As we all visited, we ate Pakistani food in my friend's village because her friend cooked a special lunch for us in his restaurant, which usually serves Setswana food, simply because he is a nice person who wanted to cook something from his home for us. We then attended a party for the orphans and spent time hanging out with her Kgosi, who is also a very genuine seeming person, who we were able to have some great conversations with about America, Botswana, and many other things with. Sometimes it is tough being here because I feel like people don't understand me or where I'm coming from, so when I get the chance to spend time with people who do or who are least are trying to, it is very uplifting. These are the kind of days that make being here so worth it.