COS

May 20, 2013 In Peace Corps, we call going home Close Of Service or COS. As in, ‘I can’t wait to COS.’ And, like every stage of Peace Corps, this process is accompanied by a workshop. It’s been this far off milestone for us. When I first started researching Peace Corps during our application process, … Continue reading »

Guest Blogger: Janet Krause

1 May 2013 The Olifant’s Camp Bush walk was a memorable experience. We met our guides at 5:15 am to board the transport vehicle for a ride to get to the starting point of the walk. It wasn’t long before we saw a pack of spotted hyenas. They didn’t exhibit any fear as they sniffed … Continue reading »

Guest Blogger: Jordan Semrow

Sawubona from Swaziland! When we started planning our trip to Swaziland in late 2012, we had expectations of what the trip would entail. Without a doubt, our entire view of this part of the world has shifted immensely. Our preconceived notions were derived mostly from animals we had seen from the zoo, stories from family … Continue reading »

Art Club Field Trip!

April 4, 2013 “Mrs. Zornow, how many students are in art club? How many students can fit on the bus?  Will we all fit?” “Mrs. Zornow, I had a dream last night that the bus left me behind so I woke up at 3:00 a.m.” The students had been nervously looking forward to the art … Continue reading »

Weekend Wedding

March 20, 2013 Oliver has a friend in the community that has been working on various media projects-making movies of preschool graduations and selling the DVDs to parents, making music videos, and even working on writing a movie script with his friends.  He was invited to a traditional wedding to take video and make DVDs … Continue reading »

Series of Unfortunate Events

5 March 2013 This past week, Rebecca and I decided to try and continue to make good on our resolution to see more of Swaziland before we COS later this year.  We joined a group of about 14 fellow volunteers heading to ‘one of the last untouched environments’ in Swaziland at Ngwempisi Gorge. On Thursday … Continue reading »

Hair

February 24, 2013 I cut my hair chin length when Oliver and were originally applying for Peace Corps.  I  wanted to see what it would look like short, but I also thought it would be easier to manage in the developing world as a bob.  I didn’t think my hair would be a big deal … Continue reading »

Art

February 7, 2013 This week has been all about art (and the scheduling of it).  I like art a lot.  I’ve always liked drawing and painting but wasn’t very good at it.  I keep trying and get a little bit better sometimes.  I recently painted a jacana (also called the Jesus bird because it appears … Continue reading »

Family Gatherings

One of the hardest part of living so far from everything we once knew is knowing that we have missed almost two years of family get-togethers.  From Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter to birthdays and impromptu Packer parties—Rebecca and I have struggled to adjust to life far from home without such occasions.  Most volunteers have host-families … Continue reading »