What I do at work

A lot of people have been asking me about my job, so I thought I'd write a post to the blog to talk about what a day at work looks like for me.

In the morning I usually meet a neighbour of mine and we walk together to the kombi stop. A kombi looks like a Volkswagen van and is a type of "bus/taxi" system to get around in. Sometimes we catch a ride to work with someone who drives by in a car and recognizes that we work in the same office building, but mostly we catch a kombi. I actually like riding on the kombi despite the fact that it's usually crammed full of people and that the entire car erupts with laughter every time I try to speak Setswana…it's all good fun. A fun (and by fun, I mean completely embarrassing) experience for me the other day happened when an elderly man on the kombi decided to tell everyone else in the kombi that the best way for anyone to learn a foreign language is under the blanket ( i.e. get a Motswana boyfriend)…this comment, alone, I could have handled…but when he was still talking about it ten minutes down the road I found that I was no longer a white person…but a red one!

When I get to work (sharply at 7:30am!) we usually start with a prayer…which is all singing in Setswana, so I usually just talk to myself inside my head and then randomly say "amen" when everyone else does. I have my own office so I usually try to retreat right there and finish up whatever activity I was doing the day before. I have nice co-workers, but unfortunately, no starbucks nearby to do some real bonding!

My activities during the day vary…sometimes I go with my driver to a neighboring village to check on a clinic, sometimes I remain at work and organize meetings for the week ( i.e. find venues, contact people, type invitation letters, come up with agenda's), sometimes I duck out to an office near mine that has internet in order to keep in contact…it all varies! My office is also responsible for reporting to the entire district about all of the AIDS/HIV programs that are currently going on in our district. It's a pretty big task because there's a lot of people and numbers to track down, but I really enjoy it because it gives me a chance to meet and see people from all different areas. Another important part of my job is giving presentations and orientation workshops…sometimes I have to laugh at giving a presentation when I am still trying to become orientated myself!

Just the other day I was visiting a clinic in a nearby village…I usually go to a clinic to support a function that they're having or to introduce myself. I went to the clinic with an service we have here in Mochudi that does free HIV testing and counselling. When we got to the clinic there was a beautiful garden there with the words BOTSWANA and the name of the village cut into the hedge…I was pretty amazed to find this in such a small village. The gardener there cut off a piece of a shrub for me at that time (I think it's some kind of succulent) and gave it to me to plant in my yard! I am excited to start getting a garden in order (or at least something resembling green)!