August 28, 2014

I’m officially constructing sentences! Today we significantly enhanced our vocabularies by adding adjectives along with their respective adjective markers. Of course it can’t be as easy as adding the adjective before the noun like we do in English. Instead, you need two little words between the noun and the adjective - the adjective marker. Following the adjective you need the subject marker (even though it’s fairly obvious that you’re still talking about the same subject) which is another little word with no English translation. And lastly comes the verb and any noun associated with that noun. Yes, it is as confusing as it sounds, but I’m finally getting the hang of it!

Today was draining. We had two hour sessions on the introduction to HIV prevention and addressing HIV stigma and discrimination. The first presentation was fairly interactive and kept my attention. The global data consistently has my jaw dropping. In 2011, 2.5 million people were newly infected with HIV which is more than 7,000 people per day. With remarkable numbers such as these it is easy to get overwhelmed and not know where to begin to help. Peace Corps Botswana’s focused outcomes are on identifying ways of preventing HIV, rejecting misconceptions about transmission, and adopting healthy sexual behavior to reduce STIs and prevent pregnancy. The session ended by introducing a social-economic framework where a person identifies within varying levels of daily life including individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, and public policy. Within each of these levels are identified factors that contribute to your risk of becoming HIV positive. This framework was intended for the volunteer to look at the greater influences on a person’s life when working with said individual.

The powerpoint addressing HIV stigma and discrimination could have be more concise and to the point. There were a lot of words on each slide and the presenters read verbatim from the slides. We have been so spoiled with such wonderful, inclusive, interactive presentations that this particular one seemed to drag on. Although it was difficult to sit for two more hours, the information was meaningful and interesting. We learned about forms of stigma and discrimination and how to combat these in our work. Stigma can manifest physically, socially, verbally, and institutionally. It will be important as volunteers to be inclusive of people who are affected by HIV and try to combat stereotypes and stigmas by spreading knowledge of the disease.

Since Mme left for Gaborone the routine at home has been fairly consistent and uneventful. I come home, sit on the couch and study while my family watches television, eat dinner, clean dishes, and go to bed. It’s nice to get away with not showering at night, but I actually miss the adventure and excitement Mme brings to the home. Even if it means I have to watch her kill another chicken, entertain her drunken conversations late at night, or shower twice a day, I’m looking forward to Mme returning home tomorrow.