September 4, 2014

This morning was the last Setswana session before our language exam. I’m both terrified and eager to get it over with. At this point, I know what I know and I can’t cram anything else into my brain. During class we practiced more conversations and used the rubric to discuss what level we predicted we are at. I’m guessing I’m at novice high, one level below intermediate low where we are expected to be by the end of training. Not guessing, but hoping I’m at that level. 

After Setswana we had a session on intercultural effectiveness and cognitive flexibility followed by shadowing logistics. During the cognitive flexibility session we distinguished the difference between describing, interpreting, and evaluating a situation. Americans generally operate with an interpretive lens - what I feel about what I see. Batswana are very descriptive and take things at face value. They tend not to dig deep into the meaning of a gesture, but instead go with the flow. The difference between these three perspectives is straightforward; however, the conversation became confusing once the facilitators put this information to practical use. The American facilitators encouraged us to take things at face value, be descriptive, because it is easier to succeed as a volunteer and get by in Botswana. On the contrary, we should be encouraging children in schools to think critically about their school work and daily lives, which I consider to be operating with an interpretive and evaluative perspective. I believe it is important to meet somewhere in the middle. I appreciate my interpretive and evaluative approach to situations and I know it is important to recognize my own bias as a result and how this will affect my work and ability to integrate into the community. My interpretation and evaluation of my surroundings is part of who I am, but I’m willing to accept that Batswana are more descriptive. I will incorporate this into how I interact with new people, while staying true to who I am.

We ended the day by playing traditional Setswana games. I watched a few people jump rope and others put smashed cans in a box with their feet while dodging a ball. I guess this is what they consider a traditional Botswana game. I chose to play ball wall with a few guys. It quickly brought me back to seventh and eighth grade when I played ball wall and dodgeball with all the boys in my class. It was nice to run around and bond with some of the other volunteers.

On my walk home from school I may have told some ten year old girls that I like to eat dirt. I asked if they went to school and what they learned. One girl confidently responded that she learned negatives in English. So I asked how she would respond if I asked “Do you like to eat dirt?” Her younger friend responded with “Yes!” We all laughed and exchanged shy glances. I’m convinced they think Americans eat dirt.