To the sea

Waves crash right outside my window, which overlooks Durban's South Beach on the Indian Ocean. It's incredibly peaceful, and a welcome change from my normal night sounds of house or gospel music from the neighbors interspersed with rooster crows (though to be completely honest, those sounds hold a comfort and love for me as well). I am here for a little less than a week doing a Life Skills Training held by Peace Corps and paid for by PEPFAR, (U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief- George Bush has something good to his name?) hence the swanky, oceanfront set up. Not bad. I am here with a counterpart, a young man from my village named Themba, who used to be the Life Skills Facilitator for my org before they lost funding. Themba is great, and was my first friend in the village and really did/does a lot to help me integrate and get some things done. He deserves a separate post, but suffice it to say, I am glad I could bring him here and I think he is having a really good time and picking up some useful stuff as well. It's also fantastic to be here with almost all of the people from my training class (SA21) as it is great to catch up with everyone and hang out with some of my best friends here.

Some of our trainings in the past (aside from Permagarden!) have been a little dry, but so far everyone and their counterparts especially (all host country nationals) seem to be really into it, and are making the training more lively and fun. Our last session today was run by Alex, a PCV from SA 19, who had us play a soccer game that doubled as HIV instruction- the immune system played HIV and we (the immune system) slowly got taken out by red cards and had players on the HIV team added against us, until we were overpowered. There's a bit more to the game in case anyone is interested, but it was a great way to illustrate the points using something that people love and has the power to bring them together in the way that soccer does. Plus we played out on the beach! And after the game was over, there was a rush to the sea, and PCVs, counterparts, and even our Peace Corps Supervisor shed various articles of clothing (nothing too crazy now, this is South Africa!) or remained fully clothed and jumped in. It was a very happy and free moment. It was especially beautiful to see the joy on the faces of some of the counterparts, including some living in KZN, who had never been to the ocean before. One woman just jumped in in her dress and was rolling about in the waves right at the shore, with a massive smile on her face :) For me the ocean, any ocean, is always home, and something about splashing around in the waves brings me back to summers as a kid. Playing in the ocean, there is always some of that remnant simplicity and innocence which, especially in the craziness of Peace Corps/South Africa life, are always welcome.

Later, I had a nice moment looking out the window and observing life below on the beach, where I tried my absolute best to actually be in the moment and savor it, for all it's uniqueness and beauty. When else am I going to be a 23-year-old Peace Corps Volunteer, standing at the window of my beachfront hotel in Durban, South Africa, with all of the thoughts, ideas, and hope that I have at this exact point in my life? And what a place to be reflecting! Even if just for a moment (which I am trying to make happen more often) I was fully present, and soaking it all in. Because that's all, folks, that's all we have. No day but today. What a day, too, with everything I have been given. here's to hoping I always do my best to do justice to the day, and all of the people in it :)

Stomach STILL full from dinner and a newly shorn head and reviewing of 'The Lion King' later, it's time for bed. Waves still crashing, again Jack Johnson comes to mind:

In times like these
In times like those
What will be will be
And so it goes
And it always goes on and on...
On and on it goes

On it goes, indeed :)