Getting Comfortable

Dumelang good people (in Shelly’s words),

I’m sorry it’s been awhile since our blog has been updated but we’ve decided to write about every other month because not much changes from month to month for us anymore. We are still the only white people in Hukuntsi, it’s still too hot here and we are still figuring things out. We feel more and more comfortable. It’s definitely not as awkward walking around our village anymore. People are getting used to seeing us, fewer and fewer people are asking us for money and we’re making friends. We even have nicknames now. Chris “Tumelo” is called Tumesy and they call me ST short for “Sethunya”.


Cape Town, South Africa

I’m going to share with you the good and the bad about Cape Town. Let me start by saying the good definitely outweighs the bad.

We went to Cape Town for our one-year anniversary because we happened to find a free ride there with a girl named Victoria. She is originally from Cape Town but has lived in Botswana for most of her life and for some reason she has a German passport? The ride there was fun and the view was shocking to Chris and I after seeing only sand for the last 5 months. Mountains and ocean surround Cape Town so as you can imagine it was beautiful!



The first night we splurged on a good seafood meal since Botswana is predominately a beef and chicken loving country and the only form of seafood we have found, in Hukuntsi, is fish sticks. The next day we walked around the city and visited the water front mall. On the way back to our hostel we were approached by two young men who asked us for money. We are so used to being asked for money that this didn’t faze us at all. So we just said, “no”. Then one bumped into me and the other said to Chris, “give us your money”. We said, “no” and I said to Chris, “lets just cross the street”. So we did and they left us alone. We walked a bit further and said to each other, “did they just try to mug us?” We didn’t even realize it at the time because being asked for money happens to us all the time. We laughed the whole way back to the hostel and we were upset at ourselves for not stealing their backpacks.

The following day Chris and I went on a wine tour were we met people from around the world. The wine tour was fun and we would recommend it to anyone! We ended up hanging out with a few of the wine tourists, Jerome and Fabrice from France and Michele and Stefane from Belgium, in the days to follow.

We even climbed Table Mountain with the Belgium couple. It was a beautiful site.

We walked around the following day and on our last day we had one more stop to make. McDonalds…its funny because we don’t even like it that much but we felt it would be un-American of us if we didn’t get our fast food fix. We each had a big mac, a cheeseburger, fries and a coke. We felt sick afterwards but it was totally worth it.

One more incident happened to us before we left Cape Town. When we arrived at the bus station a young man asked us if he could help us carry our bags as we got out of the cab. We said, “no thank you”. Then he followed us as we proceeded to the bus station. He kept asking us for money and we kept saying no. Then he went next to Chris and said, “give me your money” and he showed him a small knife and said, “don’t make me get violent”. Chris said, “well don’t get violent”. Then a cop saw that the guy was bothering us and stepped in before Chris punched him. That incident shook us up a bit.

Tired and full of McDonalds we headed back to the capital of Botswana, Gaborone. We got a ride with our good friends who live in Gaborone, they happened to be visiting and leaving South Africa the same time as us. Our friends make up a family of three. Nat and Krishan are the parents and Meera is their daughter. They have treated us like family ever since we came in contact with them, which we did through my Mauritius friend that I met while in Australia. His cousin is Krishan. It’s nice to feel like we have some family near us.

Despite the unfortunate incidents we would definitely revisit Cape Town.

Work In Progress

We have a few work related updates. I switched NGO’s because the one I was at didn’t deal much with HIV/AIDS and that is the main reason why we’re here. So I visited with another NGO, called Youth Health Organization (YOHO), and they are very active in the community. They also wanted a Peace Corps Volunteer. I feel like I am contributing way more at YOHO and I’m surrounded by young men and women who will most likely be the leaders of the village one day. I am currently providing computer lessons to the staff and in the future we’ll be collaborating on various HIV/AIDS related activities.



Chris is getting along really well with his co-workers and they are becoming good friends of ours. Things are picking up a bit for him but things are pretty slow in most office settings in Botswana. He will most likely be taking on a project at work to help with condom distribution. The reason why he will probably be helping with the distribution is because they have condom dispensers in our village but they’re always empty.

Chris and I have decided what our secondary project will be. We are going to work with the community to raise funds to build a Recreational Center for Youth. The youth are extremely bored here which commonly leads to risky behavior and they need options for healthy activities. We are both very excited to begin working on our new project!


Out In The Wild

Recently we had the opportunity to go with his work and camp with orphans from our village at Moremi Game Reserve in Maun. The city of Maun is a popular tourist attraction since it is near the delta. The kids go to this camp for two weeks every year and they are taught about responsibility and discipline. We stayed for the weekend and attended the award ceremony. The kids were wonderful. They were so positive and bright despite all of the things that they have gone through and continue to go through. We taught them how to play Frisbee and they taught us Setswana.



While we were there we got to go on a Game Tour. Our guide was Patrick, who was also our driver from the government office in our home village. The tour was great! We drove around for hours on the game paths, we went across streams and we also blazed a few new trails. Patrick kept testing our truck to see how much water it could handle. All of us in the vehicle laughed nervously every time we approached water. At one point we nearly went under when it proved to be too deep for the truck. Patrick stepped on the brakes and all we could see out of the front windshield was water. He tried backing up and at first it didn’t go but eventually we made it!



On our tour we saw elephants, giraffe, spotted hyenas, impala, some sort of deer looking thing with a bulls eye on its butt, zebras, baboons and large elephant poop. It was seriously a frightening and impressive pile to come across. Unfortunately it was a rainy day, which means the animals don’t need to migrate to the watering wholes. So we missed out on a few of the prize animals like the lion and the water buffalo but there is always next time. Oh yes and we saw one of my favorite animals to spot on the way back to our village...the ostrich. They look so cool when they run!





Stronger, Faster

I’m not sure if it is proven but it seems that the bugs, here in Botswana, are much faster, stronger and wiser. The mosquitoes are more difficult to kill and don’t get me started on the flying beetle super bug. One day in our bedroom this black, flying beetle landed on me. I started hitting him and myself with my sandal and it wouldn’t die. So Chris joined in (if you ask me all too eagerly) and started hitting me with his shoe and it still wouldn’t die. Eventually it flew off of me and landed on the wall. We kept hitting it with our weapons every time it landed and after roughly ten minutes it finally succumbed.



Don't get me started on the wall spiders. They are fast, they are big and they visit way too frequently.

Another bug incident happened a few months ago. One morning I woke up with a bug bite on the inside of my elbow and I thought nothing of it. After a few days it began itching and on the third day it swelled up and the veins around the bite turned red up to my shoulder. We called the Peace Corps doctor and he told me to go to the hospital. We went and the doctor’s initial reaction was surprise, which scared Chris and I. He saw that there was a stinger inside my arm, so he started digging to try and remove it. He couldn’t. He noticed that Chris and I were whiter than usual and decided it would be best to numb my bite. He inserted the needle and the numbing medicine shot through the hole where the bite was and hit me in the face. He tried numbing me once again and success ensued. He then dug and dug in search of the stinger but to no avail. The only thing he did manage to do was make my armhole substantially bigger. I was then prescribed some meds, given a shot for the redness in my veins and I was sent on my way. On my medical chart it said, Scorpion? Wasp? Spider? Bite. It was quite an experience.


Trying To Understand

Some random things we haven’t figured out: Why the goats here make the same sounds as a sheep would. I know some of you might say that it may be a sheep but we have learned how to tell the difference. Things we have figured out: If someone offers you a seat in Botswana…take it. It is considered rude to turn down a seat when it is offered to you. Also, when entering a room no matter what is happening always greet those occupying the space. The other day Chris went into his office and his co-workers were in what appeared to be a meeting so Chris pulled up a seat off to the side so as not to disturb them. After a couple minutes Chris’supervisor turned to him and said, “Tumelo why haven’t you greeted us, have we offended you?” Chris explained that he didn’t want to interrupt the meeting and then they explained that it’s rude to enter a room without greeting, they expect you to interrupt.


Next Up Thanksgiving

For the week of November 23rd to the 27th we will be hosting a language week at our house. Which means Peace Corps language trainers will be staying at our house along with 10 other volunteers for an intense week of language training. We can hardly wait because our site is not near other volunteers and Hukuntsi isn’t the most exciting place to visit in Botswana so to lure the other volunteers to our house we told them we had a pool and a slip-n-slide.

Happy Thanksgiving!


Attention Teachers!

The Peace Corps has a program called World Wise Schools. It is a program where a teacher from the U.S. signs up their classroom to exchange letters with a Peace Corps Volunteer. It’s a really cool way to share cultures.

Go to, http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/ , to learn more! If you want to take part just email either Chris (zennercc@gmail.com) or myself (seriouslyshelly@gmail.com) so we can be paired up with each other. We can request specific teachers and teachers can request specific volunteers. Chris and I will wait to sign up so we can ask for a specific teacher.


Facebook Pictures

Chris and I usually post more pictures on facebook more frequently so if you have an account and would like to see additional pictures just add us as a friend.


Congratulations

My brother and sister-in-law had their first child! His name is Oskar and we can’t wait to meet him…congrats you two!


Gotta Love Snail Mail

We would like to thank you for sending us letters and packages. We truly appreciate it and its exciting beyond words to receive items from the U.S.!

If you would like to send a package here are a few things that we would enjoy: nature valley bars, or any healthy snack we can grab on the go, flavored water packets, almonds, dried fruit, magazines, books and games. We have had some books, magazines and games sent to us so just ask before you send to see if we have it. One specific item that I would like sent is a book for us to read to the kids about how to treat animals. People here are very kind and peaceful towards other people but some don’t treat the animals very well.

Current Address

Chris “Tumelo” & Shelly “Sethunya” Zenner
Private Bag 12
Hukuntsi
Botswana

Some More Pictures


A group of fellow volunteers at our In-Service-Training


Molly another volunteer putting me in a headlock...I guess I have that effect on people no matter where I go


Our friends from the capital came to visit us in Hukuntsi and they brought fireworks!


This picture is with Meera, Chris and I on the salt pan


Krishan, Meera and Chris trying to jump higher than the horizon so it looks like they're in the sky


Students at a prize giving ceremony at one of the schools close to our house


The kids LOVE to dance


So does my counterpart, Johnson, he is teaching the kids a special dance


More students...


A bridge over the delta at the Moremi Game Reserve



Patrick, our driver, kissing elephant poop. He says its good for making tea


Mama, pa and baby Ostriches


~ We love & miss you all ~

Adjusting In Hukuntsi

Christmas Is Coming

Dear Readers (in Chris’ words),

So another month has come and gone and we are still settling into our new hometown of Hukuntsi, Botswana. It is amazing to look back at the last month; it feels as though we have experienced so much, yet the experiences are small everyday things. Things you overlook when you are in the comfort of your native country.

Many of you may be wondering why the title of this blog includes the phrase “Christmas is coming”. Well, one of the major differences between our cultures is the process of naming children. The American process of naming children is unexplainable, since it varies so much. Here in Botswana children are named for words with meaning. For example, we have friends here with names that mean the future, gift, many helpers, work of God and to the surprise of one of our fellow volunteers…girl. Well our neighbor boy is named Oreeditse, which translates to Christmas Day. The other day we were sitting on our porch and I saw that he was on is way over and I said to Shel, “Hey Christmas is coming!” After laughing and thinking about how we will miss Christmas at home we felt a little homesick.

From time to time we endure periods of homesickness, in which we miss our families, friends, lakes and rivers, grass, food (like subway), driving cars, professional haircuts, milk by the gallon, miles instead of kilometers, not having sand in our shoes, going to the gym and celebrating American holidays. For the 4th of July we made plans with another volunteer to spend the weekend together and celebrate. Since our friend lives close to a major city, Jwaneng, we brought our cooler and hiking packs in order to stock up on groceries. We met up with her in Jwaneng, purchased what felt like 200 lbs (91 kgs for those local readers) worth of groceries and took the bus back to her place. We ate dinner, chatted about our experiences over a glass of wine and later in the evening, in honor of the 4th, we each lit off a box of matches. It wasn’t the same as fireworks, but it proved to be satisfying enough.

Throughout our settling in process we have undergone a variety of emotions, the main emotion being awkwardness. For the first two weeks just walking to and from work was stressful. When I think about it, being stressed out by this is foolish because the Batswana are wonderful people and it is extremely safe here, but when your language skills are limited and your surroundings are unfamiliar it takes a toll on your nerves. We both have had the same experience; I think our attitudes of not wanting to offend anyone have played a large roll in our emotional distress. We have found that when we do things together our stress levels are greatly reduced and when we have a Motswana friend with us stress isn’t even in our vocabulary.

Everyday that passes we feel more and more comfortable and our house is beginning to feel like a home. Other than some minor hurdles we are beginning to grow fond of our home in Hukuntsi.

Living With What We Get

Getting a haircut has proven to be difficult. The barbers here are not used to cutting the hair of white people, as a matter of fact, we were talking to a Motswana friend and he said, “Who cuts your hair because we aren’t used to cutting hair like you have”. Since my hair was getting to be a bit of a bother I had to turn to Shel. This may have caused me more stress than all of the walks to and from work combined. Ultimately, she did a good job, even though throughout the duration of the haircut she was overcome by bouts of uncontrollable laughter. At one point she said, “I’m going to call this haircut controlled chaos, because I don’t cut the length of your hair the same anywhere, that way no one will be able to tell if it’s even or not”. As you imagine this worried me some, but in the end the haircut turned out to be pretty good. I will be returning to her for another controlled chaos cut soon.

One thing that never fails to be an adventure for us is bus rides. Our most memorable bus ride was the day after the 4th of July. We got to the bus stop around 3:30, we were informed that the bus would arrive at 4, but knowing from experience that bus times are not reliable we arrived early. Even when you are informed of what time buses arrive people tend to be very vague. Earlier in the day we asked several people what time our bus came, we were told: in the afternoon, at noon or 11, 12, 1 or 2. Our bus arrived at 4:30, it was packed and it turned out to be a mini-bus with a max capacity of 24, but it was the last bus of the day so we piled or 200 lbs of groceries on and joined the crowd. Fortunately for Shel we had a cooler that she sat on, I was forced to stand. She later told me that she was jealous I got to stand because her cooler was against a seat leaning back so she could only sit at a 45-degree angle.

We had about 30 people on the bus and I was comfortably leaning against a seat, thinking about how much I wanted to sit down, when we stopped to pick more people up. This is when the bus went from 6 over the max capacity to 16 over. I was the last one in the aisle so I moved towards the back and kept moving back until I was eventually between a guy’s legs, which would have been squeezed shut if I hadn’t been between them. At this time I had about three moveable body parts my head and both my arms. I finally moved my head enough to look up towards the front and I realized Shel was sitting on the cooler at a 45-degree angle, holding a baby, with three peoples’ butts in her face. I’m not sure who had it worse. After an hour or so the bus stopped, several people got off and thankfully the conductor gave myself and another lady seats. Shel no longer had to hold the baby, but the butts remained.

Never Been Called That Before

Earlier in the month my co-worker Susie invited us to her cousin’s wedding. Weddings are a community event here and almost everyone is invited. They take place over a two-day period; everybody that shows up is offered lunch and beverages. This fact alone plays a main role in why so few people are married in Botswana (I can’t remember exactly but it’s something like only 20% of people old enough to marry are married). Weddings are expensive; it’s not unusual to feed over 500 people during the two-days. Along with the cost of the food and other items necessary for a wedding the Batswana pay a labola (dowry) to the bride’s family, on average a labola is 8-12 cattle, which can also be paid in cash (roughly $1,600-2,400US). Anyway, like I was saying, we got invited to a wedding, which we attended with two of my co-workers. I don’t think we witnessed the ceremony, but we did eat lunch. It’s hard to say exactly what part of the wedding we were there for, but we watched them open gifts and we heard several speeches, all in Setswana. The last speech of the day was given by the Kgosi, the chief of the village, since it was in Setswana and the last speech of the day Shel and I were pretty much zoned out. As a result, we were slow to realize it, when the Kgosi was pointing towards us and everyone was staring at us. A little shocked we both smiled and my co-worker leaned towards me and said, ”The Kgosi just asked ‘when is someone going to introduce me to the two colored people in the room’”.

Work as Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs)

Things are slow for both Shel and I, but that is to be expected during the first few months of service. I go into my office everyday and visit with all the people at my work and assess where I will be able to help. Things have been extremely slow with Shel’s NGO because there is no funding. So she is currently looking into grants and trying to find a way to get some funding. Meanwhile we are both thinking about our secondary projects and we would like to help out at the local schools. Hopefully we can teach HIV/AIDS education, leadership skills, empowerment, self-respect, budgeting, interpersonal relationships and possibly entrepreneurship, but right now this is what we would like to do…we need to see what the schools need. On top of that coaching basketball is something we’re both interested in…we will see what the headmasters say once we meet with them.

Thank You Host Families

The weekend before we were sworn in as volunteers we planned a party for our host families, to show our appreciation. The volunteers split into several committees: decorations, entertainment, shopping and cooking. I volunteered for the cooking committee and Shel volunteered for the entertainment committee. Since we had to do all the cooking for 200 people we kept it simple by having chicken, rice, coleslaw and bean salad. Me and two other dudes volunteered to cook the chicken since it was the manliest thing we could cook. Due to funding limitations Shel and those on the entertainment committee had to resort to doing a talent show as the sole means of entertainment. Many of the volunteers, myself included, had set very low expectations for the talent show. In the end the talent show proved to be the most successful of all the committees. Shel had a juggling act with another volunteer, our friend’s the Scharmers swing danced, another friend Stepped (Stepping is a kind of dancing) and two people played guitar and sang. At the very end of the party Shel played the song “Shout” and some of the volunteers and members of the host family danced together in the proper “Shout” fashion. We were both extremely proud to be an American after sharing such an important piece of American culture.

Trying to Understand (in Shelly’s words)

Some random things we haven’t figured out: do cows attack people and how do you stop the goats from breaking open your trash bags? Things we have figured out: never ask for a napkin at dinner because it means a babies diaper.

In Memory

Our host nkuku (grandma) recently passed away and we would like to say of few things about her. She was one of the first people we met here. She would always smile at us and talk to us even though neither of us understood each other, but we always ended up laughing. She was great to us and she will be missed.

~ We love & miss you all ~

Some Photos From The Last Few Months

A group of PCVs doing the electric
slide with one of the host moms
at the host family thank you party


This is our group "Bots 8"
at our swearing in ceremony


Chris celebrating with Lucas
after being sworn in as PCVs


Shelly & Amy celebrating after being sworn
in with their new addiction...chocolate


Our giant house in Hukuntsi
"The White Castle". Never thought
we would be living in a house like
this as PCV. Maybe a hut at best is
what we imagined.


View outside our window in
Hukuntsi....lots & lots of sand


Goats who frequently visit us
in our yard


Goats escaping our yard


Chris at a wellness fair with some
of his co-workers

Dumela (Hello)!

Finally we get to update our blog! Internet is more difficult to come by than we had expected...it’s been especially hard during training. We just haven’t had the time to go to the internet café and when we get access it is pretty slow and inconsistent.

Anyway we hope you’re doing well and we miss our family and friends very much. I want to start by congratulating my brother and sister-in-law…they will be having a baby boy this fall! Wish we could be there for the birth because it will be difficult being away during that time. Also Happy (belated) Mother’s Day to our ma’s. We love and miss you both. When we get home we promise that will make up for the brunches that we will miss. While we’re at it…Happy Father’s Day! Do you have a match (an inside joke we have with our dad’s so just ignore)?

WARNING: This will be a long and informative update because a lot has happened since our last blog posting. There are some pictures posted at the end of this post...


Welcome to Botswana

Lets start with Botswana. We are currently staying in Molepolole for our 8.5 weeks of training. The people in Molepolole have been very friendly and welcoming. We feel very safe and comfortable here. The city consists of grocery stores, gas stations, Western Chicken, internet cafes, a soccer stadium, sidewalk vendors, churches and several neighborhoods (known as wards). The houses in the wards vary greatly. Some have no electricity or running water. Some have all the amenities that a house in the States would have. Most of the families have a family compound that usually consists of a main house, a second house or a traditional house which is like a hut. Most compounds have chickens, dog(s) and cats. The animals here serve a purpose and are generally not regarded as family members like in the States. When we show Batswana (Batswana = more than one person from Botswana, Motswana = one person from Botswana) people pictures of our dog Fletch they think we’re crazy because we’re seen hugging him and playing with him inside our house. We have never seen a dog inside of a house since we’ve been here. The yards are dirt and so are most of the roads in the wards. There are paths between the compounds where you will often see chickens, donkeys and goats.

Throughout training we have been living with a host family. They have been very gracious towards us. We live on a family compound with electricity and running water. We have our own bedroom and we’re very comfortable. Our host mom calls us her children and she treats us as if we were. Also living on our family compound are 3 sisters, a cousin, the oldest sisters daughter, nkuku (grandma) and her sister. Every night we sit down eat dinner and watch the local soaps along with the news. Our family is helping us with learning the local language and teaching us how to cook the traditional foods. Most importantly they taught us how to wash our clothes by hand since we will be doing that for our entire service. Along with teaching us about their culture our host family also gave us our Setswana names. I am known in Botswana as Sethunya which means flower/rose. Chris is known as Tumelo which means belief/faith.

Sethunya (Set-tune-ya)
Tumelo (To-mel-low)

We are lucky to have such a wonderful host family that has taken care of us from the moment we arrived in Botswana!


Learning the Language and How Not to Offend Anyone

Training is the subject that consumes most of our lives right now. We complete training June 18th and will be sworn in as U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers. After the swearing in we pack up our bags and move to our sites. We have training everyday except Sunday. Training consists of 2-4 hours of language (Setswana), tea break and fat cakes if we’re lucky (kind of like a donut), program training that deals with our assignments, culture and diversity, tea break and some technical training on things like HIV/AIDS. We’re grateful for the training, but we will be happy when it’s over because we will gain some of our freedom back!

The downside of when training ends is that we will be leaving the safety net that is made up of our fellow trainees, our host family and the Peace Corps staff. We have gotten very close to the groups since we are with them everyday in an unfamiliar environment. In fact we have difficulty remembering a time in our lives when we did not know these people. It may sound strange since we have only known them for 2 months. The Peace Corps staff is great. Some are Americans, a few are from different countries in Africa, but most are from Botswana. I feel very confident in our staff in Botswana when dealing with serious problems, which makes us feel pretty good about our service here. The language teachers are very friendly. They teach us language everyday and answer all of our cultural questions. We would call several of them friends of ours. Our security guy is a wonderful as well. He gets things done and at the same time frightens people just enough so they don’t mess with us, but he is a very sweet man.

Our group of Peace Corps trainees is 61 strong. It is a very good group and we have gotten close to many of them. There are people from all of the U.S with different backgrounds, with ages ranging from 23-68 and the group also includes 9 couples. I would love to have them as neighbors when we return, but they must move to the Midwest because it is a wonderful place. We tell them how much we miss the lakes and how we will definitely miss snow when we’re experiencing 113 degree-days in January! We are seriously scared to face our first summer here.


Moving to the Kalahari

The next big update we have to share with you is our site placement. It was a very exciting day when our group found out where in Botswana we would spend the next two years of our lives. It was exciting because you have no control over where you go (unless you fake an illness ;) and the fact that you will be there for two years! All of the trainees knew which sites are Peace Corps “posh” and which are not. So as you could imagine we all had our fingers crossed that day.

Chris and I assumed (and you should never make assumptions in the Peace Corps) that we were going to be placed near the Okavango Delta because two spots were open that fit our assignments. However, we did not realize that we could also be placed in a village called, Hukuntsi. We got Hukuntsi, which is the opposite of being placed near the delta because it is in the middle of the Kalahari Desert! When it is freezing cold and snowy in Minnesota it will be scorching hot and sandy in Hukuntsi. We have already been daydreaming about swimming in the cold waters of the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness and it isn’t even hot here in Botswana.

The following is what a travel book had to say about Hukuntsi: it was known as one of the most remote areas in Botswana prior to the paving of the main road. There are no hotels in the area so visitors must either know someone to stay with or carry a tent. You’re in luck…you know two people in Hukuntsi!


Hukuntsi Visit

When we went to visit our site we were shocked when we got to our house. It may be the biggest house in Hukuntsi which will make it difficult to convince people we’re poor volunteers. Maybe they will believe us when they come inside and notice it mostly empty. We have 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, a big living room, a large kitchen, running water and electricity. Its funny living in a house like this when you’re surrounded by almost nothing and you have to make a 7 hour round trip for groceries. I don’t think they had many housing options for us in Hukuntsi.

We met our community and counterparts during our visit. The people are friendly and they laugh every time we tell them our Setswana names because most of them use English names. We met the chief and other elders in the community. Chris will be working with the Social and Community Development office. He is predicting that he will be working on Home Based Care with people affected by HIV/AIDS. He will also be working with orphans and vulnerable children. I will be working with a Nongovernmental Organization (NGO) that visits the 6 settlements located in the district. The NGO distributes food and water to the preschools located in the villages. They also provide educational materials. We will have to figure out a way to build capacity and create HIV/AIDS awareness among the villages during our two years there.


New Contact Information

We have cell phones if you would like to call us…we would call you, but it is too expensive for us on a Peace Corps budget. If you do call please keep in mind that we are 7 hours ahead of U.S. Central time. A good time to call is weekday evenings or anytime on Saturday or Sunday. Our time zone is GMT +2 and our country code is 267.
Chris – 723 466 49

Shelly – 723 466 45

If you would like to mail us something you can send it to Chris & Shelly Zenner (make sure to at least have Chris’s name since it is his work address) or Tumelo & Sethunya Zenner:

RAC Kgalagadi District
Private Bag 12
Hukuntsi, Botswana

Several people have asked us what we would like for them to send us so here it is…we love books and we will be reading all of the time at night since we will not have a television and there is not much, as far as, entertainment in Hukuntsi. The volunteers have a network of books that we pass around and we would very much appreciate anything to read (books and/or magazines). I've included a list below of books we have already gotten our hands on. Any sports equipment would be appreciated and it is something we could share with the kids. If you send sports equipment that needs to be inflated please send a small pump because we haven't seen any around here. Board games would be great as well. Chris loves candy. We are not going to be shy here and admit that it is strangely exciting when we get something in the mail. From family and other volunteers we heard the best way to send things is through the U.S.P.S. using a flat rate box. It seems to be on of the cheaper ways.

Books we have: Six Wives of Henry VIII, Power of One, Thousand Splendid Suns, Number One Ladies Detective Agency vol. 1-6 and the Miracle at Speedy Motors (don't know which vol), World War Z, Intensity, You Can Hear Me Now, The Thorn Birds, Dreams of My Father, A Little Yellow Dog, Twilight (1st one), The Gate House, Time Travelers Wife, The Band Plays On, Bio Ghandi, Kite Runner, Short History on Nearly Everything and the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.


What’s Next?

We will be sworn in as official U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers on Thursday, June 18th. Then we will make our way to Hukuntsi the following day and make ourselves at home for the next two years!

We miss you and we will keep you posted…don’t forget to let us know how you’re doing as well!

Photos with our host family

Images of Botswana