“Me Time”

What my Sunday looks like as I’m settling into Botswana life ☀️

After a busy and beautiful week of PST (pre-service training) with classes from Monday to Saturday on language, culture, and thriving as a Peace Corps volunteer, I’m enjoying my free day!

I’m currently laying on my cozy bed reading GOT under my mosquito net in Nick and I’s sun-soaked room at our homestay. We spent the morning eating scrambled eggs and drinking coffee with our host mom as she laughed about how much hot sauce I was eating. She then helped me make dough to cook magwinya (fat cakes) later, which are dangerously easy to make and devour! She also taught us some Setswana this morning as we were chatting, always referring to us by the Setswana names she gave us. Nicholas is Kitso, meaning knowledge, and I am Lorato, meaning charity or love. To say she had welcomed us into her family would be an understatement.

Later this morning we will be hand washing our laundry, which I have incredible respect for now! But in this moment I’m making sure to make time for myself, which is an important coping mechanism for how much change we are going through. Even just taking 10 minutes to do some yoga, read a chapter of a book, journal, nap, or take a deep breath is refreshing and helps us to decompress. It will continue to build in importance as we face challenges and adapt to create more resilience, so forming healthy habits now makes me feel optimistic for how we will continue to grow in Botswana.

Our Peace Corps staff has expressed how we need to find this “me time” to succeed and explained to our homestay why this is common for Americans compared to the heavily family oriented Batswana culture. Things that may not have bothered us much in the US may hit a little harder while trying to integrate in an unfamiliar country without our usual family and friends. But even coming home drained after a long day of training and then jumping into cooking dinner and washing dishes, I feel refreshed spending time laughing with Kitso, talking to our nkgonne (older brother), and watching animal documentaries or MTV with our mom!

So while I appreciate some “me time” just as I did in the states, it makes life much more beautiful being surrounded by such lovely and friendly people! And it also helps having such a solid support system at home I can share my adventures with. 😊

Tsamaya sentle,

Lorato