Direct approach, The Best Approach

“And the lord said, Vote for Jacob Zuma and the African National Congress!” Preacher man, seriously?

Let me ask you a question, Do you feel so empowered by the power of Jesus flowing through your veins that you have to take to the streets and sing and chant in the name of Jesus!? Well I personally have not, but don’t let that stop you if you have. So I decided to go to Church this past Easter weekend. I wasn’t sure if it was Church, a chorus concert, ANC youth rally, or what, but let me tell you, it was something that’s for sure. At one point everyone is up dancing and singing in a language you were supposed to have learned during training, but you have no idea what is being said, and then the next minute you’re hearing from the preacher about how Jacob Zuma needs to be the next president of South Africa and the African National Congress will continue with the development of South Africa you can understand I was a bit confused. And when everyone started piling out of the Church to flock into the streets to sing, dance, and run down the street in the name of Jesus the only thing you can do is run with the crowd too, because if you don’t you gonna die, and you can’t move to the side because there is nowhere to go. And when you almost get hit by a bus, but you don’t, people screamed “it’s because the power of Jesus saved you!” I personally believe that it didn’t hit me because I decided to step out of the way, but hey, just do what is that it does, and in the end everyone is happy.

So work is alright too. So everyone is told to come to the office at around 8am, because that’s when the office opens. There’s only so many days you can come at 8am and be the only one that is there on time and then realize that maybe you can come a bit later. So I came at 8:20 the next few days and still I was the only one there which makes me say, man and I thought Asian time was bad… The days at the office have been pretty tame. Researching the numbers, financial records, donors, network and partnerships, statistics, and other things that the organization has compiled over the years ain’t glamorous, but I suppose it must be done. I’ve been teaching some of the workers how to type and use Microsoft office. It’s been alright. You might now say dude, you could be doing so many more things than just this. I know, just bear with me. Every single peace corps volunteer, including the ones that are considered to be the hot shots have all said don’t do anything outrageous for the first 3 months, observe, learn stuff, learn how the game is played down here, and meet people. Some said that they’re biggest regrets was that they pushed things too quickly. So I intend to keep it this way for now. So don’t get your panties caught up in a vice and cry when it gets tangled up in a knot. Everything will fall into place very soon. At least I hope…

I like to take a small walk after work. Go into an area that I haven’t been in before. It’s a pretty area, very easy on the eyes (minus the extreme poverty that fills me with deep sadness, but that’s why I’m here I guess). So as you walk, or in Siswati they say “ngakoke wena ushaya moyo” (so then you beat the wind, if you want a direct translation) everything is great until you see them. Not just see them, but hear them too, the sound and sight of little kids running circles around you screaming at the top of their lungs….. “CHIIINNNAAA!!!!” Alright seriously this has got to stop. So I try to explain that I’m not Chinese, I’m Vietnamese. It’s a big difference, I mean not so much genetically or culturally technically, but screw you it’s different okay? So what do you do about this? Do you yell at them? Do you get mad? I can only deal with this the only way Alex Tran can deal with this (yeah I speak in the third person, big whoop wanna fight about it?). I speak to them in only Siswati. Talk about the weather, about school, what you’re doing here, and not speaking one word of English. And they stare back at you in sheer shock. And suddenly they run out of things to say. Or maybe they really just don’t understand what I’m saying because my Swati really isn’t that good. So being satisfied I walk off knowing that that group of kids is alright until I hear another group of children, but this time they yell, “Mluuuuunkuuu!!!” (Did I spell that right?) Which is the word for white person or foreigner, and I do the exact same thing I have a polite conversation with them in nothing but Siswati. It works, but I can’t go around doing this forever. I gotta take these kids to the rack. Dunk on their faces as they actually thought they could stop me from driving through the lane and taking it to the basket. I went to the school. Walked into every single classroom and introduced myself to every one of the children. It was great fun, and now most of the village kids actually call me by my given South African name “Sibussiso” which means gift. A name like “surprise” probably would’ve been more appropriate as in, “Surprise this Chinaman is actually from the United States of America.” So I suppose I learned a lot. That this development thing isn’t just about doing stuff, it’s about getting people to trust you. So I’m hoping the next couple of months I’ll be able to have the opportunity to get to know the community and have them know me as Sibussio and not that mysterious foreigner who is here to take our jobs. I was going to right more about the professional challenges I face or the problems I see every day that is detrimental to society and the system, but I’m getting tired. I’ll do that next time. But I’m good stopping here. Later.