LONG DAY

I finally had quite a productive day on the job.  Left the house about 7 a.m. by taxi to the train station, took the train to Hatfield and then walked to the "Backpackers" place where I initially stayed and where there always seems to be PCVS coming or going.  I  met with Josh, a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) there for several hours who is an econ teacher in the Northern Cape and is in his third year here (numerous volunteers extend for a year). 

Also chatted with another PCV who was studying for her foreign service exam and lives in KwaZuluNatal and got her input, then yet another who lives in that same area but doing different work.  Then Josh took me me to met some people he recently encountered who are staying near the Backpackers; a group from Fordham University in NY who are doing a six-month exchange and learning/teaching.  We met with the program director who is very willing to take me out to a couple of nearby villages from Pretoria and visit with the community there.

Went back to the train station, got to Joburg, taxi'd back and arrived home about 6 p.m. A good information-gathering day from a variety of sources that I'll mull over and get it sorted (love that term!) to decide what/where I need to go which likely is not quite what was set out for me initially.

Progress!