Gina Difino's Reports

John and I have settled in quite nicely at St. Rodrigue. The past three weeks have been mostly of reflection and immersion. Our week with the Drakes and Allison really oriented us and got us on our feet. We spent time getting to know the sisters, the neighbors, the shops, and Maseru. Everyone has welcomed us with open arms.

School did not begin for some time after we arrived so we had a lot of time to plant our garden. Hopefully, it will grow well and we are already beginning to see some sprouts. Allison and Ian left us some wonderful cabbage and carrots, so we are already off to a great start. We have appreciated some local advice from Sylvester, a friend from down the road and formal pupil of M'e' Sue Drake. He is one of many visitors. And finally, the peaches on our trees should be ripe by the end of this month. We have enlisted the help of a good teacher friend to help us with the canning and drying as we will have way too many peaches to eat.

We have just finished the second week-first full week-of school. I think our backgrounds in education have made the work transition quite easy. I will save my discussion of the school system until my next report. I bring it up here to highlight how we have been using our time and energy. Our skills have been called upon and we have stepped up to take on more responsibility. John was drafted as the athletics (track) coach and I will help another teacher coach volleyball. I am planning to do what I can with the choir, though most of those students have not arrived yet as many students are waiting to hear the results of the Cambridge exam. Many of the teachers are delighted to hear that I speak French and want me to set up a teacher's lesson for that. I am very excited to be able to use this language skill as I thought it would lay dormant for this year. With the head of the humanities, we will continue the English Club that was started near the end of last year. I am very enthusiastic about the abundance of extra-curriculars and have taken on many, as is my nature.

One subject that I would like to treat here, with trepidation, is gender. Living on this mission certainly presents a unique case of living with gender and I would like to share my observations and assumptions, however faulty they may be.

I say that St. Rodrigue is decidedly a unique case because it is unquestionably female-dominated. The sisters really run the mission and the school. Most of the houses here are owned by the mission for the teachers and other workers. The sisters are in control of everything here and none of their needs ever go unmet. Because they are inscribed in-and by their situation are servants to-the Catholic Church, this provides an interesting paradox. There is a parish priest here at all times. In the Catholic Church, the priest is superior to the nun: he can say mass and absolve sins and invoke the Holy Spirit. The nuns, however, can pretty much decide whether the assigned priest stays at St. Rodrigue (this, from information from George Drake). This is incredible power over the priest.

There are not many men on the mission relative to the number of women. Most of the men here are teachers or other workers for the sisters. Both of these groups must be somehow subordinate to the sisters. There are many younger boys, but they mostly serve as herdboys. I do not know where they live or to whom they belong.

The huge paradox of it all is that women and men both have defined gender roles. We have not felt all these out, but many are consistent with American gender stereotypes. For instance, if something is broken, people undoubtedly ask John to help and not me. Horses, as well, are the domain of men. Cooking and cleaning generally belong to women, though with many male teachers here, they must do their own laundry. Relations between the genders are interesting as well. I have noticed that many of the younger male visitors we have are much friendlier with John. Additionally, the women who we are friends with will only grab my hand as we walk around. Being a white woman has never been easy in Africa in my experience. Not a day goes by without some man I do not know telling me that he loves me. This is certainly not al the men here, but one out of all the men I see everyday. It is a very bizarre position to be in. It also makes it difficult to meet people as equals. And that is where I struggle.

Overall, it has been a fantastic beginning and I look forward to getting involved in many classes and extra-curriculars. What I don't look forward to: the nightly catch-the-big-nasty-bug game.