Taxing Troubles

Blog 15 april

Today is April 15 and Uncle Sam beckons for that which is due for 2006. Our taxes have not been filed. The Peace Corps lessons on Patience and Flexibility soften our anger, stress and frustration at our inability to accomplish a business task and the lack of control we have over our former lives in the United States.

Control and security are two buzzwords in America and middle class, middle age types take extraordinary measures to insure themselves, organize their finances and personal lives, and assess the risk of every daily activity. Peace Corps volunteers can take personal security measures but they cannot control communication, business in the US and transport.

Last June as we prepared to leave our home in Palos Verdes for two years, we sought advice on how to file our personal income taxes. We went to a CPA and provided data, documents and contact numbers and he agreed to prepare the tax returns for 2006. When January came along we forwarded the tax documents to the accountant and looked forward to getting the return by mail or email. When no return arrived by March, we emailed him and received the reply that he was swamped and would work on the return over the weekend. By last week we started to be concerned. A phone call to his office produced no response and our property manager’s inquiry produced no goods. The return is too complicated for us to do ourselves as our home was turned into a rental. So we sit today in South Africa feeling somewhat anxious, but utterly helpless as to what action can be taken. (Several of our contacts have tried to reassure us with the fact that taxes are not due until the 17th). Even if they arrived tomorrow, we may not have functioning email and the Hospital does not have a fax. Advice for potential Peace Corps volunteers-Try to cut all business ties to the US before you leave home.

So maybe after our tour of duty as Peace Corps volunteers, we will be housed in another Federal facility, Leavenworth. LOL. So all is not perfect in this beautiful country. In fact, most of the frustrations in our version of the Peace Corps are based on dealings with the US- three weeks for air mail to arrive at great cost; poor reception, delay, echo and disconnect from phone calls; no access to fax machines, intermittent email at night and no email in the day; and difficulty paying bills from South Africa. Control is held near and dear to American hearts. This experience in the third world 12,000 miles away has taught more than flexibility-seek peace and serenity in the midst of discord. The problems we have encountered have worked out, although not on our timetable. Fretting about the things one cannot control is not productive and our tasks here are so compelling that business and personal issues in the US fade in their importance. Our concern today is whether we can get a taxi back to the hospital this afternoon, how far we have to walk with our loaded shopping bags, and how to accurately do the payroll tomorrow so that no employee is cheated out of one rand. Dealing with the patients is a reminder of how blessed we are to have good health, confidence, and hope for the future.

The Jabule group is growing in numbers, energy and enthusiasm every day. This week the patients were hand sewing skirts, fleece hats for winter, dresses for their daughters, shopping bags with beading, and Zulu jewelry. A find was a load of old telephone cable on a junk pile which was stripped by the male patients, producing beautifully colored copper wires which will be woven in baskets. Dangly Zulu beaded earrings with the red and white AIDS symbol were made by some of the patients. Five new women joined the group and made head scarves as their first project. We celebrated a great week of Sizabuntu (Community Helping Project) by making No Bake Cookies on Friday, with the nurses translating the ingredients for the patients. We are outgrowing the small TV lounge and the time required to cut out each project and provide materials to each patient increases but the women are good natured. Thankfully, the Peace Corps grant will provide volunteer helpers to assist very soon.