Sunday, August 16, 2009 8:14pm
New Mailing Address:
Darryn Crocker,PCV
United States Peace Corps
PO Box 351
Matata, L312
Swaziland, AFRICA
Everything that was previously sent to the Mbabane address will still get to me, no worries. This is a new PO Box address that is in Matata, which is closer to my new community. Thus, I will probably be shopping and visiting there more often than Mbabane. From now on, unless you decide to use the Fed Ex/DHL route, mail packages and letters to this address! Thanks! (Parents – if my cell phone e-mail did not go through, I got your packages!!!! Thanks ten million tons! It felt like my birthday/Christmas/Groundhog’s Day all rolled into one and celebrated on my hut’s cement floor!)
I know everyone is really eager to hear about my new digs, because I was certainly ravenous to find out any scrap of info possible. Well, I am now back from my 5day visit to my new community, so I am full of stories, info, and excitement! Let me share!
eKuphumleni is located in the south-eastern corner of the country. It is remarkable how different it is than the northern part of the country I presently inhabit. Down there I am in AFRICA AFRICA… like… cactus, rock formations, dry, hot, mostly flat with some rolling hills, only dirt roads/paths, dried up river beds, more stick and mud structures or thatch roofing… Let’s just say, I kept expecting to see Pride Rock with Simba and friends singing “Akhunamatata”! I love it!
My new family, The Dlaminis, are wonderful! My Babe works in the mines in South Africa, so he is only home maybe one weekend a month. It just so happened that he was home the weekend I arrived, so I was able to meet him. We did not get much time to really bond (especially since he does not speak English), but he always seemed amused by my attempts at siSwati. My make is a happy, food-pushing (like all Swazi women I have met), homemaker. I like her very very much, and can’t wait to learn more siSwati so I can communicate more with her. I have a couple older siblings who do not live at home, one 23 year old sisi who is expecting a baby in Oct, a 15 year old bhuti, and a 7 year old niece. My pregnant sisi is very quickly becoming a close Swazi friend. Her name is Thobile (“Toh-bee-leh”) and we shared a bonding moment one morning as I walked in on her belting a Backstreet Boys song that was on the radio. I jumped in singing with her and we both laughed hysterically. The 7 year old, Neliswa, was very shy at first, but after I taught her how to “Thumb Wrestle” we quickly became buds. The fam also includes multiple goats, cows, chickens, roosters, a new litter of pigs, and one friendly dog!
My new living structure is a cylindrical structure with a thatched pointed roof. It is painted sea foam green on the inside and tan/brown on the outside. I have two windows and a broken door (just the latching mechanism and it will be fixed by the time I move in). Plus, for safety, PC installs burglar doors, window bars, and a lightening rod to every volunteer’s house. The main house has electricity and my room is wired for it, but they are not connected at the present moment. The entire homestead is off the “main” dirt road, which places me directly behind my bus stop named “Stilo” (Steel-oh: the name of the dried up river just south of my house). I will probably be pumping and wheel-barrowing my water from the bore hole located ~75-100 yards from my home. My family kept mentioning that the water was “salty” so I may be making other arrangements.
Wednesday August 19, 2009 2:22pm
My last entry was interrupted by my computer running out of battery. I am now hanging out in Kate’s indlu (house) while my computer charges and I finish this blog. We should be studying for our siSwati test, which is tomorrow… we will get on that soon. ;-)
So back to my new site. I enjoyed my visit the past week. I met a BUNCH of important people! About a 20-30 minute walk from my house there is a primary school, a clinic (probably the reason they put me here), a traditional healer, NCP (Neighborhood Care Point: place to care for orphans and vulnerable children “OVCs”), the umpakatsi and kaGogo Center (chiefdom meeting place), a market, a few small sitolo (Little House on the Prairie style store), and a hair place. Within an hour walk are multiple churches (sometimes at houses) and another primary school. I take a 15 minute bus ride north along my “main” dirt road to get to the Inkhundla (governmental regional building and meeting place) and police post. Other than the churches, I visited all of these places with either my kaGogo Center counterpart, Vusi, or my sisi, Thobile. I met our area’s Member of Parliament and other government representatives as well as school principals, the chief of police, traditional healer, teachers, shot keepers, and many more community members/new neighbors. It was a very productive few days.
I spent one night at the end of that trip with a Group 6 couple, the Jacksons. They took me to their homestead, answered any and all of my questions, cooked great food, and welcomed me to the region. They were wonderful, and I am very excited to spend more time with them in the future. I also believe there is a G7 couple (Laura & Brandon) within a bike ride south from me… we will soon find out!! I am very excited to get a bike. Although I am in a hotter part of the country, my ability to get and be safe riding a bike is a major plus! Yay! “I want to ride my bicycle. I want to ride my bike. I want to ride my bicycle. I want to ride it where I like….” (Queen song reference :-P)
I know there are probably a million more things you want to know about my new place so please ask. I will be finding even more out once I move there on the 28th! I move out of my current host family’s place this coming Monday. We have a few days in the capital city, Mbabane, and then the Swear-In ceremony on Thurs. Aug. 27th where I officially become a Peace Corps Volunteer! I bought a traditional Swazi outfit for this event and may even bust out some make-up... crazy huh!?! :-P On the 28th they drop me off with my bags and I start the 3month integration project (aka. go out, meet local people, learn more siSwati, write a report).
Another part of the Peace Corps experience I decided to take on while here is to correspond with a high school classroom back in the US. Just yesterday I received the e-mail (on my cell phone screen!!!) that I was paired with Pinon High School in Arizona. At least once a month I will be sending a letter to this classroom and sharing my newly acquired cultural knowledge with them. In turn, they will send me letters with questions, concerns, and thoughts which will fulfill one of the goals of the Peace Corps! I am very excited for this exchange.
Ok, I should get studying… I hope to be in Piggs Peak tomorrow or Friday to send this off. On Sat. our host families are invited to an Appreciation Day. We are cooking for them, teaching them an easy Sqaure Dance, singing a siSwati song called “Sho Sho Lodza” (which I was somehow volunteered to lead/solo), and present a picture slideshow when appreciation certificates are handed out. It should be a lot of fun, and my host family is excited about it. I love you all tons, and am so enjoying the overwhelmingly generous support from everyone. I am creating a crafty letter box to keep all of your letters in, because they most certainly are my most precious items here!
Sala Kahle (Stay Well),
Zodwa
Friday, August 21, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
PC Joke
I only have a couple minutes left on this public computer, but I wanted to share a joke with my readers. I can not claim to possess the wit and comedic constitution to have made this up. I just wanted to pass it along. Enjoy!
An optimist sees the glass half full, the pessimist sees the glass half empty, the Peace Corps Volunteer sees the glass and says, “I can take a bath in that”! :-P
Love you all ten million tons!
An optimist sees the glass half full, the pessimist sees the glass half empty, the Peace Corps Volunteer sees the glass and says, “I can take a bath in that”! :-P
Love you all ten million tons!
Caught in the Rain
2nd Aug. 2009 (How it is written in Swaziland DD/MM/YY)
Oh do I have some fun stories for you guys! This has been quite the eventful week, where should I begin my tale? Well, the one that is freshest in my mind is the story of how Darryn/Zodwa became stuck in Kate’s pit latrine just before 7am this morning while it was pouring/hailing/lightening. Rewind- 12hours!
My family invited myself and Kate to a cultural event last night. Our Gogo (grandmother) was holding an all-night vigil service for her “cleansing”. She had been in mourning for her dead husband for two years, wearing black clothes, and last night was the celebration of the end of this period. I was told to be ready to leave at 9pm so we could be there by 10pm when it was suppose to start. Not yet being used to “Swazi time” I was in the house, blanket and warm clothes on, ready to go at 9pm sharp… we left at 10pm and the vigil didn’t actually start until 11:15pm! Remember as the clock ticks during this story that Kate and I ran ~45min at 6am this morning, had a full day of school/placement excitement, and are use to a normal bedtime being around 8:30pm... if coffee is involved… maybe. :-P So as people file into this purple and white striped graduation party/circus tent on my Gogo’s homestead, Kate and I plopped into the plastic chairs hoping and praying that no one would want us to use our exhausted/brain-fried siSwati… fat chance.
We were escorted by a sisi I had not met until that day around to multiple extended family members and friends scattered amongst the busily cooking/preparing women (the men were sitting and chatting separately). We were quite startled to find Kate’s Make in a separate hut with multiple mutilated cow parts butchered and hung on the walls! This cultural adventure was getting started off with a bang! The ceremony finally began with a Zionist church congregation (Gogo and Mkhulu were Zionist), coming in dressed in bright green, blue and white outfits, singing. Then the pastor would preach and awhile later another Zionist congregation (same colors, different outfits) would come in singing. This happened 4 or 5 times. Mostly Zionist congregations, but a troop of bright yellow and green Jericho believers came in around 12:30pm. All in all, I want to say around 150 people were packed into this tent, women on one side men on the other, and most sitting on the ground.
Kate and I sang the only word we knew, “Halleluiah” in one song/chant, and got up and sway “danced” at another song, but were mostly just observers trying not to nod-off. At some point it started raining. I had already cleared it with my family that we would probably not be staying ‘til 7am, when it was suppose to get over. We stayed semi-conscious until around 1am and then asked my sisi if it was a good opportunity to quietly leave. For safety, a few siblings walked Kate and I to her hut. To let them get back to their celebration quicker, I spent the night on Kate’s grass-mat, so they would not have to walk me all the way back to my house. Luckily for us, it was only drizzling at this point.
Just before 7am our bladders acted as an alarm clock. I was the second to run out to Kate’s pit latrine. Somehow I timed it just right, so while I was out there it REALLY started pouring! And then small pieces of hail came down. I could see all of this through the six inch space between the roof and wall of the pit latrine structure, if I stood on my toes. I was stuck. It was a beautiful storm, but not quite the same as watching it from a window in a warm house. A bit colder, wetter, and stinky-er. :-/ I stayed out there for about 5-10minutes, until I could hear the slightest let up in the sheets of rain on the corrugated tin roof and made a dash for it. Insta-soak. No matter though… thanks to the rain, I have been able to put off my laundry and write this exciting account of Saturday night shenanigans in Swaziland. But alas, the sun is back out and the laundry is calling…. Until next time, enjoy your water-proof bathroom. :-P
Same Day 5:12pm
My laundry is finally finished! I could use a wonderful back massage right about now. :-P Instead of getting an amazing back massage, I am boiling some water to make rice. Many people have commented or alluded to the growing worry that I am not able to cook for myself (both Swazi and American). I would like to assure everyone that I am doing very well in the kitchen, thank you! Except for poaching eggs, I am awful at poaching eggs! That is being added to my two year goals: save lives, integrate into a new culture, learn a new language, run a ½ marathon, successfully poach an egg. All very lofty indeed. :-P
On with my stories! Since I started with the most recent, we will work our way back through the week. Yesterday, we found out where we will be located for the two years!! I am going to be living in Ekuphumleni “Eh-goo-poom-leh-nee” which is in the Shiselweni “Shih-sell-weh-nee” region. It is located in the southern most part of Swaziland. I have a picture of my house. It is a cylindrical, one room, thatched roof, cutie. The door frame, and possibly inside, is painted neon green (Scoob- perfect for you!). I guess there is a clinic nearby, but it is pretty set back from a main road. With public transport, it sounds like it will take about 6 hours to get to the capital city and thus the PC Office. I would love to tell you guys more, but I just don’t know anything else yet. I travel there on Sat. (Aug. 8th), and then I will have so much more to tell!! Everything thing I hear, though, is positive, and I am in love with it already! FYI: If I translated it correctly Ekuphumleni means “the place of rest”. Hahaha! Ms. Type A personality, goal oriented, semi-workaholic, busybody is sent to “the place of rest” to work for two years. God certainly has a grasp on irony.
Jumping back into my blogging time machine, last Monday and Tuesday was our field trip! We went to Mbabane first to pick up our cell phones. Mine is nifty, but for some reason the Swazi network will not let me call anyone in the 231 area code. They can call me though. For anyone who does not live in northern Michigan, that covers almost ALL of my family and a ton of friends!!! Very very frustrating. My mother does have my number now, so give her a ring/email to get it (for security reasons I don’t wish to post it).
After cell phones we went to the national museum. It was small and cute. From there we went to, what is now, one of my favorite places in Swaziland! There is a cultural village (very much for tourists, but who cares?) where we walked through traditional huts, had a very entertaining guide, and then saw a traditional dance team perform. It was awesome! At the same location we walked down a path to a very beautiful waterfall. Many pictures were taken. Our travels then landed us in a national game park, but sadly it was almost dark so we could not see many animals. We enjoyed a blazing bon fire, some beverages, and I opted to see some more cultural dancing performed by the park rangers. At this performance I was pulled up to learn the basic moves (mostly stomping in rhythm), among many others, and I had a blast!
The following day I woke early to scout out some animals near our dorms and found some impala and zebras. There were supposedly hippos at this park, but sadly we did not have the time to find them (again, thinking of you Shelby). Back in Piggs Peak, we toured a regional hospital. It was teeny-tiny in comparison to hospitals in the US and struggling, like the entire healthcare system, to combat HIV/AIDS and its aftermath.
***My typing was just interrupted by my bhuti (brother) knocking at my door and offering my Make’s beef stew. Told you everyone is worried about me eating. Needless to say, I am now eating beef stew with my rice, even though I am not a beef fan. :-P ***
After the hospital, we went back to our training center for lunch and a debriefing session. That was the end to our fun field trip. It was wonderful seeing a bit more of the country. Since my permanent site is so far away (literally the polar opposite end) from where we are now, I will be seeing much more of the country within the week!
On that note, I should close this very long-winded, multi-story, blog entry, and eat my food. :-) Again, thanks everyone for the thoughts, prayers, and letters. You all are such a blessing to me, even so far away. Huge hugs!
Zodwa/Darryn
Oh do I have some fun stories for you guys! This has been quite the eventful week, where should I begin my tale? Well, the one that is freshest in my mind is the story of how Darryn/Zodwa became stuck in Kate’s pit latrine just before 7am this morning while it was pouring/hailing/lightening. Rewind- 12hours!
My family invited myself and Kate to a cultural event last night. Our Gogo (grandmother) was holding an all-night vigil service for her “cleansing”. She had been in mourning for her dead husband for two years, wearing black clothes, and last night was the celebration of the end of this period. I was told to be ready to leave at 9pm so we could be there by 10pm when it was suppose to start. Not yet being used to “Swazi time” I was in the house, blanket and warm clothes on, ready to go at 9pm sharp… we left at 10pm and the vigil didn’t actually start until 11:15pm! Remember as the clock ticks during this story that Kate and I ran ~45min at 6am this morning, had a full day of school/placement excitement, and are use to a normal bedtime being around 8:30pm... if coffee is involved… maybe. :-P So as people file into this purple and white striped graduation party/circus tent on my Gogo’s homestead, Kate and I plopped into the plastic chairs hoping and praying that no one would want us to use our exhausted/brain-fried siSwati… fat chance.
We were escorted by a sisi I had not met until that day around to multiple extended family members and friends scattered amongst the busily cooking/preparing women (the men were sitting and chatting separately). We were quite startled to find Kate’s Make in a separate hut with multiple mutilated cow parts butchered and hung on the walls! This cultural adventure was getting started off with a bang! The ceremony finally began with a Zionist church congregation (Gogo and Mkhulu were Zionist), coming in dressed in bright green, blue and white outfits, singing. Then the pastor would preach and awhile later another Zionist congregation (same colors, different outfits) would come in singing. This happened 4 or 5 times. Mostly Zionist congregations, but a troop of bright yellow and green Jericho believers came in around 12:30pm. All in all, I want to say around 150 people were packed into this tent, women on one side men on the other, and most sitting on the ground.
Kate and I sang the only word we knew, “Halleluiah” in one song/chant, and got up and sway “danced” at another song, but were mostly just observers trying not to nod-off. At some point it started raining. I had already cleared it with my family that we would probably not be staying ‘til 7am, when it was suppose to get over. We stayed semi-conscious until around 1am and then asked my sisi if it was a good opportunity to quietly leave. For safety, a few siblings walked Kate and I to her hut. To let them get back to their celebration quicker, I spent the night on Kate’s grass-mat, so they would not have to walk me all the way back to my house. Luckily for us, it was only drizzling at this point.
Just before 7am our bladders acted as an alarm clock. I was the second to run out to Kate’s pit latrine. Somehow I timed it just right, so while I was out there it REALLY started pouring! And then small pieces of hail came down. I could see all of this through the six inch space between the roof and wall of the pit latrine structure, if I stood on my toes. I was stuck. It was a beautiful storm, but not quite the same as watching it from a window in a warm house. A bit colder, wetter, and stinky-er. :-/ I stayed out there for about 5-10minutes, until I could hear the slightest let up in the sheets of rain on the corrugated tin roof and made a dash for it. Insta-soak. No matter though… thanks to the rain, I have been able to put off my laundry and write this exciting account of Saturday night shenanigans in Swaziland. But alas, the sun is back out and the laundry is calling…. Until next time, enjoy your water-proof bathroom. :-P
Same Day 5:12pm
My laundry is finally finished! I could use a wonderful back massage right about now. :-P Instead of getting an amazing back massage, I am boiling some water to make rice. Many people have commented or alluded to the growing worry that I am not able to cook for myself (both Swazi and American). I would like to assure everyone that I am doing very well in the kitchen, thank you! Except for poaching eggs, I am awful at poaching eggs! That is being added to my two year goals: save lives, integrate into a new culture, learn a new language, run a ½ marathon, successfully poach an egg. All very lofty indeed. :-P
On with my stories! Since I started with the most recent, we will work our way back through the week. Yesterday, we found out where we will be located for the two years!! I am going to be living in Ekuphumleni “Eh-goo-poom-leh-nee” which is in the Shiselweni “Shih-sell-weh-nee” region. It is located in the southern most part of Swaziland. I have a picture of my house. It is a cylindrical, one room, thatched roof, cutie. The door frame, and possibly inside, is painted neon green (Scoob- perfect for you!). I guess there is a clinic nearby, but it is pretty set back from a main road. With public transport, it sounds like it will take about 6 hours to get to the capital city and thus the PC Office. I would love to tell you guys more, but I just don’t know anything else yet. I travel there on Sat. (Aug. 8th), and then I will have so much more to tell!! Everything thing I hear, though, is positive, and I am in love with it already! FYI: If I translated it correctly Ekuphumleni means “the place of rest”. Hahaha! Ms. Type A personality, goal oriented, semi-workaholic, busybody is sent to “the place of rest” to work for two years. God certainly has a grasp on irony.
Jumping back into my blogging time machine, last Monday and Tuesday was our field trip! We went to Mbabane first to pick up our cell phones. Mine is nifty, but for some reason the Swazi network will not let me call anyone in the 231 area code. They can call me though. For anyone who does not live in northern Michigan, that covers almost ALL of my family and a ton of friends!!! Very very frustrating. My mother does have my number now, so give her a ring/email to get it (for security reasons I don’t wish to post it).
After cell phones we went to the national museum. It was small and cute. From there we went to, what is now, one of my favorite places in Swaziland! There is a cultural village (very much for tourists, but who cares?) where we walked through traditional huts, had a very entertaining guide, and then saw a traditional dance team perform. It was awesome! At the same location we walked down a path to a very beautiful waterfall. Many pictures were taken. Our travels then landed us in a national game park, but sadly it was almost dark so we could not see many animals. We enjoyed a blazing bon fire, some beverages, and I opted to see some more cultural dancing performed by the park rangers. At this performance I was pulled up to learn the basic moves (mostly stomping in rhythm), among many others, and I had a blast!
The following day I woke early to scout out some animals near our dorms and found some impala and zebras. There were supposedly hippos at this park, but sadly we did not have the time to find them (again, thinking of you Shelby). Back in Piggs Peak, we toured a regional hospital. It was teeny-tiny in comparison to hospitals in the US and struggling, like the entire healthcare system, to combat HIV/AIDS and its aftermath.
***My typing was just interrupted by my bhuti (brother) knocking at my door and offering my Make’s beef stew. Told you everyone is worried about me eating. Needless to say, I am now eating beef stew with my rice, even though I am not a beef fan. :-P ***
After the hospital, we went back to our training center for lunch and a debriefing session. That was the end to our fun field trip. It was wonderful seeing a bit more of the country. Since my permanent site is so far away (literally the polar opposite end) from where we are now, I will be seeing much more of the country within the week!
On that note, I should close this very long-winded, multi-story, blog entry, and eat my food. :-) Again, thanks everyone for the thoughts, prayers, and letters. You all are such a blessing to me, even so far away. Huge hugs!
Zodwa/Darryn
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