Final Days of 2010

December 31st, 2010
5:13pm

With the final hours of 2010 ticking by, I wanted to update everyone on the last adventures I got myself into in this crazy but wonderful year. Most of December was spent with amazingly strong and playful kids between the ages of 9 and 16 at Sivivane Camp. I don’t remember if I explained the name of this camp last year, but I will dedicate this tangent to doing just that. When the first families were traveling south into what is now Swaziland they would come upon these mounds of stones, a “sivivane”. They would then add an additional stone with some pieces of grass under it. These were markers to let people know that they were on the right path, that others had gone before them so the way was safe, and, based on the freshness of the grass cuttings, would give the travelers an estimate of how far behind they were to the group ahead. This cultural and historical symbol was adopted for these youth camps. Staff and camper shirts have a sivivane pile on the front with the motto, “Building a Brighter Future One Stone at a Time” across the back. Safety, not being alone in a scary and unknown situation, having others who have gone before you as guides, and self importance are all ideas that are shared between the camp and its namesake.

This season of camp was certainly different than last year’s, but just as wonderful. We couldn’t be at the high school that was our previous venue for renovation and maintenance reasons, so instead we became very flexible and creative to make Nkoyoyo Guest House work. I was again an Activity Leader who planned the sessions. Everything we do at camp is “play with a purpose” and “challenge by choice”. For example, some of the activities I helped to organize and lead were dramas that talked about positive reactions and solutions to stigma; at arts and crafts they made Hero Masks with a positive characteristic they were proud they had (my example was the Organizator and her arch nemesis Chaos Wizard :-P) ; team spirit and support were the goals for Color Wars where the four color groups (I was a leader in the RED girl’s group) had to work together at tasks to create spirit juice, which was later poured over a spy, in a shorter amount of time than the Lesotho camp, Camp Mamahato (I probably spelt that wrong but there is a camp by that name in Lesotho) had supposedly done previously.
The kids had a blast, created great support networks and friendships, hopefully learned a lot of great things, and were just ordinary KIDS for the time they spent at camp. It wore me out, but I didn’t lose my voice this camp, got to bed before 10pm!!, and saw a huge change and growth in the returning Swazi staff as they better understand the culture and purpose of camp. The only major travesty at camp was a very sitcom-esk ripping of my pants in a ball game where we were bent over like elephants. Luckily, my jacket was already tied around my waist, and after hours stitching the 7inch rip yesterday my Capri pants are once again functional. :-P

After leaving camp I got to see a movie in the brand new theatre in Swaziland!! Yes, everyone, Swaziland now has a cinema. We are also shocked and awed. Too bad it is hours and hours away from me. “Life As We Know It” was okay and wouldn’t have been my first choice, but I was forbidden by other PCVs to see the Harry Potter movie because I have yet to read the last few books. No worries, you diehard fans, I’m working on it.

I only spent a few days back at site before Christmas Eve Day arrived and I was on my way to meet Laura, Brandon (BACK FROM THE US!!), and Ali in Nhlangano. We decided to house sit for Make Simelane again this year. Tons of food, movies and shows from US, singing carols at 1am, talking to family and friends back home, braiing (BBQ), and hanging out were the most wonderful Christmas activities I could have asked for. The 26th was Brandon’s birthday and the most notable activity that day was finding out we could make cakes in the microwave (her oven wasn’t working)! De-li-cious!!

For all of you who either gave my Mother money or put a contribution directly into the Books for Swaziland project, thank you so very much. That is the best Christmas present I could have gotten. Last I heard, our fundraising is right on schedule by passing well over the halfway mark! Thank you all so very much for your generosity and holiday spirit.

Now, being about 6 hours away for me and 13 hours away for those in the US Eastern Time zone, I have to wish everyone a slightly early Happy New Years. I am home celebrating this one with my family. Supposedly they want to stay up until midnight, but my sisi is not so sure that will happen. Many people light off firecrackers at midnight (they call them “crickets”), so I’m expecting to be up for the new year whether I can stay awake or not. The electricity just went out about 15 minutes ago although it is a perfectly calm and peaceful evening outside. It is always a bit more difficult to stay up late when the lights are out. We’ll see.

The entirety of 2010 I spent in Africa. Wow. Definitely a crazy year, but one I wouldn’t replace for anything. I hope you feel the same way. Cheers to 2011 (raising a glass with Crystal Lite :-P)!!