July 23rd, 2009 6:15pm
First I have to retract the praise I gave the mail system in my last post. I have been so very fortunate to receive many more wonderful letters from family and friends, but not all that I know are out there. I just received some letters sent around the first of July and #3 of Scott’s and #2 of Mom’s are MIA! They will no doubt arrive sometime in the near future, but shucks.
Last Sunday (July 19th) some of us trainees decided to explore the beautiful country around us. We saw signs on our way to Pigg’s Peak (nearest shopping town) for “Phophonyane Falls 4.4K” with an arrow. Of course we had to check that out! It was a wonderful get-away! After a kumbi (van-taxi) trip to the sign, we walked the 4.4K and found a lodge nestled in the forest. It cost us some money to use the hiking trails, but we didn’t care – we were on vacation, even if it was only for a couple hours. The hike/rock climb/monkey spotting adventure was absolutely amazing! We spent a couple hours hiking, then lounged around (a couple went in) the freezing rock pool made by water being routed from the falls. Surrounded by all of the natural beauty and splendor, I am pretty sure we became giddier for the lunch back at the lodge than the location. I had veggie pizza (with extra cheese), chilled white wine, and ice cream!!!!! This may not sound impressive, and by American standards the food was par, but to us it was heaven on earth! Our mini-vacation/adventurous exploration was a HUGE success!
Today was quite the opposite from the peaceful retreat at the water falls this past weekend. It was stress city as we completed our full day of testing! I started the day with my Language Proficiency Interview. Yuck. It is a twenty minute conversation in siSwati; it is recorded; it is graded; it sucked! I went in prepared with five pictures of you wonderful people and phrases/questions to accompany them. I had rehearsed and practiced with my host family who keeps telling me I need to be “number 1”. Within two minutes the tester looked at my pictures, put them down, covered them with his cards, and started drilling me with questions at a very rapid succession! My head was swimming, and I am sure it took me at least a couple hours to recover from the experience. I passed, but I am not looking forward to the same experience in one month! The rest of the tests today were easy in comparison and I celebrated its completion with a whole pot of popcorn this evening. J
Included in the Round Robin of events today were cell phone selection and site placement interviews. I should be receiving my cell phone this coming Monday… if everything works according to schedule (remember I work for the government now). They said I may even be able to access the internet on it for a fee-per-page ; we will see. A fellow PCT informed us about a calling system over the internet that might be considerably cheaper and less hassle than calling cards. It is called “PINGO”. Look that up on the internet. You use it like a calling card, with dialing numbers on the land line and such, but you can put more and more minutes on through the internet. Someone please look into that and then explain it my parents (thanks :-)).
During the site placement interview they ask if you have any working/living preferences. I said that I prioritized water over electricity and I would like my skills (nursing and theatre) to be used as much as possible. One of the officers said, “So you want to be useful and have clean water”. And I said, “yup”. Now I know I will be hearing from my Dad on this one, but I told them I didn’t mind being off the beaten path (near a tar road) or being in an extremely hot/cold place. I gave my placement to God. I want to go where I am needed the most, not just where I will be the most comfortable. Any and all sites will have pros and cons. We will find out on Aug. 1st and travel to them for On the Job Training Aug. 8th. I am very VERY excited to find out where I will be for two years!
Lastly, before I take off for school (because my computer ran out of juice last night and I am now charging it at a friend’s who has electricity), I want to relay my long awaited care package list. My family had been hounding me before I left about things they could send. I didn’t know then, but I have a few ideas now a month in to this adventure. Random as this list might be, they are things that may be nice to get once in awhile.
Care Package Wish List
1. Beef/Soy Jerk, Chicken/Tuna cans or packs (without refrigeration meat and thus protein is a big treat!)
2. Crystal light
3. Music/Pictures/New movies (especially pics of what you are all up to – I want my walls to be covered at my new place!)
4. Coffee!!!! And maybe fun mugs. Ricoffee is a horrible instant coffee that is the only option near us and good coffee is supposedly out of our price range when we do find it) I will splurge on a French press if I get some coffee grounds!
5. Teeny tiny rubber bands (this is so I can get my hair braided, NOT CORNROWED – that only lasted a week)
6. Non-refrigerated cheese – I hear it exists!
7. Popcorn seasonings :-P I am going to go through mine very quickly
8. Practical good quality kitchen supplies! I would love (maybe b-day mom?) a good non-stick frying pan and spatula… fried eggs have been impossible thus far. Baby silverware is always good. ;-)
9. Mom: Franklin Planner pages for 2010?
10. Anything that you want to send to Africa, including new clothes (already tired of my ten outfits) and yummies!
11. Get PINGO minutes so you can talk to me soon!
12. Aunt Maine/Grandpa: I am going to miss the beautiful colors of Michigan in the fall. If at all possible, would you and Grandpa lead the project of collecting colorful leaves, laminating them, and sending them to me? I know that won’t happen for a couple months, but I will forget if I don’t ask now.
Love you all ten million tons! Hope everything is going splendidly. I am running with Kate to the school here now. OH! I am going to do a ½ marathon in Cape Town in April 2010!! Crazy, I know. :-) Got to get running! (Running tanks with pockets in the back for water would also be a great item!)
Hugs,
Zodwa/Darryn
Friday, July 24, 2009
Corn-Rows and Aunt Maine’s Q&A
Monday July 13th 8pm
My hair is in corn-rows! I just thought that should be the first update of this blog entry, since it is by far the most ridiculous, interesting, hilarious, cultural integration activity I have performed thus far! My sisi and her friend offered to braid Kate’s and my hair. We thought the small braids were really neat so we agreed to it. Once the girls realized our hair would not stay braided without small rubber bands (like we tried to tell them earlier) they decided to try corn-rows. We didn’t refuse thinking it would be rude… now, for the next two weeks, we will try not to burn our scalps and enjoy the fact (and try not to think about the fact) that we can’t bucket bathe our hair. Pictures are certainly being taken; I just don’t know when I can come in contact with an internet connection that is fast enough to load them (probably end of Aug in Mbabane). All of the Swazis I met since changing my look really seem to sincerely like it. Kate and I, on the other hand, decided that white girls just shouldn’t have corn-rows… another lesson learned in Africa.
Thank you for the letters! I have received three now (Mom, Dad, & Maine). It seems to take around two weeks (give or take) for me to get them. My friends are already jealous of my letter-writing family/friends in eMelika (America). :-)
I LOVE all of the questions my Aunt Charmaine posed in her letter, so I would like to take some time to answer them (instead of studying siSwati like a good girl). Hope they answer some of your questions too!
1. What is the temperature?
Being in the southern hemisphere, it is winter here right now! That means it may get into the 40s/50s at night and around 70 during the day. There are some places in Swaziland that are higher in altitude and are a bit colder, as well as some places that are lower and stay a bit warmer. In the summer (Oct-April) it can reach 110-120 degrees in some spots!
2. What are you eating?
Just a few days ago I received my PC issued gas stove and dishes. They are all really crappy quality, but this will just give me more of an excuse for why my food is so bad. J Before that I was eating with my family. Starch, starch, starch!! They eat a lot of maize meal (corn) made multiple ways, beans, potatoes, yams, some veggies, and rice. All of these are made over a campfire in small metal pots. My family has a freezer, but no refrigerator. There is no oven, but PC showed us how to create a “dutch oven” with a large pot. I may purchase one of these once I get to my permanent site, but for now there is no baking. It is orange and avocado season here now, so those are yummy treats. Now that I am cooking for myself, anything is possible… sort of. :-) My Swazi family is already worried about me not eating. They sent a little brother to my door with food the other day! No one has faith in my cooking skill! Haha.
3. Are you longing for a Whopper?
I didn’t eat much fast food so not so much the whopper… but my friend Rachel mentioned Pizza and a good beer the other day, which made my mouth water.
4. Tell us all about the Animals! Are there dogs and cats?
Cows are everywhere!!! They just roam all over the homesteads, so walking the two-tracks to get to school is more of a Cow-pie Obstacle Course! There are dogs and cats on almost all homesteads, but they are treated much differently than in the States. They serve a purpose and function as rodent killing guards and not as “man’s best friend”. My family also has chickens, roosters, and goats. There are two baby goats that make my day when I come home from school and they are playing on my door step! There is a rumor that there are crocodiles down by the river, but we have not validated that yet. Needless to say, we aren’t going for a swim anytime soon. Luckily the snakes are hibernating during this cold season… not so much looking forward to meeting them. :-/ And I have spotted at least one lizard bee-bopping around my walls.
5. What kind of bugs do they have there?
All kinds! I am becoming an expert bug squasher! Shelby – skip to the next question. J I have large spiders, tons of ants, crickets (that try to keep me up at night), cockroaches (only saw one in the main house), and quite a few un-identifiables. The larger the bug the bigger the book or shoe I use. Everything in the states seems to have a monster-sized cousin over here! I am talking grasshoppers the size of my hand (pics on the way)!! There will probably come a point where I don’t even flinch when I see a bug that is living with me, but for now they all have death wishes.
6. What kind of plants do they grow there?
I really don’t know all of the different kinds of plants! My family had a potted plant in my room when I arrived. I asked my sister what it was, and she just said it is a “flower”. I have no idea. There are tropical fruits, aloe plants, palm trees (which will be hugged at some point, Dad – I promise), pines, lots of corn, and many I cannot label.
7. What do people do for entertainment? Do they have TVs?
It seems like all of the boys play Soccer, the older men drink alcohol, and the women/children do chores/talk. J Everyone is home by dark (6pm), and I have spent a few nights talking around the campfire with family and neighbors. Those who have electricity (like my family) usually have a tv. The freezer and tv are the only two electronics I have seen in the house, though. The TV stations all come out of South Africa and are hilarious. “Jika Majika” is a dance-off competition show that everyone LOVES here! It is sooooo funny to watch. They also like their “soapies” (Soap Operas). The two most popular are the “Young and the Restless” and “Generations”. While I was in the house the other night X-Men 2 or 3 was playing, and they were all surprised I had seen it before. Try explaining why there are blue people with special powers in a movie using limited English/siSwati! My family also watches a lot of African gospel music programs.
8. How do you wash your clothes?
It is quite the process! They wash clothes once a week, usually on Saturday. We use basins filled with cold water and “green bar”, which literally is a big green bar of soap. This soap is used for everything –clothes, dishes, bathing, floors, etc. When I was my clothes, I usually have an audience! My make (mother) or sisi (sister) give me directions like “Add more soap” or “stronger hands”. Last weekend I even had a neighbor lady, who I had never met, stick her hands in my dirty clothes and try to help teach the silly white girl who doesn’t even know how to wash clothes. J
9. What source of heat do they have?
There is no heat in the houses, unless they have an indoor fire for cooking. Even then fire wood is too much work to keep a fire going for heating purposes. I am comfortable sleeping under a couple big blankets with a layer of cuddle duds under my pjs. Bucket bathing in the morning though is chilly-willy!
10. What are the seasons? How much rain do you get?
We do have seasons, but not quite like Michigan. From what I understand, we are in the few months of “winter” (cold and dry). Starting about the end of August it warms up and a rainy season comes. It has only rained one night since I have been here, and everything turned to mud. That should be fun. Some families collect the rain water for drinking/bathing purposes, but there is certainly not enough for that to be the only source of water. Some people have big tanks that get filled by a delivery company, but mostly people wheelbarrow/carry 25L jugs to the nearest tap (which is hopefully working that day). When I accompanied my sisi to fetch water the other day it took about 25min to walk there and it was uphill! Better to be uphill there, then back. It is a ground well that produces slightly brown tinted water. We have to boil, cool, filter, and bleach treat the water before we can drink it.
11. Are there bananas and monkeys?
Yes to the bananas (had a pb and banana sandwich for lunch today) and I have yet to see the monkeys that are certainly here. Unless of course you consider the 33 crazy PCVs! :-)
Hope these answered some of your questions too! Please feel free to ask anything you would like to know!! Again, thanks for the letters. Huge hugs and kisses!
My hair is in corn-rows! I just thought that should be the first update of this blog entry, since it is by far the most ridiculous, interesting, hilarious, cultural integration activity I have performed thus far! My sisi and her friend offered to braid Kate’s and my hair. We thought the small braids were really neat so we agreed to it. Once the girls realized our hair would not stay braided without small rubber bands (like we tried to tell them earlier) they decided to try corn-rows. We didn’t refuse thinking it would be rude… now, for the next two weeks, we will try not to burn our scalps and enjoy the fact (and try not to think about the fact) that we can’t bucket bathe our hair. Pictures are certainly being taken; I just don’t know when I can come in contact with an internet connection that is fast enough to load them (probably end of Aug in Mbabane). All of the Swazis I met since changing my look really seem to sincerely like it. Kate and I, on the other hand, decided that white girls just shouldn’t have corn-rows… another lesson learned in Africa.
Thank you for the letters! I have received three now (Mom, Dad, & Maine). It seems to take around two weeks (give or take) for me to get them. My friends are already jealous of my letter-writing family/friends in eMelika (America). :-)
I LOVE all of the questions my Aunt Charmaine posed in her letter, so I would like to take some time to answer them (instead of studying siSwati like a good girl). Hope they answer some of your questions too!
1. What is the temperature?
Being in the southern hemisphere, it is winter here right now! That means it may get into the 40s/50s at night and around 70 during the day. There are some places in Swaziland that are higher in altitude and are a bit colder, as well as some places that are lower and stay a bit warmer. In the summer (Oct-April) it can reach 110-120 degrees in some spots!
2. What are you eating?
Just a few days ago I received my PC issued gas stove and dishes. They are all really crappy quality, but this will just give me more of an excuse for why my food is so bad. J Before that I was eating with my family. Starch, starch, starch!! They eat a lot of maize meal (corn) made multiple ways, beans, potatoes, yams, some veggies, and rice. All of these are made over a campfire in small metal pots. My family has a freezer, but no refrigerator. There is no oven, but PC showed us how to create a “dutch oven” with a large pot. I may purchase one of these once I get to my permanent site, but for now there is no baking. It is orange and avocado season here now, so those are yummy treats. Now that I am cooking for myself, anything is possible… sort of. :-) My Swazi family is already worried about me not eating. They sent a little brother to my door with food the other day! No one has faith in my cooking skill! Haha.
3. Are you longing for a Whopper?
I didn’t eat much fast food so not so much the whopper… but my friend Rachel mentioned Pizza and a good beer the other day, which made my mouth water.
4. Tell us all about the Animals! Are there dogs and cats?
Cows are everywhere!!! They just roam all over the homesteads, so walking the two-tracks to get to school is more of a Cow-pie Obstacle Course! There are dogs and cats on almost all homesteads, but they are treated much differently than in the States. They serve a purpose and function as rodent killing guards and not as “man’s best friend”. My family also has chickens, roosters, and goats. There are two baby goats that make my day when I come home from school and they are playing on my door step! There is a rumor that there are crocodiles down by the river, but we have not validated that yet. Needless to say, we aren’t going for a swim anytime soon. Luckily the snakes are hibernating during this cold season… not so much looking forward to meeting them. :-/ And I have spotted at least one lizard bee-bopping around my walls.
5. What kind of bugs do they have there?
All kinds! I am becoming an expert bug squasher! Shelby – skip to the next question. J I have large spiders, tons of ants, crickets (that try to keep me up at night), cockroaches (only saw one in the main house), and quite a few un-identifiables. The larger the bug the bigger the book or shoe I use. Everything in the states seems to have a monster-sized cousin over here! I am talking grasshoppers the size of my hand (pics on the way)!! There will probably come a point where I don’t even flinch when I see a bug that is living with me, but for now they all have death wishes.
6. What kind of plants do they grow there?
I really don’t know all of the different kinds of plants! My family had a potted plant in my room when I arrived. I asked my sister what it was, and she just said it is a “flower”. I have no idea. There are tropical fruits, aloe plants, palm trees (which will be hugged at some point, Dad – I promise), pines, lots of corn, and many I cannot label.
7. What do people do for entertainment? Do they have TVs?
It seems like all of the boys play Soccer, the older men drink alcohol, and the women/children do chores/talk. J Everyone is home by dark (6pm), and I have spent a few nights talking around the campfire with family and neighbors. Those who have electricity (like my family) usually have a tv. The freezer and tv are the only two electronics I have seen in the house, though. The TV stations all come out of South Africa and are hilarious. “Jika Majika” is a dance-off competition show that everyone LOVES here! It is sooooo funny to watch. They also like their “soapies” (Soap Operas). The two most popular are the “Young and the Restless” and “Generations”. While I was in the house the other night X-Men 2 or 3 was playing, and they were all surprised I had seen it before. Try explaining why there are blue people with special powers in a movie using limited English/siSwati! My family also watches a lot of African gospel music programs.
8. How do you wash your clothes?
It is quite the process! They wash clothes once a week, usually on Saturday. We use basins filled with cold water and “green bar”, which literally is a big green bar of soap. This soap is used for everything –clothes, dishes, bathing, floors, etc. When I was my clothes, I usually have an audience! My make (mother) or sisi (sister) give me directions like “Add more soap” or “stronger hands”. Last weekend I even had a neighbor lady, who I had never met, stick her hands in my dirty clothes and try to help teach the silly white girl who doesn’t even know how to wash clothes. J
9. What source of heat do they have?
There is no heat in the houses, unless they have an indoor fire for cooking. Even then fire wood is too much work to keep a fire going for heating purposes. I am comfortable sleeping under a couple big blankets with a layer of cuddle duds under my pjs. Bucket bathing in the morning though is chilly-willy!
10. What are the seasons? How much rain do you get?
We do have seasons, but not quite like Michigan. From what I understand, we are in the few months of “winter” (cold and dry). Starting about the end of August it warms up and a rainy season comes. It has only rained one night since I have been here, and everything turned to mud. That should be fun. Some families collect the rain water for drinking/bathing purposes, but there is certainly not enough for that to be the only source of water. Some people have big tanks that get filled by a delivery company, but mostly people wheelbarrow/carry 25L jugs to the nearest tap (which is hopefully working that day). When I accompanied my sisi to fetch water the other day it took about 25min to walk there and it was uphill! Better to be uphill there, then back. It is a ground well that produces slightly brown tinted water. We have to boil, cool, filter, and bleach treat the water before we can drink it.
11. Are there bananas and monkeys?
Yes to the bananas (had a pb and banana sandwich for lunch today) and I have yet to see the monkeys that are certainly here. Unless of course you consider the 33 crazy PCVs! :-)
Hope these answered some of your questions too! Please feel free to ask anything you would like to know!! Again, thanks for the letters. Huge hugs and kisses!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Orphan to HUGE Family!
9:03pm Sunday July 5, 2009
So obviously my attempt at keeping you all updated with the blogging medium failed miserably the first time. I am keeping my fingers crossed for tomorrow. I figured out how to save these files so that the old computers at the “internet café” can upload and read them. Unless you guys can interpret hieroglyphics/windows error boxes, then I can keep them as is. J
So much has happened in the last week or so that I really don’t know where to begin. On Wed. July 1st we were all going to meet our host families for lunch at the training center and then travel home with them for the remaining two months of training. Our LCFs (Language & Cultural Facilitators –aka Swazi teachers – fyi there are WAY too many acronyms in the PC) introduced us to our new parents one by one. After everyone had been paired, I was left standing alone… my make (“mah-geh”, mother) had not arrived yet. I joked with the LCFs that stood with me waiting that I was an orphan. They assured me that this was, no doubt, my first lesson in “Swazi time” and that my make was probably on her way. I was hoping and praying it was not a bad omen.
Sure enough, she came and adopted me into the extensive Mamba family by giving me a Swazi name: Zodwa. Every name in the culture has meaning to it. Mine means “only” or “exclusively”, and in a longer version means, “only girls”! It was chosen because my family has many daughters and only one son! How perfect! Shelb – it is just you and me! J Needless to say, I love it. And unless my permanent host family insists on giving me another name, I will be Zodwa for the next two years.
As per PC standards, I live in my own single room building with a locked door. My part of the homestead does not have electricity, but the main house does. I have my own bed, a grass matt, small table/desk, and chair. The floor and walls are cement and the ceiling is tin sheets. Listening to it rain last night was certainly an orchestra percussion section. J I have jumped in head first to the “really” PC experience from that, what now seems, cozy “Swazi camp” experience. My bucket bathing, pit latrine/pee bucket usage, water filtering, candle lighting, campfire cooking, water fetching, big spider/ant squashing, siSwati 24/7 learning, and culture shock experiencing past few days makes it seem like I have been here at least a month! I don’t mean that in a bad way, just that I have learned so much so quickly it does not seem possible we have been here such a short time!
Yesterday I celebrated July 4th with around 60 Americans and 30 Swazis (Happy Belated 4th everyone!! Kevan- hope you still have all of your fingers!). There was an official “Welcome Ceremony” for the seventh group of PC Trainees (that is me J ). A dignitary from the region (Hhohho – pronounced like Santa Clause would do it) and the stand-in Ambassador from the American Embassy were a couple among many high-ups there to celebrate. My favorite part was when the representative from the embassy read Obhama’s 4th of July letter. I had a feeling that is pretty much indescribable. I wanted to take a picture, but I realized I needed to “live” that moment instead of trying to poorly “capture” it. After talking to a couple more volunteers about it, we realized that there may be many things we sooooo want to relay to you (experiences, views, feelings, moments, etc) that are impossible to explain. I am really sorry for this.
Anyway, today was our first unscheduled day. We are quickly realizing that Sundays will continue to be our only “free” day, and that definition is not very accurate. I got to sleep in ‘til 7am! Then I needed to get my clothes washed (by hand in cold water) before church at 11am. My host family is a part of an Anglican church within walking distance. The service was three hours long, and the only words I could pick out were Christ, Jesus, God, thank you, our, and Zodwa. The first three were obviously repeated a few times, but it was quite a draining ordeal. I did get to sing though! About 1/3 of the songs were written in a book. I pronounced everything wrong and didn’t really know what I was saying, but gosh-darn-it I was participating!
After church the closest PCT to my homestead (there are only about 4-5 within ½ hour walking distance) came and found me. We decided to tell our wonderful, but overly attentive, host families that we were going to do homework and then left. At first our activity of choice was to watch “Pride and Prejudice” on my computer. Dad – I instantly thought of you. J Within ten. minutes, though, we decided to turn it off! Again, this is something I can’t articulate, but it felt so wrong to be watching a movie in Africa. It felt sort of like part of me was being transported back to America, while the majority was sitting in a one room thatch hut. It was very disorienting and neither myself nor Kate liked the feeling, so we turned it off. After a few minutes of discussion we diagnosed ourselves with text book “culture shock”. Go figure. How many trips have I been on and it is Swaziland, Africa that finally gives me culture shock. So what did we do with our new found emotional/mental instability??? We went looking for others with the same thing!! Hahaha. It became a dominos game: Kate found me, we found another couple, and they knew of yet another volunteer’s residence. Yay to normal socializing!
This was quite fun (and therapeutic J ), and before we knew it the sun was setting and I was a ways away from home. Now worries all, I got there safely, but not before a very concerned, protective, loving, new mother sent out the sibling squad to find me. I realized all mothers are the same, no matter what continent. I love you, Mom – and I am safe. Haha.
I really do feel like I am starting to become a part of the family. Swazis are so wonderfully hospitable! Southern American hospitality does not come CLOSE to Swazi hospitality! I am considered a part of the Mamba family in the community now. I am called sisi, and they are insulted if I do not eat 3 lbs of food at every meal! So much for the African diet being good for my figure! All in all, I am very blessed to be where I am (beautiful country), with the family I have (ridiculously gracious), and working toward learning how to make a difference for these wonderful people.
Having said that, I am going to hit the sack and pray that this can be posted tomorrow. I love and miss you all tons!
Hugs & Kisses,
Zodwa
So obviously my attempt at keeping you all updated with the blogging medium failed miserably the first time. I am keeping my fingers crossed for tomorrow. I figured out how to save these files so that the old computers at the “internet café” can upload and read them. Unless you guys can interpret hieroglyphics/windows error boxes, then I can keep them as is. J
So much has happened in the last week or so that I really don’t know where to begin. On Wed. July 1st we were all going to meet our host families for lunch at the training center and then travel home with them for the remaining two months of training. Our LCFs (Language & Cultural Facilitators –aka Swazi teachers – fyi there are WAY too many acronyms in the PC) introduced us to our new parents one by one. After everyone had been paired, I was left standing alone… my make (“mah-geh”, mother) had not arrived yet. I joked with the LCFs that stood with me waiting that I was an orphan. They assured me that this was, no doubt, my first lesson in “Swazi time” and that my make was probably on her way. I was hoping and praying it was not a bad omen.
Sure enough, she came and adopted me into the extensive Mamba family by giving me a Swazi name: Zodwa. Every name in the culture has meaning to it. Mine means “only” or “exclusively”, and in a longer version means, “only girls”! It was chosen because my family has many daughters and only one son! How perfect! Shelb – it is just you and me! J Needless to say, I love it. And unless my permanent host family insists on giving me another name, I will be Zodwa for the next two years.
As per PC standards, I live in my own single room building with a locked door. My part of the homestead does not have electricity, but the main house does. I have my own bed, a grass matt, small table/desk, and chair. The floor and walls are cement and the ceiling is tin sheets. Listening to it rain last night was certainly an orchestra percussion section. J I have jumped in head first to the “really” PC experience from that, what now seems, cozy “Swazi camp” experience. My bucket bathing, pit latrine/pee bucket usage, water filtering, candle lighting, campfire cooking, water fetching, big spider/ant squashing, siSwati 24/7 learning, and culture shock experiencing past few days makes it seem like I have been here at least a month! I don’t mean that in a bad way, just that I have learned so much so quickly it does not seem possible we have been here such a short time!
Yesterday I celebrated July 4th with around 60 Americans and 30 Swazis (Happy Belated 4th everyone!! Kevan- hope you still have all of your fingers!). There was an official “Welcome Ceremony” for the seventh group of PC Trainees (that is me J ). A dignitary from the region (Hhohho – pronounced like Santa Clause would do it) and the stand-in Ambassador from the American Embassy were a couple among many high-ups there to celebrate. My favorite part was when the representative from the embassy read Obhama’s 4th of July letter. I had a feeling that is pretty much indescribable. I wanted to take a picture, but I realized I needed to “live” that moment instead of trying to poorly “capture” it. After talking to a couple more volunteers about it, we realized that there may be many things we sooooo want to relay to you (experiences, views, feelings, moments, etc) that are impossible to explain. I am really sorry for this.
Anyway, today was our first unscheduled day. We are quickly realizing that Sundays will continue to be our only “free” day, and that definition is not very accurate. I got to sleep in ‘til 7am! Then I needed to get my clothes washed (by hand in cold water) before church at 11am. My host family is a part of an Anglican church within walking distance. The service was three hours long, and the only words I could pick out were Christ, Jesus, God, thank you, our, and Zodwa. The first three were obviously repeated a few times, but it was quite a draining ordeal. I did get to sing though! About 1/3 of the songs were written in a book. I pronounced everything wrong and didn’t really know what I was saying, but gosh-darn-it I was participating!
After church the closest PCT to my homestead (there are only about 4-5 within ½ hour walking distance) came and found me. We decided to tell our wonderful, but overly attentive, host families that we were going to do homework and then left. At first our activity of choice was to watch “Pride and Prejudice” on my computer. Dad – I instantly thought of you. J Within ten. minutes, though, we decided to turn it off! Again, this is something I can’t articulate, but it felt so wrong to be watching a movie in Africa. It felt sort of like part of me was being transported back to America, while the majority was sitting in a one room thatch hut. It was very disorienting and neither myself nor Kate liked the feeling, so we turned it off. After a few minutes of discussion we diagnosed ourselves with text book “culture shock”. Go figure. How many trips have I been on and it is Swaziland, Africa that finally gives me culture shock. So what did we do with our new found emotional/mental instability??? We went looking for others with the same thing!! Hahaha. It became a dominos game: Kate found me, we found another couple, and they knew of yet another volunteer’s residence. Yay to normal socializing!
This was quite fun (and therapeutic J ), and before we knew it the sun was setting and I was a ways away from home. Now worries all, I got there safely, but not before a very concerned, protective, loving, new mother sent out the sibling squad to find me. I realized all mothers are the same, no matter what continent. I love you, Mom – and I am safe. Haha.
I really do feel like I am starting to become a part of the family. Swazis are so wonderfully hospitable! Southern American hospitality does not come CLOSE to Swazi hospitality! I am considered a part of the Mamba family in the community now. I am called sisi, and they are insulted if I do not eat 3 lbs of food at every meal! So much for the African diet being good for my figure! All in all, I am very blessed to be where I am (beautiful country), with the family I have (ridiculously gracious), and working toward learning how to make a difference for these wonderful people.
Having said that, I am going to hit the sack and pray that this can be posted tomorrow. I love and miss you all tons!
Hugs & Kisses,
Zodwa
Arrival & Training in Swaziland!
5:30pm Friday June 26th
I’m here and loving it! My group is absolutely awesome, and I doubt I will have a problem interacting/working/traveling/Peace Crops-ing with them for the next couple years. Danielle – there is someone from Livonia, MI in my group!!! What are the chances of that!?! Now let me update you all on the longest commute to work of my life!!! J
Our flight was awfully long, but not that bad. I watched three movies – Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Reader, and most of Seven Pounds. My seat neighbor and roommate for the next week, Ashley, had to fill me in on the end of Seven Pounds, because that was the part that made the entire movie make sense!! Anyway, loved playing with my airplane food (as always), and got a small amount of sleep. We pulled into Johannesburg Airport around 5pm (Africa time= six hours ahead of Michigan time) and had NO luggage stolen or lost! Jo’Burg really did not look a whole lot different than an American big city – all English signs, McDonalds/Shell Gas Station/KFC right next to the hotel, beautiful and large airport, and a charter bus waiting for us outside the door. We slept at City Lodge Hotel, Jo’Burg, South Africa that night after eating Japanese sushi for probably the last time in a long while.
The next morning it was on our bus at 8:30am for the 5+ hour drive to Swaziland! Our Training Manager, Assistant Peace Corps Director, and two Peace Corps Volunteers (PVC) met us at the airport and made this journey with us. Dad – one PVC was the individual you had me contact via e-mail. J Ourselves and our stuff made it once again through customs (more stamps on my government issued passport!!), and we made it to our training compound in the northern most tip of Swaziland – Ngonini. Our training site is actually a Lutheran School of some sort, very small, but it has electricity and hot showers!!! We have had a couple days of cultural/safety training and Q&A sessions with the current PCVs, but nothing too big yet. I played Catch Phrase with many trainees today while paying tribute to the late Michael Jackson by playing his songs on my speakers. None of us really knows who received that information, but it got to us nonetheless. RIP MJ.
Shelby- my room is a mess and I am blaming you!! You did such a good job of packing all my stuff I can’t find anything! J Thus, it is now strewn around our very humble living quarters. Hahaha. I will have to re-pack what I need for training into one bag by Tuesday, so it is not such a bad circumstance. On Tuesday or Wednesday of next week we move to our homestead in our new learning communities. We will live with a family for the two months while training with smaller groups in our area. This will make learning the language and culture much easier, but of course we all enjoy and might miss the safety net of having us all together here. In all honesty, it feels like Swazi Summer Camp instead of job training at the moment. I think the move to a homestead will let it sink in more.
Tomorrow we are heading to the closest “city” which is where I will be posting this blog from. It is a field trip and shopping adventure. We all found a few things that we need to purchase that just was not on those lists (crazy thought huh?!) or things we forgot. We were also given a walk around stipend for this purpose.
A few things I have learned so far-
~ In Swaziland, never hand someone something or accept something with your left hand (only used for hygiene purposes) – our lefties are going to have difficulty with this one.
~ You need to write “PVC” on any package or mail you send me, because PC gets fewer fees and easier custom passage than others do. So I might get it faster!!! -- I will be receiving my mail here at training, so keep sending it to the Mbabane address. AND write AFRICA in big letters… some things are getting sent to Switzerland first.
~ I love the music that I have gotten a few minutes to listen to from family and friends!! Thanks bunches!
~ I will be getting a cell phone in August! It is much cheaper for you to buy a card than for me to use air minutes… not cheap, but cheaper. :-/
~ The malaria prophylaxis that I took this morning will more than likely give me vivid dreams tonight!
I think those are certainly nuggets of wisdom for everyone! J I don’t know the next time we are going into the “city” for internet, but I hope to keep blogging on my computer. Then I can upload all the entries next time I get internet. I love you all tons!
I’m here and loving it! My group is absolutely awesome, and I doubt I will have a problem interacting/working/traveling/Peace Crops-ing with them for the next couple years. Danielle – there is someone from Livonia, MI in my group!!! What are the chances of that!?! Now let me update you all on the longest commute to work of my life!!! J
Our flight was awfully long, but not that bad. I watched three movies – Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Reader, and most of Seven Pounds. My seat neighbor and roommate for the next week, Ashley, had to fill me in on the end of Seven Pounds, because that was the part that made the entire movie make sense!! Anyway, loved playing with my airplane food (as always), and got a small amount of sleep. We pulled into Johannesburg Airport around 5pm (Africa time= six hours ahead of Michigan time) and had NO luggage stolen or lost! Jo’Burg really did not look a whole lot different than an American big city – all English signs, McDonalds/Shell Gas Station/KFC right next to the hotel, beautiful and large airport, and a charter bus waiting for us outside the door. We slept at City Lodge Hotel, Jo’Burg, South Africa that night after eating Japanese sushi for probably the last time in a long while.
The next morning it was on our bus at 8:30am for the 5+ hour drive to Swaziland! Our Training Manager, Assistant Peace Corps Director, and two Peace Corps Volunteers (PVC) met us at the airport and made this journey with us. Dad – one PVC was the individual you had me contact via e-mail. J Ourselves and our stuff made it once again through customs (more stamps on my government issued passport!!), and we made it to our training compound in the northern most tip of Swaziland – Ngonini. Our training site is actually a Lutheran School of some sort, very small, but it has electricity and hot showers!!! We have had a couple days of cultural/safety training and Q&A sessions with the current PCVs, but nothing too big yet. I played Catch Phrase with many trainees today while paying tribute to the late Michael Jackson by playing his songs on my speakers. None of us really knows who received that information, but it got to us nonetheless. RIP MJ.
Shelby- my room is a mess and I am blaming you!! You did such a good job of packing all my stuff I can’t find anything! J Thus, it is now strewn around our very humble living quarters. Hahaha. I will have to re-pack what I need for training into one bag by Tuesday, so it is not such a bad circumstance. On Tuesday or Wednesday of next week we move to our homestead in our new learning communities. We will live with a family for the two months while training with smaller groups in our area. This will make learning the language and culture much easier, but of course we all enjoy and might miss the safety net of having us all together here. In all honesty, it feels like Swazi Summer Camp instead of job training at the moment. I think the move to a homestead will let it sink in more.
Tomorrow we are heading to the closest “city” which is where I will be posting this blog from. It is a field trip and shopping adventure. We all found a few things that we need to purchase that just was not on those lists (crazy thought huh?!) or things we forgot. We were also given a walk around stipend for this purpose.
A few things I have learned so far-
~ In Swaziland, never hand someone something or accept something with your left hand (only used for hygiene purposes) – our lefties are going to have difficulty with this one.
~ You need to write “PVC” on any package or mail you send me, because PC gets fewer fees and easier custom passage than others do. So I might get it faster!!! -- I will be receiving my mail here at training, so keep sending it to the Mbabane address. AND write AFRICA in big letters… some things are getting sent to Switzerland first.
~ I love the music that I have gotten a few minutes to listen to from family and friends!! Thanks bunches!
~ I will be getting a cell phone in August! It is much cheaper for you to buy a card than for me to use air minutes… not cheap, but cheaper. :-/
~ The malaria prophylaxis that I took this morning will more than likely give me vivid dreams tonight!
I think those are certainly nuggets of wisdom for everyone! J I don’t know the next time we are going into the “city” for internet, but I hope to keep blogging on my computer. Then I can upload all the entries next time I get internet. I love you all tons!
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