A few photos

Did I post this one already? It was on my desktop, and it's pretty. It's from our training village several months ago. I liked how the fog resembled a lake.

 These goats were just chillaxing at a bus stop in a town called Buhleni. Pretty wonderful.

Home sweet hut, for those of you who didn't see it on the fb.

Wild pig at a game park. Pumba, right? I desperately need to watch "The Lion King," like, now.

Jack in the SWZ!

Jack is here! It’s exciting and somewhat nerve-racking for both of us. He’s been flitting about the capital, getting his cell phone situation taken care of, familiarizing himself with the city and looking for a place to live. I’d say he’ll never take a cell phone for granted again, but I think we all take a million things for granted even after they’ve come with some sweat and grunt work. I suspect that we’ll both return to that mode pretty quickly after we get back in a couple of years.

He spent a couple of days in the village with me, which was great. It’s invigorating to see the country through new eyes again. I’ve only been here five months (can you believe it?), and so much has become normal in that time.

Also, there’s a guy in a restaurant in Manzini who says “small chicken curry?” when I come in now. I suppose it’s easy to remember the usual for one of the few blond-haired, blue-eyed umlungus that wanders through the door. Umlungu means white person, if we haven’t covered that.

Jack already has a few promising leads on places to live, which is excellent news. He could stay with me for a bit in the hut. We’ve opted not to do that because I’m not yet comfortable imposing on the family for an extended period of time, and there isn’t a lot of space for two people and all their stuff. Either way, I’m sure he’ll spend plenty of time here. And his separate space will be closer to his volunteer work (plus, I’m hoping it gives me access to the occasional shower).

I’ll let Jack tell you about his first impressions when he gets his blog up and running. I will say that his arrival here was not without complications. The kindness of strangers pulled through in a big way, and we owe a lot to lovely doctors from the Baylor facility in Mbabane and a fellow from the Clinton Health Access Initiative. When Jack’s plane was turned back to Johannesburg, those people made sure he got not only to the country but also to the hotel we’d booked. That was a nail-biting five hours for both of us.

Incidentally, I got a discounted ride from a stranger to the airport and a free lift (turned out I didn’t need that one, but that’s moot) from a kind Zimbabwean at the airport. Swaziland hospitality FTW.

My integration period ends Wednesday, which means I won’t be required to stay in my village all but one night per month. PC still wants us in our villages the vast majority of the time, of course, but we have some flexibility now. This week will include a Thanksgiving meal at the ambassador’s house and a PC vs. U.S. Embassy softball game. I think we’ll throw Jack in there as a secret weapon.

Life is good, friends. Jack got a taste of some gross heat, but it’s cooled off a bit with rain again. I’ve started writing letters to several classrooms in the U.S., and I’m excited to correspond with some kids from my hometown.

Below is part of a four-page email I sent Jack with siSwati words and phrases. I thought some of you might find it interesting. “Ph” is a “p” sound, and k followed by a vowel is a “g” sound. “Kh” is a “k” sound."C" is a click made by pressing your tongue against the back of your top teeth.

Ligama lami ngu Jack: My name is Jack.

Ngiwaka Weinstein: My surname is Weinstein.

Ubuyaphi?: Where do you come from? (buya = come) This can mean now or in general — are you coming from home? etc.

Ngibuya emmelika: I come from America. (You can also just say America.)

Ngibuya ekhaya: I come from home (today)

Uphumaphi?: Where do you come from?

Ngiphuma emmelika: I come from America.

Uhlala kuphi?: Where do you stay?

Ngihlala eMbabane: I stay in Mbabane

Ngihlala ka Manzini: I stay in Manzini

Ngiyajabula kukwati: I’m happy to meet you.

Ngiyafundza siSwati: I’m studying siSwati.

Ngisikhuluma kancane siSwati: I can speak a little siSwati.

Ngicela: Please may I have … (remember the click)

Ngiya: I’m going (usually followed by a place)

Umthoyi: toilet

Imali: money

People also say “rand” as often as if not more often than emalangeni. So people will tell you “five rand” if that’s your fare.

Ngifuna: I want

Ngitsandza: I like

Kumnandzi: Delicious/good

Kakhulu: a lot/much — This is used for many things indicating scale. Kuyashisa kakhulu means it is very hot. Sometimes when you say “sawubona,” people will say “yebo kakhulu,” for example. I’m not sure why.

Kancane: a little bit — same usage as above, but opposite for a little bit or small

Namuhla: Today

Itolo: Yesterday

Kusasa: Tomorrow

Lisontfo: Sunday

Umsombuluko: Monday

Lesibili: Tuesday (also indicates “two”)

Lesitsatfu: Wednesday

Lesine: Thursday

Lesihlanu: Friday

Umngcibelo: Saturday

Support group

Sanibonani, bangani (Hello, friends).

Jack gets here on Wednesday! I think we’re both stressed, but we have a plan of action for how he’ll begin things here. I look forward to showing him around the country. It’s really exciting that he’ll finally be able to get started with his volunteer work. I was trying to get him jazzed up on the phone last night by reminding him that he’s flying to AFRICA! Sometimes you kill two or three big spiders a day, but besides that it’s awesome.

I went to a support group for children with HIV on Saturday. Because of the nature of the work I’m doing here, I’m going to be careful about the photos I post. I doubt I’ll post much of anything from the clinic. I don’t want to invade anyone’s privacy or inadvertently reveal anyone’s status. Please help me with this. If you see something questionable, let me know. I actually haven’t taken any photos at the clinic. If anything, I’ll probably shoot the staff at some point so you can see with whom I’m working.

Back to the support group.

About 70 children 12 and younger participated in the monthly group. First they go through and get their antiretroviral medications and then they play games. A guy from Mbabane, I think from the Elizabeth Glaser Pedriatic AIDS Foundation, came to lead them. USAID also is involved, and I think the World Food Program is the one who provides food for the kids. Their transportation is paid for. We played a game where we introduced ourselves and then the man from Mbabane divided them into three groups: the Senate, the Assembly and the Royal Family. These groups competed against one another in a quiz game about HIV. The children, not surprisingly, know a lot about the virus they have. I was one of the judges, but I wasn’t particularly useful because the game was in siSwati. I kept vigilant score, however.

Part of the game also included questions about the definition of sexual abuse. Sexual abuse is a big, big problem here. Jack’s going to be doing some volunteer work related to that.

The children seemed to have a great time, laughing and talking. Many have been coming for quite some time. The clinic staff always refer people to support groups when they’re diagnosed with HIV. The Royal Family team came through in the end to win it all. Then they lined up for food — chicken, rice, beet salad and lettuce salad.

The adults who helped also received food. I felt bad about that because I don’t need it and had brought a sandwich. I gave the rest of mine to a girl who had come with a friend and wasn’t part of the support group so wasn’t getting food.

As I ate with the head nurse, a small boy came up. He’d said hello earlier, remembering. me from last month’s support group.

“Babe, can you borrow me this container?” he asked the nurse, pointing to his take-away food carton. “I want to take this food home.”

This was about the part of the day where my heart broke. I’m sure this little kid needed the food himself. I’m also sure he wanted to take it back home to share with his family.

The nurse directed him inside for a container.

It’s a different reality here, every day. That’s good. That’s why I’m here. But it isn’t always easy to see.

In happier news, the dog on my homestead had her puppies a few days ago. I’ll get some photos when they emerge from the bushes. Right now they still look like rats.

Salani kahle.

Getting out the vote

Sanibonani!

We enjoyed a great party at our country director’s house for the election. Some people stayed up all night to watch returns start coming in. I slept from about 10:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. and then got up. There were already some East Coast states on the map by then.

It was pretty exciting watching it all happen. Most of the group seemed to support Obama, but there was a handful of crestfallen Republicans among us as well. I don’t think either president would have made much of a difference for Peace Corps, but volunteers do get a year of preferred status for government jobs when we return. People certainly have thoughts about what type of president they’d want to serve under. For me, in the maternal/reproductive health field, the president in control could really make a difference. For example, Mitt Romney at one point said he wanted to eliminate Title X, the only dedicated federal funding for contraceptive services (am I right on that, MCH Legislation friends?). That type of cut could affect how easy or difficult it would be for me to find a job if that’s the direction I wanted to go.

Anyway, the results are in, so we’re all moving forward.

The election reminded me again of the interesting rumors that make their way around here. Someone asked me if Obama were really the Antichrist. I had to say I didn’t know, but I told her I didn’t think so. She also had heard — someone read something to her about it — that the U.S. Congress passed new legislation requiring microchips to be inserted into all Americans’ foreheads for some health-care-related purpose. Americans, is that happening? I said it wasn’t. This was also read as a sign of the apocalypse/Obama as Antichrist because of something in the Bible about marks on the forehead.

These are very real perceptions of America here. Not everyone thinks them, of course, but they aren’t considered as surprising as they are to American ears. It’s interesting.

Jack comes on Wednesday! I’m excited and also nervous for him. It’s tough to move to a new country (obviously), and it’s even tougher when you don’t have the Peace Corps holding your hand. They really do a good job. So he’ll just have me holding his hand, and I’ll do my best. And I know he’ll have support from you guys as well.

I spent some time at the high school yesterday, talking to the head teacher about what he needs help with. I think we’re looking at reviving a health club and a blood donation club, and they’d like some assistance with computer literacy. I’m no computer genius, but I think I can help.

My counterpart is back in my village after her training, which is really exciting for me. I look forward to working and making more plans with her. The training is also a great deal for her. It opens up a lot more job opportunities.

I also have a potential public health project brewing, but I want to wait till I have more concrete information before I tell y'all what's up. It could be a great opportunity to get involved in some HIV-related field work.

Just another Friday

Hi, team,

I went to a meeting at the local high school today with my host babe. It started about an hour late and then was canceled because there weren't enough parents present to have a quorum. Meetings here are scheduled during the day, mostly, not in the evening as they would be in the U.S. I assume this is because transport doesn't run at night, and most people don't leave their homesteads at night. Also, fewer people work typical 9 to 5 jobs, so their daytime hours are more flexible. Anyway, they're going to try again next week. Issues on the agenda were school fees, how to deal with kids misbehaving, and what they want to build on the premises.

Next week is Election Day (I voted!), and we're going to spend it watching returns at the home of our country director. I'm reaaaaaally excited about this! Returns are going to start coming in at about 4 a.m. our time, so many of us will be spending the night at his place. He's a former Democratic congressman from Ohio. I think the GOP might be outnumbered at this particular gathering. Turns out Peace Corps volunteers lean liberal.

In additional exciting news, Jack arrives in less than two weeks! It seemed so far away when I first got here – FOUR MONTHS AGO. Now it's here, which is very, very exciting. I'm nervous about the difficulties we'll encounter, such as housing and work for him, but at least we can get started on figuring those out. It's going to be so much better with him here.

That said, I'm amazed at how much I've adjusted over these months. Life here is just life. I'm not always comfortable, but I learn and understand so much more every day. My family is becoming my family, which is really nice. The girls and I watch movies together, and I've pitched in with chores here and there. Weeding maize fields by hand is not easy.

Integration ends soon. That means freedom to move about the country. It also means I have a community assessment due. I've done some of it, but there's still a lot to finish. Best be getting on that, eh?

Don't forget to vote!

Salani kahle.