Things to remember

Sanibonani, all!

I was feeling sentimental the other night, so I started listing in my journal sensory impressions I want to remember about Swaziland. (With this blog, my journal and letters to various folks at home, there will be a COMPLETE record of my time with PC. You're welcome, future.) Here are a few:

- The amazing colors of the sunset over the mountains behind our back maize field. This time of year is really hazy because Swaziland is on fire, and it makes for gorgeous sunsets. (Around me, the fires occur mostly in the sugar cane fields. They have to burn the dry outside part of the cane before they can harvest it. The fires also chase out the snakes. Other fires burn across the country because people light the grass on fire. I'm still not sure if this is for agriculture purposes or what.)

- The sound of the chickens' wings flapping as they fly up to roost at dusk. This is the only Blythe-approved sound that chickens make. I guess the peeps of the little ones are OK.

- The sound of my bosisi or make (sisters or mother) scraping the old pap out of the big three-legged pots they cook with. This thick corn porridge, called pap or liphalishi, is the staple of Swazis' diets. It's also why you can find bucket enema devices for sale along many a roadside.

- The smell of the far-off fires. I feel like I shouldn't like this, but I do.

- The feel of ripping apart a fresh, spongy fat cake.

- The cacophony of the Manzini bus rank. Young men run back and forth, yelling out the destination of their bus or khumbi. Vendors sell fruits, vegetables, sunglasses, hats, peanuts, fabric, clothes, shoes -- all kinds of stuff. But they aren't yelling about it, typically. The main sound is definitely the transport conductors.

- The feel of cool concrete floors on the soles of my feet.

- The warm orange glow that filters through my curtains after sunrise almost every morning. It really is beautiful, and I don't at all mind getting up with the sun.

- Watching the phases of the moon change as I go to my family's living room each night to watch our favorite South African soap. I appreciate the fact that I've lived in more than one place where the Milky Way is visible in the night sky.

I'm sure I'll think of more, but there's a start.

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I've been trying to learn about raising chickens lately because the support group I work with wants to raise them. So far I've "learned" that roosters crow at all times of day, not just in the morning. No kidding. Roosters are a-holes.

But seriously, the manual one of my PC bosses gave me is pretty interesting. It talks all about how to tell a chicken's sex, how to tell a healthy chicken from an unhealthy chicken, how to build a proper chicken house and the phases of chicken growth. It turns out the process is complicated. It also turns out to be expensive. A visit to the Ministry of Agriculture revealed that it could cost more than E21,000 (about $2,000) for the first batch of chickens alone. And that's if you raise and sell 950 (starting with 1,000 and expecting a 5 percent loss). When we priced the chicken house materials, it came to probably $7,000 U.S.

The moral of the story is that I'll have some interesting and perhaps discouraging information to share with the support group. They certainly don't have this kind of money, and I'd almost rather have us start with a different (cheaper) income-generating project. Maybe if they can establish their coffers, they can move into chickens later. Or maybe they'll decide to go a different direction altogether.

But of course the project is all about the women, so it will be up to them. It's just daunting.

On the positive side, the ministry does provide free training on how to raise poultry. So we can bring in experts, which is huge.

That's the main thing on my plate, amigos. The parents come next week. I'm extremely excited to show them the Kingdom! It's going to be fantastic. I just hope they're not too nervous about the trans-Atlantic journey. I'm proud of them for making it happen.

Swazi words of the day:
Siyavakasha. - We are visiting.
Sibuya emmelika. - We come from America.
Ngiyabonga kakhulu. - I thank you very much.