Weekend update

Sanibonani, bangani bami! (Hello, my friends!)

I'm killing time till Jor arrives in the place with probably the best Wifi in Swaziland. I could probably watch a YouTube video if I wanted! It's THAT good! I don't mind not having access to Internet, really. I've been living without a computer of my own since January, and it has not been apocalyptic. I feel like I'm going to be overwhelmed by the go go go of life back home when I get there. TOO MANY INSTAGRAMS. Do people still use that, even? The Internet will be unrecognizable to me.

I attended the cultural evening at Jack's school last night, and it was delightful, if a bit chaotic. I think my favorite part was listening to 20-something primary-schoolers singing "God Bless America." I was moved, not gonna lie. It made me even more excited to visit home in a month and a half.

As part of this cultural evening, I baked six apple pies. Yes, I made the crusts by hand. And then I had so much extra crust that I baked two chocolate-chip pies. I have officially surpassed my lifetime pie-making total in the past year. People seemed to mostly like them, though Swazis tend to find American desserts too sweet. What can I say? We love our sugar and butter.

The event also included Swazi cultural dances, which I always love, and a section of Afrikaner culture. The children wore the traditional clothes of the Afrikaner settlers. I was thinking "Little House on the Prairie." The kiddos did a great job.

I can't remember whether I've talked about our Future Plans. Jack and I were considering staying here another year. He had a lead on a job, and I was considering extending my Peace Corps service. I would have moved to town from my homestead, so I would have had more of the modern conveniences. We were pretty sold on it for a week or so. Then things fell apart a bit with his job offer. I wasn't thrilled with the direction my plans were heading. At the end of the day, the benefits of going home outweighed the benefits of staying.

So I'll finish up my service in August, and Jack and I are planning a packed post-PC trip. The one certainty is hiking Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Aside from that, we're looking at Victoria Falls, Lake Malawi, the Serengeti, Zanzibar and Morocco (some combination of these). We'll see how we go. I'm sure we can't go wrong, and if we miss something, it'll just mean we have to come back. Kute inkinga, as they say (no problem).

THEN it will be on to the wedding in November and trying to persuade someone to hire us, probably in Washington, D.C. If y'all know anybody who wants a journalist/social media pro in Jack or a journalist/public health type in me, drop us a line. I'll be ready to do ALL THE WORK.

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In work news, my counterpart and I have chosen the three girls who will go to our Girls Leading Our World (GLOW) camp next month. I'm excited to participate. It's a whole week, and I expect it to be exhausting and exhilarating. The girls will learn about health topics, community service, leadership and other fun stuff. There will be arts and crafts and games as well. I wasn't able to go last year because of health problems, so it'll all be new.

Have I told y'all that I've been writing letters with a first-grade class from my elementary school? Their letters are pretty amazing. I tend to reply by email and explain things like toilets, our lack of running water and which animals I've seen. I also told the kids recently that I've read more than 100 books since I've been here. It's kind of great what facts stick in their minds.

These are some of the questions I've gotten:

"What are the titles of the 100 books?"
"Was one of the books Go Dog Go?"
"What was your favorite of the 100 books?"
"Have you seen a dust devil?"
"Do you go to college?"
"What is your mom's name?"
"How do you play?"
"Do you like fashion and makeovers? I like fashion and makeovers."

And my favorite comment: "We have running water here."

Kids are pretty great.

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We have a new puppy on the homestead! She is covered in fleas and ticks because I haven't had a chance to wash her yet. Babe calls her Tsatsakhona (take and eat), the same as our other dog. I'm going to call her Wolverine in hopes that she'll be a survivor. I will try to avoid getting attached.

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Did I tell you guys that I'm getting my wedding dress made here by a Swazi designer? I am. It's pretty exciting stuff, AND he thinks he can arrange a fitting while Jor is here. That will be my first traditional girl move.

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OK, I think that's all the news that's fit to print for the moment. I hope to be able to post photos from Cape Town after our trip. If you were feeling sorry for me because I never have Internet or running water or whatever, don't. I get to go to CAPE TOWN, which is an incredibly sweet place.

Stay tuned.

Salani kahle!