Photos!

Hi, all! We're back at our training site for a few days before swearing in, which is Thursday. I'll be one of the speakers that day, so I'm sure I'll say something AMAZING.

It was really sad to leave our temporary host families. They gave me a lovely lihiya (wrap) that I'll wear for our ceremony this week. I will definitely try to provide photos.

Below are photos from the village we just left. Two are the view from my homestead on the hill on foggy mornings. I have more photos that show more of the village, and I'll try to upload some of those soon. The crocs are from the game park we went to several weeks ago. They were enormous.There were signs at the restaurant reminding people to avoid leaning over the railing because of the danger. Crazy. The photo with the mountain and the moon is of our village. There were mountains on the back side of it, and some of us climbed them. I did not climb the one shown, but some more hard core than me did. The last photo is me, my host make (mother), host bosisi (sisters) and host cousin. Nephew? Something along those lines.

We had our last language test, and I should get results for that today. I think it went OK, though I didn't know what to do when the tester lied to me. He told me he was born in 1995. I stared at him. I should have called him a liar, which is "unemanga," I believe. Whoops.

I move to my village on Friday. It's really nice to have a few days together as a group first, and we're having a good time. We have integration for three months starting Friday. That means we're only allowed to leave our village overnight once a month, and we're really expected to be there just about all the time. That's fine, it just means a LOT of alone time. We'll see how that one goes.

Thanks to everyone who has sent more packages and letters! Rae, I received yours, and I got packages from Debi and Larry and from Brie and Jay. Can't remember if I mentioned those here. Mama T sent me some clippings from the Post-Dispatch, which is excellent, and I've gotten a couple of letters from Jack. Thank you, thank you, thank you! You guys make me feel loved. That is a great feeling.

You can still use the same address if you'd like to send a letter; that one will be good for the next two years.

It's exciting to almost be a Peace Corps volunteer!

Salani kahle, all.

Written Aug. 10

Sanibonani!

I know, I know, I haven’t updated in forever. I’d like to update more often, of course, but I don’t have regular Internet access. It’ll be easier for me to keep you apprised of what’s going on when I finish training in two weeks. At that point I’ll be on my own and can come and go as I please (mostly). That will mean more opportunities to hit up the Internet cafes. I’ll also plan to post photos at that point; I know many of you would like to see what I’m looking at here.

I got my site placement. I’m not allowed to give details publicly on the interwebs, but I can tell you that I’m in the Manzini region. The country has four regions: Manzini, Hhohho, Lubombo and Shiselweni. Manzini is central, so I’ll be fairly close to the big cities. I’ll be working with a huge clinic, which I’m really excited about. They offer inpatient services and have a public health arm. Very exciting! Email me directly if you want to know the specifics. Props to Peace Corps for giving me everything I asked for. I definitely appreciate their consideration.

I met my permanent host family, too. Everyone is very nice and speaks at least some English. My babe (father) tells me Jack owes him 17 cows for my hand. I think the figure is low, personally, but I suppose I should take Jack’s lack of access to cows into consideration. He’s getting a bargain wife, I can tell you. I’ll have brothers and sisters on the homestead, and a host mother as well. I have my own hut with electricity. I know what you’re thinking: not exactly roughing it. I won’t have access to water on the homestead, though, so I’ll have to figure out how to get it from the river. My counterpart is having her father negotiate with a local man who might be able to transport it for me. That’s the ideal situation — assuming the cost isn’t too high. I don’t yet know what the going rate is.

The counterpart I’m working with is passionate about community health. She seems like she’ll be an excellent partner.

We are scheduled to be sworn in Aug. 23 and move to site the next day. Training is still going well. I’m not making as much progress on learning siSwati as I’d like to, but I hope to continue my learning once I hit community. The patients at the health center seem to speak mainly siSwati. That should help a great deal. We’ll see how I go.

Y’all have done an amazing job of sending letters and packages! Jack sent me an MU snuggie, which is VERY exciting. I was pleasantly surprised that he bought such a thing. I also got my first coffee shipment, some Starbucks from Lindsey. That was killer. The sweatshirts from my parents arrived, and I’ve gotten letters from Jor, Uncle Dick and Aunt Kathy, Susannah (x2), Meggie, Sara and Jack. I think that’s it. Thank you all! It really does mean a lot to me, and I hope you’re able to keep up the wonderful correspondence. I’ll have three months of integration where I can’t really leave my site, so all notes will be very much appreciated. Rest assured they’ll be decorating my hut, as will any postcards or images you send. And Lindsey sent a newspaper, which was awesome. All newspapers and crosswords are welcome!

I’m going to miss my temporary host family when I leave. They’ve been so wonderful and accommodating; it’s really been a pleasure.

Word on the street is that Mama and Papa T are considering a visit. Those of you around them should pressure — ahem, encourage — them to act on that impulse. When else will they have a free tour guide in southern Africa? Peer pressure, folks. It’s very in right now.

Today’s siSwati lesson:

Inyoka (k sounds like g, remember) = snake

Tinyoka = snakes

Invubu = hippo

Ingwenya = crocodile, to be found during summer in the river near my village

Ngifuna ube umfati wami = I want you to be my wife (taught to me by my new babe; he said men in the village would tease me by saying it to me)

Ngitsembisile ngitawushada masinyane = I’m engaged to be married soon

Ngijabulile kukwati = I’m happy to meet/know you

Thanks again, everyone.

Living the dream

Sanibonani!

We had our first language test the other day, and I think it went OK. I’m not an expert, but I’ll probably be at the level I’m supposed to be by the time we finish pre-service training. We have to test Intermediate Low, which means essentially that we can get our point across in siSwati when dealing with a “sympathetic listener.” Here’s hoping most of my listeners are sympathetic over the next two years.

It’s been a lot warmer, and I don’t even have to wear socks at night. Pretty exciting!

Also on Sunday, some PC friends and I got together for breakfast. We (well, my friend Walker) made pancakes of flour, sorghum meal and oats. They also included cinnamon, sugar, apples and bananas. He made syrup of oil, water, brown sugar and orange zest. My standards might be lower after more than three weeks here, but the pancakes were to die for. I mean, these were extremely legit pancakes. Soooooo good. The breakfast party included my new friend Tim, who is a fellow St. Louisan. We’ve had the pleasure of talking some Missouri/StL stuff, which is definitely nice.

We learned health words the other day. HIV is ligciwane lembulalave. In siSwati, C’s are a click made by pressing the tongue against the back of the top teeth and releasing air (almost a “tsk” sound).

Ligciwane lembulalave translates to “the virus that is killing our country.”

We had a visit from staff members from three clinics in Swaziland that are operated by Baylor. We talked more about HIV and what’s driving the epidemic. The women who spoke to us said to slow the rate of new infections, men in Swaziland will have to change their attitudes. This is partly because women often don’t have the power to insist upon condom use. In Swaziland, women are more often aware of their HIV status because they are tested at prenatal clinics and are provided with treatment to avoid transmission to the baby. It’s complicated, though, because then some men believe the woman brought HIV into the relationship. Although this is sometimes the case, it can lead to negative domestic consequences. The situation is complex. I’m by no means an expert, but I look forward to learning more.

We also watched a South African movie called “Yesterday.” I highly recommend it to all of you. It’s about HIV, and the story is simple but powerful.

We’re scheduled to learn our placements on Friday. I’m excited to find out where I’m heading, though I won’t be able to give out my exact location on the blog (PC asks us not to do that). Regardless, I’ll be able to tell you the region of the country. I’ll be able to receive mail at the address I provided earlier for the duration of my service, so please send any notes that way until you hear otherwise.

I’ll also get my cell phone this week. It’s cheaper for people to call me than it is to call out, but calls to and from the U.S. are still pretty expensive. I do plan to get one with Internet capabilities, so y’all will be hearing from me more frequently (I hope).

I’m on my sixth book of service, having entered one of the classics anthologies on my Nook. I’m finally reading some E.M. Foerster. Having read some Arthur Conan Doyle and Edith Wharton, I’m starting to tire of the prim writing style. I wish I had some Hunter S. Thompson floating around, but I can’t remember if I brought any in my other bag. I also wish I had some works by African authors to nose through; I don’t think I brought any (for shame!). On the whole, though, I’m very happy with the lifestyle and all the reading I get to do. Getting up at 5 a.m. and going to bed at 8 p.m. suits me here.

Sala kahle!

Notes

* I've gotten a request to talk a bit more about the men's role in Swaziland. Honestly, I don't encounter a whole lot of men. The father on my homestead is a farmer, and he's very busy. I see him occasionally. There are some brothers-in-law on the homestead as well, but I haven't officially met them. Everyone seems very nice. Some of my friends have gotten marriage proposals. This is pretty common. A neighbor also is trying to marry me to another volunteer. (Don't worry, JMW. I politely declined.) Marriage is definitely a crucial union between families, and it's important financially as well. More on this in time.

* I got more mail! Thank you so much to Anne, Jor, Sara and Meggie. You guys are the best. Please keep it coming if you have the time and inclination. The letters will always make me happy. Postcards are good too, and I'll be able to decorate my hut with them.

* We get cell phones next week, which will make Internet access a bit easier. Please be patient with me in the meantime. Also, please feel free to let me know when major news breaks (saw the horrible stuff about the shootings in Colorado). Please also keep me apprised of your news as you see fit. I want to stay plugged in!

* If you want to send me ground coffee, feel free. =) I can get it here, but I definitely am open to something tasty from the U.S.

* I have Sunday off this week, and I'm hoping to make it to church with my family. I haven't gone yet. They attend an apostolic church in the village.

* My language test is Monday. Think good thoughts!

p.s.

Sorry about the repeat posts. The Internet here is sketchy, and it kept giving me error messages while I tried to post.

Hello again!

A post I wrote last evening:

July 17, 2012

Tonight was the first night I pulled out my long underwear. The current PCVs had warned us that it gets cold here, but we hadn’t experienced much of that. Our first two weeks consisted of cool nights and very warm days. Things have taken a turn for the frosty. Honestly, I’m glad to put these clothes to use. I’m all geared up to go snowboarding, minus the snowpants (and a few other key things). The winter here reminds me a lot of Steamboat summers. It’s pretty.

There are a lot of grass fires in the mountains of this area still, which is alarming until you realize that no one seems to concerned. They don’t go far before burning out.

We have our first language test next week, and it’s only a matter of time before we learn our placements. We’re all nervous and excited to find out where we’ll spend the next two years. We’re lucky in Swaziland in that no one will be THAT far away from another volunteer. The perks of a small country are many.

PC gave us a spa day on Tuesday, showing us ways to relax and to make our huts feel like home. We did yoga, meditation, arts/crafts and pampering. There were milk foot baths with essential oils. It was pretty impressive.

The first week or so went pretty slowly for me, as I got accustomed to the training schedule and the changes. Now that I’m settled in, things seem to be moving much faster. It’s a bit surprising, really.

Ohhhhh, and team JHSPH has really come through from the starting gate. Not only have I received my first package and first letter (thanks, Meg and Susannah!), but I also have a guardian angel of caffeine. I’d intended to buy a French press and had been getting by on instant coffee till that was possible. Lo and behold, a Hopkins MPH grad passing through the SWZ turned out to be my savior. She’s a friend of one of our trainers, who works for PEPFAR, and bequeathed her French press to me upon leaving after a five-week stay. Coffee included. This made my day, big time. I can’t even tell you. She also worked on the same data set that I used for my biostatistics project. Small world, this public health business.

I’ll try to upload photos one of these days, but our Internet is somewhat sketchy. It’s also challenging because all 41 of us tend to be trying to use it at once. That’s the nature of the game, but it makes the whole system pretty slow.

Salani kahle!

Cooking

We had a cooking competition over the weekend — a la "Top Chef." My team didn't win, but we made an amazing lemon meringue pie using a Dutch oven and creativity. We toasted the peaks in the meringue with matches.

My family is still lovely, and I'm getting into a routine that makes me comfortable. We have our language test in a week, and we'll get to visit a game park and then get our cell phones. I hope to have more regular Internet access then.

Thanks to all who have written or sent things!