Integration: Part 1

Sanibonani! (Hello!)

** A few weeks have elapsed since I wrote the below entry (on September 10), and there's much more going on. The pace is definitely picking up! I've been formally introduced to the community at a meeting of the Inner Council (local government), started volunteering 1 day a week at the local clinic, have made arrangements to start a project at the high school, and started setting up meetings with other members of the community.  I've also been invited to participate in a traditional Swazi wedding, and have been learning some traditional dance for the event.  Everyday I walk around and marvel at how lucky I am to be in such a beautiful place!

I'll write more soon...

Training ended a little over two weeks ago, and I'm in my own house now. I live in the Hhohho region - near the capital, Mbabane.  I have my own rondoval (small, round house) on the homestead of  a Swazi family.  I even have my own plot in the family garden, and will be planting this week.* I'm excited to start growing some food, and my family is eager to see what I grow (Swazi staples are maize, cabbage, spinach, onions, carrots, beets and green peppers; when I said I would be growing broccoli, basil, cilantro, etc., they had no idea what I was talking about - but they're definitely intrigued!). *UPDATE: It took me longer to get my garden started than anticipated, but finally got some stuff in the ground! So far, I'm working on runner beans, basil, strawberries, tomatoes and broccoli...

My host family is headed by a Make (mother), who is a nurse in the capital working primarily with TB patients.  Make's husband passed away a few years ago. There is also a Gogo (grandmother) on the homestead - my Make's late husband's mother. Make speaks english very well, but gogo speaks none at all - which is actually good because it should encourage me to practice SiSwati!  Make's adult daughter, Jabu, also lives on the homestead, but she works fairly far away, so she lives by her job during the week and stays at the homestead on the weekends.  Her son, Mgendulo (pronounced Ben-de-low), also lives on the homestead. He's 11 years old and awesome - he's my buddy. Also, coincidentally his Anglo name (many Swazis have both a Swazi and an Anglo name) is Maxwell (for those who don't know, that's also the name of my 11 year old nephew in the states)!  His english is really good and he's a really smart, funny, personable kid.  There is also a teenage ovc who lives on the homestead, and Make's son, who's in college in Pretoria (South Africa), has a hut here where he stays during breaks.

Mgendulo has seen pics of all of the family, and I told him he can be pen pals with the kids.  He's super excited about it, and he and I wrote letters to Ryan/Ianna/Angelica and Max today, which I'm dropping at the postoffice in a little while. Meg & Col - they will take a few weeks to get to you, but keep your eyes out for them!

Swaziland is a rural mountainous country, about the size of New Jersey, but with a population of only about 1.2 million.  There are 2 largish towns/cities (Mbabane and Manzini) and a few smaller towns/cities, but the rest of the country is pretty much farm land.  There are lots of animals here, but primarily those of the farm animal variety (eg: chickens, goats, cows, dogs, cats).  I did, however, see zebras, hippos, warthogs and crocodiles on a day trip to Mlilane Wildlife Sanctuary, which is located near my town.  Unfortunately, there are lots of snakes here, although only a few deadly varieties (none of which are in my region, thank goodness).  Also, unfortunately, Swazis favorite way of avoiding snakes is by getting rid of long grass (or any grass, really); as a result, large swatches of land are routinely set on fire.  It is not at all unsual to see a whole side of a mountain or a field up in flames.  While this practice disturbs me greatly - for many reasons, specifically the environmental harm it causes - I can't help but be in awe of the casual control Swazis have over these fires.  I was at a lecture in a church several weeks ago, and the fire came right up to the side of the building. I was nervous, but no one else was - rightfully so, since the fire was efficiently and effectively halted in time to prevent any damage at all. 

My community is located in the highveld (high in the mountains), and is very beautiful and green.  Swaziland is home to the largest (or one of the largest) man made forest(s) in the world, and I live near that forest.  Timber is a big industry here, and many people in my community work in the timber mills.  Well, I say many, but that's relative.  The unemployment rate in the country is approaching 50%, which makes the US unemployment rate look like nothing.  Because I live so close to the capital, the average income in my area is a little higher than in other regions, and there are more professionals around me. That being said, Swazis are still overall extremely poor.  Swaziland is considered a middle income country, but that's only because the tiny percentage of wealthy here are extremely wealthy, and so they skew the statistics.  However, since 80% of the land in Swaziland is Swazi Nation land (belongs to the government, as opposed to title deed land), the poor here at least have places to live and land to farm on.  There are still major issues with food security, but generally not homelessness.

It gets a little cold in the evenings, because we're still at the end of winter, but overall it's pretty hot and sunny. There are some issues with water access in my community - we're near a river, but the levels were very low because it hadn't rained for approximately 6 months, so the water couldn't reach the pipes that bring the water from the river into my community. As a result, I had to walk with a large container and a wheel barrow to a community tap about a 5-10 minute walk from my house to collect water.  I'm pretty pathetic pushing my water home, when you see the Swazi ladies carrying these enormous, heavy water containers on their heads! It's pretty awesome.  However, we had several days of rain last week which raised the water level of the river and filled the large Jojo water tank on the homestead, so, for now at least, I have access to water from a tap on the property.  It's amazing the things we take for granted in the US.  I also have to boil, filter and bleach my water, and wash my clothes by hand. You get used to this stuff pretty quickly, though - but it is very time consuming and labor intensive.

People overall have been welcoming and friendly.  They are not, however, used to seeing white people outside of the big cities, and so my presence is very conspicuous.  They are especially not used to white people speaking (or trying to speak :) SiSwati, and so they laugh alot when I greet them in their language.  The laughter is generally a result of their pleasure and surprise, but it does get a little tiring having people stare at you and laugh at you all the time :) . 

This period of my service is referred to as integration, and therefore my primary job right now is simply getting out into the community and meeting people.  I've met many people already who are interested in working with me, and I see exciting things on the horizon!

Preparing for Departure....

Sanibonani!

According to my usual methods, I have procrastinated until the very last minute in setting up this blog, so it will be a little light on details.  In short, in just under three days, I will be heading to Swaziland in Southern Africa, where I will live for the next 26 months as a Peace Corps HIV/AIDS volunteer.

The past few weeks here have been wonderful and overwhelming - I've spent time with my family, celebrated my youngest nephew's first birthday, seen one of my closest friends get married, visited with friends I see far too infrequently.  I'm aware every day how fortunate I am to have so many wonderful, amazing people in my life.  Which, of course, makes it much, much harder to leave for the next two years.

Ultimately, however, I'm more excited than I can explain about this next part of my life.  I want to list all of the info about Swaziland that I've accumulated over the past few months for you, but, as stated above, I'm running short on time and still have lots to do before heading to staging on Tuesday afternoon.  But, the beauty of modern technology means all you have to do is type "Swaziland" into your favorite search engine, and off you go!  You'll find out pretty quickly that Swaziland has the highest rate of HIV in the world at approximately 26%, with recent statistics indicating that over 50% of pregnant women are infected.  You'll find that laws still exist and are enforced that make it illegal for women to own property, despite the fact that these laws are unconstitutional according to the Swazi Constitution adopted in 2005.  You'll find that Swaziland is the last true monarchy in Africa, with a king who not only reigns, but rules - and that political parties are illegal.

You'll also find a vibrant, beautiful and ancient culture, with passionate activists and artists, strong family bonds and amazing strength in the face of terrible poverty and disease.  Although I'm sure the next couple of years will present their share, and more, of challenges, I can't wait until Swaziland becomes more than just words on a page, and I hope to use this blog to bring some of my experiences to you.  I don't know yet what internet access will be like, so I don't know how often I'll be able to post updates, but I'll do my best.

In case you're interested, here's my mailing address for the first few months.  If and when it changes, I'll let you know:

PCV/Catherine Reilly
Peace Corps Swaziland
Box 2797
Mbabane H100
Swaziland
AFRICA*

*Just an FYI, making "Africa" large and visible is very important, as it is apparently very common for packages to be sent to Switzerland instead of Swaziland. Oh, US Postal Service - what am I gonna do with you...