I'm here!!!

Part One: Training

Wow! It has been far too long since I’ve posted anything, and I’m really sorry! To say I was busy doesn’t even begin to describe it. In addition to pretty limited access to wifi, my first nine weeks in country were spent in intensive training on everything Peace Corps Swaziland. The other new volunteers and I (there are about 40 of us) had full schedules Monday-Saturday. We had classes on policy, health, team-building, potential projects, Swazi culture, and of course, siSwati language. During training I lived in a village called Sihhohhweni with a truly amazing host family. All the other Youth Development volunteers lived in the same village, and we got to spend a lot of time getting to know each other.

A typical training day started out waking up in my hut at 6 and walking down the road for language class (just me and two other volunteers and our lovely Tishela!) from 7:30-10. Then we would either board the bus to our training hub, where we had sessions with all the new Swaziland volunteers (both Community Health and Youth Development) or walking to our village hub and having Youth Development-specific sessions. These were usually about project ideas, like starting community libraries, or relevant cultural information, like what Swazi school politics are like. I’d usually be back on my homestead by 4pm. I spent time with my host family (and later on, our brand new puppy!) and then go to my hut to cook dinner, study siSwati, and go to bed. Sundays were for sleeping in, going on walks, and washing clothes by hand.

 

Above is my first “load” of laundry hanging to dry.

Backtracking to the day I met my host family: My Babe (ba-bay, meaning father) came to pick me up. I was incredibly relieved to find out that he spoke excellent English-I had only had 3 days of siSwati lessons at this point! Within seconds of meeting me, he told me that he already had my Swazi name picked out. I am now Khanyisile, meaning “the light of the family”, although judging by the laughs I often get when introducing myself,  I’m pretty sure it is also a joking reference to the color of my skin.

My first few days staying with the Dlamini family were a little strange. My Make (ma-gay, meaning mother) wasn’t home. She was in South Africa for work, which is really common for Swazis. Because of this, I was not eating dinner with my family like many of the other volunteers were. Cooking is pretty strictly the woman’s job, so it would have been pretty strange for Babe to make me a meal. Instead I cooked for myself in my hut on my Peace Corps-issued two burner gas stove. I think that my bhuti (meaning brother) cooks for Babe while Make is away.

Speaking of my bhuti, there were actually two (bobhuti!) at my training host family. Thabiso is 13 and Makosonkhe is 14. Thabiso goes to school and is very good at English, but Makosonkhe only knows a few words. We still managed to communicate, but I naturally ended up being much closer to Thabiso.  These kids are wild! But they also completely made my host family experience during my time in Sihhohhweni, and treated me so well. Even trying to write about them now is hard, because it has been two weeks since I left them and I miss them like crazy.

Makosonkhe helping Thabiso to swing from the avocado tree…

Thabiso showing off a traditional Swazi necklace

When Make came home, I was so lucky to discover that she is just the sweetest, most welcoming, generous, incredible woman. She works hard taking care of the homestead (which includes corn fields, a giant avocado tree, and a mini banana tree orchard, in addition to 10+ chickens) and of all the people in her life. She goes to church three or more times a week, and during my short stay with the family she was gone a lot, caring for two very sick people.

My host family was so incredibly welcoming, and did all they could to make me feel comfortable during my transition from American to Swazi life. When I told Make I had a mouse problem, she was in my room with her black-market poison almost instantly. When I had a bug that I needed removed, Thabiso always saved the day. I was constantly gifted with avocados bigger than softballs, and on shopping days I was always met at the bus stop by my bobhuti, who helped me carry my groceries home. I didn’t think I could possibly be happier with my host family until about four weeks in, when I came home to a tiny little black puppy that they told me was ours! Thabiso let me name her, and he let her sleep in his bed because I told him that is where Olive sleeps at my house in America. That is pretty much unheard of here, and it absolutely filled my heart with joy. I worked hard during the time I had left with the family to make sure Inkhosatana (Princess) was the most spoiled dog in Swaziland, and that it will stay that way. The boys were really good about taking care of her, and I can’t wait to go and visit them all!

 

Part Two: Life in Sihhohhweni

My homestead in Sihhohhweni was relatively small but pretty nice. We had electricity, and a private water tap right outside the “smoke hut”, which is a detached structure where a Swazi family will usually build a fire to cook over. In case you’re curious, Peace Corps gave us all water filters with carbon-filled ceramic candles. I filter my water through that and then add a couple of drops of bleach per liter in order to make it safe to drink…it is super easy and I haven’t gotten sick yet! In order to bathe, I fill a 10 liter bucket with clean water and add some boiled water to make it warm. Then I have a large basin to stand in a little pitcher to pour with. Everyone develops their own system and it is surprising how fast you get used to things…but I am still looking forward to hanging my solar shower at my permanent site for the illusion of running water soon. Our pit latrine was on the outskirts of the homestead, and it was built out of firewood, which means there were several gaps in the walls, leaving some privacy to be desired. It had a built up plastic toilet seat instead of just a hole to hover over, like I was expecting, so that was really nice. As I mentioned, Sunday is typically laundry day. Laundry is a process, and might be my least favorite chore. There is the initial wash, two rinses, and then a final rinse in water treated with “stay-soft”, which makes it so your clothes aren’t stiff after air drying, and also makes them smell really good. Then you hang the clothes on the line and hope that it doesn’t rain, and that a cow doesn’t try to eat them. Every morning (and honestly every hour for the first few nights) I woke up to rooster crows-there’s no escaping them. Every night I fell asleep to the sound of the Sangoma’s drums.

My ”hut” during training was actually two-thirds of this house.

Speaking of the Sangoma, one of the highlights of training for me was getting to visit him! A Sangoma is a Swazi traditional healer. One of our cultural sessions involved going to watch Sihhohhweni’s Sangoma dance to loud drums and “pray” to the ancestral spirits. It was a really powerful experience. Not all Swazis believe in or would choose to visit a Sangoma to help them with problems, but I personally love that they still exist and continue to pass on the tradition, because it is such a beautiful cultural practice.

Another highlight of training was the 4^th of July party at our Country Director’s house. Having been in Swaziland for a little more than a week, being able to celebrate one of my favorite American holidays semi-traditionally took the edge off the homesickness. All the volunteers were invited to Steve’s (incredibly beautiful) house in Mbabane for a BBQ. I got to meet people who have been here for a year already, and some who were almost finished with their two years of service. It was nice to get out of the village, have a burger, and pretend we were still at home for a few hours.

Training was intense, exhausting, and frustrating at times. After a few weeks, some of the sessions began to feel really boring and repetitive, and spending so much time with the same group of people is bound to wear on everyone, but now that I’m on the other side, I really do feel like I can appreciate how essential it was to prepare us for life in a rural Swazi village. I feel like I already know more about the culture and Swazi way of life than many foreigners/aid workers who have been here for years ever will. Part of that is thanks to the Peace Corps training program, but I attribute more of it to the Peace Corps model of cultural immersion. No one else working in development is living on homesteads cooking, washing, dancing, laughing, and living out real life with families in the communities they are trying to serve. I think that the deeper understanding this experience brings can only enrich and help to make the projects that Peace Corps volunteers work on during service more culturally appropriate and sustainable. So while I can say I am incredibly happy that the monotony of training is over, I can also say that I’m even happier that my time spent living in a Swazi village has only begun!

Part Three: Swaziland Basics

For future reference, I’ll probably mention Mbabane and Manzini pretty often in my blog. They are the two biggest cities in Swaziland, and are both centrally located, about a 15 minute khumbi ride away from each other. Oh! Khumbis! Okay, so pretty much anytime I go anywhere, I take a khumbi. Khumbis are (usually) 16 passenger vans with different town names written across the front of them that explain their route, and they are Swaziland’s main source of public transportation. You stand on the side of the road at a stesh (stop) and if there is space for you (or proabably even if there isn’t) the khumbi will pull over and let you in. Or, if you’re in a city, there will be a bus rank where all the khumbis gather, and you find the one you’re looking for, get on, and ‘wait for it to fill up with passengers and pull away. You stay on until you get where you want to be, yell “Stesh!”,  pay the conductor, and you’re off! They are pretty affordable and fast, but the driving can be…concerning at times, and there really is no limit on how many people they might try to shove into those things. But back to the cities:

Mbabane is Swaziland’s capital. This is where our Peace Corps office is and where a lot of NGOs and rich people can be found. Most of the government activity takes place here, and for that reason, there are several nice restaurants and expensive stores and places with wifi. Going to Mbabane is great for food and a drink, and a day spent online, but it really isn’t my favorite place. Manzini is the “big” city. This is where the good shopping is, and it always seems to be crowded. This is where Swazis go. There is a weekly market with fruits, vegetables, crafts, and lots of random things you wouldn’t expect to see at the market. There is also an always-open craft market which is a really dangerous place for me to go. Several of the vendors already know me by name, and their eyes light up at the site of this volunteer girl with very little self-control when it comes to shopping for beautiful, handmade African art. It really is the coolest place though! I have so many things scoped out, including a 4 foot tall giraffe carved out of wood that I just need to figure out how I’ll get back to the US… 

On that note, here are some harsh realities of Swaziland I discovered during training:

If you have to pee after dark, you’re going to do it into a bucket in your room and empty it into the latrine in the morning.

If you heard squeaking at night-good news, its just bats! And there’s only like a 10% chance they’ll make it into your hut…but if you hear rustling sounds at night, its mice! And they are for sure going to eat through the plastic bread bag and munch a perfectly round circle through a slice of bread.

If you want to know where something is (be it where a relative lives or where in the kitchen you will find a spoon) the answer is going to be “that side”. If something is not within immediate sight, it is on “that side”, and that’s the most specific answer you’re going to get from a Swazi.

If you want to buy wine but it is Sunday…You’re not going to get to buy wine.

And, no matter how good you think your siSwati is, you will always be laughed at the first time you try to speak it to someone.