Wow! I’m the worst blogger ever. The past few months have
been a combination of times when I have had zero access to internet and very
little to report home, and others when I’ve been too busy bussing, training,
flying, and visiting my favorite place in the whole world to blog!
Now that I’m back in the kingdom and things have settled
down, I can share a bit of an update. At the end of May I attended Bushfire
Festival here in Swaziland and had the time of my life. Nearly all the PCVs
from this country, along with hundreds from South Africa. Mozambique, and
Lesotho claimed a big area of the campground and partied together all weekend.
Bushfire is an annual music and arts festival hosted at House on fire, and it
has been rated one of the top 7 in Africa. My friends and I spent the weekend
dancing, shopping, eating, chilling in the sun, and having a great time. A
highlight for me was finally getting to see Cassper Nyovest. He’s the most
popular hip hop artist in South Africa right now, and his music is inescapable
here. I’ve learned to love it, and it was great to experience it live!
Bushfire was also a bit of a going away party for the group
of volunteers that arrived in Swaziland in 2013. They began leaving the week
after and have slowly been trickling out of the country ever since. In about a
week, my group (G12) will truly be the veterans of Peace Corps Swaziland!
My library has books! They are in boxes, waiting to be
inventoried and shelved, but they’re here! And that’s so exciting. The library
set-up process has been moving slowly, as many things do in Swaziland. We were
able to get the building painted on the inside and outside, and completely
cleaned out. It’s looking great, and I can’t wait to get books on the shelves.
The next step is for me to purchase the tables and chairs with the grant money,
so we have a place to work while sorting the books. Unfortunately, August 7th
was the last day of the school term, so that process won’t start until early
September.
In other work-related news, the GLOW grant is thisclose to
being finished! Our original naïve wish that we would not have to fundraise
this year is not going to come true, but we were able to significantly reduce
the amount of money we need to raise by splitting the cost up among two
different types of grants. We are now beginning to talk to speakers, vendors,
and venues about putting on our two camps in April. More info to come on GLOW
soon, as we will definitely need your support!
The month of June brought me two special gifts: baby hippos
and food poisoning. A couple of volunteer friends and I went with our Swazi
friends on a little self-guided tour of Hlane Royal National Park. For about $4
you are allowed to drive yourself through the parts of the park that do not
have lions. We got to see hippos, rhinos, giraffes, and lots of impala and
warthogs! It was a fun way to spend the afternoon.
The following weekend, I had the worse sickness I’ve ever
experienced in my life. I will spare you all the details, but just imagine
severe food poisoning hitting you in the middle of the night in a situation
where you have no sink, toilet, or running water of any kind. I will probably
never be the same!
At the end on June a new group of almost 50 volunteers
arrived to begin their service. Their arrival marked me being here for an
entire year. In some ways it feels like so much has happened that I have to
have been here longer than that, but in others it is surreal to think this
experience is half over. It seems like I’m just getting started with my
work…which I am. And that life is just beginning to feel normal. I am extremely
grateful that Peace Corps uses a two-year model for service, because it really
does take the greater part of the first year to learn enough about local
language, culture, and practical skills to even make you qualified to begin
working with people for positive change. And then, once you feel comfortable in
the context you’re working in, you still have to form the relationships that
will lead you to identifying the needs of your community, and the people who
are motivated to work with you on projects that address those needs. I know my
second year is going to disappear too quickly, especially with visits from
friends and family and trips I am planning to take. I plan on enjoying it while
it lasts!
I GOT TO VISIT HOME IN JULY AND IT WAS AWESOME. I had the
best two weeks back in Washington, and it was really, really hard to say
goodbye again. It was great to spend time with family and friends, drink
Starbucks, and eat sushi. I got to attend a party celebrating one of my very
best friend’s recent marriage, and surprise another bride at her wedding! Being
reminded of all the comforts and conveniences of home (dishwasher!!!!) was
nice, and it will definitely help get me through the second year, knowing what
I have to come back to.
Now I’m back on my homestead and finally readjusted to the
time difference. I brought back some tortillas from home, and it is avocado
season here, so I’ve been enjoying eating tacos…probably too many. Since school
is out until September, I’m just planning to spend time helping my family with
their produce from the garden, playing with the adorable babies on the
homestead, visiting my bhuti’s wife at her salon in town, and roaming around
Swaziland visiting other volunteers. My friend Sydney and her boyfriend, Shahar
are going to be visiting at the end of the month for about 10 days, and I’m
really excited about that! I get to show them around Swaziland and they can
experience hut life for a few days. Their trip is also timed perfectly, as
they’ll get to experience Umhlanga, famously known as the Reed Dance.
I know I say this always, but I really will try to be better
about posting! Things are picking up, and I should have more to write about in
the coming months. Sala kahle!
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