...is feeling the love.

Happy holidays everyone! We are halfway through one of our favorite times of the year, Christmas and New Year’s Eve, so we thought we’d update everyone on our awesome day after Christmas party and our plans for New Year’s Eve. This past Saturday we hosted 9 good friends for a Christmas party. Everyone made it here despite some difficulties with public transport (there’s always difficulties with transport) and we had a wonderful time. We kicked the party off officially around 5pm when everyone got there, hosting parties is a little weird here because different transport situations mean some people show up around 11am, then a few at 1pm, and finally 4pm. Nevertheless, we were just happy to spend some time with good friends and enjoy the holiday. Grace had worked all week prepping incredible finger foods, and despite fearing that it wasn't enough, we had more than enough to make lunch of the leftovers the next day! The food was delicious! We had Mexican roll-ups, 7-layer dip, pasta salad, bruschetta, fruit and cheese, but most importantly…cookies. There was a small army of gingerbread men and mountains of snicker doodles and chocolate oatmeal cookies. We all stuffed ourselves to the limit and then pushed onwards realizing that we’re PCVs and we don't eat that good very often! From there we went on to what was the highlight for all of us that evening, the sharing of Christmas traditions. We made snowflakes and ornaments, decorated our door with a special family Christmas tree, heard the telling of a Christmas story complete with small gifts, and sang what had to be the best rendition of the 12 Days of Christmas any of us had ever heard. At least the funniest rendition. Through it all the most amazing thing to me was the wonderful support network we all have here in Swaziland. 6 months ago we were all complete strangers, and now we’re giving all we got singing the 12 Days of Christmas so Christmas can feel a little more Christmassy for one volunteer. It's amazing how fast and strong friends can be made when you all share a common dream like being a PCV. 

Now, it's Monday. On Wednesday a group of us will be traveling to Durban, South Africa for New Year’s Eve! Grace and I have enjoyed some really fun New Year’s Eve’s parties the last couple years with friends and family alike, and this year should be no different. It’ll also be our first true vacation and we’re very excited to hit the beach and feel like tourists for a couple days! We’ll be sure to update you all once we get back!

We’re loving and missing all of our family and friends back home right now, but we’re also incredibly blessed to be able to enjoy the holidays with bangani betfu eSwatini. Know that at 5pm (Tennessee time) on Dec. 31st we’ll be wishing everyone back home a happy New Year, and wishing nothing but the best to come for all. 

...hodgepodges the holidays.

"Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing but of reflection." - Winston Churchill

So as many of you know it's Christmas time. You are probably saying "duh Grace, how could I forget?", but for me it is actually quiet easy. Christmas is not such a big deal here in Swaziland depending on the region, community, or family. To our family "Christmas is just another day". It is also easy to forget because it's hot. I can honestly say that when I return to the states I intend to live in an area in which coldness and Christmas are paired. Furthermore it's easier to forget it's Christmas because we have found we really miss home during this time. Christmas has always been and hopefully will always remain one of my favorite times to spend time with family. Knowing what we are missing this year has definitely pulled at our heart strings in the past weeks and made some days not so great. But Christmas is still something we want here, mainly because of the memories that it holds. So I baked Nan's gingerbread men and Chris' snickerdoodles. I mean they aren't as good as the original, but no one will know the difference. I have grandmother's stockings hanging from our bookshelf and we cut out snowflakes to pretend it's cold. We plan on getting an extra Charlie Brown Christmas tree and making homemade ornaments, which has been a mini tradition of ours since marriage. 

I know I will miss Christmas Eve with the Eastridge crew. I will miss granddad opening all his presents before all of them are even passed out to everyone. I will miss eating every type of cookie at the Collins and not even being shy about it because there is enough to last until next year. I will miss Freeman talking excessively about exactly what his presents were Christmas morning. I will miss Christmas night movie, well maybe, sometimes mom gives our tickets away. 

But I think it's okay. On the bright side I've never been this tan on Christmas! Sean is going to cook a Christmas dinner and we are going to prepare to celebrate with 10 friends on the 26th. Only two rules apply for those coming to our house, bring your own beverage and bring a tradition to share. So I am excited to share the traditions that we hold so dear to our heart and learn what matters to those that have becomes what matters to us here. 

The more I think on it the more I want to thank the people that make it hard to be gone during this holiday season. I appreciate you making Christmas hard to miss. Christmas has never been "just another day" and for that I am truly blessed. Merry Christmas everyone!

...teaches new SKILLZ.

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” ~Thomas A. Edison

Yesterday concluded the hardest work week we’ve had yet. All week long we’ve been running a SKILLZ Basketball Camp for the youth at the SOS Village here in Ka-Langa. SKILLZ Basketball is all about teaching HIV/AIDS prevention and life skills using basketball in a fun interactive way. We basically used a Peace Corps SKILLZ manual for soccer and adapted it to basketball. In November we pitched the camp to SOS staff and it just so happened that they were scrambling to come up with a summer program for the kids. What Grace and I intended to be a 3 days a week for 4 weeks camp, quickly turned into  6 straight days in December and then another 6 straight days in January. The reasoning for this was that the youth we’re working with at SOS are all orphans or vulnerable children from the surrounding area. During the holidays after school is out, the kids that are able to go home for the holidays do, and the rest stay in the village until school starts up again late January. We were so thrilled about having a good project to dive into we didn't think too much on the schedule, we just wanted to start playing and teaching! 

This past Monday we weren't exactly sure what the response would be. We had been around the village handing out flyers on the weekend, and we had given the house mothers a copy of the schedule and group breakdown. The schedule and grouping was 8:00-9:15am 9yrs old and under, 9:30-10:45am 10-13yrs old, 11:00-12:30pm 14-15yrs old, and finally 4:00-6:00pm 16yrs old and up. It's impossible to be out on a basketball court in the middle of the day here, it's just way too hot and the kids don't have water, hence the long break in the afternoon. In the end though we had no reason to worry. Our first day, 61 kids showed up throughout the day and we had a blast! All in all, 93 of 122 kids who stay at the village have participated this week in at least one session with many of them coming to all 6 sessions. 

Grace and I are exhausted and pretty sunburnt after we finished the first half of SKILLZ this week but more than that, we are motivated and inspired by all the kids who came out this week. Every session there would be a stream of kids ready to play with smiles on their faces despite the heat and the difficulty of learning a new sport. There were no quitters even though surface temperatures on the court were 100+ and a lot of players didn't have shoes. There were no quitters even though the temperature was over 90 everyday (we hit 103 once) and the only water to drink came out of a tap that went dry a couple times. There were no quitters even though some players couldn't hit the rim on their first day. Everybody came back to try again and play another day. Grace and I are also quite proud of what everyone has learned and how much all their confidence has improved. The first day we explained to every group that we wouldn't ever yell at them or hit them for getting an answer wrong (this is common in school), we just wanted them to try in English. The first couple days it was hard to pull answers out of them, and we got no additional questions asked, but at the end of the week in our older groups everybody would raise their hand to answer a question, and we started to have great conversations about HIV and how to prevent it.

Kids have it rough here. There's no doubt about it, and it's hard to digest sometimes. There's also no doubt though that 93 of the greatest kids Grace and I have ever been so privileged to meet, are right here in Ka-Langa Swaziland. All of them orphaned or considered vulnerable due to horrible circumstances sometimes incomprehensible to them, they've showed all week that they are going to take control of their own lives and make their country a better place. I think that's what the Peace Corps is all about.

BIG THANKS to the Morristown East Hurricanes and Coach Collins for hooking us up with jerseys so we can look like “real pro’s”! Also thanks to Grandaddy and Grandma Jane for making sure it got here!

...is very thankful.

"It is not what we have, but who we have in our lives that counts."

Siyajabula libuya ekhaya! (We are happy to return home!) after what has been a great close of integration and a wonderful international Thanksgiving! This past week has been both fruitful and rewarding in many different aspects and we are so very thankful for all that we have been blessed with here in Swaziland! Earlier this week on Monday, we had our first project/projects presentation to 27 caregivers at SOS. The caregivers work with SOS’s Family-Strengthening Program in three local communities taking care of vulnerable children. Our presentation was about sustainability and income-generating projects including permagardening and making your own aloe lotion. The presentation took almost two and a half hours because the caregivers were very involved and asked great questions throughout. At the end, we had dedicated sign-up sheets for each of the six topics we had given an overview of and all of the caregivers signed up for one or more practicum-based training programs for each of the subjects! We were amazed and thrilled by the response and are very happy/thankful that we will soon be very busy with community training efforts! 

On Tuesday we left for All-Volunteer Training in Matsapha. Basically the Peace Corps brings all the volunteers together and we listen to programming, medical, administrative, and other updates. The best part of it all was Thursday, Thanksgiving, morning we had a mini TedTalks session where 18 volunteers gave short presentations on project successes and other helpful topics. From there we left for our county director’s house in Mbabane for a Thanksgiving feast, and what a feast it was! There were over a hundred people there and we actually had leftovers of nearly everything. It was a very impressive spread. Everyone ate and drank and shared in the merriment of our Peace Corps family. Afterwards, we had a chance to thank and wish our country director luck as he leaves us to be the country director of Morocco on December 14th. Our new director arrives in early December. Once all the goodbyes were said Grace and I and several other G13 PCVs celebrated the end of integration by spending a couple nights at Lidwala's Lodge in the Ezulwini Valley. For those of you who don't know, during integration we aren't allowed to spend more than one night away from site a month, so at the end of integration it's a bit like the leash coming off…everyone is ready to explore more of the country! 

Anyways, we had a great night Thursday calling home and and enjoying more time with friends. Friday morning we got up early and a large group of us went for a hike up Sheba’s Breast, a mountain that happens to be in Lidwala's backyard. The hike was incredibly steep and a bit sketchy at times but the view from the top was incredible! It was cloudy and a bit wet out which reminded us of the mountains and hills in Ireland and Scotland. We had a blast at the top enjoying some snacks and playing around on the boulders that dot the ridge line. We got a bit cold at the top though (yea crazy huh?) and descended quickly for hot showers and a short walk to The Gables shopping complex where Mugg&Bean has free refills on coffee! We had a group lunch and then returned to Lidwala's to hang out and enjoy our celebratory 2nd night out!

All in all it’s been a great week and a great holiday. We want everyone, family and friends alike, to know how thankful we are for your support. We love and miss you all dearly! We’re also extraordinarily thankful to have landed in such a beautiful country and to have found welcoming, new family and friends here. We’re just starting to realize how blessed we are to have a network of love and support on two different sides of the world, siyabonga bonkhe kakhulu! Thank you all very much!

...pulls a 9 to 5.

"We pretend to work because they pretend to pay us." -Unknown

I feel better with a plan. I always have and I probably always will. My husband is a nice man. He always has been and he probably always will be. It was easy to convince him to attempt a "9 to 5" work week because well, like I said he is nice and I feel better with a plan. The idea behind "9 to 5" was heavily due to the lack of structure in our days, easily leading to boredom, annoyance, and more sleeping and movies than should be allowed. We decided to make a todo list per day. Now the list was pretty open to most any activity, but things such as laundry, working out, cleaning, and watering the garden were personal time items. In the real "9 to 5" world you can't do those things - and this was a real "9 to 5" effort! We did include grocery shopping, tutoring, and crafts... We had to fluff our activities some to get through the day! So now that you get the idea, here is our weekly review.

Sunday: While Sunday doesn't count towards our work week, it was eventful. Sean killed a spitting cobra in the garden. It was a baby (Sean says juvenile) but nonetheless it was the first snake encounter in Swaziland. Church took a great amount of our time (fist pump!) lasting three hours instead of the usual two. That's Sunday for you. 

Monday: "9 to 5" began with working on a presentation for SOS regarding the summer (summer being December - I know...so confusing) program we aim to lead with the community youth. The program focuses on life skills, specifically HIV/AIDS, risky behaviors, healthy relationships, and gender equality. Sounds pretty school-like until you add the twist of basketball! All of the subjects will be taught while teaching the sport of basketball. Grocery shopping happened here too along with redoing our waste water buckets, researching NGOs and an hour of language with our sisi. At 5:00 we even had items to roll over to Tuesday, successful 9 to 5 completed!

Tuesday: If we count walking to SOS as work, we really started our workday earlier than 9:00. The presentation at SOS was very well received and we now have December booked for a summer program! I know you want to ask, what's the schedule like? How many children? What ages?... Well don't. I have no idea and I'm very positive I will have no idea until the very first day of the program. When is the first day you ask? Again, no idea. But we are happy with the yes! We also were able to schedule a presentation on Monday. We are hoping to train community members on permagardening, grey water recycling, compost and incoming generating projects. We plan to give the introduction to these things this Monday. After our meeting we went home and finished the presentation that will be given next week, created some educational charts for the NCPs (community pre-school type facilities) and made a todo list for Wednesday. Two "9 to 5s" down, way to many to go!

Wednesday: I had my programming site visit today. It was supposed to be at 2:00 but it was switched to 9:00. My program manager actually showed up at 8:30 so my day started early. We spoke about the report I turned in a few weeks ago, she complimented our couch, and we went to SOS to speak with the ladies I have been working with over the past two months. I will add my personal thought really fast before returning to the synopsis of our week. As a community health volunteer I have a great programming staff. They are capable and competent. At SOS instead of drilling my counterpart about the do's and don'ts, and the what you likes and what you don't likes that the assessment paper requires, she simply thanked them. She thanked them for welcoming us, being willing to work with us, and for the work they do. I have a great deal of respect for the choice made. Anyways, Sean was at the umphakatsi, primary school and high school checking in during my site visit. Reconvening at 11:00 we decided that "9 to 5" was pretty hard. So we took a nap. We rallied around 3:00 and made some charts and materials for December. You can't win them all.

Thursday: Today is the last requires "9 to 5" this week. I forgot to mention we aim for a 4 day work week. What? We aren't in America anymore! I spent the majority of the morning taking charts to the NCPs while Sean worked on his presidency responsibilities. I got offered a baby when I was out. Despite the cuteness I politely declined. I told her I was too young to have a baby. She told me I was too old not to have one. We agreed to disagree. Or at least I did. At home we worked on flyers and permission slips for our program. 

Now, I am writing this blog (which counts) and it is currently 5:00. My work week is over! 

In all seriousness, boredom is a daily concern. But this week proved that the work is about to begin and we cannot wait to start! Remind me of this post when I begin to complain about not having time to watch New Girl.

...requires great people good work, and lots of prayers.

"The good you do today will often be forgotten. Do good anyways." -Mother Teresa 

As I write this post I am sitting in a cafe (trying to stop sweating) waiting on Sean to come meet me so we can go back home. The reason that Sean is not by my side at this moment is because he was elected to our Peer Support Identity Network (PSIN) and had 2 days of training. PSIN is a group of 8 volunteers that are tasked with supporting the needs of our group and the new group coming in June. Within the group of 8 Sean was then elected president. So basically I am married to the most popular guy in Peace Corps Swaziland! In all seriousness, he is perfect for the job and all staff and volunteers are thrilled with his new title. 

I truly believe we are about to get busier. I can feel it in the air. The past two weeks have been spent at a Peace Corps training, mostly consisting of follow up on subjects that were covered in the June to August training. I would be frustrated with the repetition of information given however, the weeks proved to be an amazing opportunity to learn about fellow PCVs' project ideas. Not only does our group share ideas they encourage participation from others. Talking with volunteers really amped us up to begin thinking outside the box of what projects we could do within our community. I will keep those project ideas a secret for now, just trying to keep you on your toes. We hope to share in the next few weeks about a few projects we have planned for December! 

I am not sure if everyone is aware, but there is a severe drought throughout the country currently. It is actually affecting a good portion of lower Africa and much conversation revolves around the issue everyday. This is rainy season for Swaziland, but there is no rain. We have mentioned in previous blog posts about the dryness of our area and the large amount of cattle dying due to lack of water and greenery. After a conversation on a khumbi with a well informed government official the crisis will get worse before it gets better. Quote, "the cows will die, the goats will die, the chickens will die and then the people will start dying". I tell you this with a few requests in mind. First, pray for rain. Second, pray for the elderly, young, and sick who will be the most affected population. Third, pray that we are able to do good work despite our lack of ability to change the situation.

...needs a little support.

The more that you read the more things you will know. The more you learn the more places you'll go! - Dr. Seuss

Well this post will be a little different than what we usually post in that this post is our first asking for support for one of our projects! When we first came to Ka-Langa, one of the many things we did was take a tour of the schools here. One of them, St. Paul’s Primary School,  has quickly become one of our favorite places to visit. Built in 2010 with support from the SOS Village here, the primary school educates nearly 500 students of various ages in grades 1 to 7. It is a mission school with Catholic influence which sets it slightly apart from other government schools. Students report to school at 7:40am for assembly and school lets out at 2:30pm. Compared to other schools we have been to, the quality of education and the dedication of the teachers is astounding. The setup is very similar to the U.S., Grades 1-4 are taught by single teachers teaching a range of subjects, and Grades 5-7 are taught by multiple teachers who specialize in a few subjects. The teachers make do with what they have, and let me say that it is almost awe-inspiring the way teachers at St. Paul’s interact and engage with students using just a chalk board and an old textbook. No fancy smart boards, projectors or computers needed here. One of the only things St. Paul's lacks, that it sorely needs, is a functioning library. Not for lack of trying either, the school does have a library space and it is full of books…books about Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. The library is a mass of textbooks donated by the local Nazarene Mission in Siteki, most of which are irrelevant to the lives of young Swazis, and if that weren't bad enough the textbooks that could prove useful, those in math or science, are beyond the students comprehension levels. Thus, the inspiration for our project.

We are partnering with St. Paul's and filing an application to Books for Africa, or in our case, Books for Swaziland. The Books for Swaziland program is handled entirely by the Peace Corps Volunteers in country, but the books come from Books for Africa in the U.S., I think the books are shipped out of Georgia. The program brings over 30,000 to Swaziland to be distributed amongst 30 schools, hence the need for the application. Schools raise E1500 or $115 USD to cover in country costs (a significant cost especially to primary schools, now that primary education is free in Swaziland and paid for through the EU, schools receive less money per student than the secondary schools where student’s families pay higher fees) and Peace Corps Swaziland covers half of the remaining costs along with donations from outside Peace Corps. This money goes to cover the international shipping of the books and trainings for librarians at each of the schools. This is where we need your help! We need to raise just over $7000 USD to cover these costs and get some much needed books to this country! 

If selected, St. Paul's will be able to specify the type of books they would prefer, and after several meetings with the head teacher (principal) and librarian (an excited Grade 3 teacher), they really want to get some age-appropriate fiction and story books to improve the students English literacy and hopefully to encourage students to read for fun! The existing textbooks in the library will be sorted and some stored, with the other more advanced books being taken to the local high school. This is a wonderful opportunity for this school and they are keenly aware of and excited about the opportunity to engage and interest their students outside of the classroom. The head teacher and the librarian are already discussing reading reward programs and library improvements, as well as fundraising ideas for their end of the deal, so now we need to hold up our end! Help the students of St. Paul's and youth all over the country get access to 30,000+ books by clicking on the link below and making a donation! Siyabonga kakhulu! 

https://donate.peacecorps.gov/donate/project/books-for-africa

...Cs.

"The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hands, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life." - Robert L. Stevenson

It's been quite awhile since our last post…ncesi! In any case, we thought we’d take this lazy Sunday afternoon to talk about three things: cows, church, and crystal light/coffee. It just so happens that everything starts with a C so we’ll call these the three C’s of Peace Corps life in Swaziland.

First things first, cows. These delightful yet devastating creatures roam all over the country largely unfettered. In theory, all cows have owners, yet in Swaziland, this theory is put to the test unlike any where else. Cows can be seen all over the country, wandering along roadsides, laying on the sidewalk, grazing in the mountains and yet it is all but guaranteed you will never spot their owner. It's hard to say what the reason for this really is considering cows represent wealth here and each cow is  valued at around E7000, but nonetheless, we see tens of thousands of emalangeni trotting about everyday with no owner in sight. Now there are a couple of reasons we have surmised as to why cows are free to roam here. The first is that Swaziland is a very small, very peaceful country. No one here wants to steal cows because everybody is too nice to steal cows and if they weren't odds are it would catch up with them because they can't go very far. (Mozambicans on the other hand…eish…they steal several million emalangeni worth of cows from Swaziland every year) The other reason is that we are in the midst of a terrible drought. Terrible drought means no grass on or around the owner’s homestead for cows to graze. Hence, those who can afford to pen up their cows and buy hay at a cost of around E900 per bundle do so, and those who can't, set their cows loose every day/week to eat what they can. The result is ravenous hordes of starving cows. Have I mentioned our permagarden lately…no?...well we are very proud and very excited about our permagarden, and apparently, all the cows are too. Our garden has been raided by cows on three occasions. The first time was just a few days after we planted our seedlings and they were just starting to take root. A group of ravenous herbivores jumped the 4 foot fence separating our garden from the roadside and ate almost everything on the outside of our garden. We were obviously dismayed and a little angry but we figured it to be a fluke and we still had all of the vegetables in our interior beds so we resolved to push through the attack and revive what we could on the exterior. Not long after, the fence was hurdled again by a new group of acrobatic herbivores and the destruction was widespread. The healthy interior beds were eaten except for our lettuce (strange enough) and a few green peppers, and the exterior berms were twice eaten except for our green beans and a few onions. After this second attack we realized that starving cows are incredibly athletic in their desperation and babe and I raised the roadside fence about a foot to challenge what I can only hope to be a cows vertical jump PR. Over a couple weeks we nursed the surviving plants in our garden back to life until one fateful evening a jackass invaded with a crew of cows. Now to fully appreciate this attack you must know something about our homestead. Our homestead is a very large rectangle adjacent to the road. It is approximately 40 meters in width and nearly a football field in length running parallel to the road. The only gate into the homestead is on one end with our garden on the other, nearly a football field away. In between are 6 houses and another fence just before our garden that stretches about 2/3 across the homestead. In order to get from the gate to the garden you must travel diagonally across the homestead with no clear line of sight due to the houses, avoid the fire-pit, find the gap in the fence, then hang a Louie and cross the homestead along its width to reach our garden. The dog that's lived on this homestead for four years can't even figure that out. Apparently though, donkeys are smarter than dogs. In short, the gate was left open by our Sisi and a donkey with a crew of cows navigated through the homestead and enjoyed what was left of our garden…save the lettuce…go lettuce! In response, babe and I fenced the gap and strung barb wire across the top. We now have what we hope is an herbivore-proof garden. It is a little sad though because Grace and I both love cows and seeing them in a starving state and dying along the road isn't very fun, but neither is having your garden eaten before you can introduce the permagarden concept to the community that needs it more than ever due to the same drought that's killing the cows. Water is by far the most precious resource here, oil is an afterthought. 

Second things second but it very well could be first, we have found a church home here in Ka-Langa! We have visited three churches here since moving a couple months ago. The first was a nice church across the road that meets for two hours and everything is in siSwati. It was a great church but it's hard to stay connected with our limited siSwati. The second was a very nice church close to Siteki. It is by far the largest church we have been to in Swaziland with a three hour service mostly in siSwati but a translated sermon. The third church we visited meets at the high school in one of the classrooms for two hours and the service is run primarily by the kids before Sunday school, and then the adults take over. The third church is called Christian Revival Center and it is the church we plan on calling home for the next two years. We love how focused the entire church body is on the youth. The praise team is all youth including an incredible 15 year old keyboardist, and they control song selection and the order of the first half of the service. During the second half when the pastor takes over, the youth all go out to Sunday school, and after church is over they all get a sandwich made by the bomake of the church. The pastor is a great man who, seeing us, gave the sermon the past couple weeks in English with a siSwati translator, saying that they should be welcoming of all people not just Americans,  and English is the most common international language in southern Africa. He also is one of the most understanding and compassionate individuals we have met thus far concerning the plight of the PCV in leaving our families and homes in America  to come to Swaziland. All in all it’s a great fit for us. I am also quite convinced that nobody worships and sings praise to God better than the Swazi people, especially at CRC. Despite not understanding a single word, we know without a doubt that we are praising God while worshipping here. It such a wonderful feeling everyone should come just for that experience! 

Third things third, although they could be first or second, crystal light and coffee. As everyone who reads our blog is bound to know by now, it is hot here. Some days very hot. The purchase of our little mini fridge will be a highlight of our service for that reason. Another highlight of our service, receiving packages full of crystal light. We drank water everyday for a couple months of PST. Then, for about a month after we bought our fridge, we drank cold water everyday. A remarkable improvement over just water by the way. Now, we drink fruit punch, lemonade, orange juice, kiwi-strawberry, and peach mango green tea everyday. It is beyond my capability to describe how something so small has now become a key to our happiness and survival here. Thank you so very much to our bomake eMelika for supplying us with these glorious little sugar filled pouches that keep us hydrated, energetic, and happy. Another small happiness of ours despite the heat?...coffee. You might be thinking why would they love coffee so much when it's 100+ degrees there? Solid question. One reason is that by 6am if the heat hasn't woken you up yet, the animals will, and at 6am in the morning there are few things that make Grace and I as happy as good coffee. Another is banana pancakes but I digress. The other is that for two people who enjoy a good cup of coffee simply to enjoy a good cup of coffee, it is nearly impossible to find good coffee in Swaziland that we can make at home. Thanks again to our bomake eMelika for sending us good ground coffee, tea and Ricofy just don't cut it like good coffee out of the French press (shout to Grandma Jane and Grandaddy for the press!). 

In the end, it's funny how our lives are changing here. Cows play a huge role in day to day life. Praise and worship is just as good if not better in a foreign language. Crystal light and coffee are keys to happiness. Three things I definitely don't think we anticipated before coming to Swaziland, but now true all the same. I know we say are lives are boring here and our work sometimes is, but give us a couple years and our lives just might get a little more interesting. I mean when's the last time you heard about a cow jumping over a four foot fence then skippin the lettuce?

...slowly starts.

"Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care." - Theodore Roosevelt 

Our lives are moving pretty slowly here as Peace Corps Volunteers. This is not to say that we aren't having a good time or that we count our work here as any lesser than before. It's just that life in general is slow. I say this to try to minimize any frustration towards us on your end due to the lack of information we are giving you regarding the work that we are doing. There truly is little to report. 

As volunteers in a new country and a new community we were instructed to take the first few months when arriving at site to get to know the community. Introduce ourselves, say hello, explain why we are here and be a constant presence at local organizations, not to start work and not to jump in feet first, full steam ahead. It sounds simple. It sounds repetitive. It sounds a little silly. Why come all the way across the world and essentially do nothing? 

Prior to this blog post I baked 2 loaves of bread, a cake, and 2 types of granola bars. Not for any reason other than I had the time. We watched a few TV shows, read our books, and thought about doing laundry. We have lots of time here. I think I would be frustrated if prior to my late day boredom I experienced the highlight of my week.

Sean and I decided to take a stroll down to SOS youth village just to see what was up. I mean, like I said we had the time. We were greeted by a young primary age boy who knew us from our visits to his school. He asked if he could walk around with us and of course we agreed. Answering many questions (I asked a lot of questions) this young boy spoke freely of his life here, what was good, what needed to change, and where he desired for us to make an impact. He was a boy to be proud of. 

As we left him we told him we would see him on Tuesday at school - our usual day at the primary school. As we walked home I began to think about the ease of conversation that occurred, not just from this young boy but people throughout the week. We are now being the ones greeted by children, bomake, teachers, and neighbors. We are beginning to have follow up conversations, and inside jokes aside from the general complaining about the weather. We are becoming missed at church, school, and at the shops. 

It sounds simple but it is truly important. It sounds repetitive but all relationships are in some way. It sounds silly but until we prove we are serious we will remain a joke. 

So while it seems like we are doing nothing we are trying very hard to set ourselves up to do plenty. It takes time to trust, understand, listen, and learn from anything or anyone new. So we are taking our time to get the first part right from the start. Hopefully in a few months our posts will be full of stories of projects, failures, and successes. So in the mean time please bear with us if you are bored - or bake something, that's what I do.

...feelin' hot hot hot!

"It ain't the heat, it's the humility."

— Yogi Berra

Kuyashisa. Kuyashisa kakhulu. It’s hot. It’s very hot. Nobody ever says futfumele (it’s warm) in Ka-Langa, especially now that summer is upon us, and unfortunately nobody has gotten to say liyana (it’s raining) for awhile now either. Nope, it's another hot and dry Sunday afternoon. The temperature is around 35 degrees Celsius or 95 degrees Fahrenheit, which may not impress anyone in the southern United States, especially no one in Rome, Georgia (I only know because Grace believes Rome, GA to be the hottest place on the planet). However, here in rural Swaziland there is no chance of escaping the heat which makes a huge difference. Let me provide an example.

 It's 95 degrees Fahrenheit on a sunny Sunday morning in east Tennessee. You wake up and put on your Sunday best (long sleeve shirt, maybe a tie, khakis, a nice dress or slacks for the ladies) and head out the door for church. Immediately you feel like you've walked out of your balmy 60-70 degree house into a furnace. You make a general statement like “Man it's hot today!” before walking the 10-20yds to your car and getting in. You turn the car on and crank the A/C down to low, double snowflake, the thick blue or what have you. You proceed to drive and park at the church after searching for a good spot (which if you're my dad is way out in the middle of nowhere) and you walk the 100yds or so (if you're my dad) to the church. Halfway there you say again “it's hot today!” and wipe the small beads of sweat from your brow. You make it in the front door and are met with the joyous feeling of cool 55-65 degree conditioned air of the church. Five minutes after walking in you've forgotten all about the heat outside, so much so that you are ready for a hot coffee of all things. You find your seat and begin to realize that you feel cold sitting directly under the grossly oversized A/C system’s vent. 

In Ka-Langa, Swaziland, you awake in a light sweat even though you have your only fan literally inside the mosquito net with you. You get dressed in your Sunday best but you intentionally dress just 15min before you go out the door and in the lightest good-looking clothes you have. You step out the door already sweating lightly and are unsurprised to find that it is hotter than Hades outside without a cloud in the sky. You walk the ½ to ¾ mile to church (pictured below) barely noticing that you're sweating because the super heated air all around is drying you off as fast as you perspire. You arrive at church and exchange the usual greetings along with “Kuyashisa kakhulu namuhla” (it is hot today). You find your seat and notice something quite odd beginning to occur. You feel a few beads of water run down your neck and along your spine. Initially puzzled, you realize that now that you're out of direct sunlight and the air temperature has dropped a few degrees, your sweat doesn't evaporate as fast as it appears anymore. You spend the next two hours soaking in your own sweat and relishing every breeze that comes through the open windows, despite the fact that the breeze from outside is hotter than the air inside. You leave church and are none too surprised that after you reach home your are dry and no longer sweating. Once inside the door the Sunday’s best attire is quickly stripped, giving way to shorts and the optional t shirt. You begin to sweat lightly none the less and huddle around the fan, thankful to be in out of the sun. There is just no escaping the heat here which explains why at 8:00 pm I'm still sweating lightly sitting right next to the fan writing this blog. I'm not complaining though, I mean after all we chose this lifestyle, quite happily I might add, but I want to try and portray the weather accurately in a way in which you can understand so that now in the second part of this blog about our week you can set the scene more clearly when you think about our activities.

This has been a very satisfying week in all for Siphiwe and I. We got our front door mostly fixed on Monday (there’s a long frustrating backstory there which I won't get into) and we don't expect to get it fully fixed until…well…ever really, but it will do and we are much happier with it. Tuesday we went and shadowed classes again at the primary school which is always a highlight of our week, especially assembly which is how every school in Swaziland starts. The primary school does this chant though that is incredibly adorable, something like,”Good morning teachers, good morning brothers, good morning sisters, we meet in peace”. It's all recited in a clearly memorized, robotic manner but it's always in sync and all the little voices seem to over power the older students which makes us smile every time. After school, Grace joined the SOS Family-Strengthening Coordinator for some home visits and had a great experience meeting bogogo in our community who are caring for OVCs and whom SOS supports. At both the homesteads she went to the SOS Village kids built the houses with the guidance of a professional builder, and she said they were quite impressive. Wednesday, I went and shadowed at the high school and Grace joined me at noon for our first siSwati tutoring session. Our tutor’s nickname that she prefers to go by is Ngety, and we feel quite lucky that we found her. She had lesson plans with notes prepared for us and she's our age so conversation comes easy. That afternoon I hung out with Form 5 (12th grade) students in the computer lab as they typed their agriculture project reports, and Grace joined our Sisi who is leading a girl’s empowerment club through SWAGAA at the high school. Grace was very impressed with our sisi and we are both so happy that she is doing it and really seems to be loving it. Thursday was a glorious day as I went with our older sisi to Manzini to pick up pallets. We've been hunting pallets for a month now and it was such a relief and joy to find them. I missed our tutoring session but Grace went and said it went very well, we even have homework for next week. That night we built the first section of our three section pallet couch and it worked out perfectly! Finally we have some extra seating and storage space and it won't be long now until we have finished making our house a home. Friday we got up super early to head into the PC office in Mbabane to do some clerical/office work like printing surveys to use on our reports and discovering new project ideas. The week culminated on Saturday when we ran our first international race! We met our friends at Somhlolo Stadium in the Ezulwini Valley and 5 of us ran a 10k and 2 of us a half-marathon. Grace and I stuck to the 10k and it was a beautiful course with views of the mountains on all sides. One of our friends placed 8th in the Women’s 10km and another placed 10th in the Women’s 21km. All in all we were all very proud of each other and had a great time. 

Well that’s our week in a nutshell and I'm still sweating…hope all is well back home! 

...turns 26.

"Keep calm and be crazy, laugh, love and live it up because this is the oldest you've  been and the youngest you'll ever be again."

I turned 26 on Thursday. Actually, I turned 26 in Swaziland, Africa on Thursday. While plenty has happened since you last heard from us 12 days ago, I am choosing to only focus on turning 26, well because it is most certainly worth talking about. Sean planned the most amazing weekend with friends, starting with a full house cleaning, breakfast, and lunch in Manzini. This my friends was only the beginning! After lunch on Thursday we picked up two friends and hitched a ride back to our Dlamini homestead with our Sisi, picking up one more friend on the way. After cookies, storytelling and a Swazi dance lesson on the porch with our family Sean cooked an amazing dinner of salad, bruschetta and sangria. My family from our training site called around 7:30 singing Happy Birthday – it puts a smile on my face just thinking about it! After opening my sweet friends' homemade gifts we talked and laughed for hours until we realized it was late and we had to wake up at 5:30 to catch the bus for another full day of birthday celebration. I know what you are thinking – can it get any better? I am here to say that yes it can! 

Friday morning Sean cooked banana pancakes and we caught the bus to Mlilwane Park to hike Execution Rock. We arrived around 10:30, set up camp and began our journey through African wildlife up the mountain! It was mighty mighty hot, but we had a blast learning about each other's strengths, weaknesses, and fears in the wild. One of our friends posted some fun videos on our Facebook page – check them out if you want a live feed of our adventure! The top view was beautiful and we could see for miles and miles, able to pick out different cities and landmarks. Swaziland is so small it seemed as if we could see the entire country! You would think a day hike with friends would top off a birthday celebration- you are wrong my friends, it still continues.

After showers (real ones) we took off to an area called Malendlas. It is worth a Google, it is definitely a neat place. We ate the most amazing dinner, had some cold beers (well deserved after a 5 hour hike) and laughed way too loud and long. Back at camp we settle down to a starry starry night and decided that birthdays in Africa are the best.

Thank you all for the cards, presents, well wishes, and prayers on my birthday. I know I am so loved and I can't imagine being more blessed than I am in my life. I turned 26 on Thursday and I am excited and honored to spend the rest of 26 in Swaziland with your support, amazing friends, and a loving husband.

...waits for the next stop.

I feel like we have done all of you a great disservice. Today I realized that we have not yet given a full account of public transportation in Swaziland. A true exposé of sorts. Well, might I attempt to right that wrong following today’s travel from Siteki to Mbabane and back because today we accomplished a somewhat rare feat. We rode all of the big three. That's right the big three, not the big five. Everybody keeps talking about the big five and I still can't get that right. Lions, tigers, and bears oh my, or something or other. No, today we tackled the big three. Khumbi, ibhasi, sprinter, and with that let me begin my exposé.

First, the khumbi. The khumbi, barring the elusive taxi, is the most expensive means of overland travel in Swaziland. We’re not talking America expensive though people we’re talking PCV expensive so like 5 emalangeni (50¢ USD) more than the least expensive means of overland travel. Now, while that's a major drawback to many PCVs and Swazis alike, the khumbi has its advantages. It is, without a doubt, the fastest means of overland transport, and commonly the most entertaining. Depending on your driver conductor duo, in-khumbi entertainment includes the talents of The Band Perry, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, various rappers I don't know, and/or (note the and/or because a combination of all is entirely possible) Swazi Christian music. Perhaps the most positive aspect of khumbi travel however, is that it is decidedly exhilarating. There's nothing that gets the ol’ nerves on edge quite like rocketing down the highway at 150km/hr in an old Volkswagen with rusted out wheel wells and tired suspension. Especially, when the speed limit is 120km/hr, the road is worthy of about 80km/hr, and the Volkswagen probably shouldn't top 100km/hr, but it's ok because the speed wobbles of the Volkswagen are disguised by the potholes in the road and the potholes are ok because the speed limit is posted and they put in speed bumps but the khumbi driver doesn't give a damn because it's just as easy to go around the bumps in the dirt beside the road and once he gets going fast enough the potholes start feeling smooth and all he has to do is hang on to the steering wheel for dear life and keep his foot to the floor…trust me I know these things. 

Secondly, the ibhasi. The ibhasi is by far the slowest means of overland transport in Swaziland. Consequently, it is also the cheapest because nobody with the opportunity to  experience the adrenaline of the khumbi would ever pay the same for the dull ride of the ibhasi. However, what the ibhasi lacks in speed it usually makes up for in comfort. The ibhasi is a spacious, quiet ride that invokes memories of floating down a lazy river just enjoying the view as you slowly float by. On occasion though, the ibhasi hits that section of water where you lose your comfortable tube and start thinking your last thoughts as you struggle to gain a breath above the water. Such are the occasions when you need to take an ibhasi because it's 6pm and all of the khumbis are clocked out, and it's the end of the month so everybody in the whole country that came into town for their paycheck now want to go home, and the ibhasi conductors know it's their last run for the night and really want the 20 emalangeni in your pocket, so…they start putting people on the ibhasi. They keep putting people on the ibhasi. They don't stop putting people on the ibhasi. Now, in your haze of “what the hell is going on here”, you realize that you still need to get on that ibhasi, so the conductor puts you on that ibhasi and you’re sandwiched in the aisle doing all you can to avoid playing human dominoes and keep your butt out of the poor make’s face beside you, and don't even get me started on what happens when the conductor needs to come up and down the aisle to distribute tickets and then when he comes back to collect that 20 emalangeni you got in your pocket. No, I shan’t start. This is the ibhasi, but lest we forget the grandest spectacle of all when it comes to this giant, engineering marvel (but no seriously they cut up the metal floor of the bus so much to get to everything underneath I don't have the slightest clue how all the subsequent patchwork pieces of medal stay welded together)…the breakdown. The breakdown is truly a grand spectacle. It usually happens something like the finale of a great play. The hero (our ibhasi) has effortlessly defied all of his minor foes (potholes, speed bumps, fines for having too many people on board) but, with a terrifying entrance the protagonist appears (usually a loud bang, a shudder, and a cloud of smoke). The protagonist seizes our hero (remember it's the ibhasi) and evil triumphs over good for what feels like eternity (about an hour give or take) before our hero’s sidekick (some random Swazi kid hitching a ride) emerges. Together they duke it out with the protagonist with several moments of near victory (engine starts, bus shudders forward and dies again) then, miraculously, though nothing has changed and seems like the antagonist is doing just fine on his own, he is cast down defeated (the bus roars to life with random Swazi kid emerging from the bowels of the ibhasi). The curtains close to thunderous applause (everyone claps for the kid and the bus). Nothing it seems, can stop the slow and steady movement of the ibhasi.

Third, the sprinter. The sprinter is the odd crossbreed of the fast khumbi and the steady yet stubborn ibhasi, much the same as the mule is the crossbreed of the horse and the donkey. It appears as either a pudgy khumbi or a sleek ibhasi, neither giving a clear picture of the ride to be expected. It may be a perfect combination of all the positive aspects of overland travel in Swaziland. Just enough speed, just enough comfort, at just the right price. However, like today, it may also be an all too perfect combination of all the negative aspects of overland travel in Swaziland. You find yourself almost home after making a short stop to run an errand, but when you return to the siteshi the khumbis don’t stop (they're going to fast) and the ibhasi don't stop (they're all full), so you flag down a sprinter who rolls to a stop just up ahead. You greet the conductor, tell him where you're goin, and then step up into the sprinter where a horrific sight unfolds before your eyes. The door closes behind you as you process what's front, a sprinter full save two seats. You may think to yourself where's this horrific sight he’s talking about there’s two perfectly good seats left, but no my friend, these seats are the unwanted. One lies to the rear, an aisle seat seemingly okay from the onset. The other is just ahead, an aisle seat once again but surrounded on all sides by the biggest Swazis one can imagine. You sit in the seat surrounded by giant Swazis, your backpack loaded with groceries hugged to your chest with one cheek in the seat and the other hinging over the aisle with the the behemoth next to you. Then, to your continued horror, the sprinter stops. On step three more passengers. They move to flank the seat in the rear but alas all the seats are full so they crowd the aisle in the middle making it impossible for any aisle seat to so much as turn their head. Your siteshi comes up and you shout “stesh” as you feel yourself slowly being pulled down into the mass of flesh and body odor that consumes the sprinter. But no, the conductor can't hear you, the sprinter passes your siteshi, and dumps you further down the road. What a small mercy though. The walk home lets you stretch your legs, breathe in the fresh air, and laugh away the inexplicable absurdities of public transportation in Swaziland. 

The Mbabane bus rank proudly showing off the big three, can you spot them?