All 41 of us are loaded onto buses outside of our hotel in Philadelphia. We arrive at JFK about 5 hours before we can
even check in at the gates. I am too
tired to interact with the other volunteers.
Thus begins the grueling two day journey to Swaziland.
June 28th: 9 AM
We touch down in Jo-burg after a 16 hour flight. We are met promptly at the gates by current
volunteers and Peace Corps staff and exchange some money into Rand, which is
accepted in Swaziland. We hop on a bus
and leave for Swaziland. We stop at a
South African McDonald’s type franchise called Steers along the way. What a hilarious culture shock that is! I’m not surprised at the difference, but
rather at the similarities the restaurant shared with fast food chains in the
U.S. The region is a mining one, but if
you squint, it does not look much different from the flatlands of Illinois. Back on the bus. Zzzzz…
June 28th-Present
Next thing I know, there are mountains and we are crossing
the border and getting our passports stamped.
All of the unease I felt in South Africa dissipates as I see a chicken
cross the road. Why did it cross the
road? (Haha). I also get a thrill out of the bus yielding
for cattle. The mountains are
beautiful. The earth is red. The birds make me want to pick up binoculars
and a field guide, despite the fact that I’ve never cared about birds
before. (Swaziland’s supposed to be one
of the best countries for bird watching in Africa, too!) First impressions, you know…
But another thing strikes me. The infrastructure is fantastic. The highway is smooth, clean, and better lit
than most highways I’ve driven on in the US.
The toilet facilities everywhere are neat and toilet paper is not scarce. I tried to leave with no expectations of
Swaziland, but it turns out I had some after all. I expected to be overwhelmed by poverty and a
lack of infrastructural development. Everything
glints of newness in this region.
Converters and every amenity you could want can be found at reasonable
prices.
I am told by current volunteers that this is not
representative of the whole country, as this is the tourist region (between
Mbabane and Manzini). It is also the
industrial heartland. The highway system
apparently also benefits from the nearness of South Africa and belonging to the
South African Customs Union. There are
volunteers who live down dusty roads, use latrines, don’t have electricity, and
need to travel overnight to get here. I
think it’s important to record first impressions, however, and this is
definitely one that struck me.
We are staying at a conference center with dorm-style
rooms. It’s even bigger than my dorm in
college, and the water in the shower is hotter, too! We are living in what volunteers and staff
dub as “Soft Corps” at the moment. We do
have to boil, filter, and bleach our water, but we have been spoiled with
delicious Swazi food up until this point.
Pap, or thick porridge, tastes a lot like an uncooked matzo ball. I have yet to try the Incwacwa, which is sour
porridge, as I didn’t know it was being served at one point. (By the way, the c in Incwacwa is a
click!) Meat in sauces is served over
rice, and is sometimes served with bones.
Providing guests with meat apparently has some sort of cultural
significance.
Speaking of cultural significance… We have had little interaction with Swazis so
far, but those we have met have been intelligent, kind, and quite
friendly. My siSwati is pretty limited
still, so when I blank on the response to the question “How are you?”
(Unjani?), I simply give the nice group of Swazi men a thumbs-up. They laugh.
I later find out that thumbs-up means that you are *ahem*…open for
business. Oh the perils of cross-cultural
communication!
Every Swazi here addresses me as Sisi (sister). Married and older men and women are all Babe
(father) and mother (Mage). It feels
warm and welcoming when strangers call me Sisi.
My host family will apparently give me a Swazi name when I meet
them. I’m thrilled, but also hoping I
don’t get the name “Another girl” –this is the translation of a common girl
name, I’m told.
So far, our classes have been about safety, health, and
language. Today, we have a two hour
lecture on diarrhea. Who knew? We start technical training soon. We move in with our host families on Monday,
and they live in villages near our training center. I feel like nervous, 16 year-old me about to
meet my host family for the first time.
I’m sure it will work out fine, with some thumbs-up-style gaffes along
the way.
The internet is shoddy and rare at best, and we don’t get
our cell phones for another several days.
PLEASE don’t worry about me if I don’t contact each of you personally- I
can tell I’m in good hands and loving this beautiful place already.
