For the Christian riles and the Aryan smiles and he weareth
the Christian down
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white with the name
of the late deceased,
And the epitaph drear: “A fool lies here who tried to hustle
the East.”
-Rudyard Kipling
I am fast approaching the sixth month mark of my time here
in Swaziland. Looking back on the past
six months, there are some things that I expected, and some things I really
didn’t. Here is a list of the
unexpected:
I did not expect such indifference towards my past, my
culture, or my country. Granted this is
also a product of the communities I’m working with- mostly rural poor with
limited media access. The few times I
have gotten questions, they have always been amazingly random: “Is wrestling
real?” “Do you have cows in
America?” “Are celebrities Satan
worshippers?”
I did not expect Swazis to be as friendly and helpful as
they are. When the young khumbi
conductors see the lost little white girl standing at the Manzini bus rank
(which African guidebooks dub the most crowded bus rank in Africa), I don’t
even have to ask for help guiding me to the right khumbi. I am asked “Where to?” in clipped Swazi
English. I tell them my destination and
the young men guide me like they’re the Secret Service and I’m the President
fleeing a bomb threat. Also, cheers to
the man who carried my enormous gas can with me, the grandpa who pulled the
tick off my neck, and my host brothers for never once complaining about the
extra chore of caring for my dog when I’m away.
I did not expect health problems to consume so much of my
time. Since coming here six months ago,
I have been treated for giardia, African tick bite fever, a cough that lasted
three months, viral infections of horrific sore-throatiness, and GI illnesses
that remain undiagnosed (pending an upcoming visit to a specialist). I’ve always been a bit paranoid about my
health, so the trip has not been fun.
I did not expect to see so many awesome insects/bugs. They often look a lot like bugs in the
States, but somehow bigger and more colorful.
When there are hundreds of giant grasshoppers hopping in one tiny corner
of the grass, I’ll be looking to the sky for the next plague to strike.
I did not expect training to cover the topics it did, and
expected more depth in other areas. We
spent a solid four or five days on mental health/feelings/diversity/grief,
which may be very valid given past attrition rates. Apparently the shift was more of a global
standardization of Peace Corps policy (perhaps in response to the now infamous
rape and murder cases), as the past group reports having had significantly more
time devoted to technical trainings. I am a total workaholic, though, and wanted
three months of solid language and technical trainings.
I did not expect to draw strength from meeting Swazis
working to change their communities and country. Trying to effect change with families that sometimes
only have the abilities/resources to care about their immediate condition
produces only a few, small victories.
Listening to an impassioned speech on corporal punishment by a ministry
employee at a training reminded me to quit being selfish and to do what I’m
here to do. In discussing corporal
punishment, the gentleman reminded us that the manipulative argument of
cultural heritage should be challenged in many arenas, not just in the arena of
school discipline. “Yes, it was done to
us, but we need some kind of introspection to ask, was it right?” Knowing that there are people such as him
working for change inspires me to not give up on changing behavior in a small
way in my community.
I did not expect to spend so much time straddling two
communities. One community is my village. The other is the Peace Corps, which is a strange
little group of Americans who are all so stunningly different that you know
that you would spend very little time with most of them if you weren’t thrown
into a program together. Over time, our
group has finally become more cohesive, and I will be going on vacation to the
beaches of Mozambique over the New Year with some of my fabulous new friends! (Can’t wait!!)
Finally, I did not expect to spend at least five minutes
every day with my jaw hanging open, staring in awe at the buena vistas. The sun rises and sets in colors too
brilliant for words. It conveys to me
only the melancholy reflection that this incandescent paradise is tainted by a
disease which preys upon the deepest chords of our humanity.
I was hoping that you wouldn't get giardia. I hope that you are feeling better now.
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