Wind

Aug31- The first two days at our new home in Zombodze have been marked by strong southwesterly winds, dry and warm and full of dust. Yesterday our latrine’s (outhouse) tin roof was peeled off like a sardine can, collapsing part of its mud-and-brick back wall. We actually didn’t mind losing the roof: good ventilation and a view of the stars. But this morning, as the wind picked up again, the latrine’s doorframe buckled and fell from its brick supports. So now it’s condemned, we all agree, until repairs can be made, and we’re using the other latrine across the little cornfield, about fifty meters away.
The wind makes things hard for chickens and geese. They find low-lying, leeward spots in shrubs and corners and hunker down. But occasionally a chicken attempts to walk, and the result is pretty entertaining; not quite tumbleweed, but a feathery cousin, with claws grasping at the ground. The geese seem to manage better, perhaps because (unlike chickens) they’re actually designed for wind. And for us humans it’s the dust that makes this wind intolerable. The sky is brown today, and there’s smoke from fires on all horizons. Everyone is waiting for the rains.
We’ve begun the process of turning our little home into a comfortable living space. We have plans for making a kitchen area along one wall, a sitting area in another corner, a desk and reading chair over by the bed, and a bathing area behind a little curtain that we’ll soon hang from the roof beams. And we’re now using a solar shower bag in combination with a bigger washbasin, which is a small but luxurious change for us.
When it comes to quality of life, small things can make big differences.

favorite appliance

The appliance I miss the most is a washing machine. Even more than a refrigerator, but of course it’s not yet summertime. I reserve the right to change my mind when it’s hot. But what a great invention is the modern washing machine—especially the new ones, which use far less water than our hand-washing methods (especially rinsing) and they actually get the clothes cleaner. I’ve thought a lot about washing machines these past few months, usually while hunched over a sudsy basin of dirty clothes, and I’m convinced that they’re one of the things I most took for granted back in the States. How do they get our clothes so clean by simply “agitating” them around and around in churning soapy water? It’s a marvel. And the spin cycle—oh unappreciated spin cycle, I’m sorry for having ignored your usefulness all these years. Wringing out a big pile of wet clothes is very tedious and hard on clothes—I once ripped a pair of pants by wringing them too hard (thanks for stitching them back together, Aiesha). And laundry detergents are really hard on the hands—makes them feel weird for a few full days after wash day. How nice it was, never to have to handle the stuff.
I’ve got my eye on this really nice plastic wash basin at the One Price store in Nhlangano: it has a built-in washboard, descending from the basin’s rim to its bottom like a miniature staircase. And I’ve sketched up plans to make a rudimentary clothes-wringing machine, using two rolling pins, a few springs, a vacuum-cleaner belt, and a hand-crank (I cannot find a similar contraption here). We have a little washing brush now, and that helps get the clothes clean, but we find that using it too vigorously fades colors quickly. Good thing new clothes are cheap in Swaziland (new jeans for about $12, collared shirts for about $6).
So anyway, next time you throw your clothes in the washer and dump in a small cup of soap and then shut the door, think of the ease of the task, the sheer efficiency of the invention before you, and smile. Hand-washing a full load takes me well over one hour, sitting in the yard by the water spout and surrounded by 2 or 3 basins—and many liters of water. By the time everything’s hung up to dry, it will have been about two straight hours of uninterrupted labor. Ah, dearest Maytag washing machine, shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? And Kenmore: so much depends upon / your agitator / glazed with soapy water / beside the white tube socks.

training is over

We are here in the capital city of Mbabane for the official PC Volunteer swearing-in ceremony, which will take place tomorrow at the US Ambassador’s residence. All 35 of us are staying at a nearby center and it’ll be the last time we’re together in one place for a long, long time: on Friday we’re driven to our permanent sites and dropped off. End of training.

We now speak baby-siSwati and are quite ready to get on with life as full-fledged volunteers (up until now we’ve been Trainees).

Our access to the internet has been pretty bad, but that situation could improve. We’re going to reduce the size of our pics in hopes that we can upload them onto this page—oh the joys of dial-up connections. The nearest internet cafe from Zombodze in Nhlangano, and we'll try to make a regular habit of checking in and saying hi.

Anyway, we are healthy and happy and hope that everyone back home is, too. Our access to US news is spotty but we know the basics and that’ll have to suffice for now. I’m working on getting a new (and much better) shortwave radio, because it’s possible to get VOA and BBC in Zombodze. I’m past the initial stages of information-withdrawal, which were marked by night chills, hand tremors, and hair pulling, and I’m learning to cope with not knowing about things until days (and days) after they happen.

I (he-j) have a confession to make: I lost our brand new iPod. It was taken from the seat-pouch of a bus we were riding-- I left it in there and by the time i remembered, it was too late. no more iPod. So a fellow PCV has kindly loaned us her extra one for the time bieng (thanks, Allie). Time to find out if that property insurance is any good...

We miss our friends and family and think about you often-- especially our pregnant friends! Congratulations to Shawn and Freya on their new Baby boy (thanks for the update, Christi).

Sidzinga kuya nyalo-- salani kahle, nemngani na umndeni! (we need to go now-- goodbye/stay well friends and family!)

our Swazi names

Upon arriving at our training-host family’s homestead a few months ago, we were given Swazi names. And now, upon visiting our permanent host family’s homestead in Zombodze, We’ve been given NEW Swazi names.

I (he-J) am Velaphi Nsibandze, and Jamie- girl is Khetsiwe Nsibandze. Our surname is determined by the homestead in which we live, and the Nsibandze clan is the largest, most powerful family in Zombodze. In fact, the Chief is a Nsibandze—which allows us to meet directly with his inner-council on community matters, as needed. So that’s kind of exciting. The name “Velaphi” literally means, “where are you from.” Pretty hilarious, huh? The question I’ll be asked more than any other—and it’s my new name. That’s how they do it here in Swaziland. People’s first names often translate into things like, “the last one” or “another girl.” The names given to us by our current (training site) host family translate as, “We thank you” and “We are Thankful” Siyabonga and Sibongile, respectively. Jamie’s newest first name, “Khetsiwe,” is really cool. It means “Chosen” or “one who is chosen.” Isn’t that nice? Better than “where are you from,” I think.

It occurs to me that most people reading this will not know how to pronounce these names, so here’s a little guidance for the linguistically curious. The a’s are pronounced like “ahh”, the o’s are like in “bone,” and the –ng is like in “sing.” The capitalized letters indicate stressed sounds.

Siyabonga: sEEya-bonga. That’s my current Swazi name—Siyabonga Ngambule.

Sibongile: see-bong-EElay. That’s Jamie-girl’s current name—Sibongile Ngambule.

Velaphi: vel-A-pee. That’s my new name—Velaphi Nsibandze. The –ph is not an “f” sound.

Khetsiwe: ket-SEE-way. That’s Jamie-girl’s new name—Khetsiwe Nsibandze

Strange but true: more people in Swaziland know us as either Velaphi & Khetsiwe or Siyabonga & Sibongile. Ask for Tim and Jamie and—I’m not kidding—you’ll likely get blank stares.

about our new hometown

We returned from our first visit to Zombodze, the town we’ll call home after training is completed, and we really like it.

We stayed there for 4 days and nights, meeting community members and exploring the area and living in our new home on the Nsibandze homestead. We already have an office at the umpakhasti—which is the Chief’s homestead and which acts as a kind of community center or hub—and we have a great local counterpart named Senzo Nzibandze, a talented young man who’s spent the last few years working hard on community development projects in his hometown. Senzo set up all the introductions for us—school headmasters, nurses and care providers, headmen and community elders, etc—and he spent each day showing us around and introducing us to projects that we might want to get involved in. potential projects include:

water supply and garden development

support for OVCs (orphans and vulnerable children) via the Neighborhood Care Points (NCPs) and their Junior Gardeners program

assisting the health clinic and home-care providers

working in the primary school (they’re trying to get a library) and the high school with student clubs, teacher support and extracurricular activity development

and more. there will be plenty for us to do. In all, I counted about 13 different potential community projects in various stages of development.

All of this is great news for us. As Peace Corps Volunteers, the biggest fear is that you’ll be put in a place where there’s nothing to do, where boredom (and then despair) sets in. To find so many opportunities in Zombodze, as well as a motivated and skillful local counterpart, is what every Peace Corps Volunteer hopes for.

Some highlights of our visit… meeting the chief was cool. It’s a formal affair and somewhat nerve-racking, but things went well. We met our new Swazi family, which is a very large extended family full of children, cousins, aunts, mothers, brothers and sisters. The homestead is very big, with dozens of homes and structures stretched across a hillside. Senzo is both our counterpart and our brother, and he lives just 5 meters from us on the homestead. He took us for a great hike up to a nearby mountaintop—Jamie and I will be going up there a lot. It’s beautiful, and the roundtrip walk from home is maybe 8 kilometers through fields and forests.

Zombodze has two little grocery stores, a carpenter’s workshop, an electronics repairman, a gas station (during plowing when the tractors need fuel), a seamstress, a veggie market, a community garden and a garden run by OVCs, a Neighborhood Care Point (which helps to feed OVCs), a primary school, a high school and a vocational training center. From nearly any hillside in Zombodze, one can see South Africa, marked by the distant cars and trucks traveling along its paved highway. All the roads here are dirt, but they’re in good shape (with some bad spots during heavy rains), and it’s mostly level terrain. There are good jogging routes all over the place, combining trails with dirt roads, and Jamie has already found a few favorite loops. This is a safe, close-knit community, and everyone waves and smiles as we pass by their fences.

Jamie is already famous in Zombodze for her jogging habit. Every other person we met said to her, “oh ya—I saw you running this morning.” I cannot overstate how rare it is in Zombodze for any white people to be visiting—to say nothing of living there—so seeing Jamie run past the fence at 6 in the morning can be a memorable way for these farmers to begin their day. Needless to say, we’re sort of a spectacle in Zombodze, and it’ll take a while for our novelty to wear off. People yell and wave to get our attention, and many are stunned when we answer in their native tongue. Surprised laughter is the most common response, followed by a flood of questions. Even with all the initial stares and attention, I still felt an underlying sense of comfort. Zombodze will make a great home for us.

what we eat

We eat mostly rice or lipalishi (a corn-based staple) or samp (another corn-based staple) with stewed veggies ladled on top—lots of potatoes, squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, spinach, cabbage, beets… your usual winter-crop variety. Delicious and fresh. And of course avocados, but soon they’ll be out of season. Sometimes we’ll have meat, but not very often. Tuna from a can, sometimes chicken. This country really loves to eat beef and chicken and meat in general, but we don’t usually prepare it in our own kitchen (it just doesn’t keep without a fridge). For lunch we’ll usually eat a sandwich—peanut butter and banana, tuna, egg) or rice/stew leftovers, and a piece of fruit. For breakfast we’ll eat oatmeal or cereal (corn flakes, muesli) or boiled eggs. We like to make popcorn in the evenings, and Jamie sometimes bakes something delicious and sweet for me—brownies or cookies. The grocery stores in Nhlangano are well-stocked, and the local gardens/farms are providing our host family with a good, fresh supply of basics (they’re among the fortunate homesteads).

Our diet here is, for the most part, seasonal; it will dramatically change when summer rains bring new and different veggie harvests and a wider variety of fruits. There’s nothing quite as enjoyable as eating from the family’s farm and gardens—when we get to our home in Zombodze, we’ll plant our own garden. In fact, we already have plots waiting for us at both the big community garden and at the OVC garden.

I like our current menu. I do, however, miss pizza. And Mexican food.

care package possibilities

Sorry about not posting any photos yet... the internet connections in Swaziland are dial-up and we rarely even get online at all. We're working on it...

Anyway, We’ve been compiling a list of possible “care package” items. Many of you have been kind enough to inquire about what we’d like to receive in the mail, so here’s a list of ideas.

Real coffee (ground, as we have no grinder)

Splenda

Any DVDs (movies, shows, whatever)

Cds full of music- and blank ones are good too

multi-vitamins

a world map

anything at all from Trader Joe’s— we miss it!

Crystal Light packets

Emergen-C

Travel mugs for coffee/tea

Tom’s of Maine toothpaste

Febreeze (a little goes a long ways here)

US magazines—Harpers, Atlantic Monthly, whatever’s interesting and current.

Books are always great to get, but their weight makes them spendy to ship.

Crossword puzzles

Pictures

This is just a wish list. Don’t feel obligated to send stuff—having sent ourselves a few packages, we know what it costs. We’re quite happy to get a letter or just to see messages in our email inboxes from time to time, and we thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers for us. We’re happy and healthy-- Siyajabula kuba eSwatini! (we are happy to be in Swaziland).