Short Staycation in Swaziland and Nelspruit Area

 

March 9

Vacation starts in my home town with the visit to Hlane big game park.  It definitely wasn’t Krueger Park, but had a lot more thrills in terms of being there among the lions.  I thought the lions there would be caged in fact, it just had a separate compound from the giraffes and rhinos.  They came out of the bushes and it was indeed exciting. The excitement stopped when they stared back at the car and started walking real close, literally feet away.  Too close from my comfort!  There were many photo ops with that close of a view but I froze and will never forget how I felt.  I definitely think they were scoping me out..or at least curious.  What’s to stop them from jumping into an open safari vehicle..They are capable.  Then again, it’s me and my irrational fear.  Lions have always been, in the deep part of me, my worst feared creatures and they appear in my dream so.  What’s more, there was a vehicle behind us, leaving us in a choke point (no escape)..I guess I felt “claustrophobic.”

Today’s visit to Cradle of Life was a bit more relaxing and ten times safer.  The game drive took us through the scenic beautiful backyard of giraffes and zebras with the backdrop of the mountains, bonsai-like trees behind it..Just beautiful.  We then visited the big cats in their cage as the keepers were feeding it dead chickens.  Was a site and Alyssa enjoyed it more.  When it started raining, she had herself an afternoon of playing in the rain.  Now we are relaxed in a quiet chalet, in the midst of nature.  It’s going to take a bit of time to relax and sleep here.  This feels like camping!  The hotel is expensive for a leaky roof, non—functional toilet and barely any cable channels.  Not even a telephone in the room and of course, no internet.  Definitely back to the beginnings of life.

Since I’ve been in SA, I have to say there are certain delights.  One of them being the lunches for two top at 140 RAND or $14 max..That’s at a sit down restaurants.  The last few sit-down restaurants had our meal in 10-15 min tops.  Fast food, yet sit-down restaurant quality.  Last but not least, every parking lot has a fellow to help you back out.  Looking for tip..Most of the time, no.  It’s just one of those things you never knew could be of so much help. 

Our trip to Nelspruit was more adventurous this time.  Last time, the only store we went to was Makro and we had no more room to put things in the back.  This time I discovered the mall center and entertainment..It was so much fun and Alyssa thoroughly enjoyed it.  It’s kind of like Chuck E Cheese but everything is electronic, including the coins and tickets.  You just use a card, charge it up and earn tickets on it.  Definitely better for the environment..The best thing she liked was the bumper car.  There were no kids there so mommy was her playmate.  We also bought coins and couldn’t return them as I could not find the cancel button once I inserted the bill.  So we found a spot outside the Mediterranean restaurant and she rode a London bus, horsey, school bus…and made a friend in the process.  Well, it was her day.  Last adventure day we decided to take it easy.  We were originally going to visit the Reptile Park and Elephant Sanctuary to interact with the animals..Things got hectic Tuesday night when mommy gave Alyssa aspirin to help with her ankle and told myself..I have benedryl in case something happens.  Apparently the Benedryl dosage was not enough..Ended up in the Medi-Clinic, locked myself out of the car and me and Alyssa didn’t get to sleep until midnight.  Adventure indeed.  I’m just grateful that it happened in a country that had adequately everything..Next day our host went and got the batteries for my clicker at the Toyota dealer.  What a relief..I thought the worst of having to damage the car to get in!  What’s more, my car stayed safe at the Medi-Clinic.

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Few more days and we’ll have a vacation.  Good news with my house is that when I get back, I will have a newly renovated bathroom.  Bad news, not only do I have to speed pack, I also have to lock up all the assets in the house.  Nothing is easy, foreign service life is never easy.. And the miscommunication with the South Africans here are yet just another barrier.  Last night they said, “garage” and my understanding was that – a garage!  They meant gas station!!  Yeah, like a gas station is going to carry 2010 Toyota FOB batteries..uh huh.  Yes, this is the “Lost in Translation” part.  I thought to myself..Wow, they have a 24-hour garage in Nelspruit.

Until next time.

Happy March!

March 2, 2014

Seeing light at the end of my tunnel now that we will have a month's break in the States.  Got a gazillion things to do as we're getting ready to reunite with family for a few weeks.  Today was a nice Sunday..Relaxed and enjoyed awesome pizza at the Timbali Lodge the heaven valley, "Ezulwini." 

Alyssa and I have been enjoying quality evenings together.  We've been having pajama parties, baking and eating cookies, hot chocolate, and doing games and puzzles..She's been into it and this is going on our third day of pajama partying.  I'm all for it..Whatever that can get her excited for bed time is good for me.  This past weekend, we've also been in the "blast from the past" movies from the Back to the Future Trilogy to Sound of Music.  She loved them all and so do I.  I never get tired of classics..Sure beats watching Garfield, Pink Panther or Scooby doo!  But then again, I'm not much of a TV person.

A "margarita pizza" which is equivalent to a US plain cheese pizza.  Yummm and oven-flamed from Boma's (Timbali Lodge) in Ezulwini.

 

 

As I was driving home this week, there was a man peeing on the side of the road.  I can clearly see the water but dared not look..I tried to avoid eye contact but as soon as I looked up after turning my head, he looked back at me and smiled.  Gee..the nerve!  In other news..The Swazis have scooped up and laid down cement blocks on just a patch of the curve road on my street.  Nice to do that corner but it will take a while to do the entire road!  I guess little by little it will be done but why just that short strip?

 

Will continue collecting random thoughts as the week goes along.  I overcame a large hurdle by getting back on the horse yesterday.  Leslie told me to come in Alyssa's lesson just to get back on the horse.  I was still quite tense when the horse(s) wouldn't budge.  She asked me to go get Nono (Alyssa's horse) from the stable and when I tried to pull her out, she wasn't cooperative.  I guess she can tell, "this girl got no power in her."  In the back of my mind, I can imagine her throwing a tantrum and kicking at me.  So I grabbed one of the workers to help.  Then when I got on Rainbow, the same horse that decided to eat one day when I was on him as I gently tumbled off, wouldn't do what I ask yesterday.  So we ended up taking a nice easy trail ride.  They are like little children, they can be naughty and get away with it.  Just don't get a 900 lb child angry.

 

Woohoo..I'm leaving some grayness for lots of sunshine!  'Til next time..

 

From the Words of God to Revelation

February 23, 2014

 

Alyssa Waiting for her bus in her Assigned T-shirt, also known as "Civies Day"

(non uniform days)

 

The siSwati language is starting to ring well with me.  I now know that Ph is prounced "pee" and that nc is the "click" sound.  Ezulwini rhymes with another city called Sidwashini.  I'm starting to sing like them!  Most importantly, Alyssa knows how to sing the school's anthem song in SiSwati.  Showed daddy the video and he's like, "nooo. " Don't assimilate her, he's saying.  ;))

Love, love, love the last DVD session on our weekly cell bible studies.  The preacher is John Bevere and the topic is the bait of satan.  He talked about revelation and not everyone can get it.  Though they can read the same books over and over, go to the same bible classes over and over..They just might not get it.  Then suddenly the Lord reveals (or provides) a revelation. What I liked most of what he says was that, "there are about 1,300 listeners that are getting his messages at any given time, and are interpreted in 1,300 different ways."  That couldn't be more true.  And while most times we think our message is being communicated the way we intended, it may not be.  No two persons think alike.

I remember this guy (excellent talker and seller) who said that it's crucial people attend these "sale seminars" over and over.  Because while people may be listening, they are thinking of something and go into a tangent.  Meanwhile, the sales person is *still* talking.  This is why we might not get 100% of anything or may miss something, especially when we go to a seminar, attend church or any other that requires our full attention. C'est la vie as they say or "nature of the beast."

One thing I know for sure that I will miss here in Mbabane is the .30 cents parking downstairs, $ USD 3 hems and what have you.  Clothing here is not expensive by any means and the sizes run for smaller and taller people.  A size 8 or 10 is the equivalent of Medium  whereas in the States that is a Large.  I still love shopping and always finding neat things.  I heard from a Swazi that going to the gym here means more about fashion statement than working out.  I guess that's why it's not popular like the way we have back home.

 

Not much longer until I get to assimilate back into the US culture again.  I can't wait for my crabs, Thai food and yes, meet up with my friends that I miss.  This is the dragger to FS life no one can ever in their 20-year career get used to.  

 

These last two weeks I'm getting more involved with my sports -- to the point of getting injuries.  Tennis elbow from playing tennis and now bruises from riding horse and (yes) falling off.  Rozi, the horse I rode two weeks in a row now, has decided to go on a tangent and started running (apparently cantering) before I was ready.  I got thrown off him, landed on my left side, bumped my head on the floor and got sand in my mouth.  Thankfully I'm OK but for a moment I thought I broke my hips.  I was walking OK and the doctor examined me and so no broken bones.  Whew..Dodged one.  I must carry on, as they say.  That's it for this week's adventure.  I just think my revelation is.. "You need a stronger hold on those reigns."

Weekly Thoughts

Another long weekend is upon me, and I forgot about the day off on Monday.  Darn it!  I guess that means I have a day off to do things, while Alyssa is in school!  Yay, love those break days as well when locals don' t celebrate the same US holidays. 

We have been keeping busy as usual, with our weekday and weekend routines.  Love the structure, but hate the lack of time to freely do things. The only day to take lessons is on the weekend when I am not overly tired from a 9.5 hour day.  We close at 2 PM on Fridays so that means we add 30 minutes extra to our work day Monday through Thursday.  The fact that my schedule is not set and I may work longer hours, depending on needs of the front office, makes it all that much more difficult. 

Friday went to valentine party at the consul's house.  She had a small pool but fortunately the water wasn't too cold so the kids had a bit of fun.  Some of the kids could not come because of the cold that's going around.  I can't wait to get all better as now I too, have the sore throat. 

Swimming time for kids. Paddle!

One of the pleasures about living in a developing country is that things that you do can be an innovation to the community.  I have been a fan of Zumba since it became very popular in the States and it's fairly new here.  I'm starting my own group since there are not too many instructors and am now motivated to perhaps learn to be an instructor or leader.  You get to do things that aren't so "new" back home and helping out the community as well.  I got all kinds of ideas going now, such as doing a cake-ball class or even suggesting to our hair stylist that maybe she should do a class on styling hair.  A skill that the ladies can benefit from.  You can try a new business out as a pilot..maybe you can do as well back home.

Looking forward to a short work week..continuing the challenges we have met while discovering new things all the time.  Things that I never did back home, are now becoming routine.

Great ideas to packaging cake balls

Great way to give is to put them in a clear box and sell.

 



Just Another Day in Paradise

A cheese pizza really isn't a cheese pizza  

 

 Feb 9, 2014

It is hard to believe that Valentine’s day is almost here.  Where has the beginning of the year gone??  We have been keeping busy as usual..Me for example, with volunteer work, proctoring foreign service exams on a Saturday for the peace corps volunteer.  Had too much fun the other night when the systems failed and one of the gals had lost all the two hour worth of exams she did.  Oddly enough the systems was this time, not the Swazi side but back home where the web site was hosted.  Then I had to help her get home since she missed the bus.  Yes, this is what I signed up for but one of the perks is knowing that someone has benefited from your work.  And I got to know better, a young peace corps volunteer.

As I drove home today, I thought of two things about Swaziland.  One is the potholes..Man are there many..You see all these beautiful gated houses and then you see the terrible roads.  My used 1995 RAV 4 is sure taking a lickin’ but keeps on tickin’.  As I popped my Elvis CD into the car, I am enjoying the music when..BOOM!  I inadvertently drove into a pothole, which I’ve gotten good at dodging.  Funny enough the right side car stereo comes back on..I am thinking to myself, this is too funny when did I lose the sound in the first place? Probably from going into one of these darn potholes to begin with.  Just have to bang it a few times to get it back. 

I’m getting good at saying some SiSwati phrases now.  But suddenly I’m shy of using it.  It’s funny, in the beginning it was cute but now when I practice it with the local guards, they are always laughing.  Why are they always laughing? Because they think it’s too funny that I’m trying to learn their language when I don’t need to..Or are they being friendly.  This is what I want to call, “catch-22.”  You want to represent yourself well and be diplomatic with the locals but at the same time, you can’t win because they are laughing at your accent and responses to their language.  But as they say, “keep trying.”  Yes, Hello is much easier than Sawubona (which takes me more effort and breath) as well as saying niyabonga or “thank you” (two syllables long).  BTW, why is it so much longer in siSwati to say simple things.  Don’t even get me started with the clicks. 

Here is a picture of Alyssa from her first few lessons with our tennis coach.  My elbow’s been bad so me and her have been splitting the lessons.  It’s fun and I’m learning a better way of playing tennis.  Wish my high school tennis coach could learn a few things about teaching simple tennis..Make it easy, fun..THEN technique follows.  I like my new coach.  He makes sense with the tennis teaching approach because it works with me..Yes, I need to learn from the very beginning. 

I am getting into my groove now with a regular schedule each week.  Last Friday had the house full of kids for an afternoon of fun.  I entertained the kids, which I didn’t have to, then fed them spicey pizza from Debonairs.  Ahhh yeah, that’s when I found out a “cheese pizza” really isn’t a cheese pizza.  Now I remember what Audrey my fellow co-worker said, what you do in the U.S.. Do opposite here.  Which means don’t custom order your pizza and expect it to arrive like what you think it would be.  Poor kids..They did eat a few slices.  Here’s a picture of Alyssa having fun at Benji’s house.

 

 

Well that’s all I’m going to say for now.  I’ll continue my fun adventures and record the silly stuff.  Good bye or “hambagasi.”  Happy Valentine’s Day  

Here's a picture of Alyssa playing with the dogs at Nyanza farm.  She keeps asking, "Mommy I want a dog."  I tell her, not yet.  You're too young and these dogs require a lot of work. 

Home, Sweet Home

Back in the Kingdom of Swaziland

 

 Jan 21, 2014

Well, it’s about time I put a new blog post since it seems like eons.  We had Christmas holidays, then I was busy planning Alyssa’s birthday party, then we had the party and then we were off again, to Johannesburg for my training class.  I did collect a few thoughts in my drafts folder that I thought was worth sharing.  As I reflect on my last four months here in Swaziland, I start picking up some interesting tidbits.  Maybe it’s not limited to Swaziland but the South African region. 

Did you know that Swaziland is one of the smallest African countries?
I see that hitchhiking is a common practice here as people cannot afford to pay for bus rides.
I see that walking along highways and roads are common, as there are no side walks.
I see many women, from the very young to the very old, carrying perfectly on their heads,  
   something that looks like a large box, or a basket or what I consider, quite heavy.
I see many names in Swaziland that ends in “ile.” For example, Fakile, Winile, Phindile,..etc etc.
I also see that 20% of the populations last name ends in Dlamini and that 50% are employed by the embassy (just kidding but a large portion).  There are plenty of other common last names as well and the name reflects the background they are from – Dlamini I believe is from royal family. 
I see many of the drivers as well as local security employees have names that must have been pulled from the bible – from Abraham to Gideon.  Gotta love it.

Last but not least, only here in the grocery store, can you amuse at the packaging of food – Why buy low fat when you can buy high fat cheese?  Picture to be posted shortly on Facebook.

Aside from the many interesting things I’ve come to learn about being here, I’m adjusting OK.  I’ve begun taking horseback lessons and it’s becoming a real enjoyable hobby for me.  Maybe when I get back to Florida, I can blend right in back at Southwest Ranches.  However as I can recall, to stop a horse meant pulling on one reign but here it is with both reigns.  I think it’s the British way.  I start back up this weekend and look forward to doing it again.  I hope Alyssa can keep busy while mommy rides. 

I am taking SiSwati lessons and enjoying it.  The greetings and some words are easy to learn and the locals love it when you use it with them.  They are already friendly so learning their culture is a bit easier when they are so happy to teach. 

Christmas holidays in Cape Town was great.  About the most shocking thing was that the city was actually dangerous, more so than one would think.  I totally let my guard down when I trusted Google Maps to find me a Catholic Church for Midnight mass – BIG mistake.  It took us through the slum areas and almost did not come out alive – kids crossing the street, groups of people in bad areas..Not a part of town you want to be in at half passed 10.  The rest of the city was beautiful, breath taking scenery.  Just don’t come during Christmas when you got tourists and locals vacationing at the same time.

Everyone is probably accustomed to my posting on Facebook about the internet unreliability here in Swaziland.  It can get frustrating when availability is an issue, especially when I was looking forward to Skyping with my loved ones.  Even in Bamako, their internet is decent and their hardship pay is more than Swaziland due to political unrest.  I learned something last week, as I networked with people posted at other African countries during my training. 

Swaziland has its delight such as friendly people, inexpensive household help and close to South Africa (hours to various borders) and the amazing travel opportunity it offers.  The only thing I never saw anywhere else in the world is people on the grass (side of the road) and one can only wonder if that person is alive.  Being in a small town, you’re bound to run into someone you know. 

My car arrived but we had to get it deep cleaned as water got in somehow during its waiting period to be registered.  Then the battery broke and then mommy backed into it and dented it.  Shipping cars always bring issues one way or the other, from my experience anyway.

Well, hope you enjoyed reading and maybe from this post, you may decide I would not want to join the Foreign Service at all.  Some love the change, some hate the instability.  One thing is certain, it’s not for everyone or shall I say the faint hearted!!

Three Months in Swaziland

Three Months Review

November 27, 2013

Today is Thanksgiving in the U.S.  The Swazi people don't celebrate it, but U.S.A. regards it as one of the most important family holidays.  It's also the start of the Christmas season.  With no fall leaves or signs of the weather getting cold, it barely feels like Thanksgiving today.  We were planning to go over friends' house for some deep fried turkey.  I haven't tried deep fried turkey but Jason wasn't up to it, so we will have a quiet thanksgiving this year.  South African weather is now heading into it's summer weather since it's opposite weather of what the Northern Hemisphere is having.

Today also marks the first that both Alyssa and I caught the cold bug.  I'm surprised that been here this long, we've been overall healthy.  With a diet that could be improved, I guess I can't complain much.  Alyssa has been at her international school for 2.5 months and has just got her first sick day as well.  She loves it here and I couldn't be happier for her.  She continues to do the fun stuff..Catch bugs, play with dogs and do art projects.  She is enthusiastic with her school as well so I must not miss the first school event I'm attending on Tuesday.

Started SiSwati lessons and it looks like I'll catch the phrases pretty easy but I have to practice it. The people here are friendly and willing to teach so I'm not afraid to practice!!  Another terminology that locals use for celebrating.. Braii.. Which essentially means barbecue.  So just went to one last night and it was fun.  My friend makes the yummiest cupcakes.  Alyssa had a ball playing with the dogs.  If only we can convince daddy to have a dog.. Hmmm we do have a big enough yard.  Who will bath it and pick up after it?  If it's not much work, maybe he'll say yes.  He said no to a cat because of the smelly liter.  We will see!