Sivivane Camp 2009

We finished camp! Woo Hoo! It was bitter sweet. Its nice to get a chance to sleep again, but sad to have to not be with the people anymore. Elizabeth Glacier Pediatric Foundation, Baylor Clinic, Paul Newman Foundation (Hole In the Wall), Young Heroes (NERCHA), and SNAP (Swaziland National Aids Program...plus US Peace Corps and much more were involved. The kids are now meeting in urban Swaziland for support group meetings. Soon Baylor Pediatric Clinic for HIV/AIDS hope to extended and decentralize the program into a community closer to me. I'm excited because maybe I can still work with kids in my community suffering with HIV and it would be closer to my village. The older teens for the 2nd week of camp were fun. Teenage life is just like I remembered...hours in front of the mirrors, talking about boys, and figuring out who you are. Some of these kids are head of the households though and also suffering with side effects from HIV treatments. I can't imagine what some of them are going through, but I am so thankful they shared their week with me. My favorite part was something very bitter sweet that I talked about earlier. Each day the girls would take their Anti Retro-viral meds. Before breakfast and before bed. Some also had to take ear drops, stomach pills, TB meds, etc. to fight off the other illnesses that were attacking their weak immune systems. I'm into my 2nd year here working daily with people who are positive, but I've never actually saw every aspect. I always return to my hut after working with my support groups in my community and don't actually see the details of living an HIV+ life. At camp, I was with them 24/7. I took them to the toilet when they would get sick. I saw the side effects and results of the virus every day and I stood with them as they took their meds. We would cheer for them once they finished administering all the medications. I can't begin to tell you what it was like to cheer for them. Me and two other women who worked with the girls in my group would clap and chant our team name as they swallowed. It was awesome because the girls would smile, but painful because I thought how everyday when they wake up and when they go to bed they are reminded that they are HIV+ by taking these meds. Some weren't even given a choice. Their parents gave it to them. Others made a mistake once or had no options in their mind because maybe they needed money and offering their bodies to older adults was the answer to get food or security. No matter what though, we dedicated ourselves to letting them be kids for a week. We gave them awards, through them up on on shoulders, taught them games, and let them feel safe and free. They didn't have to hide the fact they were HIV+ because kids from school weren't there or their brothers and sisters. It was an amazing experience watching them get excited and happy. We taught them actions to an R. Kelly song "World's Greatest" and they did actions. Some who were 16 looked like they were 9 because HIV slowed their growth. They had the smartest wittiest things to say, yet it came fro a body that didn't give them credit for their age. At the end of camp, the kids wrote journals. While reading them some said things like, "I was scared to talk before because I'm sick, but camp made me feel safe. I want to talk now." When I read some of the things and pictured the kids who I knew that said that...my heart dropped into my stomach. They really loved camp. The people from Hole In the Wall/Baylor CLinic are amazing. You should look it up online. I feel so blessed to be in Swaziland working with these kids and I really pray that God can use me to help in any way.

I hope you are all well. Please let me know how you are doing! Be blessed this Christmas season! Love you guys!

Hole In the Wall Camp

Time has been flying this month and I'm enjoying every minute! The beginning of this month I moved to Mbabane basically to get this HIV+ youth camp started. We stayed up late nights getting prepared as well as waking up early to arrange everything needed before the caregivers/camp counselors arrived for training. Me and my friend/fellow volunteer (Lisa) worked closely with two people from Hole in the Wall (Paul Newman's organization for children living with terminal illnesses). They are some of the most amazing people I have ever met. Robin is sweet and gets things done. She is always smiling and has a gentle spirit about her. She is great on the leadership team. Padraig on the other hand is my long lost brother. We have a lot of similarities, BUT he manages to do everything with 20x more energy, smiles, and he has this personality that makes you want to be his friend. We feed off each others randomness and I'm learning a lot from him. He is this Irish guy with crazy brown hair that he pulls back with a headband and somewhat resembles Jack Black. That alone makes you want to be his friend. His energy never fails and kids are magnetically pulled to him. I'm been so blessed to be working with him and Robin and the Hole in the Wall foundation because they really do the work they set out to do and are amazing people. They have the sweetest job, making kids happy and finding games, cheers, chants, awards to boost their self esteems and hope for life. They help the kids not just cope with being HIV+, but learn to not be limited by it. Its so cool and they make these camps all over the world in some of the poorest and sadest conditions. I hope to be as cool as them one day. :)

I finished my first group of campers yesterday. We had training until Sunday and the campers arrived monday morning. The counselor training was awesome. We did it at a farm with 23 of us (6 other Peace Corps Volunteers we invited to participate and all the rest we Swazi professionals working as teachers or for different Non-Governemnt Organizations). I made a lot of new Swazi friends working in the capital and for Baylor Clinic. My goal was to help those Swazi friends empower their own Swazi children. I really didn't want to have it be about me playing with the kids while the Swazis watched. I really wanted to empower the Swazi counselors to empower their own children. It turns out I didn't even need to. I was given 11 girls in my group who range from 10-13 years old from all parts of Swaziland who go to Baylor Clinic in the capital to refill their ARV meds for HIV. I had two other Swazi women who helped my group. I was so nervous how much I would be able to interact with them with language barriers, but it ended up not being a problem at all. The Swazi women didn't even have to translate for me. I spoke SiSwati when I could, but the kids were so smart they could sometimes speak better English than me. We had so much fun playing and singing. Although I spent about 50% of the camp time in the bathroom. Girls are girls. Swazi, Mexican, British...they all go to the bathroom by the dozen and since they needed to be with an adult all the time...that meant me, "Auntie Sihle", had to go with too. :) I love the two ladies I am grouped with. One girl is really sporty and good at basketball. She always gets involved with the girls. The other one is more "Swazi Style" and singing traditional songs with them and teaches them traditional dances. I am so thankful the kids seemed to like me and trust me. The first night they were scared to sleep alone in the dorms, so it was a late night and eary morning. I woke up to four girls in their pjs asking if it was time to get up yet. 5 am and still have asleep, I forced myslef up and showed them how to use the showers. For many of them, they don't have running water let alone a shower or bath tub. They were so excited. I played crazy 8's with them 24/7 and sang/dance to "Single Ladies" more than what should be allowed. Some were little divas, but I didn't even care. I just joined in.

I am exhausted and our next group will be here tomorrow. They will be full of energy and hormones. A dangerous combo! I have 9 in my new group. They are all 15 years old. I remember that age, so this will be interesting. I'm definately learning a lot. Who knows what stage they are at or their home lives. A lot of them just started their ARV meds (it protects their white blood cells from the virus) so the rumor is they maybe tired. Its so interesting to think of kids in America in the camps I've worked at and the ones here. Every cultures' children are related so much, but their are definately circumstances and differences you see. Its been so fun, but I've seen so much too. The girls take their ARVs together before bed and at night. They were shy at first because at home often times some hide their medication so people won't find out they are HIV+. This new group will be different too from this past one. Most of the past group have HIV+ from their parents. They were born with it. This new group is older, so some of them may have gotten it from having being sexually active. Its going to be a whole new camp. All I know is that its been an amazing experience and these girls have been so generous letting me see what their lives are like living with HIV. The medications, side effects (diarreah, headaches and/or vomiting), and they've shared this experience with me. I pray that this next week we continue to give these kids a safe place to be with other girls that are dealing with the same issues and that we can show them love and support and give them hope. No one is certain how long they have on earth and these kids are have taught me so much more about myself and about life than I could ever teach them. It's so cool. And so humbling.

We finish the 22nd of Decemeber and then I will road trip down the coast. Me and three friends are taking a tent and spending Christmas together under the stars. We will eat sandwiches with a side of malaria pills and soak ourselves in bug spray and sunblock. Once I get back it is party time for the school in my village. We hopefully will have enough donations by then to start helping the school fix their issue on teacher's housing shortage. If you want to be a part of it, their is still time. I would love to work on something like this with all of you at home. Something we could leave here or know that we have directly helped people in Swaziland fulfill a need and empower them by teaching them building skills too. Check out the Peace Corps website under my name to read more about it. Love you guys lots. I miss you so much and hope you have a wonderful holiday season. I think of you guys often.

David Copperfield attends Thanksgiving with US Ambassador

I’m trying to pick up new skills while I am in Swaziland. I'm going to ask my host family brother how to plow with the oxen this week (Ivery Oregon Trail. I can carry a baby on my back with a towel and no hands. And now I can knit while I do all of those things at the same time. The scarf is electric blue. I will wear my scarf even in the dead of summer to show the people in my community. They think its amazing that I can take a bath without help, so knitting a scarf I‘d probably get a standing ovation.

I gave my friend (Jen) my rain jacket that I haven’t worn for months when she came to help me judge a debate competition for my school put on by World Vision. We saw a rash developing on Jen’s stomach as we walked back. We were worried (mostly me because I shared my bed with her the night before) that she had scabies or lice. Later as we sat at the shop, we saw that there was a cocoon inside my jacket she was wearing. Apparently the caterpillar hairs were rubbed off of the worm and were sticking into Jen’s skin! It made her stomach get a rash. It was terrible! I felt so bad! Later we found out from the Baylor doctors that those caterpillars carry neurotoxins and she was lucky with just a rash. I search my clothes now before putting them on. I’m glad she found it now instead of waiting. I would have looked like David Copperfield having butterflies fly out of my arm sleeves.

We played softball last week. Peace Corps vs. United States Embassy. Rumor had it we were playing against an ex-marine. Is that supposed to scare me? I bench press ex-marines…for breakfast. I played outfield. There was one play in particular that could have potentially stopped time. The ball was hit out towards me. Popfly. This was my ticket to acceptance. The ump yelled, "foul ball", but I continued with my arms stretched out before me ready to dive. I think it was a change of wind because the ball (as the US Ambassador watched) flipped a different direction at the last second. The ball bashed my nose in. It was a foul ball. People congratulated me on my hustle, but it was a crappy consolation prize to what could have been. I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if the US Ambassador saw me catch that ball. A secretarial position at the Oval Office? Director of International Affairs? I’ll never know what “could have been.” It just wasn’t my time I guess. I’ll get my big break soon. He must have been impressed somehow though or felt sorry for us because he invited us for Thanksgiving. It was fun. He has a pool and offered it to us. Unfortunately I gave Carmen Electra my swimming suit for the weekend and she hasn’t brought it back yet so no pool time for me. We played football though and ate. And ate again. Probably the best Thanksgiving meal I’ve ever had (no offense, mom). My stomach hurt, but I was happy. The Ambassador read an Obama speech to us before eating and we wiped our mouth with the US government emblem on our napkins. It ended up being a great Thanksgiving. US Ambassador (the only one in a tie), US Peace Corps, and US Embassy

I was taken from my site last Saturday. Apparently my hut can flood. The roads were muddy and flooded, so I had no transport and couldn’t walk anywhere because the rain had been down pouring for four days straight. My room quickly became a swimming pool and smells like a gym sock, but the last day of the week the sun came out. My friends, two kids below the age of 7, helped me clean up. Peace Corps heard that I was living in a life jacket, so they came to collect me and evacuate me from the flood.
Me and my friend (Bamaza)

My language teacher, Mrs. Gogosha, had a stroke earlier this month. She was my good friend. She was a lady in her late 70’s and had great English. She was actually supposed to be teaching me SiSwati, but we never got that far. When we would meet, it would turn into an English fest. She would tell me about her husband, her job, family issues, whatever….but it was nice to have her living close. She furnished half of my hut with her stuff. After her stroke on that Friday, her health went down fast. After arriving at the hospital she only lasted a few more days and Monday morning Mrs. Gogosha died. It was sad for my community. She was a very involved strong woman God. She will be missed, but I’m thankful I was able to be apart of her life when I had the chance. me (Sihle Sibandze) and Gogo Gogosha

I’m getting ready for a camp for the month of December. Basically I’m just going to hang out with them and hopefully teach them some dance moves. Its for teenagers who are HIV+ and we are showing them how to live after being infected. I think I’m going to learn a lot. The Paul Newman Foundation and Baylor Clinic are funding it and putting us in a workshop before it starts. I’m going to learn a lot from these kids. I’m excited to hang out with them. Lastly, the Teacher’s Housing Project in my community is going well. People at home have showed interest. If any of you would like to particiapte just a little. My sisters (Angi Kleinwolterink and Mikki Bobzein) as well as my mom (Judy Schaap) are thinking of ideas. It would be cool to work on this project with my friends and family at home. I’ve already began to make a DVD of the teachers and students who you would be effecting. I want to send one to you guys to show you what it looks like now, pictures and videos of the process, and then show you the roof and building when its completed so you can actually see where your money went. If your interested, please let my sisters, mom or dad know. All the money is going towards the roofing materials and transporting them to the village I am living in. Thanks guys!


The Kingdom of Swaziland government assigned a few more teachers to this school after seeing the need of increased enrollment due to asking the increase of the OVC population in my area (orphans and vulnerable children). Although the government will pay the minimal wages for these teachers, its up to those teachers to figure out a place to sleep when they are far from their families. Before there were 18 full time and part time teachers, now there are 21. This is better, but still leaves a problem on how to keep these teachers around. The roofing project would give them another place to sleep during the week to ensure the students have teachers available the entire school day. This clip is Babe Mamba (Pastor Jerome Mamba), the headmaster of the primary school, greeting you and giving you an idea of who he is and what you're investing in.

Teaching at my HIV outreach workshop with 65 pastors in Southern Swaziland.


GoGo Gogosha (my friend/SiSwati teacher) and me.



Peace Corps vs. United States Embassy with the US Ambassador.

Velebantfu Primary School Teachers

Hey guys! It’s your old friend Jaci down south of the equator. I've been here a year under the HIV/AIDS health educator sector. Even after all that time, I still feel like I’m figuring out what that job title means! What I do know though, is that it’s opened up a lot of doors to do really cool things in my community. I will be coming home in less than a year now. It’s unbelievable and yet I feel like there is still a lot of work to be done. It’s been great and I’ve learned a lot about the people and circumstances of the area I’m living in. Since you guys know me and are my friends and family at home, I want to share my new life with you the concerns of the Velebantfu community and the challenges we are sharing right now.

Quickly, Swaziland is a small, landlocked country inside of South Africa and also partially bordered by Mozambique. With an estimated 40% unemployment rate, Swaziland is struggling to provide a steady income for the families living within the country. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and sometimes floods persist as problems for the future. More than one-fourth of the population needed emergency food aid in 2006-07 because of drought, and nearly two-fifths of the adult population has been infected by HIV/AIDS. Swaziland is leading the world is HIV/AIDS prevalence.

39.4% of the total population is 14 years old and under. That means a lot of the work is in the primary schools all over Swaziland. Affects of poverty begin at an early age here. The life expectancy of the total population is 31.88 years old. Meaning a little less than half of their life was spent in school. This is a sad reality, but good to acknowledge when trying to be affective. Teachers sometimes need to fulfill the needs of children who don’t have parents or adequate caregivers.



The headmaster at my local primary school, Mr. Mamba, is one of the pastors I taught at a two day HIV/AIDS Outreach Workshop I just hosted in September. We’ve talked and expressed our concerns within the community and school children and have had many great conversations. His primary school has established an EFA program (Education for All) to ensure that orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in the area are coming to school without the stresses of finding money for school fees. The government is helping pay for these children. This particular group of children makes up almost half of the schools attendees at my local school. Although minimal school fees are paid by the government for these students, the school depends on the parents, teachers, and community members to provide for their school uniforms, food, hygiene products and other special needs they come with like reading glasses and school materials. It’s not uncommon to find Mr. Mamba and the teachers using their own paycheck to purchase these things for their students after watching their conditions each day. Mr. Mamba has tried his best to cater to the growing needs of the children and teachers under him. They’ve built one teacher’s house to help a few of the teachers financially, constructed a kitchen to provide a meal for the kids (food provided by the World Food Program), and are borrowing an empty church to serve as an extra classroom for the time being. This was all implemented and built by community members, teachers, and parents. With growing attendance of the OVC population, more teachers are needed. The community began to build a four bedroom teacher’s home before the kitchen and classroom projects were presented. Due to the rapidly growing number of primary students, the teacher’s home was put on hold until they could satisfy the other needs of the school first. The teachers now commute back and forth to school every day from all over the area on a very meager salary. Thankfully the kitchen and classroom was completed. Sadly though, the community’s funds have now been exhausted on those projects. The teacher’s home is left incomplete. In order to finish they will need materials for a roof, windows and door frames. As you may know that this is some of the most expensive parts of the structure and since the location is not near a city, these materials are going to be transported into the mountain area where I live. This has been taken into the consideration and we have tried to make the cheapest routes we could without endangering the quality of the structure. The total amount includes all the materials and the transport to get it into southern Swaziland.



I’m really excited because I can see the potential this roofing project could do if funded. I know the people you would be investing in and I would be here for the entire construction period. I also would help them build unless that scares you…I can just watch. :) I can keep you updated on the process and give you pictures of where the money is going if interested. The community members will be doing all the constructing, using their own tools, and also adding what materials they have left.

Once they heard that I was going to try help them and they began clapping their hands with happiness! Up until now, the community and teaching staff have struggled to get what they have with limited outside help. They are excited to think there are people who may care about this project as much as they do. I know they would appreciate any help with this project we’ve developed. With a little less than 70% under the poverty line, you can see where the stress is for the community when trying to make improvements. Its amazing the work they’ve done to the school while their own families are fighting to get by. On the Peace Corps website www.peacecorps.gov/contribute you can find my project. The project number is 645-075. I know it is around Christmas time and it’s a difficult time to find extra cash, but even if you have an idea of how we could fundraise or who may want to partner in this project, we would greatly appreciate it. Thank you so much! This project will benefit a lot of Swazis. I'm excited to think how much hope we could install in the people here or the great ways we can invest in this project that could will affect hundreds of students, community members, and teachers here in the Velebantfu area.

The King of Pop

I did it! I ran it! My first half marathon is over! Woo hoo! I was fast enough to get a medal (part of the registration fee if you finish before a certain time haha) and slow enough that I was trailing an 80 year old man with terrific legs the whole time. It was so great. We ran up the hills towards Table Mountain at the end which almost killed me, but once we climbed to the top we had an amazing view of the Atlantic Ocean. The bay we overlooked as we came down to the finish line was full of humpback whales and so my friend and I silently ran watching them float in the water. So cool! The next day we brought our two other friends who weren't running that joined us in Cape Town to the same spot to show them the whales. We saw one and photographed him in the same position for about 25 minutes only to find that it was indeed not a whale...but a boulder. Which explains a lot actually. "I never claimed to be a Marine Biologist." I said to my defense after the laughter died and we realized we had wasted precious vacation time. "So...sue me." (Michael from the Office)

We went to vineyards and wine tasted 5 glasses each. I always wanted to be a wine drinker to feel sophisticated and like a woman, but it was difficult to choke down. I guess my calling in life has never been to be an alcoholic. Such a shame when I had all that wine to my disposal. We still toured the farm and walked through the vineyards. None of us knew anything about wine, so we tried to play cool at first and finally swallowed our pride and asked someone to explain. I felt like a fake. Everyone at this fancy wine tasting room seemed to know the best wines and could taste the different ingredients in each wine glass. I thought they all tasted the same...like someone rubbed deodorant all over my tongue and made me ate a tangy grape. My taste buds are not classy. I desperately wanted a Fanta.

It was great to have a car. We rented one and went EVERYWHERE! We drove up and down the coast, past the waterfront, and through the mountains. Cape Town is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. A lot of people speak Afrikaans there (a variation of Dutch) and they look like people from Orange City, Iowa. They would come up to me in the group I was with to speak Afrikaans/Dutch. It was so strange. I didn't know my Dutch ancestry was so obvious in the way I look. I just thought I looked...white. Haha Dutch, German, Norwegian, South Africa, British...they all look the same to me sadly. I guess to these people though, I look Dutch. The Schaap/Kleinhesselink elders would have been proud.

I am currently getting ready for a camp with Baylor University and the Paul Newman Foundation called Hole in the Wall. Peace Corps was asked to be involved with this year's camp. My friend Lisa (who was one of the volunteers who went to Cape Town with me) is also on the planning board. We've been working hard trying to find donors for food, underwear, and crafts for the kids. 100 kids are attending during the Christmas break. All of them are HIV+ and are taking their Anti-retroviral medication. We want to do a camp where they can be with kids like them so that they don't have to be scared of people knowing they are sick, but have the activities and lessons based on life skills and things for the future. Also we will play lots of games and sports. I want to throw a concert together for them too. I was thinking this cool new up and coming Christian rapper called Sieffstyle would be great, but his European Tour may not be over yet... I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Other than that, life is going well. I've been working in the garden and becoming a true Swazi wife. I tie my aunt’s baby on my back when I walk down to the river and race my little brothers down the red dirt road bare foot. It makes me feel good to beat a small child at games I just taught them. My 13 year old brother, Samkeliso, is doing really well. He stopped seizuring and is back to chopping firewood and chasing cows. As much as I have a special place for the girls on my homestead since I myself have only had sisters my whole life, I have really invested in the boys on my homestead. It’s been really great. My teenage brothers talk to me about girlfriends and high school stuff. My older brothers talk to me about work and life's struggles. My little brothers watch soccer with me on T.V. at night and we play Go Fish and build stilts. Either I was supposed to have a brother...or I am secretly a man. Haha I hope it’s the first...but the second may explain some things. Just kidding. I'm thankful my family feels comfortable with me now and they see me as their big or little sister. A lot of learning opportunities have evolved from these relationships and I think God is using them in a bigger plan than I realize.

Miss you all. Braden Bradfield, props to you for the Michael Jackson t-shirt. A single tear trinkled down as the King of Pop himself was lifted from the care package. I've enjoyed all the letters from you guys over the past year. As Michael would say, "You Rock My World". One might say that it’s been quite a "Thriller" to have each of you in my life. I'm sorry. Haha I know, I gotta stop. It’s hard though because my motto has always been, "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough." I can't help it with the cheesy jokes to express my admiration towards you guys at home. It’s just the "Way You Make Me Feel."

Fresh Fish

Its been such a crazy month! I've been so busy. Which is a term never used by Peace Corps Volunteers. I don't know how it happened, but everyone wants a piece of "The Jackster" all at once. haha I've been working on a lot of projects in my community with different groups of people, so I've been making friends. They haven't replaced you guys at home, but they are a good addition to my social life. Or lack of one. I'll take any friend I can get. I'm suprised actually I am making Swazi friends with the way I've been dressing lately. Yesterday I came to the city dressed in a bold colorful striped robe, skinny brown jeans (haven't been shrunk t fit my body in a dryer for a year, so they looked like hammer pants, and some black muddy chuck taylors. My hair was in braids...it was sad. I left my hut to get to the bus without even second guessing my wardrobe. That is sad. It looked like Bob Marley and Willy Wonka had a baby and that baby was now walking the streets of Northern Swaziland.

I'm going to Cape Town, South Africa this weekend. It supposed to be like the "New York City of Africa". I'm so excited. I'll be running...no, sorry, I'll be limping through the finishing line of a 1/2 marathon on Sunday morning along the ocean coastline. Pray for a miracle that I don't go into cardiac arrest. The rest of the trip we've planned to just enjoy the coast, go to vineyards, look at penguins, and enjoy indoor plumbing. I can't wait.

The United States Peace Corps Swearing In Ceremony happens once a year with the new volunteers. The “fresh fish” as Jantina would call them. Last year, mine was hosted at the house of the US Ambassador, Maurice Parker. This year it was at a Swanky Hotel in the capital. We were expecting budget cuts with the food since the US economy is strained, but the US government had mercy on us. They probably realized it’s the first time a lot of us have worn make up, worn a tie and suit jacket, and showered all in the same day within the past year. We ate lobster and shrimp. I was satisfied just looking at it. As we waited for the director of NERCHA and some other VIP guests to begin the ceremony, people quietly sat in the big white tent and made aquantances with some of the esteemed guests. Me, on the other hand, decided to go with my friends Connor and Jason to take “senior pictures” by the pool to kill some time before it started. As I open the Swaziland Times last week, I didn’t not see one familiar photo…but three familiar photos of me laying next to the pool and holding my friend Connor in my arms like he was “Bernie” from the infamous movie “Weekend at Bernies”. The Peace Corps Office didn’t reprimand me for it either after seeing it in the paper the following week. They actually ended up encouraging it as they laminated the paper and hung it at the main Peace Corps Office in Mbabane. The embarrassing part is, this is not the first time. Last year at the same annual event I was caught by the press and also printed in the Swaziland Times horrific photos of me leaping through the air in traditional attire (wrapped like a toga), barefoot, pretending to “spear” my friend mid-air in the Ambassadors backyard. It was titlted, “Volunteers at Play.” I’m serving our country well.

I held a workshop a few weeks ago. I found funding to teach support group living with HIV/AIDS in my area how to make shoes. A percentage of the money they will keep for themselves as an income generating project, but a portion of each profit made by the pairs of shoes sold are going towards buying seedlings for gardens we are starting. The gardens are for the orphans and vulnerable children in the area, so they have a garenteed food supply and also promotes healthy eating for the ones who are taking medication for TB and HIV/AIDS. The workshop went well and we have already sold many pairs of shoes to local members in my village.

Lastly, my host family brother was very sick last weekend. He had a bad fever and was going into convulsions every couple of hours. It was scary because my family associated it to demons, which sadly so many illnesses here are (HIV/AIDS) or to being”witched” by someone. For days I watched my brother get sicker and sicker and I tried helping him with my med kit and doing what I could, but he needed a doctor. Finally, after an emotional weekend, I had a meeting with the elders to get permission to take him to a doctor and I would pay for the hospital bill and hire a car to get him to the hospital. Reluctantly they let me Sunday night. He had seizures in the back of the pick up as we drove carefully but quickly to the hospital. My missionary friends from South Africa live down the mountain and they offered their pick up. He stayed for tests at the hospital for 4 days. He’s 13 years old and this was his first time there. The beds next to him were filled with patients suffering with TB and drugged up on morphine. Poor kid. I sat with him everyday because he doesn’t have immediate family. He is an orphan that lives on my homestead. Me and the kids I live with would make cards for him and I would take them everyday when I went to sit at the hospital so he had something to read. I think although it was a terrible and scary thing he went through, I pray God showed him that there are people who care about him even if he feels alone. He’s been discharged and comes to my room every morning to get his medication. He almost has all his strength back and now we’re even closer than before. He’s a little bit more protective of me with the other kids. Its funny and so cute.

I miss getting letters, so if you ever get time please send one. My family used to send letters bulks at a time, but now phone cards ruined that idea. Haha Who am I kidding, I enjoy an communication from you guys at home so if its not by letter, I do accept phone calls, email, Facebook messages, smoke signals…I just miss being able to talk to you at my disposal. Take Care! Love you guys.

The Gold Toothed Thief

Hi everyone ! Its September now which means I’ve made it 14 months away from home. Can you believe it? At times it went sloooow, but then some months went so fast that I barely remember what happened.

(If you are Connor’s mom and reading this, he hasn’t bathed in a week. He’s really let himself go and we’re all concerned. He ate fried chicken and pancakes this morning if that tells you anything. )

This weekend I attended the Umhlanga Ceremony. I was able to see the King and his family. He picks his wives at this ceremony and announces it at her family’s surprise. I tried to be lucky #14 this year, but didn’t get the chance to introduce myself to him. Plus, his animal skin skirt can be intimidating. The ceremony was so fun and rich with culture and tradition. Over 80,000 girls danced in their traditional clothes and I got a lot of good pictures. The princesses were there and the new Miss Swaziland. My friends and I were shoved by a security lady while trying to get a picture…it was awesome. I got a good pic. I think they thought I was with the press so they let me stay down there with the news reporters. That was the great part of this week…

Bad news also occurred this weekend. I took a khombi (a white Scooby Doo looking public transport van commonly used by Swazis and with an array of names on the windshield like “the cutter” and “the solution”) back to the city to sleep that night. We entered the bus rank at night singing to the Beyonce remixes that the khombi driver was playing and we got out in the empty gravel parking lot. I could barely see since it was night and the stars gave us the only light while removing our things from the van. As I looked for my purse in the midst of the pile of stuff we had in the middle of the abandoned parking lot, I noticed it was missing. The khombi was turning around and preparing to leave, so as it began to accelerate I ran after it in a dress and flip flop. Sadly, I ate dust and the red glow of my face from the brake lights were not enough for them to see me behind them. I chased them down a hill and into the night while a group of Swazi teenagers laughed at my misfortune while I inhaled the exhaust of the van of which was taking my identity 30 miles north. Without a car to follow them, any idea what the driver looked like, a registration number, or even the name of the conductor, I walked with my friends with my head held low to our friends’ apartment. I called Peace Corps security, but they didn’t offer money and to get home. I was so mad that I didn’t double check the van before getting out. The contents of my purse included: E800 ($90), Peace Corps badge to get in to PC Headquarters, credit cards (Swazi and American), pin numbers of both (…I have reasoning for it), and finally…my passport. As far as that moment was concerned, I didn’t exist. I was Bourne Identity. I was Jason Bourne.
The next morning my friend came with me to the bus rank to see if we could remember anything about the conductor or driver or what the khombi even looked like to see if by any miracle (more than a hundred buses and khombis are in the bus rank) we could find them. We asked everyone who could speak English if they knew of a khombi that drove through around 7pm the night before and had a conductor with a gold tooth. They would look at me and say, “…Sisi, everyone has a gold tooth here.” I realized how ridiculous I probably sounded asking for a guy with a gold tooth all morning. I looked around and made eye contact with an old man who winked at me with a smug grin. A big enough grin to see his gold tooth glisten. The man was right. There was no hope. My eyes began to water as I stood in the middle of a busy bus rank, people yelling and carrying chickens, and enough gold teeth to satisfy King Tut in the southern edges of South Africa. I felt helpless. Just as began to give up a lady came and said, “Are you a Peace Corps Volunteer?” Confused I answered, “Yes?” My friend and I looked at each other wondering what was going on. She said, “I found some things last night here by the South African khombis.” I jumped for joy, but I was scared for what she found. She said, “I have two plastic cards and a passport.” I knew it. It would be too much to ask for everything. I’m know private eye detective, but I’ve concluded that they drove back later threw my cards and passport out the window into the parking lot and kept the cash and purse to go through KFC or something. Well, went through KFC a lot of times. Well, probably will be able to go through KFC for the rest of the month. It’s so sad, but I learned my lesson. I’m just thankful I was able to get the cards back and my passport and PC Government badge to get back into the headquarters. It was a bizarre weekend and I was ready to go home by the time Sunday rolled in.
I
I have a month left of training for a half marathon. Some of you may not believe it and at times I’m with you on that, but I am registering this week and buying the plane ticket to run in Cape Town, South Africa so whether or not I believe it or not…its going to happen. I’ve barely ran more than 6k my whole life…altogether…and I’m expected to run 21.5k in a month. I’m nervous, but so excited. I’m going with my two Texan friends, Hong and Lisa. We are going to try see a lot of stuff like Robin Island (Nelson Mandela’s prison), the penguins, vineyards and wine tasting, and go to the beach where the Indian Ocean and Atlantic intersect. It gives me motivation to run because I know if I go there to run I will get to do a lot more than that. 


I’m staying busy this month. I am helping the support groups in my area start an income generating project. We are doing shoe making skills with HIV+ members to earn money and start businesses. It’s this coming Monday and really hope it’s a success. I got funding from the US government to pay for the transport, food, and a teacher. The interested members (around 35 people, 2 from each surrounding support group) are going to buy their own materials and learn with them so that they can use it to teach the others in their support groups and sell it for profit. The can then use the money earned to buy more materials and will have a little left over for saving. It should be fun and a good way to meet more members of my community I’m living in.

Lastly, I’m preparing for a very large workshop at the end of this month. It’s to teach outreach to pastors (80 people) for two days to people who are HIV+. Mostly how to outreach to people in general whether physically (offering support groups), emotionally (through counseling), or spiritually (prayer meetings). I’m excited but I have a lot of work to do to prepare. They are sleeping over too so a lot of food and accommodation preparation need to take place still. Funding is still in the works and meanwhile I’m trying to get ready for my half marathon and make reservations in Cape Town. Miss you guys! I would love to talk with you if you ever have time to write or call. I will need someone to talk to this month to keep me sane.  Enjoy the new school year!

Jabu Bags

I gave a HIV/AIDS lesson two weeks ago at a missionary church for the congregation. My friend back in the States preached for his first time the same day and we were both referring to similar scripture. We didn't know it until we talked later, but it was cool how that worked out. It was fun and good for me to get in front of a group. Now other churches have shown interest on having me speak in their churches too. Currently we (me and Pastor Buthelezi) are trying to put a worshop together for all the pastors to learn ways to help support HIV+ people within their churches at the of September. This might be easier than going to each one. I'm focusing on the churches a lot lately because over 90% of Swazis claim Christianity as their religion and so what a great outlet to use when trying to talk about HIV protection in a large capacity. It's fun, but a lot of work. Sometimes they seem to know more about life and HIV than I do. Its always really humbling and they always have lots of questions, but I pray God is intervening in those lessons. All the volunteers agree that this whole 2 year experience really teaches you how much you know, but mostly how much you don't. :)

I've been staying busy with the Bible college in my area. Their enrollment is down and so we are trying to make the school more competitive since it is in the rural area. We are trying to get internet at the school and with that I agreed to help them develop a website. Little do they know, the computer class I took at the university was the worst grade I've ever recieved! haha Sad, but so true. Ask Professor Yarbrough. I beleive the website assignment I recieved in that class was to talk about "our families". We boasted on our sites how Tina's grandma was in the 1964 summer Olympics while my grandpa "papi" raced in the Alaskan Iditorads, but our celebrity status ancestors we fabricated did not help my grade any. Who knew I'd dust off those computer skills now (or lack there of) and put them to work again. But mostly, who would have thought I would be the most qualified to make a website?

Lately, I've been able to help with Doctors Without Borders a little. They come to the clinic in my village twice a week to test and counsel HIV+ patients. The doors are lined with people waiting for their CD4 count and needing ARVs. Sometimes I come and help count pills, talk to the Zimbawean pharmacists, and talk to my friends that work there. Its cool because you hear a lot of stories and meet different people. They want to team up with Peace Corps volunteers in the south to see how we can work together. I'm currently trying to get all the volunteers together to meet with Doctors Without Borders in town. Maybe they will get involved with our children's support group we have? We love this support group and a lot of volunteers are invested in it. Last time I showed the kids how to make paper airplanes. We showed them talents to prepare them for a talent show we will do next month. We try teach them life skills and hope to promote self confidence. They loved it. I also shared my dance moves as a talent with the group. I was challenged by a 9 year old girl and she beat me. Not my proudest moment.

There was a music festival called Bushfire this past weekend. A lot of tourists fill the place from South Africa, Mozambique, and even Portugal, but its too expensive sadly for most local Swazis. One 10 year old kid and his friends asked me if I would pretend to be their mom to get in. It was funny. I hung out with them at the front gate for a while before meeting with my friends and they taught me Swazi slang. I helped sell Jabu Bags inside this weekend which is an income generating project for some of the mothers in Swaziland. The vendor across the way was a 40 yr. old Indian woman wearing a Bruce Lee T Shirt. She sold jewerly and festive handmade decorations. The T Shirt was truly a diamond in the rough. I was distracted the whole day. She left early though and finally when I had the guts to ask to trade shirts, she was gone. The good news about that day is we sold over E5,000 in Jabu Bags. All of the profit goes bag to the women. If you are interested, there is a website made for them. I can also take orders back with me if you want! They are really cool.

I miss you guys at home. Hope your summers are filled with baseball games, hotdogs, and good tanlines. Write me if you have time! Love you!

Meeting the Queen

I got to go to the palace for tea with the queen this past June! I admit, I thought I was going to meet the queen at a hotel conference room or some government building with a long table and her at the head of it with a gavel. That would have been good enough for me. I thought bodyguards would lead us in wearing sunglasses and too-tight t-shirts, but it didn’t exactly happen that way. Peace Corps picked me up and told me we were actually invited to the palace! Would we drink from goblets? Would she ride in on a unicorn? My mind raced with important questions. To my disappointment though there wasn’t a mote, no knights jousting in the courtyard, or dragons protecting the entrance, although there was a buffalo soldier who was sitting in a lawn chair at the front gate. The meeting was to talk with the Queen and discuss a few things regarding their support with the Peace Corps. It was a simple agenda, but a flexible time to build on our relationship with the Swaziland government, Nkhosikati (Queen) specifically, and clarify Peace Corps Volunteer roles within the country. We waited for her arrival in a room with a giant chandelier dangling from the center which complimented with very clean white and gold furniture. As I waited for the court jester, her assistants supplied muffins, tea, biscuits, and cranberry juice. We all stood up to show respect and waited for her to sit before joining. She was wearing traditional attire including a fur around her waist. After greeting us, she began by telling us how tired she was from studying. She was really personable. It was so great. Sometimes we forget celebrities, political figures, and people of high positions are normal too. They aren’t plastic. They enjoy Fruity Pebbles as much as the next guy. They sleep through their alarm clocks. They have gas. She was a perfect example of being in a high influential position, but still having the personality of a next door neighbour. Eventually Jen and I explained what we have been doing in our communities and plans for the future. It’s like having lunch with the Swazi “Michelle Obama” in a way. The meeting was a success. We had plenty of time to talk with her and ask questions, Eileen was able to build on her relationship with the Inkhosikati, and we are now able to name drop when we are with our friends in the US. “That’s cool. You had a cheese sandwich for lunch? …Oh that reminds me of the time I had tea in the Palace with the Queen of Swaziland…” That should make me cool for at least 5 minutes.

Last week I came into my room at night and plopped a plastic bag on my bed. The plastic bag rustled. How did that happen? I ignored it and sat typing a report when I heard in the noise in the corner of the room. I grabbed the broom stick, stood on top of my bed, reached over, and smacked the blankets in the corner. Nothing. Hit it again. One last poke into the corner though to make sure, but not expecting anything. SQUEEK. SQUEEK. SCREAMING (me). A huge mouse sprinted towards my bed and hid underneath. I ran to the house and knocked forever until my brother (19 yrs old/senior in high school) came. He lifted my bed and there it was. Sfundo jumped and he said, “I thought you said it was small?!” Finally after going through everything of mine…including a bag of enemas…embarrassing…he found it and chased it into the room I was in smacking it with a broom stick.


The past two weeks have been interesting. There are 33 news ones representing all areas of the United States. I will be helping with their training a few times the next few months. Also, my village has been going through noticeable changes. My village was influenced by a missionary couple from Norway years ago. This is why it is known as New Haven. Every village around us and all over Swaziland has a SiSwati name (ours is Mbabane), but it is known for its English name now due to the English speaking Norwegians. They helped build a primary and high school as well as a clinic and a mission school later. The unfortunate thing is, the missionaries have left years ago and now you can see the effects of it within my community. The mission school used to provide a sports equipment and play volleyball with the kids. The seminary students sadly no longer have the resources or the leadership to continue that project. The mission school’s enrolment has been decreasing in number due to lack of interest to study in a rural area also. There is an interest to become pastors in Swaziland, but this seminary can’t compete as well as the ones constructed within more favourable areas. I decided to help and get connected with the pastors, especially because I am close to one of them. The principal at the school is great and is trying to begin installing the internet with the few computers they have available. We are trying to get a professor from America to help teach distance learning and ways to provide online courses. This may make their school more competitive. Secondly, they want me to start being involved with the students by teaching outreach courses and using my social work knowledge to teach counselling courses (possibly). I may start lecturing at the school, but if not I will do workshops with them. Starting next month I am doing a 2-3 day workshop with the pastors/student pastors/youth pastors in all of Southern Swaziland. I want to work with them on ways to teach HIV/AIDS to people in their sermons and how to begin support groups within their churches when people are infected. I’m nervous to lecture older educated people, but also excited to see what happens. Its great to train people who have high respect in the community and can affect large groups of people. The church is a great source.

I hope everyone is okay at home. I miss you all a lot. Please let me know what is going on with you and your families. If you ever want to call or write, please do! Happy 4th of July!

Meeting Aslan

Sorry! Its been a while since I blogged last. I'm glad you are still reading this after one year! Can you believe its been one year this month? What an adventure. :)

Emily came and went. Another volunteer came with me to Jo’burg to pick her up. I’ve never laughed so hard since I’ve been here. We had over sensory with all the 10 stores in the airport and posters of Gizelle and perfume. It was like America. We went to three restaurants while waiting for the flight. Coffee shops, smoothie places, and fast food. I felt fat and I didn’t even care. I felt American. And no one could take that away from me. We decided to take it easy on our third meal within a six hour span. While we ate Subway at the gate, we could not stop laughing. Maybe because the joy of seeing things that also exist in America were surrounding us, maybe because we were tired, or maybe because Africa stole our sanity...all I know is that while tears of laughter streamed down my cheeks, joy beamed from my face as I ate a meatball sub.

We then realized we had no actual reservations at the backpackers and didn’t have any idea how to get there, my friend drove us anyway and we were welcomed by a bunch of drunk guys at reception (including thee receptionist). After being creeped out by the other backpackers (lonely middle aged men...who looked like the were eager to see females), we were asked to share a room with them in a bunk bed dorm. We all opted to wear our shoes, go straight to bed, and cling to our cell phones.

It was so fun having her here. It was difficult to see her leave because she brought a piece of home with her and it made me happy and sad at the same time. It went so fast too. She basically saw all of Swaziland. We took a koombi for two hours towards Mozambique only to see the game park was closed. So we ate breakfast, took pictures of our food, and talked about cats with another volunteer. We played “family” at the cultural village with our tour group. Emily landed the 2nd Wife role. Kim Bartling would be proud. I, on the other hand, landed the role of “carrying people’s cameras and taking pictures of them participating“. Once Emily received her role and we began the tour, she looked at me in confusion and asked, “Do they always do this?!” I looked at her with a creepy smile and whispered, “Yes...and at the end the "2nd wife" has to make out with the tour guide before you can leave.” Well clearly I laugh at my own jokes drawing the tour guide’s attention (middle aged man wearing a furry loin cloth…) to us, so he asked Emily to come forward in the middle of his presentation and had the “grandma” discipline her in front of us for talking. Haha It was so weird.

We went to a game park which was AWESOME!! We saw lions this time! Not only one either. We saw two females and a male. We kept yelling, “Aslan!” but were the only ones amused by the joke. Sometimes the lion would come up to our jeep from behind and so in order to get a good picture Emily were climb the seats to the back. I would help by pushing her butt over the seats…to get her there faster. It was the best part of the Safari. The lions ROCKED.

Emily spent time with my brothers and held the new baby. The baby can support his own neck now…probably because no one else does. And eats sour porridge. I’m no pediatrician, but I know that's not right. 10 weeks and the kids feed the baby candy, radishes and once meat...until I intervened. I prefer to not use my expired CPR certification on “Mr. Potatoes“ due to a 5 yr old’s version of parenting skills. We call him “Emazambane” which in translation is Potatoes, because he’s bundled in blankets in a sack shape and is lumpy. Nothing like knocking the kid’s self esteem before the age of one. So Emily left and it was sad, but I was thankful to have even just a little time with a friend from home.

This past week was great. We celebrated being here for 1 year. Its crazy to think about. We had to select two girl volunteers to meet with Inkhosikati, the King's wife, next week for a lunch with other government officials and Peace Corps staff. My friend Jennifer was chosen because she is on VAC. Well, the stars aligned and my name was drawn from the hat representing PSN. I lucked out and hope I don’t act like an idiot in front of royalty. Its like meeting the Swazi “Michelle Obama“ and I'm like Barbara Walters. Talking with her, exchanging past adventures, and trying to get personal questions answered about the King like "What'
s his favorite pizza topping?" or "Does he have a court jesture? Is he looking for one?" and "...what would he make it wear?" :)

This month is my year anniversary. Now that all my meetings have seized and my large project is over, I’m left sitting in my hut wondering “What’s next?” On a good day I play soccer with the kids and visit the clinic, but as I kick a flat ball to one of my little brothers (who no longer thinks I‘m cool because I'm old news now) I wonder what God has in store for me here. Sure, there are moments I’m glad I didn’t miss. For example, watching cheap Chinese films dubbed into English with my host family and watch them sit in suspense as a Chinese ninja (aka A white guy with a black “Chinese“ mustache...the Chinese film couldn‘t even afford real Chinese people...that‘s when you know its bad.) prepares to do a back kick. So, yes, I do have moments I am happy I got to see that. There are special moments, but the other 23 hours of the day can be a struggle. I've been praying hard these past few days and I'm waiting to see what's next. I know there is a lot more work to be done in my community and I have hope that God will find a place for me again. I just need to be content with waiting for His answer of what's next and maybe all that means is being good to people until I know. Its in my heart, my attitude towards others, and being with the people around me fully. Showing God to others is a job in itself and a lot of work. Where is God leading me and what does he see as the need for New Haven?

“More often than not, God’s invitation to us to seize divine moments is found in the needs of ther peoples’s lives.” Pg 10

“We miss divine moments when we treat what we consider nominal influence as irrelevant. We must never underestimate te importance of the one moment, one word, one deed in the life of another human being.” pg 121

Chasing Daylight

The Lion Whisperers

I knew the Zambian trip would soon turn into an adventure from the moment I woke up that morning. Deja and I ran after our bus at 5:30am as it began to trudge down the road. Our bags slapping the sides of our bodies hoping to make it in time. Once we got there the Manzini bus rank was as welcoming as ever. Fellow passengers swearing at us and bus conductors trying to cheat us out of money. :) We finally arrived in the city of Jo’burg and where hospitality is still a work in progress. As we walked all over the surrounding streets of the bus rank to purchase bus tickets for Zambia the next morning, we met all kinds of characters. Whether it was taxi drivers charging us 70 rhand to go 4-5 blocks or community police wanting a soda for showing us where the buses were, the jo‘burg hospitality was undeniable. haha We arrived at the Zambia bus station only to find our luck had changed. The Zambians were a breath of fresh air. They helped us with our tickets, drove us back to the place to meet the driver from the hostile for free, and gave us contact information for their friends in Zambia who would show us around when we got there.

We sat on a two decker bus on the top level front row surrounded by windows to see the landscape the whole way there. It was awesome. We made friends with the Zambians behind us who told us about Zimbabwe and the problems they are facing. The South Africa/Zimbabwe border post was sad for me. We saw people taking in food and products from South Africa because Zimbabwe really has nothing to offer right now. Families crammed in the back of pickups with supplies piled high waiting to get through customs. Unfortuantly we passed through at night so there was little to see, but I had a heavy heart as we drove through that whole night thinking of the problems they are facing right now.

24 hours later we were there! Complete with sleep in an erect position and junk food cousine. That long of a bus ride may not seem fun to some, but there are perks to bus travel that you would not get on a plane. You really get to know the people. It’s an international bonding moment. I’ve never been on a plane that would pull over in the middle of the night to pop a squat on the Zimbawean pavement as the crescent moon sparkles above. Imagine the comradity of Zambian, South African, and American women together urinated behind the trailer brake lights at 2 am. Those are special moments. Those moments, my friend, are what Hallmark cards are made out of. We reached the Zambia/Zimbabwe border post the next morning! An elephant greeted us at the front gate and monkey (big ones with the gross butts) were everywhere. We knew we were in tourist land as we spotted shorts, white thighs, and fanny packs. We had to walk from Zimbabwe to the other side of the river. When you walk over the bridge to reach Zambia, you see Victoria Falls. It was the best wake up call ever. The sun was rising and the mist from the falls was spraying our faces. It was carzy cool.

We arrived at Jollyboys which was the best hostile ever. It had a pool (clean and had fountains), a huge sitting area full of people, a TV that repeatedly showed a video of Elijah Wood and Jack Osbourne doing all the activities Livestone area had to offer. They have a sweet relationship. Although the video was on silent, I would mouth the exact words they said. For example, Elijah when he saw Victoria Falls, “Wow. That’s amazing.” Brittany developed a celebrity crush on Mr. Wood and we wasted many minutes debating if Jack Osbourne should have a fan base. I think, yes.

We arrived early enough Thursday morning to have the whole day ahead of us. We grabbed a shuttle to the falls and ran through the bridge in our assorted colored ponchos. It was wonderful. Drenched head to toe, I haven’t felt that clean since the old days when I would shower once a day.

The next day we had the Lion Encounter. Basically you get a crash course on what NOT to do to a lion; like sneak up in front of it or make cat mating noises. But you aren’t taught the anatomy of a lion to determine if it’s a boy or girl…in my defense. Some may say the large size and long furry mane might give it away, but I’ve seen plenty of large women with facial hair. Looks can be deceiving, so when I asked the the guy holding the tranqulizer gun if the huge lion with a thick mane that I’m stroking is a girl or boy, I don’t think it’s a bad question. To some, not naming anyone specifically (Melissa, Deja, and Brittany), that would seem like a an bad question. When it comes to gender, I don’t assume. Just because a Swazi child has no hair and is wearing a blue G.I Joe shirt with pants, do we assume it is a boy? If I’ve learned anything here, the answer is no. So this rule is carried over to every species for me. We were initially introduced to our first batch of lions while they fought over a piece of meat. A guy with a stick grabbed one by the tail and pulled it away from the other. Then they said,”Alright, let’s go.” And forced the lions out of the feeding cage to walk with us. We each had a walking stick which was supposed to comfort us perhaps knowing we had a thin branch to keep us from being attacked. To me it looked like the toothpick the lions would use after devouring one of my appendages.

Saturday came fast and so did my anxiety. Melissa, our fearless skydriver, wanted to do some extreme thing while we were there. We all wanted to raft, but high water levels prevented us from doing so. Her next idea was falling off of something…a cliff, bridge, gorge, whatever would give a rush. She is crazy, but I somehow I ended up agreeing to go double on a Gorge Swing. What is the Gorge Swing? If you follow the gorge from the Victoria Falls down passed the 6th rapid or so, you will look up to find high above a wire from one side of the cliff to the next. In the middle of this long wire, center gorge, you will find another rope dangling down giving an appearance of a T shape. At the bottom of the T the end of the rope is then attached to a human being standing on the edge of the cliff. Last Saturday, that human being was me. Attached to my dear friend, Melissa. As they tied us to the rope and hog-tied our feet together, scenes from my childhood and future flashed through my mind. Is this the end for me? Is this how it happens? I back shuffled to the edge of the cliff with my comrade beside me. Shaking we both flipped backwards off the edge down into the gorge unsure if we just made a bad choice. After free falling down towards the trees and dried up river belong, our rope pulled and we began Tarzan-ing our behinds over the tree tops towards the other side of the gorge. It was amazing! If we could do it again, I might even open my eyes. And bring a clean pair of shorts.

Next in line was a trip to Zimbabwe. Melissa, Brittany, and I traveled across the border again to sneak a peak at the other side of the falls. This side was just as cool. No bridge, but you basically stand on the other side of the gorge facing the huge waterfall. The water falls so hard that once it hit’s the river below, it bounces back up to the edge of the cliff we were standing on. You also walk through rainbow after rainbow. It was beautiful and the water was warm. Later that night we left for the Zambian side of the falls. A lunar rainbow could be seen because it was a full moon. The moon gave enough light to reflect rainbows in the dark. Melissa and I ran through a bridge which was scarey and exhilarating all at the same time! Then we ran across the bridge again. The current changed the water so it was out of control and splashing over the bridge. A rainbow curved right over the bridge so we slid under it and used the moonlight to see where we were going. It was crazy!

Sunday morning Brittany and I woke up to go to Botswana. Brit and I spent the morning on land seeing all kinds of animals and had breakfast. Then in the afternoon the four of us from the hostile boarded a pontoon boat and went down the Thebe river bordering Namibia and Botswana. We saw alligators, Rhinos, Elephants, and more and just relaxed. We had lunch on the boat and sat chairs basking in the sun. It was a great way to end the trip.

We boarded the bus that night. Brit and I were separated. Before we got on I said, “Watch, I’ll probably sit next to a very large woman who breaths heavy and takes up my seat while sleeping on me…” Well, the stars aligned that night because her name was Lindy from Pretoria and her description matched my nightmare. I sat for 20 hours on the corner of my seat because Lindy slept on my half as well. She was sweet though and shared her snacks.

The trip overall was a success. We saw everything. The only thing is apparently gold gladiator sandles aren’t considered a hiking shoe. I wish someone would have told me that.

Zambian Elephant Mask

Hey Guys! I'm in Zambia! Its been great. We went to Victoria Falls on Wednesday and we walked with lion yesterday morning. Its been amazing. We are going to Zimbabwe today ag ain to hang out and Botswana Sunday. The culture and poltical issues are so different in each place so it really has bee an amazing trip. I'm going to jump the gorge at Victoria Falls today. I'm so scared , but they tie you up and you drop about 55 meters.

I will talk to you guys soon again. One last embarrassing s to ry: I wen t to a tourist shop near my hostile with two other volunteers. I found t his elephant mask with a bunch of strings on it. I wore it around the store and would creep on my friends while they shopped. One said finally, "Why do you have a male thong on your face?" SAY WHAT??? Oops. I guess it wasn't a mask after all and explains a lot of the faces other customers were g i ving me as I walked around the store with my face hiding behind it. :) We'll talk soon. To be continued.

Lunch with Miss Swaziland

Hey everyone! I am in town so I thought I would blog for you quick! I didn't end up going to Zambia over Easter. Rooms were booked. Apparently its a good idea to reserve in advance over holiday weekends. :) Who would have thought? A lady was gone for the weekend who lives in town and works for a nongovernment agency, so she invited me and my friend Deja to take care of her dogs (and her television) this weekend. It was great and relaxing. All the volunteers in the country were gone pretty much to vacation spots around South Africa and I was watching Lady Gaga videos and eating grilled cheese. Life was good.

Its been a random week for me. They may not surprise any of you, but it was random even for me. A dog ate my phone and now looks really classy with duck tape covering its underbelly and bite marks all over the sides. I've had medical problems. Nothing serious. Concerning my bowels...and thats as much as you need to know. Peace Corps wanted to get blood tests and ultra sounds to see if I had an alien in my intestines or something (because thats what it felt like), but everything turned out groovy. Nothing a little fiber and prunes couldn't solve. The peace corps driver brought me to the clinic and waited in the car. I always play around with him. He's a 40 yr. Swazi man that smiles all the time. When I came to the car after my appointment I said, "Bongani, I've got some good news and I've got some bad news..." (My friend, Jantina, would always do this.) He looked concerned, so I continued, "Good news is...I'm going to make it. Doc said its just a little gas." He shook his head and stayed quiet anticipating the bad news. "Bad news is...I have...a tail." Bongani's eyes got so big. It was quiet for about 20 seconds. I couldn't hold it in. I busted a gut laughing at my own joke and then had to tell him I was kidding through the tears of laughter. He was so concerned and said, "Oh Jaclyn, I was scared." He's such a good man. haha Oh Bongani.

Anyways, we are getting ready for next weekend (25th). Our beauty pageant is coming. Alexis, the other volunteer helping, is working hard and in town doing publicity a lot. I'm on the phone talking to people who we are trying to confirm they will show up for the health fair to give free services for the community in the morning. I'm going to take pictures of the pageant, so everyone who donated dresses can see what dress was worn by the girls! So fun. We also confirmed both Mr. Swaziland AND Miss Swaziland (who just got back from Miss World pageant in J'burg, South Africa) are going to be judges! I went for lunch with Miss Swaziland Wednesday and it was so fun. We talked about business first and then I started asking about all the Miss World contestants. She was so honest with me and Alexis. We were asking if Russia was cold and if the French girls shaved their pits. It was so fun. We're running out of time and everything is getting crazy, so please keep us in your prayers. Who knows what's going to happen. I've never planned something in this type of capacity before, so while it is exciting...I'm still nervous. I hope the girls don't kill each other. Jaclyn will NOT be have any divas. I'm going to brind a tranqulizer gun to prove it. :) One cat fight and...BAM! Miss Sandleni Inkhundla is comotose for 4-5 hrs.

Miss you guys. Don't forget to write or call!

We are now hoping to join forces with World Vision in my area to do a HIV testing unit during the pageant, so I’ve been talking to my friend, Musa, who is in charge of the HIV awareness section of the organization. I’m working with another volunteer and it’s a lot of fun to collaborate our ideas. We are going to have a health fair at the same time as the pageant, so its just another way to affect as many people as possible. They will come to watch, but also get the opportunity to test and we’ll even have the mom’s selling their food and jewelry at the event. Now although it’s a well thought out idea on paper, there is A LOT of work to be done. I was just going to assist and help wherever needed, but I'm seeing the Youth Association in my area stuggling to the point that its 2 1/2 weeks away and they don't even have judges or money for prizes. It's been an adventure and now they've desperately asked for my help full on, so this steam boat's got a new engineer in town. I'm trying to teach them as I do things, so they can take notes and be able to do this more independently next year. As you might have guessed its taking 2x the amount of time. We have a fundraiser this weekend. In two weekends we are doing an HIV/AIDS workshop with all 14 girls and the following weekend is the pageant and World Vision health fair. Pray for a miracle. People think I can prefrom miracles simply because I'm American and white sadly. Little do they know I have no idea what I'm doing.

I'm going to Victoria Falls on Monday. We are taking a bus from Jo'burg through Botswana and up to Zambia/Zimbabwe border. Its one of the 7 wonders of the world. I really don't know any of them except the pyramids. It takes about 1 1/2 days to drive there through the night. I've heard horror stories that they don't stop to go to the bathroom. I might put in a catheter before I go. :) Just kidding. Too expensive. Big kid diapers will be just fine. Apparently you can bungee jump off the bridge (the highest in the world)! Heck, It'll probably be best wearing diapers the whole trip the way it looks.

Finally, my aunt just had her baby. It was a boy. I've been holding him all the time and keep whispering my name to him so that his first word will be "Jaci". I can't wait. It keeps the time going by fast. April will be full of crowns, crying teenagers, babysitting the new baby, and Zambian adventures. May will come fast and that means so will my friend Emily who is visiting! I'm soooo excited. Love you guys. Stay well.

What's your favorite sausage?

My parents came this week with my sister, Angi, and my cousin, Janna. I met them at the airport. Little did I know, when I asked for 14 prom dresses for my youth pageant...I would get 50. I'm not complaining though. You can never have enough crushed velvet and puffy sleeves. haha Thanks to everyone who donated. I'll take pictures of the girls wearing them so you can see your dresses on them! Fun! They'll be so excited. So since there were so many dresses, we had to take a taxi just take the luggage all the way to the south part of the country. My sister had to drive the rent-a-car on the left side of the road. Although my buttcheeks were constantly being clenched tightly in fear of crashing and all of us stressing at each other everytime we bottomed out in potholes (or drove 4km with the red light on because we forgot to push down the emergency brake), nothing could ruin the trip. Not even the smell of the clutch burning out.

We went to see my family the first night, stayed at the animal park reserve the second, at last night enjoyed the comforts of a B&B. We drove all over Swaziland with the suitcases hog-tied to the trunk. I've never felt like such a hillbilly in all my life. I felt like all we needed was a few more loose teeth and a grandma in a rocking chair of the hood of are car to engage the perfect moment. Just picture taking speed bumps in a small European car packed full of tourists and luggage roped to the back of the car. :) Well if attention is what we wanted, we definately got it. So much for not looking like tourists. I guess its hard to hide when 3 out of the 4 people visiting me are wearing fanny packs. haha I wish I were kidding. I caught myself thinking, "Yes, this is really happening. A Hummer or truck would be appropriate through the bush, but my family is offroading in a small euro car with a maximum baggage capacity 3 suitcases." It was awesome.

I brought them to my clinic to meet people I work with. They went shopping in the markets. We ventured through the vast 10,000 acres of rhino poop. We're attacked by elephants from all angles of our jeep and played "chicken" with a giraffe who refused to share the road with us. It was fun. We ate mangoes, lamb, and ampala stew and watched half naked men do traditional dances while we tried to keep the monkeys from stealing our stuff.

I was sad when they had to leave, but I'm finding myself encouraged. It was a nice break and showing them what I'm doing and speaking SiSwati for them was a good confirmation that I have been working here in ways that I might not know. I stayed at a hostile friday and saturday to prepare myself to go back to my site. First night was with my friend, Lisa, but last night I had to go alone. God totally provided though because although my agenda was to cry the whole night since everyone was gone haha, I found another volunteer there that I didn't know very well and we had time to talk. He taught me a card game and we watched music videos. I then met some guys from Germany traveling with there one Swazi friend. They are students at a university in South Africa this semester and are traveling. One asked me to come with them to get some supper. Usually I would decline especially because I could picture uncomfortable silence and wanting to go home, but being stuck wherever they took me, BUT although I just got ready for bed and showered I felt like it could be fun. I decided to go. Alone. With five German guys my age and one Swazi girl I had just met. It ended up being really cool. We went to supper and all talked. I finally hung out with people that, for the most part, got my jokes. One "cricket" moment was when they were telling me who was sharing dorms at the university. I said, "Aww...that's cute. You guys can have pillow fights before bed and talk about girls before you go to sleep." They seemed really confused, so I changed the subject quickly. They did like my joke about wanting to fit in and that's why I ordered the same peach iced tea as everyone else. There was this one guy who kept asking me random questions. In the states we would call him a "nontraditional student". He's so nice and had lots of political questions. We were all asking questions about our favorite things. It was quiet at the table and he looked at me and asked, "What's your favorite type of sausage?" To a german, maybe not so random. To me...well. haha Everyone busted a gut and I just looked at him and said, "Sebastian, that's a personal question." We made jokes about it the rest of the night. It ended up being a fun night. We actually ran over a stop sign on accident, but they just laughed and continued so I didn't want to be the responsible one. Maybe we should have left a note? We went to a club dancing after and than a few of us stayed up until 5:30am talking about books, Americans, traveling, etc. It was cool. God is hilarious. Who would have thought I would ever be in a situation like that. Me, one Swazi girl, and five crazy German guys. I am a magnet for random things. And I don't hate it.

Labor Pains

This is my 9th month away from home! That's long enough to have a child! Its time to see someone from home that can remotivate me. :) I'm so excited because thankfully the Schaap family will be birthed tomorrow morning from the Matsapha Airport.

I've been preparing for my girl's empowerment pageant the past week! We are now hoping to join forces with World Vision in my area, so I’ve been talking to my friend, Musa, who is in charge of the HIV awareness section of the organization. They will come to watch the pageant, but also get the opportunity to test and we’ll even have the mom’s selling their food and jewelry at the event. We'll see how it goes. We keep getting road blocks, but no matter what, I’m glad we are doing it. If anything, we’ve been able to work with the Youth Association in my area and get them excited about something. I also feel like I am finally doing my job. haha

My aunt and I bandaged up my sisi’s son. His hands were terrible. She was boiling a shicken to remove the feathers and he fell into the pot. He’s only three years old. Guess when someone came to me for help?? 2-3 days after it happened...and what was that day? Friday. The clinic isn’t open again til Monday where we can get supplies. We used my stuff which I don’t mind using, but I only was given enough for one time use. The elastic band was too long so I cut it up like Mac Gyver and used what I had. I made a sling out of buttons and toothpicks and a resperator out of a water balloon. Just kidding, but he was bandaged up quite nicely. Poor little guy was running around with no use of his arms. Its kinda funny to watch him run around playing with the other kids because he looked like he tied two giant Q Tips to his arms. I question if the poor little guy has HIV. His immune system isn’t very good. He's always sick. This time green wax was coming from his ears. Now, I don't have my PhD, but I'm pretty sure...that’s not right. I gave him drops and washed out his ears. Now the "walking Q tip" was running around with the other kids with white balls hanging out of his ears too. Poor little guy! The other little kids would call him and he wouldn't know where to look because he couldn't hear through the cotton balls. haha Thobile loved using my medical supplies. She acted like she was about to go do an open heart surgery. I played along though and only interrupted when I thought someone's life was in danger...so only about 3 or 4 times. After Thobile was finished playing Doogie Howzer, we let the kid join the others. :) Later I found Ncamgile’s son playing like he didn’t even know he had no use of his hands. I was happy to see he wasn’t in a lot of pain. :)All in a day's work.

All I know is I CAN’T WAIT another second until my family comes. :) They complete me. So do my friends at home. I know I need to focus on the now, but my mind often wonders to the excitement of when I'll reunite with everyone. :) Miss you guys and love you more. Keep livin' the dream.

Hey everyone! What’s new? I haven’t been able to blog for some time! I’m excited to give you a little bit of a run down of what’s going on:

My mom, dad, sister (Angi), and cousin (Janna) are coming to see me in about 2 weeks! I can’t even begin to explain how happy I am. I’m hoping to show them the area I live in, sleep in my room the first night, go to a game park the second night to see the animals, and go into the capital the last night. They’ll get to pop a squat in my pit latrine, meet Loyd my lizard, and maybe fetch my water. :)

I’m busy with a youth empowerment competition that we‘re preparing for April. I’m helping my community do a girl empowerment pageant, but there’s a lot to be done. Thanks to people at home who donated dresses. That is so helpful and the girls will love it. World Vision is helping us and donating a tent. I’m still teaching on Saturdays life skills class to the youth in a church near me. I spent Valentine’s Day teaching them. Most people get roses and chocolates and I get questions from high school kids whether Tupac Shakur is still alive. I’m livin’ the dream. I’m trying to help my school get a library, so I’ve been having meetings with the school committee. It sounds like I’m busy, but don’t get ahead of yourself, my days are still full of countless hours staring at the wall, combining leftover ingredients together to see what it tastes like, and reading a May ‘08 People magazine. Does anyone want to know about the cast of Gossip Girl, including favorite food and corky habits? I, unfortunately, can tell you.

Bat attack #3 last night. I sleep in fear everyday. I had to knock on my bhuti’s window last night to help kill it. Bhuti (pronounced like booty) is SiSwati for brother. I know, so many jokes with that name. So of course I take advantage of that word as much as possible. Sometimes when my brother calls me I say to whoever I’m with, “I’m sorry. I have to take this. It’s a bhuti call.” Although half the time my audience doesn’t understand the joke, I still say it because it gives me some sort of personal satisfaction that it could be funny. Anyways, sometimes I sleep with a candle next to me to scare away any nocturnal creatures. Dangerous? Maybe, but my beauty sleep is more important. You can’t look this good without taking risks.

Finally, I met some missionaries from South Africa last week. They are from Capetown and live in a church about 1 hr walk from my bus station. They drove me back to my place after. They wanted to see where I lived, so I showed them my room. They were so impressed with my siSwati. It made me feel good because I think its terrible. After, they turned to me and asked, “Do you have plans today?” I told them nope. They said, “Can we take you to eNhlangano for lunch?” I was stunned. Even more stunned they were going to drive me to a town just for lunch! If volunteers go to town, we’re going because we need to survive! We stock up on food and supplies to take back like we’re packing to set out on the Oregon Trail. We jumped in their nice truck and they drove me all the way there. Normally by public transport it takes me 2 1/2hrs. This time it took us less than 1hr in their car! When we got there they said, “Tell me what you want. I‘m buying.” What?!? I was having so much luck! I tried to reason with them and decline the offer, but they insisted so they paid for my meal! YATZEE! I won the jackpot! The motherload! These missionaries were so kind! Soon I had KFC all over my face. I was eating it like someone was going to take it from me. I had to look up at them, take it easy for a bit so I didn’t look uncivilized or choke, and then I started chomping down again. I barely said a word until the last salty extremely unhealthy french fry was consumed. Just the site of the chicken sandwich could have made me cry and/or get emotional, but that wouldn’t put it in my stomach any faster, so I just skipped the tears and went at it. I think I bruised my teeth shoving it in. Today Santa Claus was in town and he seemingly brought a bag with my name on it, including a #11 chicken meal from KFC. After eating I was so full. They wanted to stop at the grocery store to get dessert for the rode. The older lady came to me with a bar of chocolate after we checked out. They bought me more stuff! I thanked them for everything. It was a great day. I was blessed with new friends. And well fed that day. Just ask my thighs.

I love getting your letters and packages. It keeps home closer and I can't thank you guys enough for everything. Take care of yourselves and let me know if there is anything you need in Africa. :)

“Use me God. Show me how to take who I am, who I want to be, and what I can do, and use it for a purpose greater than myself.” Martin Luther King Jr.

Hey everyone! I'm in town for a trimester report, so I thought I'd write you quick. I haven't been able to communicate with people from home because of Skype issues, but I hope you all perservere and we are soon reconnected! I've been cut off cold turkey. I've got the shakes.

I miss everyone. Its been seven months now. Can you believe it? Seven months of driving on the laft side of the road, being proposed to on public transportation, and taking mid night stolls to the outhouse. Last night I sat in the main house with my family in a rain storm. It was kinda lonely in my hut, so I decided to get out and join the others. The adults played card games while the kids were getting ready for bed. One is about 7 and is a boy. He is naughty! He’s the one that flung my underwear that was drying on the fence all over the yard with a stick! It took me all day to wash my clothes at the river, so I was mad. I chased him as he screamed bloody murder, grabbed the lil fart, flung him over my shoulder, and rubbed those now muddy undergarments all over his face. He screamed! Haha I snapped. Little boys here think that if you touch a females underwear you’ll turn into a girl. Thus the reason my laundry was flung with a stick rather than a bare hand. haha But I understand, I don't want to be responsible for a sex change. Its all fun and games until someone turns into a woman. Anyways, he never touched my laundry again. Last night though, him and his also naughty little sister were in the room with us. My overprotective grandma was passed out on a cushion, but randomly would wake up in a panic and ask in SiSwati, “ Where is Sihle?!” Maybe thinking I was outside in the thunder storm? I'm white, grandma. Not an idiot. haha Although I wanted to say, “Last time I saw her she wrapped herself in tinfoil and was playing with a lightening rod…“ but I can’t say that in SiSwati, so I just looked up from my book and responded, “ I’m right here, gogo.” :) She just fell back over and continued sleeping. :) As the night went on, no one could leave to go to their rooms because the lightening and rain were still going strong. I sat quietly in my chair reading when the little girl crawled up into my lap. Its so difficult because language prevents us from talking a lot, but that night it was easier to play with them. The little girl crawled up, gave me a hug and kiss on my cheek and fell asleep like that. Her little shaved head was laying on my chest with her arms wrapped around me. It was so sweet. Her 7 yr. old brother did the same, crawled up to the space next to me, laid his head against my shoulder, and held my hand until he was asleep. It was such a surprise. The kids aren't scared of me anymore! I’ve been missing my nieces and nephews a lot lately, so it was nice to be with the kids.

Well, some news from my hut is that my gas stove ran out of propane this week and I’m about a 2 hour drive from any town that can give me affordable groceries or fill up my tank. My personal staple food is popcorn and without a stove, I’m finding it difficult to survive. :) I bought a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter to get me through the rest of the week at a small sitolo (store) within walking distance from my home. Yesterday I decided I couldn’t choke down another sticky PB mess. I found a packet of tuna that was sent to me from my mom and a can of corn (not sent from mom haha). Mixed it together, put it on some bread and Tah Dah…a Corn Tuna Sandwich. I’m living in a bachelor pad dream! Holla! I was saving it for a special occasion. Like starvation or PB overload. If I’m hungry enough, I’ll eat about anything I’m realizing. I’m like man vs. wild. I eat what I want, when I want and answer to nobody. :) Just livin the dream. One can of corn at a time.

So it looks like I will be living off of bread and crystal light packets until I get a chance to go to town to refill the tank. Can you imagine taking dry calcium tablets without some sort of flavored water? Me neither and quite frankly, I don’t want to. Thank you so much to the people who have sent them to me because they take water to a whole new level. For real, they are great. I like to think of them as the handy work of God. It even got me thinking, yes, God created water within the first few days of creation and it was good, but I think he realized after the seventh day of drinking plain H2O that the water could taste even better. And that’s when, my friend, He invented crystal light packets. What if crystal light packets have been around longer than what we thought? For example, the time Jesus turned water into wine. Was it a quick dump of the sweet artificial taste of a raspberry ice crystal light packet? He is perfectly capable of miracles, but I also like to think of him as resourceful. So thanks to all who’ve sent them to me. Miss you all and hope everything at home is going well. :) Let me know whats going on if you have time. :)

Chester the Cheeseman

It was my birthday yesterday and on top of missing out on holidays with my friends and family last month, I have to admit I wasn’t a little scared I was going to be lonely. The craziest thing happened though, the staff in the capital called for a meeting on my birthday last week at the last moment, so a bunch of volunteers and I had to stay overnight the night before and after my birthday! I was so thankful. I wasn’t in my hut alone. The group ordered pizza for me and one of the volunteers made a cake for me too. They found candles and gave me small gifts that they could afford. My friend Jason bought me a guitar pic, my other friends bought me food, and made me a card. I think because we all know its hard being away from home, especially on holidays, birthdays, and funerals, that we all try our hardest to help each other on those days. I miss my parents and my sisters and nieces ad nephews. I miss my relatives and all my best friends at home, but I was really grateful that the other volunteers tried hard all day…all week actually, just to make me feel special. They were really nice. To end the day, I talked to Melinda on her lunch break from teaching the kindergarteners. It was good to hear from home.  Hong also came last week to my site to wish me a happy birthday. We watched Transformers on my laptop like 2 teenage boys. I stumbled across the bootlegged copy in the office last week and I’m glad I had someone to watch it with. Making funny commentary isn’t the same when you do it alone. Especially when its about robots. Its just sad. Originally I wouldn’t have even had the desire to watch it, but I cut out a quote from Megan Fox in an old People magazine I received. She said, “My dressing room on the set of Transformers always smells like farts and I have no idea why.” What?! A) Why would I cut that quote out? And 2) Why would that make me want to see that movie? Really though, is it so weird to want to see a movie that could take me back to my childhood? Transformers were big around my time. Its the most random quote, but I have it on my bulletin board because for some weird reason fart jokes still apply to me. Just like Rainbow Bright, personal pan pizzas, and Gak. It brings me to a time when life was simpler with Pepe logo t-shirts and Unionbay jeans. Plus, I figure if someone can say a quote like that and have it published in People magazine, than she deserves someone to watch her movie. I was entertained.

Last Saturday I had my first Life Skills group meeting. The “kids” in the group ranged from 13-18yrs old. I was excited to start this group! Finally, my first big project with the youth in my community! I was hoping to use this youth group to turn them into peer educators for the community. There size can range up to 30 members (depending on the activity)! Today, I had 8 members. Well, Rome wasn’t built in a day… I was so excited about the possibilities of this group though and have already started thinking of field trips and stuff I could do with them. You know, at one time I thought about being a teacher back in the US. This class brought that feeling back to me. I’d take a group of class clowns and/or juvenile delinquents and show them this hard knock life isn’t so bad after all. I’d wear a leather jacket and sunglasses. Coolio’s “Gangster’s Paradise” would echo behind me as I entered every room. I’d slam the curriculum on the front desk and the room would stand still for a bit. Every eye on me awaiting my next move. I would then sit on the desk (not chair because cool teachers don‘t do that) and whip my aviators off. Maybe even a helmet would be cool too because it would give off the impression that I had a Harley. 5 more cool points. This prop wouldn’t be believable in Swaziland though because its against PC policy to operate a motorized vehicle, so in this case I would whip off a pink huffy bike helmet. My blonde locks would fall out and where as before they would have thought maybe I was a dude, but now votes were in and…I am not. Depending how engaged the class was I would break the silence by crushing a piece of chalk under my black steel toed army boot to give off the impression that “playtime is over…chicos.” After entertaining this idea for a few hours I realized I possess no classroom management skills…or leather jacket for that matter, so I always come back to this: what works for Michelle Phieffer may not work for me. Its been something that I’ve always had difficulty grasping. The group was small this time, but they seemed to like it. I was invited back this week to teach again, but I already am working with a support group for kids dealing with HIV. I hope for the best with that group though. It just gives me another reason to be here. And on top of that, more relationships to build on.

Lastly, I have a rat living in my room. I call him Chester the Cheeseman. I hate bats, but rats are like bats with wings so hopefully you understand my fear. I’ve been wearing shoes to bed because it makes me feel safer. It comes out at night while I sleep. In the daytime it hides. I talk smack to the rat (somewhere in my room) during the day. Mostly things like, “Your not so tough when Mr. Sunshine is around, are ya Rat!” or things like, “You make me sick…“ and I threw in some slams against his mamma hoping he would come out and fight like a man, but nothing. So tonight I wait to see if he comes out again. I don’t want Cholera. I’m going to be honest. Plus, no one’s ever given me rabies on my birthday before. Oh yeah. Sorry Jantina, I mean…no one’s given me a BAD case of rabies on my birthday before.

Miss you guys. Love ya.