Hi everyone! Its been a while! I was busy with some things and I had my birthday. It was so fun. We hiked in the Malalotja moutntains. There were waterfalls and wildlife everywhere we walked. At one time a herd of Zebras came near us, so we chased them trying to see if we could ride them. They are so beautiful, but not stupid. They ran away and we were left in their dust and short of breath. We set up tents and roasted marshmellows over a fire we built. It was a great brithday and a lot of the volunteers ended up going in on the fun. Besides that, I thought I should catch you up on just a few things that have been happening in my community and in general. :) These are just a few highlights since I talked to you all last:
I got a package from the 2nd graders at South O’Brien School district. My niece and her classmates wrote me letters and made cards. They asked lots of questions about if "I’ve ever been pushed off a cliff or kidnapped..." I would have liked to not clear that rumor because it makes me look way cool, but I had to reply no in order to avoid putting a fear of traveling in any of those stinkers. It did, however, spark some ideas for a project. I decided to start working with the seniors in high school by teaching English class. I used to teach English, but I feel like it’s been so long that although I’m excited, I’m also a little nervous. I want to do a writing project though for the students to work on grammar and English writing skills. I’ve contacted some teachers from home, so I am going to partner with my past English teacher when I went to MOC/FV, Mrs. Weise, for a pen pal project! I will answer and correct grammar questions while my students get to ask all sorts of questions from high school students in the USA. They are so excited to get started. Me too. :) Funny how that works. Cross your fingers they listen to me. Haha Some seniors here are in their early 20’s and around my age. This may make it distracting during class, butthey need to listen because if you don’t pass English, you don’t graduate. A harsh reality for these kids when they don't get to practice it with people very often. I’m hoping to help out by giving the teachers some ideas and start listening comprehension this week to prepare them for their final exams this fall.
My host family aunt came to me and randlomly asked me what it means to be a “Cinderella”. I love these cultural exchanges. My counterpart asks me what Chris Brown is like and how often I get to see him. I asked her if she knew the story, but she didn’t so I find myself playing story teller. I couldn't help put crack up sometimes as my almost 30 year old aunt’s eyes widened when I told her what happened to Cinderella. She acted like I was talking about my friend and was getting really involved with the story. She kept asking me questions like, “…so then what did she say when the step sister did that?” It was wonderful. Soon I found myself speaking on behalf of Cinderella, “Well, what would you say to someone who ripped apart the dress you and your animal friends had been making all night?! She felt betrayed, Thobile. She cried.” Haha Sometimes I would laugh. Last week I found a volunteer with a copy of the movie Cinderella, so I brought it home and surprised my family. They really liked it. I love this family I live with and the things they teach me and what I get to teach them in return. I taught my sister about the Milky Way last night...what little I know about it the milky way. My grandma and little brothers loved the fact that pigs roll in the mud because they can’t sweat too. No one in America has ever been excited when I tried to talk about that? haha
I've opened up a movie theater in my room every other night. All the kids in the area (mostly from my homestead) come in after they've bathed and are ready for bed and sit on my grass mat while I start a movie on my laptop. They knock on my door in excitement once the sunsets after they race to see who gets the bucket to bathe first. I begin when the first 5 arrive. It’s so funny. One by one they knock (I’m teaching them to knock and use "please" and "thank you"). I ask, “Have you bathed? (check their feet) Did you brush your teeth? (they do a cheesey smile) Ok, you may enter.” I feel like a pre school bouncer. If they come in without knocking, I ask them to go outside and try again. Haha They really like the movie Dark Knight which I thought would be too scarey, but its a movie you don't need to hear the words so much to see who is good and who is bad. Sometimes I pop them popcorn which defeats the purpose of brushing their teeth, but they love it and are so cute I can’t help it. I’m a pushover. I gotta work on that before I have my own children. As for now, that's something I have to live with. :)
I wrote up a nomination for my counterpart in the community to get an award for his work with HIV/AIDS education. He volunteers everyday and is constantly working with the youth to teach them how to protect themselves and get involved with projects. Last week I received a package from Washington D.C. that had a framed certificate and thank you letter from the senior management of Peace Corps to my friend, Jabulani! I delivered it to him while he was sitting and talking to all his friends at the bus station near his home. He was so embarrassed yet so excited that every day since he sends me a text message to say thanks. He is such a good guy and works so hard volunteering his days without pay to reach the youth, so it was so great that he was chosen for the award. I'm glad his hard work was recognized.
My friend, Erin Freml, came to visit me! She is a Peace Corps Mozambique volunteer from Iowa. I met her before I came to Swaziland and so she decided to meet me in on her break to see my site. It was so fun to have someone from home around. We went hiking, washed laundry together at my river, she went to my meetings, and I took her on a game drive to look at the animals. To save on money, we brought a tent. Three other girls came too. We roasted hotdogs, but our curiosity got the best of us during our stay in the wild. This large elephant kept coming close to us and the tent all night. Although there was one electric wire around the plot of land we were staying on, the elephants liked to come close and eat from the trees around our tent spot. We grabbed our hotdogs in one hand and cameras in the other and snuck up close the large animal. It was eating and I wanted to get a photo of Erin eating next to it with her hotdog...naturally. A few times the elephant warned us it knew we were there, was getting annoyed, and flapped its ears. We tried to respect it and back away, but we somehow would magnetically get pulled closer to its huge mass. Finally the last picture I tried to take, the elephant through a fit. It through its trunk in the air, stomped its feet, and charged all of us. Erin and I broke off from the rest of the group while running away and hid behind an old shed. Although we felt bad for scaring it, we couldn’t help but laugh hysterically from our brief moment with death. All because we wanted a picture of us eating a hotdog in front of the elephant. Maybe it was not the smartest thing and in hindsight I feel bad for scaring the poor animal, but it was an experience I'll never forget and his vengeance was a success as each of us returned to the tent to find a clean pair of shorts.
Lastly, we have begun the roofing for the teacher's at the Primary School! I will take photos and keep all of you updated on what is happening! Thank you so much for those who helped and I will let you all know about the progress. Soon the teachers will have a place to sleep! The parents are all volunteering on Tuesday to learn how to do the cement work and lay more bricks.
I hope you are all doing well. I know you are keeping busy with everything at home so thanks for checking up on me. Also, Thanks to Helen and Owen Kleinwolterink for a really great package I just got a few weeks ago! Please let me know if anyone needs me to do anything for you while I'm here. Maybe you want me to bring you back a zebra or something. I look forward to hearing about life in the US and how the winter is treating you. Miss you all lots and lots. Talk to you soon. Be blessed, friends. :)
