I bless the rains down in AFRICA

Wow... what can I say? I've now been in AFRICA for officially a week now. AfRiCa. I still can't believe that I'm here.

So let me bring y'all up to speed. I arrived at the airport in Johannesburg last Sunday (3/20) around 7 AM in the morning. Although my destination in Swaziland was only about 4 hours away, this is AFRICA and I had to wait until 2 PM for the minibus to pick me up. It's not a busy destination and there is only one shuttle a day. I found a nice little cafe in the airport and settled in for some good ol' fashion interneting until about noon when I ventured out to find some lunch. I found a joint called Spur (think Texas) and quickly decided on a cheeseburger... you can imagine how I was feeling after two weeks of my new vegetarian lifestyle. I asked for a napkin which caused a frenzy because they don't have napkins in AFRICA... they have servettes.

Around 2 PM I found my bus, and I was on my way... joining me was a lovely lady from Uganda, and another woman and young girl who didn't say too much. (The woman from Uganda, Esther, contacted me mid-week and is now trying to get a position at my new company.) En route we watched the Bucket List and one of those Big Momma movies and before you know it we arrived in Mbabane. Let me just add that I was on quite a high all morning as I tried to absorb as much South Africa as possible... but the drive was BORING. It was relatively flat, orange, with the occasional green and I was starting to get some cold feet... not to mention it didn't seem like anyone lived in these here parts. At the border, we waited in a line in South Africa and then another line in Swaziland. It was unexpectedly cold and I thought "I'm going to love AFRICA" because basically I can't take the heat which might sound ridiculous since I decided to move to AFRICA.

Christy picked me up at the bus station (or gas station as I like to call it) around 6 PM and it was another surreal moment. I think what I was thinking at the time was probably something like "Fuck, this is really happening." Christy took me to Quartermain's for dinner in Ezulwini (my new home) and I order the prawns. Yes, folks... prawns. We did some work gossiping and she did her best to give me the unofficial down low before my first day of work the next day. She drove me to my new temporary home... the lodge (i.e. hostel) and I couldn't wait to see my private room! ... which turned out to have three bunk beds and 4 other people living in it. There were people all over the place and it was not the calm oasis I had pictured in my mind. Turns out it was a South African holiday and it was party time for the youngsters... I was tired and wondering if I had mad the right decision. Which I suppose is what you do when you're tired.

(As I type this blog, one of the volunteers found me in my tent to handle a dispute... the kitchen was painted today and there was a communication issue and now no dinner!)

On that note... let me wrap up week #1 for you!

Apparently, it is HOT in AFRICA. Swaziland is divided into three areas a cooler region in the higher elevation (i.e. the border), the middle temperate zone where I live, and the tropical zone near Mozambique. We are heading out of Summer, but apparently Ezulwini was unseasonably warm this week... which basically means I did a lot of sweating. I heard rumors that it reached 40 degrees celsius, but to me it felt like a hot summer day in Boston without air conditioning. You may be thinking "no big deal" but I dare you to pick the hottest week in Boston and give it a go. I've been nervous about the heat, but I was expecting worse so I do feel victorious. The only problem is that it's hard to work for about four of the hottest hours of the day when all you can think is "OMG, I am so hot... can they see my pit stains? AFRICA is hot!"

Unfortunately... what comes with adjusting to heat is majuh cankles... and this was a new one for me. After day #4 they got so big it actually hurt to move them... which also made it hard to walk. The good news is that you can go to your local pharmacy and get water pills without a prescription. And other pills as well.

The beginning of the week was very overwhelming as I was adjusting to the heat, jet lag, and weird Swazi names. I am the manager over the entire volunteer program and it's really embarrassing when you can't remember if you met someone already, what their name is, and if they are reporting into you. I'm trying to think of weird tricks to remember the names of our staff, and one of the coordinator's names rhymes with No-sleep-oh. I have been very pleased with the staff so far... it's very laid back and [for the most part] everyone seems great to work with. We are dealing with one issue where one of the staff members got drunk and totaled the car of another staff member. Did I mention my manager is a total hotty? (note to self: do NOT share this blog link with anyone in AFRICA)

On the first day Christy drove me out to a few of the local volunteer sites. We went to the Ezulwini NCP and were greeted by about 15 or so orphaned children. They called me teacher and immediately started jumping all over me. I quickly realized that if you pick up one of them, you have to pick up all of them. Also, they like to roll around in the dirt for fun (silly kids!) before you pick them up. I jest, but it was truly a special and eye opening experience. Sadly, I've heard that a majority of the orphans are infected with HIV.

We have four sites currently (Swaziland, Cape Town, Botswana and Mozambique) and right now there are about 15 volunteers in the Swazi program. I am slowly getting to know them all and they will hold a special place in my heart as my first volunteers. Most of them are quite young (18-24) except Tom and Issy. Tom is from Newcastle and is in the army (and I can hardly understand a thing he says) and Issy is Scottish but grew up mostly in England... I would place them near retirement age and they are getting married this Fall! Susie is my favorite, and she's a sassy youngster from England who likes to talk my everyone's ear off. I've become quite fond of Anna as well, who is a more reserved English gal who laughed at me when I called her British. Max, who has a German and American passport, grew up in England and randomly shouts out "Wicked" when something tickles his fancy. On day #1 we went to one of our sites and I had the pleasure of watching him do the Hokey Pokey with about 20 youngsters... or the Hokey Cokey as the say in the UK. We have a few others from the UK, a German girl, and 4 of the Dutch variety. As I have warmed up, I have spent more time getting to know them and last night we all went to dinner together... it was grand (as they say in the UK) if you overlook that three of us head to send our steaks back and our meals were delivered over the course of a half hour... it's Swazi time I hear.

My manager is Kim and he's a guy. (This is AFRICA, people.) He lives in the house up the hill with his gorgeous wife, and two adorable kids. His wife owns a workout studio which is also on the campus which means I am suffering from a massive amount of guilt. This week they invited Christy, me, and two others up to their house for dinner and I had my first slice of African pizza. They have a little dog Spot, and we've been doing some serious bonding. She's a little one, and I'm guessing perhaps a mix of Jack Russell Terrier and Chihuahua and she likes to follow me around. She spends the day in the office, and last night she joined us in our tent. She had the chills this morning, so I wrapped her up in one of the sheets all morning and she slept in my arms like a little baby. Awwwwwwwww.

As I mentioned, night #1 was quite a surprise when I was placed in the dorm room. The next night I begged and they moved me to a tent which has four (non bunk) beds. It's actually really cool... they're quite airy and you can hear the noises of nature and the little stream that runs adjacent to the tent. And there are monkeys (!!) and avocado trees! Christy showed me her place this week and I am soooo in. She lives in a little guest cottage on a property that is adjacent to the Millwane Game Reserve. As you drive in you pass the stables where there are zebras (!!), horses, wart hogs, and all sorts of African elk or gazelle or whatever they call them here. The cottage is small, but it's totally adorbs and has an updated kitchen and bath. The landscape is breathtaking and I can't wait to move in early May and send you pics! When I'm there, I feel totally out of AFRICA.

This week I went on the tour with the volunteers to Mantenga Nature Reserve. There we witnessed some African dancing and singing (I was forced to participate) and then got a tour of what a traditional Swazi village looks like... they are little straw huts enforced by cow dung (or something to that effect). But that's not the exciting part... when we got our entrance sticker (a little red dot) the tour guy (his name is Psycho... and I'm totally not kidding) continued to apply the red dot to the nipple area on all the ladies. When he got to me, I thought I'd be slick and go to grab the sticker first, but he wasn't having it. Only in AFRICA.

After a week, I'm starting to slowly acclimate myself and relax into my new life. It's very different from anything I have experienced and it feels so odd to be a part of this backpacking culture. I've been here a week and I have easily met 40-50 people from all over the world. Ezulwini is sandwiched between the two major "cities" (Mbabane and Manzini) in a valley that is breathtakingly beautiful. There are mountains on both sides of the main road and it's surprisingly lush for how I imagined AFRICA would be. I have also been quite surprised by the level of development here and it's an odd mix of modern luxuries and third world poverty. About a mile down the road is a shopping center called the Gables which has a KFC, several restaurants (including Chinese), a modern grocery store, a few botiques and a brand new movie theatre (now showing the Green Hornet, Yogi Bear, Love & Other Drugs, and 127 Hours). And there is no hope that I will break my ice cream addiction because they have magnum bars, which was a staple for me whilst living in Sydney. It's similar to a Dove bar and unfortunately I will not be able to say no.

Overall, what a week! Did I mention that I'm driving to Mozambique tomorrow?