New Addy

Hey Guys here's my new postal address:

Colleen Larson
PO BOX 1118
Nhlangano S400
Swaziland, Africa

Use this one it'll be a lot faster than the Mbabane one.

Hooowwdy

Note: This fire happened a month ago and everything's cool now.
Okay so the big news around here is that there was a huge forest fire gone wild here in Swaziland. There has been drought the last few years and burning fields is a pretty common practice here, and usually it doesn’t cause problems. Unfortunately the other night there were huuuuge winds and they fed the fire that spread out of control. At least four hundred homes were lost, though they’re still counting. The fire emergency service is still fighting the fire. So far I think only three people died in the fire. I myself saw it, and it made the midnight sky look like sunrise. Ash was falling on us as we watched. But we were really quite safe, the river near our home prevented it from reaching us. The Red Cross has stepped in to help some of the people who lost their homes. I feel bad for Swazis. They are such traditional, polite, Christian people and they face this kind of adversity. They already have so little. There country has the highest rate of AIDS in the world, it is the place you are most likely to be stuck by/killed by lightning on earth, and now forest fires are taking lives. Now I see people wrapped in blankets walking down the street carrying any furniture of value they could salvage. It just doesn’t make sense to me. However, I am thankful that my host family is safe and all the other volunteers.

So far in the Peace Corps, Maggie has been my best friend. Her house is close to mine so we have sleepovers a lot. She and I have a lot of things in common. She’s a very emotional person and very sweet. Some people have been sick but I have been soo lucky as far as health goes. Sure I got a third world cold and have an upset stomach now and then. All and all I’m very healthy and have no reason to complain. I’ve been pretty lucky all the way around though. My site is great too. Josh probably has it the best because he’s super close to Manzini (the main commercial city). He has his own apartment in a teacher’s dorm and a shower. I call him an asshole everyday for it (sorry Mom.) But on the up side, my Make is just great. She’s an incredibly motivated person. The Peace Corps awarded her with a certificate for all her hard work. She’s a rural health motivator. When a woman goes into labor and can’t afford to get to a hospital she helps deliver the baby. She’s an active church member of her church and has been the main force in building a preschool at the church. She has an income generating project where she raises chicken and sells them. She adopted three grandsons. All this she does while her loving husband, who is also a pastor, lives in another community (which is actually very common.) Most of all, she advocates for the orphaned and vulnerable children in Mashobeni. There are over five hundred children in my village who have lost a parent. I think one of my projects will be to try to help the community find funding for a neighborhood care point where children can come and get a decent meal. Okay so my training family named me SiPhiwe and always called me Phiwe. My permanent host family named me DuDuzile and always calls me DuDu. I went from Pee to DooDoo. Talk about an upgrade.

Okay I’m gonna start putting dates on my blog entries because obviously the previous paragraphs are from earlier dates/ I am officially a Peace Corps Volunteer! There was a picture of us in a Swazi newspaper with the inkhosikati (sp?) aka the king’s wife. Swear in was a big deal at the Mbabane sun hotel. We had a fabulous lunch and afterwards we all went out to a local dance club. Good times. Now I’m sitting here in my new little concrete house, with some romantic candle light (no electricity yet.) It’s my second night at site. I bought a nice bed today and I’m having a table made by my bhuti who is a carpenter. Also I think I’m going to buy a wardrobe from another volunteer for a cheap price. My new family is great. I feel a little slumpy because I’ve had the flu for a couple weeks and been packing and staying up all night with volunteers instead of sleeping. I’ve got a nasty cough. Now though I’m just resting and telling myself I don’t have to do everything at once, I’ve got three months to fix up this place and get to know my community. As you know, I am the biggest slob on the planet. I am going to make an effort to keep this house organized, so help me God. Other volunteers told me that your room is your state of mind. If that’s true, that makes me at best chaotic and at worst psychotic. I plan to go to church tomorrow with the family. It’s weird to think that only three months ago, no one had ever purposed to me. Now somebody asks me to marry me once a week. Some volunteers are upset by this but I try to take it as a compliment. On Monday, I’m going to Manzini to meet up with some other volunteers and see if everybody’s doing alright. I realized that I am sooo lucky in so many ways, I’m in the high veld, I have two rooms, an understanding family, and a receptive community. I know there will be challenges but I think I have a lot going for me. Okay I know this is a boring blog, but this is mostly for mom and grandmom to read. More later…XOXO

PS. It's so weird that for 30R I can travel to Manzini and get my nails done, drink a cosmo, and blog for a little while. Two hours away I'm living in a shack and riding with goats. Go figure. I Love the Swaz. =)

DISCLAIMER: I am a currently serving Peace Corps Volunteer. The contents of this webpage belong to myself and in no way, shape, or form reflect any position or policy of the United States Government or the Peace Corps.

new family, new name.

I have met my new host family and they’re great. They have given me the new name of DuDuZile Mabuza. Babe na Make Mabuza are great people. Babe is a pastor in a nearby community and Make is a RHM (Rural Health Motivator.) They have nine children and many grandchildren as well as three adopted grandsons who were orphaned. Make works very hard in the community to help OVCs (Orphaned or Vulnerable Children) and to increase awareness about HIV. I have my own office at the clinic in Mashobeni South. I also will be teaching at the highschool one day a week, among other work. The community was so receptive and nice. They miss the volunteer that I’m replacing (Amy) but they say they will also miss me. I am very happy and think I have a great site location. Lots of Love!!!
P.S. My cell phone number will be 653-9672 but it probably won’t be turned on until August 17th or later.

Mashobeni South!

I’m going to be spending the next two years in a town called Mashobeni South. It’s in the high veld so it won’t be too hot which is what I wanted. I told the staff I was from Buffalo and I think they got the message. I also get electricity! I don’t think I’ll have a fridge but who knows. My counterpart (working partner’s) name is Comfort Zwane. When I asked who my counterpart was, a big group of Swazis starting laughing and said “he is big and loud just like you.” But really, I think it was meant as a compliment. Everyone says he’s a perfect match for me!! He’s a very tall guy and he’s funny, well loved, and respected. In fact he is nick named ‘awesome’ because of his size and personality, occasionally shortened to “some.” He is a bucopho which literally translates to the “brain.” It’s an elected position in the community with a lot of decision making power. He works closely with the chief in Mashobeni. Not everybody is as lucky to have a counterpart with a position like bucopho. I really hope it works out. I already know that there is a clinic, a high school, a teenage girl’s club, two primary schools and two preschools where I’ll be able to work. There are also umphakatsi. I have been spending a lot of time with Maggie and Josh (Figso na Sipho.) We usually cook dinner together a few days a week. They’re great friends. I’m going to miss being able to spend evenings with them after swear in. Swear in is August 16th and then we spend three months in “lock down” aka integration period. During this time we are suppose to focus completely on learning about our community and making contacts. We have to sleep at our own site every night. However, I will be meeting up with other volunteers for lunch in Manzini every now and then. Also I’ll be going to Nhlangano at least once a week and using the internet. There is an NGO there called NATTIC (Nhlangano Aids Training and Information Counseling Centre) that I want to work with. If I haven’t set you a letter yet, I’m sorry dude. But as soon as integration begins I’ll have much more time to write letters, training is so busy. I’m worried my SiSwati is coming along too slow, but I keep working at it. Language classes are like torture. I am going to miss my training family (especially the baby) so much but luckily I’ll be less than an hour away from them and they have promised to visit me and I have promised to visit them. Please drop me a letter it’s really encouraging to hear news from home.

Swazis

There’s so much to say about Swazi people. They are a very demeur and quiet bunch highly value tradition, Christianity, and education. Physical affection isn’t a big part of their culture. Even close friends and family members greet with handshakes. However family is incredibly important to them. There are so many culture factors influencing the spread of HIV/AIDS in this country. Polygamy is completely socially acceptable even in the church. Almost all men have multiple cocurrent partners and so do most women. The stigma and shame surrounding HIV breeds myths and misconceptions. Some people even think condoms can give you HIV. Also, sex is not a subject people talk about, even with their children. Romantic relationships are like affairs here instead of partnerships, affairs nobody sees or talks about. I wish I knew how to explain it. Love for Swazis is this romantic notion with no real weight to it. Men will often express romantic sentiments to a woman simply because she’s a “lady” and not because he particularly likes her. Marriage is more of a familial tie than a tie between two people. In fact, during the initial marriage ceremony the man isn’t even present at all. The women of the family gather and perform a ceremony to bind a girl to their homestead, they physically force the girl to do this and occasionally do it against her will. Bride price (usually around seventeen cattle) is given to the girl’s family as a payment for the labor the woman will perform on the homestead and the children she will bear for the homestead. A man’s worth is determined by the number of cattle he has. The number of wives he has is also a status symbol. My Babe (father) has over a hundred cattle, making him fairly wealthy. He also has two wives and two homes in different cities, although both are considered one homestead. My family members often travel back and forth between the two. He also has several illegitimate children. I have too many bobhuti and bosisi (brothers and sisters) and nephews and nieces to count.