BACK IN SWAZILAND
Hello again! We are back in Swaziland (arrived Jan. 22) after a month and a half in the USA. Thanks again to everyone (especially our parents) who made it possible for us to go to America, and thanks to all the folks who fed, housed, transported, and treated us to nice things (shoes, clothes, Pizza Hut deep dish sausage and pepperoni dinner with soda). The best part of the trip, as always, was seeing family and friends again. The bummer was, as always, not having more time to talk with people. But we take what we can get. Three years was a long time; we hope (though it will take some effort and, perhaps, lucky breaks) to be back for Christmas in 2012.

One interesting dynamic during our time there was that the girls would to refer to Swaziland as "home". They did this naturally and without being prompted by Ruth or I. Some time ago I said that even though we like it here, it will never be home to me. For them, I guess, this is as much a home as they have ever known. For me, it was great to see my neighbors/colleagues (MZ Dlamini, NM Dlamini, S Mamba, the Headmaster and company) again. Later today I hope to visit Abner Dlamini. I have heard he is still alive.

Ruth told me one evening "Man, this is a great place for kids". She went on to explain that some relatives in the US told her they are hesitant to let their children out in the front yard, for fear that they will be kidnapped. We let our kids roam freely around the school housing without a second thought. We don't let them out of our sight outside the housing area or the main gate, but that we have a safe, outdoor "playspace" here is a real bonus.

MOLD BUSTER/NIGHT RAIDER
We've now completed a full week at Nsukumbili, and Ruth is making headway on de-molding the house and numerous articles therein. 6 to 7 weeks without ventilation during a hot, rainy summer does boost the microflora and microfauna. Breathing for Ruth gets hard when the mold count goes up, so she spent this week washing clothes and sterilizing various moldy items. With so much rain, the mosquito population has also boomed. In the middle of the night, Ruth would get up and blast them with Doom (the South African equivalent of Raid). Ruth learned that in the wee hours, the 'skeeters just rest on the walls. It sure was different to have the light suddenly switch on and hear the "PSSSSSS" of an aerosol can. I just pulled the pillow over my eyes and waited for the raid to end. She got some fine mesh material and magnets in Mbabane and has built some screens, so that we get open windows without mosquitos.

WHO CAN IT BE NOW?
The journey back to Swaziland was good (more below), but it did have some aftereffects-one obvious one being jet lag. The first night sleeping at the house didn't have much sleeping, as one child after the other would wake up and start talking/crying. I have heard it takes 1 day to adjust to each time zone; that makes about one week worth of adjustment. I found myself falling asleep (even while working with colleagues) at odd times during the first week back at school. Here on Friday, we all seem to have regulated to Swazi time.

THE TRIP BACK
Ruth, Grace and Jabulile flew straight back from Atlanta to Johannesburg, leaving the US on a Thursday. Rudy, Cub and Kit left Wednesday morning, with a 12 hour layover in Germany. The logistics worked wonderfully. All the boxes and suitcases made it to Johannesburg. The hotel in Joburg is now connected directly to the airport, so one need not leave the airport to get there (thanks to World Cup 2010!). This was a huge relief, as I have been held up half of the few times I've been to Joburg by road. The hotel had a pool and an exercise room, both of which the girls used and enjoyed. I was suprised at how well the girls used a treadmill; Cub did two 5-minute "hill workouts" on it. Ruth and her team came in late, and the jetlag was already in effect; only one girl (I think) was asleep at 11PM. This wasn't all bad, as I got to watch the late show on SuperSport 3 (the all-soccer channel). I got to watch the Liverpool youth teams take on their English Premier League counterparts.

The next day we connected with the shuttle service back to Swaziland that we took to get to Joburg in December, and the trip was fun and uneventful. The border and customs exercise went as well as could be asked for, and our friend Steve Allen picked up our boxes and bags (and graciously kept them for nearly a week, after which time he carted them to our door) in Mbabane just as the shuttle service finished unloading them. We bought some groceries and boarded a taxi for home (I did not relish the thought of crushing into a kombi late on a Saturday with the whole families and groceries). We pulled in just as dark fell. It was a great trip back.

FREEZING IN FRANKFURT
As mentioned above, my "team" had 12 hours in Frankfurt, Germany, from 10:30AM to the same time in the PM. I asked myself if I wanted to mill around an airport for half a day, or if I wanted to go see what I could see. I knew my answer. I put the same question to the girls, and their answer was the same as mine! So after getting some instruction about where to go and how to get there, we checked one backpack into a locker and boarded the subway for Hauptwache station, about 15 minutes from the airport. Like London's Heathrow airport, the subway checks right into the airport in Frankfurt.

The thing is, it is WINTER in Germany. I had my high school letter jacket, the girls had one warm coat between them, I had on a long-sleeve cotton shirt, and Kit had a hooded pull-over. We also had some leggings for the girls. Cub got my letter jacket, Kit had the coat with the pullover underneath and the hood on her head, and the coat's detachable hood was detached and put on Cub's head. I trusted to the long sleeves and the thought that this may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to keep the cold off. See photos of the girls at poglitshphotos.blogspot.com

The girls were a little recalcitrant once we left the station (between the cold and the tired), but they eventually warmed up to the sightseeing. We visited a church (built 1344; wow!) and the Catholic Cathedral. We also wandered in and out of small shops, both to keep the girls amused (they liked the teddy bear shop, and the doughnuts were great) and to warm up a little bit. The girls started getting tired, we had run out of things we could easily do, and I wanted to make sure we had our bags and selves in order before the flight; so 3 hours after getting off the train we got back on. Without a hitch we returned to the airport and took our spots for the 10 hour trip south.

A few observations about Frankfurt, in no particular order:
-the Frankfurters were easily the nicest strangers I have ever met. Everyone we approached was kind and generous with helpful information. One lady even let us use the bathroom in her workplace (very helpful, when travelling with small girls). Perhaps our dis-coordinated attire and sleep-deprived eyes touched a chord of mercy in them, but nevertheless-any statement that Germans are a stern, cold lot will, in my mind, be tempered by my experience there.
-In contrast to their bright friendliness, most people wore dark colors.
-A lot more people smoke there than in the USA or Swaziland.
-There are few obviously overweight people there.
-Many people ride bikes.
-One sees many people of obviously non-ethnic German descent there.
-Almost everyone spoke some English.
-More people were walking dogs in this major city than I would have expected.
-A lot more US-based food chains (Subway, KFC, Starbucks, Burger King) were there than I expected, and they did not lack customers. I found this sad, but that's the reality.

I learned also that on our next trip to the US, I hope we get another long layover. I prefer to get off a plane and stretch my legs, and what better way to do that than to see a part of the world I would not see otherwise?

THINGS IN SWAZILAND
It has been a VERY rainy year. We've only had 2 days without some rain in the week we've been back. This does wash out the fertilizer some, but the corn fields still do look good. It also tends to erode the dirt roads; some parts of them don't look too good. Mamba says, though, that all the reservoirs are full, and that will be good when the rains do end (sometime in March or April). We'll have water through the dry season. Though conventional wisdom also has it that a rainy summer means a cold winter; we shall see.

CRECHE CRUNCH?
The buzz (for what it is worth-accurate information is hard to get, but this is what the parents believe) has it that any child who wants to enjoy free primary education must first attend (and pay for) several years of creche (Swazi English for "kindergarten/preschool"). This means children will embark upon formal education starting at the age of 3 years. Having 3 year olds attending (what will likely be very poorly-run) schools instead of being at home and playing at their homesteads seems like a bad idea to us, especially since these 3 year olds will have to leave their homesteads and walk on roads with vehicles careening down them at high speeds. Ruth was at a local creche when they tried to add the 3 year olds and the results were disastrous. A friend of ours runs another local creche that has had adequate staff and a lot of donated toys and resources and the effect might be neutral to slightly more positive than playing at home. The only thing I can figure is that the home environment is seen by the Ministry of Education as either damaging children or not helping them and the only way they can develop is through formal instruction. The other desire seems to be to get all of the children into feeding centers (which may or may not have food) on a daily basis. Nuclearfamily ties are already weak; this looks like it may further weaken them. We would much prefer to see a once a week "Mommy and Me" group for the 3 year olds where the mothers do something with their child, and make something that the child can take home and play with during the rest of the week. If they want to feed them, send them home with a food basket. Obviously that doesn't help working mothers, but most mothers in our community are not employed outside the home and many of them get bored and would enjoy something like that if it were not too far from their home.

Alright, it's good to be in front of a keyboard jotting notes from this side again. Hope you have a good day.

Rudy for the gang