DON WILLIAMS
Some of you may remember the name of this Country Western singer; he had a mainstream hit in the late 70s/early 80s which had a chorus something like "But I believe in love; I believe in babies; I believe in Mom and Dad; and I believe in you". Don Williams and Dolly Parton enjoy perennial popularity in Swaziland, though rap and other forms of percussive and highly repetitive music have made their way into the radios and mp3 players on public transportation. On one trip to town I got to sit in the front seat of a kombi and speak with the driver. While Mr. Williams crooned, the driver asked me if I knew this singer. I replied that I did not, except for his one hit mentioned above.
It drifted through my mind, though, that Don Williams presented an opportunity for cross-cultural outreach. The following week I used Google and searched for "Photos of Don Williams". Presto-an 8 1/2 x 11 photo was free for my use! I downloaded it, printed it at home, and mounted it on an appropriately-sized piece of cereal box cardboard. The next trip to town, I looked for this driver at the bus rank and found him. "I have something for you", I said and reached into my bag. "Do you know this man?" He instantly smiled and said "Yes!" and I gave him the portrait. I kind of hoped to see it hanging from the rear view mirror later in the day, but did not. I suppose a full-size sheet of paper would be a significant obstacle to clear vision. But I think the thought did count.
SOCCER WIDOWS AND ORPHANS
You may be aware that the soccer World Cup is underway in our big neighbor South Africa. Held every 4 years, the World Cup is the largest single-sport tournament in the world; qualifying games begin approximately 2 years before the tournament gets underway. No (serious) offense intended to baseball, football or basketball fans, but this tournament dwarfs any other "World Championship" on the planet. Approximately 1/3rd of the entire world population will view the final game by tv.
Swaziland also loves soccer, and all the more this year as the tournament is next door. I (Rudy) played soccer almost exclusively as a youth, and have watched almost every game of the 1998, 2002, 2006, and the 2010 editions. This does present a mild logistical problem, however; during the first part of the tournament (called the "group stage"), three games are played consecutively each day: 1:30PM, 4PM, and 8:30PM. This means I run home after school, hug/kiss/pat on the head various family members, then run over to a neighbor's house who allows me to watch the games. The first game ends about 3:15; another round of hugs and gladhanding with family members and a quick something to eat, then back in position (in front of the tv) for 4. Around 6PM I come home for a proper dinner meal and getting the kids ready for bed. Ruth and I talk for a few minutes, make some headway on the dishes, then off again for the 8:30 kickoff. Around 10:15 I straggle home in the dark and either quietly slip into bed (if Ruth has retired) or we do our evening routine and turn in. Note that Jabulile needs to get up at 1AM and 3:45AM to be changed and nursed; so sleep has become as rare a commodity for dad as time with dad has become for our daughters. I think, however, that the excitement makes up for the lack of sleep. As one staff member (the secretary, in fact; this soccer fixation isn't just a guy thing) said, "After 11 July (the date of the final game), I'm going to have a nice sleep!" Ruth is very generous, realizing how much I enjoy this event. And the kids don't seem to mind too much, either. It's only 1 month out of every 4 years.
PLAYSTATION 3: DLANGENI KICK-OFF 2010
The three-game regime also takes place on Saturdays, and groceries and errands have to be done. Rudy is faster and more mobile than Ruth, and so he usually does the town runs. Still, I want to see all the games. Some friends send us videos from time to time (thank you Bill; they really are appreciated!) including some on chastity. In one of them, a male speaker explains the male mindset and says among other things "You know, living in a video game would be just ideal..." I've thought recently that some aspects of life here ARE like living in a video game. Last Saturday (June 12) is an example. I'll give you the name of the game, a rundown of the action, and the point values along the way.
Name of the game: Dlangeni Kick-Off 2010 (Kick-off is the first kick of the ball to start a soccer game)
Objective: Complete round trip excursion to town with 3rd born child (almost 3 years old) and make it back to school for 1:30PM kick-off.
Stage one: trip to town
Get up child at 6AM; child is eager to go and gets dressed quickly: +75 for teamwork
Get to bus station at 6:30, but no transport in site: -20 for stress
Private sedan pulls up and slows down; you run for it, hoping for a lift: +50 for initiative
Older lady wants to get in also; you resolve you will box her out if neccessary, in order to get the lift: -50 for ruthless ambition
Older lady gets seat on other side of car: +20 undeserved
Car blocking road at small bridge; if the parked car doesn't somehow move, you won't get to town; you and driver, and
other men milling around parked car, gently lift car enough to make passage: +100 for on-the-spot cooperation and lifting
Arrive in town 7:15 in a position which makes completing errands smooth: +50 for efficient flow and promising start
Stage two: in town
Shop you hoped opens at 8AM doesn't open until 8:30: -30
You don't go ballistic over the late opening: +50 for patience under pressure
You take the 30 minute delay to get food for your daughter who has had nothing to eat yet: +100 for attentive dadhood
You get the item around 9AM and walk across town to check on what you think was an overpayment from last week; turns out the E20 discrepancy was labor charges not reflected on the receipt: -20 for wasted effort, but +10 for getting to the bottom of the issue without losing your head
Continue the errands; as this is the middle of the month and everyone has already spent their paychecks, lines are short at the grocery store: +75 for convenience and expediting of errands
You send and receive e-mails and waste no time looking at books/soccer news/news commentary etc: +20 for self-discipline
Stage three: back to school
You get to the bus station about 11:15AM-this is early, so +30 for early arrival
You consistently deny daughter's request for a drink, because 1) you don't want to lose your place in line, 2) you don't want a bus to come while you're making the purchase, 3) you fear that if she gets a drink and the bus is so late that she then has to visit the bathroom you'll find 1) and 2) coming into play: hard call-I'll let you decide if I lose, gain, or have no change in my score
You and daughter agree on an orange to satisfy her thirst: +25 for cooperation and retaining place in line
Two kombis come and go; +10 for not getting frustrated
Third kombi pulls in, but man who organizes loading and unloading of passengers is not there, and it's a crush for a seat: +10 for initiative in pushing self and daughter and heavy backpack forward to get a seat
You get FRONT SEAT in kombi: +50 for comfort
You accidentally slam your door on the finger of a soldier from your area: -50 for unintentional rudeness, -20 for stress over possible ramifications
Soldier takes front seat, you and daughter move back: +10 for smoothing out the situation
Soldier gets out of kombi to buy painkillers, and you and daughter move back to front seat: +20 for comfort, -15 for worry about his finger
Daughter falls asleep on lap: +25 for much-needed sleep
5km outside town, tire of kombi gets a flat and has no spare: -100 for delay without early hope of repair
USE A LIFELINE! You call Godfrey Mubiru, your Ugandan friend at a nearby school, asking if he can come pick you up (remember, time keeps on ticking into the future, and the Greece/South Korea game won't wait for you to be seated in front of the tv before kickoff); Godfrey is busy, but +10 for original thinking
Pickup truck approaches; you ask if you can ride in the back; they're only going to Hhukwini, but you take it anyway: +20 for taking whatever you can get
Pickup passes kombi going to the school: +10 for potential lift all the way home depending on where pickup drops you
Pickup goes considerably farther than Hhukwini, almost all the way to the small bridge: +30 for closeness to home
Pickup leaves road to deposit other passengers, and kombi gets beyond you: -30 for not banging on the roof of the pickup cab and asking to get out on the road
You are determined to make match, so you start walking: +5 for determination
Schoolage girls offer to take your two parcels: +5 bonus for friendly people
Kombi never seen in this area comes from behind; you board it and reach school for E5: +75 & maybe you'll make kickoff!
Walk through schoolgate and into house; discover almost half of the dozen eggs you bought in town broke on the way home: -30
You deposit backpack with family: they're happy with what you've brought: +25 for familial satisfaction
You sit down in front of your neighbor's tv, having missed the first 5 minutes of the game but none of the goals: +30 for near-perfect completion
GAME OVER-Wanna play again next Saturday?
I just came back from watching the England/Algeria game, and it's nearly 11PM on Friday June 18; I don't have the time or mental strength to total my score: you do it for me, will you?
Post-game interview: we met the soldier on the road on Sunday after church; he said his finger is okay, and of course he forgives me because he is a Christian: +50 for relief
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Africa Dispatch
SUNDAY SCHOOL PARTY
We set the date for a Sunday school party at the outstation church for May 30th. Before dawn on that day, a moderate rain began to fall. It would be hard to change the date for this party at such a late time, so we decided to plow ahead. The rain usually sounds heavier from inside the house than it really is outside anyway, because our roofs are corrugated iron and amplify every raindrop.
The second trick was that because this was a party, 4 of our girls' friends were going to come, too: Yenzie, Phayo, Philiswa, and Nonduduzo. We planned to walk to the church and take the kombis back. This was the first time Ruth had walked to church in a few months. During the end of the pregnancy she would take a combi. Sometimes there would be a combi at 9 am, sometimes not till 11 am so We planned to walk and leave at 7:15AM to make it easy. The rain dampened our spirits, but Ruth and I simply put our best foot forward and got our girls ready. The other girls showed up at our house at the appointed time, and even though we left at 7:45 instead of 7:15, I figured we were off to a good start.
The rain remained mercifully light at the beginning of the walk, and about a third of the way there ended altogether. It was still cloudy and cool, but no precipitation fell. I had made a sincere prayer request back at the house that the Lord hold off the rain so that this party could take place. Ruth puts a lot of effort into preparations for these parties, and our girls (and I suspect the other kids) really look forward to them.
We reached the church just over an hour and a half later-this is quite speedy. The weather conditions were good for walking, and our girls walk much faster when they are travelling with friends; it's more like a game than a laborious walk when company is along. We entered the church and found that most of the benches were missing (we assume they were borrowed for a memorial service for one of our members). For some time we were the only people there; we started thinking that perhaps we would have a party for whomever did arrive for the 10:30 starting time, and then another one at a later date for those who couldn't come because of the rain. But by 10:15, a goodly number of kids were present, and by the starting time we had a full house. Let the games begin!
We played dodgeball, a modified version of "The Price is Right" ("who can get closest to the actual price of this can of sardines without going over? Do it, and the prize is yours-if the price is right"), and a "guess who made that barking sound" where two groups of kids sit on opposite sides of the church with their backs to each other, one appointed child barks like a dog, and volunteers on the other side try to guess who it was. The dodgeball was a little hard to do, given that we had to do it inside (the rain became considerably heavier after we arrived-providential); but lots of chewy candies and small bags of chee-tos were consumed, so winners and losers were all happy. Children then received the collated coloring pages of Bible stories they had accumulated over the past few months, and were invited to choose prizes based on their number of attendances. This involved more candies and chee-tos; no one should have gone home hungry this day.
We had an abbreviated church service, and everyone but our troop headed home. Ruth and I then had a decision to make: should we walk out to the road and hope for a kombi or other vehicular transport, or should we march our merry troop back the way we came? The rains (which had pretty much ended by leaving time-providential again) had caused us to think that even if the roads were not impassible, kombis and other transport may be rarer now. I (Rudy) was in favor of walking; I prefer something sure and steady (even if it takes longer and is a little uncomfortable) to hoping that a driver feels like taking his chances getting down a dirt/becoming mud road. We still had lots of candies and chee-tos left; so when I proposed walking to Ruth, I said "And we'll feed the kids leftover treats on the way back". She was less than thrilled. She felt like she should get points already for walking to church six weeks after delivering and carrying the baby most of the way and that walking back was pushing it for her. But she said we should put it to the kids. All but one of them voted for walking (actually they voted for treats which they could only get by walking), and the dissenting vote was pretty muted. Score! Put on coats and backpacks, put your feet on the trail, and break out the junk food! Our return trip took longer than the outward bound one, but I don't think anyone really objected to their sugar-and-fat-fueled journey. The party was a success, start to finish. Looking forward to the next one!
CLOTHES FOR JABULILE
The Bhembe's are members of the Mater Dolorosa church in Mbabane. We see them there occasionally, and have spent a weekend at their house north of town. We may work together with them in a marriage encounter group (a support group for married couples) sometime in the future.
A few weeks after we spread the news of Jabulile's April 10 birth, the Bhembe's said they had a gift for us. Mrs. Bhembe gave us a large plastic bag filled with something soft. I try to resist the temptation to open packages from town when I am by myself; it makes it more fun for everyone to open them together. Thanks be to God I resisted this time, because what a suprise when we did open it! The Bhembe's gave Jabu several hundred Emalangeni worth of new winter clothes. Innumerable times Swazis (both those we know and complete strangers in town) have chastised us for not dressing the girls more warmly. The Bhembe's made sure this would not happen with Jabu. She now sports full-body suits reminiscent of the younger brother in the movie "A Christmas Story" whose mom dressed him up like an extended deep-sea diver before he went out in the snow. We've been reproved for not having gloves on our 6-month olds; the Bhembe's even covered that, as one suit sports matching gloves. Jabu sleeps very well when we carry her out in these suits. Thank you Bhembe's, for keeping our girl warm and reducing the frequency and severity of our tongue-lashings!
CHRISTMAS TRIP?
Sometimes people ask how they can help us. Rudy's teacher salary pays for all our living expenses, but it doesn't cover flights to the US. We like to go back to the US every two years, but for financial and pregnancy reasons we did not go in 2009. We last visited the USA for Christmas in 2007; December 2010 will mark 3 years in Swaziland. We'd like to see family and friends over there again. We know times have been tough financially for most folks in the US, so we are reluctant to make this request. All that being said-if this is something that you would like to help with, tell us with an email and mail a check made out to Rudy E. Poglitsh (Rudy's dad, and sorry--it won't be tax deductible) to:
Rudy E. Poglitsh
133 Bayberry Trail
Southern Shores, NC 27949
He will deposit the checks into our bank account, and then we'll start shopping for flights. Thanks for considering it.
NSUKUMHILLBILLY
Your eldest daughter has lost one of her dress shoes. You can't find leather shoes that are comfortable at any of the stores and her daddy has fits about the way vinyl shoes make her feet smell. So you take a black permament marker to the rubber parts of her low-cut canvas basketball shoes. Even Cubby and Kit get into the act. They look pretty good with a dress when you finish.
Hillbilly
You are walking back from church with your wife, four daughters, and their four female friends. Your eldest daughter says she needs to urinate. You tell her to find a nearby bush. She replies "Just here is okay; we're all girls". You shake your head and keep on walking as she takes just a half-step off the trail to do her business.
Hillbilly
Your wife's whole body is cold and sore after walking back from church on a cold, drizzly day. You suggest she take a hot bath. She objects, thinking that two inches of hot water in a freezing cold bathroom doesn't sound too relaxing. You suggest a basin of hot water for her feet. She agrees. In the end, everyone in the family has their feet in the steaming plastic basin.
Hillbilly Hottub
Your eldest daughter throws water onto your second-born daughter, without warning or provocation. Your wife takes the perpetrator inside and asks her if she knows why mommy is angry. Perpetrator nonchalantly replies "No". Wife takes perpetrator and victim outside, puts a basin of water in victim's hands, and directs victim to throw water onto perpetrator. Perpetrator anticipates oncoming deluge and takes one step back, avoiding the water and putting a smirk on her face. Wife observes miscarriage of justice and quickly douses perpetrator from behind with 1 liter of water from pitcher in her hand. Drama Queen perpetrator screams and pouts and understands why Mommy wasn't pleased.
Hillbilly justice
Your daughters prefer to sleep together in one bed. Since it is winter time and the house is about 55 degrees F in the morning they have hooked up sheets going around their bunk bed to make a tent so that they can be cozy in the bottom bunk all night.
Hillbilly
Have a good day,
Rudy for the gang
SUNDAY SCHOOL PARTY
We set the date for a Sunday school party at the outstation church for May 30th. Before dawn on that day, a moderate rain began to fall. It would be hard to change the date for this party at such a late time, so we decided to plow ahead. The rain usually sounds heavier from inside the house than it really is outside anyway, because our roofs are corrugated iron and amplify every raindrop.
The second trick was that because this was a party, 4 of our girls' friends were going to come, too: Yenzie, Phayo, Philiswa, and Nonduduzo. We planned to walk to the church and take the kombis back. This was the first time Ruth had walked to church in a few months. During the end of the pregnancy she would take a combi. Sometimes there would be a combi at 9 am, sometimes not till 11 am so We planned to walk and leave at 7:15AM to make it easy. The rain dampened our spirits, but Ruth and I simply put our best foot forward and got our girls ready. The other girls showed up at our house at the appointed time, and even though we left at 7:45 instead of 7:15, I figured we were off to a good start.
The rain remained mercifully light at the beginning of the walk, and about a third of the way there ended altogether. It was still cloudy and cool, but no precipitation fell. I had made a sincere prayer request back at the house that the Lord hold off the rain so that this party could take place. Ruth puts a lot of effort into preparations for these parties, and our girls (and I suspect the other kids) really look forward to them.
We reached the church just over an hour and a half later-this is quite speedy. The weather conditions were good for walking, and our girls walk much faster when they are travelling with friends; it's more like a game than a laborious walk when company is along. We entered the church and found that most of the benches were missing (we assume they were borrowed for a memorial service for one of our members). For some time we were the only people there; we started thinking that perhaps we would have a party for whomever did arrive for the 10:30 starting time, and then another one at a later date for those who couldn't come because of the rain. But by 10:15, a goodly number of kids were present, and by the starting time we had a full house. Let the games begin!
We played dodgeball, a modified version of "The Price is Right" ("who can get closest to the actual price of this can of sardines without going over? Do it, and the prize is yours-if the price is right"), and a "guess who made that barking sound" where two groups of kids sit on opposite sides of the church with their backs to each other, one appointed child barks like a dog, and volunteers on the other side try to guess who it was. The dodgeball was a little hard to do, given that we had to do it inside (the rain became considerably heavier after we arrived-providential); but lots of chewy candies and small bags of chee-tos were consumed, so winners and losers were all happy. Children then received the collated coloring pages of Bible stories they had accumulated over the past few months, and were invited to choose prizes based on their number of attendances. This involved more candies and chee-tos; no one should have gone home hungry this day.
We had an abbreviated church service, and everyone but our troop headed home. Ruth and I then had a decision to make: should we walk out to the road and hope for a kombi or other vehicular transport, or should we march our merry troop back the way we came? The rains (which had pretty much ended by leaving time-providential again) had caused us to think that even if the roads were not impassible, kombis and other transport may be rarer now. I (Rudy) was in favor of walking; I prefer something sure and steady (even if it takes longer and is a little uncomfortable) to hoping that a driver feels like taking his chances getting down a dirt/becoming mud road. We still had lots of candies and chee-tos left; so when I proposed walking to Ruth, I said "And we'll feed the kids leftover treats on the way back". She was less than thrilled. She felt like she should get points already for walking to church six weeks after delivering and carrying the baby most of the way and that walking back was pushing it for her. But she said we should put it to the kids. All but one of them voted for walking (actually they voted for treats which they could only get by walking), and the dissenting vote was pretty muted. Score! Put on coats and backpacks, put your feet on the trail, and break out the junk food! Our return trip took longer than the outward bound one, but I don't think anyone really objected to their sugar-and-fat-fueled journey. The party was a success, start to finish. Looking forward to the next one!
CLOTHES FOR JABULILE
The Bhembe's are members of the Mater Dolorosa church in Mbabane. We see them there occasionally, and have spent a weekend at their house north of town. We may work together with them in a marriage encounter group (a support group for married couples) sometime in the future.
A few weeks after we spread the news of Jabulile's April 10 birth, the Bhembe's said they had a gift for us. Mrs. Bhembe gave us a large plastic bag filled with something soft. I try to resist the temptation to open packages from town when I am by myself; it makes it more fun for everyone to open them together. Thanks be to God I resisted this time, because what a suprise when we did open it! The Bhembe's gave Jabu several hundred Emalangeni worth of new winter clothes. Innumerable times Swazis (both those we know and complete strangers in town) have chastised us for not dressing the girls more warmly. The Bhembe's made sure this would not happen with Jabu. She now sports full-body suits reminiscent of the younger brother in the movie "A Christmas Story" whose mom dressed him up like an extended deep-sea diver before he went out in the snow. We've been reproved for not having gloves on our 6-month olds; the Bhembe's even covered that, as one suit sports matching gloves. Jabu sleeps very well when we carry her out in these suits. Thank you Bhembe's, for keeping our girl warm and reducing the frequency and severity of our tongue-lashings!
CHRISTMAS TRIP?
Sometimes people ask how they can help us. Rudy's teacher salary pays for all our living expenses, but it doesn't cover flights to the US. We like to go back to the US every two years, but for financial and pregnancy reasons we did not go in 2009. We last visited the USA for Christmas in 2007; December 2010 will mark 3 years in Swaziland. We'd like to see family and friends over there again. We know times have been tough financially for most folks in the US, so we are reluctant to make this request. All that being said-if this is something that you would like to help with, tell us with an email and mail a check made out to Rudy E. Poglitsh (Rudy's dad, and sorry--it won't be tax deductible) to:
Rudy E. Poglitsh
133 Bayberry Trail
Southern Shores, NC 27949
He will deposit the checks into our bank account, and then we'll start shopping for flights. Thanks for considering it.
NSUKUMHILLBILLY
Your eldest daughter has lost one of her dress shoes. You can't find leather shoes that are comfortable at any of the stores and her daddy has fits about the way vinyl shoes make her feet smell. So you take a black permament marker to the rubber parts of her low-cut canvas basketball shoes. Even Cubby and Kit get into the act. They look pretty good with a dress when you finish.
Hillbilly
You are walking back from church with your wife, four daughters, and their four female friends. Your eldest daughter says she needs to urinate. You tell her to find a nearby bush. She replies "Just here is okay; we're all girls". You shake your head and keep on walking as she takes just a half-step off the trail to do her business.
Hillbilly
Your wife's whole body is cold and sore after walking back from church on a cold, drizzly day. You suggest she take a hot bath. She objects, thinking that two inches of hot water in a freezing cold bathroom doesn't sound too relaxing. You suggest a basin of hot water for her feet. She agrees. In the end, everyone in the family has their feet in the steaming plastic basin.
Hillbilly Hottub
Your eldest daughter throws water onto your second-born daughter, without warning or provocation. Your wife takes the perpetrator inside and asks her if she knows why mommy is angry. Perpetrator nonchalantly replies "No". Wife takes perpetrator and victim outside, puts a basin of water in victim's hands, and directs victim to throw water onto perpetrator. Perpetrator anticipates oncoming deluge and takes one step back, avoiding the water and putting a smirk on her face. Wife observes miscarriage of justice and quickly douses perpetrator from behind with 1 liter of water from pitcher in her hand. Drama Queen perpetrator screams and pouts and understands why Mommy wasn't pleased.
Hillbilly justice
Your daughters prefer to sleep together in one bed. Since it is winter time and the house is about 55 degrees F in the morning they have hooked up sheets going around their bunk bed to make a tent so that they can be cozy in the bottom bunk all night.
Hillbilly
Have a good day,
Rudy for the gang
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