A DAY IN TOWN WITH GRACE
Most Saturdays Rudy goes to town for food, sending e-mails, checking the post office, etc. A friend of ours named Steve Wood (www.dads.org) says that the way to build strong relationships with your children is to include them in your lives. It doesn't have to be all-expenses paid trips to Disneyland; trips to the hardware store and the trash dump will fit the bill and give them fond memories for years to come. Consequently, I usually take one of the two older girls with me on these excursions. On Saturday March 6th, it was Grace's turn.
I asked her the night before if she wanted to go with me, and she said she did. I then told her she needed to get up right away when I woke her up, because we needed to get out in front of the school for transportation. When I woke her up in the morning, she went right to getting dressed, visiting the bathroom, etc. without a complaint.
We got to the bus stop in good time, waited 5 minutes, and Mr. Stan Mamba (our human version of a top-of-the-line Leatherman tool-he can do anything) came by. He is improving his teaching credentials and needs to go to Matsapha (where the University is) most Saturday mornings. He stopped and let us climb in. (Folks who really believe in car seats, close your eyes!) Grace sat on my lap between me and the dashboard, and Mamba and I had a nice conversation. Grace was pleasant and patient, given that the conversation topics (water system, pickup truck auctions, what to do about stray dogs inside the school grounds) didn't address her interests. Mamba dropped us at the highway on-ramp and continued his journey. Before he had pulled away, a kombi headed for Mbabane appeared. After trying unsuccessfully to give Mamba some money for gas, we jumped into the kombi.
Grace and I visited the grocery store first, on the assumption that the crowds would be small at 8:30AM and we might get back home at a decent hour if we didn't have to spend a long time in the checkout line. We left the backpack at a "parcel hut", a place where you pay E5 and can leave the bag in a secure room until you come back for it. We then visited the church, the stationery shop, the garden shop, and the Mbabane Clinic where Ruth will deliver Chipmunk. We put down a E6500 (about $900) deposit for the delivery, and if our expenses fall below that amount, they give us back the change. How's that for simple and effective health care?
After that we visited Metro (Mbabane's version of Sam's Club), where we got some bulk food items. We then checked into the internet cafe for an hour and after that, made a last-minute scramble for ground beef and a bus. We planned a team dinner for the soccer team (more below), and I needed meat for the chili. It turned out that Shining Star bus was leaving for Dlangeni at noon, and the engine was already running. I told the conductor that we wanted to ride it, but that I needed to get my bag from the parcel hut and buy some meat at the butchery 30 yards from the bus. He said they'd hold the bus. Grace sat at the back of the bus (the added pressure of knowing the bus might possibly leave with my kid on it kept me hopping) while I got the last 2 items. An hour and a half later, we were home.
What's the point of this story? The point is, the time was well spent because it was spent with Grace. We had lots of good conversation, and she even got a drink box of vanilla custard to slake her thirst and as a token of my appreciation for her company and good behavior. Steve Wood is right: you can build a good relationship with your child by simply bringing them along with you on your errands. Grace and I had a great time, and the long-term effect of our Saturday morning together will be a better relationship for the rest of our lives. If you have children still in the home, or even children who have left home but come back now and then, take them with you on your next errands-run and see what it can do for your relationship.
SIGNS OF THE TIMES
As we approached Ezulwini with Mamba, we saw a large collection of parked cars off to the right. As our conversation had been on car auctions, I wondered if some Saturday morning used car sale was underway. Mamba spoke up and said "Looks like there was a funeral". Usually, funeral vigils are on Saturday nights with burials on Sunday morning, but sometimes it's a Friday night vigil with a Saturday burial. There is still a lot of death around here, and the HIV rate is still insanely high. I really don't like these kind of reminders.
After Grace and I left the garden store, we headed for the Mbabane Clinic. I felt our time was getting short, so I wanted to move faster. I put Grace on my shoulders and started walking; but between her increased height and size and my increasing age, this arrangement didn't really get us going any faster. She went back to her own foot power. Signs of the times.
KOMBIS, BUSES, AND FOOTPATHS
Monday March 8 was the first day of our school-wide monthly tests. None of my tests were being taken, and I only had to proctor one test. I had some books I wanted to return to friends in Manzini. Mr. Lukhele and I swapped proctoring responsibilities, and off I went!
The visit with friends was great, and I got back to Mbabane in good time to catch a mid-afternoon kombi back to the school. I boarded a kombi about 3PM and we headed out of town.
Unfortunately, a full-size bus had tried to come up the steep, narrow hill into Mbabane and couldn't make it. It had slipped backwards and turned sideways, so the road was blocked. Kombis were on either side of the blockage, so passengers headed for Dlangeni simply walked past the parked bus and got onto a kombi on the other side. They would then carry the passengers to their Dlangeni destinations.
Headmaster Magagula with his 4-door sedan was on the Dlangeni side of the blockage. After I had taken my seat in the Dlangeni-bound kombi, he waved to me to join him on the Mbabane side of the big bus. I hesitated, since I knew I could take this kombi home. But I assumed he was going to the school, and in the interest of cameraderie I left the kombi and met him.
Turns out he was only delivering a package to Mbabane via a taxi he had called. He thought I was trying to get to Manzini/Mbabane, while I thought he was going to the school.
Ah well, time for more travelling fun.
I took the taxi ride back into town, then found a kombi bound for Mbuluzi High School, which sits at the end of the paved road on the other way out to the school. I figured I'd get that far and hope for lifts from passing drivers until I reached the footpath to the school, then walk back to Nsukumbili. And, thanks be to God, that's how it turned out.
After taking to my feet after the brief kombi ride, I was praying "Father, I know it's not your 'job' to dispense fun and comfort to get me out of every mildly-tight spot. At the same time, I don't want to demonstrate a lack of faith dressed up as humility by not asking..." and before I finished the sentence, a pickup truck rolled up behind me. He gave me a lift about half the distance to the trailhead, another pickup covered the second half, and by 7PM I walked in the front door of the house. God is good, and I'm glad I live close enough to town that I can walk home in a pinch. And even though this was an unexpected way to return to school, that walk is always a delight.
SOCCER
The team is doing great! They tied 1-1 in their first game, and they won their second game (on Wed., March 10) 4-2 in Mbabane. They are playing with enthusiasm and more discipline than last year. One particularly talented player had the problem last year of dribbling too much; he has kicked that habit, and it has made the team much better. Another good player from last year has improved a great deal, and he also made a big difference. In two regular games and two friendlies, the team has scored 11 goals. This is exciting! They face Mbabane Central High School next Wednesday. This will be a real test, as some players on town high schools also play in Swaziland's professional league (boggles your American mind, doesn't it? Imagine Michael Jordan and David Robinson playing on your opponent's high school team). They will have to guard well when they are on defense (not something they are in the habit of doing), or Central might score a passle of goals on them. Still, if they can pull it together they might earn a tie or even a surprise win.
For whatever reason, even though I resigned from the coaching job, Mr. Khumalo and the new coach are open to input from me. I keep it limited and always express support for the team. I like it that way. I'm beginning to think I'm a much better supporting person than a leading person. We did host a team dinner on Tuesday afternoon, and it went very well. The living room was surprisingly clean afterward, given the number of people (over 20) in a 240 square foot room and the fact that every person had a cup of juice and a bowl of chili and salad. After watching the first half of a 2002 World Cup soccer game while downing chili, the starting lineup was announced and players were encouraged to make whatever comments they felt were appropriate. The guys were serious in their words; they were ready to play.
The next day, they were tied 1-1 at halftime and went down a goal early in the second half. But they didn't wilt, and scored 3 to seal the win. Two of the goals came from dead-ball situations. A "dead-ball situation" is when, either because the ball went out of bounds or a player was fouled, one team gets to kick the ball while opposing players must stand at least 10 yards away. Once the ball is kicked, action resumes. The two goals resulted when Mbeji took the kick and his half-brother Bheki put the ball in the goal with his head. The final goal was scored by S'dumo. Before the game, s'dumo was putting on his "shin guards": two portions of cardboard torn from a box he found laying beside the soccer field. Players are required to have shin guards, and S'dumo didn't have a regulation pair of them. I am reminded of a former coach of mine (Pete Plunkett, I think) who said sometimes a Reader's Digest ripped in half down the spine is all the shinguards you need. Now I know it's true.
NSUKUMHILLBILLY
Friday morning, Kit was fascinated looking at a watch in stopwatch mode resting on Ruth's (big) belly. When Cub starting playing with the watch, Kit cried "You're taking off my T.V.!"
Hillbilly
We have been discussing plans for where to stay in town after Chipmunk's birth. Grace, upon learning we will likely spend a few days in a hotel room overlooking the street, excitedly said "We can watch the cars go by. We could do that for 2 or 3 hours. We don't do that very often."
Hillbilly
Saturday, March 20, 2010
REESE MATTHEWS
While I was walking to church with Grace and Cub last Sunday, we passed a group of folks returning from a funeral. A man in his 30s asked me if I knew Reese Matthews; I told him that I did remember him, though I had not seen him for many years. Reese was a Peace Corps Volunteer teaching at Mdzimba High School in the early 1990s. The man happily told me that Reese had taught him science, and that he had earned a credit in that subject on his O-Level tests. If anyone has contact with Reese (I'm thinking of you former Swaziland PCVs), let him know his efforts bore fruit. I suspect many of us, PCVs and otherwise, have had long-term positive impacts on people, whether we know it or not.
TO CATCH A THIEF
Well, not exactly. On the same Sunday we learned of Reese Matthew's good influence, we spent an hour or so with the Mubiru's at their home at Mdzimba High School. Mrs. Mubiru was the last one out of the house as we prepared to return to Nsukumbili, and Mr. Mubiru asked her for the car keys. A moment of dismay ensued; she thought he had the keys, and so she had locked the house. The bunch of keys which had the car keys on it was locked in the house, and that bunch was in the back door door lock, 15 feet from the front door. We could see them, but we could not reach them. What to do?
We went around the house, looking for a way in. All the windows have burglar bars on them, and most of the windows were latched shut-except for one. If we could find a child small enough to fit through the burglar bars, they could take the keys out of the back door and we'd be on our way.
Hope, our youngest, would easily fit through, but we thought it doubtful she could follow our instructions well enough to get to the keys. We then checked if Cubby's head would fit through one of the diamond-shaped holes in the burglar bars; it did. In she went! When her entire body was inside, she turned around and faced us and had an absolutely radiant smile on her face. I wish I had had a camera. She collected the keys, we breathed a collective sigh of relief, and we got back to Nsukumbili without further incident.
FIRST SIBHULUJA
Sibhuluja is SiSwati for "ear of corn". We were wandering around the school garden with agriculture teacher Mr. Khumalo, discussing with him where we might put in a fenced-in area for fruit tree trials. Why would we put a fenced-in area inside a fenced-in area? Because the students use the school garden, and if a half-dozen fruit trees were there, they might find the temptation to partake of the fruit too tempting. This of course would throw off our agricultural trials and give us cause for generalized frustration and suspicion of students. We don't want either of those, so we asked Khumalo if we could put in the fence. He was enthusiastic.
I figured we would give him one of the ears of corn from our small corn plot as a token of appreciation. I simply pulled one off its stalk and husked it. It was a deep red color, because a couple years ago a student gave me one such corn cob. I really liked that color, and so we planted some of the seeds (see photo at http://poglitshphotos.blogspot.com) Ruth said we couldn't give it to Khumalo because we neded to weigh it first, and Khumalo was understanding. I really liked that sibhuluja; I think "Indian corn" is really neat. Turns out this was one of only a few such corn cobs with this color.
OPERATION BURNING SPEAR
The day Khumalo and Ruth and I went to the garden to site the proposed fenced-in area, a few wasps left their nests on the outside of our house and came after me. I prefer to leave wasp nests alone, as long as they do not bother us. Ruth says they eat caterpillars that would otherwise eat plants in her garden. Once they get aggressive like this, though, it's eviction time.
The next morning I took a stick and wrapped a rag around one end, fastening it with a bit of wire (see photo at http://poglitshphotos.blogspot.com) I then doused the rag with lamp oil and lit it up. I then held my burning spear just below the wasp nest. The wasps, naturally, begin to flee their building; as the come close to the fire, they roast their wings and fall to the ground. After the nest was empty I dispatched the fallen wasps with a can of Doom (like Raid). We have had no further problems from the wasps on that side of the house. Interestingly, the other side of the house has even more nests and more wasps, but those on that side never give us problems.
CULINARY ZOOLOGY
Sounds like an upper-level elective class at a small liberal arts college in the northeast, right? Actually, it was a 10-minute seminar class my form 5 biology students gave me this week. We are going over the classification system of plants and animals, and I am using a full-color book chock full of great pictures of animals from around the world. After class the students wanted to see photos of the mongooses. My only real connection with mongooses is the Rudyard Kipling story of Riki-Tiki-Tavi, the Indian mongoose which takes on some nasty cobras. This area has mongooses, though, and the students wanted to see photos. Turns out the mongooses here are a bit of a pest. They found the photos and excitedly said "Ah, there it is!" After a few comments, they said "It is delicious." They chow those things! In a book which frequently mentions the endangered status of various anmimals, they were commenting on how, in fact, there is room for all wildlife in Dlangeni; right next to the corn porridge and cooked greens. This served as a fresh reminder that even though this is a high school, the surrounding culture is different from the one I grew up in.
CHIPPIE BUMPS
After our evening Bible reading and prayer, we all give each other hugs and kisses and then pack the girls into bed. Ruth is getting quite big now-Dr. Wasswa says the baby could come anytime now-and the latest Poglitsh edition makes his or her presence known with various moving bumps in Ruth's belly. The girls look forward to meeting "Chipmunk", and until that time they give Ruth a kiss on the belly. The girls like to see if they can find a "Chippie bump" to give a kiss; if they find an appendage making its appearance by causing a small distension of Ruth's stomach, they quickly give it a peck. It reminds me of that game "Whack the Mole" you can occasionally find at amusement parks, where a half-dozen mechanical moles randomly poke their heads out of holes and you earn points by whomping them down with a thickly-padded mallet. Our version is, of course, a little gentler.
While I was walking to church with Grace and Cub last Sunday, we passed a group of folks returning from a funeral. A man in his 30s asked me if I knew Reese Matthews; I told him that I did remember him, though I had not seen him for many years. Reese was a Peace Corps Volunteer teaching at Mdzimba High School in the early 1990s. The man happily told me that Reese had taught him science, and that he had earned a credit in that subject on his O-Level tests. If anyone has contact with Reese (I'm thinking of you former Swaziland PCVs), let him know his efforts bore fruit. I suspect many of us, PCVs and otherwise, have had long-term positive impacts on people, whether we know it or not.
TO CATCH A THIEF
Well, not exactly. On the same Sunday we learned of Reese Matthew's good influence, we spent an hour or so with the Mubiru's at their home at Mdzimba High School. Mrs. Mubiru was the last one out of the house as we prepared to return to Nsukumbili, and Mr. Mubiru asked her for the car keys. A moment of dismay ensued; she thought he had the keys, and so she had locked the house. The bunch of keys which had the car keys on it was locked in the house, and that bunch was in the back door door lock, 15 feet from the front door. We could see them, but we could not reach them. What to do?
We went around the house, looking for a way in. All the windows have burglar bars on them, and most of the windows were latched shut-except for one. If we could find a child small enough to fit through the burglar bars, they could take the keys out of the back door and we'd be on our way.
Hope, our youngest, would easily fit through, but we thought it doubtful she could follow our instructions well enough to get to the keys. We then checked if Cubby's head would fit through one of the diamond-shaped holes in the burglar bars; it did. In she went! When her entire body was inside, she turned around and faced us and had an absolutely radiant smile on her face. I wish I had had a camera. She collected the keys, we breathed a collective sigh of relief, and we got back to Nsukumbili without further incident.
FIRST SIBHULUJA
Sibhuluja is SiSwati for "ear of corn". We were wandering around the school garden with agriculture teacher Mr. Khumalo, discussing with him where we might put in a fenced-in area for fruit tree trials. Why would we put a fenced-in area inside a fenced-in area? Because the students use the school garden, and if a half-dozen fruit trees were there, they might find the temptation to partake of the fruit too tempting. This of course would throw off our agricultural trials and give us cause for generalized frustration and suspicion of students. We don't want either of those, so we asked Khumalo if we could put in the fence. He was enthusiastic.
I figured we would give him one of the ears of corn from our small corn plot as a token of appreciation. I simply pulled one off its stalk and husked it. It was a deep red color, because a couple years ago a student gave me one such corn cob. I really liked that color, and so we planted some of the seeds (see photo at http://poglitshphotos.blogspot.com) Ruth said we couldn't give it to Khumalo because we neded to weigh it first, and Khumalo was understanding. I really liked that sibhuluja; I think "Indian corn" is really neat. Turns out this was one of only a few such corn cobs with this color.
OPERATION BURNING SPEAR
The day Khumalo and Ruth and I went to the garden to site the proposed fenced-in area, a few wasps left their nests on the outside of our house and came after me. I prefer to leave wasp nests alone, as long as they do not bother us. Ruth says they eat caterpillars that would otherwise eat plants in her garden. Once they get aggressive like this, though, it's eviction time.
The next morning I took a stick and wrapped a rag around one end, fastening it with a bit of wire (see photo at http://poglitshphotos.blogspot.com) I then doused the rag with lamp oil and lit it up. I then held my burning spear just below the wasp nest. The wasps, naturally, begin to flee their building; as the come close to the fire, they roast their wings and fall to the ground. After the nest was empty I dispatched the fallen wasps with a can of Doom (like Raid). We have had no further problems from the wasps on that side of the house. Interestingly, the other side of the house has even more nests and more wasps, but those on that side never give us problems.
CULINARY ZOOLOGY
Sounds like an upper-level elective class at a small liberal arts college in the northeast, right? Actually, it was a 10-minute seminar class my form 5 biology students gave me this week. We are going over the classification system of plants and animals, and I am using a full-color book chock full of great pictures of animals from around the world. After class the students wanted to see photos of the mongooses. My only real connection with mongooses is the Rudyard Kipling story of Riki-Tiki-Tavi, the Indian mongoose which takes on some nasty cobras. This area has mongooses, though, and the students wanted to see photos. Turns out the mongooses here are a bit of a pest. They found the photos and excitedly said "Ah, there it is!" After a few comments, they said "It is delicious." They chow those things! In a book which frequently mentions the endangered status of various anmimals, they were commenting on how, in fact, there is room for all wildlife in Dlangeni; right next to the corn porridge and cooked greens. This served as a fresh reminder that even though this is a high school, the surrounding culture is different from the one I grew up in.
CHIPPIE BUMPS
After our evening Bible reading and prayer, we all give each other hugs and kisses and then pack the girls into bed. Ruth is getting quite big now-Dr. Wasswa says the baby could come anytime now-and the latest Poglitsh edition makes his or her presence known with various moving bumps in Ruth's belly. The girls look forward to meeting "Chipmunk", and until that time they give Ruth a kiss on the belly. The girls like to see if they can find a "Chippie bump" to give a kiss; if they find an appendage making its appearance by causing a small distension of Ruth's stomach, they quickly give it a peck. It reminds me of that game "Whack the Mole" you can occasionally find at amusement parks, where a half-dozen mechanical moles randomly poke their heads out of holes and you earn points by whomping them down with a thickly-padded mallet. Our version is, of course, a little gentler.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
CHIPMUNK
We are about a month from the due date for Chipmunk and have started to lay some plans. The Mubiru's, friends who teach down the road, have agreed to take the girls while Ruth and I go to town for the delivery. The Mubiru's will then bring the girls in after the birth to meet their new sibling. Some other friends have agreed to let us stay with them before the delivery, and we're not sure what we'll do afterward, but the City Inn (a hotel smack dab in the middle of town) has been nice in the past. What a treat to let other people cook, wash dishes, and all that other stuff when you have a new, high-maintenance member of the family and a WIPED OUT mom!
I looked at a calendar a while ago and noticed that April 4 (the estimated due date) is Easter Sunday. If Chipmunk is a girl, we had previously decided that one of her names would be Anastasia-which means "Resurrection". We really don't mind if the child is a boy or a girl, but the "coincidence" of the name and the date would make a girl nice-as would the fact that we have a space and clothes for a girl all set. We will let you know how things go.
FAMILY STRUCTURE
I include two articles from the Times of Swaziland, the national newspaper of the country. They deal with family structure in Swaziland. It's not a pretty picture, as the head of NERCHA (the government agency dealing with HIV/AIDS) explains. We hope men step up and take care of their wives and children; it's better for everyone.
One Catch-22 we seem to have noticed is that as men aren't too involved at home, women shoulder a lot of domestic duties and are targeted for developmental aid; and because of that, men don't get as much attention, and they drop further out of the picture. Reaching men would be a boon for them AND their families.
ANOTHER EXTRA
I also include parts of a recent newsletter from our SMA (Society of African Missions) friends. The article "Development-Not An Easy Road" is a real and representative story about the challenges of "getting ahead" in Africa.
SOCCER AND NETBALL
The ball games are underway! Usually these school sports take place during the second term, but this year they will be finished before school gets out in April. The reason for the accelerated completion is that the sponsor (Coca-Cola) wants the high school season wrapped up so they can concentrate on the World Cup which begins in June. Fair enough.
The school played its first cames on the 26th; the boys soccer team tied 1-1 against (I haven't seen it written, so bear with me) Nhlanganisweni High School, while the girls netball team lost. This is something of a change from last year, when the girls got as far as the quarterfinals, while the boys crashed out in the first round. I didn't see either game (was home nursing a sore knee-more later), but I was glad to see boys scored a goal, even though it was a tie. That is a good sign. Hope the girls can pull it together.
Ruth was walking down the road a few days ago and saw the soccer team practicing-running, that is. This year's coach is doing a great job. The team faces Mbabane Central High School next week. The city teams are often pretty good, because (according to our rural students) they've never had to herd cattle or goats or plow, plant, and weed maize; they've spent their youth playing soccer, while our boys have been raising food. Still, if our young men can combine their fitness and skills with teamwork, they may be able to surprise some teams. I cannot remember a time that Nsukumbili got out of the first round of play; maybe this year.
SORE KNEE
In early December I ran down the road on the way to fix the water system. My knee was a little sore, but I didn't pay too much attention to it, and the soreness went away. About 3 weeks ago I went running on a Friday morning and was fine, but by noon it was so painful I could hardly walk. It swelled up some, but there was no bruising. I laid in bed Saturday and Sunday. The swelling went away and I was back to normal. I laid off the running and starting riding a bike, which gave me no trouble.
Last Wednesday the school soccer team had a "friendly" game with a local club. I was asked to referee, and I did. I consciously took it easy on the knee, and had no trouble during the match. As we put the kids to bed, though, things started feeling not quite right, and by the early afternoon on Thursday I was hobbled again. Back to bed, on my back, with the knee propped up on pillows, and ibuprofen going down my gullet like Sweetarts candy. Once again the swelling and the pain went away by late Saturday, but I have given up even trying running for 6 months. This is a little bit of a disappointment, but not a huge one; I really like to walk (which I want to be able to keep doing) and the bike keeps me in good shape. I have imagined going running with the girls, and that may still happen-later this year. Still, the walking is such a pleasure, and I want to be able to keep doing that. So the running will go, as will the refereeing.
Tangentially I was pleased with the reffing; I botched only 2 calls, and everyone went home happy and with only one minor injury (other than mine).
LENT
This is the Lenten season for many Christians. Lent is the 40 days before Easter, the same length of time Jesus spent in the desert after His baptism. This is a special time for purifying our lives, of confessing and driving out the sin and dross and replacing it with greater openness to and love for God.
Each night before retiring, Ruth and I read from a small devotional book. Following is a passage from Saint Ambrose, the bishop of Milan, Italy from 374 to 397. The Matthew referred to is the tax collector, the one who immediately left his job and followed Christ when Christ called him:
"Like him [Matthew], I too want to leave behind my old life, and follow no-one but you, O Lord, who cure my wounds. Who will ever separate me from the love of God which I find in you...? I am bound to the Faith, nailed to the Faith; I am bound by the holy bonds of love. All of your Commandments will be like a cauterising iron whose touch I will bear always on my body...medicine stings, but draws out the infection from the wound. Cut away, Lord Jesus, the putrefaction of my sins. For as long as you hold me bound by love, cut away any infection that is in me. Come soon to lance my many secret and hidden passions, and cut into the wound, so that the disease may not spread to the whole of my body...I have found a Physician who dwells in heaven, but who distributes his medicines on earth. He alone can cure my wounds because He does not suffer from them; He alone can take all sorrow away from my heart and all fear from my soul, because He knows me in the very depths of my being."
Perhaps this can be your time of turning over your wounds, your sins and your life to the Great Physician. He will give you a new and fulfilling life through relationship with Him.
NSUKUMHILLBILLY
Your needlenose pliers are much more frequently used for crushing ticks you pick off yourself and family members than for handyman tasks.
Hillbilly
Your eldest daughter can spot these 1/4 inch long ticks on the seedheads of grass-stalks overhanging the trail to church; she tells you "I see three" and, after straining your incredulous 40-something eyes, you realize she's right.
Six-Million-Dollar-Woman-Bionic-Eyes Hillbilly
Have a good day,
Rudy
We are about a month from the due date for Chipmunk and have started to lay some plans. The Mubiru's, friends who teach down the road, have agreed to take the girls while Ruth and I go to town for the delivery. The Mubiru's will then bring the girls in after the birth to meet their new sibling. Some other friends have agreed to let us stay with them before the delivery, and we're not sure what we'll do afterward, but the City Inn (a hotel smack dab in the middle of town) has been nice in the past. What a treat to let other people cook, wash dishes, and all that other stuff when you have a new, high-maintenance member of the family and a WIPED OUT mom!
I looked at a calendar a while ago and noticed that April 4 (the estimated due date) is Easter Sunday. If Chipmunk is a girl, we had previously decided that one of her names would be Anastasia-which means "Resurrection". We really don't mind if the child is a boy or a girl, but the "coincidence" of the name and the date would make a girl nice-as would the fact that we have a space and clothes for a girl all set. We will let you know how things go.
FAMILY STRUCTURE
I include two articles from the Times of Swaziland, the national newspaper of the country. They deal with family structure in Swaziland. It's not a pretty picture, as the head of NERCHA (the government agency dealing with HIV/AIDS) explains. We hope men step up and take care of their wives and children; it's better for everyone.
One Catch-22 we seem to have noticed is that as men aren't too involved at home, women shoulder a lot of domestic duties and are targeted for developmental aid; and because of that, men don't get as much attention, and they drop further out of the picture. Reaching men would be a boon for them AND their families.
ANOTHER EXTRA
I also include parts of a recent newsletter from our SMA (Society of African Missions) friends. The article "Development-Not An Easy Road" is a real and representative story about the challenges of "getting ahead" in Africa.
SOCCER AND NETBALL
The ball games are underway! Usually these school sports take place during the second term, but this year they will be finished before school gets out in April. The reason for the accelerated completion is that the sponsor (Coca-Cola) wants the high school season wrapped up so they can concentrate on the World Cup which begins in June. Fair enough.
The school played its first cames on the 26th; the boys soccer team tied 1-1 against (I haven't seen it written, so bear with me) Nhlanganisweni High School, while the girls netball team lost. This is something of a change from last year, when the girls got as far as the quarterfinals, while the boys crashed out in the first round. I didn't see either game (was home nursing a sore knee-more later), but I was glad to see boys scored a goal, even though it was a tie. That is a good sign. Hope the girls can pull it together.
Ruth was walking down the road a few days ago and saw the soccer team practicing-running, that is. This year's coach is doing a great job. The team faces Mbabane Central High School next week. The city teams are often pretty good, because (according to our rural students) they've never had to herd cattle or goats or plow, plant, and weed maize; they've spent their youth playing soccer, while our boys have been raising food. Still, if our young men can combine their fitness and skills with teamwork, they may be able to surprise some teams. I cannot remember a time that Nsukumbili got out of the first round of play; maybe this year.
SORE KNEE
In early December I ran down the road on the way to fix the water system. My knee was a little sore, but I didn't pay too much attention to it, and the soreness went away. About 3 weeks ago I went running on a Friday morning and was fine, but by noon it was so painful I could hardly walk. It swelled up some, but there was no bruising. I laid in bed Saturday and Sunday. The swelling went away and I was back to normal. I laid off the running and starting riding a bike, which gave me no trouble.
Last Wednesday the school soccer team had a "friendly" game with a local club. I was asked to referee, and I did. I consciously took it easy on the knee, and had no trouble during the match. As we put the kids to bed, though, things started feeling not quite right, and by the early afternoon on Thursday I was hobbled again. Back to bed, on my back, with the knee propped up on pillows, and ibuprofen going down my gullet like Sweetarts candy. Once again the swelling and the pain went away by late Saturday, but I have given up even trying running for 6 months. This is a little bit of a disappointment, but not a huge one; I really like to walk (which I want to be able to keep doing) and the bike keeps me in good shape. I have imagined going running with the girls, and that may still happen-later this year. Still, the walking is such a pleasure, and I want to be able to keep doing that. So the running will go, as will the refereeing.
Tangentially I was pleased with the reffing; I botched only 2 calls, and everyone went home happy and with only one minor injury (other than mine).
LENT
This is the Lenten season for many Christians. Lent is the 40 days before Easter, the same length of time Jesus spent in the desert after His baptism. This is a special time for purifying our lives, of confessing and driving out the sin and dross and replacing it with greater openness to and love for God.
Each night before retiring, Ruth and I read from a small devotional book. Following is a passage from Saint Ambrose, the bishop of Milan, Italy from 374 to 397. The Matthew referred to is the tax collector, the one who immediately left his job and followed Christ when Christ called him:
"Like him [Matthew], I too want to leave behind my old life, and follow no-one but you, O Lord, who cure my wounds. Who will ever separate me from the love of God which I find in you...? I am bound to the Faith, nailed to the Faith; I am bound by the holy bonds of love. All of your Commandments will be like a cauterising iron whose touch I will bear always on my body...medicine stings, but draws out the infection from the wound. Cut away, Lord Jesus, the putrefaction of my sins. For as long as you hold me bound by love, cut away any infection that is in me. Come soon to lance my many secret and hidden passions, and cut into the wound, so that the disease may not spread to the whole of my body...I have found a Physician who dwells in heaven, but who distributes his medicines on earth. He alone can cure my wounds because He does not suffer from them; He alone can take all sorrow away from my heart and all fear from my soul, because He knows me in the very depths of my being."
Perhaps this can be your time of turning over your wounds, your sins and your life to the Great Physician. He will give you a new and fulfilling life through relationship with Him.
NSUKUMHILLBILLY
Your needlenose pliers are much more frequently used for crushing ticks you pick off yourself and family members than for handyman tasks.
Hillbilly
Your eldest daughter can spot these 1/4 inch long ticks on the seedheads of grass-stalks overhanging the trail to church; she tells you "I see three" and, after straining your incredulous 40-something eyes, you realize she's right.
Six-Million-Dollar-Woman-Bionic-Eyes Hillbilly
Have a good day,
Rudy
Saturday, February 20, 2010
150 DEGREES
The passive solar water bug has really bitten me. Out of curiosity I took a shallow, wide basin and put 10 liters of water in it. I laid a clear, thick piece of plastic over the top and left it in direct sun for about 3 hours. It reached 150 degrees! I had to imagine: what would it do if the basin were black? Probably scald the kids and I, so I should leave well enough alone. You can see a photo of the basin at http://poglitshphotos.blogspot.com. It's the turquoise basin on the ground in the lower part of the photo. You can also see the gutter (attached to the roof) and the black barrel beneath it. This we installed to catch rainwater, which it does very well-and it fills quickly, even in a moderate rain.
HOW MANY OVCS?
The government is paying school fees for an ever-increasing number of students labelled as OVCs (orphans and vulnerable children). The idea was to keep kids in school who had lost parents and could not pay the fees. Then, they didn't want to embarrass these kids, so the definition included "vulnerable". This has expanded the OVC pool quite a bit. At a recent school assembly, the headmaster asked all those students who were receiving a government scholarship to remain behind. About 80% of the students stayed behind. Of course the scholarship means well, but it appears surviving and responsible parents are being punished: they are forking out a couple thousand Emalangeni a year for school, while most kids marked OVC are paying almost nothing.
SCHOOL SOCCER
I am happily not coaching soccer this year. Soon after school opened, I gave a letter of resignation to the athletic director, and I've heard nothing since. Really nice. The school picked up a local man to coach; he has played at the highest professional level in Swaziland, and after briefly watching his training, it's clear the players respect him. Wonderful. I did notice, with satisfaction, that he had them running like crazy and not even touching a ball. Magnificent.
UNEXPECTED BLESSING
During the track and field practice, a senior student I had trouble with during soccer last year (who ended up off the team permanently) walked over to me and, unannounced, sat in my shadow at my feet. He said he was feeling sick and asked if I would pray for him. I said "Sure, I'll pray for you" and put my hands on his head and prayed. He then remained sitting at my feet for 10 more minutes as we discussed international soccer. Then, just as unceremoniously, he got up and walked off. We have had a good relationship since then. I don't know what to make of this, but I'm happy with it. Thanks be to God, whose grace is sometimes very amazing.
UNEXPECTED INVITATION
During halftime at a recent soccer game between my "home" club (they come from the area of my adopted Swazi homestead) of Hlokomeni Cosmos and a team called "Sundowns", I was asked by a student/player to give the team some advice. At first I blew him off, because he tends to tease me. He persisted. I told him I could see two men standing in front of the team, talking to the players. He replied "No, those guys have been drinking"-which I could see was true. I said "There's that other guy; he's a player, and he's coaching". "No, he's also been drinking" said the student. Yeah, I could see that too. Okay, I tried to turn him down three times, but he seemed serious. I hesitatingly walked over to the team and said something about sticking with your man even when he doesn't have the ball, and something about passing the ball quickly and then moving to get open for a return pass instead of dribbling it. The players turned their heads more than 90 degrees to see me, and they paid attention the whole time I spoke. After my little talk, they got up and went back on the field for the second half. I walked back to the sideline, astonished. I would say this place keeps you on your toes, but sometimes it just plain knocks you down. Cosmos won the game, 2-1.
TRUCK CROPS
A student named Bhutana Ncongwane (who is related to one of the players on Cosmos) comes from a hard-working family. They grow cabbages and maize for sale, and they also buy fruit wholesale and sell it retail. Bhutana told us in January that they have cabbages, bananas, and mangoes for sale. I placed an order with him, and told him to bring it to school the next day. I can't remember if it was the next day or the same day, but he pulled up in the family pickup truck and let us take our pick from the bed. It was E1 for a banana, E2 (I think) for a cabbage, and E3 for a mango. What a deal! See pictures at the blog. He has arrived at other times and simply honked his horn. The girls (and the other teachers) have figured out what that means, and they run out to meet the ambulatory green grocer. He can keep busy selling things for 20 minutes. We are happy: the money stays local, and we don't have to lug it home from town on bus and back. He recently sold us 16 ears of big, healthy corn for E10-that's enough corn on the cob for 8 people for about $1.50.
TRAVEL AND CONVERSATIONS
We travelled to town on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17th. The US Ambassador had an open house for US residents at his home. We tried to cluster our town appointments, so Ruth set up a doctor's appointment for the same day. Ruth went in early, and the girls watched a movie at home while I taught for 2 more hours. Then the 4 of us packed up and got into town. After the 4PM get-together we spent the night at the Mater Dolorosa guest house, courtesy of the ever-hospitable Sister Bene (from Italy).
As we made our circuitous way to the doctor's office, Kit said (at least twice) "I know where mommy is". I asked "Where?" Kit replied "Somewhere else."
By the time we got to the Ambassador's house, it was raining pretty heavily. We hadn't packed any umbrellas, and as we walked up the driveway to the front door Grace said "I'm using my head as an umbrella, and it's not very comfortable."
Here's one from Cubby (Faith) to round things off. Faith--while playing with a stuffed pig. "Kit, real pigs don't really have fur. They just have skin that looks like plastic."
Have a nice day,
Rudy for the gang
The passive solar water bug has really bitten me. Out of curiosity I took a shallow, wide basin and put 10 liters of water in it. I laid a clear, thick piece of plastic over the top and left it in direct sun for about 3 hours. It reached 150 degrees! I had to imagine: what would it do if the basin were black? Probably scald the kids and I, so I should leave well enough alone. You can see a photo of the basin at http://poglitshphotos.blogspot.com. It's the turquoise basin on the ground in the lower part of the photo. You can also see the gutter (attached to the roof) and the black barrel beneath it. This we installed to catch rainwater, which it does very well-and it fills quickly, even in a moderate rain.
HOW MANY OVCS?
The government is paying school fees for an ever-increasing number of students labelled as OVCs (orphans and vulnerable children). The idea was to keep kids in school who had lost parents and could not pay the fees. Then, they didn't want to embarrass these kids, so the definition included "vulnerable". This has expanded the OVC pool quite a bit. At a recent school assembly, the headmaster asked all those students who were receiving a government scholarship to remain behind. About 80% of the students stayed behind. Of course the scholarship means well, but it appears surviving and responsible parents are being punished: they are forking out a couple thousand Emalangeni a year for school, while most kids marked OVC are paying almost nothing.
SCHOOL SOCCER
I am happily not coaching soccer this year. Soon after school opened, I gave a letter of resignation to the athletic director, and I've heard nothing since. Really nice. The school picked up a local man to coach; he has played at the highest professional level in Swaziland, and after briefly watching his training, it's clear the players respect him. Wonderful. I did notice, with satisfaction, that he had them running like crazy and not even touching a ball. Magnificent.
UNEXPECTED BLESSING
During the track and field practice, a senior student I had trouble with during soccer last year (who ended up off the team permanently) walked over to me and, unannounced, sat in my shadow at my feet. He said he was feeling sick and asked if I would pray for him. I said "Sure, I'll pray for you" and put my hands on his head and prayed. He then remained sitting at my feet for 10 more minutes as we discussed international soccer. Then, just as unceremoniously, he got up and walked off. We have had a good relationship since then. I don't know what to make of this, but I'm happy with it. Thanks be to God, whose grace is sometimes very amazing.
UNEXPECTED INVITATION
During halftime at a recent soccer game between my "home" club (they come from the area of my adopted Swazi homestead) of Hlokomeni Cosmos and a team called "Sundowns", I was asked by a student/player to give the team some advice. At first I blew him off, because he tends to tease me. He persisted. I told him I could see two men standing in front of the team, talking to the players. He replied "No, those guys have been drinking"-which I could see was true. I said "There's that other guy; he's a player, and he's coaching". "No, he's also been drinking" said the student. Yeah, I could see that too. Okay, I tried to turn him down three times, but he seemed serious. I hesitatingly walked over to the team and said something about sticking with your man even when he doesn't have the ball, and something about passing the ball quickly and then moving to get open for a return pass instead of dribbling it. The players turned their heads more than 90 degrees to see me, and they paid attention the whole time I spoke. After my little talk, they got up and went back on the field for the second half. I walked back to the sideline, astonished. I would say this place keeps you on your toes, but sometimes it just plain knocks you down. Cosmos won the game, 2-1.
TRUCK CROPS
A student named Bhutana Ncongwane (who is related to one of the players on Cosmos) comes from a hard-working family. They grow cabbages and maize for sale, and they also buy fruit wholesale and sell it retail. Bhutana told us in January that they have cabbages, bananas, and mangoes for sale. I placed an order with him, and told him to bring it to school the next day. I can't remember if it was the next day or the same day, but he pulled up in the family pickup truck and let us take our pick from the bed. It was E1 for a banana, E2 (I think) for a cabbage, and E3 for a mango. What a deal! See pictures at the blog. He has arrived at other times and simply honked his horn. The girls (and the other teachers) have figured out what that means, and they run out to meet the ambulatory green grocer. He can keep busy selling things for 20 minutes. We are happy: the money stays local, and we don't have to lug it home from town on bus and back. He recently sold us 16 ears of big, healthy corn for E10-that's enough corn on the cob for 8 people for about $1.50.
TRAVEL AND CONVERSATIONS
We travelled to town on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17th. The US Ambassador had an open house for US residents at his home. We tried to cluster our town appointments, so Ruth set up a doctor's appointment for the same day. Ruth went in early, and the girls watched a movie at home while I taught for 2 more hours. Then the 4 of us packed up and got into town. After the 4PM get-together we spent the night at the Mater Dolorosa guest house, courtesy of the ever-hospitable Sister Bene (from Italy).
As we made our circuitous way to the doctor's office, Kit said (at least twice) "I know where mommy is". I asked "Where?" Kit replied "Somewhere else."
By the time we got to the Ambassador's house, it was raining pretty heavily. We hadn't packed any umbrellas, and as we walked up the driveway to the front door Grace said "I'm using my head as an umbrella, and it's not very comfortable."
Here's one from Cubby (Faith) to round things off. Faith--while playing with a stuffed pig. "Kit, real pigs don't really have fur. They just have skin that looks like plastic."
Have a nice day,
Rudy for the gang
Saturday, February 6, 2010
January 26, 2010
MONEY MAKERS
Three great stories about income generation recently.
1) Stan Mamba told me he knows a man who has an arrangement with a local poultry company. The man has built a chicken house up to the company's standards. The company brings chicks (I forget the age) and food for them for the next 9 weeks. At the end of 9 weeks, the company comes back and pays the man E2 for every chicken that is up to the minimum weight. With the numbers of chicks running into the hundreds, and the 9-week process taking place year-round, this is a money maker! I was glad to hear about it. One catch: you have to have a steady supply of water to keep things clean. Still, with a relatively small input, this is good and steady income.
2) Thokozane Khumalo tells us that two local health food stores have sold 30kg of moringa powder since November. 30kg might not sound like much, but multiply 30 by 2.2 and you get 66 pounds of a powder with the approximate density of parsley. Harvesting the moringa leaves and turning them into powder also takes place numerous times a year. I didn't ask the price per (small) bag, but even at just a few bucks this looks like a money maker too.
3) I spoke with a young man at a computer firm in Mbabane last week. I told him I was a teacher and that I wanted to pass on to my students stories of people who have "made it" in the work world. I asked him, then, how he ended up doing this computer work. He said he just liked computers and got himself a desktop and a laptop, and started using them. He knows them inside out, and he's got steady work from it. He also said he's worked with people who have taken training courses in town, and they know almost nothing. As with a plumber and an electrician I've known, motivation and hands-on practice make a huge difference in getting paying work.
87:1
That's the ratio of the number of minutes I (and hundreds of other people) stood under the January sun in southern Africa waiting to sign a new contract to the number of minutes we needed to put our names on the dotted line. I arrived at Mjingo high school in Manzini (the first school in Swaziland where I taught a full term) at 7AM, and signed a contract at 2:15. The process ran like Swiss trains-which have been hit by avalanches during a week when the snow removal guys are on vacation in Miami. The man in charge showed up at 9:30, spent some time introducing the folks at the front, then said people from two regions (Lubombo and Shiselweni) should stay in the hall to sign contracts, while teachers from Manzini and Hhohho regions should go to the appropriately-marked classrooms outside. Too bad he didn't add "Let the games begin!" for flourish. Our Ugandan friend Godfrey Mubiru happened to be in front of the appropriate classroom when the announcement was made. He later told me he was so pressed by teachers trying to get into the room that he could not move forward or back. I thought the pileups to get into kombis were bad; contract signing day made them look like a stroll in the park. One could occasionally hear women emitting long, high-pitched cries of fear and pain near the door. At times the door itself would slowly and erratically open and close, clearly under the opposing forces of people trying to get in and the Swazi police (who attended the event) trying to keep people out. I stood for 45 minutes in the "wrong" line (the one for elementary school teachers), but it didn't really matter, as the lines for high and elementary schools converged on the same classroom. What was the point of that? Another teacher and I came up with ideas for streamlining this process, mainly by decentralizing it. All the same, we teachers didn't show much professionalism with our pushing and shoving. And yet every year the process takes this long. Why does the ministry of education insist on bringing everyone together in one place for one marathon "see-if-you-can-figure-out-where-to-stand-and-hope-you-can-catch-the-last-bus-to-your-house" paperwork extravaganza?
The process isn't quite over yet. I have to make a copy of one of the forms they gave me (um, howzabout you guys make 2 copies and keep one?), and return these with another form from my headmaster to the office in Mbabane.
Two bright spots, though: I got to speak to some teachers from Zimbabwe, and they said things are better (if not perfect) there. Food and gas are available again, and one teacher attributed it to the national unity government of Mugabe and the opposition guy (whose name I can pronounce but cannot spell off the top of my head). Apparently US dollars are now the currency; perhaps that has also helped.
Also, the contract I signed is good for two years. That means, hopefully, no 7-hour suntanning session next year; so the ratio above can perhaps be cut in half.
CORRECTION
Some time back I wrote about AIDS and sexual behavior. I said that habits established before marriage generally carry over after marriage. A friend of mine who works full-time in AIDS prevention said that in fact promiscuity generally ceases after marriage. I appreciated and wanted to pass on his correction.
WHAT'S IN A NAME? PART II
This may be funnier to folks in Swaziland than to those in the US. I typed this year's class roster into a computer, then ran a spellcheck. The names of students are on the left, and the computer's suggestions are on the right (after the hyphen).
Mabaso-Tabasco
Mkhontfo-Pocahontas
Pholile-Loophole
Thandowetfu-Thankfullest
Hlophe-Gopher
Nomkhosi-Hosiery, Cirrhosis, Sinkhole, Psychosis, Khomeni
Mncina-Medicinal, Menacing
Khumbuzile-Humbugged
Ngabisa-Nabisco
Temlandvo-Timberland
Lomathemba-Aromatherapist
Tfwala-Halfway
Bonsile-Tonsil
Gcinile-Glycine
Mbongiseni-Trombonist
Mcolisi-Coliseum
Cedusizi-Undersizing
Ndzingane-Manganese
Nombulelo-Combustible
Three great stories about income generation recently.
1) Stan Mamba told me he knows a man who has an arrangement with a local poultry company. The man has built a chicken house up to the company's standards. The company brings chicks (I forget the age) and food for them for the next 9 weeks. At the end of 9 weeks, the company comes back and pays the man E2 for every chicken that is up to the minimum weight. With the numbers of chicks running into the hundreds, and the 9-week process taking place year-round, this is a money maker! I was glad to hear about it. One catch: you have to have a steady supply of water to keep things clean. Still, with a relatively small input, this is good and steady income.
2) Thokozane Khumalo tells us that two local health food stores have sold 30kg of moringa powder since November. 30kg might not sound like much, but multiply 30 by 2.2 and you get 66 pounds of a powder with the approximate density of parsley. Harvesting the moringa leaves and turning them into powder also takes place numerous times a year. I didn't ask the price per (small) bag, but even at just a few bucks this looks like a money maker too.
3) I spoke with a young man at a computer firm in Mbabane last week. I told him I was a teacher and that I wanted to pass on to my students stories of people who have "made it" in the work world. I asked him, then, how he ended up doing this computer work. He said he just liked computers and got himself a desktop and a laptop, and started using them. He knows them inside out, and he's got steady work from it. He also said he's worked with people who have taken training courses in town, and they know almost nothing. As with a plumber and an electrician I've known, motivation and hands-on practice make a huge difference in getting paying work.
87:1
That's the ratio of the number of minutes I (and hundreds of other people) stood under the January sun in southern Africa waiting to sign a new contract to the number of minutes we needed to put our names on the dotted line. I arrived at Mjingo high school in Manzini (the first school in Swaziland where I taught a full term) at 7AM, and signed a contract at 2:15. The process ran like Swiss trains-which have been hit by avalanches during a week when the snow removal guys are on vacation in Miami. The man in charge showed up at 9:30, spent some time introducing the folks at the front, then said people from two regions (Lubombo and Shiselweni) should stay in the hall to sign contracts, while teachers from Manzini and Hhohho regions should go to the appropriately-marked classrooms outside. Too bad he didn't add "Let the games begin!" for flourish. Our Ugandan friend Godfrey Mubiru happened to be in front of the appropriate classroom when the announcement was made. He later told me he was so pressed by teachers trying to get into the room that he could not move forward or back. I thought the pileups to get into kombis were bad; contract signing day made them look like a stroll in the park. One could occasionally hear women emitting long, high-pitched cries of fear and pain near the door. At times the door itself would slowly and erratically open and close, clearly under the opposing forces of people trying to get in and the Swazi police (who attended the event) trying to keep people out. I stood for 45 minutes in the "wrong" line (the one for elementary school teachers), but it didn't really matter, as the lines for high and elementary schools converged on the same classroom. What was the point of that? Another teacher and I came up with ideas for streamlining this process, mainly by decentralizing it. All the same, we teachers didn't show much professionalism with our pushing and shoving. And yet every year the process takes this long. Why does the ministry of education insist on bringing everyone together in one place for one marathon "see-if-you-can-figure-out-where-to-stand-and-hope-you-can-catch-the-last-bus-to-your-house" paperwork extravaganza?
The process isn't quite over yet. I have to make a copy of one of the forms they gave me (um, howzabout you guys make 2 copies and keep one?), and return these with another form from my headmaster to the office in Mbabane.
Two bright spots, though: I got to speak to some teachers from Zimbabwe, and they said things are better (if not perfect) there. Food and gas are available again, and one teacher attributed it to the national unity government of Mugabe and the opposition guy (whose name I can pronounce but cannot spell off the top of my head). Apparently US dollars are now the currency; perhaps that has also helped.
Also, the contract I signed is good for two years. That means, hopefully, no 7-hour suntanning session next year; so the ratio above can perhaps be cut in half.
CORRECTION
Some time back I wrote about AIDS and sexual behavior. I said that habits established before marriage generally carry over after marriage. A friend of mine who works full-time in AIDS prevention said that in fact promiscuity generally ceases after marriage. I appreciated and wanted to pass on his correction.
WHAT'S IN A NAME? PART II
This may be funnier to folks in Swaziland than to those in the US. I typed this year's class roster into a computer, then ran a spellcheck. The names of students are on the left, and the computer's suggestions are on the right (after the hyphen).
Mabaso-Tabasco
Mkhontfo-Pocahontas
Pholile-Loophole
Thandowetfu-Thankfullest
Hlophe-Gopher
Nomkhosi-Hosiery, Cirrhosis, Sinkhole, Psychosis, Khomeni
Mncina-Medicinal, Menacing
Khumbuzile-Humbugged
Ngabisa-Nabisco
Temlandvo-Timberland
Lomathemba-Aromatherapist
Tfwala-Halfway
Bonsile-Tonsil
Gcinile-Glycine
Mbongiseni-Trombonist
Mcolisi-Coliseum
Cedusizi-Undersizing
Ndzingane-Manganese
Nombulelo-Combustible
January 23, 2010
END OF SCHOOL BREAK
This has been a very enjoyable break. We had good times with friends over Christmas and New Year's, and the rest of the time we have completed most of the things on our to-do lists. Rudy especially enjoyed hiking, once with a friend from town and 3 or 4 with our girls. School opens Tuesday, Jan. 26. Catch is, temporary teachers (which Rudy has been all 7 years, and will continue to be until we leave) are supposed to sign their contracts on Monday the 25th in Manzini. We'll see what that does to the schools countrywide!
THE ROAD AHEAD
This was put together by Ruth a while ago. Rudy hesitated to send it, but now thinks it's a good thing to get out.
Dear Friends and Family Members,
About a year ago, we announced our intentions of moving into agricultural development work in a year. To accomplish this required 4 things:
1) Having a US based organization and doing fundraising
2) Having a Swazi based organizaton for legal purposes
3) Having a plan of action
4) Having local housing
Updates:
#2) During the first school break we spent a lot of time exploring what different groups were doing. We found a Swazi NGO that we would feel good about working with. #2 done
#3) We wrote up a proposed plan that would fit our skills and abilities. We have continued to do the demonstration garden at our church. We have been able to mentor a young man working with SwaziAid's program introducing moringa. We have seen some good things, but frankly very few youth are interested in agriculture as an occupation. It seems that Swaziland's relative prosperity means that while jobs are few, most homesteads have someone employed in a paying job and many preparing or looking for paying jobs. Low paid jobs with stable salaries are more appealing than the uncertainties of agricultural work.
The Farming Gods Way/Conservation tillage method has some serious flaws for our area because of cattle eating all of the mulch during the dry season. We will be experimenting with some cow resistant green manure crops at the church this year.
We were counseled by an American experienced in this type of work to move back our time schedule. She felt that while Rudy was employed it was wisest to start the types of things we would like to do so that we can work out the problems with our program design while things are small. She also suggested waiting until the children were older so that I would be freer.
#4) Right as we were considering making this transition there were a string of break-ins in our community. Including the house on Rudy's homestead that we were interested in renting (just a few days before Rudy met with the owner to talk about renting it). We realized that we would be a magnet for thieves and the best option would be to try and make arrangements to have a house on the school grounds--but that would involve $20,000US to build a place.
#1) It took us awhile to realize how serious the economic situation in the US had become. Three years ago I am sure that we would have had no problem raising the funds that we needed to work in agriculture. At this point we don't feel good about doing fundraising and starting a new venture when so many people are struggling financially. It seems wisest to stay put teaching, do what we can on the side, and let the Teacher Service Commission/Swazi Government continue it's support of our time here.
So our plans have been greatly modified. We decided to have another child since that is something we won't want to do in the middle of a big life transition and our chances to do that will run out soon (We just turned 42). Rudy is continuing to teach.
After many years of teaching, Rudy has become interested in a job with more defined tasks and accomplishments and one where his success isn't based on the actions of other people. This growing desire doesn't fit well with agricultural development. The ag work is definitely my dream--and while I think Rudy and I would work together extremely well in this kind of a program, I am coming to realize that for us to succeed we need a shared dream among community members, Rudy, myself, and funders. We are very far from this shared dream, and at this stage in my life I do not have the time available to devote to this project. So we are stepping back from moving into full-time agricultural development work. We don't anticipate changing our situation in the next couple of years. Long term, Rudy has developed an interest in ultrasound work and he will be exploring that interest to see if it would be a good option for us when the time comes for us to leave Swaziland.
We appreciate your interest in our lives here. We would appreciate prayers for clear direction--I like to have a sensible life plan.
The school has announced that it will not admit students with low exam scores into Form 1 for 2010. They will have to repeat part of primary school or find a different place to study. This should make the Form 1 classes smaller (Currently about 60 per class). In a previous year they didn't re-admit students who failed their Form 3 exam. The current group of Form 5's was a very good class and the school has high hopes for them. The administration wants Nsukumbili to be a more academically-oriented school. We will see what happens.
PROJECTED MAIZE (CORN) HARVEST
I (Rudy) am pretty slow on the draw. It has slowly dawned on me, as Ruth has known for most of her adult years, that subsistence farmers depend on their annual harvest for the coming year. Most of us (including the Poglitsh's here in SWD) simply go to the store to get our food; that is not quite as easy for most of our non-school neighbors. As a result, I have been paying closer attention to maize fields. Grace and I went on a big hike today, and I happily report that most fields around here look good. The corn crops are at different stages of development, but they pretty much all look good. Barring any horrendous hailstorms (we had one a few years ago), it appears that this will be a good maize year. I am convinced one of life's greatest gifts is a hard day's work (including sweat, ideally), followed by a bath, followed by a good meal, followed by an unbroken sleep. Dlangeni residents look to be in good position for this happy sequence.
NSUKUMHILLBILLY
Your eldest daughter says "Mom says marshmallows are just another kind of candy-so let's try roasting some of the Life Savers the grandparents sent us for Christmas!" You concede. Roasted Life Savers aren't that great, and beware of the hot and dripping bits that are right above the candle flame; they hurt on the skin!
Hillbilly
The water is out, but you want to clean the pan you baked tonight's chicken in. Solution? Put the pan in the backyard and let the neighborhood dogs lick it clean, and use soap and water the next day when the water returns.
Hillbilly
You are tired of the dirty walls, but you only have 10 liters of paint at your house to cover 20 liters worth of wall. Solution? Paint the bottom half of the dirtiest walls until the paint runs out. Everything looks nice except the hallway, but a line of children's artwork over the seam where the colors don't quite match takes care of that problem quite nicely.
Hillbilly
This has been a very enjoyable break. We had good times with friends over Christmas and New Year's, and the rest of the time we have completed most of the things on our to-do lists. Rudy especially enjoyed hiking, once with a friend from town and 3 or 4 with our girls. School opens Tuesday, Jan. 26. Catch is, temporary teachers (which Rudy has been all 7 years, and will continue to be until we leave) are supposed to sign their contracts on Monday the 25th in Manzini. We'll see what that does to the schools countrywide!
THE ROAD AHEAD
This was put together by Ruth a while ago. Rudy hesitated to send it, but now thinks it's a good thing to get out.
Dear Friends and Family Members,
About a year ago, we announced our intentions of moving into agricultural development work in a year. To accomplish this required 4 things:
1) Having a US based organization and doing fundraising
2) Having a Swazi based organizaton for legal purposes
3) Having a plan of action
4) Having local housing
Updates:
#2) During the first school break we spent a lot of time exploring what different groups were doing. We found a Swazi NGO that we would feel good about working with. #2 done
#3) We wrote up a proposed plan that would fit our skills and abilities. We have continued to do the demonstration garden at our church. We have been able to mentor a young man working with SwaziAid's program introducing moringa. We have seen some good things, but frankly very few youth are interested in agriculture as an occupation. It seems that Swaziland's relative prosperity means that while jobs are few, most homesteads have someone employed in a paying job and many preparing or looking for paying jobs. Low paid jobs with stable salaries are more appealing than the uncertainties of agricultural work.
The Farming Gods Way/Conservation tillage method has some serious flaws for our area because of cattle eating all of the mulch during the dry season. We will be experimenting with some cow resistant green manure crops at the church this year.
We were counseled by an American experienced in this type of work to move back our time schedule. She felt that while Rudy was employed it was wisest to start the types of things we would like to do so that we can work out the problems with our program design while things are small. She also suggested waiting until the children were older so that I would be freer.
#4) Right as we were considering making this transition there were a string of break-ins in our community. Including the house on Rudy's homestead that we were interested in renting (just a few days before Rudy met with the owner to talk about renting it). We realized that we would be a magnet for thieves and the best option would be to try and make arrangements to have a house on the school grounds--but that would involve $20,000US to build a place.
#1) It took us awhile to realize how serious the economic situation in the US had become. Three years ago I am sure that we would have had no problem raising the funds that we needed to work in agriculture. At this point we don't feel good about doing fundraising and starting a new venture when so many people are struggling financially. It seems wisest to stay put teaching, do what we can on the side, and let the Teacher Service Commission/Swazi Government continue it's support of our time here.
So our plans have been greatly modified. We decided to have another child since that is something we won't want to do in the middle of a big life transition and our chances to do that will run out soon (We just turned 42). Rudy is continuing to teach.
After many years of teaching, Rudy has become interested in a job with more defined tasks and accomplishments and one where his success isn't based on the actions of other people. This growing desire doesn't fit well with agricultural development. The ag work is definitely my dream--and while I think Rudy and I would work together extremely well in this kind of a program, I am coming to realize that for us to succeed we need a shared dream among community members, Rudy, myself, and funders. We are very far from this shared dream, and at this stage in my life I do not have the time available to devote to this project. So we are stepping back from moving into full-time agricultural development work. We don't anticipate changing our situation in the next couple of years. Long term, Rudy has developed an interest in ultrasound work and he will be exploring that interest to see if it would be a good option for us when the time comes for us to leave Swaziland.
We appreciate your interest in our lives here. We would appreciate prayers for clear direction--I like to have a sensible life plan.
The school has announced that it will not admit students with low exam scores into Form 1 for 2010. They will have to repeat part of primary school or find a different place to study. This should make the Form 1 classes smaller (Currently about 60 per class). In a previous year they didn't re-admit students who failed their Form 3 exam. The current group of Form 5's was a very good class and the school has high hopes for them. The administration wants Nsukumbili to be a more academically-oriented school. We will see what happens.
PROJECTED MAIZE (CORN) HARVEST
I (Rudy) am pretty slow on the draw. It has slowly dawned on me, as Ruth has known for most of her adult years, that subsistence farmers depend on their annual harvest for the coming year. Most of us (including the Poglitsh's here in SWD) simply go to the store to get our food; that is not quite as easy for most of our non-school neighbors. As a result, I have been paying closer attention to maize fields. Grace and I went on a big hike today, and I happily report that most fields around here look good. The corn crops are at different stages of development, but they pretty much all look good. Barring any horrendous hailstorms (we had one a few years ago), it appears that this will be a good maize year. I am convinced one of life's greatest gifts is a hard day's work (including sweat, ideally), followed by a bath, followed by a good meal, followed by an unbroken sleep. Dlangeni residents look to be in good position for this happy sequence.
NSUKUMHILLBILLY
Your eldest daughter says "Mom says marshmallows are just another kind of candy-so let's try roasting some of the Life Savers the grandparents sent us for Christmas!" You concede. Roasted Life Savers aren't that great, and beware of the hot and dripping bits that are right above the candle flame; they hurt on the skin!
Hillbilly
The water is out, but you want to clean the pan you baked tonight's chicken in. Solution? Put the pan in the backyard and let the neighborhood dogs lick it clean, and use soap and water the next day when the water returns.
Hillbilly
You are tired of the dirty walls, but you only have 10 liters of paint at your house to cover 20 liters worth of wall. Solution? Paint the bottom half of the dirtiest walls until the paint runs out. Everything looks nice except the hallway, but a line of children's artwork over the seam where the colors don't quite match takes care of that problem quite nicely.
Hillbilly
February 6, 2010
TREELINE
Almost every spring (around August/September here in the southern hemisphere) we experience strong winds from the west. In August 1996 we experienced one night of winds so strong they tore the roofs off some houses (visit http://poglitshphotos.blogspot.com for photos). Many of you contributed money to rebuild the damages buildings, and we appreciated it.
After that harrowing night, Ruth and I decided to do something: build a living windbreak. Using pits from avocados we had eaten or pits we found laying around (even in the gutters in town), we planted a line of trees on the western end of the teacher housing (from whence the winds come howling each spring). At the same photograph website mentioned above, you can see photos taken of the line of trees yesterday. For scale, Grace is about 4 feet tall. We may not be here long enough to see the trees get really big or even set fruit (though Ruth says it will be only about 5 years before the avocados appear), but it sure is satisfying to see the trees coming up.
BANANAS DO NOT GROW ON TREES
Technically (as I am led to believe), banana plants are not trees. I don't remember the reason, but you past ECHOites probably do.
Whether they are trees or not, three of our banana plants are setting bananas, and we recently harvested one bunch! The plants were gifts a few years ago from a student whom we put in touch with a scholarship fund. He won a scholarship and could finish his education, and the plants were a token of his appreciation. The short, fat bananas are delicious. In a few more months we'll be able to harvest at least one more bunch. We got to give his brother (who is in school) two bananas (one for him and one for his brother) as a thank-you for the thank-you. Unfortunately, the original gift-giving student is home sick with some chronic abdominal problem. If you would pray for him, he and we would appreciate it.
A TREE GROWS IN MSUNDUZA
Msunduza is a peri-urban area around Mbabane. Recently I got off a minibus in Msunduza after it had carried Cubby and I from the school into town. We came across a VERY large tree (once again, visit the poglitshphotos website for a photo) that I did not recognize. I wondered how I could miss such a very big tree, coming through this area as frequently as we do. Then I looked a little closer (do so yourself, before reading on): in fact, the "tree" is a cell phone tower disguised as a tree. My brother Chris lived in Johannesburg for a year or so and said these things dot the highways around Joburg; now we have one of our own. I think it's a good thing; if you're going to have a cell phone tower (and they sure are nice for reception), it's nice to have an arbor-esque themed one.
GYM TEACHER
The first sport of the school year is track and field (called "Athletics" here). Almost very student is reqired to participate. The school population (about 500) is divided into four teams, and after a few weeks of training the groups compete in an inter-school track meet. Then a smaller team is chosen and trained to represent the school against other schools.
As you may imagine, not every student in a school likes or is familiar with running. In the past, I have laced up my running shoes and hit the dirt road with the students, as an encouragement and for "sheperding" and for the exercise myself. For some reason, though, my left knee was so painful last Friday after a morning run that I hardly left the house Saturday or Sunday. I know running is out for now, but I wanted to help with the team. So I got my bike down and went with the students that way.
To keep the back of the group moving, I would pedal slowly behind them. If my presence didn't work, I would whistle like the herd boys do when they are driving cows or goats. That worked for a few, but not too many. So, I did the next thing herdboys do: pick up some small stones. If stragglers at the back of the group still weren't at least trying to trot, I would raise my stone and threaten to throw it. After lobbing a few stones a few feet behind the dragging feet of students without substantial effect, I reached for a stick (also a herd boy tool of the trade). THAT the students understood. I touched not one student with the stick, but an uplifted 30 inch tree branch is SiSwati for "Move it!" We all got back to the soccer field
in good time. We have 2 or 3 more days of practice; next Thursday is the big track meet. It's almost always a good time, except when the afternoon thunderstorms common this time of year threaten to drop lightning on our fun. Swazis seem oblivious to the dangers of lightning, though every year the paper carries stories of people dying from strikes. I regularly tell my science students about the dangers of lightning and what to do in case a storm is near.
MORE WRITING ABOUT RAIN AND BUILDINGS
This has been the wettest summer we can remember. If you have been receiving this newsletter for a while, you also know how annoying and inconvenient it is when the water stops coming out of our taps (and how much fun Mr. Mamba and I have fixing the problem).
We have a 100 liter (think 50 two-liter bottles) plastic barrel we had been placing beneath the eaves to catch runoff during rains. We wondered how much more water we could collect if we just had a short length of gutter. So the same Saturday (I think) that Cubby and I met the cell phone tower tree, we purchased 3 yards of raingutter and the brackets to install it. After the rest of our errands, we carried the gutter to the bus rank (station). The line for kombis straight to Nsukumbili was huge, and I knew a 9 foot plastic tray would not be appreciated or easy to manage in a crowd clambering for seats. So another kombi which gets within walking distance of Nsukumbili was nearby, and we went over to it. A bus rank officer protested that there was no way the gutter would fit in the kombi. But I saw no other way to get it home, so gently reassured him that it would even as I went about trying to shoehorn it in. Sometimes, I find it useful to simply proceed with one's project and deflect objections from authorities/onlookers as you proceed. Ask me about getting my into a shopping mall with my bike sometime, if you are interested. To my happy suprise the gutter did make it, though it touched the back window of the kombi and went so far forward it sat near the shoulder of the driver. Looking back on it, it reminds me of like those parrots which sit on the shoulder of the pirates in the old movies/cartoons.
We began our trip, and the weather was holding-for a while. By the time we were in Pine Valley, the clouds were spitting intermittent rain. By the time we reached our destination, we had thunder (as best as I could tell) coming from two directions. Though we had almost no groceries, I knew Cub and I couldn't reach the school before a storm hit. The kombi wasn't interested in taking the riders any further. So, Cubby and I began to walk, and I tried to act brave while Cubby started acting like we both felt: scared.
Swazis are very nice people though, and when we turned into the first available homestead, we were welcomed inside. We spent close to an hour talking with the Sihlongonyane family in their living room while the heavy rain and thunder crashed outside. After being treated to juice, bread, and peaches for the road (what did we do to deserve this treatment, when we were simply looking to save our skins?) we continued our walk. Cubby walked the last 2 or 3 miles almost all on her own, without complaining. I only picked her up once, when I wanted to hurry us along.
A couple days later we installed the gutter, and man-does the water come in quick in a rain! It's also nice because the gutter covers a little of the back step. This means you can stand on the back steps in a decent (but not torrential) rain and not get wet. I think that when the combination of no water in the pipes and water falling from the sky strikes again, everyone in the compound will be able to get the water they need for necessities if they just bring their container and wait a few minutes.
ORA PRO NOBIS
This is "pray for us" in Latin, I think. Our deputy headmaster (vice principal) lost her husband in December after a prolonged illness. If you could pray for her and her family, all would appreciate it.
CONDOM MADNESS AGAIN
The day I'm writing this (Friday, Feb. 5) I taught two classes before the 9:50AM break. In preparing for classes after break, I was told there would be no more classes today because a group from PSI was coming to give a presentation. PSI stands for Population Services International; they are addressing the AIDS crisis, in large part through promoting condoms with pretty explicit advertising (judging from billboards and ads stuck to the sides of public transport).
Today, PSI came promoting circumcision. This has been able to slow infection rates some. The backs of the T-shirts worn by the presenters read "Double Your Protection-circumcise and condomise". I am not against circumcision per se, but in this context the presumption must logically be that "they're just gonna do it anyway, so let's make sure they can do it 'safely'". After all, a man wouldn't need to be circumcised to avoid a sex disease if he were going to save sex for his wife, who had also saved sex for her husband.
Ruth and I pulled together some resources explaining the various failure rates of HIV-avoidance techniques and gave a copy to each of the four presenters. They received them graciously. I also got to talk to the students (all the male students in the school in one room) briefly, saying Ruth and I have never had to use any "protection" because we are both free of disease and we are faithful to each other. I ended with telling them if they just wait for sex until they are married, they will have no worries. The presenter smiled and nodded. That was encouraging.
OVERHEARD
The new (since 2007) headmaster has made staff cameraderie one of his goals. To reach this goal, teacher trips to various places (game parks, Maputo in Mozambique) have been encouraged, sometimes with contributions from the school's coffer. There was no trip last year, and so the cashbox is pretty full. During our first full staff meeting this year, a few teachers suggested a road trip. Mr. Lukhele, an English literature teacher who sits next to me in the office and who turns chicken, beef, and bratwurst on the barbeque with his bare hands (I have seen him do it on many occasionas), suggested putting the money into a barbeque (braai). With upwards of a thousand bucks in the penny jar, this would be a substantial amount of meat. His suggestion was gently chuckled off by the other teachers. I spoke to Lukhele later and said I agreed with him. He said "You see: why should I put money into petrol when I can put meat in my stomach?" Probably the money will be spent between the two options.
Almost every spring (around August/September here in the southern hemisphere) we experience strong winds from the west. In August 1996 we experienced one night of winds so strong they tore the roofs off some houses (visit http://poglitshphotos.blogspot.com for photos). Many of you contributed money to rebuild the damages buildings, and we appreciated it.
After that harrowing night, Ruth and I decided to do something: build a living windbreak. Using pits from avocados we had eaten or pits we found laying around (even in the gutters in town), we planted a line of trees on the western end of the teacher housing (from whence the winds come howling each spring). At the same photograph website mentioned above, you can see photos taken of the line of trees yesterday. For scale, Grace is about 4 feet tall. We may not be here long enough to see the trees get really big or even set fruit (though Ruth says it will be only about 5 years before the avocados appear), but it sure is satisfying to see the trees coming up.
BANANAS DO NOT GROW ON TREES
Technically (as I am led to believe), banana plants are not trees. I don't remember the reason, but you past ECHOites probably do.
Whether they are trees or not, three of our banana plants are setting bananas, and we recently harvested one bunch! The plants were gifts a few years ago from a student whom we put in touch with a scholarship fund. He won a scholarship and could finish his education, and the plants were a token of his appreciation. The short, fat bananas are delicious. In a few more months we'll be able to harvest at least one more bunch. We got to give his brother (who is in school) two bananas (one for him and one for his brother) as a thank-you for the thank-you. Unfortunately, the original gift-giving student is home sick with some chronic abdominal problem. If you would pray for him, he and we would appreciate it.
A TREE GROWS IN MSUNDUZA
Msunduza is a peri-urban area around Mbabane. Recently I got off a minibus in Msunduza after it had carried Cubby and I from the school into town. We came across a VERY large tree (once again, visit the poglitshphotos website for a photo) that I did not recognize. I wondered how I could miss such a very big tree, coming through this area as frequently as we do. Then I looked a little closer (do so yourself, before reading on): in fact, the "tree" is a cell phone tower disguised as a tree. My brother Chris lived in Johannesburg for a year or so and said these things dot the highways around Joburg; now we have one of our own. I think it's a good thing; if you're going to have a cell phone tower (and they sure are nice for reception), it's nice to have an arbor-esque themed one.
GYM TEACHER
The first sport of the school year is track and field (called "Athletics" here). Almost very student is reqired to participate. The school population (about 500) is divided into four teams, and after a few weeks of training the groups compete in an inter-school track meet. Then a smaller team is chosen and trained to represent the school against other schools.
As you may imagine, not every student in a school likes or is familiar with running. In the past, I have laced up my running shoes and hit the dirt road with the students, as an encouragement and for "sheperding" and for the exercise myself. For some reason, though, my left knee was so painful last Friday after a morning run that I hardly left the house Saturday or Sunday. I know running is out for now, but I wanted to help with the team. So I got my bike down and went with the students that way.
To keep the back of the group moving, I would pedal slowly behind them. If my presence didn't work, I would whistle like the herd boys do when they are driving cows or goats. That worked for a few, but not too many. So, I did the next thing herdboys do: pick up some small stones. If stragglers at the back of the group still weren't at least trying to trot, I would raise my stone and threaten to throw it. After lobbing a few stones a few feet behind the dragging feet of students without substantial effect, I reached for a stick (also a herd boy tool of the trade). THAT the students understood. I touched not one student with the stick, but an uplifted 30 inch tree branch is SiSwati for "Move it!" We all got back to the soccer field
in good time. We have 2 or 3 more days of practice; next Thursday is the big track meet. It's almost always a good time, except when the afternoon thunderstorms common this time of year threaten to drop lightning on our fun. Swazis seem oblivious to the dangers of lightning, though every year the paper carries stories of people dying from strikes. I regularly tell my science students about the dangers of lightning and what to do in case a storm is near.
MORE WRITING ABOUT RAIN AND BUILDINGS
This has been the wettest summer we can remember. If you have been receiving this newsletter for a while, you also know how annoying and inconvenient it is when the water stops coming out of our taps (and how much fun Mr. Mamba and I have fixing the problem).
We have a 100 liter (think 50 two-liter bottles) plastic barrel we had been placing beneath the eaves to catch runoff during rains. We wondered how much more water we could collect if we just had a short length of gutter. So the same Saturday (I think) that Cubby and I met the cell phone tower tree, we purchased 3 yards of raingutter and the brackets to install it. After the rest of our errands, we carried the gutter to the bus rank (station). The line for kombis straight to Nsukumbili was huge, and I knew a 9 foot plastic tray would not be appreciated or easy to manage in a crowd clambering for seats. So another kombi which gets within walking distance of Nsukumbili was nearby, and we went over to it. A bus rank officer protested that there was no way the gutter would fit in the kombi. But I saw no other way to get it home, so gently reassured him that it would even as I went about trying to shoehorn it in. Sometimes, I find it useful to simply proceed with one's project and deflect objections from authorities/onlookers as you proceed. Ask me about getting my into a shopping mall with my bike sometime, if you are interested. To my happy suprise the gutter did make it, though it touched the back window of the kombi and went so far forward it sat near the shoulder of the driver. Looking back on it, it reminds me of like those parrots which sit on the shoulder of the pirates in the old movies/cartoons.
We began our trip, and the weather was holding-for a while. By the time we were in Pine Valley, the clouds were spitting intermittent rain. By the time we reached our destination, we had thunder (as best as I could tell) coming from two directions. Though we had almost no groceries, I knew Cub and I couldn't reach the school before a storm hit. The kombi wasn't interested in taking the riders any further. So, Cubby and I began to walk, and I tried to act brave while Cubby started acting like we both felt: scared.
Swazis are very nice people though, and when we turned into the first available homestead, we were welcomed inside. We spent close to an hour talking with the Sihlongonyane family in their living room while the heavy rain and thunder crashed outside. After being treated to juice, bread, and peaches for the road (what did we do to deserve this treatment, when we were simply looking to save our skins?) we continued our walk. Cubby walked the last 2 or 3 miles almost all on her own, without complaining. I only picked her up once, when I wanted to hurry us along.
A couple days later we installed the gutter, and man-does the water come in quick in a rain! It's also nice because the gutter covers a little of the back step. This means you can stand on the back steps in a decent (but not torrential) rain and not get wet. I think that when the combination of no water in the pipes and water falling from the sky strikes again, everyone in the compound will be able to get the water they need for necessities if they just bring their container and wait a few minutes.
ORA PRO NOBIS
This is "pray for us" in Latin, I think. Our deputy headmaster (vice principal) lost her husband in December after a prolonged illness. If you could pray for her and her family, all would appreciate it.
CONDOM MADNESS AGAIN
The day I'm writing this (Friday, Feb. 5) I taught two classes before the 9:50AM break. In preparing for classes after break, I was told there would be no more classes today because a group from PSI was coming to give a presentation. PSI stands for Population Services International; they are addressing the AIDS crisis, in large part through promoting condoms with pretty explicit advertising (judging from billboards and ads stuck to the sides of public transport).
Today, PSI came promoting circumcision. This has been able to slow infection rates some. The backs of the T-shirts worn by the presenters read "Double Your Protection-circumcise and condomise". I am not against circumcision per se, but in this context the presumption must logically be that "they're just gonna do it anyway, so let's make sure they can do it 'safely'". After all, a man wouldn't need to be circumcised to avoid a sex disease if he were going to save sex for his wife, who had also saved sex for her husband.
Ruth and I pulled together some resources explaining the various failure rates of HIV-avoidance techniques and gave a copy to each of the four presenters. They received them graciously. I also got to talk to the students (all the male students in the school in one room) briefly, saying Ruth and I have never had to use any "protection" because we are both free of disease and we are faithful to each other. I ended with telling them if they just wait for sex until they are married, they will have no worries. The presenter smiled and nodded. That was encouraging.
OVERHEARD
The new (since 2007) headmaster has made staff cameraderie one of his goals. To reach this goal, teacher trips to various places (game parks, Maputo in Mozambique) have been encouraged, sometimes with contributions from the school's coffer. There was no trip last year, and so the cashbox is pretty full. During our first full staff meeting this year, a few teachers suggested a road trip. Mr. Lukhele, an English literature teacher who sits next to me in the office and who turns chicken, beef, and bratwurst on the barbeque with his bare hands (I have seen him do it on many occasionas), suggested putting the money into a barbeque (braai). With upwards of a thousand bucks in the penny jar, this would be a substantial amount of meat. His suggestion was gently chuckled off by the other teachers. I spoke to Lukhele later and said I agreed with him. He said "You see: why should I put money into petrol when I can put meat in my stomach?" Probably the money will be spent between the two options.
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