Toto, we’re not in Texas anymore.
Soccer. Football. Whatever you call it, it’s nothing to Americans compared to the general feeling I’ve gotten from the people here. “Bufana Bufana!” is the chant of the fans of the South African team, and though the first game is over, the horns that they sound have literally not seized since the morning of the opening of the World Cup. It’s been wonderful being surrounded by such excitement, and the parties at Dr. Hailu’s house for SA vs. Mexico as well as with the general expat community for USA vs. England were a blast. Even though I don’t follow soccer much at home, I’ve really enjoyed watching the games here, and observing the uniting force of the game (okay, there is a lot of team-bashing going on, I won’t lie).
Beyond the matches, this first weekend in Swaziland was wonderful. Saturday morning held a much longer-than-anticipated run with Brigid, but I was happy to explore some of the neighborhoods of Mbabane that I hadn’t seen yet. However, I wasn’t nearly as joyful to be chased by the Swazi alarm system- large, scary dogs. Thankfully, we made it out safely, and I didn’t have to use the mace in my pocket or test out the effectiveness of my rabies shots!
On Sunday, we joined Amy and Brigid on an adventure out to House on Fire, a B&B/restaurant/pub/plantation/craft complex in the, and it could not have been a more gorgeous day! The mixture of the earthy, hippie feeling of the complex, fair trade woven handicrafts, wonderful food eaten underneath the terrace, and views of blue skies over panoramic mountains was astonishing- definitely not what I had anticipated seeing, and surely clashing with the unfortunately stereotypical image of Africa that so many people hold in their minds. I’m beyond excited to spend the next few weeks seeing as many different sides of the country as I can, whether it be a rural village in the lowlands, or the view from the top of a mountain on this side of the country. There’s surely more to see here than I can even begin to accomplish in a mere 8 weeks, but I’m going to try my hardest to make the most of our time here, inside and outside of the clinic.
Tomorrow is the day we’ve been waiting for- the decisions and unleashing of the tentative schedule for the remainder of our time here. After discussions with the doctors, we’ll finally find out what communities we’ll be going out to and which foundations and organizations we’ll be meeting with… we’ll give you the run-down of our plans as soon as we know!