here is the first of many -
I guess i could start at the airport in Sydney - 14th September - arriving 2 hours prior to departure is really cutting it fine now as it took so long in cues twice that there was little time to be concerned about not seeing Malcolm for a possible 2 years and saying a 'decent' goodbye. at least that meant no time for tears !!!
the flight to Johannesburg was 14.5 hours - just long and tiresome and a promise of jet lag at the end.
i was pleased to have the company of a fellow AVID (Australian Volunteer for International Development) volunteer, Cheryl, who knows South Africa very well and helped me to get through the luggage and customs with reasonable ease. we were met by 2 AVI Africa staff and whisked away in awaiting private taxis to our hotel in Rosebank. Cheryl tells me it is one of the nicest suburbs of Joburg and i felt safe there. across the busy 4 lane street was a very upmarket mall complete with great restaurants etc.
from the moment we booked we were well and truly AVID volunteers and had our first meeting at 6.15 pm about security and personal safety. there was no time allowed for recovery from the flight and the next morning it was on again -. this was to be the pattern for the entire week until, lucky for me, the Friday 20th in Swazziland had been declared a public holiday due to voting. i had a half day off.
arrived in Swaziland 18th Sept. In that first week i met other volunteers who are stationed here, by mid Oct there will be 6 of us here all doing different jobs in various part of the country.
i also met my 'employers' Terese and Daran Rehmeyer. they are missionaries from USA and have been here for 8 years and established a company here called KuDvumisa Organisaton. this is worth googling. Lovely couple who cannot do enough to help me settle in.
On arrival in Swazi i was taken to many second and car yards to purchase a vehicle as i would be needing my own transport to get from my accommodation to my place of work as there is no public transport at all at the distance too far to walk. the car yards are owned by Pakistanis and not very easy to communicate with.
and even worse when you are tired, hot and under pressure from ...... to buy everything in 2 days and go bush to start work asap.
My language lessons commenced on Saturday 21st. OH BOY !!! this is going to be the hardest part of being here...... some words start with 4 consonants and working out which ones you actually pronounce and how is tricky. there are clicks and clacks and sucking of air and blowing air out the corners of your mouth with your tongue wrapped around your tonsils- or at the back of your teeth and then try to make a proper word sound at the same time. If i had lubra lips i think it would be easier.
latr on Saturday i was moved to a bording house in Mbabane as it as closer to shops and a bit cheaper for AVI.
After that i insisted n having Sunday off and did only what was necessary - ate, drank copious amounts of water and tea and slept for 10 hours. i was finally over the jet lag.
the boarding house owner, Penny, similar age to me, and English widow who has lived in Swazi for approx 20 years. a delightful woman who also loves 'OUT OF AFRICA' and feels that she has a better claim on Robert Redford purely because she has been here longer than me. !!!! She's knee high to a grasshopper (like Gran!) and easy to knock over in the rush.. but my first 'friend in Swazi'.
Malcolm will testify that i experienced some difficulty getting established with a bank that would allow me to draw out sufficeint cash to pay for a car. Without his help i would have been without emalangeni - that is like dollars !!! AND thats n easy one to pronounce - the g is not g as as in goat - but g as in sing !!!
it must have been the sleep that worked because i found a car that hopefully will suit my needs and so we were then in the hands of the car yard and the govt depts in Swazi to get it registered and a plan to gt out of town a soon as possible.
i had purchased all the stuff i thought i would need to set up a dwelling that i had neither seen nor received descriptions that gave any clues that matched what i saw on Monday when we finally got a ute and a car loaded with stuff to deliver to the house. not your average 3 bedroom with ensuite. it will be livable in no time,
finally bought the car on Wednesday - a VW LUPO. about 6 - 7 years old from Japan. they are imported through Dubai - no tax and sold by Pakistanis. a multi cultural effort.
Thursday morning went with the AVI country coordinator to arrange insurance. we started this project at 9.00am and finally finished at 12.30pm i am fast learning that nothing happens in Swazi quickly.
Patience will become my best friend. . . . . . . . when i find him / her . . . . .
I was escorted out of Mbabane by the AVI staffer and one of the other volunteers. and arrived at the house around 4.00pm on a day with temperatures around 37 - 38. unloaded the car and a neighbour, Nomsa came to help me clean the house before unpacking anything. this is a tiny 2 brm house and it took both of us 2 hours to clean.
i fell into bed about 8.00pm after a cold bath, not because there was no hot water, but because it was so hot after the cleaning etc.
next day - Friday 27th i finished unpacking and finding places for things, then decided to make sure i knew where i was and how to get to shops etc. i have since learnt that it was 42 degrees on Friday.
I am living in a sugar cane area about 20 kms from Mozambique border. if you look at a Swazi map - in the very top north east corner you will see an open v shape in the boarder shape. i am very close to that. the nearest town is Mhlume. do not try to say that. - it is one that needs you to suck and blow and wrap your tongue around your teeth etc. I managed to get out on the highway - which is in excellent condition and i was travelling south towards Simunye and I realised - I am in Africa and I am driving on my own for the first time and i feel so alive and so excited about what is ahead of me.
my next post will pick up from here with the neighbourhood i am living in and the people i am meeting and a bit about the countryside. . . . . so till next time - . . . . . cheers from Swaziland.
