standing in the light of your halo, I've got my angel now
(I had to come to Swaziland to get into Beyonce's music. But she's so good!)
Okay. Here I am! I'm alive and well, and will remain so as long as I continue to take my malaria prophylactic pill, not to mention boil, filter and put bleach in all the water I drink. I miss you all very much.
I thought I'd have more time to write once I was done with Pre-Service Training (PST) and out in the field, but there's so much to do out here ... between settling in, introducing myself around the community, getting to know my host family, continuing to practice siSwati, reading the ten thousand books Peace Corps gave me, and implementing the various assessment tools and integration process assigned by Peace Corps, I'm still really busy.
However, I have good news about Visitors!
I told everyone they shouldn't visit me before I left, because PC had informed me that it would count towards my vacation time. As it happens, this is not true in PC Swaziland -- if you visit me and I keep working, then it won't count towards my vacation. So you're welcome to come if you really want to! But you have to be prepared to live like I do -- don't come if you can't do a lot of sitting still in very high temperatures. I believe that the plane tickets cost about a thousand dollars round-trip if you come through Johannesburg, and then we'd have to figure out a bus to Swaziland or something.
Some Reasons Why Peace Corps Blogs, In Particular, Tend To Be Relentlessly Boring
I have seen very few travel blogs that weren't relentlessly boring. I'll do my best not to fall into that mold, but there are some complications.
Firstly, I can't post anything that could potentially give away my exact location or the location of another Peace Corps Volunteer; we're very strong potential targets for crime. Secondly, I cannot take political stances; Peace Corps is a thoroughly neutral organization. Thirdly, I cannot say anything that might be construed as culturally insensitive.
If you send me an email or a letter telling me about your life, though, I can send you a letter that might do some of the above ....
Oh yeah, and by the way, the contents of this blog are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the US Government or the Peace Corps.
Swazi Public Transit: the Khumbi System
People sometimes complain about the transit here, but the khumbi system is pretty amazing considering that it serves the entirety of this country -- most of which is rural. Khumbis (sometimes spelled kombis) are large vans that stand idle at their departure points (usually cities) until they are full. Once full, the driver gets in, puts on very loud music of his choice (this varies from gospel to electronic to pop to breathy love ballads), and speeds to the end of his route hell-for-leather, pausing only to pick up people who flag the khumbi down or when a passenger says "siteshi" ("station"). For some reason, the drivers always seem to hear a person who says "siteshi", no matter how loud the music is. Drivers drink frequently; one of our Peace Corps Safety Tips was to make sure we pay attention to the driver's apparent state of intoxication before taking a khumbi.
Individual khumbis have varying degrees of personality -- I think the drivers may be allowed to decorate them however they want, as long as the starting and ending points are written on the front and back of the van. The fonts used for this purpose are unpredictable; it's often a plain Helvetica or whatever, but another favorite is that drippy monster / Halloweeny font, and yet another is a New-York-Times-esque heavy calligraphy gothic capitals. (Maybe this has to be seen for the jarring effect to be fully appreciated.) Many khumbis are painted with gospel slogans or praises for the Lord; one is painted entirely red (yay). I've spotted one that has STREET VIBE painted across the back in skater script, and there's another that says NCESI (which means "excuse me", as in "excuse me, I seem to have just run you over because my driver is totally plastered").
Slogans
Slogans spotted around the place by myself and some other local Peace Corps Volunteers:
1) For the Koo brand of canned beans: "It's the best you can do."
2) The name of a general store near Mbabane, the capital: "Siyazama" ("we are trying".)
3) The name of another general store: "Take A Chance".
Are these hilarious, or is it just us?
Libraries!
The libraries here are really interesting. Almost all the books are in English, and many donated from the First World, so the collection is a bit idiosyncratic. There are a few classics, a bunch of thrillers, and a surprisingly high percentage of science fiction and fantasy. When I first browsed the local library branch, I found six novels of Gor on the shelves in the fiction section (none of which were, by the way, the first in the series). The amusement I felt upon encountering these was matched only by the sudden dropped-stomach pang of despair that hit me when I realized I know exactly nobody on this continent who'd understand why their presence is both hilarious and scandalous. There's a Tanith Lee book there, too -- and one of her more obscure ones, Sung in Shadow, which retells Romeo and Juliet.
To request a library card, one must submit two passport-sized photos -- and in lieu of proof of address or anything like that, I had to get a local friend with a good reputation to sign the application as a reference.
I just recently made friends with one of the local librarians -- a young woman who grew up in Manzini and studied in South Africa. She seems to feel a bit bored in this little town, and said that I'm unlikely to find anyone "like me" out here; that nobody reads. (Literacy is high in Swaziland, 80% or so, though of course that doesn't mean anyone actually uses it.) At another library, I asked one of the librarians why there weren't any books in siSwati. He looked at me over his glasses. "Swaziland is still a backwards country," he said. "No one is writing here."
That quotation is representative of an attitude I see a lot. A lot of people here really feel that they're living in a "backwards country", and aren't embarrassed to say so. And they often do so in language that a culturally sensitive person in the USA would blush to use: for instance, "backwards country". There's this fascinating consciousness of themselves as "backwards" or, better yet, "undeveloped".
Gender Equality Dynamics
That same consciousness makes for interesting attitudes around gender equality. Gender equality (one facet of which is often considered to be opposition to polygamy) is seen as a development issue here. Apparently, greater gender equality is very aligned with more highly-developed countries, and so now many development agencies "market" gender equality by saying that. One result of this is that gender equality is kinda being imposed "top-down" -- you see a lot of government speakers and media groups and such that are very consciously pushing gender equality, while the general population might not otherwise be inclined to think about the movement on its own.
And then, on top of that top-down effect, you also have a very weird feeling about the movement among the people we're teaching. For instance, during training we had to teach a practice class in a local high school, so my friend Ali and I chose to teach a gender lesson. When we asked the students why it's important to create gender equality, one of them answered that we should do it for the development advantages. Not because equal opportunity is a human right, not because all people should be accorded the same amount of respect, not because diversity is important ... etc. Because it'll make Swaziland more developed.
Of course, gender / feminism points are routinely oversimplified in the States too, but that tends to go ... in a different direction. In the States, you have people rattling off lines about how the media gives women unrealistic body image (kind of true, and kind of way oversimplified -- the media and the existing cultural norms are an interlocking system that can't be separated so easily). Here, you have people rattling off lines about how creating gender equality will be a major step forward in fighting the HIV pandemic (kinda true, and kinda way oversimplified -- it would certainly help if women felt more empowered to insist on condom use, etc).
... Okay. I know that's not much, but I'll post more when I can. In the meantime -- yeah, I really do miss you guys. Next time I'll post about the siSwati language (impossible to learn!), the tinyanga and sangoma ("traditional healers"), and much more!
Okay. Here I am! I'm alive and well, and will remain so as long as I continue to take my malaria prophylactic pill, not to mention boil, filter and put bleach in all the water I drink. I miss you all very much.
I thought I'd have more time to write once I was done with Pre-Service Training (PST) and out in the field, but there's so much to do out here ... between settling in, introducing myself around the community, getting to know my host family, continuing to practice siSwati, reading the ten thousand books Peace Corps gave me, and implementing the various assessment tools and integration process assigned by Peace Corps, I'm still really busy.
However, I have good news about Visitors!
I told everyone they shouldn't visit me before I left, because PC had informed me that it would count towards my vacation time. As it happens, this is not true in PC Swaziland -- if you visit me and I keep working, then it won't count towards my vacation. So you're welcome to come if you really want to! But you have to be prepared to live like I do -- don't come if you can't do a lot of sitting still in very high temperatures. I believe that the plane tickets cost about a thousand dollars round-trip if you come through Johannesburg, and then we'd have to figure out a bus to Swaziland or something.
Some Reasons Why Peace Corps Blogs, In Particular, Tend To Be Relentlessly Boring
I have seen very few travel blogs that weren't relentlessly boring. I'll do my best not to fall into that mold, but there are some complications.
Firstly, I can't post anything that could potentially give away my exact location or the location of another Peace Corps Volunteer; we're very strong potential targets for crime. Secondly, I cannot take political stances; Peace Corps is a thoroughly neutral organization. Thirdly, I cannot say anything that might be construed as culturally insensitive.
If you send me an email or a letter telling me about your life, though, I can send you a letter that might do some of the above ....
Oh yeah, and by the way, the contents of this blog are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the US Government or the Peace Corps.
Swazi Public Transit: the Khumbi System
People sometimes complain about the transit here, but the khumbi system is pretty amazing considering that it serves the entirety of this country -- most of which is rural. Khumbis (sometimes spelled kombis) are large vans that stand idle at their departure points (usually cities) until they are full. Once full, the driver gets in, puts on very loud music of his choice (this varies from gospel to electronic to pop to breathy love ballads), and speeds to the end of his route hell-for-leather, pausing only to pick up people who flag the khumbi down or when a passenger says "siteshi" ("station"). For some reason, the drivers always seem to hear a person who says "siteshi", no matter how loud the music is. Drivers drink frequently; one of our Peace Corps Safety Tips was to make sure we pay attention to the driver's apparent state of intoxication before taking a khumbi.
Individual khumbis have varying degrees of personality -- I think the drivers may be allowed to decorate them however they want, as long as the starting and ending points are written on the front and back of the van. The fonts used for this purpose are unpredictable; it's often a plain Helvetica or whatever, but another favorite is that drippy monster / Halloweeny font, and yet another is a New-York-Times-esque heavy calligraphy gothic capitals. (Maybe this has to be seen for the jarring effect to be fully appreciated.) Many khumbis are painted with gospel slogans or praises for the Lord; one is painted entirely red (yay). I've spotted one that has STREET VIBE painted across the back in skater script, and there's another that says NCESI (which means "excuse me", as in "excuse me, I seem to have just run you over because my driver is totally plastered").
Slogans
Slogans spotted around the place by myself and some other local Peace Corps Volunteers:
1) For the Koo brand of canned beans: "It's the best you can do."
2) The name of a general store near Mbabane, the capital: "Siyazama" ("we are trying".)
3) The name of another general store: "Take A Chance".
Are these hilarious, or is it just us?
Libraries!
The libraries here are really interesting. Almost all the books are in English, and many donated from the First World, so the collection is a bit idiosyncratic. There are a few classics, a bunch of thrillers, and a surprisingly high percentage of science fiction and fantasy. When I first browsed the local library branch, I found six novels of Gor on the shelves in the fiction section (none of which were, by the way, the first in the series). The amusement I felt upon encountering these was matched only by the sudden dropped-stomach pang of despair that hit me when I realized I know exactly nobody on this continent who'd understand why their presence is both hilarious and scandalous. There's a Tanith Lee book there, too -- and one of her more obscure ones, Sung in Shadow, which retells Romeo and Juliet.
To request a library card, one must submit two passport-sized photos -- and in lieu of proof of address or anything like that, I had to get a local friend with a good reputation to sign the application as a reference.
I just recently made friends with one of the local librarians -- a young woman who grew up in Manzini and studied in South Africa. She seems to feel a bit bored in this little town, and said that I'm unlikely to find anyone "like me" out here; that nobody reads. (Literacy is high in Swaziland, 80% or so, though of course that doesn't mean anyone actually uses it.) At another library, I asked one of the librarians why there weren't any books in siSwati. He looked at me over his glasses. "Swaziland is still a backwards country," he said. "No one is writing here."
That quotation is representative of an attitude I see a lot. A lot of people here really feel that they're living in a "backwards country", and aren't embarrassed to say so. And they often do so in language that a culturally sensitive person in the USA would blush to use: for instance, "backwards country". There's this fascinating consciousness of themselves as "backwards" or, better yet, "undeveloped".
Gender Equality Dynamics
That same consciousness makes for interesting attitudes around gender equality. Gender equality (one facet of which is often considered to be opposition to polygamy) is seen as a development issue here. Apparently, greater gender equality is very aligned with more highly-developed countries, and so now many development agencies "market" gender equality by saying that. One result of this is that gender equality is kinda being imposed "top-down" -- you see a lot of government speakers and media groups and such that are very consciously pushing gender equality, while the general population might not otherwise be inclined to think about the movement on its own.
And then, on top of that top-down effect, you also have a very weird feeling about the movement among the people we're teaching. For instance, during training we had to teach a practice class in a local high school, so my friend Ali and I chose to teach a gender lesson. When we asked the students why it's important to create gender equality, one of them answered that we should do it for the development advantages. Not because equal opportunity is a human right, not because all people should be accorded the same amount of respect, not because diversity is important ... etc. Because it'll make Swaziland more developed.
Of course, gender / feminism points are routinely oversimplified in the States too, but that tends to go ... in a different direction. In the States, you have people rattling off lines about how the media gives women unrealistic body image (kind of true, and kind of way oversimplified -- the media and the existing cultural norms are an interlocking system that can't be separated so easily). Here, you have people rattling off lines about how creating gender equality will be a major step forward in fighting the HIV pandemic (kinda true, and kinda way oversimplified -- it would certainly help if women felt more empowered to insist on condom use, etc).
... Okay. I know that's not much, but I'll post more when I can. In the meantime -- yeah, I really do miss you guys. Next time I'll post about the siSwati language (impossible to learn!), the tinyanga and sangoma ("traditional healers"), and much more!