We're getting settled....

August 16, 2010
Since my last blog, a lot has occurred. We spent two days in Uvongo on the beach and, though it was quite cold, we did brave the Indian Ocean and swam two days. The waves were enormous and Eric likened the experience to being in a washing machine. We were tossed topsy, turvy in the waves. As soon as you could stand, another wave would topple you over. Though fun, it was very tiring and more than once I got a face full of salt water, yuck.
After Uvongo, we traveling a few hours to the Drakensberg...moutainous area. We did a lot of hiking and had a grand old time! We woke early in the morning to hike up a mountain and see the sunset. When we reached the top, we saw a few more peaks behind it, so we summitted those, too. The interesting thing about this area is that the tops of the mountains were quite flat. We were able to play frisbee on the top of some of them. The views were amazing. We were tired enough to take a nap on one of the peaks before venturing down.
We also saw cave paintings and spent a lot of time enjoying the cool air. Our rondavels had fireplaces, so we enjoyed fires each night. We also enjoyed cooking and eating with Vicki, Francois, and Francois's family. We have learned many South African customs.
On Saturday, we drove from South Africa to Swaziland. The border crossing was socially interesting, but thankfully, uneventful. We arrived at Mabuda Farm in Siteki (where we are living) after dark on Saturday. Therefore, we awoke to beautiful vistas of mountains, trees, farm land, and greenery. Since them and have been able to locate an internet hub, albeit slow connection! Without a vehicle, we have been walking a lot and getting used to the town. While getting groceries, it has taken us a while to convert to the metric system (is this a good price for 500 ml? apparently 1 kg of spaghetti noodles is much more than 1 lb. etc.). We spent several minutes figuring out what type of butter to buy....medium fat spread, low fat spread, full fat spread, margarine, butter...soft, block, etc. It has been kind of crazy. What size is 750 ml trash bag and will it fit in our can? The grocery store has many of the basics that we need and we will fine with food. However, it is still small by Swazi standards and some things are missing like seasonings, parmesan cheese, and jelly. We will have to get used to eating what is available.
Our rondavel is fabulous and the farm is beautiful. I am hoping to post pictures soon. We have more than adequate accommodations. Along with a small fridge/freezer, our kitchen only has a microwave and two burner hot plate. So we are trying to be creative with food. Last night, though, we fixed burgers in a skillet and fries in a pot. It has been fun. We eat a lot of peanut butter and honey and crackers.
Today we found out that we are going to be working with the Gospel Revival Mission School. Brad will be teaching Math and Science ("Maths" in Swaziland). For now, Ben and I going to be working on painting some things at the school and perhaps some construction until we are given approval to work with the social services worker here. We may have to make a trip to the capital city Mbabane to meet with directors...but we're not sure. We have met up with Ina and Wietz (pronounced Vitz) who are missionaries here and started the school about 5 years ago. We also have met Dr. Jonathan Pons and his wife Helen who own Mabuda Farm. Eric is working with Dr. Pons at the hospital. We were given a good tour of the grounds yesterday. We will have fun exploring and hiking around. We have also tasted the delicious, fresh milk from the farm. We have decided to drink the water at the farm because it is spring-fed. So far, there have been no issues, which is great because the water is actually very good.
We find that we do not blend in at all here in the town. We are some of the very few white people in the area. We are also adjusting to the culture and language...even though many people speak English, sometimes we cannot understand each other very well. Also, many people speak tribal languages of Zulu, SiSwati, or a host of other dialects. Since, vowels are pronounced softly rather than A, E, I, O, U, it is ah, eh, ih, oh, oo, I am tempted to start speaking with a South African or Swazi accent so that people can understand me better. I'll let you know how that goes.
Anyway...I'll go for now, internet is not cheap in Africa. :)
--Grace