Kelly in the Kingdom: Patty in the Kingdom

Kelly asked me to write a little something for her blog. So here goes nothing.

I really had no idea what I expected to discover when I arrived in Swaziland, but I must say that everything surpassed my expectations. My mom and I took a van service through South Africa to Swaziland. As we drove savanna-like terrain of S. Africa we saw many villages with groupings of itty-bitty houses all made of corrugated tin(and here i thought y house was small). Going through the border was also a new experience. When we got to the border we had to get out of the car and wait in line to get our passports stamped. We got back in the car. Moments later we stopped again at another building to stand in another line. The first stamp was allowing us out of S. Africa and the next stamp would allow us into Swaziland. This is a long process that I am thankful we do not have to endure in the US while going between states.

Once in Swaziland the terrain changed almost immediately. We drove right up into beautiful mountains that were dotted with homesteads made mostly of cement walls and tin roofs. When I pictured Africa, mountains weren't exactly what I was expecting. After arriving in Mbabane we took a taxi to Sondzela backpackers in Mlilwane Game Reserve. For three days we stayed in a round hut with a grass roof and a great view of the surrounding mountains. We continued our adventure by taking our first khoumbi ride. We lugged our luggage onto our laps in a crowded 15 passenger van.

As a PCV, Kelly is unable to drive in Swaziland and I wasn't about to test my skills at driving on the opposite side of the road either, so we got the real Swazi experience of public transportation. Khoumbis and buses travel between villages and cities comprising of most of the transportation needs of the region. People of all ages stand on the side of the road waiting for a khoumbi to ride by with and empty seat. It is strange for me to see handfuls of people walking down the side of major highways trying to flag down any car that will pick them up. To my astonishment, the khoumbi stopped to drop a woman off at the bottom of an offramp of a major interstate(now, i know, this was not nearly as astonishing to any of the other people crammed into this vehicle as it was to me). Not all of the busses, khoumbis, or taxis are in rough shape, but I'd say that the vast majority are. One of the busses we took to Kelly's homestead was terrible. Before we left the busk rank, they added fluid to the radiator and on our travels through the mountains of Swaziland the bus would fill up with exhaust fumes. One of the men stood at the door and would open it every so often to air out the bus while we drove down the bumpy dirt roads. Mom swore that we hardly made it up some of the hills. Gladly I couldn't see out the front window, but I could hear the struggling engine. Kelly mentioned later that that same bus broke down on her on a previous trip and she had to walk home(thankfully we made it without any such breakdowns).

There were hundreds, maybe even thousands of people in the bus ranks of Manzini and Mbabane when we travelled through the cities. Women and children line the streets selling fruits and vegetables to passersby. Many women will tie their babies in a towel around their backs, put boxes full of fruit on their heads, and walk up to incoming busses to sell their goods.

At the bus ranks I began to notice everyone throwing trash on the ground unashamedly. The same was true at the bus stop at Kelly's village and all the stops we saw in our travels. Rarely did we see any type of trash receptical and when we did, they would be overflowing. They do not have the infrastructure for trash removal that we have here in the States. Kelly seemed particularly concerned with trash removal on her homestead(which was extremely clean). The trash that is produced has to be either reused, recycled, or thrown in the trash heap to be burned. Now this doesn't seem like that big of a deal but somethings aren't safe to burn and, well, some things just don't burn at all, like tin cans. The grocery store also packs food differently seemingly for the same reason. More products are packaged in paper and not plastic. The milk is sold in boxes. The milk also doesn't need to be refrigerated, its called Whole Cream Long Life Milk. And just so you know, its nasty. I prefer organic 1% ice cold milk and the milk they sell is completely opposite. Yuck.

We also went on a few safaris. We enjoyed riding around the 'bush' in an open jeep where we got up close to some awesome animals. Outside of the game reserves we only saw regular farm animals. Cows, goats, and chickens roaming around on the roads. It is normal for the animals there, they can definitely called cage-free. I don't know how they know who's animals are who's, let alone find them after they have wandered away.

All-in-all we had a great trip, a trip of a life-time. We explored the country of Swaziland, experienced safari rides, saw handicrafts made by local women, and survived the transportation. Kelly told us all about the work she is doing with the Peace Corp and we met many of the great people from her village that she is working with. I am proud of the work she is doing, but look forward to the day when she comes back to America.