It truly is a new adventure each day
here in the Kingdom of Swaziland.
I wake up each day unknowing what it brings, but prepared to take
whatever may come my way. Isn’t
that really every day of our lives though no matter where we are? I figured I should add a little humor
to my blog in this entry, after all this is the Peace Corps. I mean that in a good way. My days here I try to create some sort
of routine to help me stay balanced and sane at times. There are moments that I really cannot
expect what will happen, that is usually when I step out of my hut. Then again, adventures can happen
without me stepping outside. It is
all part of life and the Peace Corps experience.
My
daily routine that I have began to develop consists of the following:
(Some days will vary depending on if
I have an event or traveling to attend to)
7am
– 9:30am
(I have gotten better at ignoring the
roosters)
-Make
coffee or tea
(Depending on supply and how tired I
am)
-Daily
devotions and Bible reading
-Have
breakfast
(This varies depending on motivation)
Options:
Corn flakes with powder milk, Oats with sugar and honey, or hard-boiled eggs
and bread
(Yes! I finally make my bed every
day; I don’t want to find snakes or spiders in it later that night)
-Morning
workout in hut
(30-day challenges, or P90x on “days
off”)
-Take
a shower in my makeshift bucket/solar shower
-Get
dressed and tackle the day!
9:30am
– 3pm
(It is a rough 15-minute walk, and
that’s if I am walking Swazi pace)
-I
check in with the teachers and will meet with some of them or work on project
ideas and help students with schoolwork.
-Visit
the store next to the school for snacks or a cold soda (Varies on the supply
they have that day, and temperatures)
-Eat
lunch with the teachers
(Rice and beans, or other days it is
“mystery” meat, once it was the insides of a cow, I just eat it…kind of)
-Some
days I will just go on a walk around my community, the best way to met people,
learn new things and explore.
3pm
– 6pm
(School, church, town, the tree down
the road, garden, not really sure some days)
-Spend
time with my bobhuti “brothers” and “sister”
(We will just talk about the day,
learn new words in SiSwati, or play games)
-I
will help with any schoolwork they have
-Talk
with make “mother” and babe “father”
-Retire
to my hut for the evening at dark
6pm
– 9pm
(Menu
varies on motivation once again, and supplies)
Options: rice and beans, rice and
beans with veggies, rice with veggies, beans with veggies, I try and mix it up
with pasta, or some meat if I have any
(No fridge in my hut so I store it in
my family’s fridge if I have any)
-Usually listen to “West Coast Radio” from Durban, SA
(They actually played FGL and Taylor
Swift, along with TLC, Tina Turner, you never really know what to expect)
-During
dinner I watch a movie or a TV episode
(Thank you Jesus for external hard
drives!)
-Spend
time journaling, writing, drawing, or reading
-Do
dishes from the day
(All by hand in my dish basin)
-Refill
my water filter for water the next day
-The
evening lock of doors and bug check throughout my hut
-Crawl
into bed and Thank Jesus and God for another safe, productive, and rewarding
day, pray for a good nights sleep, new day and to bless all those in my life.
My
day’s can take some changes though and I can never really expect what will be
next. We are on a period called
integration, which is for the first 3 months at our permanent sites we are
expected to observe, meet with community members, explore and learn as much as
we can about our community and the people we will be working with for the next
2 years. It is a time of learning
and building relationships with our host family, teachers, students and
community members. It might be one
of the more difficult times of our service, there is not much direction and we
need to get out there, expose ourselves, be uncomfortable and integrate into
the Kingdom of Swaziland and our unique community. I anticipate as projects develop, relationships are built,
and time goes on daily schedules with change and new adventures will arise.
In
my next blog I can expand on this idea of a new adventure each day because it
really is here in Swaziland. I
never know what to expect sometimes.
From the time I transported my bed on top of a public bus 3 hours, to
killing and cooking a pig, to riding in the back of a military truck at
midnight returning from a church service with my host family. Yes, that all actually happened!
#Swaziland Every day though is a unique gift from God. I continually thank Him every day for
this opportunity, trust Him and lay it all in His hands. I look at the positives; take it each
day at a time, and learn to rejoice in the small success stories while being a
Peace Corps Volunteer in the Kingdom of Swaziland.
