A Visitor and A Celebration

     As part of the training process the PC has trainees visit their “permanent” site (as distinct from the training site where they live close to the training facility for the first 7 weeks in country) and then stay overnight with another PCV. We were hosts for a 55-year old woman from Massachusetts whose descent from Seneca (Northeastern woodlands Native American) ancestry was very important to her. She is resilient, self-reliant, and cheerful, qualities that will serve her well.

     We picked her up in Manzini, the main commercial town and had lunch; this is a tiny country and the main commercial town only has maybe 4 restaurants where you'd want to eat, so we quickly met up with other PCVs of our group and the new group, which was a lot of fun.

     She went with us back to our site with us and slept on the floor – not very hospitable, but it's all we had to offer – and the next morning she briefly introduced herself to our high school assembly.

She has a shock of white amidst otherwise black hair. It was a very interesting exchange with her. She had done cultural research on the Rosebud/Pine Ridge Reservations in South Dakota and repeatedly exclaimed upon meeting Swazis that she felt she was among “my people.” Both good points (friendliness) and not so good (dropping trash whenever convenient) seemed familiar to her. The PC opens us to new experiences.

     The “poorer” primary school has completed construction of 3 new badly-needed classrooms and threw a “party” to celebrate and thank the parents who worked on the project and the branch of the government that paid 75% of the cost. Parents were assessed the equivalent of US$5 for the party – an enormous sum for these families – which was reduced to US$3, but those who did not pay were allowed to come anyway.

The night before they slaughtered a cow under a tree near the school.

That is the chairman of the School Committee, whom we like a lot, wearing orange pants; he farms an adjacent homestead.   As Chairman he helped with mixing concrete and laying cinder block in the classroom construction, and here he helped with the butchering; I am always amazed at the versatility of these rural Swazis - their many skills.

     The proceedings started slowly, and we were pulled away with the “invited guests” to one of the new classrooms where we were fed choice parts – the liver was delicious, but whatever I took next I was unable to chew, despite diligent efforts, and I slipped it to the ground when I stepped outside.    We got back to the party just in time to catch the girls from the Refugee Camp doing a dance more typical of Central Africa – flowing and gentle, not as athletic and abrupt as the Swazi dances.

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The young boys did the traditional Swazi high-kicking dance.

People would come up and drop money to show appreciation. That is the Member of Parliament for the region and the Regional Education Administrator making their contribution. Katherine got big applause when she dropped some coins in the can. People turned repeatedly to me, but I explained Phumi had all my money, provoking much amusement.  

     The girls performed too. This picture is from the rehearsal that we attended 2 days before.

When the girls dance there are many demonstrative donations, especially but by no means exclusively from the men in the audience, who also take many pictures with their cell phones.
     Between the student performances were many long speeches by the MP, the REA, several Pastors, etc. It was necessary to eliminate several of the scheduled student performances because the show was going too long. Afterward the “invited guests” - local government VIPs, teachers, and Katherine and I, were ushered to a classroom where we were served beef stew, rice, beets, and salad. Out the window Katherine spotted a little boy from one of our classes who had memorized a poem about education, but we had not heard him give it. Katherine saw he was in tears. We went out and had him recite it for us several times; he felt better.

That is his can of soda in his pocket; I think he was saving it for later.

     The VIPs were quickly on their way – it was 4 PM, the party had started at 10, sort of. The School Committee Chair told us there was a crisis: it seemed as if nearly everyone in the community, whether connected to the school or not, had shown up, and were now expecting to be fed, and there was not enough food. He and the Principal took the extraordinary step of holding the adults back and feeding the students first; for many of the students this is their one meal of the day and a principal reason for coming to school. As we left the parents and other adults were being fed what was left. Swazis show great respect for older people and adults are always fed before children. I'll be interested to hear if there were any complaints.  The Principal and School Committee Chair are, in their quiet way, quite remarkable men.