We've been settling into a good routine here. Hopefully a few pictures can provide a nice update, but first: Sarah passed the Boards! She flew back to the States in October to take this exam -- literally the last hurdle in a process that started 9 years ago with the MCATs -- and she got the results just before the holidays. It's fantastic news and seems to have marked the beginning of a new chapter in our life, just as significant as moving to Swaziland. Or maybe now that she's done studying for the Boards we are finally seeing what living in Swaziland is truly like. What that has meant over the past couple months is a full life. We're getting out and doing more. So, a quick recap of the past few months.We got puppies. After the monkeys ravaged our apricot tree just before we were ready to pick HUNDREDS of these amazing fruits to make jam, a troop swooped in and took a bite or two out of every single one. It was maddening. We got dogs the next day from SAWS, the local animal shelter. Don't they look like they would strike fear into the heart of a pack of hungry monkeys?
They're sisters. Juma (Swahili for "born on Friday," which she was) and Khaya (siSwati for "home"). They've learned to sit and they spend most of their time sleeping on each other or wrestling with each other. We were told we had to pick an alpha to maintain order, but I don't know that our pick is faring that well as she's usually scrapping from the bottom when they tumble in the yard. I think they're in heaven.
We've also been busy with friends. A Baylor doc and his wife (almost entirely his wife) hosted this year's American Thanksgiving in Swaziland. There were around 80 folks and four turkeys (Armand, for some reason, was picked to carve them all). The Swaziland Times even covered the event thanks to the efforts of a Fulbright fellow with a journalism focus who wanted to bring even more personal interest stories to the hard-hitting Swazi Times.
We hosted a weekly yoga class a while back and have been attending semi-regularly as it rotates houses. Two expats are instructors and they lead a class of 6-12 every Tuesday evening, followed by a low-key potluck.
With summer in full swing, we've had a lot of lazy weekend mornings in the sun and barbecues at friends houses, with the near-constant presence of arriving and going-away parties that seem to be a big part of life here. Here's a table set for brunch a few Sundays ago:
We've also gotten out a bit more and explored the countryside, staying a night with friends at Rock Lodge, an EU-funded, community-owned lodge built into these gigantic boulders on the edge of a canyon. There were amazing views of the river below and at night the full moon shown like a spotlight. This minimalist entrance belies a surprisingly expansive lodging area and open kitchen facing the valley below.
One weekend, some friends showed us an amazing waterfall about a 20 minute drive from our house, and then a 20 minute hike from the car.
And not to lose our urban edge, we attended the Rural to Ramp fashion show, where Swaziland's handicraft-makers custom designed their goods into high-end clothing to raise funds for homeopathic outreach. As unexpected as it was stunning.
We hosted two Christmas parties -- one for the staff at the Baylor clinics (around 50) and a decidely more low-key one for friends. Both were a blast. Baylor's entailed a big pot of pap (ground maize meal mixed with water to a porridge-like consistency) and a serious braai (BBQ), as Swazis don't seem to consider it a proper meal unless there's a substantial amount of meat. Ours was a bit more vegetarian-friendly, but both featured some aamzing Christmas cookies we've worked on over the years (Mexican wedding cakes, ginger snaps, shortbread dipped in chocolate, gingerbread, and peanut butter).
We've also harvested a TON of food from the garden, pulling many things and replanting others after their fruiting cycle. We think we'll be able to get three rounds of vegetables, from starts to fruit, during the growing season. Hot days and rainy afternoons seem to have done the trick. Bananas and green beans, sugar snap peas and bell peppers, passion fruit and tomatoes, red onions, strawberries, lettuces, grapes, and herbs.
We've also gotten out a bit more and explored the countryside, staying a night with friends at Rock Lodge, an EU-funded, community-owned lodge built into these gigantic boulders on the edge of a canyon. There were amazing views of the river below and at night the full moon shown like a spotlight. This minimalist entrance belies a surprisingly expansive lodging area and open kitchen facing the valley below.
One weekend, some friends showed us an amazing waterfall about a 20 minute drive from our house, and then a 20 minute hike from the car.
And not to lose our urban edge, we attended the Rural to Ramp fashion show, where Swaziland's handicraft-makers custom designed their goods into high-end clothing to raise funds for homeopathic outreach. As unexpected as it was stunning.
We hosted two Christmas parties -- one for the staff at the Baylor clinics (around 50) and a decidely more low-key one for friends. Both were a blast. Baylor's entailed a big pot of pap (ground maize meal mixed with water to a porridge-like consistency) and a serious braai (BBQ), as Swazis don't seem to consider it a proper meal unless there's a substantial amount of meat. Ours was a bit more vegetarian-friendly, but both featured some aamzing Christmas cookies we've worked on over the years (Mexican wedding cakes, ginger snaps, shortbread dipped in chocolate, gingerbread, and peanut butter).
We've also harvested a TON of food from the garden, pulling many things and replanting others after their fruiting cycle. We think we'll be able to get three rounds of vegetables, from starts to fruit, during the growing season. Hot days and rainy afternoons seem to have done the trick. Bananas and green beans, sugar snap peas and bell peppers, passion fruit and tomatoes, red onions, strawberries, lettuces, grapes, and herbs.
