A Bed and the Queen Mother

This has definitely been one of the busiest weeks so far, which is a good thing. It`s nice being able to look back and feel like you`ve done something, even if it`s not much. Plus, I`ve discovered something very useful: walking is a great way to kill time.

I`ve met a carpenter. His name is Chico. Chico thinks I`m crazy. I`m pretty sure no Swazi has ever even thought of building a bed like mine. It`s nothing that complicated really (a lofted bed with a desk underneath, just like a dorm room), but I still don`t think he really understands it even with the drawing I had one of the other volunteers make. That`s ok though, he`s nice enough to let me help, and by “help” I mean just hanging out and watching him work. I actually did do some planing (?), so I`m not completely useless. My conclusion: it`s hard. Chico seems like a pretty capable carpenter, but it`ll be interesting to see how it turns out.

The Queen Mother FINALLY came last Sunday and the event didn`t disappoint. I was planning on walking to the “inkundla” (they place where the community`s council meets) where the event was going to take place, but it turned out my whole family was planning on going too so I got a ride. For some reason we first had to go to this other community the Queen Mother was at before she came to ours. We were there for about 2 minutes before we got swept up in the Queen Mother`s motorcade and got a police escort back to our community. Over the last couple of weeks I had been to a few planning meetings for this event, but I still had no idea how big it would be. Easily over a thousand people; trucks and trucks full of food and blankets to be given out; a few MPs (Members of Parliament), the Prime Minister, a few of the King`s wives, and, of course, the Queen Mother. Lots of speeches, dancing, and singing (including my Babe – check out the YouTube link →). Luckily, my sisi was there to explain what was going on because I was pretty confused when they gave an old man a bicycle. Overall, one of the more exciting things I`ve done in Swaziland.

Monday was our one night away from site for the month. One of the other volunteers had a birthday this week so it seemed as good a time as any. Definitely a relaxing experience, but not without some excitement. The hostel we stayed at this time had a barbecue so we attempted to make shish-kabobs. The problem was that it was so windy the charcoal wouldn`t stay lit, but, eventually, we were able to get the meat cooked by using a whole lot of bug spray and rum as lighter fluid. The highlight of the day was definitely the pool. AMAZING! Although the water was freezing and it was partly drizzling most of the afternoon, not going in was never an option.

I put the pictures I took from the Queen Mother`s visit up on my Picasa page under “Philani Maswati Charity Event” (link on the left →). I`ve started putting captions with some of the pictures, so hopefully they`ll make more sense. (I`m planning on adding captions to some of the old pictures as well.) I also put up a link to my YouTube page (on the left, below the “Picasa” link →). The only thing up there right now is a 40 second clip of my Babe singing for the Queen Mother, but I`ll put more up eventually. Enjoy.