Hey guys, been here just over a week now and absolutely loving it! Today it’s about 28 degrees and it’s seriously too hot - even though I’m in an internet café with air con!!

So anyway- this is an update as to what I’ve been doing so far! Done loads so there is quite a lot!
Arrived last Thursday at about 3pm. Got off the tiniest little plane I’ve ever seen to find the tiniest airport I’ve ever seen and it was just boiling. Me in my jeans, top and thick cardigan of course. Was picked up by Charlotte (kind of the director for the project- does the newsletters, sorts all things volunteering out etc who is from Holland) and Jonjo (another one of the volunteers who is from Doncaster). Driving through the streets there were loads of huts made out of scraps of metal and wood- selling fruit and vegetables and other bits and bobs. Lots of women carrying the heaviest looking objects on their heads etc. Completely surrounded by beautiful mountains, beaming Sun and sat in the back of the truck sweating like anything! Went back to the house where the volunteers live and found my room and everything. It’s actually a pretty nice place to live- big lounge with balcony, kitchen, bathroom with 2 showers and 2 toilets (normal ones- no pouring a bucket of water over your head type malarkey). It’s based at the main Salesian High School where a lot of the older boys go. Then went with Charlotte and Christian (volunteer from Germany) and they showed me some of the schools/ homes and I met a few of the boys which was nice. Mainly relaxed, got to know who people were and went for a drink with some of the guys in the evening which was nice.

Second day, I unpacked the rest of my stuff and then Charlotte, Shane (volunteer from Ireland), Bernardo (volunteer from Bolivia) and I met 2 African girls and 2 African women and we set off to this wildlife sanctuary. Paid 20 Rands (about 2 pounds ((they don’t have pound symbol on this computer)) and then we drove through the park to the picnic area. We immediately saw lots of antelope, zebras, water hogs, different birds but the most incredible thing we saw was about 5 or 6 Hippos in one of the big lakes. It was just amazing- took millions of pictures even though you can only see their heads, but we just stood there watching them for about half an hour! Also saw a crocodile in the distance sunbathing. We then went to the picnic area which actually had a swimming pool and playground area and unpacked some of the stuff we’d bought from Spar (which sells absolutely everything btw- including Bisto gravy which I may use tonight lol). One of the women who obviously very intelligent and teaches Siswati (Swaziland language) started talking about the most bizarre things I’ve ever heard. She was asking Charlotte and I if we’d heard about such stories as: Women giving birth to two birds, a litter of puppies (which were then all brutally killed), a mermaid etc. She asked us what the word was in English for a birth such as this, in which we replied- ermm, it has never happened in Europe so we don’t have a word for this. All of them genuinely believed these stories and said that they were the result of a family’s wrong- doing i.e. witchcraft/ devil’s work type thing. She then told us how giving birth to a baby who is disabled in some way, is like a bad omen and not acceptable to society and will be beaten and spoken to horribly etc. Disabled people are basically treated as outcasts.

Day 3- I spent the day with Megan (who is the volunteer I have been in touch with for a while on facebook- been here for a year) and her friend that had come to see her from home called Jordanna. We went to Swazi Candles Craft Centre for some nice lunch and looked around some of the little shops which was nice. We then went to another little shop which sells nice little craft- type things, which also has a pub and ‘House of Fire’ which hosts music gigs- really cool place. We actually went to House of Fire that evening- was these 3 French people doing Jazz music with bass drums, saxophones and a trombone- and then a lot of weird vocals. Was really good and had a nice time. Was playing with these little girls and boys before we went who are all really cute- they come most evenings now and shout- “Alice, Alice, Alice…” until I come down lol.

Day 4- Was a pretty chilled out day. We get the weekends off so are free to do whatever. Plus it was the Easter holidays anyway which is why I haven’t mentioned doing anything work-wise! Spent much of the day with the little kids, spinning them round till I felt sick, running around, attempting to understand what they were saying etc. They ask me for food quite often, which I try to give them- but it’s not always easy, especially if I have no food which makes me feel bad. Also, I don’t think I can keep giving them food as they’ll just keep coming back, expecting me to give them something. Even after I had told them I had none and was going back upstairs they were calling my name for about 15 minutes- not the easiest of things, but I think with time, I’ll learn to deal with situations better. Went back down an hour later and some of the older boys were there and asked me to play some football with them. Was the hottest game of football ever, but it was a good laugh and meant that I got to meet some more of the boys. In the afternoon, Thomas (another volunteer from Germany), Bernardo, Christian and I went to Charlotte’s because she has a pool at the place she lives at. Got back and Megan and Jordanna were out with lots of the boys so I joined them- the boys love taking pictures of each other which is pretty funny. One of the little boys didn’t want to leave my side and practically fell asleep in my arms. Whilst the boys are all really nice and friendly, it is quiet evident that a lot of them really crave as much attention as possible. They say “look at me, look at me” all at the same time and then will start hopping or jumping off walls etc, just so that they will get some attention. It’ sad to think that a lot of them have little or no family because they have died or just do not have enough money to feed and school them back at their homes.

Day 5- an amazing day! Bernardo, Megan, Jordanna, Shane and I set off on an hours drive to Ngwempisi, up in the mountains. We’d been to Spar to get some picnic stuff (basically a cheese sandwich) and set off down the mountain towards the river at the bottom. It took us about 45 minutes to get down- it was really steep and mostly just rocks so I was very grateful for shoes with a good grip! Eventually arrived down (except for Megan and Jordanna because Jordanna cut her foot) and spent about 4 hours by the most incredible river I’ve ever seen. Was completely surrounded by mountains and was simply beautiful. Probably the most amazing place I’ve ever been to! I just sunbathed, read my book and listened to my ipod- so was a really nice, chilled out day…. Except for the climb back up! Seriously tiring; very steep and was basically walking up rocks for over an hour. Nearer the top, there is this place built in the mountain, around some rocks. Was really cool- up to 16 people can stay there, has lovely steps going down to different floors- with 2 bedrooms, a kitchen area, and a balcony bit outside where you can have a bbq and sit down. The funniest bit was that the shower and toilet was outside at the front- so nobody can see you (except for any animals I guess) and you have a shower with the most amazing view ever- great. Shane had cut this big cactus plant and had this thick white sticky stuff on his hands from it- and after he’d had a shower, came into the room holding his eyes in a great deal of pain. We eventually decided to take him to the clinic where they gave him some antihistamine- he couldn’t open his eyes and well, didn’t look like much fun. Was a horrible allergic reaction apparently so I don’t think he will touch any cacti for a while.

Day 6- Work day 1. Got up for the bread run starting at 8 am with Bernardo and Matthew, one of the African guys who works for the Salesians. It involved getting the jam and chilies from the office and then eventually to this massive bakery factory thing. They go there for the bread run as it is free bread; it is basically leftover stuff that is going moldy. We spent about half an hour or so rummaging through all the bread to find some that wasn't moldy (had to get 10 crates full)- was a very strange experience actually. After that, we went round lots of the homes giving them the bread and jam, so I got more of an idea where the homes are (which are everywhere) and met some more of the boys. One of the boys at the homes had a nasty cough so I went to the clinic with him, got his tablets and gave him some food and a drink, before finding Bernardo and taking him back home. Spent the evening with the young kids and some of the older boys- who took yet more pictures of each other (mostly with a football in their hands). After that, I cooked tea for Megan, Thomas and Christian (just some pasta, chicken and sauce- typical uni kind of meal) which was nice and then Christian made this big pancake thing. Was a long day so was very tired and went to bed a bit earlier.

Day 7- Went to the office in the morning where the social workers are based. They are putting the handwritten files containing information about the boys onto the computers so I will be helping to do that maybe twice a week. Reading through- it said whether they had parents, what their home situation was, whether they would like to return home etc. Some of the boys didn’t even know when their birthdays were and even worse- their parents' names. It was sad to read some of the stories and really made me think just how much some of these kids have suffered. It must be very hard for them with so many of them having virtually no family to go home to. Quite a few talked about being too scared to go back home because they were afraid of being beaten. A lot of them are badly treated at home it seems, and would just prefer to be permanently away from home, a very sad concept. Not all of them felt like this though- a lot of the boys talk of their plans to complete their education and get qualifications to become doctors, mechanic, computer engineers etc so that they can earn money for their families. In the afternoon, as previously agreed, I went along with Bernardo to Hope House. It is a place with a number of small bungalows with a bed, bathroom and kitchen. People who are very ill stay there and often are there till they die. We went to a few of the mini- houses and just sat down, talking to some of the people there. There was a lovely old man (called Vusa I think) who had actually been paid by the Swaziland Government to go to London University to study law- he must be a very intelligent man. He had cancer and was in a lot of pain- they give him morphine so he was a bit drowsy. He was telling us that he is getting better, but sadly, I think it is very unlikely that he will recover. We then met Hans who was originally from Germany and has taught in various places in Africa for much of his life. He had a form of dementia, and although he has spoken English for all these years- was struggling to remember words and conversation wasn’t easy. We met a few other people who were suffering from TB, AIDs, cancer and different things. I came away feeling slightly depressed to be honest, but they all had smiles on their faces and were so positive about their lives, that I try to have a similar outlook on it. They all appreciated our company and asked when we come and visit again. I plan to go 2 afternoons a week to see them- I don’t think I will have time to see them more than that, but it is definitely so worthwhile. On Wednesday evenings, the volunteers go to different homes and help the boys with any work they don’t understand, play music and relax with them etc. I went to a home called Fairview- attempted to do some Maths and Computer theory but was much too hard for me lol. Watched a bit of the Man United match with them and showed them some of my photos. I came back with a lot less photos than I’d gone with!

Day 8- Went to Charlotte’s office and basically spent 5 hours copying and pasting emails from one computer to another so that the emails were in one place for the newsletter to be sent to. Was pretty tedious but needed doing so I just got on with it really! Also managed to get on Facebook briefly which was nice! Was thinking about how much of a bubble we are in here- completely oblivious to what is going on in the outside world. So if there is any significant news- please tell me as I haven’t got a clue! Spent the afternoon watching the boys practice on the Marimbas (a bit like Xylophones) which was really fun- they’re really good at it. They were preparing for the King’s Garden Party as it is his birthday tomorrow. The King is the most important person in Swaziland and he decides who is Prime Minister etc. He has spent millions of Rands on the celebrations for his grand 41st- I dread to think how much will be spent on his 50th! I think it’s awful how much money he is wasting, when people here need all the help they can get. I’m sure you get the idea.
Anyway- the café is about to close so I better be off. I am never writing this much again but I just thought as it is the first week I’d let you know more!

I’m missing people a lot, but really am enjoying myself and beginning to know my way around more. Remember the names is really difficult but I’m getting there! Everywhere I walk people say Hello, how are you- all very friendly. I sometimes feel a little paranoid as it seems every single person stares at me as I walk past. Hope to speak to some of you soon! Much love xxx

 

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Hello people, hope you are all well!!
I’m great, even starting to develop a tan (by my standards, anyway lol)! I haven’t been online in a week as I have been on an amazing holiday in Mozambique, but I will get onto that in a bit! I think I got to Day 8 last time, so will continue from there! Some days (weekends) I didn’t really do much so I’ll just leave them out!

Day 9- Went with Christian to Sandrini School (the bridging school and also Enjabulweni Home) to meet the Headmaster, Cedric, to discuss some things. Christian had prepared an English paper for them so I sat through that. Cedric was very busy, so we arranged to meet the following week instead. There was a big football tournament going on at Bosco Hall so most of the boys were there in the afternoon which meant it was very quiet around the place! I found some of the boys- Zakhe, Sanele, Menzi, Mandisa, Mangaliso, Aremando (no idea of spellings) and as the activity room was locked, we went to the shopping mall to print a few of the many photos they’d taken of each other! I went to Clicks which is just like Boots and found Tres Semme Hairspray and nice shampoos and stuff so was very happy (as well as shocked) to purchase these items!! In the late afternoon, believe it or not, I joined the gym and had a session there! It costs around 15 pounds a month and is a really good gym, with all types of equipment. I just need to actually go there as much as possible!

Day 11- The King’s Birthday. Collected the boys with the marimbas and drums etc and we set off to Royal grounds and set up all the stuff at about 11am on the lawn. There were lots of people in posh dresses with some funny hats that looked like a bundle of wrapping paper on their heads, and then other people were wearing the traditional dress! Traditional dress is basically like togas, but more colourful with the King’s face on them, and then they wear rabbit skins around the crotch areas if male! The boys had been promised lunch but as nothing ever goes to plan- there was a miscommunication with the catering staff, so there was none. We did eventually find some rather dry sandwiches (which I chose not to eat), a drink and an apple- not the best but had to do! I had a quick look in the main marquee where the King would dine with all his guests in the evening and it was amazing- loads of tables with beautiful table cloths, plates and cutlery, flowers, chandelier- type lighting, a music stage etc- became very evident where the majority of the 20 million Rands was spent! Was boiling (30 degrees) and by the end of the day I was pretty burnt- oops! They boys all played really well, and despite playing for hours, managed to play for quite a while, entertaining the guests. They were supposed to play for the King in the evening, but someone had bought some music entertainment as a gift for the King so it mucked up all the plans. They said that the boys could play between 9 and 11 pm and we just had to say no- they were all really tired and it just wasn’t fair on them really. They best part of the day had to be the massive buffet dinner that all the boys got to eat- there was literally everything you could eat and every single boy came away with the biggest mountain of food on their plates I have ever seen! They really enjoyed themselves and asked if they could stay there all night, being waited on for drinks and stuff (a new experience for most boys). For many, it was the first time they’d seen the King, so that was amazing in itself (fancy me seeing him after only 2 weeks)! He spends a lot of money though. He has 13 wives (it is normal for men to have more than 1 wife here, a very strange concept for me) and a few palaces, when people are dying every day and suffering from poverty. They day finished with a huge display of fireworks- amazing, but I just couldn’t believe how much money was spent! There was also car troubles involving the keys getting locked inside the car, but we made it home eventually!! Weird moments of the day, for me were the 2 marriage proposals from the army soldiers. I also spent a lot of time talking to one the many Princes who is of a high rank in the army too. He took some pictures of us and asked for my email so he could send me them- the problem now is that he seems to have got my email wrong and has been ringing the office all the time whilst I’ve been in Mozambique- obsessive much?? Lol. He couldn’t understand the English system of getting married, and then divorcing to get married again- “why not just have more than one wife like we do here??” Had a good and interesting chat with him anyway!

Day 12- Bank Holiday Monday due to it being the King’s birthday the day before! Chilled a bit, and then went with Thomas, Becky and Megan to a nature reserve park, where we met a girl who has connections with the Gone Rural shop at House of Fire. We went swimming underneath an amazing waterfall and had a nice picnic! Was a really nice, chilled out day.

Day 13- Spent the morning with Sanele and Aremondo and then went with Bernardo in the afternoon to Hope House. We saw a few people including Vusi, Hans and Ellen (she is a preacher apparently). They all seemed quite well today which was nice to see. Vusi was in quite a bit of pain though as he has prostate cancer and finds it very difficult to move so we helped him sit up a bit. He told me that when he graduated in London the (then) Queen had been there when he got his certificate, and he had said to her that he came from a small country called Swaziland. She replied to him (something like) “It doesn’t matter about the size of the country, just what that country is able to achieve. Look at Britain, for example.” I thought that was really cool! We talked about the King’s Garden party, showed them some photos and played some music. Was nice to spend some time with everyone. A new volunteer arrived from Ireland called Sean who is a really nice guy! It was Shane’s 29th birthday so went to a restaurant for a drink and watched the Liverpool- Arsenal game, just about the only thing you see/ hear about England here… football!

Day 14- I drove the truck around with Steve McQueen (not his real name, but what he calls himself- he is Assistant House Father at Zakhele home and also Sports Officer) and Christian with a few of the boys all over Manzini. They put posters up everywhere, advertising the holiday programme which starts in 2 days now. The holiday programme is for any children in the whole of Manzini, not just the ones at Manzini Youth Care- so is going to be a hell of a lot of kids! In the evening I went with Bernardo and Albern (Head Social Worker) to Zakhele, helping to find out information about the boys, whether they have any family etc. The main purpose is to find out if they have birth certificates and stuff so that we can try and sort out ID cards for when they leave the homes and have to earn a living. Very important stuff really… but was quite sad finding that a lot of the boys had no parents. Some of them seemed quite uncomfortable talking about it, which I totally understood.

Day 15- Went to Enjabulweni again and successfully managed to get Cedric and talk to him. I left with English and Maths exercise books and will be assisting Julie/ Julia? in the 2nd term (which starts in 2 weeks) with these subjects and Sandrini School. I better get learning the maths as I’ve forgotten most of it! I’ll be teaching in the mornings during the week so now I have a proper structure to my mornings which is good. In the afternoons I will go to Hope House, chill with the boys, go to the office and do any work that needs doing there etc. Afternoons will be a lot more flexible to do stuff so that’s good!

I spent the afternoon at Enjabulweni with Megan in the activity room. The boys there have no school in the afternoon so get really bored. There was a keyboard so of course I played a few songs, but I was of some use as I taught one of the boys who is really interested in playing the piano some theory and a couple of songs. The other boys were playing board games, Jenga, jigsaw puzzles etc so it kept them pretty occupied! Another thing to do in the afternoons!

Day 16- Went to the office in the morning and found Megan sorting through the huge pile of donated clothes so I joined in with that. Was some hilarious 70s clothes, weird skirts and tops, but the odd really nice thing! Jonjo and Sean came in and we carried on doing that for a while. We had to leave eventually as there was so much dust, it was making my eyes water and I felt sick for some reason! The boys were also having coughing fits lol. In the afternoon I went with Bernardo to Hope House. Vusi was very tired but we still had a nice chat. He is a bit of a favourite to visit, even though I feel a bit bad for having favourites, as they all really like our company! Hans, who had a stroke, has real problems with one of his hands, but had a new exercise ball to exercise it a bit. He can’t hold or pick things up and he always seems pretty distressed by it. He was a lot chirpier though and seemed to remember a lot more of his English which was good to see! I met a boy with cerebral palsy who was having some lunch with his Mum. He could speak English and Swazi, despite being a bit slower to talk… very smart lad. He told us he like Kaka from AC Milan after seeing his picture in the newspaper that was on the chair. The lady who we usually see last (still not got her name) was in a lot of pain so we didn’t stay long. She has AIDS and is so thin, really not nice. She was telling us that she has a hospital appointment next week, but there seemed to be a lack of enthusiasm… I’m not sure how long she will live for, very sad. I got back to find some fighting going on amongst the boys. Aremondo is from Mozambique and speaks no English and virtually no Siswati. He seems to fight all the time as his way of interaction with other boys, always provoking them; a bit of a problematic lad.

Day 17- Thomas, Shane, Christian and I made our way to the bus station and after a long wait (for the bus to fill), we set off to the capital of Mozambique, Maputo. They cram as many people as possible into the buses (Kombis- pronounced Kombees) and I had a little boy sat on the floor in front of me, facing me. He was called Lucas, from Mozambique and was a funny lad with very chubby cheeks- when I manage to put pictures up, you’ll see a picture of him with my bracelets round his ears, like earrings. It took AGES to pass the border as we had to fill in forms and get VISAs which was a pain, but we got through eventually. The boy fell asleep on with his head on my lap and was dribbling all over me (thankfully, his mum put this cloth under his head so it didn’t go all over my clothes!). It took 4 hours to get to Maputo (not far at all) and we arrived at this funky Backpackers place called Fatimas. We paid for the dorm and sorted the shuttle bus to Tofo for the next day before heading towards the sea. We got to the sea, then wandered along to the city centre and had a bite to eat. I wasn’t a big fan of Maputo, although it’s the biggest place I have been to so far. It was far too chaotic, dirty with loads of rubbish on the floor and far too many people pestering us to buy things. For the entire stay in Mozambique, we were constantly harassed by people to buy things- clothes, coconuts (loads of Palm Trees), guava, fish, bread, bracelet, passport covers- everything! The fact that we are white means that people see you as much more of a target, as we are more likely to have money. Was pretty annoying but I understand that this is just their way of life, and they will do anything to get money from you. In the evening we went to the famous Costa do Sol for a lovely meal. I had grilled prawns, very nice! Back at Fatimas, I was on the lower bunk bed and the Mosquito net was really low. It made it virtually impossible to get it around the bed so in the end, the net was more of a duvet than a tent so I had virtually no sleep. Never mind!

Day 18- We got up at about 4am for the “5am” shuttle bus to Tofo (it didn’t arrive til half 6). Journey took what felt like forever, but was only 8 hours. I met a couple of nice girls who were from London, who were sat next to me. They had both graduated and were travelling around Africa. We eventually arrived at the Backpacker’s place- Fatima's Nest (hence the shuttle bus) and checked into a 4 bed bungalow. Was actually a really nice place- big bar and restaurant area with outside seating on the sand, kitchen, a big bathroom etc. There are steps that go down to the beach, directly from the bar area which is really cool. We unpacked our stuff, then went round the market… “Hello, I am Mr Beautiful- buy some lovely coconut bread,” “Oh this would look really nice on you, you should buy it,” etc etc… There was lots of nice fruit and vegetables, bread, drinks and stuff, all right next to the sea. The beach and sea was really beautiful and so deserted, not something you see very often these days as people are always at the beach! The people there were still very poor, although there was a lot more rich people than in other areas I’ve been to- lots of homesteads just outside the centre of Tofo. There are so many palm trees there, it is just beautiful. We walked around a bit more and found an old, run-down, rusty bus called Invincible which I found quite funny. The good thing about my bed this time was that it was a single bed, with the mosquito net a lot higher= much better night’s sleep.

Day 19- As there is no bank in Tofo and we needed money, we decided that the first day would be spent getting money and looking round the nearest town, Imhabane (sp?). My VISA card was no problem but the boys have Maestro cards which are only accepted a certain banks. The certain bank only had 1 working ATM and a massive queue so it took ages! There was a massive market selling all sorts of fish, bread and other things. There was no supermarket though which was a bit annoying. Got back to Tofo and booked a place on the snorkeling trip for the next day with Discovery Scuba. We spent most of the evening talking to the 2 girls we’d met on the journey from London which was cool… I also spoke to a Mozambican guy who worked at another backpacker’s place called Bamboozi- another guy who told me that he loved me.

Day 20- We got up and went to Discovery Scuba for 9am. The woman leading us get us a brief about whale sharks, which we would be looking for when we went out, and told us that they only eat plants, which was good to know! She told us that they are the largest fish in the ocean, with the biggest growing around 9m. We got our flippers and snorkels and set off on the boat, searching which felt like ages for some dark shadow in the water. Eventually, we actually saw some dolphins and all jumped in. They were jumping in and out of the water and I was literally no more than 5 metres away. We were getting ready to get back in the boat, when 2 whale sharks appeared out of nowhere. It was incredible and I swam about 3 metres away from them. They were massive (although not 9m), beautiful creatures with lots of white spots on them. They swam quite slowly and didn’t seem bothered at all by our presence, but eventually disappeared. We all got back onto the boat, all completely amazed, and no more than 5 minutes later, spotted about 5/6 dolphins swimming towards us. I jumped into the water and they were heading straight towards me. I came within 2 metres away from them, and could see all their features really clearly. Just amazing! They zoomed past us, but we stayed in the water for a bit- just in case more sharks appeared, but with no luck- got back onto the boat. I’d just got back on when this whale shark (about 5/6 metres long) swam right past the boat, surfacing the water. Back into the water I went, but this time I managed to get even closer, trying to stay clear of its tail. I swam directly above it and it really was just incredible. One of the most amazing things that I have ever done! On a total high, I spent the rest of the day sunbathing on the beach whilst the lads made sandcastles (boys will be boys I guess)… needless to say I got a little more burnt, but it couldn’t be helped! It was just a brilliant day. In the evening we headed to a pizza place called Mundo’s which was cool- the Chelsea, Barcelona game was on, but I was so tired so I just went back and fell asleep!

Day 21- We’d booked a day trip the previous day, meeting at 6:30am so another early start. We went with this other couple and were taken by a couple of African guys to Imhabane. We went round the market for 15 minutes which was much nicer than the previous time because it was so quiet (and a lot cooler). There was a stall selling loads of crabs, but I noticed that virtually all of them were still alive- poor things! We got onto an old, tiny sailing boat and headed towards Panji Island. There was absolutely no wind whatsoever, so the guy used a long pole to move us. It took about 3 hours to get there but it was worth it in the end. It was a really cute little island, with just sand and a few plants. There were these amazing shells that all had two identical slits in, with a flower print on the front (no idea what they are) which I managed to bring back with me. Not sure how easy it’d be to bring them back to England though- they break pretty easily. We had a fish barbeque which was really nice, a bit of sunbathing and then headed back- this time with wind, so it took a lot less time thankfully. We got back to Fatimas at about half 5 and checked out for the next day (very early start) and then spent the evening at Bamboozi with two girls (1 Canadian called Sarah and another girl from London). Thomas knew Sarah from Swaziland as she also works there which was quite random. We got back in the evening and then packed for the next day.

Day 22- Woke up at 3am after about 3.5 hours sleep and got ready for the 4am shuttle bus! I have no idea why it left so early, but was too tired to care really! Lol. 8 hours later we arrived in Maputo, after the usual pestering to buy coconuts etc. It was over 30 degrees and we were all completely boiling, so the 3 hour wait for the Kombi to fill up for Manzini wasn’t appreciated much! The seats had plastic covers on them and just wasn’t the most pleasant experience, but never mind! Got through the border a lot faster, with a quick stamp and arrived in Manzini after 4 hours. We’d been travelling for over 16 hours so it didn’t take long before I went to bed! I had a really good time in Mozambique though. It was a really relaxing holiday and to come back with a bit of a tan makes me happy any day! Highlight of course being the swim with wild dolphins and whale sharks!

Day 23- Woke up at 7am for some strange reason (pretty usual now though) and read my book for a bit. Didn’t really do anything all day which was nice after such a busy week. Internet café, much needed trip to Spar to get some food and spent a little time with Aremondo in the evening. He was supposed to go home but said he didn’t have any money to get back to Maputo, which is where he lives. I felt sorry for him because all of his friends have gone home so he is just by himself, speaking no English and little Siswati. We played a bit of football until he had to go back to Enjabulweni for his tea. Everyone went to this big Reggae festival but I decided not to go because they wouldn’t be getting back till late and I would have just fallen asleep!

 

That is everything I have done so far- yet another tonnage of words which weren’t planned, but never mind! On Monday the holiday programme starts so that should be interesting! It goes on for 2 weeks before the 2nd term starts. I am helping with the arts, games, table tennis, badminton, table football and stuff so I definitely have my work cut out! I’d rather be doing that then trying to sort out the massive football tournament though- tough work! Sorry there is not much to report work wise, but once the 2nd term kicks in, I’ll be able to let you know a lot more about the boys and what I’m getting up to! I am going to try and get to the office ASAP, when nobody is using the computer so I can put the photos up! There are plenty of them!

Hope everyone’s exams are going well for those of you that have got them! I’m missing everybody lots, but enjoying myself loads at the same time! Love to everyone xxxxxxxx

 

P.S. … Some words that I have learnt:-
Sawubona (Sah-woo-bone-ah) meaning “Hello”
Unjani (Un-jar-knee) meaning “How are you”
Niapila (not sure of spelling) (Knee-a-peela) meaning “I am fine”
Sambunani (not sure of spelling) (Sam-boo-nah-knee) meaning “It’s a good day” –said when greeting more than one person. To which you reply “Yebo” (Yay-bow-as in bow tie), meaning yes.

 

Hello everyone!!
Sorry it has been such a long time since I last wrote something- been very busy with the holiday programme since I went to Mozambique! I last posted a blog on the 2nd May, and its now the 21st, so there’s plenty to write about! Hope you are all well anyway, it’s always nice to hear from you, so don’t hesitate to write! Haha. For the holiday programme I won’t do a day-by-day account as each day was fairly similar.

Day 26 meant the first day of the holiday programme, something that is considered as a volunteer’s main role here. Children have very little to do in the holiday times, and most actually prefer to stay at school (not like in England), rather than go home. The holiday programme is available to anybody that wants to come, so lots turn up from all over Manzini, not just the homes. Quite a lot of the boys who are part of Manzini Youth Care actually go back home, but quite a few simply can’t afford to travel home, or in some cases, don’t really have a home to go back to. I was assigned the role, along with Megan and Thomas, of being upstairs- where they play Pool, Badminton, Table Tennis and Table Football. Christian and Sean were in the main Hall with a very chaotic job of organising an U13s and U17s football tournament throughout the two weeks. Bernardo was teaching the guitar, whilst Shane was doing his usual computer lessons, as well as some drumming lessons. As well as playing a hell of a lot of table tennis, at half 12 each day I went to Spar to get (a lot of) bread for all the boys. Spar had agreed to give us a small discount, which overall helped a lot. We had to make buckets of juice, which were then poured into little clear bags, tied with a knot. You just make a hole in the bag, and then drink it, making it more hygienic, and easy to do (even though it takes a long time to make 150 bags of them). Each afternoon we also played a movie in the ‘cinema room’ (a dark room that has a stand for a projector). We played loads of different films over the two weeks like Dark Knight, The Golden Compass, The Longest Yard, Transformers etc. They couldn’t understand a word of the films really, so they had to have something that was exciting to watch, visually!

Sadly, the thing I had to do most when in the hall, was watch that nothing was stolen. Some of the boys in the past had stolen pool balls, broken the cues (when wacking each other with them), taken the golf balls for the table football etc. The annoying this is that they will take the balls, then come back the following day, wanting to play, asking why there are no balls. Just stupid! I understand why they do it though- they’ll do most things to get a bit of money in their back pockets! I met lots of cute little boys, a couple of who spent most of their time sat on my knee, falling asleep! So adorable! It’s quite sad in a way because they weren’t Manzini Youth Care boys, so I probably won’t see them again! Men and boys in Swaziland hold hands a lot which is a very different kind of culture to England. Imagine seeing two boys who are 19 years old holding hands in England, and saying that they are not gay. It’s nice that people are so comfortable in their own skins though- everyone is positive, getting on with their lives, and only worrying about important things. There’s an older guy, called Focus, who was pestering me a lot. He’s an MYC guy from Zakhele Home, and was being seriously flirty- telling me that he honestly loves me, and that he never stops thinking about me. He is always trying to hug me etc… Not easy to be really firm with him, but whatever I say, he never stops. I had my phone stolen at some point in the programme as well which is an absolute pain! It’s especially annoying when we’re spending so much time and putting so much effort in to keep them happy, and then they just steal your phone! I’ll just have to be a whole lot more careful in the future! Most of the boys said they were very sorry that it had happened, and that they thought it was horrible, bless them!

Sean and I helped to take a man in a wheelchair to the bus station, as he said he was suffering more now, and was starving (I don’t think he was starving, as he is well looked after by the Red Cross and didn’t look at all thin). He said he hadn’t seen his Father for over 20 years, and was going to see him because he knew that he would help him. We accidentally drove into the bus station (hundreds of Kombis and a hot point for thefts), and as it’s a one way system, we had to drive straight through. It wasn’t a very pleasant experience, but we made it out alive eventually. We were heading back to Salesian (Salesian High School, where we live), when the car decided to die on us, due to lack of petrol. We were on one of the busiest streets in Manzini, not a safe place to be really, so I made sure to lock the doors when Sean went off to the petrol station. There was a man directly in front of me, rummaging through a bin, eating any bit of food that he found. It was very disheartening to watch. We eventually got the petrol into the car (after someone lent us a saw to cut a bottle in half, to pour the petrol into the tank). We were pretty late by the time we got to the Hall! I arrived to find lots of the boys complaining that there were no ping pong balls as they had all broken. There was an MYC boy, called Mandile, who came to me asking for another shuttlecock. I told him it was fine, and to carry on playing. He returned with a completely broken one, some 30 seconds later, so I reluctantly gave him a new one. He then burst out laughing, and showed me the one that was only slightly damaged, and began playing with the new one. I went to get it off him, but he continued playing. He actually came back to me a couple of minutes later, with the same completely broken one, as if I was really stupid, or something. It actually really annoyed me and I just didn’t see why they have to act in this way. No point in getting too worked up about it though, otherwise I’d be in a permanent bad mood! Haha.

James (the man who sent me here from the Salesians, in England) came to Manzini, to see what it was like for himself, and suggest any changes that he thought were suitable. It was nice to see a familiar, friendly face and to show him what I had been doing. He went to Capetown after five days, to check out a project down there, which would be really cool.

On day 31 (9th May- Saturday), a few of us went to House on Fire for a drumming workshop, celebrating World Fair Trade Day. There were lots of little stalls (including Becky’s stall, selling things from the workshop at MYC). The workshop began with a big performance with lots of drumming and ritual dances. The women were topless, with only a bit of clothing round them (in a toga style way), doing lots of different dances, whilst the men were in traditional Swazi dress, with the animal skins and sheets around them (again, in a toga style). We were then asked to join in, taught different rhythms, where Shane was picked out from the audience for being one of the better ones! It was a really fun day, and nice to see some of the people that I’ve met on other nights to House On Fire. Megan’s parents also came out to spend a week in Swaziland, before going to Cape Town, which was really nice. We got back, played some football with the boys. Becky and I also taught them how to play leapfrog and that game where you tag someone, so they have to stand with the legs and arms apart, until someone crawls under your legs. They liked that game!
The 2nd week of the holiday programme began with a lot fewer boys, just like the previous Monday. Had a problem with some boys taking the pool balls and cues from the movie room, after I’d told them that we had finished for the day. Went to get it all back off them, which involved a bit of arguing, but eventually got it all back. We had a big braai (barbeque) in the evening for James, where Fr. Larry, Fr. Martin, and some other people from the office came over. Lots of singing and playing music (not on my part) before I went to bed, thankful that I could just turn the sound off! Haha.

On day 34, I did the usual day of table tennis etc, but had a problem with a buy called Sandile, who stole the white pool ball. The boys said he took it because he wanted to play, and couldn’t be bothered to wait his turn. When I got to him, the ball had miraculously disappeared, and I ended up having to send him away from the activities, saying he could come back when he brought the ball back.

On Day 35, I left Steve McQueen (House Father and Sports Officer) to watch upstairs whilst I went to get the bread, to come back to two pool tables, meaning double the responsibility and stress over all the balls! I met a man in the afternoon, called Armstrong. We were talking about how the King spends his money, and what needs to be done to make Swaziland’s poverty decrease. I also asked him about some of the stereotypes about England, and about what he had heard. His answers were this: 1) There is no poverty in England. Everyone is employed, so nobody is poor. 2) England has no big houses. They tend to be taller, rather than wider, because the plots of land are very small i.e. not enough space for big houses. 3) People in supermarkets won’t pack your bags for you- you have to pack them yourself (How awful is that haha). 4) You can buy weed in cafes etc- “I’ll have a venti cappuccino and a spliff, please.” Very funny, but interesting at the same time!

Day 36- Had a meeting with Bernardo, Albern (social worker guy), Peter (also social worker) and Cedric (Headteacher at Enjabulweni). Bernardo left on the 18th, so he called us together to talk about what he had done, and what needs to be done next concerning obtaining the boys birth certificates. The majority of the boys don’t have one, but in order to get a job, need one, along with ID cards (but that’s a different matter). I will be taking over the role to ensure that it all actually happens. This involves making sure that all the boys have an interview, getting the necessary details about themselves, about their mothers (more important than their father’s details). We then have to take 5 boys at a time (if older than 16), along with Cedric (who will act as their guardian) to the registry office, so that they can get their certificates. There are a hell of a lot of boys, and a lot of them don’t know enough of the details, so its not going to be an easy task. Later on, Charlotte and other people were showing the organization, UNAids around MYC, in a hope that they will make a donation. Fingers crossed!

The following day (Friday), I had been asked to join the boys on their “journey” (i.e. a 24km walk up and down mountains), so I made my way down to the office to prepare for that. The walk was from MYC Office to McCorkindale’s (another MYC Home that is miles away, also run by the Rotary Club). Bernardo and I joined the boys, as well as Charlotte who decided to join us at the last minute. We walked for 5 hours before we arrived, set up camp, ate some food, (a problem in itself as we were supposed to have a braai, but they didn’t have one) before going to bed. I had to share a tent with Bernardo, was freezing, very uncomfortable and therefore, barely slept, but hey, all good fun. The following day, the boys had yet to walk the full 24km, so we went for another walk. I had almost completed it, but got blisters, when we still had a climb up a steep (rocky) hill, so decided to not complete the walk. Megan kindly came to pick me up as I didn’t want the blisters to get worse! Over the two days, we went past lots of homesteads and (where I said hello to lots of the little children who lived there) and ate Guava that the boys picked me from the trees. I also saw a big rubbish heap with people rummaging through, searching for food and any items that could be of use. Was a very strange site that you can never really contemplate until you have seen it, despite seeing it on adverts and documentaries on TV.

On the Sunday, we had a mass power cut which lasted from about 1pm, til 9am the following day. I had only just bought food that morning, so it was quite annoying to find it all inedible the following day! We went out for tea, as we had nothing to cook with, and then spent the evening chatting in candle-light. It was quite good fun actually, although I don’t think I could do it everyday! I went with Bernardo earlier in the day to Hope House, where he was saying goodbye to everyone that he’d met. It was quite sad watching them say goodbye and thanking him for the time that he had spent with them. They really are such nice people. He had bought them little necklaces with a picture of Mary (the Mother of Jesus) on, which they all really appreciated. I also cut Thomas’ hair with some scissors which was pretty funny- I think I did a decent enough job though! Haha.

Day 41 (Tuesday, 19th May) marked the first day of my morning teaching career! I found Madame Julia, introduced myself to the boys (although, most already knew me). I read them the story about the 3 pigs, who all build a house, but 2 are blown away by the wolf (or a jackal, in this case!). I read it three times, but I still don’t think they really understood it! I asked them questions like- What was the first house made from, was this a good material, why? Etc etc. They obviously found it very hard, and despite my efforts to explain the story and questions, they didn’t really follow it. I enjoyed it though, and am sure I’ll get the hang of it eventually! In the afternoon, I joined Thomas for Marimba practice which was good fun! I even got to have a little play which was cool.

Day 42- Headed to Sandrini (the name of the school). We did subtractions in the morning session, e.g. 24-9. I showed them how to write it out, how to borrow one digit from the left hand side, to make the 4 a 14 etc, but even after about 50 times of doing it, they were still using scrap paper and making lots of lines to count from. After Maths, we did English where I wrote on the board- My name is Alice, I am 19 years old. I live in a place called Sheffield, In England. I have one brother, he is called George….. I asked them to copy the text, then answer a few simple questions, such as- “What is my name?” “Where do I live?” “What is my brother’s name?” It took them over an hour to copy the text, and although one boy called Banele managed to do it quickly and answer all the questions, the other boys found it really hard. They didn’t really understand the questions, and even when I explained what the answers were, they just couldn’t get it. In the afternoon there was a bit meeting with Fr. Larry, Charlotte and other members of the teaching staff. It was decided that a trial period of time will be spent teaching Grades 4, 5 and 6 only English and Maths. They are even going to join the pupils from Sandrini with the proper bridging school. I am an English teacher, and will work alongside a man called Mascot, who will teach Maths- teaching a Grade 5 class. I think there’s about 30 pupils in it- I have absolutely no idea what level they are at, what to teach them, or anything! It will certainly be interesting!! We begin this new system of more interactive teaching (role plays, discussions etc) on Monday- please all wish me luck! After the meeting, I went to Hope House to see Ellen. Bernardo couldn’t find her on Sunday, so I went to give her a little message (which she responded with a lot of ‘Amen’s’ and ‘Hallelujahs’) and the little necklace. She told me about her cancer, and that she is leaving next Tuesday for an operation. It was probably the last time I will see Ellen, so it was quite sad… but I wished her well and told her that she was a remarkable woman, which she really is! In the evening, I went to Fairview for tutoring and met a boy called Innocent (I love the names in Swaziland… I have even met someone called Beautiful). He asked me if I went to Church and was religious so the conversation lasted for the duration of the visit!!

Today it is a holiday, which is why I have the time to write this blog! Swazis are always having holidays it seems!

Tomorrow I have my last day with Julia and the Grade 3 boys- meaning I will only have taught them for 3 days in the end, which is a shame! Christian is quite upset that he won’t be teaching his class anymore, as he and Thomas have been teaching them for quite a while now!!

The café is closing now, so it’s a good job I have finished this essay of a blog! I hope it was interesting to read, anyway! As always, I am missing everybody, but honestly loving every moment of my time here! I would recommend to anyone that they spend some time out of education or work to do something like this, whether in England, or here, in Swaziland! Speak to you soon!! Alice xxxxxx

 
Sawubona!! Hope everyone’s alright!

Teaching situation has changed quite a bit since my last blog! On the 22nd May, there was a big meeting with all the staff at Sandrini and Enjabulweni Bridging School, and the volunteers (except Becky and Sean). It was decided that for the next half of a term, we would split the classes from Grades 4, 5 and 6 and have 2 teachers in a class (one volunteer and one of the Swazi teachers) and teach only Maths and English. We discussed that the lessons must be as interactive and as fun as possible, as the purpose of the experiment is to improve their Maths and English as much as possible, as these are the two areas that the children are lacking in. I teach with a guy called Mascot, and have 25 pupils in my class (something I was very daunted by at first). I teach Grade 5, but because it’s a bridging school, the range of children is massive, with the youngest only turn 10 a few weeks ago, and the oldest being 16 or 17. Interestingly though, the little girl (Zuckile) is one of the best in the class, and the oldest boy (Zakhele) is probably the one who struggles the most. I will talk more about my teaching throughout the blog, as I teach every morning!

I’m writing this blog at the house where we live, so I can’t really remember where I left off- but I’m pretty sure I was teaching with Julia at the time, so I’ll just go from there. It’s almost been a month since I last wrote a blog, so I apologise for that (also can’t believe a month has gone by so quickly).

Day 44- There was the 2nd meeting to discuss the new teaching experiment in the morning, held in the Rotary Club room. I’ve never really heard of the rotary club before, but apparently it’s all over the world, and is very much involved with MYC. After lunch, I went with Shane to the Manzini market, as he was looking at buying some drums, so he could teach more of the boys to play. The market sells all sorts of little crafty things, as well as the traditional dress, which I am very tempted to buy (at least it would sort me out for every future fancy dress party)! Afterwards, we went to Hope House to see Vusi. He was talking about all his dreams of learning to speak Russian, going to America etc. He spoke in a very positive way about these things, like they will definitely happen. He often talks about doing things when he gets better. He hasn’t had any operations to remove the cancer, no chemo etc, so I’m just not sure. He doesn’t seem to be getting better at all- always tired and in pain. In the evening, we went to watch Sean and Jonjo play in a rugby 7’s tournament which they won which was good fun. At the club’s bar, you could buy 2 double Malibu and cokes for 30 Rands, which is like £2.40! Ridiculously cheap!

Day 47- Headed to Sandrini for my last day with the Grade 3 class and Julia. We did some Maths, but stopped at break time. Thomas and Christian were taking lots of pictures with their class, as they had been teaching them for over a term. Later on, I found Mascot to come up with some kind of a plan for the following day. He was splitting the Grade 5 class of 69, into three groups. I have no idea how the taught 69 pupils. I introduced myself, and Mascot explained what was happening. It was actually really weird to have giggling girls looking at me as I was so used to just seeing boys everyday. In the evening, I went tutoring at Enjabulweni to help with some of the boy’s homework. I helped Zakhele, or Zakito as people call him (boy from my class), so it was good to know one of my pupils a bit better before school the next day. After tutoring, I made my lesson plan, in preparation for day 1 of school, and then went to bed! I am always tired here; up at 7am everyday and then busy all day, with an hour break at lunch time, so by 10pm I’m exhausted!!

Day 48- I was quite nervous about going to school for my first day of teaching at Enjabulweni, as I didn’t really have a clue what to expect- what their abilities were, or how they were going to react to me (this random English person who knows nothing about teaching). I gave them a small test as instructed to do, which gave me a bit more of an insight about what they are able to do. The biggest struggle seemed to be past tense, with many getting confused and writing “I was played”. Afterwards, we played Hangman which they got really excited about. Even Mascot seemed to get a bit over-excited, writing how many letters there were on a piece of paper etc. It was very funny. They were very well behaved compared to English kids- putting their hands up, not calling out, and waiting their turn to say a letter. I was very impressed. In the afternoon, I went to the office to do some more research on the birth certificate project. There’s a hell of a lot to do!

Day 49- Today’s topic was ‘Healthy Living’. They knew the 5 senses, and found ‘Simon says’ very easy, so we didn’t play that for long. I asked them to get into groups and discuss ways of living healthily and share some of the ideas with the class. They answered questions about what a disease, infection and illness is, and where they should go if they are ill. In the afternoon, I went to ‘Hope House’. As normal, I went to see Vusi first which was lovely, as always. We spoke for quite a while about different things. I really enjoy talking to him, he’s such a nice man and his face lights up when I see him. We always have a good laugh together. He asks me to help him change position a lot, or move his leg up or down, as he can’t do it by himself. He looks like he is in so much pain when I help to move him; it’s not easy for him. Afterwards, I went to see Hans. He often struggles with his voice, and simply cannot say words, but today his speech was really good. I asked him if he had any other visitors and he told me that there was nobody to visit him, so he didn’t. He said that he’d left Germany for Africa over 30 years ago, and had come with his wife. Last year, they had been together for 47 years, but after his stroke last August, she must have found it too difficult to cope, because in December she left him and hasn’t been back to see him since. He looked so sad when he told me. I then asked if he had any children and replied that he had had a daughter, but she had died. I didn’t ask what had happened, as it would obviously be a very personal story. I felt very sorry for him. He has a brother in Germany, but hasn’t seen him for a long time, so he literally has no one out here to look after him. His wife lives just outside Manzini, so it would take no more than half an hour to see him, just to see how he is. I guess it’s none of my business though.

Day 50- We talked about ‘Protecting Your Environment’ in groups and I asked them to elect a team leader, who would read the ideas to the class. They had to think of different ways of protecting the environment, and then chose the six most important ones, to write in their books. There were some really good ones like “plant trees to stop soil erosion” and others like “do not use the river as a toilet”, which I found quite funny. I then asked them questions to write in their books like, “What is pollution?”, “What are the 3 types of pollution?”, “Why is it important to look after our environment?” etc. They generally answered the questions really well, with a few mistakes (as well as some confusion as to what pollution is… one of them said that pollution is a good thing that looks after the environment). After lunch, Thomas and I went to Matsapha Airport to pick the new volunteer up (Charlotte, who I actually met on my 2nd training weekend, just before I came here). She was supposed to have arrived on the 27th May (the day before), but her flight had been delayed in London, making her miss the next flight, so she had to stay in a Dubai hotel for the night. However, just to make things more complicated, she arrived in Swaziland to find her luggage hadn’t. We gave them our details and said we would return the next day, in the hope it would come on a later flight. We showed Charlotte around a bit, and went to Spar to get some food.

Day 51- Today, we learnt about syllables. They seemed to grasp the concept of it really quickly, and could soon work out how many syllables there were in their name, Phi-wa-yin-ko-si being the longest one! Afterwards, I put them into 4 groups and asked them to discuss what job they would like when they’re older and why. The group leader then read them out. There were some really funny (even if they are slightly worrying), for example, “I want to be a soldier because I like wars,” “I want to be a thief, because I like stealing,” (a girl called Nozizwe) “I want to be a police officer, because I like stealing” (Nozizwe better watch out!!).At least the English was correct! Haha. School finishes early on a Friday so we had a meeting at 11am to discuss how the week had gone. It all seemed to be really positive feedback, so that was good. Afterwards, I went to the airport to get Charlotte’s bag, which had arrived the night before, so that was also good! Charlotte hadn’t brought a towel, so we went into town and bought a few bits and bobs. In the afternoon, Gogo (Grandmother) Carol arrived. She will be joined by Gogo Joyce in a 2 or 3 weeks, and together they do this big art project with the boys, ending with an exhibition. In the evening, we went to Rustic Tavern for some food, and then onto a club called Café de Flore. All good!

Day 54 (1st June) - Today was Charlotte’s birthday so I gave her one of Spar’s awful cards, with some cringy message inside of it. At school, I began the task of improving their past tense- regular and irregular. I made them write about what they had done in the holidays. There were still the odd mistakes, but the majority seemed to understand a bit better. It will have to be something I always go back and revise with them. After school, Charlotte and I went down to the office. Charlotte went off with Megan to do some things, whilst I went to Alban’s office to continue work on the birth certificates. I spoke to Alban about my phone (as it was stolen in the Holiday programme) and the story was revealed- Focus stole it, put it in his locker, another boy stole the phone from his locker and then sold the phone to this other boy. This boy then traded the phone for another one, plus some money as my phone was worth more, to this random man in town. The boy that had taken the phone from Focus was in trouble for stealing another phone, so in his annoyance, had snitched on Focus. Alban knows a policeman quite well, so he worked with him to try and get the phone, in a way that Focus wouldn’t get arrested. In Swaziland, people go to prison according to how much something costs, like a year for every 1000 Rands worth (£80). Due to the dodgy way of getting the phone back, once the police had the phone from the man, they wouldn’t give it to me till the man was satisfied (i.e. was given another phone). Therefore, I had to spend 340 Rands on this new phone, so that he was happy enough for me to have the phone back. It was the weirdest situation ever, but the next day Alban went to the police station, with the other man and the new phone, and everyone was happy. Complete pain in the ass though! We had a braii (barbecue) in the evening for Charlotte’s birthday, with some cakes and flapjacks that Carol had made, which was nice.

Day 55- Today, I taught the class what adjectives, nouns, verbs, adverbs and conjunctions were. It was difficult to explain what I meant, but we did loads of examples and they began to understand it quite well by the end of the lesson. I told them that we would have a test on Friday to see how well they understood it. We then read a story called ‘Gretel and the Witch’. We worked together to find the meaning of the story, explained words that they didn’t understand, then we found which words were in past tense, and which were adverbs etc. One of the boys called Bandile said that one of the meanings behind the story is that there is witchcraft and bad spirits, which I thought was quite sweet. In the evening, I went to Fairview. I was trying to get more information about the Mothers of the boy’s for the birth certificates. One of them managed to give me the details, but the others said that they would have to try and ask their brothers etc. Tony the Tornado taught me some more Siswati, like ‘Ungu bani ligama lakho?’ (What is your name?) ‘Yini Inkhinga Yakho’ (What is your problem?) etc. Siswati is a seriously difficult language!

Day 56- Mascot had told me that some of the pupils in our class will go straight to Grade 7 next year, so they need to be able to do some things before they go. One of these things is reading a text, then answering questions on it, as well as finding words with the same meanings. We did a text about communication systems, ranging from ancient times, to today. Practically the whole class asked me what Alexander Graham Bell was, not understanding that it was simply the name of the person who invented the telephone. In the afternoon, I went to Hope House for a while. Hans was having a bad day, and couldn’t say very much at all, which was clearly frustrating him. I just tried to tell him what I’d been up to, and still managed to make him laugh a bit, so at least his spirits were still high. Khulilape was her usual chirpy self, although she told me that her feet were very painful. She has to walk on her heels, and often wakes up in excruciating pain at night. Khulilape also told me that she has partaken in this big event, where the King chooses a new wife, five times. Thousands of women dress up in practically no clothes, and walk for kilometres to one of the Royal Residences, dancing and singing, in the hope that they will be chosen to the new wife. Vusi seemed very tired, but we still had a nice chat. When I said bye, he said “Do come again soon” and asked me when I would next come to see him. He’s such a nice man; I will really miss him when I come home. I came away feeling a bit down, simply because I realised how much I love it here, and would love to stay longer.

Day 57- The topic today was ‘Your Lifestyle’, so I got them to write a diary about their typical day, from when they wake up, to when they go to bed. A lot of them wake up at 5am, or even earlier in some cases, do some cleaning or cooking, then walk to school, then walk back home, do more cleaning, fetch water, cooking, play with their friends for a bit, before going to bed at about 8pm. Tiring days! We then read a report about wrestling, where they asked me about words they didn’t understand. I then got them to write their own report about their favourite sport, which was generally football, with the odd one liking netball or car racing. After lunch, I went to Spar to buy some bread, jam and juice for Carol’s art project. There were quite a lot of boys in there, busy making collages of hippos, zebras, crocodiles etc. It looked like it was going to be a good success.

Day 58- Gave them all a test on past tense, nouns, adverbs etc. The results were really mixed which was quite annoying. They ranged from 5/27 to 22/27. Lungelo got the highest score which I was quite surprised about, as Sibusiso usually is the best at everything. He always has his hand up for every question I ask. The boy who is the most badly behaved in the class, called Wandile (nicknamed Plumber) was the boy with the lowest mark, which wasn’t surprising really. In the meeting, I also asked if there was anything for people with some kind of learning difficulty, as a boy in my class, called Bandile shows a lot of signs of having dyslexia. He jumbles up letters in words, as well as completely mixing up 2 words sometimes. Father Larry told me that there is no support whatsoever, so that answered my question I guess.

Day 59- Becky, Chaz, Carol and I went to Swazi Candles Craft Centre for a late lunch which was lovely. We went round the shops and I was totally amazed to find a Fox Terrier candle. I asked the man who had made it if he would make me a smaller version but he said it wasn’t possible, which was a shame! We went to House On Fire in the evening. I was driving so wasn’t drinking, but had a really good night. We didn’t leave till about half 3. We dropped off some friends at home, but as I was reversing, I didn’t really take notice of everyone to tell me to stop, and ended up puncturing the tyre on a glass tyre! Oops! We spent ages trying to put the spare tyre on, but it was still pretty dodgy, so we decided to leave it at this petrol station, so a very unhappy Charlotte had to come and pick us up. We didn’t get back to the Salesian House until half 5 in the morning.

Day 59- Shane and I went to pick up the car with no problems. In the afternoon, Carol was busy making us a big roast dinner. It was amazing! We watched some films afterwards, before heading to bed.

Day 60- Revised the past tense to try and drill it into their heads a bit more. I tried to make it more interactive by taking them outside with a tennis ball, where they had to say a sentence in the past tense, and then throw the ball, where the next person had to repeat the sentence in the past tense, and then create a new sentence in the present tense. They did it really well, but I’m never sure if they think about what they are writing, because they still sometimes get it wrong. When I ask them to tell me what they did at the weekend, they tell me it correctly, but just don’t write it down! It’s pretty frustrating! I went down to the art project in the afternoon to help Carol with all boys.

Day 61- Mascot gave our class a Maths test today, which involved long division, addition, subtraction and stuff to do with abaci. When he says the word abaci, it always sounds to me like he’s saying- upper key in a really southern accent (just thought I’d tell you that useless piece of information). I played Hangman with them in an attempt to wake them up a bit more which seemed to work quite well. One of the words was “The Great Plumber” to which they all laughed at, because it’s Wandile’s nickname. Wandile is the boy who I had a problem with at the holiday programme, with the shuttlecock (don’t know if you remember). He likes to think he’s really clever, and is always talking whenever Mascot leaves the room, refusing to listen to me. In his test, his answer for what a verb is was, ‘A verb is Wandile’. In the afternoon, I went down to the art project, and then came back up to the house.

Day 62- We did a wordsearch and they used their dictionaries to find the definitions of the words. I had Nandos for lunch was really weird, but I’m not going to complain. I can’t believe they have Nandos and sell so many of the sauces in Spar, it’s just really random. I went to the office with Megan and found Thulani with this chicken. Thulani is an ex-Salesian pupil, who now studies Economics and Statistics at Swaziland University, but is helping with the bursary project during his holidays. We went to Linda and Alban’s children’s (Yvonne and Panasche) baptism. Father Larry led the service and it was really good. They’d asked Becky to be one of the Godmothers, so that was also really nice. We went back to the House and had some banana cake that Becky and I had made the night before for Thomas’ birthday. Thomas, even though he was not well, went to Sikhuyana and had a big braii with all the boys there at lunch.

Day 63- I had some blue card with me, and asked them all to make some menus that contained a balanced diet. It took some explaining as to what a starter was, which resulted in many of them saying things like popcorn, crisps etc. Main courses tended to consist or braii beef, fried chicken, pork, fish etc with pap or mashed potato and gravy. Desserts were yoghurts, ice cream, fruit, and rather a lot of alcoholic drinks. In the afternoon, Carol wasn’t well at all, so I told her to stay in bed, whilst I went down to the art project and kept an eye on the boys. In the evening, we went tutoring.

Day 64- Mascot taught for quite a while, so I only had 20 minutes of teaching time, due to Fridays being such a short school day. I gave them another text and asked them to read it, so that they knew what it was about when we came to doing it the following week. We had the meeting at 11am with Father Larry, and decided that we’d just have it every fortnight from now on. We also decided that we may as well carry on the experiment for the whole term. Joyce also arrived that day, which meant that Chaz and I would be sharing for the next month or so, so she had to move all her stuff into my room. In the evening, we had a big meal, then a few of us went to the club Tinkers. We met up with these volunteers who are living next door to us for 10 weeks, who are working for this charity project. They are from all over the place!

Day 65- Loads of us went paintballing (Kathy, Henry, the other volunteers and us lot) to a place 10 minutes up the road in Manzini. We played capture the flag, and it was really fun, even though my team lost 2 out of 3 games. I came back with a lot of bruises, including this absolutely massive one on my leg which was quite funny. We had a braii in the evening, then some people went to a house party in Mbabane, but I decided to stay in.

Day 67- We completed the text about the Sahara Desert. It wasn’t the most excited morning really. 4 or 4 boys and girls begin talking the second Mascot leaves the room, and stop the second he comes back in. It’s really annoying and they refuse to listen to me. Chaz has the same problem, and one of the boys in her class actually came up to her and told her that they won’t listen to what she’s saying because she’s white. I went with Chaz to Hope House in the afternoon. Our cleaner’s brother has recently been very ill and so we went to see him. He said that he’s 43 years old, but he looked like a man in his 20s. He said he was in a lot of pain, especially his joints. His English wasn’t very good so it was hard to find out much about what was wrong with him, but he was a very nice chap and asked us to come again. In the evening, I went tutoring to Fairview which was good fun. I was so tired by the time I went to bed though.

Day 68- I explained to the class what a dialogue was, and then got them to complete a conversation between them, and a friend which I wrote on the board. After the dialogue, we talked about the short form and long form of words (I am= I’m). I just did some of the simpler examples so that they wouldn’t get confused. They seemed to get it really quickly which was good. I went to the art project in the afternoon and was pleased to see a boy from my class in there, called Ricky. He proudly showed me what he had painted, and was really enjoying himself. We watched the film Shooting Dogs in the evening (about the fighting in Rwanda between the Tutsis and Hutus in 1994). It was the saddest film I’ve ever seen- if you haven’t watched it, watch it!

Day 69- I tried my best to explain the difference between ‘their’ and ‘there’. We did tonnes of examples and they understood it pretty well. After that, we talked about the use of an apostrophe when something belongs to a person, e.g. John’s uncle. Neil found me after school and told me that because he has more time in the mornings, he would take over the role of doing the birth certificates (yay!!) so I spent the afternoon preparing the stuff that I’d done so far to explain what still needs to be done.

Day 70- Teaching was really difficult because I was trying to teach them about some of the rules when constructing a sentence. I told them that a sentence has a naming part, called the subject, and the predicate, which contains a verb and sometimes an object. We did some examples on the board, e.g. The farmer shot the pig. The farmer is the subject, shot is the verb, and the pig is the object. I find being a teacher quite a strange thing because you have hindsight knowledge about something, and are trying to do everything you can to pass on that knowledge. I also have to try and speak as clearly as possible, as they find my accent quite difficult sometimes. They have learnt English in a southern accent (of course), so I pronounce things differently which sometimes confuses them.

Day 71- I arrived at school, and Mascot told me that he had to go to a meeting, so I would be by myself for the morning. I gave them a test on various things, such as- what a balanced diet is, the short and long form of words, the use of there/ their, the use of apostrophes when something belongs to a person, a dialogue and finally the construction of sentences with subjects and predicates. I was really really pleased with the outcome, as some of them got 100%, and the lowest score was as high as 82%. The test simply covered everything we had done, but was by no means easy. It was good to see such an improvement in their work. They had obviously worked hard the night before! In the afternoon, Vusi had said that he would like to go down to the art project, but when I went to get him, he wasn’t feeling well, so I ended up chatting to him instead. I met his daughter who was lovely, and spoke brilliant English. We talked about all sorts of things, including the film Shooting Dogs. He told me that he knew a man who had seen a line of dead bodies in a river in Rwanda at the time, and just how awful it really was. In the evening, we had some food, and then watched a film.

Day 72- Today… Apart from watching the Rugby (Lions v. South Africa), I spent the entire day writing this!!! Lol.

I realise that this blog is stupidly long, but I hope it wasn’t too boring. I know I like to drag things out a lot, which is why I’m so useless at describing a book or a film, as I simply tell the whole thing! HaHa. I hope that everyone is okay, and for those that have finished their exams are having a good time, partying etc. I know my brother definitely celebrated the end of his exams in style with a good amount of vodka! HaHa. Everything’s good here, having a totally brilliant time. I’m going to Cape Town on the 15th August with Chaz, and then to Kruger Park which should be amazing! I’m really looking forward to that! I’m only here for another 2 months and a bit: It’s crazy how fast time passes!

Speak soon guys, Alice xxxx