Updates

Last week I walked into my classroom at Injabulo and all my Lizards took me over to the back of the classroom saying 'Teacher! Teacher!' and pointing to something and there was a Scorpion! I've never seen a Scorpion before in my life and I've only heard stories. I didn't really know what to do so I told the children to sit on the carpet which was away from it and went to get Nelsiwe, one of the Siswati teachers. She got the scorpion out no problem haha. The children love playing with your hair and I let them because it's actually really nice when they do. It can sometimes get out of hand though...

          

Before

After

 This happens at both Injabulo and Moriah Centre haha. The kids at Moriah Centre live locally so sometimes when we go to the supermarket you can just here 'Aunty Clare! Aunty Clare!' And then see kids running up to you and hugging you. It is the cutest thing and you can't stop smiling whenever you think about it.

Lat week we celebrated 2 of the teachers at Moriah Centre's birthdays. We brought a cake since we had no time whatsoever to make one and told them to close their eyes while we brought them into one of the classrooms. Then got as many of the other teachers as we could find to come in as well and then told them to open their eyes. They were so surprised and looked so happy. We had a lot of fun and laughs while eating the cake it was such a happy moment.

Birthday Girls: Aunty Mary and Aunty Agnus

We decided that last weekend would be a quiet one but it was far from it! Friday night we ended up pushing a car for which I swear was more than 10km because it wouldn't start haha. Then Saturday we headed up to a place called Malkerns which is in the high veld for a 'beer festival' and typical me I was again unprepared for the weather thinking it would be warm and sunny when in actual fact was heavy rain and thunder and lightning. At one point we were sitting under one of those canopy tent things and then all of a sudden there was a huge crash of thunder and lightning at the same time. I still had adrenalin pumping through me like ten minutes later, I got such a fright! Then that night we ended up staying the night in hospital because our friend had broken  his leg really badly! It was a nightmare I felt so sorry for him, he was in so much pain. The next day he had to go to South Africa to get an operation but one of his friends went with him so we went back to sweet home Big Bend. We ended up sleeping all afternoon because we were so tired.

At the moment we are trying to organise the children's graduation for the end of November but we have so much to do so it's quite stressful. We need to find some sponsors so hopefully we haven't left it too late. Moriah Centre is definitely more organised than Injabulo haha. I want to start a swimming club or carry on with the football team which one of the previous volunteers started but it is really difficult at the moment because we have no transport to pick up the children so I need to figure something out. Anyway until next time. 

Swaziland

I thought since I haven't talked much about Swaziland and where I'm staying I'll take this chance to do that. Swaziland is split up into three sections: the high veld, the mid veld and the low veld. Big Bend (where I live) is in the low veld where it reaches the hottest temperatures. Big Bend is famous for it's sugar plantations as they are literally everywhere! Whenever we come back from somewhere outside Big Bend the first thing we always notice is the sweet smell of sugar cane and I swear there is nothing nicer. In the mid veld there is the city of Manzini and consists of cooler temperatures and then in the high veld there is the capital city Mbabane. We were told here it can even sometimes get up to 10 degrees lower than the temperature in Big Bend. So we like to travel up north sometimes at the weekend if the heat is unbearable. There are a row of mountains called the Lubombo Mountains which act as a barrier between Swaziland and Mozambique and are very impressive. We are now getting into Summer which means a lot of rain and big thunder storms but with very hot, humid weather. It often gets up to around 40 degrees but I am getting used to it... sort of. The thunder and lightning storms are so cool. I took this picture of lightning when it was pitch black outside so you can see how bright they are to light up everything.

Lightning

The Lubombo Mountains and Moriah Centre is just to the right of this picture

Where I live

Me in my room

My back garden

Only joking haha. I live in a school hostel so where the students board which is quite nice actually. We do live very close to a Nature Reserve though. This is the top the road which goes down to the Sisekelo High School. The main street acts as a T junction to this road and has a couple of supermarkets, a bank, a hospital, post office etc. Everything we need is a walk away which is very handy.

Top of our street

Sunsets are amazing here

 It is part of the Swazi culture that everyone is really friendly which makes this country so safe to live in. It is a Christian country so Sundays are usually quite quiet here. At the moment everything is transforming from the very dry and dusty land to lush green grass and trees. It is so beautiful here. Not sure what else to tell you  about Swaziland but if I think of anything don't worry I'll let you know.
   

Midterm Break

The other weekend we were off for the midterm break so it was a long weekend which was much needed! We were off early on Thursday then back to work again on the Tuesday. We decided to venture outside the calm and relaxed Swaziland into the chaotic and noisy country of South Africa. Nonetheless you cannot stop yourself from falling in love with this amazing place. We thought we'd visit the quiet town of St Lucia to go whale watching first. During this time of year they guarantee that you will see a humpback whale or you get a 40% refund so we thought this was a must! This time I looked up the weather forecast when we were booking it and it said it's supposed to be sunny so we went with it. Then go further down the coast to Durban for a couple of days then back up to Swaziland.

We had a bit of a complication with the hostels because I was very tired when I was booking it. Since we were going to two places I accidentally booked the Durban hostel for the same time we would be in St Lucia. The funny part was when I was booking the days it came up with the Thursday which was when we got to St Lucia and I thought it was psychic for 'knowing'. Payed the deposit and everything and only realised later when we were looking at it and we couldn't stop laughing but thankfully it was pretty easy to sort out.

We traveled down to St Lucia with one of the Sisekelo teachers by public transport and took about 4 hours. We were with good company so the journey went quite quickly. When we arrived it was raining!! Typical us booking something which needs good weather and it to be wet and cold! The next day we found out that our trip was cancelled due to 'poor visibility'. We hadn't paid so it didn't matter too much but we were really looking forward to it. We decided to go on a hippo and crocodile boat cruise instead. It was a bit boring at the start because it was cold and we only saw boring things but then we came across 2 groups of about 20 hippos with their calves (which are adorable). It was pretty cool they were just chilling in the water though. Next morning we went on a kayak down the same river which initially sounded dangerous and exciting but was actually the opposite but was a nice row on the water.

About to kayak

Later on that day we traveled further down the coast to Durban. It was quite sad to leave everyone at the backpackers because we met some quite cool people there and don't want to sound cringey but inspirational haha. Took about 3 hours to get to Durban where we were hoping the weather would change and could spend some time relaxing on the beach in the sun. But no. Was still wet and cold. Durban was crazy though! A lot different than Swaziland. When we arrived in the kombi we had no idea where we were going and just kept on being transferred from one kombi to another. There was pumping music everywhere coming from the kombis and people randomly dancing. I loved the energy in this city so much. We eventually got to where we were staying after what seemed like a tour of the city.

We met the two boys whose project was just outside Durban in a place called Boystown which is a school where some boys are orphans, some are sent by court and some are sent by their parents if they're too much. Their project sounded quite tough but pretty cool. They invited us to a VIP event where loads of schools around go to which has fun things to do like sports, talent show contests, face painting, hair stuff and lots of other things. And also free food of course. It was amazing to see their kids and hearing about the stuff they go through. It was also nice to meet the Durban boys and get to know them a bit better.

A group at the talent contest at the VIP event

First time ever at the Indian Ocean!!

The next morning we had to get the kombi back to Big Bend. We left the backpackers very early at about quarter to 8 and was thinking we would get back at about 2 o'clock at the latest. We got onto our kombi and waited for it to leave the station. And waited some more. And more. Five hours later we finally left and didn't get back home until about half 6. The kombis have to wait until their kombi is full before they leave the station and alongside that there was a bit of a kerfuffle about luggage because somebody wanted to take a wardrobe and mattresses in the trailer but the driver wasn't sure in case he got stopped by the police. In the end he took the things and there wasn't a problem so it was all good. Overall although it was a very rainy weekend we both enjoyed it a lot.

Week 5

On Monday we had a birthday party at Injabulo for Nelsiwe's (one of the teachers) niece Ellenah. All the kids didn't seem very happy that she was getting all the attention but they got cake and sweets so I think that made up for it! Ellenah loved it though and we took a lot of photos.

We helped Aunty Vinah collect water at soup kitchen from a river which she normally does by foot and with a wheelbarrow. It was really fun and it also really gave us an insight into how the people in this community live. Aunty Vinah was as usual full of jokes.

That night the hostel had a Matrics Leaving Dinner to say goodbye to the last year which was mental and such a good laugh. At the end everyone was dancing but they dance quite differently than back home so we probably looked like complete idiots. It made it pretty entertaining though. I wish I could dance like them haha. I've decided I'm going to learn.

Me and some of the Aunties at Hostel <3

Me and Rachael

We have now set up a Swazi bank account which took about 2 hours but there was good banter there so it was alright. Soup Kitchen on Friday was really enjoyable. Helped Aunty Vinah collect water again from the river while Rachael stayed at soup kitchen to serve the food because we wouldn't of had enough time to do both. Started a water fight with one of the kids haha and also got Aunty Vinah to promise me to teach me Siswati songs and how to cook on an open fire. We had a power cut friday night for a couple of hours so I had to shower in the dark and try find my way around my room. Thankfully it came back on though before we had to go to bed. Nothing else really happened that night except a massive bug thing flew on my face and didn't come off until I properly flicked it. I was freaking out it was like the size of my face!

On Saturday we went to Mantenga Nature Reserve for the day. It was beautiful! We decided to go up north somewhere because in Big Bend it gets VERY hot and it's colder up where Mantenga is. However it just so happened that it was a record temperature of 40 degrees celsius. Still it was definitely hotter in Big Bend so at least it was a little cooler... There was a cultural village nearby which was pretty cool and we saw traditional dances which was amazing to see. We also got our fortunes told by the witch doctor there which was unreal. It was definitely an experience! Quite close to the village were the Mantenga Falls. It was like paradise. We went swimming in the river right  next to the waterfalls and it was heaven. I am definitely going back there. The water was quite cold as well so it cooled us down quite nicely. When we arrived at the falls there was music and it looked like they were filming some people singing. We thought it might be for an advert or something but I later asked and they were apparently filming a music video for the number one gospel choir in South Africa!

When we eventually got back to the hostel, a lot later than we had thought, we went straight to the swimming pool because they were having a pool party for the matrix (last year of school). It was a good way to get to know people better and a lot of pictures were taken. We got out when it was getting pretty cold and went inside. We then spontaneously decided to go to the country club with one of the teachers because he was on his way. There were a few of the other teachers there and we had a few drinks and danced a bit then went home. Overall it was a really good day and night!


Recently the kids at Injabulo go mental over suncream! The other day I had to put some on and they were all laughing at me haha. There were only 2 children at this point and I chased them around trying to put suncream on them. Then more of the children came in the classroom so then I had a plan. I told one of the kids to close the door so I didn't have to face 80 children, then I told them to stand in a line and then I put suncream on their faces like army paint. It was the cutest thing! A couple of days after that I took out the suncream from my bag not even thinking and they all came running wanting it on their faces again and they were all shouting 'teacher! teacher!' and trying to get to me. It was hectic so I was like 'Okay Okay stand in a line!' Then I pretended that I was going to put the suncream into my hand then I ran away and they all started chasing me. Was so funny. Nothing else is really happening or happened except that I think I'm putting on weight from all the jam and peanut butter sandwiches I eat that are leftover from when we make the kids their lunch haha. Ah well.

Kids chasing me, love them to bits

1 Month Already

It's been a month already... say whaaaat! It's gone so quickly it's quite scary. We've both settled in really well now especially with our projects. At the beginning I thought doing the Soup Kitchen was the best out of the three but now, although all 3 projects are amazing, I think I love Injabulo Preschool the most. I think it's because it's our school and we've connected with the kids really well. I even miss the children over the weekend! Also it was the hardest project at the start so now, because it's a lot of fun instead of hard work, I feel like we've made a breakthrough with this project.

Me and a very few of the Injabulo kids

Mayenziwe

We received some amazing news the other day that one of the previous volunteers has told me that her Guides has decided to donate money for fresh fruit to give to the Soup Kitchen!!! Cannot express enough how grateful everyone will be and how much this will mean to them that someone so far away would want to help them.

Moriah Centre is also going really well! There is THE cutest child in the planet there and I can't help pick her up all the time. We're getting on really well with the teachers as well.

I'm really enjoying taking the public kombi to Injabulo as well as they are always quite entertaining, especially at the kombi station at a place called Matata. We've gotten to know a few of the people who are stationed there and it's always a laugh. We have learned some SiSwati as well and everyone is always trying to teach us more but still can only have a very simple conversation including how to say hi, how are you, I'm fine thanks, bye and thank you. We are still learning and when we start speaking in SiSwati they always seem to think we know more and say something we have no idea what so then they start laughing. The other day I walked to the post office to get my first parcel from my parents (wooh) and I heard someone shout "Fikile! Fikile!" ( my SiSwati name)  and I turned around and it was a woman from the market we made friends with the other week haha. That was the first time someone has called me by that name! Made me smile so much.

This last weekend we decided to go to Manzini, the closest city us, to visit our reps Richard and Kathy. We had to go at about six in the evening by kombi because we had to go to soup kitchen before. Even though it was getting dark we felt so safe. After having an enjoyable ride in a spacious kombi, we got transferred to a much smaller and packed one about half way. During the first kombi ride I decided to share out the sweets we were eating to everyone which was pretty funny. When the first kombi stopped, we didn't know we had to transfer to another kombi so we were just sitting at the back of it by ourselves for ages until the kombi conductor was like 'come on girls let's go'. Although the second kombi wasn't as comfortable it was still quite entertaining.

We finally got to Manzini and Richard picked us up and drove us back to his place where a delicious meal was awaiting us ( a good change from hostel food). That night I managed to skype my parents! It was really nice to see them again and hear about all their news but thankfully it didn't make me homesick. I was planning on skyping my friends as well but couldn't get through to them which was annoying because I would have loved to speak to them having not seen them for a whole month. On Saturday we went to do a bit of shopping and then after that Richard and Kathy took us to a cultural village for lunch. There were really nice shops there which sold their speciality candles and other traditional crafts.

The next day we went to Hlane Game Reserve which was amazing!! Their four-wheeled drive wasn't working so we could only go to the reception bit which was next to a waterhole. They warned us before we went that sometimes you see something sometimes you just weren't lucky so I didn't have high hopes. However, when we arrived there were about 11 rhinos, maybe more, laying next to the water in the heat and also 3 hippos in the water!! It was amazing to be so close to these huge animals. We went to lunch to a place where the Thompsons used to live and on the way we saw 3 giraffes near the road! The whole day we were willing for an elephant to come to the waterhole but never did. We had to leave about half 3 so by that time we had given up hope that we'd see one. However, on the way back we kept our eyes on the trees in the Game Reserve and funnily enough in the far distance we could just about see an elephant! I've never seen an elephant before so I got so excited even though you could barely see it. It was still there. I loved spending time with the Thompsons and seeing Manzini and can't wait for next month to do it again.

   
   

The Long Weekend

Found out my Siswati name!! It is Fikile which translates to 'you have arrived'. So cool. We had our first parents meeting at Injabulo the other day which was interesting. We introduced ourselves while one of the teachers translated and we told them about fees and things then the rest seemed to be in Siswati which made it quite difficult to understand what was happening haha. We're still getting used to being the bosses at Injabulo but we're getting there.

This weekend Rachael and I decided to have a little adventure in Swaziland so we booked a canopy tour at Malolotja National Park which was about two and a half hours away from Big Bend. We decided to travel on the Friday and have the tour on the Saturday morning. We were going to take kombis all the way but just as we were walking up to the kombi rank the deputy head of the school and his wife pulled up in the car. They told us they were going to Mbabane which is the capital city of Swaziland and really close to the place we were staying!! We were dropped off by a kombi at the top of the road where Hawane Resort was (where we were staying over). We started walking. And kept on walking until we eventually reached our destination. It seemed really peaceful when we arrived and the receptionist told us where our room was. There were stables all around the area and so when we first opened up the door to our room I thought we had made a mistake and it was more stables. But I was wrong. It was a converted barn with about 20 stables in it and in each stable there were beds. I'm sure it wouldn't have been spooky if it was full but it was just me and Rachael so it was really creepy! The rest of the resort was really nice though and we just chilled by the pool for ages and ate quite a lot.

Learned how to walk on water

Next morning we walked to the main road to catch a kombi. We waited for about 20 minutes and we were beginning to think we weren't going to make the tour which started at half 8 but thankfully one arrived! One thing we didn't do when we were booking this was look at the weather forecast... It was very misty, drizzly and cold. I felt like I was in Scotland not Africa! Not good weather for a canopy tour where it is mainly all about the views. We got to the National Park and we got a safety brief and our sexy gear on. Then we got into a jeep to take us to the first platform. We were still absolutely freezing even with blankets over us!! As we were driving the mist was clearing luckily and when we reached our first platform it wasn't nearly as cold yeeey. We were attached to zip wires and it felt like we were flying over trees it was amazing! At one point we had to cross a suspension bridge which went across 2 cliffs and was so high up. It was pretty terrifying but so much fun. We also had to walk down steps which were over thin air! Overall I loved it!

Me and Rachael

Every day except for the weekends we have to get up at about 5 in the morning so I always fall asleep around 9 sometimes even just after 8! My sleeping pattern has completely changed from when I lived in Scotland. The weather is also a lot different. From it being about 40 degrees Celsius the other day it has dropped to about 20 degrees because the summer rain is coming. Can't wait for the first thunderstorms!

The past week...

Where to begin haha... So arrived in Johannesburg on saturday morning and was amazed by the level of security people have for their houses. Their were electric gates and barbed wire everywhere and you had to keep your windows closed in the car sometimes in case people tried to reach in and steal something visible like your phone. It 's quite scary but for some reason I still loved this vibrant city! There were some people sat on the side of the road with sign posts advertising their skill like plumber or gardener which was quite weird as well.

At Heathrow Airport!

Set off for Swaziland that evening. We boarded onto a plane which literally could only fit around 35 people, it was tiny! Rachael and I realised at Heathrow Airport that we had no idea how we were getting from the airport in Manzini (Swaziland) to our project and if anybody would be there to pick us up. So when we arrived at Manzini we were relieved when we found Richard, our Rep. He took us to Big Bend where we were going to be staying for the next year the following day.

Tiniest Plane!! 

Everyone is really friendly here which makes it really easy to settle in! We are staying at this boarding school called Sisekelo High School which is quite nice and is a short walk to places. All the security guards here are so funny! Especially this old guy who just smiles and laughs all the time and sometimes brings his little guitar and sits and sings all day. So cute! We used our first day settling into our rooms by unpacking our bags and putting up our photographs on our wall so we now feel more at home!

Last Tuesday we went to visit two of our projects, Injabulo Pre-school and the Moriah centre. When we arrived at Injabulo the kids were so excitable and happy. They were shouting and screaming and jumping about in the classroom. The two teachers came out and it was heartbreaking because they looked so relieved and overjoyed to see us. They hugged us and had their hands over their mouths and laughing. They thought we weren't going to come and that they'd have to teach the children by themselves. They kept on hugging us while the children were trying to knock down the door, or though it sounded like haha. We then had to leave because we were meeting someone at the Moriah Centre.

Fell asleep before nine o'clock tuesday night because I was that tired and had to get up at five the next morning to get ready for Injabulo. Had to catch our first Kombi on Wednesday which is like a bus from Big Bend to the preschool. At Matata which is where we had to catch a different kombi we didn't really know what we were doing but because everyone is so nice, a man who worked there tried to help us and then gave us his name and number and said he wanted to be our friend haha. We managed to get on the one to the school eventually!

It was pretty hectic when we got to the preschool since it was our first time so we didn't really know what to do and the teachers were late arriving. Can't get over how cute the kids are! Something else which I haven't mentioned is Rachael's foot! Her foot just all of a sudden started to get bigger and bigger and sorer and sorer. It got to a point when she couldn't put any weight on it! She went to the clinic 5 minutes away twice. The first time the doctor said it was arthritis and gave her some pills. The second time a different doctor said she had an infection and that she should get hospitalised for 4 days there! She really did not want to do that and I didn't blame her so she called Richard, our rep to get his advice. He told her to come to Manzini on the thursday to go to that hospital. This meant I had to go to Moriah Centre for the first time properly by myself!!

Rachael's foot aahhhh

  Wasn't sure when Rachael would get back because I didn't know if she would have to get put in hospital there instead. But thankfully she got back that afternoon and it turned out it was an allergic reaction! Not arthritis or and infection haha! I had to travel to Injabulo on the friday on my own as well which meant getting the kombi! First time I've had to use the 'married excuse'. The thing I love about Swaziland, is that even though we are pretty much the only white people living in Big Bend, because everyone is so nice you don't feel in any way uncomfortable! Friday was the first time we went to Soup Kitchen. It was devastating seeing all the people who depend on the food that you bring. For some people our twice weekly visits is the only food they get! It makes you think how much you take for granted and how unfair the world can be. So far I like the Soup Kitchen the best one reason being I get to drive this truck which is pretty fun! And also the women who helps out with the Soup Kitchen and tries her best to support the children is amazing! She has adopted some of them into her home even when she already struggles to support her own family. Her personality is the best, I feel like she's my best friend already! Her name is Aunty Vinah.

Driving the mighty truck

Our first weekend was pretty good! On Sunday we went to this dam quite close by with some people and had our first braai! Which is sort of like a barbecue. We then went out on a speedboat because around the dam there is a National Park. We saw a Giraffe!!!! And a Crocodile!!! And some other Wildebeest type things which were so cute! Makes me love living in Africa with this kind of wildlife right on your doorstep.

THE GIRAFFE!

On Monday we got some good pictures at Injabulo of the kids! They are the cutest things! This week has been really good because we are more or less used to the projects now...ish. On the way to Soup Kitchen yesterday it was like we were on a safari. We saw a monkey crossing the road, two warthogs and a ginormous lizard/ crocodile. Now planning something to do for the long weekend this week because it is the elections on friday.

Me and the kids waiting for the school bus at Injabulo!