OF THANKSGIVING, OHIO STATE-MICHIGAN, ADVENT SUNDAY, CUTTING GRASS...AND A LEOPARD ON THE LOOSE !!

Of Thanksgiving, Ohio State—Michigan, Advent Sunday, Cutting Grass…And a Leopard on the Loose !

Hi Again from Swaziland, it’s Mike. I write this 5:30AM on 5 December, and must apologize for being a little tardy……..but we have been busy the last couple weeks as you will soon learn.

Thursday 18 November we traveled to Mbabane for our Peace Corps “In Service Training Conference” with the 33 other Volunteers that came to Swaziland with us in June. It was good to see everyone again after being “on-site” for three months, and good to see the training/ Peace Corps staff, and also good to get to the capital city of Mbabane, and see the “bright lights”. The purpose of this training conference was a time for a little reflection, resource sharing, and officially give us some more tools for our tool kit, and to mark the end of our integration into Swaziland life. It was a week of meetings, and all in all good, though after a couple days Gail and I would have been happy to return to our site.

The “big event” of the week was Thanksgiving at the residence of the United States ambassador to Swaziland on Thursday 25 November. We all had great expectations, and these were met, no exceeded !! All Peace Corps Volunteers were invited, as well as embassy staff, so it was a big party. Food preparation was done weeks in advance by staff, volunteers, and hired Swazis. At 1PM we left our conference hotel in a tour bus, just like any old group of tourists…………for the 15 minute drive to the residence. The event was typical “good ole American” Thanksgiving with turkey ( 9 turkeys !), stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pies, etc etc. I think you get the picture. There is a swimming pool at the residence, so many of the Volunteers took the opportunity to swim, relax as the weather was sunny and warm. The event was truly a nice way to spend Thanksgiving, away from family and friends, and ended all too soon at 4PM, probably to keep the PCV’s from getting too comfortable with the party ! Thank you much Ambassador Irving !

Saturday November 27 was the Ohio State-Michigan football game, and while all Buckeye fans ( I guess fans of the team up north also) know this rivalry has become a bit one sided in recent years, we looked forward to THE GAME. I have had an ongoing wager for the last 25 years, every year with a couple fans. We always talk the week of the game, and perhaps I should say “trash-talk” a little bit….then exchange a $ 5 bill, based on the results. Believe it or not, on Monday 22 November at 8PM Swazi time(1PM EST) we held our annual trash talk conference call. Thanks for participating Jeff Gibbs, and Andy Lietz ! It was great to hear your voices !, And Andy thanks for the check—posted to me on 18 November, 10 days BEFORE the game I might add. I actually got up about midnite on the 27th just to check the world wide web to see the game score. In case you have hot heard—HAH !—Ohio State won 37-7. GO BUCKS !

Sunday 28 November. Gail and I looked forward to this day, as our Peace Corps host family, counterparts were to take us to church in South Africa, and an afternoon concert of the Drakensberg Boys Choir. We left about 8AM for the trip into South Africa, crossing the border, and arriving at church in time for the service. The church/ grounds were beautiful, the service very nice—and in English too. We realized at the beginning of the service it was the first service of the Advent and in fact, an advent wreath, candle was lit—just like at home. Truly felt quite nice to be in an English speaking church, with the start of advent, although glancing out at the warm African sun, in late November was a little odd. Anyhow, Advent Sunday, in South Africa, in church. Seems pretty normal to us now.

The choral concert was wonderful, well attended by hundreds, in a very nice assembly hall. We did not realize until we arrived—that is was their annual CHRISTMAS CONCERT. Just does not seem like the season to Gail, and I as African summer is coming along. Anyhow, the boys—sixty strong—gave a very good performance with holiday tunes from South Africa, all of Africa, and even many Gail and I knew. The last song was “Silent Night”, with the audience joining in, and with the boys all lighting, holding lit candles—just like at Bethel Presbyterian Church in Columbus, Ohio on Christmas eve. Even though it was 4PM in the afternoon, in Africa, and hot, it felt a little bit like home.

Returning home from the concert we did something a little wild, and crazy for our life in Africa…we cut the grass !! Just like at home. We do have some grass around our house, and as summer comes along it is getting higher, higher…just like April in Columbus. Finally the children on the farm asked if we needed to cut our grass, and I said yes…and the next thing I know….they show up with an electric lawn mower. It worked perfect, and only took about 30 minutes, and definitely needed to be cut, and looks great. Funny thing, in Columbus the LAST DAY I would cut grass was traditionally the day of the OSU-Michigan football game. Here –in Africa—this is the FIRST DAY to cut. I wonder if my last cutting will be in April………

The last day of school for the primary school kids was Friday 26 November….and they do not go back until 18 January……so we call this time the “Holiday Period” and prepare activities for every morning, afternoon to keep the children busy, occupied, productive, and growing. Sometimes we do crafts, recreation, study, reading, community activities, etc. I think you get the drift. Gail runs the pre-school on a lightened program, from 9AM to 10:30AM, but the other 18 kids need stuff to do ! Anyhow, Tue-Thurs a.m. 30 Nov to 2 Dec…I walked in to the Primary School with the six oldest children to clean/ paint school rooms. We got 8 classrooms done in three days –working mornings—and were pretty tired/ proud/ happy with our efforts, accomplishments. The walk is about 45 minutes one way, and thankfully we stored the supplies at the school so did not need to carry. The big surprise however was that on Tuesday morning, while painting about 11AM, I got a call from the Peace Corps Security officer….seems there is a WILD LEOPARD on the loose, and while it had been sited about 14 miles from our site, he wanted to make sure we were warned to be on the alert…..and here we are walking back/forth to the school daily ! This is not an animal escaped from some zoo, but actually a wild animal. Everyone here is pretty secure because we know leopards hang out in trees, from where they pounce….and we live in mainly pastures, savannahs, and grasslands…so we feel safe. Needless to say a little disconcerting. I guess it would be like in the USA getting a notice about a wild grizzily bear. Not sure what we will do if we stumble upon the leopard, or it finds us….but at least now we know about it ….

This entry has been far too long, and I am sure too boring to all, so I will sign off. Mary and Ellen—thanks for calling last evening you sounded great to our ears….and our best, and love to all in the USA…..and Grandad take care of yourself, we will see you in January.

Sala Gahle ! ( Stay Well !)

Gail and Mike