Our House

This is going to be a quick post because Jim needs to use the computer, but I just wanted to put up a few pictures of our lovely house! I really love it, and appreciate it now more than ever. Last weekend, Jim and I went to Swaziland because we didn't have work on Monday. We left Saturday morning in a bit of a rush and arrived in Swaziland at dusk - after some car troubles, a long line at the border post, and some directional issues. We took quick showers at the Backpackers where we were staying and headed out for a dinner at Mandelelala's. It was such a treat to go out to dinner because Manguzi doesn't really have any proper restaurants.

The next day we toured the Ezulwini Valley (Valley of Heaven). It is a beautiful place - surrounded by mountains on all sides and overgrown with vibrant flowers. We spent the day visiting craft shops and the Swazi Cultural Village. In the village, we had lunch on a porch nestled at the bottom of a lush mountainside. It was a beautiful view. We ordered cheeseburgers, and as soon as mine was brought out, a monkey jumped on our table out of nowhere! In a split second he stole my burger and jumped into a nearby tree. It was crazy!!! Even though I was a little traumatized, I was glad the monkey stole it because it had mayo on it - and I hate mayo. As a result, I reordered the burger and got a plain one - safe from the monkey's paws. After lunch, we went for a quick dip in the pool of a beautiful double waterfall and then watched some traditional Swazi dancing. We headed back to Manguzi on Monday, but this time we were three. On Saturday, we met an 18-year old girl from Germany who was backpacking for 6 months through sub-saharan Africa alone! I couldn't believe she was doing it being so young and by herself! Anyhow, she was having some difficulty with transport and happened to be going to the same area as me and Jim - so we gave her a lift.

When we were about 30 minutes from our house, we received a one-day old text message saying that our house flooded. I couldn't believe it! How did our house flood? Was everything ruined? Would we have to buy the whole house? How were we going to afford the damages? The questions were racing through my mind. Soon enough we made it to the house and looked inside. By the grace of God, there was almost no damage. Apparently we left a drain plugged and a tap twisted on (but when we left the water wasn't running, so we hadn't noticed). But, when the water did come back on - the sink filled up and spilled over, until the water had soaked the carpet in our bedroom, filled the kitchen floor (nearly 2 in. high) and began to spill out the front door. Our landlord (who usually lives 4 hours away) just happened to be in Manguzi and he noticed the water coming out the front door. He called a mutual friend of ours, and asked him to come over. Dr. Mark Blaylock, Colin (Jim's best friend and mentor here), and Bongani (a volunteer at Tholulwazi) come over immediately and cleaned up all the water! They mopped up everything and moved a lot of our furniture around to minimize the damages! It was so incredibly nice of them and so fortunate for us. So, after the entire flood - we only lost a few books and we had to tear up the bedroom carpet - which we will be replacing soon. Moral of the story - thank God for all your blessings, don't be ungrateful for what you have, thank God for great friends, don't leave the tap on!

Jim's Little Accident

Another fun week down in Manguzi...and only a few scars to prove it! For those of you concerned readers at home, don't worry Jim did not get in a fight with the locals and we have not resorted to domestic violence just yet. Last week, Jim was riding in the back of a truck out in the bush. He was having a great conversation with one of our staff members - Nkosi - when BAM all of a sudden Jim's head collided with a thick tree branch filled with briars. His eye was bleeding like crazy and the branch managed to knock him over and rip up his shirt. It was a pretty bad hit, but luckily the TU team was on their way back to the Centre and they dropped Jim at the hospital. Fortunately, Jim and I are friends with almost all the doctors at Manguzi Hospital, and he was seen very quickly (no line at all for Mr. Lefler). When I arrived to the hospital to check on him, I could hardly believe it. The area all around his eye was ripped (a chunk of skin was just sort of dangling by the crease in his eye). But thank God his eye was not damaged. A doctor friend of ours named Allen stitched him up and assured him that the accident was a good thing because "chicks dig guys with scars." And, I have to be honest, he does look pretty tough...ha! Anyway, I took the picture above the night of the accident to put it in the blog, but I can honestly say he is looking a lot better now.

As for the rest of our adventures, we went to the beach this weekend and it was beautiful. We watched the sunset next to a lake full of hippos - definitely Africa-style. The work week has begun, and Jim and I may have started a new tradition this morning. We found a restaurant in Manguzi (one of three) that serves an incredible breakfast! There is just one woman who works there, and she only has one table to serve people. But, you can tell she is very proud of her place, and she is a very good cook. We woke up early and had breakfast at 6:30 at Bongiwe's. We are thinking of becoming regulars for her, as it was such a nice change to "go out to eat" and it was something Jim used to do with his friends in high school (eating at the Breakfast nook before first period).

Anyhow, I have to get to work. I'm not sure if I have already written this, but you all must check out the Tholulwazi website at www.tuproject.org It is a great site, and I think you will all really enjoy the pictures and learning more about what Jim and I have been up to in Africa. Also, there is a page that shows how you can help...so if any of you can do anything - please let us know. Have a great week!

Busy Busy

This weekend marks the end of our first week as Program Coordinators of Tholulwazi, and things are going pretty well. This past week was highlighted by many successes including a plan for trying to get more funding for our Home Based Care Programme, completion of the first week of our life skills course (which had 95% or higher attendance everyday) and the completion of the Tholulwazi website. You can check this out at www.tuproject.org

It is an incredible site. Although we work with a population ravaged by poverty, unemployment, and HIV/AIDS - Tholulwazi is so alive and vibrant. I think the site is a true testament to the energy of the TU staff, Home Based Care workers, and the people we serve. I hope you all have a second and take the time to really look through this website.

As far and Jim and me, married life gets better and better. We are really getting settled in our new house and are starting to get a "routine." Cooking dinner proves to be a little adventure each night, but we have had some great homemade chicken & vegetable soup, veggies and lentils, hotdogs and corn on the cob, and of course some breakfast for dinner. It's funny the things you learn about each other after you get married. For instance, Jim LOVES meat and I never noticed it before, but I can go a few days without eating meat. I like it, but I don't make a huge effort to buy it at the grocery store and cook it. Well, that is having to change a bit now that we are married and cooking almost every night. Luckily, we do have some great friends here in South Africa who are great cooks - and we have enjoyed some delicious braiis and chili meals lately. But, in the absence of an invite to a dinner party, I am now looking at www.epicurious.com quite a bit and getting delicious recipes and ideas to spice up the dinners.

In addition to our cooking adventures, Jim and I have been having some car adventures, as well. On Thursday, Jim drove the car to Jozini (about an hour away from Manguzi) and didn't think to get gas before he left. By the time he realized he needed gas there was only one station he could reach, and of course they were out of gas. The mechanic told Jim that Jozini was about 38 km down the road, and that maybe he would make it. Jim got in the car, and asked God to let his gas last 38 km. Sure enough exactly 38 kms later, Jim ran out of gas. Unfortunately, the mechanic underestimated the trip to Jozini by a few kms and Jim was stuck on the side of the road! Guess he should have asked God for just a few more kms. Anyhow, luckily a nice old Zulu man picked Jim up and drove him to get gas.

Later that day, after Jim had come back from Jozini, we were driving a friend home after work. She lived way out in the bush, so we were traveling on the sand when the car started smoking. At first I thought it might have just been the sand coming out of the car, but sure enough it was smoke. The car overheated just before we reached her house. Again, luckily there were a ton of really nice people around who helped us figure out what was wrong and got us some water. We filled up the little water tank thing (that was of course completely empty) and headed out.

Two days later, we drove to the beach and still hadn't gotten any antifreeze for the car (we didn't even now if there was antifreeze here!) and of course, the car overheated again. Fortunately this happened right when we got to the beach, and before heading home we went to the gas station and got antifreeze put in. Hopefully this is the end of our car drama for a little while.

Finally, just to help all of you understand a little bit of what it is like here in Africa, I want to try to share an "African Anecdote" each week. This week, we were talking with our friend Colin who is a doctor at Manguzi Hospital, and last week a woman came into the emergency room and wasn't helped right away. She proceeded to squat down in the middle of the room and urinate on the floor. Everyone in the room was getting upset at her by this point until as a complete surprise a baby popped right out of her onto the emergency room floor! Crazy.

Hope you all have a great week, and know that Jim and I miss you. God Bless.