Swaziland Post #1

2 weeks with no internet connectivity, and I must admit, it was a bit of a relief. While our friends have an internet connection, the speed was not fast enough to do any updates, banking, or any other what we consider to be day to day tasks - so with our time in Swaziland complete, and now in Cape Town (GORGEOUS) here's a bit of a starter with more to follow.

1) For all those who said "it will change your life..." you are right.

2) When a couple of Swazi's we met over the two weeks asked us as we were leaving, "what do you think of Swaziland?", my answer is "complicated".

There really is so much to tell, share, and write, but the thoughts in my head are still swirling around because while our time in Sitegi was so great, and spending time with our friends Scott and David was wonderful, and seeing the beautiful countryside was truly spectacular, the "complicated" and conflicting parts of our visit and impressions of Swaziland are:

1) The King's, yes, it is the last of the 53 countries in Africa to have a soverign(sp?) monarch, claim to fame that the country has the best roads in Africa.

2) Woman have NO rights...stories on stories about that

3) The HIV infection rate continues to rise...past 40% towards 50%

5) Swaziland is one of the Tuberculosis "hot spots" on the world map

6) The Swazi people were wonderfully kind and generous

7) Doing the Home Based Care with our friend Scott, going out to homesteads was sad, humbling, heart lifting, sad, terrbily heart wrenching - and I will have many stories about that as well

8) Our last night there was celebrated (for our friends Scott and David) at a Swazi family's homestead with the killing of a goat, cooking it over a fire, eating and celebrating as if we too had served a year in the land giving back...tears and sadness and many smiles that night.

9) Joy is Joy - no matter the world over

10) Children's laughter is children's laughter...the world over.

11) Our time on the Mabuda Farm, where we stayed in Swaziland was pretty cool...cows and chickens and roosters and peacocks...up at sunrise to be at sunset.

12) Because homosexuality in Swaziland is, well, not so much against the law, but it just simply isn't acknowledged or something that they know, and because of the country's highly religious nature, being "in the closet" for even two weeks...with David...was something that also added to the "complicated" time I mentioned above.

I will writer more maybe later today (10 hours ahead of San Francisco time) and we are off to see the sights of Cape Town today.

This is a trip that will change my life. It is a trip that will help to sort out personal priorities, it has too. It is a wonderful opportunity that with the pictures I will post when I get home, you too will see the treasure and joys and conditions of this big crazy world of ours.

PEACE to everyone...