Riding through Swaziland. . .

Hi everyone, you who seem to be a world and a lifetime away. And yet all too soon our time here will be over and we will be re-entering our reality. But will we ever be able to leave this reality behind? Reading about the Third World is one thing; being here is another. So many things amaze me about this land and its people. Everywhere people are walking, so close along the road we hate to travel after dark because we fear hitting someone. Women with large bundles on their heads and a baby tied to their backs. And the cattle roam as if this were India. Brahma type cattle with mean looking horns, but they seem to get along with the young children who walk along for miles through the fields to their homes, unaccompanied by adults. Children here are given so much freedom here; it has to be building their sense of competency. They are also tremendous workers; they seem to assume if they are strong enough they will do whatever work they are capable of doing and feel proud of themselves for it; no whining here.

Houses are scattered over the hillsides, either on plots people have been able to buy title to (no further taxes unless it’s annexed by the city) or that the head man/local chief has given them. So that means plots can be separated by random spaces of open grasslands. Fields are brown now because it’s winter, but you can tell they know about terracing. I’m surprised that there is not a vegetable garden by every house, but maybe that’s what the “agriculturalists” are being trained to help people learn to do. With such a long growing season, one would think they’d be able to bring in something from garden to table about all year. But I don’t have energy for a vegetable garden after driving home from work, why should they after walking home. They grow tremendous cabbages here. We followed a pickup truck—called a van here—piled to a peak with cabbages for market, and not a one rolled off. We also see semi-loads of sugar cane, bags of raw sugar, timber, and oranges, most of which is for export rather than local consumption. When a chicken costs $3, you know most of the people are not eating meat, just lots of mealie meal.

Spring has been coming on, visibly during the past week, with new flowers coming into bloom, a purple magnolia like tree, yellow spikes of something, wild pears, royal coral trees. One good rain and I think the whole world would burst into green.

We went to a wild life reserve today, and I think Cheryl would like to tell you about that, so I’ll turn it over to her.

Beth