First Week at My Homestead

7 September 2013

A week and a day at my homestead, and I think the operative concept is that things don't exactly turn out as I expect. Or something.

I wanted to go for a walk, so asked my Sisi to show me a loop route. We wound up visiting neighbors instead. Which was fine, actually, but not what I thought we'd do. One homestead has no electricity and all three buildings are made of hardened mud. A woman carrying a baby came out and welcomed us. In her yard were an avocado tree, a mango tree, and a berry tree (yep - berries grow on trees here!), a grinder for maize and HUGE succulent tree. Water was a ditch running along the hillside - no mean feat it this time of very dry weather.

At another homestead, the people were grinding maize. I asked if I could try it, and the elders (who looked younger than I) had to approve first. They did, and I did, much to the amusement of everyone watching. It's hard work! As we left, I asked if the young adults were in high school. No - lots of kids and not enough money for school fees.

Up the hill we went, and at the next homestead a young man said he wanted help to start a piggery. It's a dream. He also asked about getting training so he can sew. We stayed there a while, and the people across the road came to join us. One young woman just finished high school and is getting ready for the university. The other is in Form 4 (a junior), and saw me when I visited the school a few weeks ago. She said she's going to bring me some "sour milk" tomorrow. I hope she does.

Everyone is most curious about me. When I came back, there was a meeting here, and I went and introduced myself. One woman wants to start her own business growing and selling sweet potatoes. She, too, asked about America. Are there places where people don't have electricity? Yes. Where do they get their water? Most have water. Yes, but where do they get it from? Rivers? I was a bit stymied. Pumps, I answered. Most have wells - er, bore holes - and some kind of pump. The questions surprise me and I find them hard to answer...

Starting a business seems to be a popular idea, and I wonder what resources I can bring to help people get started? They need business plans, loans, and in some cases, reality checks, I think.

I went to a meeting of a youth group. After sitting through over an hour of SiSwati, while they conducted their business, I spoke for about 5 minutes. Not sure if I should mention that it would be a sign of respect to either let the guest speaker go first or ask her to arrive later. A good question for my Peace Corps contact.

I will meet with the community leaders next Wednesday, then hopefully will start visiting homesteads, doing a census and getting a feel for what people see as community needs. In the meantime, I'll go to the high school on Monday and talk with the guidance counselor about maybe teaching skills identification and with the librarian about working on a grant for more books. Lots to do, for sure!

I was typing this and my sisi came to say there is water at the tap! There's not been water for over a week. Many homesteads had to fetch drinking water from a spring that is maybe a quarter mile down a very steep hillside. Here, we have tanks with stored water from last year's rainy season, but it's for drinking only. To wash clothes and to clean, they drove a truck to the river. Peace Corps tells us not to use river water - it contains shistosomes - a parasite that enters through the skin. So I dropped everything and at dusk she and I went to haul water from the tap that is down the way and across the road (maybe 1/4 mile round trip) to fill my 100 liter water barrel and the water supply for the house. I pushed a (borrowed) wheelbarrow with 50 liters and she carried a full 5 gallon bucket on her head. We made 2 trips. I'm so excited! Tomorrow I can wash clothes (not using used bath water) as well as scrub the floor. It's amazing what delights me.

While we were getting water from the public tap, a car pulled up and asked me what I was doing. Getting water. No, what was I doing? Oh, I'm a Peace Corps volunteer. How long will you be here? 2 years. 2 years???? Yebo. Here? On this homestead. Yebo. He looked incredulous. When he drove off, my sisi told me that people think white people don't do things like haul water. White people are all rich and don't do the things everyone else does. We both laughed.

So I made dinner, and throwing the scraps to the chickens, admired the new moon. I steamed some very fresh Swiss chard and took some to the main house to share. Folks here like to cut their veges into tiny pieces and then cook them till they are limp and mushy. This was limp, but still had some texture. I poured rice vinegar over it and feasted on my portion. And dessert was some fresh papaya. The fruits and veges here are so fresh and flavorful! Can't wait for the mangoes to ripen.

You are getting stream of consciousness writing here - it's just that I want to share while the new is still new and not normal. So forgive my scattered approach and enjoy the peek into another world.