Lizards

As promised, nothing terribly interesting, but I'm getting used to the place a bit. The walk into town is already getting easier; today was my 3rd trip. It's mainly the walk back up that presents the problem. Yesterday I went off in search of peanut butter, which I found in the brand "Yum Yum," and today I went in search of a phone card and oranges. My siSwati is improving a bit, though I won't be conducting any philosophical conversations in it quite yet, unless they only involve the words "Yes, Hello, How are you, and "five."

Going to town and bothering the security guards to teach me more siSwati is really the main extent to my activity at the moment, until S. and I go over to the orphanage. Even in a country the size of Swaziland, there is a ridiculous amount of work going on for her, so I'm trying to give her space to decompress. I doubt I could possibly irritate her to the point where she would kick me out, but Swaziland isn't my ideal area for being-kicked-out-into, so just in case, I will be laying low. Also, I've been looking into some of the organizations around here, and in Ghana. But I don't want to jinx anything, so I'm not going to say anything about it quite yet.

In town, there is a very interesting combination of chain stores and vendors. There is a large group of vendors that sets up outside the bus park, which is right next to a KFC. There are a couple of other stores that a obviously chain stores, but they aren't immediately recognizable to me. I haven't run into any problems yet, aside from having various people leer at me. There were a few people who wanted to talk to me--some of them I spoke with, to the best of my ability.

Except for the gentleman who grabbed my arm said "Hey baby, want a ride?" I treated him to the NY "are you joking" look, and a muttered "cha, ngiyabonga. Piss off." Of course, that might now always work, which is why I chose not to go into town at night for any reason.

When I got back, I spent some time talking to the security guard, and when I asked him what Swazis thought about Americans, I was a little surprised. He told me mainly positive things--possibly in an attempt not to insult me, even though I told him that would be okay, since I am quite used to it. But one thing he mentioned gives me the impression that the Swazi people are a bit tired of people exclaiming "how small" this country it.

"South Africa, the apartheid government took the land" (not entirely correct, but from a certain view, true) he said with a shrug, "What are we supposed to do about it now? It is our country."


But in the "Wow, I'm in Africa" news, I finally had a chance to just sit out in the backyard and take everything in after my walk today. Even in winter this place is thriving with life. There are coconut and banana trees, and the sounds of countless birds that I can't identify. I've also found some little lizard friends. They are a little longer than my hand, and at the most as wide as my first three fingers. They are a brown-green color with yellow stripes, suspicious eyes, and scales that reflect the sun. They have long tails and fat bellies, and are territorial little things that like to play tag with each other, nipping at each other's tails. I am also under the impression that they have teeth, so I have decided not to attempt to catch one.

I can't imagine what this place will be like in the Spring, but I am looking forward to it. At night it gets fairly cold here, but not bellow freezing. And during the day, it can be 50 F in the shade, but 70 F in the sun. So, basically, as everyone has said: wear layers, but only as many as you feel like carrying around later.

---

---