http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Swaziland/Mbabane/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Africa , Swaziland , Mbabane en-us Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:29:18 +0000 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:29:18 +0000 As an important note At the end of July I will be climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Late July in an effort to raise funds for Open Arms Home for Children. Please look at my fundraising website athttpwww.crowdrise.comKilimanjaroSummitforOpenArmsI hope to raise 1 for every foot I climb 19341 feet 19341. Please consider sponsoring a part of my climb up the mountain As I write this I am curr http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Swaziland/Mbabane/blog-784355.html so I always knew that virginity testing is such a huge deal to most Africans so I decided to stop over at Swaziland to watch this sacred event take place. it starts off with thousands of maiden girls who pay homage to the queen the King39s mother wearing beaded skirts and walking bare breast singing songs and chanting while making their way to the Kraal where the king will be patiently wait http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Swaziland/Mbabane/blog-751530.html Apple iPad Chargers allow you to take pleasure in uninterrupted usage of your Apple iPad. Most of the capabilities and characteristics of the iPad this kind of as Worldwideweb surfing film observing and picture editing need enough electricity. Apple iPad39s battery promised to present a 10hour electricity to permit people to get pleasure from features of their Apple iPad. For greatest fun http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Swaziland/Mbabane/blog-704912.html The functional growth of includeon application or apps has produced modern day digital gadgets acquire unbelievable recognition these times.Apple Inc.39s iPhone and iPod nearly pioneered the market of third get together application development. In truth the attractiveness of these items is dependent typically upon all of the stylish app attributes you are equipped to add to them effectively. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Swaziland/Mbabane/blog-704199.html How are you today sir asked the young Swazi policewoman whod just pulled me over. Angela and I had driven around a bend in our hire car and the lady in question together with a colleague armed with a speed camera had just flagged us down from their hiding position inside a bus stop. After telling the woman I was fine she smiled and informed me Id been exceeding the speed limit. I http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Swaziland/Mbabane/blog-556459.html We split the day between Kruger in the morning and Swaziland in the afternoon. Myths abound regarding Swaziland so I will place information on here that I think is the best characterization of how things are.There is just not much happening in Swaziland. It is a mountainous country at least in the west end. The country's real claim to fame is that at LEAST 30 of the population has HIV. At http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Swaziland/Mbabane/blog-460471.html Crossing from Mozambique to Swaziland is textbook an efficient but dull sequence of good roads empty border checkpoints then even better roads. Though I'm dropped at Manzini and have to take another minibus to reach Mbabane Swaziland's capital it's barely midday when I arrive.Mbabane is like being back in England and I can't imagine just how it ended up being twinned with Fort Worth in Texa http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Swaziland/Mbabane/blog-437898.html Okay so. Egypt. I am so incredibly psyched for the trip and in the meanwhile making the best of the time I have left here. Traveling around via khombi studying Arabic reading my psychology books and getting some writing done.I'm also dealing with various issues that need to be dealt with. My mind hasn't been in the right place for quite a few months. This trip was probably to some degree me http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Swaziland/Mbabane/blog-433205.html http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Swaziland/Mbabane/blog-430392.html So... things. Things have been... strange. Despite how conflicted I usually seem when there is a situation that requires me to make a choice I usually know what I am going to do on some deeper level. I've spent the past few days thinking some pretty crazy things. Last night I was planning a route from Swaziland to Egypt flying over Sudan of course. I've decided since then that I might forgo t http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Swaziland/Mbabane/blog-429873.html I sincerely hope that things go well today for Da'. He deserves a break after the past few years of all this shit. I know that is not how it works but I can hope. It's about 1500 here which means it is about 9am in NYthis is one of those moments I wish I was not so far away. Or at least somewhere on the same continent. Everyone who isn't already doing this please keep my dad in your though http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Swaziland/Mbabane/blog-428114.html Now in dualpost on blogger.com Wow okay more excitement than strictly necessary. Fundza has become enjoyable I wrote up a grant today and now I need to find someone or a plural amount of someone to fund a debate competition. Friday will be devoted to getting those sent out and starting on the next focused grant. It's the second day I've worked with them and today's problem was someone no http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Swaziland/Mbabane/blog-427876.html African masks are fairly intriguing. As far as I know they are usually for use in ritual ceremonies and represent spirits of both humans and animals good and evil deities mythological beings etc. Many of them look amazingexcept when you are alone in a house at night for long stretches of time. I am not an afraid of the dark sort of person. But if S.'s house didn't have such a comforting http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Swaziland/Mbabane/blog-427100.html I start with Fundza on Monday I have begun working on a website for them and I am optimistic about being able to do some good through this program. The only problem is that aid and grant funding is so short these days. But one of Fundza's main goals is to help stem the spread of HIVAIDs through education so perhaps that will encourage some donors to contribute money. My coworkerboss Nonkulul http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Swaziland/Mbabane/blog-426114.html 73009 still more to comeIt's winter yet somehow there are still bugs around that like to divebomb my eyeballs. Is there something attractive to insects about my pupils Perhaps there is something written there in Insectese that says Oh hello there it'd be rather nice if you bludgeoned this spot right here... The weather is getting a bit warmer which might explain the whole bug thing. Th http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Swaziland/Mbabane/blog-423829.html I now have a mailing address More details available through messaging me on facebook. Don't want to put the address up here. Why Well here's something interesting that once again reminded me what a small place even the internet is...S. comes home from work a day or so ago and asks Hey do you have a blogUm... yeah. Why I assumed she stumbled upon it in the history on her computer.Well http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Swaziland/Mbabane/blog-423050.html 72609My lizard friends were not out this morning but perhaps like the rest of the country they are at church. The country is very religious by all accounts but I have not yet learned to what degree they are superstitious. As you would expect many of the shops in town were closed today except for a couple of the grocery stores and random other stores. The security guard was perplexed that I http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Swaziland/Mbabane/blog-422364.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Swaziland/Mbabane/blog-421787.html 230709 Took a walk into Mbabane today Sarah has three other guest with her at the house Dale and a couple Suzanne and Wade. They are all very amiable and have all done a good deal of traveling. Dale who I walked into town with is an older gentleman and used to be in the Air Force and Foreign Service. The walk was wonderful but steep. On the way down we walked on worn dirt paths walkin http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Swaziland/Mbabane/blog-421459.html Saturday definately turned out to be an interesting day.At around 730 Zulu dancers came to the hostel and put on a show.It was fantastic until they made me get up and dance which was a thousand times more awkward than you would ever imagine.Right after we ran outside because there was hippos on the lawn across the street.Hippos I went down the street to a pub to watch Holland play and lose http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Swaziland/Mbabane/blog-291141.html