Tag Archives: peace corps swaziland

Day seven: Dancing time

Posted on October 19, 2017 by elliewick

The day of big dancing started off like every other day – with me unsure of what was going to happen. It turns out that Monday’s activities are a replica of Sunday’s, except that the reeds have already been delivered. … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Peace Corps, Swaziland, Tradition | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Wednesday photo: Drying herbs

Posted on October 18, 2017 by elliewick

Most of my herbs in my garden have been growing like crazy. The more I pick, the more they grow, and I am having a hard time keeping up. I have started hanging the herbs to dry in my room, … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Peace Corps, Swaziland, Wednesday photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Delivering the reeds in photos

Posted on October 17, 2017 by elliewick

Delivering the reeds was everything I wanted and more. You can read about that day here. I finally got the 1500 photos from day six and day seven, so here are the best ones from delivering the reeds. Please note … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Peace Corps, Swaziland, Tradition | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Day six: Delivering reeds to the queen mother

Posted on September 19, 2017 by elliewick

I thought to myself, “I wonder if the king is here,” and then I looked up and made eye contact with him. It was the day of reed delivery to the queen mother, and it only made sense that the … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Peace Corps, Swaziland, Tradition | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

What’s cooking: Chakalaka

Posted on September 15, 2017 by elliewick

Sometimes I do not have time to prepare food to the likes of what I write about regularly in the SOJO. There are a few staples that I always have on hand for times like the months of June and … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Peace Corps, Swaziland, What's cooking | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Late summer and fall gardening in Swaziland

Posted on September 9, 2017 by elliewick

I have been so far behind in updating all of you on my garden; at least I have kept good records. By May, I had quite the garden planted with onions, lettuce, beets, green pepper, hot pepper, paprika pepper, beans, … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Peace Corps, Swaziland | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Photos from cutting reeds

Posted on September 8, 2017 by elliewick

Cutting the reeds turned out to be pretty exciting after a long wait for the day to get started. The photos below show a bit of the march, the cutting, the preparing, the tying, and the posing with the reeds. … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Peace Corps, Swaziland, Tradition | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Day one: Registration at Umhlanga

Posted on August 29, 2017 by elliewick

Today started early at 4:45 a.m. because we were told to meet the bus taking us to Ludzidzini at 6 a.m. I asked my sisi for us to leave at 5:50 a.m. to walk to school so that we could … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Peace Corps, Swaziland | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Let the dancing begin! It is time for Umhlanga

Posted on August 29, 2017 by elliewick

The integration activity of the year for young females is here. One year ago my babe said I should dance at Umhlanga with my sisi this year. Today it officially starts. There was a community meeting with the caregivers of … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Life, Peace Corps, Swaziland | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

How I spent July’s PCV stipend

Posted on August 28, 2017 by elliewick

July was a much more expensive month. I took a vacation to Lesotho and Durban, and I had saved enough money that I was able to spend only $50 from my American account. Yay me! There was lots of good … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Peace Corps, Swaziland | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment