Sawubona! Ninjani?

(Hello! How are you all?)

I hope you are all doing well! It has already been 2 weeks since I arrived to the Kingdom of Eswatini on Friday, September 9th, 2022. I am well-adjusted in my current settings for Pre-Service Training (PST). PST is a 3-month training, with a language proficiency test at the end, before trainees are officially sworn in as Peace Corps Volunteers. After PST, I will have to readjust again as I move in with my host family, and serve the community I am placed in for the next two years. Hence, I will be in Eswatini for a total of 27 months!

In the past, Peace Corps Trainees have lived with a host family during PST (and then another host family during their PC service). Due to COVID, my cohort and I are currently living in a dormitory where we each get our own rooms. Our LCFs, or Language Cultural Facilitators, do a wonderful job in teaching and surrounding us with the siSwati language. I know once I am out in the community, I will really be immersed in the language. Until then, I will study hard to learn siSwati! As I am thankful for our teachers that explain the Swazi culture, I am looking forward to On-the-Job-Training this Tuesday to first-handedly experience the culture.

Brief Description of Eswatini

On April 2018, the country formerly known as Swaziland changed its name to the Kingdom of Eswatini. The king celebrated the country’s 50th anniversary of independence from Britain, removing their colonized label to reclaim their native name. Eswatini is a small country that borders South Africa and Mozimbique. The size of the country is slightly smaller than the state of New Jersey in the USA. It is the only absolute monarch left in Africa, currently ruled by King Mswati III. As I continue my stay here, I will learn and share more about Eswatini!

A little language tip: Everyone greets each other with a title, regardless if you are just passing by. It is considered rude when you do not greet. Thus, I will greet Sawubona Bhuti/Sisi, hello brother or sister. Yes, one would still use those titles regardless of blood relation. People who are older, you would call them Babe (father) or Make ('ma-geh') (mother). Now, you are all prepared to greet others!

A Typical Day in Pre-Service Training:

Exercising with my cohort: 6am-6:45ish am,

Breakfast: 7am-8am,

Language Class: 8am-10am,

Tea Break: 10:00am-10:30am,

Session 1: 10:30am-12:30pm,

Lunch: 12:30pm-1pm,

Session 2: 1pm-3:15pm,

Session 3: 3:30pm-5pm

Dinner: 6pm-7pm

* Most of the time, we finish slightly earlier than 5pm.

* The sessions do vary from: Safety and Security, Medical, Programming, Monitoring and Evaluation, etc. There is always so much to learn each day! Saturday is a half day, where we still have language class and one other lesson; then we have the rest of the day to ourselves after lunch. I am thankful for Sundays where we can really have a full-day of rest.

* On Sunday, I typically do my laundry after breakfast. In Eswatini, most people handwash their clothes and dry them outside. It takes me about 2.5-3 hours to do a week worth of clothes. I hope to shorten that time as I get more practice. Oh, how I should not have taken the washing machine for granted! Thankfully, I enjoy the moment as I listen o my music.

Until we see each other next time! Sitawubonana!