Asanda

Well ladies and gentleman, I’m two weeks in. So far so good. I don’t even know where to start. Do I tell you about all the language training I’m doing, or do I give you a rundown of what I am doing day to day? While everything I am learning is exciting and new, I’d rather shift my focus on what has captured my heart—my new host family. The people I am staying with are truly the sweetest people I have ever met.

                I was greeted by my new “babe” (siSwati for dad)- pronounced ba-bay. At first I thought he was one of the brother’s I was staying with because of his age—Sipho is only 21. He is the head of his family. After Sipho’s dad passed away when he was a young boy, his mom raised him and his two sisters. Last August, his mother was suddenly taken away from them as well. This left Sipho to be the head of the family- which now jokingly makes him my dad- and me, “his darling daughter” as he puts it. In the house lives his two sisters- Sam age 19, and Bonqiwe-18. Sam has two children of her own- Similo, her son who is 6 and her 5 month old daughter (who is also the world’s cutest baby).  Besides Sipho and his two sisters, we also have two other family members living with us; Mbali who is 15 and Mpendolu who is 24. Mbali is super talented, whether it is singing, drawing or cooking. Mpendolu is my body guard and refers to me as his Lamborghini.  When walking back from the main house to my hut at night, Mpendolu escorts me to make sure I make it safe. Similo is such a cutie. I keep telling his mom Sam that he’s coming back to the states with me. Similo is very shy and has the expressions of a serious man. But when he thinks I’m not looking, I see him have the cutest little giggle. Every day on my way home from training, Similo is there waiting for me at the gate, and is always coming over to my hut to hang out. His mom Sam keeps me in check. She definitely speaks her mind and is not afraid to tell me when I am doing something wrong. I love that about her. She is only 19, but she is such a hard worker. When she took over and washed my clothes (because I obviously don’t do it correctly), she made them look cleaner than they ever are in America. She often tells me “don’t rush, spit kills”. Apparently I am impatient to her standards! Bonqiwe, the younger SiSi (sister in siSwati), is so sassy. This girl keeps me laughing. I love hanging out with her. This chick also has an amazing voice on her.  Finally, my daddy Sipho; he is always so happy. From the moment I met him, we’ve been laughing none stop. Like any dad would do, Sipho walks me to the bus stop every day. All the volunteers love the relationship between us, and Sipho likes spending time with all of us too in the mornings.  I can’t say enough kind words about him and how proud I am of him for keeping his family afloat given the circumstances.  Sipho was also the one to name me. My new name for the next two years is Asanda- which means, an addition to the family.

                I like to call my homestead Neverland—like in the story of Peter Pan. We’re a bunch of kids just having fun.  Every night involves some sort of dance party. They are all very familiar with the hip-hop music in America, so between their ipod and mine, we have a good selection to dance to.  On Fourth of July we made a bonfire, roasted marshmallows and had dance outside around the fire—it’s something I’ll always remember. It’s also great to know that everyone in the house is a Christian. In addition to the hip-hop music, we listen to gospel and sing hymns. I also like the fact that we pray before every meal. Sipho taught me how to do this in siSwati!

                Have I mentioned that I love this family? I’m already sad at the thought that I have to leave them in under 2 months, when I’ll eventually move to my official site.  So now that I’ve told you a little bit about my host family, I guess I can tell you all what it’s like living here in Swazi. I’ll save that for another time—going to hang out with my boSisi and buhti now!

SiSwati words for family members:
Make- mom
Babe- dad
Sisi- sister
Buhti- brother
Gogo- grandma
Mukhulu- grandpa