October 28th made it 4 months that I have been in Swaziland. I've had two months with my training family in the rural areas and two months in my new community. I've tasted enough of Swaziland to decide that I like it and I want more. I've seen the good, and I've seen the bad—and what I thought was bad really weren't at all.
These past two months I've been trying to integrate myself into the community the best way I can. My favorite times have to be with my little girls and my son (Jelly Belly, Angle aka Dimples, Pretty Girl, and Solomon). Every day after school I have a team of kids at my door. They come in and play from about 4-6 PM; we color and make crafts, they dance, I dance, then they laugh. I attempt to do my laundry, than they take over and finish it. Yesterday while washing my clothes, one of my kids said the nicest thing…. "Asanda, you know nothing!" I couldn't help but agree. It amazes me how smart these kids are. They definitely are in survival mode and I would want them on my side if I was ever stranded alone in a foreign place. Oh wait—I already am!
Another one of my highlights of the day is when some of my high schoolers come over. Some work on my garden, other come and teach me new card games, another comes and actually has some tutoring done. I love her enthusiasm to know English and her desire to get better. Even with all her homework she has from the school, she still wants to come over and do extra work. I let her read this book called "The Heaven Shop". It's a book about a girl in Malawi whose parents both died from AIDS. We discuss the book, which then leads to other discussions about life in general. It's moments like these that I cherish. Sometimes at the school I walk around wondering if people even understand why I am here. I know in time that will change, but for the moment being I love the few small yet meaningful relationships that I've made. It makes this whole journey a lot less lonely. 
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