Atlanta with my Host Mother

It’s nice to be back in America. I took my make (host mother, MAH-gay) back for a visit to my hometown. Peace Corps gives a "Readjustment Allowance", so I used some of that to pay for part of her ticket since I'm just living with my parents till school starts. She has worked pretty hard, and she's always wanted to visit the States.

The flight back home was pretty rough, especially since my make had a bit of the flu. It was bitterly cold in Jozi when we left, so Atlanta was a stark contrast. It was her first plane ride, but she took it in stride and we just watched movies and slept. Clearing customs in Atlanta was pretty smooth for my make, thankfully.

I keep forgetting lots of little things that I just take for granted. At O.R. Tambo in Jozi, she was afraid to go to the bathroom because she thought she would get lost coming back. I told her I would wait for her, and she was fine. She has been to Mbabane and Manzini before. While those towns are busy, at least they are familiar.

In Atlanta, the moving sidewalks, escalators, and the train threw her off a bit – I forgot to warn her but she got the hang of it.

Yesterday we took my make to the Farmers’ Market in Chamblee. It was fun to walk up and down the aisles with her, noticing things that I usually just pass by. She asked me about the cactus leaves and yellow tomatoes, which made me curious about who eats that stuff too. Other things were familiar – aloe (inhlaba), onions, etc. The onions and apples are four times the size of Swazi ones. We looked at the fresh fish tanks, and the crabs and crab legs. She said she was scared to eat the crabs (Swaziland is landlocked, plus most Swazis are traditionally very meat-and-pap type of people), but asked me about the kimchee in the Korean section.

She seems quiet, but adjusting well. She has stayed true to her word, that she’ll try everything we eat since she said I did the same when I was staying with her. I like her because she is willing to try novel things. She reminds me of my own mother and my late grandmother.

These past few days we’ve been recovering from jet lack and doing as little as possible. We watch TV a lot. She really likes CNN. When he comes back from work, my dad talks agriculture with her -- about her maize and fruit trees back home in Swaziland. As I’m typing this, make is cooking with my mom now. We’re getting ready for a sort of official welcome for her tonight.

Traffic in Atlanta is a lot worse than when I left two years ago. Otherwise the transition isn’t all that bad for me so far. Next up: catching up with old friends who are still in town, getting ready for school.

Coming Home Again

Close of Service for Peace Corps went well. Just a tad emotional, but that was only because a lot of events seemed to happen all at once. I’m not gonna talk about all that shizz here though.

A lot of people were still in Mbabane the night before I left, so I met up with them at Spur for lunch. It was a good time, hanging out with just the guys at the bar for a while and then saying goodbye to the girls. End of an era, and all that jazz.

Then everyone had to leave to catch their transport home, so it was just Amy and I left at the table. I think we had a good chat. But I’m not 100 percent sure. Mar dropped by too but then she had to go. After a messy Last Meal of nachos and beer, I went with Amy to the office because she had left something there. I asked Mshaka to take us.

As we were leaving, the office was closing and Sipho was walking out. I told him in siSwati that I was leaving and shook his hand. He had tears in his eyes, said he couldn’t bear it and had to keep walking.

I thought my departure from Swaziland would lack poignancy, but poignancy smacked me upside the head everywhere I turned this past month. I wouldn’t trade it for anything though. I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to work in development at multiple levels, from community to regional to national. My Country Director articulated her impressions pretty well; I wish I had a tape recorder so I could just play it back if anyone ever asks me about Peace Corps.