New entries, at last

First of all, if anyone has been reading this, I apologize for the lack of entries this fall. One excuse I have is that I've been sick a lot; another reason for the lack of communication is that there’s not so much new to report. Life in the second year of a fellowship takes on a familiar and thus somewhat boring routine. For work, I’ve been teaching my classes – the News Reporting class again for JMC and one section of ACS (Academic Communication Skills – freshman English/composition), plus some practice sessions for Virginia’s grammar class. In my spare time, I’ve been trying to organize a couple workshops for the teacher training colleges, which is surprisingly and frustratingly difficult considering that we’re not charging the colleges a single emalangeni to come and teach their students useful methodologies. Unfortunately, while the lecturers (at least some of them) are enthusiastic about the opportunity, the college administrators seem to think these events will somehow involve effort on their parts, the prospect of which they adamantly oppose. This is definitely a place where people rise to their level of incompetence.

In my personal time, I watch TV, workout, take walks and talk to myself a lot (which I suppose begs the question of why I don’t take the time to write more blogs). Oh, and of course, I eat, which is why I must workout and take frequent walks. Living on campus is secure and convenient, but it also makes it easy to get into a rut of just going to work then coming home every day. Sometimes I go a week or so without visiting the outside world.

Anyway, as I haven’t a lot of new, exciting events to describe, I’ll go back and tell about some of the things that happened last spring.

Virginia's Lobola -- part 1

Although Virginia and her husband Abiola have been married for about six years, they decided to hold the traditional lobola ceremony to cement the ties between their families. They chose the end of June, which meant I was able to attend before heading off on my summer break. About a week before the event, Virginia suggested that I acquire some more traditional attire for the occasion, so I went along with her to the tailor. Virgina was having a couple different garments made – she needed a traditional Swazi outfit to satisfy Swazi custom and a traditional Nigerian outfit to honor her husband’s family. I bought some of the blue and white fabric that’s pre-printed into panels from which to make a skirt. Traditional Swazi women wear skirts or dresses; in fact, wearing pants is considered improper, even slutty, and their are gangs of self-righteous traditional males who sometimes harass women (even foreigners) caught in slacks. Most rural women sport a uniform-like pinafore which often includes a built-in apron and ruffles around the sleeves and hem. I asked for a very simple, long skirt and was satisfied with the result.

In the week before the lobola, I also ran some errands with Virginia to fetch supplies to sustain the many guests who would be converging for the 2-day event and to deliver said items to the family homestead. We purchased fresh milk and mas (sour milk) from a local self-sustaining convent, acquired copious quantities of sweet potatoes, pineapples and paw paws from the farmer’s market, and arranged the purchase of an entire cow to ensure adequate supplies of meat (Swazis are insulted by small servings of meat).

The pictures included here include a couple at the tailor’s and from the convent where we bought the milk products (I loved the old wood stove there).

Virginia's Lobola, part 2

The pictures here are from the family homestead. You can see that Virginia’s mother is wearing a very simple version of the pinafore (combined with other, mismatched colors that oddly mimic what I’m wearing at the tailor’s – hmm). The building she is posing in front of was built by her long-dead husband and is falling down, but she won’t allow Virginia to demolish it; too many memories. The snazzy, stuccoed building shown is the new house Virginia and Abiola have built for her.