During weeks 5 & 6 (July & Aug. 2013) of Hyomi’s initial Peace Corps training in Swaziland she learns about local religion and spirituality and how it influences the culture. She also pays a visit to the village where she will be permanently assigned, and meets the new host family. Below are a few excerpts from her Tumblr blog.

Religion and Spirituality in Swaziland

“Wednesday and Thursday were spent on more culture training, starting with an extensive discussion on how religion and spirituality inform Swazi traditions and society in general. We began with a comparison of how religion is perceived and impacts society in the United States versus Swaziland.

In Swaziland, Christianity is prevalent and ever-present in schools, at work, and at home. It’s common for public meetings to begin and end with a prayer, and for children to begin morning assembly with a prayer and worship songs. Billboards and bumper stickers on public transport often depict Jesus, the cross, or a Bible verse.

Christianity made its way to Swaziland the way most do: through missionaries who had traveled long distances to preach the word of God. King Sobhuza I, alleged that he had had a dream in which he had to choose between a book (representing the Bible, though some will argue that it symbolized education) and a coin (which symbolized money and power). He chose the book, and declared that Swaziland would become a Christian nation by way of the missionaries who had come to the country at that time.

Traditional religion and Islam do exist as well, though they are a very small percentage. Apparently, SZ even claims 9 Jewish families. Who knew? The “Christian way” in SZ tends to condemn ancestor worship (which they equate with demon worship, unless you’re a Zionist), traditional healers  who are dismissed as witchcraft (photo above), tattoos (a likely ticket to hell, and and said to make you look like an inmate), and definitely homosexuality. The country is very conservative on its surface, though the irony exists in the ever-present issues of HIV/AIDS, promiscuity, concurrent sexual partnerships, incest, and the like.”

Sunday Service at my church in Manzini

Hyomi finishes her week with a visit to the local worship service of members of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.

“It’s pretty centrally located and accessible via public transportation, so I hope to be able to come to church as often as I can during the next two years. It’s really comforting to be immediately embraced as family by the other church members, because we share the same culture and beliefs, regardless of which country we live in. One of the members of my church is a brother of the late King Sobhuza II, making him a Swazi prince. How cool is that?”

Meeting the permanent host family & village

Hyomi stayed for 9 weeks in Kudzeni village with one family during her initial training. She refers to them in her writings as her “training family”. Toward the middle of her training period she visits the small village in the Lubombo region where she will spend the remainder of her 2 years, and meets her new “permanent host family”. During this introductory visit she also met many of the community leaders she would be working with as taking a tour of the small school where she would be working.

“Upon my arrival in the village, I was taken to the primary school to meet the other teachers. There were nine in all, 2 men and 7 women, and they were all very nice and welcoming. The primary school consists of four buildings facing into each other, and has relatively sparse classrooms with a spattering of desks and several chairs. Most schools are strapped for funds to buy school resources and furniture, and I’m suspecting my school falls into this category.

I went to see other places such as the high school, the kaGogo center (a community center with health resources and information on HIV), and the community shop. There’s literally one small shop for the entire village, so I’ll have to take a bus forty minutes to do any actual grocery shopping.

The new hut

Upon laying my eyes on my new rondeval (hut), I knew it was love at first site. The hut was a perfect circle, and quite a bit bigger than my current hut. The wooden door is absolutely beautiful, with an elephant and African landscape carved into it. If given the opportunity, I would love to paint the interior of my hut with a scene from an African savannah.

The new family

Meeting my host family was an even greater delight. Babe and Make Magagula are among the sweetest people I’ve met here, and are so warm and welcoming. Make is a sweet, soft-spoken woman in her mid-forties with kind eyes and a wide smile. She thanked me repeatedly for coming to stay with them, and introduced me to her children.

Before I came to the site, one of the staff had briefed me on the fact that I would stay with a “small family with small children.” Apparently “small family” is understood differently in Swaziland than in the US, because I have nine new siblings, in addition to Make and Babe. Oh, and Khoza boards there too, so I technically have a new family of 12. I’m pretty excited about the prospect of having 6 sisters and 4 brothers though. I’m sure it’ll never get boring with that many children (or should I say teenagers, because the youngest is 13).

My host dad is a farmer, and well-known in the community. He insisted that I ask him for anything and to share any and all concerns or worries with him. He reassured me that I was now one of his own, and that he would protect me and look out for me. That was a very comforting thought. He also built a new pit latrine (toilets here) next to my hut which read “VIP Only.” He told me that I was the overseer of the latrine and had to restrict access to everyone except myself and two of my sisters. He said that I had to keep him and the boys out, because they were bound to make the latrine dirty. Fair point.

My host dad also told me that I could adopt his youngest daughter as my new personal assistant. She’s a precocious teenager, and he assured me that she would be a great help in teaching me siSwati and orienting me to everyone in the village. To mark the special occasion of our meeting, one of my new sisters grabbed a chicken and killed it for dinner. The ease at which she does this, without missing a beat is impressive and startling at the same time. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to watching animals get slaughtered. Not really my thing.

One observation I made of the children in this family is that they’re amazingly well-behaved and respectful. I’m not sure if it was because I was seen as a guest, but they insisted that I sit down and make myself comfortable and brought me dinner on a tray. The tray is a big deal in Swaziland, because it shows that you are serving a person with utmost respect. It was very flattering, but I don’t want them viewing me as a guest for too long. I want to feel like a member of the family, and contribute where I can.

After talking with the parents for a while, the family gathered together in the living room to close the day in song and prayer. It was a really beautiful moment, seeing the whole group of them squeeze together in a small room to pray and give thanks for the day. I really like their family culture, and know that I will feel at home here right away. I feel really blessed and fortunate to have both an amazing training family and permanent site family. I know that it’ll be really hard to say goodbye to both of these families at the end of my two years here.” – Salani kahle, Nothando (Hyomi Carty)