Soccer and a Swazi Wedding

Before I talk about the title, I guess I should catch you up a little bit. We said goodbye to Rachel this week as she went back to the US. It was sad to see her go, and it has felt a little odd without her here, like we are missing someone. But I know she's glad to be back with her family and fiance, and I'm glad she made it safely. We'll be picking up another classmate, Stephanie, at the airport today to join us for the rest of our time here.

This past week we were at the Antiretroviral (ART) Clinic, which is where HIV+ individuals receive treatment and free medications. The first day there, we saw alot of Kaposi's Sarcoma and chemotherapy treatment for the cancer. Kaposi's is almost exclusively a cancer that develops with HIV, and can manifest anywhere in the body, most commonly the skin and mouth. If treated with chemo the prognosis is generally pretty good. The variations in the forms of "lesions," as they call them, were interesting to see. However, the rest of the days there were excruciatingly, mind numbingly boring. We sat and watched the doctor talk to patients, refill medications, and run all over the place getting hardly anything done. Rarely, if ever did we get to do anything with the patients. Several times he said "Wait here, I'll be right back" and was gone for over 30 minutes, and all we could do was sit there, not knowing what to do. It was very frustrating. With the combination of that and other irritations building, I gave way to my emotions. The spoiled American in me reared its ugly head and threw a bit of a temper-tantrum. I wont go into details because it was minor and stupid, and only Emily and Zakhele were there to witness it. It didn't last very long though, and I immediately felt awful about it. I'm trying to keep things in perspective, but its not always easy.

Anyway, enough of that. Friday night we went to a double header soccer game - or football, as everyone but the US calls it. We watched some of the local professional teams play and it was a fun experience. As far as talent and speed goes, it wasn't as good as what we saw in the world cup, but I had never been to a professional football match so it was neat. The environment was much more open and laid back than any American sporting event (security was pretty light, and you could easily go down around the field if you wanted). The crowd was pretty fun to experience, very similar to the normal sporting crowd, with a Swazi twist. They loved to sing and dance, and there were several Vuvuezuelas (the strange, loud horns that caused problems at the most recent World Cup). There were alot of drunk fans too and just watching them was hilarious.

I have better action shots, but I thought this one gave a better view of the arena and atmosphere.

Saturday morning, our friend that took us to the game park invited us to his cousin's wedding. Honestly, we felt like Wedding Crashers since we didn't know the bride and groom, or anyone else there for that matter! Plus, we were the only white people there! Surprisingly, much of the ceremony was similar to American weddings, including the vows, the ring exchange, and the wedding party. There were several cultural variations of course, but it all felt very familiar. In typical Swazi fashion, it was a very long service (about 3 hours before the reception portion began). It made me even more excited for my wedding with Brant coming up in less than 5 months! I can't wait to marry him and spend the rest of our lives together.

Exchanging rings

There was lots of music and singing, I was particularly impressed with a choir they had sing a few songs. I was able to capture a video of some of their singing, if anyone is interested to see it just ask. It will probably take a long time to load on because of our slower internet but if I have enough demand I'll try it on the next post. Side note- I have seen so much raw vocal talent in this country. American Idol has nothing on Swaziland!

After the wedding was over, we decided to go see a movie. This too was a very familiar feeling, nothing much changed by the culture. But it was also at a touristy mall so thats probably why. We watch the Sherlock Holmes sequel (they were a little behind on what movies they were airing). At first I wasn't to excited about the idea of going to a movie here (after all we are in Swaziland, and theres lots to experience) but I really enjoyed the movie and I'm glad we went. It was a nice way to relax for a couple hours. 

This was our last week with Internal Medicine/Infectious Disease. This week, I will start Peds, and Emily will start OB/GYN. Stephanie will do the rotation we just completed. So now we will be all separated and on our own. It will be a bit of an adjustment for Emily and I because we have been doing all our shifts and such together, but I think we'll be fine. I'm excited to help care for the adorable children of Swaziland :) We also plan on going on more rural clinics with The Luke Commission. We are planning on going with them twice this week. I'll let you know how it goes! If you are interested in learning more about them in the mean time, their website is http://lukecommission.org/

Oh, I almost forgot! Remember the boy from my previous posts with severe Stevens Johnson Syndrome and additional infection? We hadn't seen him in several weeks because he was transfered to the surgical ward for treatment. Dr Costa told us Friday that the boy made a full recovery! I was so amazed and happy for him, I wish I could have seen him before he was released to go home! I thought those of you in the States that may have prayed for him would like to hear the good news :)