A low key weekend

After an eventful, tiring week, we decided to hang around here for the weekend and just enjoy some local sites. Friday evening we decided to go check out a local restaurant with Zakhele and Sandile. The one we originally had in mind was closed, so we stumbled upon a small "Latin" restaurant. The funny thing is, not a single item on that menu qualified as the "Latin" food we had in mind! There was German, burgers, Italian, and even Chinese, but no Latin dishes. Regardless, the food was very good and a nice break from our normal cafeteria dinners. It was also very cheap. Including the tip, I paid roughly $12 for my food, drinks and side salad. We had a good time laughing and talking about Swaziland traditions and customs. One tradition we learned about is the dowry expected from the groom to the family of the woman he desires to marry, usually in the form of cattle or other goods. At one point, man who overheard the conversation approached the table to greet us. He referred to himself as a "whitey living in Swaziland" and jokingly offered the guys 35 cattle to buy all 3 of us as wives! Thankfully the guys didn't take the offer!

The next day we decided to check out a local place called Malandela's. It is a restaurant, bed and breakfast, and "House on Fire," a venue for music and events. In May they host an annual music and arts festival named Bushfire. It was so pretty and unique, with gorgeous surrounding scenery. The grounds are also available to reserve for wedding ceremonies. So change of plans, Brant and I are getting married here:

Just Kidding!
But it would be fun to consider for a future anniversary/vowel renewal ceremony.
There were several nice shops there that sold goods made by the people of Swaziland. My favorite store was a place called "Gone Rural" and they had all kinds of woven home goods, from baskets to place mats, and coasters to floor rugs. I could easily have spent a ton of money there to stock up cute things for our future home! I did buy alot of goodies there to bring back as gifts. The products were also very reasonable priced. We ate a late lunch at the restaurant there which was also very good.

After we explored everything they had there, we decided to take Stephanie to see the Mantanga falls which Emily and I visited earlier with Rachel. The water level was higher than the last time we were there because of the rains we experienced a few weeks ago. You could also tell there had been flooding and where the water swept away the short path we used before to get to the falls. It was still as beautiful as it was before, and also just as relaxing. I walked a little ways away from the group, closer to the falls and sat on the edge of the stream with my legs in the water. The waters edge is very shallow, making it easy to wade in or sit on a rock safely and enjoy the cool, refreshing water. We found out that Sandile is quite the worrier! He would NOT get near the edge of the water, and I apparently he was worried about me being just 20ft away from the rest of them and partially in the water. As we were leaving he told me I was very brave. I laughed and told him if he thought that was brave, he had no idea! It was sweet of him to be so concerned for our safety, and I appreciate him looking out for us. We spent about an hour there and then headed back into town before it got dark. When we got back we watched The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, which Stephanie had brought with her on DVD.

Sunday morning we went to the Nazarene church with Sandile, which is associated with the hospital so it is right next door. Once again, lots of good music and excellent vocal talent. We recognized the songs they sang because they were hymns we sing at American churches. The first time through they would sing it in SiSwati, and then repeat it English. It was really nice and I enjoyed it. This service was thankfully shorter than the others we had been to, running right at 2 hours. However, most of it was spoke in SiSwati and not translated so we don't really know what the sermon was about. That afternoon we decided to go to one of the nice hotels and enjoy the pool. It was overcast, but still warm enough to be comfortable. I enjoyed studying poolside for a few hours, and was happy to have time to relax. We successfully caught a Kombi ride home all on our own (which is a first!) to make it home in perfect timing before it got dark.

Today I started out the morning in the Pediatric ward as usual, and then spent the rest of the day in the outpatient department. It was a little bit slow, but I got to see a few patients, and of course some precious little children. I still have a lot to learn, but I'm getting there. I'm glad I have chosen to repeat the Pediatrics rotation back in the states because medicine is practiced very differently here. I am learning alot of good stuff that I wouldn't have the opportunity to see back home, but I still need to learn the basics by American standards. We were joined today by a group of students from the states, many of which are from various towns in Ohio and Kentucky. Its a small world! I haven't gotten to know any of them too well yet, but I have seen them around.

That's all I have for now. This week will be more of the same in Pediatrics, and we will go out with The Luke Commission again as well. On Friday we will be going to Kruger National Park for a weekend packed full of more Safari adventures and sight seeing! We are pretty excited about it. Can't wait to let you know how it goes!