Thursday, April 18, 2013

My New Site!

Well, I have officially moved to my new site. It is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL location. I am up on one of the highest points in Swaziland overlooking a big blue dam. I am on a Christian orphanage, and my house is HUGE! All of a sudden I have running water (TWO bathrooms! A tub, a shower, and two toilets!), electricity, three bedrooms, and a FULL kitchen!!! I am completely beside myself! But none of that even compares to the view from my bedroom window...  I haven't gotten to really meet anyone yet because I have a meeting in the city today, so yesterday I only got to drop off all of my things and turn right around to come stay in town. I'll shut up now and let the pictures do the talking.
The view from my bedroom window!

My casa!

This one is for the Beecher family. A John Deere tractor! In Swaziland!! At my new home!!!! 

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Good Bye Vilakati Family

        So, I have been taking things in stride, but since my last blog-post I was hit by quite a few more (and quite larger, more impressionable) incidents. I was thanking God for my wonderful friends like Kerry who had me come stay with her over Easter (we had a wonderful party! It was the closest to "home" I have felt since last June when I boarded that plane) and Melanie with whom I have debriefing lunches every month (or more if need be) and is my best buddy here. But these small breaks were just that, breaks. When I returned to site, things began getting worse and much more personal. Without going into detail, yesterday Peace Corps decided it was not safe for me to serve in my community any more and has pulled me out. I will soon be moving to a new site. I am terribly heart-broken to be leaving my children at the school with whom I have worked so hard and have a wonderful relationship. I cried with my Gogo yesterday for ages as leaving her absolutely tears me to pieces. I understand that Peace Corps is responsible for me and knowing that things are going on at my school the way they are, they cannot let me stay in that situation, but I cannot remember a time in my life when I have felt so heart-broken and devastated. Everything I have worked for to get to where I am, the relationships I've built, the programs I've implemented, the half-made library, the glass-bottle building, the permiculture training, the community classes... all of it is gone. And now I must start all over again with nothing. I'm sorry to be so depressing. I am just so broken up right now.
Here are some pictures of Easter at Kerry's. A little rainbow in the rain.
I made 4 of these little stuffed bunnies out of an old scarf of Kerry's. I was surprised they turned out so cute!

The Easter gang: Lewis and Ruby and Ruby's parents (visiting from Oregon), Melanie and Celumusa, and Kerry and I. We really did have just a wonderful time!

Relaxing Easter morning in Kerry's back yard. She's got quite the crib!