See you later, Swaziland

Sesihambile – we have gone. There were times during our visit to Swaziland when it seemed as if we were attempting to fit a year’s experiences into a one-week visit. Most of our nights were spent with my Swazi host family in Mbikwakhe. In the middle of our week there, we also spent two nights with a friend in Mbabane and were treated by my Swazi sisters to a night to in a (modified) traditional Swazi beehive hut at Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary. Amy and I thoroughly enjoyed our visit kaNgwane (Swaziland, that is). I was surprised at how easy it was to reconnect with people and engage in the rhythms of Swazi culture and language; I suppose spending a year in a place plants a seed deeply. Now we are back in South Africa preparing for our journey onward to Zambia on Saturday.

Malolotja

This afternoon afforded a rest from a busy schedule of meeting and reconnecting with friends in Swaziland. Malolotja Nature Reserve is situated along the northwest border of the country and offers awe-inspiring views of the relatively untouched grassland mountains of the region. Although our visit was brief, the silence and the summer beauty of the grasslands were a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of the cities of Manzini and Mbabane.

Our time in Swaziland is unfortunately drawing to a close. For me it has been an exciting time of renewing relationships and reconnecting with the life I had here six years ago. Amy has also enjoyed a personal glimpse of the people and places that she had heard about only in letters while I was here. Nonetheless, she is looking forward to when we head to Zambia where we both will be newcomers more or less.

Where to find photos

The photos we've been able to upload can be found here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/danandamyhess

Jet Lag

After fifteen-and-a-half hours on the plane, we arrived safely in Johannesburg. Our good friend Dana Mahan was waiting for us once we got our bags and we have enjoyed a relaxing evening with Dana, Sibongile and their family in their home in Pretoria. We are planning on some more relaxing and some touring in this area during the next two days. Later in the week we plan to drive to Swaziland, hopefully by then our sleep patterns will be more normal.

Flurry

If I thought that two weeks was "soon" for flying, then I'm not sure what to say now that our flight is about 18 hrs away. They're calling for snow flurries outside tomorrow but there's been a flurry of packing in our house today. Thanks for checking in; we'll post more after we arrive in Jo'burg.

Flying Soon

In just fourteen days we will be headed to southern Africa for a two month stay. Our first two weeks will be spent visiting friends in South Africa & Swaziland before heading to Zambia for the remaining six weeks. There, Dan will be working at the Macha Mission Hospital, a Brethren in Christ hospital in rural southern Zambia about 70km (44miles) from a town called Choma. Amy will be volunteering at a school called Macha Innovative Christian School (MICS) nearby. Our travel is being made possible through the Mennonite Medical Association's Student Elective Term (SET) and Dan is also receiving credit towards some graduation requirements at school.

We are excited about this opportunity and hope to share some of our experiences here on this blog (and in person when we return).