Tag: Peace Corps

Embargoed until delivery

by Kirby P., posted in Peace Corps Swaziland

Let’s just start by saying, I AM OFFICIALLY A PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER!

Group 14 swore in yesterday, and I had the distinct honor of giving the trainee class remarks in siSwati. Below, I have included my remarks, both in siSwati and English.

SiSwati –

Sanibonani bonkhosi

Ngiyajabula kutfola lelitfuba lekukhulumela onkhe emavolontiya aG14. Etinyangeni letimbili letendlulile, emavolontiya lachamuka etindzaweni letehlukene taseMelika afike kaNgwane.

Sitikhetsele kutosita emaSwati, siphendvule lubito lwaPeace Corps lwekutsi sitinikele kutovolontiya, selule sandla sebungani, siselulele eSwatini.
Ngitsatsa lelitfuba kubonga ingwenyama yeMaswati kusimema kutsi sitosita eSwatini. Ngendlulisa kubonga kuTraining staff sakaPeace Corps. Ngendlulisa kubonga kubothishela labente siciniseko kutsi sifundza siSwati nemihambo yemaSwati. Ngetulu kwaloko, ngibonga tonkhe tikhulumi netimenywa letetfule tinkhulumo nasisaceceshwa. Kuliciniso kutsi kutsatsa umango wonkhe kufundzisa livolontiya. Ngibonga kakhulu, kakhulu kumango wase Nkamanzi nase Sihhohhweni kusivulela emakhaya netindlu tabo. Siyabonga kwenta siciniseko kutsi silungele kuyosebenta emimangweni yetfu. Sifundzile, sadadisha, sitimisele kuchubeka nekufundza sisatinta eveni lakaNgwane.

Babe Bongani Shiba wake watsi, “silitsimba laseMelika eSwatini, lokusho kutsi emimangweni yetfu sitomelela live nebantfu bonkhe baseMelika”. Wachubeka watsi,”nyalo sesimelele mengameli welive laseMelika noma ngukuphi lapho sihamba khona, etifundzeni totine takangwane, nakuto tongu 55 tinkhundla telive”.

Egameni lemavolontiya elishumi nane (14) solo abuya Peace Corps eSwatini, sicela kunatisa nekucinisekisa kutsi sesilungele. Silungele kusita, silungele kunikela lucobo lwetfu emsebentini, nasekweluleni tandla tetfu tebungani kulo lonkhe laseSwatini.
Siyabonga kutfola litfuba lekusita nekusebenta nani.

Sinitsandza nonkhe!

English –

Good afternoon bonkhosi.

I am honored to be addressing you today on behalf of group 14. Just over two months ago, a group of Americans from different walks of life arrived in Swaziland. We had decided to serve. We answered the call of the US Peace Corps to offer ourselves in service and to extend the hand of friendship.

I would like to thank his majesty, King Mswati the third for inviting us to serve here in Swaziland. I would like to thank all of the Peace Corps Swaziland training staff. I would like to offer special appreciation to our teachers who ensured that we knew siSwati and the cultural norms of Swaziland. I would also like to acknowledge all of the presenters and guest speakers who spoke to us during our training. It is true that it takes an entire community to raise a volunteer. I offer our thanks and gratitude to the villages of Nkamandzi and Sihhoweni for sharing your piece of Swaziland with each of us. Thank you for ensuring that we are ready to serve. We have learned. We have studied. We are committed to continued learning as we integrate into Swaziland.

Babe Bongani Shiba one told me that we are the US delegation in Swaziland. That in the community, we represent everything that America is, and all Americans. Babe Shiba simplified it to say that, “right now, you represent the president of the United States”. All across this great kingdom. In four regions and 55 tinkhundla. On behalf of the 14th group of Peace Corps trainees to be sworn in since the Peace Corps returned to Swaziland, please know that we are ready. We are ready to listen. We are ready to help. We are ready to offer ourselves in service and extend the hand of friendship across the kingdom of Swaziland.

Thank you for allowing us to serve.

Be kind to yourself.
Onward.

Uyasikhuluma singisi?, or 50 Shades of SiSwati

by Kirby P., posted in Peace Corps Swaziland

I’m happy to announce that PST is quickly approaching its end. We are less than one week away from officially swearing in as Peace Corps volunteers. I am very excited to move to my permanent site, and start settling in. This past week, my training cohort and I completed another series of interviews to assess our readiness to serve as Peace Corps volunteers. One of those interviews was the Language Proficiency Interview, or LPI. It’s a special feeling to be sitting across from the tester, and not knowing what is being said.

We have been going to language lessons between four to six times per week since mid-June. Learning siSwati has presented various challenges for me. I am not fluent in any language other than English. I know some pleasantries in Spanish, and bit less in French and Russian. One of the things that initially scared me about siSwati is that it’s a tonal language with clicks. The language has many more complexities than I initially thought. There’s the subject-verb agreement, which I am used to. Then, there’s something called the subject concord, which also has to agree. I won’t get into that.

While I find siSwati challenging, I also find it intriguing. Like many languages, there are words that don’t translate directly. For example, there is no direct translation for “respiratory therapy” in siSwati. Instead, a siSwati speaker would say “one who helps with illnesses of the chest”. Contrast this with the word, “divorce”. There is no translation, direct or otherwise, for “divorce”. I have also learned that there is no direct or indirect translation for “affair” (as in the extramarital type) or “orgasm”. Then, there’s a siSwati word, tsandza. Tsandza means “like”, as in “I like chicken”. But tsandza also means love, because there is no proper siSwati word for love. So, ngitsandza inkhukhu could mean “I like chicken”, or “I love chicken”.

It was also a transition to get used to how words are made into plurals. In English, there is one dog, but two dogs. In siSwati, there is one inja, but two tinja. In English, you have one sister, and two brothers. In siSwati, you have one sisi, and two bobhuti.

Overall, it’s been great learning the language. Everyone has been very kind and patient with my language learning struggles and triumphs. This includes the lady who didn’t get angry or upset when I insisted on her giving me a wife, when I thought I was trying to order a fatcake (a delicious, fried doughy pastry).

Thank you very much, or Ngiyabonga kakhulu.

Be kind to yourself.
Onward.

P.s. – Uyasikhuluma singisi? translates into “do you speak English?”

An Appreciation

by Kirby P., posted in Uncategorized

There are some things that I have really come to enjoy and appreciate since arriving in Swaziland almost two months ago. And host family appreciation day is quickly approaching.

For starters, my host family is pretty amazing. They are super kind and considerate. For the first week that I spent in the homestead experience, one of the children brought me hot water for my bath every morning at 6 AM. Like clockwork. With that being said, I appreciate the family culture here. There is also a big community culture here. The community takes care of its own. Family is important. That includes those with and without blood relation.

My family has avocado trees in the yard. I think I’ve eaten more avocados and things made with avocado in the past seven weeks than I have in my entire life. The avocados are abundant and delicious. As I looked at the avocado trees one day, it dawned on me that whoever planned these trees probably never enjoyed these avocados as I am. For that person, and all tree planters around the world, I thank you. Some families in my community have farms. This means that I’m able to walk down the road and find fresh broccoli, carrots, spinach, cauliflower and more. I get to practice my siSwati, support local business, and get high quality produce.

It’s winter in Swaziland right now. Despite this, I am able to walk around my homestead in shorts and a long sleeve shirt most days. On clear nights, I can look up to the sky and see many stars. One of the members of my cohort pointed out Mars one night. I have a newfound appreciation for the galaxy beyond this planet. There’s a certain serene-ness that I experience on those really clear, quiet nights.

I’m thankful for all of these things, and for the amazement yet to be seen.

Be kind to yourself.
Onward. 

Photo Post: July 2016

by Kirby P., posted in pictures

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Three out of my four young bobhuti in my training host family. They wanted a picture. Wish granted.

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Half of our language class, with our thishela. It’s always the right time for a selfie.

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That’s me cutting the chicken’s neck while a thishela holds the chicken’s body. It’s a real farm to table experience. Photo credit – Timmya D.

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During a school visit, we were waiting on the teacher to show up. I entertained questions about life in America. Photo credit – Timmya D.

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Meet Deborah, right, and Lakia. These young ladies are in my cohort (G14). They graciously agreed to be subjects as I work on my photog skills.

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As a part of our training, we visited the sangoma, or traditional healer. He calls on the ancestors to heal folks of various ailments.

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We were privileged to journey to Milwane Game Reserve. A walk through the game park revealed stupendous sights.

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During our visit to the Matenga Cultural Village, Darah was invited up to join the dance. The cultural village educates people on Swazi culture and traditions.

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If you know me, you know I love bicycles. These bobhuti allowed me to ride their bike for a bit. No tires. No chain. No cog. No seat. No problem. Photo credit – Timmya D.

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Each one, teach one. Meaghan and Darah talk to some local children about gardening after our permagardening session.

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This is Letty. Her shirt caught my attention. I find out that a local guy makes them. I’m excited to buy local and support small business.

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At the end of a long day of a practicum, this permagarden is the result. Team work makes the dream work.

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After playing catch, they stopped for a picture. Lots of love captured here.

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I’m not sure who took this photo, but here are almost all of the currently serving volunteers (and trainees) at the Fourth of July celebration hosted by our country director. Peace Corps Swaziland!

Be kind to yourself.
Onward.

Let’s play a little game

by Kirby P., posted in Uncategorized

One of the ways that I have been hanging out with my bobhuti na bosisi (brothers and sisters) is playing games at home. I bought a deck of playing cards, and learned a few tricks to share with my bobhuti na bosisi. The tricks were well received, and met with faces of wonder and amazement.

Some of my bobhuti decided to teach me some of the card games they play here. The first game they taught me was called, “Casino”. I still don’t understand how exactly it works. I do remember a few things about the game and its rules. Each card has a value. All numbered cards are that number’s value. Jacks are worth 11. Queens are worth 12. Kings are worth 13. Aces are worth either 14 or 1. To win, you have to build a home, which is a stack of cards. Whoever has the most spades in their home wins.

One of my bhuti taught me how to play a card game called, “AK-47”. Each player is dealt four cards. Each player begins her/his turn by picking up a card from the deck, which is face down, and discarding one card face up. A player can also pick up one card from the discarded pile. The goal of the game is to get an ace, a king, a four, and a seven. These cards do not have to be the same suit. This game was really simple to grasp. Because of that, I really enjoyed it.

Another game that my bobhuti taught me was called, “Stomach”. The cards are spread in a circle face down. Each player begins his/her turn by picking up any card in the circle and placing it face up in the center of the circle. When the next player starts her/his turn, s/he cannot repeat the suit on top of the face up pile. If the suit does repeat, that player must pick up the entire pile of face up cards. S/he will then turn over a new card to start a new face up pile. Once all of the cards in the face down circle are gone, the next player will play a card in the face up pile. Whatever card is played cannot repeat the suit of the card on top of the discard pile. If the suit is repeated, that player must pick up the entire pile. When a player has no more cards, that player wins. I asked one of the boys why the game was called, “Stomach”. He told me that towards the end of the game when a player has to pick up a large pile of cards, it looks like that person is pregnant or has a large stomach.

I’ll close by saying that while I have enjoyed playing with the children and learning about them through play, I am oft times amazed at the ingenuity of the children around the village. One boy made a model car with scrap metal rods and plastic bottle caps. He is able to steer the car with a metal rod that he pushes. Another boy has made several soccer balls using plastic grocery bags packed with the trash of the homestead. It’s pretty amazing.

Be kind to yourself.
Onward.

Oh, the places you’ll go!

by Kirby P., posted in Uncategorized

This post is written in two parts, and discusses the site placement process. The first post was written on the Wednesday before the site announcement ceremony, and talks about my feelings leading up to Saturday. The second part was written on Saturday, and talks about the site announcement ceremony and my reactions to my future home. Warning! This post is long.

Wednesday July 20th, 2016

Last week, we had our Language Proficiency Interview (LPI), which assesses our language and conversation abilities this far. We also completed other assessments that tested how well we are learning safety and security, and cultural sensitivities.

One of the meetings was designed to state my personal preferences for my permanent site. People can request anything, from the vaguely general to the uber specific. This includes things like the region of the country you would like to be placed in, whether or not you would like electricity, and what kind of features you would like at your site (e.g., family size, animals, fruit trees). Some of my preferences included a warmer region of the country, electricity, and someplace that I can bike. PC staff will meet this week to decide on placements for everyone. We will find out our placements on Saturday, at a site announcement ceremony. I currently feel like a standout college athlete prior to the draft. I’m just waiting for that announcement.

“With the first pick in the Peace Corps Swaziland permanent placement draft, this wonderful family with electricity in an excellent community for biking selects Kirby P. from the Nkamandzi village!”

I have stated my preferences to any staff who would listen, done well on the LPI, and prepared myself to go anywhere. The suspense is building. For now, we wait.

Saturday July 23rd, 2016

This morning, we got to find out where we will spend the next two years! Several members from group 13, or G13, (the group of PCVs who came to Swaziland in June 2015) were on hand to assist with the announcement. We sat in a semi-circle as G13 began their antics. There were large puzzle pieces on the floor in the middle of the semi-circle. These puzzle pieces, 35 in total, made a map of Swaziland. The theme was Dr. Seuss, and there was a lorax and a grinch along with several other characters. The ceremony started with nursery rhymes to get us ready. Then, with all of the anticipation of an NBA or NFL draft, the placements were announced one by one in nursery rhyme. I was extremely excited with a touch of nervousness. There was no particular order to announcing everyone. I knew it was my turn to be unveiled as the nursery rhyme started with:

“I want to hug him,
Like I hugged my Furby.
Stand on up, Mr. Kirby.”

At this point, I am standing with one other person who will be in my region. (Of note: Swaziland is divided into four regions. They are Hhohho, Manzini, Lubombo, and Shiselweni.) We know our respective regions, but nothing about our respective sites yet. There are 28 more announcements to go. One by one, trainees in G14 find out where they will spend the next two years. The number of people in my region grows until the last person has been announced. Then, we are instructed to go outside to find one of the aforementioned puzzle pieces that has our name on it. I excitedly run outside around the building to find someone holding my puzzle piece and yelling my name. I take the puzzle piece inside so that we can work to put the puzzle together. Little by little, we see where we are in relation to each other. Our new homes are represented by a dot on our puzzle piece. All of G14 stands on the map (at the same time). Some folks are really close. Others are kind of far. Then, the G13 folks present stand on the map to show where they live. The excitement is still running high. As some people are getting off of the map, I notice yellow folders being handed out. I track down the person with mine. As I open it, I find a map of Swaziland showing my site, a fact sheet about the community and host family, and the host family profile.

I am excited to announce that I will be living in the Manzini region close to the border of South Africa. I will have a small host family with only one child. The site has one dog and two cats, along with a jojo tank for water. I will have electricity in my hut. Speaking of my hut, I have been told that it is a pretty spacious roundavel. There is even a sewing group in the community that I can join. I scoured the information given for the bike friendliness of my community. I didn’t find it. So, I asked one of the PC staff who had been out to the site. I was told that the site and community are very conducive to biking. I was also told that I am not in a malarial zone of the country, and that I am the first volunteer to be placed in this community.

I’m extremely happy right now, even as I write this post hours after the announcements. I was given everything that I wanted and asked for. I will get to travel to my site some time in the coming week. The excitement continues.

Be kind to yourself.
Onward.

PS – is there anything that you would like see on whatisKirbydoing.com? Let me know!

Photo Post: June 2016

by Kirby P., posted in pictures

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This is a group of almost all most of group 14 from Peace Corps Swaziland. This was the day that we met our training host families and moved in. Things were running on Swazi time, which meant that it was time to capture the perfect selfie.

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After our khombi broke down and we walked to the village, we came upon a soccer game/practice. These young boys were fascinated by Nate’s camera. I think Rachael and Meaghan were intrigued as well.

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Nevermind Clarin’s face in the background. The foreground features me and my teacher. She’s hard on us, but she’s kind and makes sure that we know what we need to know.

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These pictures are from my homestead. The above is a picture from the latrine in the morning. The bottom is a picture of that latrine. This is home.

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Sometimes, after you meet the village chief, you stop for a selfie break with a fellow trainee’s host family. So much beauty in this photo.

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This probably should have been first. When we first arrived from Johannesburg at the training site in Swaziland, all of the Peace Corps training staff came out to greet us. We were happy, if you can’t tell. Photo credit – Nellie

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Nellie captures all the perfect pictures in all of the right moments. We were headed to school/the training site in this one.

That’s all for now. Hopefully, I’m able to share pictures often.

Onward.

Less than ten days to go!

by Kirby P., posted in Uncategorized

There are officially less than ten days before I begin my Peace Corps service. With a little over a week left, it’s surreal.

I have (finally) packed my first piece of checked luggage. I am in the final stages of moving out of my home for past 6+ years. I made the decision that I will be getting rid of anything that is not going with me. There is nothing like a major move to be a reminder that I have entirely too much stuff. It feels great to be letting go of so much as I prepare for the next chapter in my life. 

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Bag one. ✔

I have begun to share farewells with friends. I will be going to my final (for a while) November Project DC workouts this week. I will also be hosting a farewell happy hour hangout on Friday. Feel free to come workout and/or hang if you’re in the DC area.

I have been told that the next week will fly. I am excited for whatever the future holds.

Onward.

Where I’m going, and what I’ll be doing

by Kirby P., posted in Uncategorized

I am excited to be serving as a Youth Development (Peace Corps) volunteer in Swaziland starting in June 2016. You may be wondering where Swaziland is, why I’m going to Swaziland, and what I’ll be doing during my time there.

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Swaziland is a small country in southern Africa that shares borders with South Africa and Mozambique. Swaziland is the only absolute monarchy in the southern hemisphere, and the only remaining monarchy on the African continent. The population hovers around one million people, and is about the size of New Jersey (a northeastern US state). While official government business is conducted in English, Swazi people also speak sis-Swati.

The Peace Corps application process gives an opportunity to state preferences of where you are placed and what area you will focus on. As a social worker, I decided that I would be the most competitive in the Youth Development sector. I stated preferences for Mongolia, Swaziland, and anywhere in the world. The rest is history.

As far as what I will be doing during my service, I am not sure. I know that I will be joining a group of about 40 people from all over the US to start Peace Corps training, which will be in Swaziland. I will be learning more about the assignment(s) as time goes on.

Onward.