Back in the USA!

I am sitting in the Atlanta airport right now, after a 16 hour and 10 minute flight from Johannesburg "Joberg". I went into clinic yesterday (Friday) morning and said my goodbyes to the clinic staff. It was sad! I was so tired (and I definitely look it in the photos!)

Sister Senani, me, and Jono outside the entrance to the eye clinic (where I spent MANY hours!)

I also added my name to "the wall" in the clinic. Jono has, for the last several years, invited long-ish term volunteers, medical students, etc to write their names on the wall.

I had been given two Swazi names: Siphiwe (meaning "we have been given"), but Sister Senani though that Nonhlanhla (meaning "mother of luck") was more appropriate. I had to ask the clinic staff how to spell it, and clearly we didn't get it right...ooops!

The wall of names.

Angela took me to the new airport: King Mswati III International Airport (apparently it was originally named "Sikhuphe International Airport", but then was renamed to honor the current King). They don't have all their kinks worked out, so it took awhile to get on the plane. It is very nice and new, but VERY empty :-/ Angela commented that we headed in under the 'International Departures' sign, but as all flights are leaving Swaziland, there are no domestic flights!

My last drive down the Mabuda driveway (you can tell I was getting sad/sentimental). The purple on the ground are the blossoms from the beautiful Jacaranda trees, which are very common in Africa and have been in bloom for the last month.

Leaving Mabuda farm for the airport.

Helen (Mrs. Pons) and me

The new airport in Swaziland.

Ebola fever! Sign at the airport.

 

Leaving Swaziland!

I flew to Joberg without problem and then it was on to Atlanta. Of course, getting back into the States is always a little frustrating. A lot more security issues on the plane, in the airport, etc.

Passengers filling out Ebola questionnaires in South Africa. The people in yellow vests are the health monitors. They are trying desperately to keep Ebola out of South Africa.

I am exhausted and conveniently on call today. However, I will say I am blown away by the stellar senior residents at Dean McGee (dedicated, intelligent, good clinical and surgical skills), so I don't anticipate many issues. I should be "home" in Oklahoma City in just a few short hours.

I think I might write one more entry about my overall experience, but it will take sometime to truly process my time in Africa.

Suffice to say, for now, that I had an amazing time, am thankful for the opportunity, and absolutely love Swaziland and the gentle, kind, wonderful, honest, hard-working, caring Swazis.

At our last Bible study on Wednesday night, Jono asked me to give a little speech and to recount my most memorable experiences, which did include getting pulled over by the cops a total of 8 times in three months...(thanks for tattling Ang!). I told him and Helen that I have lived abroad in three different countries (Spain and Japan each for a year and Honduras for two months), and that I have never been so not ready to leave a country, and I thought that spoke volumes about Jono, Helen, Mabuda Farm, the hospital, my coworkers, and most importantly, the Swazis. Swaziland holds a very special place in my heart, and I cannot wait to return.

Last day of work!

Today was my last day of work, and it was the best "last day of work" I have ever had! We had surgeries in the morning. I did a squamous cell carcinoma excision and two small incision cataract surgeries, which went really well. I had saved Jono the last scrub gown, presuming he would have to scrub in and help me out during the surgery, but he never needed to suit up! Success! It felt really good.

My final cataract surgery in Swaziland with Setha as my scrub tech.

My surgery on the video screen :-)

Setha and me holding the nucleus (cataract) after my surgery.

Me and Zanele



Lens nucleus (cataract).


After clinic, we had carrot cake (that I had purchased in South Africa over the weekend) from a really nice bakery. Everyone loved it, and it was fun to have a treat after a long day in the O.R. (or should I say "theater"?!)

Angela, Sister Senani, Jono, me, Zanele, and Setha

On Wednesday, Jono had promised me a ride over Swaziland in his airplane. I was pretty nervous (and I think he could tell!) After work, we went to the hangar on his property, got the plane ready, and flew over the farm, the hospital, the mountains... It was SO fun. Angela accompanied me. I actually got to take two rides! I got some great photos and it was so memorable.

Plane in the hangar



Me and Ang before the ride

The pilot

The cliffs where Jono took us hiking the day before.



Mabuda house below

The runway in the distance

Takeoff



Taking flight over Mabuda Farm

Mabuda house in the distance and the cattle barn in the foreground.

Good Shepherd hospital. I worked in the building in the middle with the red roof.

One of King Mswati III's many houses (just over the wing).

After we got off the plane, we rushed home to clean up because Jono and Helen were hosting a goodbye party for me. We had prawn and cashew green curry (prawns provided to us by one of our Mozambican eye patients), salad, wine, and the most delicious granadilla  (passion fruit) dessert. We exchanged gifts. Helen and Jono got me two amarula glasses from the Ngwenya glass factory (they are beautiful!). I got Jono the book "Unbroken", which I ready here on my ipad and he has been wanting to read, Helen a pretty scarf, and Sister Senani some body lotion and a candle of a mother elephant with a baby elephant. I told her there was underlying meaning: the Queen Mother of Swaziland is represented by an elephant, and Sister Senani was like the Queen Mother of the eye clinic. She was always helping me out, telling me what TO do and what NOT to do. She and I got along very well, occasionally we had our little tiffs (Jono said we fought "like sisters"). So I told her she was the mama elephant and I was the baby elephant. She got a kick out of it.

Sister Senani, me, Angela, Helen, and Jono (in his Swazi shirt) having drinks before dinner at Mabuda House.

My going away dinner

Hitchhikers

Along the road in Swaziland, there are many people asking for rides. There is basically one major road that goes West to East across the country, which lends itself to people asking for a hitch to the next town. I usually am in a rush to get to work and don't pick up these people, but today I had to make a quick, early-morning trip to the Malkerns (about an hour and twenty minute drive from Sitkei).

Snake lilies on the side off the road

I noticed that early in the morning, there are a lot of police stops on the road. The police stand in the road and wave you over to the side to check your license, car registration, etc. I, unfortunately, was one of the lucky ones to get pulled over on Wednesday. It was fine and the cop was very nice. But I always hate the hassle.

I was cleared to go, and as I approached Manzini, I pulled over to pick up a lady. (Mom, this is VERY safe in Swaziland, I promise!). She motioned to her two other friends to hop in the car. I started talking to them, and they were cleaning ladies in Manzini. One of the ladies mentioned that there were "very few buses out today", and so they had been waiting a particularly long time. I asked why there were so few buses, and she replied, "because there are many police today!". Now, to understand why the bus drivers are scared to drive when the police are out in full force, you have to understand the condition of the buses on the road in Swaziland. Most of them are dilapidated, completely filled over capacity, with the blackest black exhaust pouring out of the exhaust pipe. Not to mention, I have no idea if the bus registrations are up to date! So I guess the bus drivers all call each other to warn of police stops and the buses stay off the road on those particular days. Interesting.

I also picked up another lady on the way home, who worked at a nearby orphanage. She was describing the high numbers of orphans. She (who was a Swazi herself), also began to comment on the Swazi's "total lack of family planning". The culture is definitely to have many kids in quick succession at a young age, however, I thought this was an interesting comment on her part.

I realized you can learn a lot about Swazi culture by acting as a taxi-woman!

When I got back to the clinic, I asked Jono, "What is your opinion on giving rides to people on the side of the road, because I may have done so today...". He was fine with it and agreed it was completely safe. I often use his facial expressions upon hearing my stories to gauge whether something was a good idea or a bad idea.

After work, Jono told me, Ang, and Dr. Gregor to pack up our stuff. He wanted to have tea on some "special rocks". He took us to the Muti Muti Conservancy which is an area of land he helps protect. It overlooks his property and the valley below. It was gorgeous!

Dr. Pons on the left, Dr. Gregor (retina specialist who just retired from Moorfields in London) on the right.

Wildflowers

South African-isms versus American-isms

Angela and I had great fun on the car ride back from Durban to Siteki (6 hours) talking about some of the major differences in our use of the English language. We normally understand one another perfectly, but there are some words they use that are very different from our language in the U.S.

We had a good start on the list, and then when we got home, Jono and Helen had fun adding in their two-cents worth!

Enjoy :)

Listed first is the South African/Swaziland English and next is the American English version.

lip ice = Chapstick
takkies (pronounced "tackys") = tennis shoes
bakkie (pronounced "bucky") = pickup truck
boot = trunk (of car)
bonnet = hood (of car)
serviettes = napkins
nappies = diapers
maths = math
robot = traffic light
avo = avocado
veg = vegetables
toilet = restroom or bathroom
mieles = sweet corn
theater = operating room
petrol = gas
road works = construction
biscuit = cookie
chips = French fries
zed = the letter "z" (so my name would be spelled "L-I-Zed"
handbag = purse
purse = money wallet for a woman
a kitchen tea = bridal shower
braai = BBQ
chicken mayo = chicken salad
a plaster = a Bandaid
bring and share = potluck
potluck = I don't know what we are having for dinner, just whatever is in the fridge
pudding = dessert
starter = appetizer
go on holiday = take a vacation
overtake = pass (in a car)
torch = flashlight
primary school = elementary school
zebra stripes = crosswalk
parking bay = parking spot
car park = parking garage
shongolo = millipede
granadilla = passion fruit
swimming costume = swimsuit
packet = a bag (when checking out at a store, "would you like a packet?"

Another thing I have found interesting is the Swazi's use of "yes" and "no".
For example, if I ask the question, "Sister, you didn't turn off the lights did you?" She would reply "yes", confirming that she did not turn off the lights. However, South Africans and Americans would say "no", as in, "No I didn't turn off the lights".

This may not seem all that confusing, but when in clinic, I would say, "The doctor didn't give you any medication, did he?" and the patient would respond "yes", (translation: yes, you are correct, the doctor didn't give me any medication), whereas I would say "no".

At any rate, it often made for confusion for both me and Dr. Pons. I felt like I was saying, "yes?", "no?", "yes?"... I had to learn to be careful how I asked questions!

Weekend in South Africa with Ang

 

Angela and I spent the weekend at the Drakensberg, and then we headed on to her house in South Africa. She is South African, but is living in Swaziland for the year, serving as the clinic administrator. She still has her house in Durban, so we went to check on it.

We left on Friday morning and headed to "The Berg" (how the South Africans often refer to the Drakensberg.  We crossed the border in Lavumisa (Southern border) and then stopped for breakfast in Pongola. We went to Wimpy for burgers :)  At one point, we started chatting about our friend Jill. Two minutes later, who should show up, but Jill and her friend. It is such a small world! They also live in Swaziland, but had taken a day trip to South Africa. It was so nice to see them.

There has also been a postal strike in South Africa for the last two months. It is awful. It has delayed many of the postcards that I sent, a package I sent to my sister, and it is very frustrating for the clinic as well (unable to get eye drops, etc). At any rate, Mary (Jill's friend) found out we were going to Durban and there were several things she has been trying to obtain for weeks, but can't because of the postal strike. So we agreed to help her out and bring things back for her. Serendipitous!

The kids walking to school on Friday morning. They walk along fairly busy roads to get to school, all with no parental supervision. It is just a different way of life here in Africa. I can imagine all the parents in the U.S. freaking out at the thought of this.

Sugarcane on its way to the sugarcane plant.

Sugarcane plant. Sugarcane farming is Swaziland's largest industry.

This guy was just wandering on the side of the road...

Crossing the border into South Africa...

The ladies: Liz (American), Jill (English), Mary (Zimbabwean), Angela (South African). We were quite the international group!

Houses in South Africa

South African Countryside

A homestead in South Africa, near the Drakensberg.



It was a beautiful day for a drive! You can see the Drakensberg in the distance.

The lighting was really neat!

The Drakensberg mountains (they form the Eastern border of Lesotho).

Ang and I thought that this church was so pretty...unfortunately there was an old toilet bowl sitting out front...

We arrived in the early afternoon. We checked in, and it promptly turned cloudy and started raining. So we read and watched TV (neither of us has watched TV in over 3 months!)


 

Cathedral peak is the most famous/highest peak in this area of the Drakensberg mountains.

Drakensberg

The view out of our cottage window.



Our room at Didima.

Unfortunately, it was a very rainy day. But it was perfect weather for some R & R!

The next day (Saturday) was rainy as well. But Angela and I decided to go on a hike to Doreen Falls. We had a map from the hotel, but we soon realized it was terrible! The map wasn't to scale, landmarks were missing, etc. So our 2 hour hike turned into a 5 hour hike! Along the way, we ran into some Irishmen, who were also hiking to Doreen Falls, and like us, had gotten lost. So we stuck together and the five of us finally made it back to our starting point 5 hours later. It was great fun though, and we didn't get much rain during the hike.



Ang and the Irishmen hiking in the Drakensberg.



Doreen Falls (we finally found it!)



Ang with our well-used (and much hated!) map...

Sunday was rainy (again!), so we got up, had breakfast and headed to Durban (3 hour drive). We drove through the countryside on the "Midlands Meander", which is a route with little rural shops and restaurants along the way. It was a beautiful drive, and we even stopped to test a little South African beer :) We stayed at Angela's house on both Sunday and Monday nights. She was a great hostess and we had a lot of fun.

Rainy day!

Getting out of the cold!

Dinner at Stretta Italian restaurant in Hillcrest

Angela's house.

We made it back on Tuesday afternoon. We met Helen at the horse barn (we had some things to discuss). At any rate, when we got to the horse barn, we realized it was dentist day for the horses! Yep, the South African large-animal dentist came to work on the horses pearly whites. It was quite interesting!

 

Inspecting the bite.

The horse even got a mouth rinse afterwards!

It was a great trip, and very kind of Jono to let me take a couple days to head to South Africa!