Swaziland was a great introduction to the southern part of Africa. Coming from East Africa where it was lusciously green and there were rolling hills to southern Africa where the plains were flat and you got the idea of the true Savannah. It was a different side to Africa that I am enjoying getting to see. There is so much to this continent that I love finding out about. The people were very different. I found the people that we came in contact with loved to strike up random conversations but I had trouble connecting with adults and children at the ministry site. They were kind but they were shy, combine that with my own shyness and it’s a great mix for awkward eye contact and minimal conversations.
My random conversations usually happened on buses with guys. The first one that I had kind of threw me for a loop. We were on our way to Manzini to get Internet and see what we could find to do. Usually the buses were so full that we couldn’t sit with people we knew so I sat down next to a guy who seemed pretty innocent looking. As the bus ride went on I zoned out until the guy asked me the intro question, “Where are you from?” I responded and we exchanged names (his I couldn’t pronounce for anything) and I told him why we were in Swaziland. Then he asked me if I would marry a black man I met on this trip. I was taken aback… what do you say to a question like that? I said no and he asked me why not. (Oh gosh, when is this conversation ever going to end?! How far until Manzini?) I told him that I wasn’t allowed to date or get married while I was on the trip. (I went with the escape route answer.) He seemed placated by that response so I breathed a sigh of relief—a bit too soon apparently. He then came up with an alternative to no marriage right away. “Well, what about if you give me your phone number and then I can call you in America and we can have a relationship long distance?” (I laughed then, at the thought of a relationship with such a cultural difference and a language barrier all under the umbrella of long distance.) “Sorry, I don’t have a phone right now and long distance is really expensive!” Was the answer that came out of my mouth. (Really Natasha? You couldn’t just shut him down? Ugh, it’s never that easy and I am stuck sitting next to him for another 30 minutes.) I enjoyed a few more minutes of silence until he said, “What about email? Do you have an email account?” (Oh, he got me there.) “Yes, I do.” Miraculously he did not ask for it just then. The conversation went silent then long enough for our bus stop to come up unexpectedly and us rush off the bus. So quick, in fact, that he did not have the opportunity to get my email address.
I had multiple other strange conversations with the men, some were unpleasant but others had me laughing pretty hard. I enjoyed Swaziland for it’s beauty and the kindness of the people but I’m very excited to be here in South Africa!
