1. In America, strollers are considered the main form of transportation for an infant; however, in Swaziland, this is not so. Rather, you’ll see women walking around with babies tied to their backs with blankets. The baby fits nice and snug, and you save a lot of money on expensive baby gear!
2. South African currency is accepted nearly everywhere in Swaziland. You may pay for something in one currency at a store and get the other back in change!
3. Kentucky Fried Chicken is probably the most popular American restaurant in the world. It’s literally everywhere. We have come to love it too especially in Swaziland where an ice cream cone costs 45 cents!
4. Many buildings in Swaziland are constructed slightly different than in the United States. Most including the ones we’ve lived in have walls that stop about a foot from the ceiling. Basically, the building is one big room with partial walls throughout with outer walls being the only that reach to the ceiling.
5. You will also see many traditional Swazi buildings. These round thatched roof huts are at many peoples’ homes, and even at the national park we spent a night in!
6. Several ladies work and care for the children at El Shaddai. These women and any in Swaziland who care for children not their own are referred to as “aunties.”
7. In Swaziland, they eat pork, but they tend to eat it differently than the U.S. I walked past some of the aunties trimming the hair off a pig’s head getting ready to cook it for that night’s dinner!
8. Swaziland is a beautiful, mountainous country. We live on top of one of these mountains and can see for miles.
9. So many people walk around without shoes here. Yes, some don’t have them, but there are many who just choose not to wear them. Rarely, have I seen the little boys (and some adults) at El Shaddai run through the dirt with their shoes!
10. Here in Swaziland men select their wives a little differently than in the United States. They pay for them in cows. If someone is interested in asking for your hand in marriage, he will ask how many cows it will take to marry you!
11. Several pigeons had decided to make the roof of our kitchen home and were being quite a nuisance. Jokes had been made about having a pigeon roast. Little did we know that some of the kids would run up to us a few weeks later eating roast pigeon for a snack. Problem solved.
