Not In Kansas Anymore

I had big plans and ambitions to blog almost every day while we were in Africa...but obviously that didn't happen. It shouldn't have surprised me that we didn't have internet access after the first two days...after all, TIA (This is Africa). So I will spend the next several days catching you up on blogs I would have posted from Swaziland...had I had internet!

Whenever people ask me for a word to describe myself I have a hard time, but one of my teammates used one this past week that I thought fit well...adaptable. God has wired me to be pretty flexible and adapt to various situations, and for that I am thankful. But even so, whenever I enter a different setting, I have to redefine "normal" and remind myself that I'm "not in Kansas anymore!" Here are a few examples of that different kind of normal in Swaziland, things that made me take a second look or think twice...
- everyone calls you "sisi" (sister) even if they haven't ever met you
- when a cell phone rings, it's not surprising to turn and see someone in traditional tribal clothing pull their phone out of a hidden spot and start talking on it
- many people in Swaziland who have facebook on their phones don't have indoor plumbing and may have never used a toilet or shower in their lives
- when you see men walking cows in the road, it's not as unusual as the fact that they are possibly taking them to pay a bride's father her "bola" (dowry - 17 cows for first and last born daughters, 13 cows for the rest)
- in cultures where people drive on the left side of the road, they walk on the left side of the sidewalk, use the left door, walk up the left staircase, etc.
- it's not surprising for women of all ages, and even men, to have hot flashes because it is so hot!
- visitors often walk around a car once before getting in...because they have forgotten which side of the van the door is on
- when ordering water, you have to specify between tap, still bottled, and sparkling bottled...with or without ice
- it's not uncommon for a 2 lane road to often be driven on as if it has 5 lanes
- chips are fries, crisps are chips, and ketchup is tomato sauce
- it's not uncommon to see a huge baboon on the side of the road as you are driving

There are just a few to give you a glimpse into the last two weeks of my life...much more on Swaziland to come over the next several days!