A different kind of trip...

This is our third full day in Bulembu.  It's been quite an experience so far, almost completely different than we expected.  The cultural barriers are more strong than I would have thought.  My interviews have been sufficient, but disappointing.  I've actually been quite emotional about it, wanting so badly to connect on a personal level with the people.  Unfortunately I don't feel like I've developed any kind of connection with them.  A lot of it is the language barriers and the lack of ability by the Swazi people to communicate emotion in English.   A sample:

"What was life like when the mine left?"

"hard."

"Tell me about that.  What made it hard?"

"difficult"

"what was different after the mine left compared to before?"

"we had no jobs"

Duhhh....I could have told you that.  So I ask you to pray for more descriptive interviews.  

Trevor's photos have also posed challenges.  Swazi people, for some reason, are very stoic when they know their photo is being taken.  They don't understand the concept of acting normally and going about their business while Trevor does his thing.  They are always stiff, conscious of us because they aren't used to having cameras around.  

Transport has also been a problem.  Every shot opportunity is quite far from the other, requiring more coordination than we would have thought.  Unfortunately candid shots are therefore harder to come by.  Of course Trevor's photos are amazing regardless and the calendar is going to be great.

On Tuesday we went to see the Chief of Malanda, the region Bulembu sits within.  We scheduled an appointment with him and, when we arrived to his house on the hill, he told us he only had twenty minutes.  The man has 26 children and numerous wives.  He is chief because his father and grandfather were both chiefs.  He called the King of Swaziland when Bulembu was in trouble and got them food in 2001.  Most days are spent listening to people's grievances.  A community judge of sorts.

Today I am interviewing a teacher, a plumber and a housekeeper.  We are going to take a wee midday break at some point to rest.  We are quite tired today and I am sunburnt to a crisp.  Hopefully some time at the school with the cute kids will raise my spirits :)