A Dissertation in 60 Days?

We arrived safely in Swaziland late Sunday afternoon, checked into Veki’s Guesthouse where we met Rose, who takes good care of all the guests. We talked briefly with Rose, who taught us a few essential SiSwati phrases and then went for a drive to locate the Ministry of Health building, so we would be prepared for our early Monday meeting. I have never met so many friendly, helpful people. We pulled out our map at a stoplight, and the gentleman in the car next to us rolled down his window and got our attention just to ask us where we were trying to go. He gave us directions and let us pass in front of him from the wrong lane to make the turn up the proper road. We got lost again, and when we asked for help, the woman, whose name is Wisdom, had us follow her in her car so she could lead us right to the Ministry building. Upon our return to Veki’s, we found Rose busy at work writing out a long sheet of SiSwati phrases for us to study. By the end of the night, we felt thoroughly welcomed, and the warm welcome was reinforced after our meetings with the Ministry of Health today.

We met so many friendly people, who seemed genuinely happy that we were there and eager to learn from what we might find. In addition to the signed approval letter, I have received all kinds of support in coordinating introductions and schedules with the hospitals. I leave every encounter completely blown away by how productive it was. I know full well that things could take a turn at any moment, but it’s hard not to feel like everything is going to work out fine after such a great 24 hours in Swaziland.

On other news, we actually made it to the US-England World Cup game, which is a whole story in and of itself (more on that later with pictures and video). For now, let’s just say it was well worth the effort of getting the tickets.