CHRISTMAS IN SWAZILAND

Christmas seemed to be a very quiet holiday here in the kingdom. On Christmas Eve, Krista and Brian, and Kyra showed up to stay with us. (K & B have neither elec nor running water, Kyra has no running water.) After supper, we left them here at home to hang their stockings with care, while the two of us were picked up to go to a caroling and dessert party at Mabuda Farms. Picture 1 shows the threatening weather for Christmas Eve.

Picture 2 is the dessert table after candlelight caroling. Our invitation was at the behest of acquaintances at Good Shepherd Hospital. Mostly hidden behind Mike on the right is Dr Pons who owns Mabuda Farm and is the ophthalmologist at Good Shepherd (and the only one in the kingdom). Mabuda is 2.5 km from us; it has facilities for backpackers and is the largest dairy in the kingdom and has a beautiful setting.


Picture 3 is Christmas morning and everyone is checking his laptop for Christmas greetings. I made my usual pancake breakfast which Mo says I’m noted for. The breakfast isn’t unusual, but the ingredients are different. I start with coarse, dark Swazi flour; add brown eggs (we’ve never seen a white egg here—and there is frequently a surprise next to the yolk—are these fertilized eggs?); a little coarse, dark Swazi sugar; dilute with emasi (emasi is often compared to buttermilk but we liken it to quark which we discovered in Switzerland—more liquid than sour cream [which we can’t find here], but more solid than buttermilk). We top it off with honey or simple syrup (because we can’t get maple syrup locally—we just found some and brought it back from Nhlangano). They are served with “bacon” (which resembles thin, Canadian bacon that never crisps). Then, the five of us were picked up again for transport to Mabuda Farm.

Picture 4 is the grill at our braai on Christmas Day back at Mabuda. A picnic and braai is a typical celebration for Christmas here. Note the meats to the side of the grill which included wildebeest vurst (as well as pork, beef, chicken, and another wurst). It was cool and rainy so none of us got in the pool.




Picture 5: The buffet line. There were about 25 of us very loosely associated with Good Shepherd; we represented ten different English-speaking countries but, unfortunately, there were only about 4-5 host country nationals. So I guess you would say we had a white Christmas.




Picture 6 is a look into mid-veld Swaziland from Mabuda Farm—verdant after all the rain.


Picture 7: Right after our Christmas visitors left, Katie, Lauren, Shauna, and Daniel showed up. Unlike Christmas Day, the temperature was around 30C and humid so we finally got our time in the pool before bringing them home. This picture was taken of them after trying to keep up with Mo & Po and our stimulating conversation; only Shauna was conscious and is not in this picture. (The real reason for including this picture is so that Leonard can see his Merry Xmas banner hanging.) The day after they left, we departed for our New Year’s celebration which is the subject of my next blog.