The Young Family: Journey to South Africa

I've started this post a few times. Trying to figure out how to put our trip to South Africa into "words". Trying to do the pictures and our memories, and our special time, justice. There probably isn't a way to do that in lay mans terms! I guess, it's just one of those things that would have to be experienced in order to fully understand what the pictures are, what they mean to us, and what type of trip this was.

I'll start out by saying, "This was a trip of a lifetime". Really. I mean, we won't do it again, will never experience South Africa as a first. It will be a distant memory soon. One that we can remember by the photos. By things that were written down and by our emotions.

I don't think any of us really expected what we saw. I don't think it was what we imagined either. That's not bad. Just how it was. I've listened to and read many stories from my parents over the past year. You have a picture in your mind, yet it's another scenerio when it actually happens. That's the beauty of experience though. You get to put real pictures into your mind. You get to put real memories into your life. There are many pictures here. I could have included a hundred more really. It will be a great photo book if I ever get around to it. But, it was a trip to remember. It was traveling with my two best friends. It was a trip to see two people that we missed like crazy. A year is a long time to go without a hug from your parents, folks. But to me, it was really special because I was able to experience their life. Their daily routine. The struggles and joys and heartaches that they've experienced. And now, we will have something special to talk about. About "Sister Maid" and Mac, and the school children who we seriously made a great contribution to better their lives. My parents do that every day, just by being there. They are special people. The people of Swaziland know this. They do not want my parents to leave. They love them unconditionally. As my parents love them. My parents are just good people. I always know people realize this. But, it was joyful to see the lives they have touched. To see bright (white) smiles when my parents approached a room. To see these natives hug my parents and know that they will always be remembered. That's why this was a great trip. For all of us.

Welcome to our journey. To SLC, JFK, Johannesburg, South Africa, Swaziland, and Ezulwini. To the other side of the world and back again. To a different culture, a different way of life, a struggling nation, but a grateful people. A good people. A happy people.

So let it begin.

After an exhausting, nearly 2 days of traveling, 16 straight hours on a plane that I was sure would have me parachuting out at 50,000 feet, several movies, staring into the deep abyss they call a cabin, and eye rolling with my companions, we landed in the Johannesburg airport on a sunny morning. It's a strange feeling landing in an airport so foreign. A little panic set in actually. A little cluelessness. Hey, let's try to get a taxi and not get mugged or taken somewhere and robbed and dropped off or beaten. We lucked out and got to ride in a "Mercedes" to our hotel, by a perfectly nice and capable taxi driver. According to our driver, "the rich, white area" we were staying for the day/night, was a distance away, and we were already exposed to some dire conditions on the drive, and our first experience of "no holds barred" driving. Squeezing into spaces we almost didn't fit and evading traffic laws.

We arrived to the hotel, but could not check in for several hours. At this point we were stinky, sweaty, needed a good toothbrushing, and almost on the verge of zombie-ism, not to mention slightly short-tempered and cranky (or maybe that was just me). We killed some time walking around the mall that bordered our hotel and trying to patiently await a shower. Johannesburg was interesting. At the departure end of our trip, we actually drove through more parts of the city, that honestly had me scared to death. Past an area that is famous for kids "smashing and grabbing"-meaning they smash a window and grab your purse sort of thing. I always know my fears are confirmed when Mike says something like "Not going to lie. That scared #$##$ outta me". Fear justified! We took an overpriced, under-communicated trip to the Apartheid Museum. It was alright. I'd rather watch a film or something. It's amazing that those racisms were still happening not that long ago. Nelson Mandela was an amazing person who changed the lives of so, so many. It was a great tribute to his works. But it was more just passing time until my parents were able to come get us the next day.

Finally, Thursday arrived and they met us at our hotel. They had a friend of theirs drive them into the city. There were up early for the long drive and I'm glad they didn't drive it. After driving through it, I don't blame them:) Small town, Idaho driving, and even law abiding driving in Utah, are easy peasy compared to driving there. It was heavenly being reunited with them. Great to be able to talk and just be in the same area! We were stuck in traffic, none to different than rush hour in L.A. for an hour and some time. Getting out of the city was not unlike driving through barren Arizona land really. The odd thing was, you would see people walking in the middle of nowhere. Walking. That's what they do really well. I'll have some pictures later. We also passed some insanely poor areas. Houses made out of mud. Thousands of houses made out of tin, cardboard, sticks, etc. It's honestly like nothing you have really seen. I mean, I've been in some poor places in the United States and even in Mexico. It's always a little shocking I guess.

This picture below is at the border. You can't see much, but it was our first glimpse of what their life is like on a weekly basis. You don't go anywhere really, without crossing a border. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's not. My parents have been turned away after a few hours of waiting, they have had their truck searched and questioned extensively, but luckily, while with us, we just went through. By that I mean, you get a ticket with your license plate written down on it, you show it to one person, they write the number in your car. You get out, wait in a line, give one person your passport who checks everything, verifies it's you, stamps it, gives it back, you walk out the door, down the street, in another building, wait in line, show that person your passport, etc, then you get back in your car and if you are lucky, the guards nod you through, or they check your vehicle, then you are on your way!

Swaziland is one of the smallest countries in Africa. It is ruled by a King. He has 14 wives. He had just held his annual week long Reed Dance event to have all the ladies between 4-20something come dance in his arena without tops. It's quite the celebrations. While we were not privy to seeing this...we did see the newspaper:) He did not pick a wife out of thousands this year. Probably a good thing. He should work on taking care of his other wives, but probably more importantly his country. You would see a house up on the hill that was lavish and beautiful and owned by a wife and several by her family, only to see a valley below of people living in boxes by the river. Most of the city area is very American though. We ate Chinese, and great Burgers. We drank our Diet Coke, and we were spoken to and could communicate in English because it is their primary language. Everyone was kind. Everyone was helpful. There are places that are so covered in trash. They don't have a trash system, dump, etc. It's pretty much just where you are finished you throw. They have heard that the annual income is about $100/month. That's not a typo. That's why so many eat just rice and beans. It's why they suffer from diabetes as well. However, food is a little cheaper. I was in awe at a bag of avocados that were $1....for 6!

Swaziland also has the highest area in the WORLD that is afflicted with AIDS. They don't usually live in monogamous relationships. The men die young, or get a young girl pregnant and they go on their way. Most of them are already taking care of their parents and family and do not want to be responsible for anyone else. I'm not sure this container is helping much but education is becoming better. This is at the border office that you stand in line to show your passport.

I'll include this first and get it over with....my dad getting pulled over. While he was technically speeding, their police don't necessarily care about tickets. They usually take cash bribes. They stand as a crew and scan you, then pull you over. He told my dad he needed him to come with him. While on his "phone", he tried to tell my dad he needed to take him to the station to get it settled. Luckily, my dad has experience in being pulled over :) Pulled out his wallet, gave him a little cash, they slyly hide it away, and off we went.

My parents live on several beautiful acres of property. The church rents 2 homes on this property. There are security guards that walk around the property 24/7, and even this E-normous guard dog that is let out at night. I was scared to death of it. The pictures I took of him standing next to Mike were blurry, but he easily was belly high. He's "color" trained to attack, well, "color":) There are missionaries that have been bitten buy him and they, of course, are scared to death of him. You can imagine their fear EVERY day as they leave the home on foot, and return in the evening. He's usually locked up until dark but not always. Anyway, their property is owned by Afrikkans. They run a nursery on the property and so it is full of beautiful trees, plants, flowers, etc. There were mango trees and lemon and avocado trees (which none were in season dang it). It's very quiet. You have to travel down a rutted out dirt road for a bit to get there, but once there you are down in a little ravine area and secluded from a lot. The owners also raise some animals you wouldn't normall see just hanging out like pets :)

My mom has talked about the monkeys around the property. This is directly out their front door. There are several of them that come around daily. Even if you had seen them 6 times, it's still a really cool site to witness randomly. (Can you see the baby hanging onto the mommy eating out of the bin?!)

I was SO bummed mangoes weren't in season. This tiny little burst of one had a glorious smell of a mango though.

These purple trees are called Jackoramas and I could never tire of seeing them. They were beautiful and SO big. It was funny to see people that had them around their property out there sweeping the fallen petals up into piles!! Just like we would do leaves.

It was foggy almost every day. But it reminded me so much of being in Kauai actually. The mountains are very green and lush with trees. The fog rolls in and covers them like it does there.

These are pictures of their home. They have bars on the windows, and you can't open the windows due to bugs and such. It's a beautiful place and a very nice home. Plenty of room for them.

They have to drive up and down this rutted hill

My parents Bakki. It's an Isuzu truck and my dad barely fits in there but you have to have these to get around most roads in South Africa. There are about a thousand speed bumps, and some only 100 yards apart, and lots of dirt, deeply rutted roads. My dad has become a very aggressive driver!! He will need some driving aggression detox when they get home :) It's amazing that someone who's driven on roads their entire 60+ years and then can go to a foreign country, drive a stick shift, opposite side of the road, etc. and do well. I'm proud of you dad! It was just a shocker to go from "farm driving dad" to "foreign traffic dad".

Aren't these old school toys just awesome. These were just tiny versions as well.

They call this dog George. He basically lives off the missionaries and my parents:)

We asked this lady if she would let us take a picture of her packing her baby around with her. 6 months old. But these kids get carried like this for a few years. Their little heads just bobbing along. Never a stroller in site.

Just look at her smile......

And the women also do all the carrying of laundry, groceries, you name it.

These were women carrying sticks up the rutted road by my parents. We aren't talking 10 sticks. We are talking really heavy loads. The lady in the yellow was having a hard time making it up the hill. We saw some ladies doing laundry in the rivers, and even a naked guy taking his weekly bath. (sorry, no picture...we were on our way to church :)

Swaziland also does a LOT of logging
And they raise bananas and pineapples, and lots and lots of sugar cane. If you've never seen a pineapple plant, it's always surprising to see that they grow from a bush not a tree. These are the banana trees. Can you imagine having to be the one that wraps all those bananas so they don't get ruined! And take note of the beautiful backdrop!

The forests are much different than ours. Their trees are all hand planted. So you actually see all the "rows" of trees. You would pass areas where they had just logged the trees, then several miles up the road would be thousands of smaller trees they had planted, followed by full grown trees, etc. Pretty cool to see and know that they make use of the land and replant in those areas.

We went to the Swaziland Cultural Center and were treated to a very cool hour of singing and dancing. I'm not sure what it is about the music and the beat of the music of African variety but it's always a sure goose bump raiser for me. Just drums and the harmony of each other is how they perform. I could not for the life of me, get videos to upload here though. The company I used to use has gone out of business and the blogger app wasn't working right. So unfortunately, for now, you have to just imagine:)

These people were funny. My dad went in to pay and the guy took out his iPad and takes a picture of my dad. My dad said "Never seen a white guy before" :) So then they had to have pictures of us all and they said they were posting it to their Facebook. And there are plenty of white Afrikaans around. They are actually building an embassy suite within a mile of my parents house.

This dude was enjoying the show as well.

They have a village set up that replicates what their villages were like at one time.

Hey!! Here we are packed into the Bakki:)

One of the most anticipated events was visiting the orphanage that my parents had been to a few times. While this isn't a true orphanage, we'll refer to it as that. This is a school that kids in this area go to in order to learn some schooling and be able to get into the primary schools, as well as eat. A basic concept we do daily, but most of these kids are from poorer families, or one parent homes. They go to the school daily for a few hours in order to eat. Notice the "food" on their plates. They eat this twice while they are there. Let me tell you that it looks worse in person. And I'm sure, without tasting it, it has no flavor. It's starchy though and fills their bellies daily. My ever-giving friend had worked for months raising money to take over with us and donate to this school. While intentions of providing them with lots of "fun" stuff, turned into getting a few fun things, and more practical things. But it was fun spending the money for the things we took. We then gave the remainder of the money and money my parents graciously donated, to a man they know well there. He is overseeing building an addition onto the school where the kids can eat and play while it rains. There was currently just the school building, the area where the ladies cook, and a bunch of dirt. There really are no words to describe the few hours we were there. It would have been amazing to stay all day. Spend time with them, read to them, love on them more. There were tears in our eyes. There were constant thoughts of how well our own posterity have it. Knowing we will leave and forget what that feeling was like, but I still get teary. If only you could save the world.....
I have never seen kids more excited though. We arrived when they were eating and caused a lot of chaos probably. The kids wanted their pictures taken. They wanted to sing and dance for us. They yelled with all their little mites as they recited days of the week, seasons, colors, and fun little nursery songs. These kids were smart. They were loving. They were happy. Such hard little lives. Most probably won't finish school. Most will have hard lives trying to feed their own families. But they loved us for that short time. They hugged and hugged. They would grab your hand and just hold on for dear life. Then hug you again. It was sweet. It was heartbreaking. It was raw and it was real. I'd love to go back and see them. They would say "You come back tomorrow". My mom says the building is going very well. It's almost up. And there was money to put in a nice stove and probably a little more. They just have men who don't have work making the brick and building it. So much good into such a tiny thought. Thanks Jennifer. You spearheaded the changing of lives! And the adults were all so very grateful. I had so many pictures I could have shared from here.

This little girl in the yellow and gray comes from a home with just a father. A father who only has one leg and isn't able to work. She was a happy thing!

This little girl...so cute. (It was hard to tell if they were girls or boys.....don't matter the clothes:) She just clung to me and squeezed me nice and tight.

This little sweetie was only 3.

Their make-shift table

The area where they currently cook. Mind you, they were just entering their spring where it rains like crazy. I imagine it's not always pleasant to cook under that. Now, they will have a more wonderful setup!

All the kiddos. The teacher was standing by me and the 2 ladies on the right are just finishing up school and becoming teachers. Even in Africa they have to student teach!

I had my phone and was trying to take a selfie:) The second I turned the phone around so they could see themselves on the screen they were freaking out. Simple pleasures!

This would have been my daughter over there! She was quite the diva and wanted to pose. She also had the most groove while dancing and singing.

Just wondering if you think this looks appetizing....

Holding onto the soccer ball we brought.

This little boy was yelling with all he had during the reciting. So cute. This would have been Kade's little counterpart.

These were the "men" of the school. The gentleman in front of Mike is the one handling all the building and exchange of money. His son Mac...what a cutie. I want him to move to America and marry my niece:)

Their garden. I'm pretty sure it was all cabbage?

This makes my heart a little weepy. Just the little hand with the death grip. They need some more love.

These aren't kids that go to this school, just a picture of kids walking :) Because, like I said, they walk everywhere. It could be miles and hours and they just walk. We passed a few kids carrying their shoes after school. Tis better to save the wear. All the schools have uniforms.

This is the area we drove up to that was around the school.

This was Stick-In-the-Muds house below:) It's also where my mom's "Sister Maid" lives. My mom is keeping everyone in Ezulwini employed. This guys name was Lucky. He lives in the little tiny house you see about the sign. He paints and plays music. He was a kind dude. He teaches kids in this "neighborhood" how to paint. We are now proud owners of one of his smaller paintings. Most of these homes don't have electricity. They may have a cement floor. They have about enough room for a bed, maybe a small table with a chair, and a few goods. But they are sparkly clean. Mom's maid was a sweet little lady. We went at dusk and had to stand outside so she could proudly show us her pictures of her baptism day and that of her son. He lives there. Not sure where he sleeps since it was just a twin bed. But he has stolen money from her that my mom paid her after she cleaned. Needless to say, that money now stays tucked safely in her bra!

Don't ask my why this is sideways. On my computer and upload it's correct :)

This little boy/girl (like I said...never quite sure!) was so cute. He kept saying "hello, how are you?" as we were talking with my mom's friend. Over and over. You can see in the background how some of the homes are made.

This was Sunday. The view from the church. My parents rotate between the branches they go to. This wasn't their "normal" one, but those members just love my parents. Everyone hugs. Everyone smiles. It was just as a church in the states. They sang hymns with gusto. The big difference was the quiet during sacrament! There weren't a lot of kids but the ones there were very quiet. Only a little babe cried once. My mom has talked before about how quiet they are. The couples don't sit together. Men on one side and women on the other. Those are things my parents are trying to teach as well.

Eeek! This was a sign that was by the church.

Following church, we drove to a game range and had a nice lunch overlooking a "lake". There are animals here but we only saw white Rhinos, a few hippos, and an elephant. My parents have been here numerous time and seen much more. It was the only really hot day we had while there. The animals were taking cover.

Randoms:

We just thought this was funny:) It'll be done in a hurry I guess.

Another example of the roads there

Making brick

Jennifer loved this lizard :)

A few still shots of a video Jennifer took that shows the garbage on the ground in front of one of the most poor developments.

We are slightly more used to random cows I guess, but Jennifer got cow-taking-picture-happy:) She could not believe how the cows just randomly walk all over.

So this picture...my parents have made these guys a mint:) The silversmith is on the right. He owns this jewelry store and sales really cheap stuff. Not cheaply made, just silver for cheap! We purchased our own share and I had a cute little ring made. The black in the ring is giraffe hair that is woven together. He has done many missionaries rings, made several things for my parents, etc. We had him make a set of earrings and a necklace that only my mom and Reagan have! My friend got a couple of cool rings designed and we brought back several earrings. My parents take all the other couples who visit to them and they whip them up something unique and special. They will miss my parents!

My ring-4 hearts for my lovies

A sweet little baby girl that my parents Branch Presidents wife had maybe 5 weeks old at this time. She was a cutie. They seriously lived in a house that was as big as my kitchen (cooking area)

This was the "market" that we shopped for souveniers. It's a little like shopping in a Mexican City with all the people in their booths. However, these people are much nicer and less forceful. We found some great deals and went home happy after a rush of shopping.

This was a nicer area of the same type of thing. There is a candle factory up in this area and a few nicer, more expensive shops.

The last few days of our trip were already arriving. We traveled to Kruger National Park for our safari. I'm sure my parents are "safari-ed" out. They've been on numerous. They've seen some amazing things. Rhinos fighting, lions roaring at each other, etc. We had a great day out. Our guide was both imformative and really cool. He was an Afrikkan (a white man). It was about 4 hours from my parents so a long drive in rainy and foggy conditions to the town. We then had him pick us up in the safari truck at a lovely 5 a.m. and drove in freezing cold to the park. It's about memories though right! It wasn't a hot day and we had to wear jackets but it enabled animals to be out and about. Like I said, they were just starting the rainy season when we were there so a lot of the ground and trees, etc were not bloomed. It was dry and some areas of the park had been burned by a fire. Crazy to think animals would even be around in that environment. We were exhausted at the end of the day and drove back to the town we were staying in and into our nice bed and breakfast my mom found. A great experience! We saw all of the Big 5 animals other than a Leopard.

Don't mind the fact it looks like Mike visited the liquor store prior to boarding:)

These are basically like the deer of Africa. Impalas

Our guide told us they are hot targets for Lions because their bums look like a "M" (McDs)

I love the way our guide said "zebra". With the "bed" sound :)

This little dude stopped traffic. Luckily the people in front of us saw him. He made his way quickly to the side.

Some of these pictures uploaded to the blog don't really do the actual experience justice I guess. This one is really hard to see once uploaded but about middle of the picture there were two Lionesses that had just killed a Kudu and were chowing down on it. You could see the body move and the horns moving around as they had flesh in their mouth and would pull their heads back. Pretty cool.

This is a Kudu. Their horns are awesome and really large!

This looks like a bald eagle eh?!

We saw several elephants. They are always cool to see in their own environment. Even though you see them in zoos and such, this is where they are meant to be and crazy to think they just roam around.

Cute little one

The elephants get dirty and go rub againts these trees to get all the bugs and such off

And of course their poop

Two sleeping Lions. This was about as close as we came to them

Hippos

Croc...this picture freaks Kade out. He says "Oh my gosh you could have gotten close and then he would eat you up"

Warthogs scare easily and we could never get a good picture. Ugly little suckers

This is a lone wildebeast. Apparently they kick out the old or sickly ones because they become a liability to the fold. This poor dude was wandering around in the middle of nowhere.