I have heard many heartbreaking stories of her trip abroad, many of which I can't repeat without getting emotional. Luckily I have heard many stories of great compassion in the midst of great horror. Good and bad are both alive and well in Swaziland.
I miss her a tremendous amount (if you ask my coworkers they will most certainly acknowledge this). At least we got engaged before her departure. That brings a certain level of peace to the whole assignment. It's still quite difficult though, especially in communicating. Skype is often unreliable which leads to me showing my temper and cursing like a sailor at my Mac. We get to talk every day, most of which is through email which has become my best friend this month. I am so very proud of the work she is doing over there and cannot wait for her to return.
Being me, I decided to make myself an expert on all things Swazi. What did I discover?
-They have the highest HIV infection rate of any country on the continent. 1 out of every 4 is infected.
-Swaziland is an ABSOLUTE monarchy, the last on the continent.
-The men like to have multiple wives and mistresses.
HIV and the multiple wives obviously are linked together. Rachel was telling me that its commonplace for a man to have many wives- a status symbol. They teach safe sex in the clinics, but safe sex only goes so far in a culture that has multiple partners. Monogamy might save lives. Who knows. She sent me a picture of condom distribution machine in the bathroom there. It basically said if you have unprotected sex you will kill someone. I guess they aren't getting the message. The king enacted a no sex ban a few years ago. He made all virgins wear an arm band when in public. Obviously it didn't go over well and the ban was lifted. The king did liberate some of these women from that ban and made wives out of some of them- he has 14.
Now for His Majesty King Mswati III....
The king is an absolute ruler who dissolved political parties, government and basically democracy. His people live on roughly 60 cents a day while he lives in total opulence. The king has over 7 palaces and a fleet of luxury cars. He has a jet so that he can fly around the world on the dime of his people, most of which barely make a dime a day.
The king owns a large stake in the media and industrial sectors which lines his pockets while his people starve. He even made it a CRIME to take photos of his houses, security forces, luxury cars, plane, etc because he is tired of negative stories getting out. God save the king indeed.
Of course Rachel is not there to study its politics or to fight the system. She is there to make a difference in the lives of the Swazi people. She has seen some terrible things, but I know the type of person she is. She treats every patient with respect and honor- more importantly compassion. Speaking from someone who has received that compassion, her patients are very lucky to have her there. I am so proud of her and I miss her very much.
I am also very happy that she is there with friends from home. I am thankful for their help when she needed it most. I am thankful for the locals who are assisting them. I appreciate their kindness and I greatly appreciate the respect that they show my fiancee. The culture isn't the most honorable, therefore I am glad that there are honorable men helping them. I am grateful for that.
Keep up the good work Rach! I love you so much!
Had to get that out there! Don't worry, we will be back to sports soon enough. Some things are just more important. The Swazis should be very blessed. Don't get too attached to her though, I expect her back here in 2 weeks!
Oh and by the way, did Louisville beat Providence?
Didn't think so!
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