7/8/2015 - Bulembu Day 3

On our last morning, Maria and Erik went to meet with the principal early one last time (around 7:30) to present him with some of the demos we brought and go over how to use them.  The rest of us enjoyed a less rushed breakfast and shared our life stories with Michelle, who ate with us and wanted to know the various paths one might take to be working on a PhD.  Everyone went to hike the highest mountain in Swaziland on a tour (the guide was needed because it goes into the local chieftain's property, and no one is allowed to go there without someone from his village).  I stayed behind because I was still feling crappy, particularly my ears.  Most of our time in Swaziland has been sunny, no rain, and very calm (barely a breeze to be had), but today it was very windy, and I was glad I didn't go on the hike as I felt the wind would be bad on my ears.  Turns out the group said the wind was so strong on the mountain they had to lean dramatically into it just to stand up straight.

We checked out in the middle of a power outage, so we had to promise to wire the money we owed immediately when we got back.  Nelia said she could do it the next day, and we packed into the van and headed down the crazy mountain trail again.  Erik fell asleep halfway through, despite the bumpy ride.  Some things are inevitable. 

We went straight to Lobamba high school, in order to meet with the teachers Sifiso was talking to for us.  We soon found out that Friday was not good for Lobamba - the whole school would be out for several trips.  However, while the boys were scheduled to leave early Monday morning, the rest of us had booked our flights later and were not leaving til a 5:25 PM flight, so I proposed we come in the morning.  We were ushered in to meet the principal, who immediately recognized Sifiso as a parent (much to my surprise, especially due to the apparent large size of the school) and welcomed us, explained how much he appreciated us coming, and how much it would mean for the students.  We will see them at 8 AM on Monday, and stay the morning to do science demos for forms 4, 5 and form 1 (Sifiso's son is in form 1).  We stopped at the Gables before heading to Malandela's, where I was able to consult the pharmacist at shoprite about my ailments.  He sold me some anti-inflammatory ear drops and gave me specific instructions.  We also bought snacks, tea and honey (for my throat).  We were happy to be home at Malandela's, and hurried to finish circuits for tomorrow's day-long solar workshop.