I've been back on assignment with MSF for the past three weeks. I am currently in Swaziland performing an assessment of their mechanic, automotive workshop space, and vehicle fleet management. It's a short mission of only six weeks, after which I will travel to South Sudan to fill in as workshop manager (the same job I did there last year) for 3.5 months or so.
It's great to be back to work! Swaziland is quite nice. The security is pretty relaxed, which allows for freedom to travel on the weekends. The first weekend I was here I went with a group to visit a couple of game parks. We were practically promised there would be plenty of rhinoceroses (rhinoceri?), but we were unlucky enough to see not a single one. It was still a lot of fun.
Last weekend three of us just went for a short day hike at nearby Mahamba Gorge, which is quite beautiful.
Aaaaaaaaaand this weekend four of us returned to one of the game parks to hike Execution Rock. It was a beautiful day and a great hike. The views from the top are very nice, and as a bonus it is possible to spot impala, wildebeest, and zebra from some of the trails. We even saw some vervet monkeys playing in the trees!
I'm really looking forward to the last weekend of May, when a lot of us will be attending the Bushfire Music Festival. I don't know any of the acts, but it promises to be a good time!
My days are spent working with the mechanic and various members of the logistics team. They close up shop around 4:30, which makes for a lot of afternoon/evening downtime. I've been trying to work on my French and to exercise as much as possible (yoga, running, and some P90X).
The daytime weather is typically sunny and warm, with sometimes a cool breeze to mix things up (winter is approaching here). Nights are typically cool, but definitely not as cold as the locals (and even some of the expats, including two from Canada) would lead you to believe. Certainly it will get colder as autumn advances, but for the most part I find it quite comfortable. It's quite a contrast to the heat I will find in South Sudan in a few weeks.
Immediately before leaving the US, I traveled to Saint Louis to see my former robotics team (the one I mentored in Connecticut) compete in the national championships! It was a lot of fun and so great to see the mentors and students.
Before that I was in Denver for three weeks visiting some of my favorite people.
And before that. . . well just go check out my photos to see what I was up to.
