I’m in Swaziland. Made it in last night.

As we left the airport about 9:30 PM last night I looked up and saw the stars. The southern horizon was cloudy – I couldn’t see the Southern Cross, but I could find Orion to the north.

Orion was standing on his head. It took me a moment to realize that. I knew intellectually it would happen, but it was still a shock to see it, something so familiar looking so different. I’m in the Southern Hemisphere. Taurus is now following Orion instead of vice versa. And the constellations are all upside down.

Maybe working Swaziland will be like that for us. We think we know what to expect, but when we actually arrive, the reality is still a bit of a shock. Not good or bad, just a different than we expected. I suppose it means we’ll have to keep all our options open. What might have seemed simple when we planned it will turn out to be harder than expected. What we thought might be hard will turn out to be almost trivial.

This is a beautiful place. The Inn where I am staying looks out over the “Beautiful Valley”. I watched the sun burn off the mist this morning as it rose above to the rocks to the side of the valley. The roosters are crowing. It smells of wet plants with just a hint of farm. The smell is reassuring. It is a smell I know well from my childhood. Somehow smelling that I know that while I am in a different place, I’m still surrounded by the familiar, no matter that it looks turned upside down sometimes.

More later… I’m running out of time on the computer that I’m using.