This Global Home | Day: 6 Eswatini

I'm Anna, this is me in front of my windows and representing my home state(s) of Mississippi and Louisiana. From the US Deep South, I now live in the real south—in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) on the bottom of the African continent. My parents and some of my siblings live here as well but I moved here independently of them three years ago. For the last two years, I’ve been working as a teacher at a high school which is part of an orphan village. I live in a tiny, four room flat that is part of my compensation package. The village is equally small (~800) at the foot of the highest mountain in the country. And y’all, it is so cold here. Coldest place I have ever lived.Connect with me:     Instagram

The kitchen (like the rest of the flat) is tiny. The only appliances are a fridge, hot water kettle, and counter top oven/stove. Fortunately, my flat is attached to my parents house and they have a full kitchen (with a sink!) that I can use. 

It rains extensively here and--despite having done roof repairs--the stains continue to grow with every rainy season. 

My "gallery wall" includes literary postcards from Obvious State, as well as greeting cards from my best friends and a picture of the last time I was in Chicago. 

My flat was the servant quarters and is attached to the "big house" that my parents and 3 out of my 6 siblings currently occupy. Through the door you can glimpse the mountains that surround our valley. The cat is my roommate and she often sits there in the evenings, contemplating life. 

My desk (in all its messy, every day glamour) is home to a geode candle holder from New Mexico, a carved wood lamp from Mozambique, my law school books, and several native plants named for Harry Potter characters. 

I always organize my books by colour as I have more of them than anything else. I love the impact they make when you walk into the room and I never have someone visit without borrowing one. The blanket on the floor is from Kenya, where I got it from a Maasai woman in 2012 in exchange for the magazine I was reading about Barak Obama. (Note the weird gray stain on the far wall above the shelves--it's from a candle that I forgot and let burn too long.) 

Another imperfection in my flat is that this door doesn't open due to the fridge. And even if it did, the keys in the lock are a lie--they don't work and no one can find the keys that do so the door is always locked. 

The view from my kitchen into my living room. 

The exterior of my flat. This house was built around the 1960's and its age shows. Though I have to confess, I kind of like it. 

I am very proud of these floating shelves. They were one of my "I'm admitting that I live here for a long time so I need to start investing in this place" purchases. The lamp is also from here, but the candle is from Target. 

My very fancy garage featuring my bedroom windows which are broken open. 

The wall behind my flat and the house is covered with ferns and other plants. We use the clothes line in the back to dry out clothes during the dry season (during the rainy season, everything stays damp). 

This is a DIY I'm quite proud of. My flat didn't come with any storage so I designed and helped my dad to build my clothes rack. The jewelry display was bought off an expat friend of mine when she moved back to the US. It was handmade by her husband and is the silhouette of Table Mountain in Cape Town. 

My bookshelf early in the morning, catching the sunlight. It's framed by my record player on one side, and yoga mat on the other.

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