Sunday, March 7, 2010

la la voca





Here are some notes I jotted down over the last two weeks.

Today I had a very sentimental moment that brought several tears to my eye. The tears were filled with joy, but painful in a way. Let me explain. I came home after a long day and put on the Beatles album “Let it Be.” The first thought that came into my head was long weeks spent at my grandparent’s house in Hollywood. Just like it was yesterday I can remember hearing these songs playing on the oldies station of my grandfathers huge white car, I think it was a cutlass. How simple times were back then. Playing botchy ball and bowling at the pool house, all great times, the perfect image I have of my grandparents. This got me to thinking about music that reminds me of my friends and family. For my one and only father, lets see… It would have to be Starcastle or Texas Flood. I’ll never forget that Stevie Ray album that inspired me to pick up the guitar and never put it down. For that gift I cannot thank you enough. For my dearest mum… There are a few that come to mind namely Toad the Wet Sprocket, Steely Dan “Katy Lied,” and Ryan Adams “Heartbreaker.” The album; however, that will always remind me of you is “August and Everything After” by the Counting Crows. Another album I can listen to all the way through everyday. For my love Maya there can be many. We have shared so much music it is hard to say. For you it would have to be the Jets to Brazil album we listened to that first night we hung out and shared music on your bed, oh Kanapaha, how long ago it seems since you lived there. For Hless Jon it is easy Chutes to Narrow by the Shins. Also anothing by Hot Chip reminds me of the autumn days spent in your apartment in Lakeland sitting on the patio smoking hookah and drinking a nice Congelton homebrew. Andy would have to be any Thrice album, oh I can just picture you know singing the lyrics in the kitchen making your protein shake and MCS dinners lol. For Brett it is “Through Being Cool” by Saves the Day. Every time I hear that album I think of you buddy and the countless nights we spent screaming our lungs out and playing “I’m Sorry I’m leaving” on the guitar are some of my favorite memories. Uncle Jesse you know what I’m going to say for you. That’s right “Full Collapse” by Thursday. Kent… my brother from another mother, there are too many to count. All of those rigged mixed tapes we played through that old stereo in my garage while we played basketball. It would probably be the big tymers album with “snake” on it. My point is that even though I may not be with you guys I still am with you all of the times in the silly memories I play out in my head every time one of those songs comes up on shuffle. The memories we have shared have been countless, ridiculous, sometimes hazardous, and just flat out absurd, and I have loved every one of them. Thank you guys, thank you.

What a weekend, what a weekend. For me the weekend actually started on Wednesday when I held the swim meet for my kids. It was great all of the school and staff were in attendance and it was gratifying to see that all of my hard work cleaning the pool and coordinating the even was paying off. I had 30 students compete in the event which was awesome. We had 6 individual heats to start everything off. Then I ran three heats of the top placed swimmers and finally and 3 man team race. The kids had a great time and so did I. I need to look into getting cheap speedos made for the swimming club because a lot of them do not have the proper attire and have to share swim trunks throughout the competition.

Thursday after athletic practice the school bought a sheep so we could have a BBQ for the staff party on Friday. This time my colleagues gave me the honors of doing the dirty work. They did not think I could do it and I was not even sure if I could pull through, but when it was all said and done I had another sheep under my belt. We skinned the sheep and had the innards for dinner that night community style. Yes liver, kidneys, heart, intestines and stomach included. That stuff really isn’t my cup of tea but its honestly not that bad once you get over the shock and awe of it.

Friday was a bittersweet day for me as it was my Mayas birthday. Alice and wonderland came out that day and we had been anticipating it for quite some time. I wish I could have been there, but she knows I was thinking about her. That day school was let out early so we could have time to run the inter-house athletic competitions. All of the students are divided up into five houses. I am the housemaster for house 1. I named my house the “Red House” in honor of Jimi Hendrix. It came to me as I was reading a biography about JImi that my dad gave me before I moved to Lesotho. So I always wear a red bandana and made a red flag for my kids out of my broomstick handle and a red piece of cloth. The kids love it and wave it around while they constantly dance, its great. All year we will compete in athletics and sports and the house who has the most points at the end will win an nku (sheep.) Today the events were boys and girls 100M, 200M, 400M, 3600M, 4800M, and 4x4. I was really proud of my kids they ran hard and earned third place. As a Peace Corps Volunteer you wear many hats and today I had the coach hat on. Despite their best efforts my girls were not placing in any of the events, so I gave them a pep talk and some words of encouragement it was great. I could see they were trying their hardest and as a coach that is all you can ask for. I put the burden on my boys and told them I really needed them to step up. Now mind you some of these kids run in multiple races. By the end of the day they were exhausted and we still had the relay to do. I challenged them and they came in first in the relay. The house when mad and where joisting them on there shoulders parading them around on their shoulders singing Basotho cheers and waving around the flag I had crafted. Indeed it was a great day to be alive.

Friday night we had a staff party at my house to celebrate the JC exam results (10th grade). We BBQed the sheep and danced all night. There may have also been a few libations here and there =) It was great to spend some time with my principal and teachers outside of the work place.

Saturday I straightened up the house and we had a relaxing night by a fire I made and cooked the rest of the sheep and ate plenty of the staple food Papa. I even had a nice Peace Corps moment when I taught a few teachers about constellations. Ntate Matete really enjoyed the allure of Orion and was excited when he finally was able to view it in the night sky.

Sunday, the day of relaxation. The male teachers woke me up banging on my door and had oh such a wonderful surprise for me. They had a big stainless steel pot and inside was a cooked sheep head. Why not right? Nothing like a little jaw meat at 11 in the morning I say. I deferred on the eyeballs and ears as it was already an overwhelming experience. Things have been going well here, looking forward to seeing my friends in Maseru later this month.