As always I will preface this post by apologizing to my friends and family for the absurd amount of time it is taking me in between these posts. In my defense however, which really is only worth about, well nothing really, I have been extremely busy over the last month. As fast as I came to my site for the first time like a wild gypsy it was already the end of March and time to leave. The first quarter of school wrapped up quite nicely and it was time to go back to Maseru for 10 days for phase III training. It was nice to see all of my colleagues again and hear of their numerous trials and tribulations. The training was actually rather good so kudos to PC Lesotho for that. Even the capital city of a third world country is sensory overload after you have lived in the middle of the mountains for three months. Some of the highlights of the gathering include a trip to the new movie theater to see Avatar. The movie was aweful, but it was nice to smell popcorn and sit in air conditioning for a while for only about 2 bucks. We also held the first annual PC Lesotho Mustache games which was a blast thanks to Mr Vino for making that happen, details on this will be told in person =) I also went to my first Maseru night club with a gang of friends which was ridiculous. The local MCs who were rapping were pretty good. I can only imagine what runs through the locals minds when almost 40 foreigners raid a bar, hilarious I say. So lets skip to the vacation! After 3 months at site and 10 days doing “extensive” PC training we were all ready for some R and R. I went to Durban with 10 of my new closest PC buds. The trip from Ficksburg to Durban was 190R (about 30US) and usually takes about 5 hours. Well due to getting pulled over by the SA police three times due to a cracked windshield in the Kombi it took us over 7, TIA. The trip was eventful and we saw zebras, monkeys, and a baboon chilling on the side of the road, a definite perk of living in Africa. So my first experience into living in a hostel was fantastic. We stayed at the Hippo Hide Hostel in Durban and it was great. They even claim to have the largest rock pool in the southern hemisphere and a honesty system self serve bar, at this point I’m still not sure which is more impressive, but I digress. The first day finds us unwinding in the pool for a bit and heading to the Suncoast beach for dinner. There we messed around in the casino for a bit and ate fresh sushi on the water. Ya you can probably imagine how amazing it was. Just to smell the salt water knocked my socks off. The beach was closed, but using my boyish charm I was able to convince a SA police officer to escort us down for 5 minutes so we could put our feet in the Indian Ocean for a few minutes. See picture below. Wow it was great to be back at sea level! Day two Parker and I made breakfast for everyone… what?! Fresh cheese? And scrambled eggs? WOOT! We decided to spend part of the afternoon at the mall just to get a real culture shock. Was it big? Three stories and bigger then any mall I have ever been in. I think some dude said it had 27 entrances, yikes! Lets not forget KFC and subway. It was here I had my first draught beer in 5 months at a nice little pub on the top floor. Yep… just like I remembered. I will say that it took a while to let everything soak in and remember that things that I was seeing still do exist. That night we all decided to go eat some Indian food. Durban has the highest Indian population outside of India so needless to say the food was pretty authentic and amazingly good. On a recommendation from the waiter we ended up at this pretty lame dance club, you win some you lose some, either way I still had fun. The next day was the pinnacle of the vacation. A few of us decided to go to the water park uShaka which is right on the Indian ocean. Lets not forget an ample serving of McDonalds breakfast, yeah I know egg mcmuffin incredible! The park was great, my favorite part was the lazy river that went through parts of the aquarium, totally awesome. (See Picture below). Later that day we went to a SA Sharks rugby game. This could be the most fun thing I did on the vacation. My friend Sonny says soccer is a gentleman’s game played by hooligans and rugby is a hooligans game played by gentleman. That made me laugh pretty hard. The game was intense and the Sharks actually won which was pretty cool. To top it of was a pitcher of beer and some comical banter I had with a few of the local fans, those guys were great. We ended the day by going to one of the most amazing sea food restaurants I have ever been to called Wilson’s Warf. It was located right on the pier and was incredible. Im pretty sure the waitress ripped me off at the end, but either the way the meal was still super cheap and after a day like that I just wanted to go to bed. We spent the next morning eating eggs benedict at an Italian eatery down the street wow how I have missed you old friend. Part 2 to be continued….
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.
Although I miss my family and friends dearly I can say without reservation that the last few weeks at site have been nothing but amazing. I am meeting new members of the community on a daily basis and the kids are really starting to warm up to me, which is great. So what have I been doing lately… this is in no particular order and some parts are rather comical. Here is a random assortment of my musings as of late. I dropped a quart on my toe, its black and blue and the nail will probably come off, oh well another Africa scar =) I am becoming a master at baking bread, last night I made a cayenne pepper loaf, how delectable! I have driven around in WFP (World Food Programme) SUVs and provided assistance, that was great. I have done condom demonstrations in my life skills class with my students. That was hilarious, none of them knew you could blow one up the size of a beach ball, they were kind of scared however when it popped! Dogs ran away with my sheep pelt, which I am kind of bummed about. I lost a pair of aviator sunglasses, also another bummer. I spent my birthday alone, also another bummer. It did turn out great because my counter part and another colleague of mine cooked me dinner, absolutely amazing Basotho food. They know I like spicy so they load up on the cayenne, delicious! My friends also brought a smile to my face with all of the birthday facebook greetings, thanks guys! I introduced The Boondock Saints to a few teachers on a movie night, they loved it. I spent 5 hours on a bus ride that should have only taken 2, also another bummer. I am in the process of finishing the ALP (African Library Project) library at my school. The previous volunteer did a great job securing books and shelving. I am in the process of getting a couch and table and some more shelving, then time to catalog! My latest project however, is becoming a pool boy. The LHDA (Lesotho Highlands Development Authority) and Katse Lodge co-own a swimming pool in Katse Village. For the past three weeks I have been pestering them to give me free electricity to run the pool and free chemicals (chlorine and acid) to keep it clean. Things are slowly coming together and the pool is almost clean. I have scrubbed so much algae lately its insane. Today was finally the day I was able to take my students swimming. VICTORY! I took the entire senior form E class (12th grade), almost 30 in total. It was a little chaotic, but the kids loved it and can’t wait to go back, if the weather permits we will go tomorrow. Growing up on the water swimming is something I cannot remember not doing. I now realize that it is difficult watching some thirty students try to do it who have lived in the mountains their entire life. The scenery is beautiful; it is an outdoor pool so there are gigantic mountains in every direction you look. Unfortunately winter is coming furiously. It is only mid February and there is already a slight chill in the air. The kids surprised me at how quickly they were able to pick up the basics. I even have one student who floats around without effort showing off to all of his friends. Either he is a natural or I am an amazing teacher… but I digress. I am making plans to bring piggery to the school. I want to teach the kids about small scale sustainable income generating projects. It will also give them opportunities to have pig on a semi regular basis for extra nutrition, I am really excited about this project, hopefully it will get off the ground. Did you know you can buy a pig for less then 45 US dollars? WOW! I am growing a pretty ridiculous beard. Maya I wish you could see it. It is six weeks old now and is starting to scare even me. I am not shaving until phase III training starts in Maseru on March 21… yeah gonna be grizzly Adams by then but it will be good times for sure. On a random note, Mom, buy the Glen Phillips cd “Live at Largo” I’m not going to tell you who it is, but I know you and dad will thoroughly enjoy it. On another random note this post goes out to Maya’s mom K. I miss you guys a lot and thanks for reading! Enjoy the pictures. Sorry mom I will post pictures of the inside of my house this weekend after I get a chance to clean it!
What an eventful two weeks. It started off with a trip from Katse to Maseru for a Swine Flu H1N1 vaccine. It felt good to be back in the lowlands. I was really happy because I was able to stock up on food that I cannot get in Katse and bring it back. There is not much in Maseru but compared to the highlands it is like NYC. Cheese is the main thing that comes to mind, wow I had been craving that for a while. It was also nice to see a few familiar faces after so long out at site. I even got a package from Maya that was incredible. Books, pepperoni, gold fish, peanut butter, salami, slim jims, crystal light are only just a few things that were inside, it was amazing! The following weekend was really incredible. A friend of mine took me fishing and showed me how to catch fish the Basotho way. Equipped with nothing but a long piece of line and a fly hook we were able to catch half a dozen yellow fish. Not a bad catch for the first try. Later that day I through a party for my Basotho friends and teachers. I recently finished my BBQ stand so I was eager to have a cook out and try it out. The teachers decided to buy an nku (sheep) and slaughter it so we could have a cookout all day. They showed me how to kill it and how to skin it, which was not nearly as bad as I expected. For the rest of the day we cooked fish and sheep, drank, and danced. It was really cool. The next day I walked to the dam because the weather was so nice. The Katse dam is the largest curved dam in Africa and is really something to look at.
This picture was taken on the last day of CBT, we are all sitting in front of our host mothers. The village chief of Barea mission is the man in the front on the right. Woot woot Barea Ballers!
Kids in Quiting that enjoy beating the Lehuoa in football. Below is the best African Christmas Eve. For Christmas Santa got me a really nice sunburn!
