Back from the first site visit

Got back from the site visit the other day. We went to see a volunteer named Rory, who lived in the Leribe district. A bus took us to the town, but it was actually faster to hike the same distance on the way back out. The time there was a blast. I got to help some kids on classwork and teach my first lesson here. I think my biggest fear was not being able to handle the teaching, but once I got up there it felt right. So I think I'll be okay. My biggest worry now is living up to the legacy that some of the volunteers have left here. So many have come up with and completed tons of successful community projects. I hope I can be brave and smart enough to do the same. 

Today was the first time we a got a taste of Lesotho's rains. It has been gloomy and pouring on and off for around 12 hours, though they say that usually this happens for days on end. That may be the toughest to overcome mentally, such long periods of isolation surrounded by gloom with little to do. Oh well, I'll figure something out. But that's all for now. I've got a hot bath and a book waiting for me!

Out to see the world

It's 6am and today we leave Berea for a week. We are all visiting current volunteers at their sites to see what this job is actually like. I'm pretty excited. We get to travel(a little, since the district I'm visiting is just to the north of this one), see a new place, and meet real volunteers. I'm anxious to learn what their accommodations are like, how they cook for themselves, and what classrooms are like on a daily basis. We also get to choose what we eat (for a couple days) for the fist time since leaving the States!

One week in

This is our one week mark in Lesotho! It seems like it has been much longer though. It is surprising how easy I have been able to adapt to this new lifestyle without electricity of running water. We are all very happy with the country and especially with the people. Everyone is incredibly friendly so long as you say 'Dumela' (hello) and 'u phela joang?' (how are you) We are now learning more about the school system and technical things about teaching our particular topics. Tomorrow we go to the capital city, Maseru, for the first time. We have heard time and time again about how dangerous a place it is. Today a good 2 hours were spent briefing us on the city and it's dangers. This should be interesting.

It seems I have made a pair of Basotho buddies; John and Clark. I forget their Sesotho names, but they like to gy be these 'Christian names' anyway. John is a junior in high school. He seems to be a pretty bright kid. He's top of his class here and leads the school choir. He wants to go to university and become a civil engineer. I don't know much about Clark, but he seems pretty nice and to be a smart guy. The 2 of them pal around. I have been helping them with their math and science homework and they've been helping me with my Sesotho homework. Not a bad arrangement! We talk about life here and in America and I teach them things about the stars. They seem like good kids but I'm apprehensive to get too close. I don't yet know this job of culture well enough to understand how close I should let myself get knowing I will leave them and this village in a couple months.

Training Begins

Today we had our first full day of training. It was a lot of sitting and being talked at (~7 hours worth) but it wasn't too bad. It was lots of health and food safety stuff like ho to rinse and peel fruit and the ways to sanitize water. In language we worked on greetings a little bit more. They are somewhat scripted, but a very important sign of respect to those whom one meets. Tomorrow we will visit schools for most of the day. It will be very interesting to see the type of places we will be working in for the next 2 years. I wonder what the teachers and students will think of us.

New houses and sheep killin

I have just completed my second bucket bath!  It's starting to be less difficult now.  I've also just swept the floor much to the joy of my host mother, Mme Mpho, and grandmother, Mme Makeisara.  Apparently, if yo don't sweep every day, people start to worry about you here. Yesterday we had our first official Sesotho lessons and made a tour of the village to see everyone's homes.  Some volunteers have small places (~80 sq ft), and others are a bit larger (~150 sq ft).  Mine's above average and plenty big for me plus I have easily the best view of the mountains.  We then went to another village, where we will receive all our technical training, to get shots and make a call home.  Yesterday I  went to see a sleep get slaughtered before breakfast.  It was only a little more gruesome than deer hunting since you were right there, holding the animal down as it expired.  It was very interesting though.  After training I had an hour or so before dark, so spent an hour or so BS'n with the guys that had slaughtered the sheep.  I tried some of their traditional Basotho beer.  It was warm and alittle thicker than one would expect beer to be. However it wasn't terrible and I think it has an alcohol content approaching that of wine.  I took my dinner with my grandmother (nkhono) Makeisara.  Then, walking back into my little house, I saw the stars, the Milky Way, and a shooting star!  I think it will be okay here!

On new ground

Wow, I'm not sure how to begin.  The last 12 hours have been easily the most eventful of my life.  After a year of applications, months of waiting, a day of orientation and 15 hours on a transatlantic flight, we hopped into a 40 passenger plane into Maseru, Lesotho.  Our arrival in the Mountain Kingdom couldn't have been staged any better; after a descent through thick cloud cover, we burst forth to be greeted with some of the most spectacular and varied mountains I have ever seen.  Following that was a drive to our training village that was a sober reminder of why we were coming here.  Lesotho has large challenges in joblessness and infrastructure.  This hour long drive made most of us take a very hard look at the reasons we think we are doing this.  Though it was punctuated with excited children waving at our “motorcade” of sorts.  Also, when we arrived in the village, everyone (~30-40 people) was on hand, singing and yelling and hugging every one of us.  That was so completely unexpected and greatly needed after out humbling trip in.  I would write more, but I have only slept 4 of the last 50 hours and I'm writing this by the light of a paraffin lamp as thunder rolls across the mountains and pours occasional bursts of rain upon my tin roof.  So, “robala hantle!”  (Sleep well)

36 hours of Philly

So it's begun.  I got into Philadelphia late last night.  Today we start orientation around noon, so I will try and run around to a couple historical places beforehand.  Luckily our hotel is in the historic district, so there are a bunch of important places around: liberty bell, constitution center,independence hall, etc.  We'll see how much I can comfortably get in before lunch.
Tomorrow we check out of the hotel and catch our flight out of JFK at 11am, putting us in Lesotho sometime Friday.  This whole thing still feels pretty surreal, but its starting to come together and I suspect it will really hit home when I see the continent of Africa out my plane window!