An Official PCV!

The day of swearing in to be official Peace Corps Volunteers of the USA was surprisingly more meaningful than I had anticipated. It was quite the ceremony and by this I mean there were about six big circus tents set up, one for the volunteers and our teachers, one for our Bo M’e, another for the officials (including the US ambassador-who is a Returned  PCV and is the man!), and the lucky locals to get a seat out of the burning sun, and then two more for food and after party of course! Everyone in the town and close enough surroundings towns are welcome to any event-be it a funeral, wedding, or town meeting- and will come because more than likely, food will be provided. And it sure was-food on food! Its interesting because in Lesotho personal invitations are not a things, whereas in America-one must be invited to the party. And here, food is the main motivator for anything- specifically nama, or meat of any kind. Nama is special to eat and is always cooked at important events.

Bo N'tate doing a traditional dance for our ceremony

Volunteers all wearing our shashweyshwey that our Bo M'e and teachers sowed for us. We lined up to be a full rainbow!

Training was a long drawn out time but now that is over it’s a trip.  Practice teaching at Pukane High School was a big learning time for me. I was really overwhelmed in the beginning and extremely nervous but I managed to get over the first couple days and become more comfortable being in front of a classroom. Once my nerves settled, I got to feel what my role as a volunteer teaching maths in Lesotho can play in the lives of children here. All of my actions are so closely watched and mimicked that I really must be aware of everything I do.

Today marks my first day my home for the next couple years. It was a little strange waking up this morning with the daunting task of setting up my new lil home with what I have, some stuff I bought in the capital, and the limited furnishings that my family and principal provided. But hey- with the help of the my whole new extended family, we did work on the place! My new family Me MaPaseka, N’tate Thaka-Morena, their son, Paseka, and his wife Matlhokolmelo, and their three young children.  Right now Matlhokolmelo’s two teenage sisters are here on Summer break so it a full house. We spent the later part of the afternoon dancing to Beyonce in the yard. It was actually really impressive to see how many hours one could play with music. My favorite part was when LeRato (an exceptional dancer-kinda sexual most of the time but even her mom thought she was good so I guess its kosher) would only teach the younger girls who came if they did a trail dance and passed. At first I thought it was bossy/ judgmental-but then I saw that she just wanted them find some inner courage to just try to dance alone, promoting that regardless of your talent-just do it with confidence. I tried to learn some new moves myself..Ha.Ha.Ha. I still had fun with it! We also busted out the hoolahoop and did some yoga. I met one of our neighbors, Retabile (meaning “we are happy”) and we really vibed. She just graduated from high school and just got marries-real young! But she is a Girl Scout and helps out a new organization that works to keep kids away from drugs and alcohol by giving them activities to do- like play soccer.

Having some tea while waiting for the futbol match to begin!

The winning team!!

Retabile invited me go with her to one of the soccer tournaments she put on, and I had a really fun filled experience. It began with hitching our way to the school, its not hard getting picked up here as hitching is a main form of transport. It’s actually quite cool, if you are lucky enough own a car then part of your duty is to pick up anyone and everyone you can fit in your car. So we made our way through the village, trying to find the head teacher, asking everyone in the town where they were. We got to our destination and began to set up the barren soccer field that was located right next to main watering hole. After we shewed off countless, doinkies, sheep, cattle, dogs-you name it- we then fixed one the goals by sawing down the center piece of an aloe plant and securing it to two poles in the ground. We put up the nets and began to kick the ball around ourselves as we waited for the teams to arrive.  The teams arrived with no hurry or worry in the world, just as it should be. We had a big group prayer that involved all the players and crowd supporters. The boys played an intensely competitive match and the winning team was awarded a trophy, which was a huge deal.

Lesotho Hamonate

Ke tla lula mona ka lilema tse pedi! “I will stay here for two years.” Its real! It has officially set in that this will be my new African life! I spent the last week in the district of Mafeteng at my site that Peace Corps has matched me with. It is here in the small rural village of Ha Khoro where I will reside for two years come December 18^th! It’s a big deal and I am quite excited. I spent the weekend at a workshop where all the volunteers that are to be living in Southern Lesotho got to meet their counterparts (principal of the their school and their “introductory liaison”) and do work-shop things. It was quite helpful to both be on the same page as to what they know and expect from us as volunteers at their school. My principal, N’tate Romalula, thought I was from the UK...well at least it’s kinda close to the USA?? Ha! But nonetheless my principal rocks. Seriously, his energy and enthusiasm for shaping the youth of Lesotho is contagious. He has a big ol’ smile that radiates into everyone-not to mention he is quite handsome and alllll the BoM’e just giggle when they are around him. During the training workshop both my counterparts where very involved and opinionated; I liked and appreciated that a lot. I really enjoyed knowing they advocate for public schools and not church schools because they do not address the factuality of premarital sex and the spread of HIV.  I have a good group-it’s gonna work out guys!

 N’tate Paseka, myself, and N'tate Romalula

I was introduced to all the students at a surprise assembly and I feel very welcomed. The gospel and school choir sang. They can harmonize without an effort I swear. It’s beautiful. All the students are very excited to see me but don’t really know what to think yet, as I am the first volunteer at this school. Khoro high school is only two years old and has just Forms A and B (equivalent to Freshman and Sophmore) but has 223 students with only six teachers..yeah needless to say the classes are BIG with around 50 students in a class. Next year we are adding Form C and are expecting 100 to 150 more- not sure how its going to work out! I have bonded with the teachers already and they seem genuinely pumped that I am there, can speak Sesotho (although its minimal at the point they keep reiterating how well I can already speak so that makes happy inside), and that I am active and involved in life. I have already been training with our girls’ track team and got my but kicked in sprints. Damn they are fast! Apparently once of the girls has the second best time for the 200m in Lesotho. The connection I felt with the girls while we were stretching together after and huddleded with our arms around one another was honestly so touching I can’t find words. Wedesday and Friday are “sports day” at Khoro and classes end early to play organized volleybol, futbol, track and field, and netbol. N’tate Romalula says that participation in sports is just as important as classroom subjects because it teaches students how to learn new things and the concept of training to get better at something. I couldn’t agree more! Lots of effort, money, etc has been allotted to sports and areas such as a school kitchen, library, crops and livestock (as we have an agriculture class) are lacking so I find this all…interesting. We shall see what can be done as all the teachers and I have lots of ideas for secondary projects during my stay.

Ha Khoro High School 

The view from my front door. We have 2 doinkis and 9 sheep!

 

I felt very uplifted after speaking to our science teacher, N’tate Pati, about his gratitude that I will be teaching “life skills” to students as it has not been taught to them yet due to lack of teachers. He shared a story with me about how devastated he was when he heard of one his best Form A students drop out of school due to teen pregnancy and he wants his students to know sex is a choice. We spoke of the high rates of HIV infection and drug/alcohol abuse and how they are directly correlated with lack of self-confidence. I had another teacher, Albert, ask me about how he can loose weight and if I could run with him in the mornings and create and diet and exercise plan for him…I had to chuckle a little as I am not to confident in my personal trainer skills..but it just brings to my attention how certain things we learn in one life are not common knowledge to those living a different life. We discussed carbohydrates, sodium and salt intake, and exercise. However, Albert stated that he is aware that papa (the stable corn meal here) is all carbs and has little nutrients, but it is what Basotho eat to “fill their stomachs.” So it is hard in Lesotho; it is difficult to be educated because one can feel frustrated with the limited resources available to them. But with these resources we have here-we get and stay healthy by being conscious and creative.

For the record: I get to keep my name Mosa, have been nicknamed “Sasa,” changed my last name to Hlalele, and I am now a member of the Bataung clan- directly translated to “Place of the Lion People.” The chief herself has changed her name to Mamosa-“Mother of Mosa.” She is a female chief and the strongest-yet-so-kind looking woman I have seen..I swear she is in her 80’s and works in the fields every day. I feel very safe and loved in her presence. As for now I go back to more training in Ha Motobesuane where I will practice teach at Pukane high school and live with my Makheta family. So far we have learned a lot: how make keyhole gardens, teaching aids with local resources, everything there is know about AIDS and on and on. This next month I will gain the skills I need and want to teach effectively at Khoro High to live up to the expectations the teachers have of me. At the moment life is bitter sweet; I am elated that I like my new site but I will miss my Makheta host family dearly. We have grown quite close-especially my M’e and sister, Morakane. I guess I will have to visit them!

Making a keyhole garden for our community

Family plus M'pho all dolled up and ready for church +

Bana hanging out in our training village. All smiles.

Khosto Pula Nala

 My ausi and I making "poone" on the open fire

 BoM'e dancing upon our arrival to their village!

 Learning to make makwenyas with my M'e (isn't she the cutest?!)

 Bana catching a lift on the donkey express

Host family + neighbors+ our chickens!

I made it friends and family and now understand the national saying of Lesotho: “peace love and prosperity” in Sesotho. WOO HOO! Man, Sesotho sure is much harder than I had anticipated..my mind feels pretty tired but there has been definite progress in the last several weeks. There is so much that I want to share with everyone at home, it’s honestly difficult to sum up into words. I shall begin with saying that I have never felt more welcomed somewhere in all my life. We (33 education volunteers) are the first Peace Corps group to stay for our three months of in-country-training in the village of Ha Mothobesone and the locals express their excitement at every moment and make damn sure we practice our Sesotho. Its culturally rude to not greet every person-even if they are in the far off field-that you pass by. Everyone is greeted as either mother, father, sister, brother, or child which embodies the value that everyone in the village is family. Everyone looks out for everyone. No child is left alone or (too) hungry. My M’e is constantly feeding orphans during our dinners if we have extra food even if they are not her biological children. I am the new daughter of M’e Mamokhtete and N’tate and I have a 19 year old sister (who is honestly my new best companion-she happens to speak English which is a perk I will admit), a 22 year old brother, and an adorable ten year old brother who is adopted because his mother died several years ago from being “sick.” And I have a new name, Ausi Mosa, meaning “Sister Kindness.” I am quite happy with it because it is easy to pronounce-HA! The names here are so tough-but when (if) I can remember them they are so excited!

Training has been what one might expect from a governmental organization-lots of legality stuff to go over. However, I do love the language class with M’e Licebo. She is so wonderful and patient with me.  We are also learning how to become teachers-this is good right? I have lots to learn. But I am so excited to teach. Last weekend us volunteers got paired up with another PC volunteer, mines name was Sarah, who has been at their site for one or two years to get a lil sneak peak at life once we get our sites. I was able to speak with the principal of Sarah’s school and he asked me to work there and emphasized how schools in Lesotho fight year after year to get selected for a Peace Corps Volunteer to teach at their schools. This made me almost cry..I really feel blessed to be given this opportunity to teach here. The children here are so grateful for their education, especially the high school group since they pay for school after primary.  I have been informed that I will teach maths and life skills (HIV awareness, sexism, selfesteem, etc) because maths is commonly regarded as “so difficult” and many students do not pass their end of school exams which debilitates them to further their education and no Basotho teacher wants to teach “life skills” because HIV is just not talked about at all.

All and all I am so happy to be here. I have just been a big ol’ sponge trying to soak everything in even though I can only understand like .3% of conversations. The gratitude and comfort the people offer is beautiful-not to mention the mountainous landscape that surrounds Furumela is awesome. I have been running every morning with another volunteer, Jon, and it has been a big joy. Seeing the bright pink sunrises over the mountains, becoming known to the locals as the ones who love to run, and getting to explore through fields, rivers, and “neighborhoods” have been really great. Plus running early before everyone is up is a perk!  Another awesome thing is that I have learned thus far from my host sister is how to cook the Basotho version of popcorn called poone..needless to say, I will survive!

Adios!

Wow this is real, I am really doing it...Peace Corps Lesotho in less than two days. At this moment I am sitting in my hotel room in Philadelphia preparing for the Peace Corps staging event that will occur tomorrow and I am still trying to reflect upon this morning. What a whirlwind of emotions that have been circulating my body these last several days. Saying goodbye to my mom, dad, and sister was heart wrenching. I have felt really ready for this experience to volunteer with the Peace Corps and have been anticipating it for years-litterally, years. But there was something about these last days at home and being around the ones I love and who love me that made it a difficult endeavor to leave on my plane this morning out of San Luis Obispo.

But off I go with great memories of home and a fresh memory of a wonderful last dinner with my family and Emily whom I love so very much. Life has been very good to and I feel that I am in a good stage of my life. I cannot say that life is necessarily going to get even "better" in Lesotho, but I am assure there will be a big change. And in my mind, change is always good because it opens a door for growth. Here I go! Ciao Bellas!

Final Supper at Ventana finished with a chocolate piano for desert..only in the USA..