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.
