1.08.2015

Basotho ba thabile letstatsi le leng le le leng.

After a 15 minute walk that turns into a thirty minute one because I am greeted by every villager that is doing something in their yard-whether it be plowing, washing clothes, soaking papa, or just chillin- I arrive at the bus stop. I am on my way to town to pick up some things from my new “camp town,” Mafeteng, that my small village does not have. As we wait to fill the bus, one of my most favorite woman in Lesotho steps up and embraces me as we have not seen each other since our first meeting in November when I visited Ha Khoro High School. She is the cook at our school and an ambitious women who is full of life! We sit next to one another, latching arms and holding hands, sweating a little bit and just catching up on everything in a mix of English and Sesotho. Some traditional “famo” music blares on the radio and we begin to chair dance and just wave our arms around. Famo music is played by the men here and would be can be described as the Basotho version of folk music-always involving the accordion (my favorite instrument to listen to). Just picture a bunch of dusty men wrapped in traditional wool blankets, sitting on boxes in a circle after a hard day of work out plowing the fields with their cattle playing the accordion and singing along in crackly voices. The cook, M’e Melemo, tells me as we are laughing, dancing to the music that Basotho ba thabile letstatsi le leng le le leng, meaning “Basotho are happy each and every single day.” I loved this phrase because it is so true. No matter what their day was like, how hard the worked for little money or how empty their bellies are; they are always smiling. That is the way of life here.


 My sister with our puppies at my new home!
My back yard

I spent Christmas with my first host family where I was for training and they were so happy to have me back for a visit. Everyone in the village kept saying that I have so much love for my family and this brought a huge smile on my M’es face. Although my host sister was not there because she was tied up in South Africa, I had a fabulous time cooking, baking, eating, and just front-porch-postin’ with my N’tate and M’e and my little abuti. We just pulled out some chairs, sat under the shade with some drinkie and asked everyone that passed by “U tsoa kae?” (where do you come from?). I have come to realize that without the distraction of television, video games, electronics in general- people are each other’s entertainment. Conversation is what fills their day. Solitude isn’t a desirable thing here.
 My host dad with his new hat momma Sal and Jim got him. He was so pumped!
Neighbor girl dressed to her best for Christmas

The last day of 2014 was epic! I spent it with three other Peace Corps Volunteers at Lars’s home (he lives an hour and half walk from me). The four of us cooked fried chicken and beans, conversed, and watched from Lars’s front stoop that overlooks the sea of fields below, an amazing thunder and lightening storm. The first presence of rain created a full double rainbow-honestly something I thought only existed in fairytales and maybe a Lucky Charms cereal box-it was unbelievable! As the storm intensified the lightening came in hot, cracked down every minute and lasted hours. African thunderstorms are unlike any others. Then January first, after making home made pancakes, we all went into Mafeteng to watch my principal play a futbol match at the stadium against a team of all his previous students- old guys verse young guys or “energy verse experience” as he put it. It was so fun!
The last sunset of 2014, rainbow included!
Bus stop celebrations for 2015!
I have been keeping myself entertained quite well as I wait for school to open on January 26th. I have been taking up any opportunity that is offered and I am taking advantage of free-time. I have made a visit to another volunteer’s site that lives way way way up in the mountains and it was quite fun to see how different her site is than mine. Every district is so diverse! Another adventurous thing (and maybe I wouldn’t do again) I have done was go out into the field to experience the day and the life of a farmer plowing his fields. Except these farmers were quite privileged in that they plowed their fields with a brand new shiny red tractor. A site that is RARE here in Lesotho. We began plowing, I sat perched up on the tractor like a princess watching the dry earth come to life as the big rake dug into the earth. Really cool to watch. But more significantly noted was watching the two farmers on the opposing field plow their field with a traditional Basotho two-ox plow. Man, to watch this while riding the tractor made me realize how much simple technology can increase food production. What we plowed in one day would take that ox plow probably two weeks..not kidding. Even more shocking was that a young abuti-probably 18-asked if he could drive the tractor to plow to fields because well, why not jump up at this opportunity to drive the thing right?! HA! But yeah, this kid plowed the fields for six hours in the blistering 90 plus degree sun because he wanted to. We gave him some lunch-but that was all! So I spent an afternoon with a group of bo-ntate that were entertaining to say the least. We sat near the truck and spoke about the heat, being tired, and the hard work of the farmers as we watched their fields being plowed…oh bo-ntate…
Plowing the fields with the big red tractor!
The mountains of Morakabai while visiting Cassie's site

We made LENTIL BURGERS! Always a food party when volunteers get together!


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