Seasons of Change

Hardships here in Lesotho that are tough to swallow. I struggle seeing the pain in some of my students’ eyes as some of them fall victim to harassment, rape, abandonment, and various diseases. It’s difficult to watch them have to be so strong. I know if I were handed situations such as theirs, I would just crumble. But not here-nope-they have to keep their heads up, walk hours to go to school, find money somehow, find fire wood to cook papa, fetch water from the cilibeng, tend their gardens, feed their younger siblings..all with the hope in their minds that this education will pay off and lead them to opportunities for success. Yes, the longer I am here the more of these scaring experiences I will witness but I like to see it rather that I get to be part of their healing processes. I get to be here for my students and friends and support them through these devastations and for this I am forever grateful.

This being said-my life here is not depressing at this first statement I have made, for I have learned many cool new life lessons here. The other day I was slowly walking up the gentle slope to my home from school. I wasn’t walking with the slightest haste, hungry but not urgently hungry, tired but not exhausted, just reflecting back on my day of teaching at school.. We teachers held an hour meeting at school to discuss the punishment for the students who lead a food strike at school before winter holiday, arriving at one or two points with every point being meticulously clear by “once-thought” painstakingly slow speech. I left school with most of my lessons plans written for the next day, however, I wasn’t too worried about what exactly it was that I was going to teach. Even though I love those ten minutes right after a long day at school where I get to just be inside, alone, decompress..I not longer felt this hurry to get home. I just put one foot in front of the other and partook in every opportunity that crossed my path. I stopped to watch the chickens forage in the mangy heaps of cow and donkey dung, practiced my Sesotho with a gang of primary school boys that were on their way to play some after-school futbol, and spoke with one of my students about his cool toy car that is pictured below. It was like life here has finally clicked and fell into place. My American angst is fading and a most relaxed, patient, version of myself is taking form. I can now truly enjoy the words from the wise (a former education PCV who lived in a neighboring village in Lesotho several years ago) that are as follows: “Enjoy the pace of life - it'll never be that chill again.” When I read this in our monthly Volunteer newsletter I just chuckled and continued reading. But no joke, as I walk home with my Basotho pace from school, I could not agree more with her. This life, the life of no appointments to run and do after work, no places to have to drive to and meet someone (with what car?), really enables me to embrace every moment that I have.

Rethabile and his very cool up-cycled toy car

Ntate herding his cattle in Morija

We have a new young male science and maths teachers (yip yip-I’m no longer the rookie teacher!) who is joy to be around. Electricity is well underway. We have had a million school trips to other schools where we participated in quizzes, debates, competitions, etc. I spent a week at a Grassroots Soccer SKILLZ Girl training with my Mosotho counterpart, M’e Matlotliso, whom happens to be the cook at my school. Her and I are to implement this 12 session program at our school that educates young women about their rights to life choices that can empower, protect, and encourage them to live a happy healthy life. The program parallels challenges faced in girls’ lives to those on the soccer field. So far its been a gang of fun-it’s rewarding knowing that these girls feel they are in safe place during practice and allowing them to discuses topics on their own. One of my favorite moments was hearing the passion behind one our students’, Limpo, voice as she told the group that not only men can propose love-women have voices too! It.was.awesome. The season of change is upon us here in Ha Khoro- and I’m not just talking about all the peach blossoms and electric green buds on the Willow trees.

Three Form C students as they celebrate their success at an Agriculture Fair

(Jon, Me Matlotliso, Cassie, Grace, and I at GRS training)      

After we had our big huge Farewell ceremony for our Form C students as the sit to write their big national exams in a month (huge party-we slaughtered four sheep for the occasion!) we break for a week from school and four other volunteers and I are off to trek some 200 kms through the mountains to end at the iconic Semongkong Waterfall in Lesotho. Should be fun and difficult. I am looking forward to getting out and fully surrounded by nature, sleep under the most brilliant stars ever seen (no light pollution here), eat nothing but oatmeal, peanuts n raisins, and hang with some good o’ Americans.

Traditional dances performed by our students. SO COOL!!

Salama from Madagascar!

Beautiful Rivers in Andasibe National Park

I am currently reading a book from a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer that served in Lesotho in the early 2000s and I feel compelled to share a quote he states, originally written by Mark Jenkins: “To travel is to expect much of the places you visit; to move to one of those places is to expect much of yourself.” This was first read to me by my mother (she started to read to this book before me, so now I naturally feel motivated to read it) while we were traveling in Madagascar last week; we agreed to the undeniable truth behind these words. The experiences I am gifted in Lesotho have come because I live here, because I am with time and much effort, assimilating into a culture and discovering things on a level that traveling alone does not allow. However, we all need breaks and I got the best Peace Corps vaca ever with two very cool traveling companions!

Our Madagascar trip started off a lil bumpy (Dad got his passport stolen and flights in MAD were canceled due to an unexpected strike-T.I.A!), but low and behold it turned out to be part of the adventure to create the trip of a lifetime. Firstly, it was SO amazing to see my mom and dad after quite some time..to just feel their parental love! From Johannesburg, South Africa we flew into the capital of Madagascar, Anatananavario, where we first were acquainted with Malagasy people, their native language, Malagas, and their second spoken language being French. Ohhh the challenges of communication! We got to our hotel and figured out how to get to our destination of Ill Aux Nattes, a small island off an even smaller island, Ill Saint Marie, off of the big island of Madagascar provided that our flight was canceled. Yay public transportation! One and half days later and 2 buses, 3 taxis, 1 boat ride, and a ride in a traditional Malagasy pirogue- we arrived to our rustically perfect bungalow on Ill Aux Nattes. Let me just say some of the most beautiful places are the hardest to get to. An undiscovered, lushly vegetated tropical island whose native people still run the place was worth it. Provided that it was a center for piracy back in the late 1600s, supports my thoughts that is might just be the coolest place to choose hang, scuba, hike, fish, and explore! I’ll let the photos do the talking..

Beautiful view from the tallest point on Ill Aux Nattes, Madagascar

Oops, it inked! We caught a cuddle fish while fishing off Flourio‘s pirogue!   

Got two dives in. Highlights: loads of lion fish, giant octopus, colorful schooling fish, spiney-blue lobster, and interesting disk coral. Plus humpbacks!

After the island we packed up and got to fly into Tana, spent a day walkin around local markets smelling all the locally grown vanilla, sampling all the bizarre luscious fruits, and gawking at the beautiful handicrafts. We also went to the Digue Market where we got to see some immaculate crystals, giant fossils of ammonites and loads of other marine critters, and petrified wood. From here we changed gears and took a trip into the Malagasy rainforest. We hunkered down at a nice lodge in the Parc National Andasibe Mantadia, a park who is home of the Indri indri, the world’s largest lemur! You could hear these guys hollering before you saw them. We had time to explore many parks in this region, seeing six different species of lemur, chameleons and geckos galore, as well as have time to just chill with the locals, play ball games with the kids, and go on some rejuvenating runs with local dogs and a nose full of the scent of fresh cut lemon grass.  The trails through the rainforest were tourist-less (so nice) and truly humbling. One could feel how after we humans leave this planet, Mother Nature will just swallow everything up and grow over it. Bizzare lil creatures-insects, fungi, and primates will take control. Seriously, the forests were so lush and full of life I felt like I was experiencing A Land Before Time. And promisingly enough, efforts to conserve the rainforest in Madagascar are there and in action (with only 10% of it’s rainforest remaining), however, the scars of slash and burn are very prevalent. Economically it is a struggling country, but it is rich in beautifully hard working cultured people, natural resources, and rice. Water-filled rice patties are everywhere, quite the difference from dry abandoned cornfields of Lesotho…

 Right before she said “I just peed in the sacred pools-is that bad juju?”

Exploring Andasibe National Park

The smallest chameleon full size..cutest lil creature alive

A common brown lemur befriended my dad on Lemur Island

But these bone-dry fields compose the land where I now live in and the land my parents flew across to the world to finally see and experience. Our long border crossing and taxi ride from Johannesburg got us to my village of Ha Khoro just as night fell, arriving just in time for a mixed bicultural family dinner around a fire in my Basotho family’s kitchen..it was awesome. So surreal to see my mom and dad hug my host mother, her daughter in law, and her children. We were awoken the next morning by my Mme with a silver trey of lesheleysheley (traditional Basotho sorghum porridge) served to us in her best-never-used-before-china. They got to meet the chief of my village, see my school, meet my collogues, and were embraced by many more. Everyone was so pleased to have met them and I was beyond words.

One big colorful family. So much love!

It was such an unforgettable experience to travel with my mom and dad through an unreal island and have the stay at my place in Lesotho. I am thankful to have their support and won’t forget it as I have to buckle up for a new quarter of teaching. Staff meetings have been held and it looks like I’ll be teaching maths and biology for the rest of year because one of our teachers unexpectedly quit..If I have learned one thing in Lesotho, it has been to just go with flow. And with fond memories of funny lemurs, exploring underwater pinnacles with my mom and dad in the Indian Ocean, runs through the jungle, and an encouraging circle of friends, family, and colleagues in Lesotho- I think I can do anything!