Finally I’m updating the blog…again I’m sorry about being fairly terrible at doing so. I blame it mostly on having very little to update about.
So a few things have happened since I last updated.
Phase III—I had my final training phase at the end of January—where my group (CHED 09) was all together again for 10 fun filled days of sessions. I think we were all pleasantly surprised at how everything went. We all got along really well and the sessions weren’t as bad as we all thought they might be. Some of the highlights were going to Semongkong and Ladybrand. Peace Corps took us to Semongkong to visit another PCV, Nick, and learn about gardens. It was a great day. We got to go to the waterfall there, and it was beautiful. I’m looking forward to going back there and abseiling (repelling) down the falls. The next day we got to go to Ladybrand, which is like 30 min. away in South Africa. Peace Corps treated us to an amazing lunch at this place called Living Life, where they grow all their own veggies and it’s basically just awesome. Our program director Charles made this great crossword puzzle for us to use to get to know Ladybrand, so after lunch we had a little scavenger hunt to complete the puzzle. We had 2 days full of Sesotho class and I was actually really glad to be in them. I use very little Sesotho in Mokhotlong and it was great to learn and practice more. It was a fun week all around.
Site Visit—Peace Corps came up to visit me at my house the first week of February. They are making visits to all the volunteers to check on them. They brought me my packages, which was excellent of them. Charles and his program assistant ‘M’e Selloane, had never been to Mokhotlong before so it was fun to experience that with them. They checked out my house and GROW and helped me figure some stuff out with my organization. It was nice having them around.
Lifeskills—I finally started teaching my lifeskills classes at Mokhotlong Primary this past week. I’m really excited about it. I’m working with 4 teachers, all men which is pretty rare around here. I am teaching the Standard 6 and 7 classes (6th and 7th grade). There are about 60 students in each class with a huge age range (10-18 years old). So far things have been going pretty well. The teachers are excited about getting help and starting to teach the program. I am teaching directly with the 6 and 7 teachers and helping the 4 and 5 teachers with their lesson plans. There isn’t time in the schedule to teach lifeskills, even though its mandatory, so the students have to stay after school for an hour each week (Tuesdays and Thursdays for me). The kids are really funny. Many of them live near me and now that they know my name they all call to me on the street—“’M’e Kristina!” Which is a pretty awesome change for me. Before when students spoke to me they were more obnoxious asking me for things or more shy. Yay people are finally getting to know me! This week we are starting to learn about self-esteem. I’m having the Standard 7’s identify their strengths and weakness this week as start.
My Birthday—So I’m 23 now!!! Yay! I had an amazing birthday this year. Irena and Melissa came up to visit me. I was SUPER excited about that (we get very few visitors up here in the mountains). They came Thursday to Monday. On Thursday night we made tacos for dinner and had a total blast putting together the ginger bread house gram sent me. We also played this amazing game Jess sent called the Scrambled States of America to improve our brains. Then I showed them around town for the day on Friday. We played with the cute babies at Touching Tiny Lives (TTL), visited the hotel, and our VRC, and GROW. Then we went back to my place and after dinner had a birthday party with Parker, Sara, this new America girl Andrea, and Kirsten and Kevin from TTL. My house was packed but we had fun. On Saturday Me, Irena, Melisaa, Parker, Andrea, and Sara went to Sani Pass—which is the border to South Africa in Mokhotlong and one of the highest mountain passes in Africa. It also has the highest pub in Africa. It’s so beautiful there! We pitched our tent and decided to go pony trekking, which is Lesotho for horseback riding. That was SO much fun. Its only about the second time I’ve ever done it in my life. While we were out riding we saw this crazy cloud enter the pass—it looked like a snake the way it was moving through the mountains—and by the time we finished our ride we were inside the cloud. We all were joking around that we were literally riding into the abyss. We played cards and hung out that night. It was raining super hard, and our tent filled with water so me, Irena, and Melissa had to sneak into the backpackers with the other 3. Then we went back to my place and chilled out for the day until Irena and Melissa had to go home on Monday morning. Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes and packages!
Work—So things with GROW are less than ideal. To date I haven’t had a lot of actual work to do, which is unfortunate. I’ve helped with some workshops, attended events, held a lifeskills workshop, and done some work with an income generation activity (IGA) project—and done copious amounts of proofreading and time wasting (during which I taught myself all 50 states and capitals, their location on the map, all 44 US presidents, and the countries in Africa). I also may or may not have watched the entire series of Battle Star Gallactica (desperate times call for desperate measures to keep entertained ok)…which does provide funny insight into the things that Dwight Shrute says on The Office. During their visit, Peace Corps tried to straighten out my situation with GROW, but things haven’t gone particularly well so far. I was put with another staff member for a project in Mateanong (about 3 hours west of me) but I’m not super confident about it. So far my work with them has consisted of going to Mateanong one day (after waiting 1.5 hrs at GROW before leaving) for no apparent reason at all, and then being told to come at 8:30am to go back to Mateanong and finding out after arriving at GROW that they left without me at 8am. Ugh. I swear I’m a much more patient person since coming here, however on this particular day I was super mad. But I’ve adopted a new attitude about my work situation. I really don’t sweat it anymore. I check in to see if there’s anything for me to do, and then leave. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s simply not worth making myself upset over. Now that I’ve stared teaching lifeskills and really started feeling out other projects here in town I have enough work to do; and I have the comfort of knowing that Peace Corps would support my separation with GROW if it ever gets to that point without my having to move.
There’s this man that lives near me who has a crafts business. I’ve met him numerous times along the road and at random times. He is a really intelligent guy and one of the only ambitious Mosotho I have come across. He currently sells his crafts at Sani Pass and brings them to Maseru but is actively seeking new markets. Irena, Melissa and I went to visit him during their visit and I got to see more of his work—which is really cool. He makes crafts and earrings out of cow horn/bone. We talked at his house and I’m going to help him with his business. I’m going to help him make a pamphlet and a portfolio of his work. I’m excited about it because I know it’s really going to help him a lot and it’ll be nice to be a part of that. I will however most likely post the pamphlet for those of you how are curious/interested in his stuff—we’re meeting tomorrow and maybe we’ll even make a website or eBay store…
So that’s about all I can think of to update you all on. Sorry it’s really long and super late lol. I want to take this time to say thanks to my amazing friends and family who sent me packages these past few weeks: Thanks Gram, Mom, Dad, Jillian, Catherine, Aunt Sanna, Sarah, and Christy!! You all are fantastic!
Also, Happy late birthdays to Gram, Sarah, Lindsay, and Hannah!
Final side note: the weather: well its sort of fall here now. In the lowlands I hear it’s disgustingly hot and gross (no thanks) but here it’s cooler and rainy. It rains at about 2ish just about everyday. I carry a neon orange little kids Spider Man umbrella these days. But it’s getting a little too cool…like the ‘oh god it’s only February and I’m using my down comforter at night!’ Which is leading us to believe that this winter is going to obscenely cold here in the mountains. Ugh. Gross. I give it about another month or so before it gets too cold for wearing just a t-shirt during the day…
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
The New Years I'll Never Forget
Hi Everyone,
I hope you all had a good Christmas and New Years, I did. Here's a recap of the craziness.
1) Christmas: I went down to my friend Melissa's house in Mafeteng for Christmas. We made a tree out of paper and decorated it..so cute. We made some yummy food, watched some movies, played with her kittens and relaxed before leaving for our Durban vacation.
2)Durban: We crossed the border in Ficksburg South Africa and took a taxi to Durban, which took about 5 hours. It was me, Irena, Melissa, and an older volunteer Barb. Durban is HUGE. The very first thing we did once in Durban was eat McDonalds...which we don't have in Lesotho (the only american chain is KFC). Then we took another taxi to our hostel by the beach, Ansteys.
3) Ansteys: Ansteys was really cool. The people were really cool and the staff was hilarious. There was Dean and Tony. Dean was the biggest drama queen ever and provided endless entertainment. We slept in a tent at the hostel...in a tiny spot that was too small for the tent. One corner was off the ledge and I had a banana tree in my side lol, still fun though. We hung out with a bunch of Afrikaaners and some PCVs from PC South Africa.
4) The Mall: We went to the mall our first day because the weather wasn't great. The mall was HUGE and so great. Me and Irena got haircuts, and me and Melissa got our noses pierced. I also went shopping....
5) The Beach: The beach was like 2 seconds from the hostel and was really nice. The water was really warm, but the current was super strong. I got kncked down more than once only standing knee deep! But being in the ocean and on the beach again was amazing.
6) New Years: So Tony from the hostel was telling people about this "beach party" for New Years so everyone from the hostel decided to go. It was no beach party. It was essentially at the Elks/VFW/YMCA with a bunch of old Afrikaaners and little kids. We were all pretty horrified....especially since we got there at like 7. Unfortunately, about 10 mins to midnight I noticed my camera was missing off the table. Melissa and Barb saw the guy, who had just arrived and had been just booked at the hostel, being sketchy near us and then immediatly leave on a bike. Bad luck for me and also the family who's tent he robbed. Then we went back to the hostel and went swimming and went to bed around 330.
7) Dead man in the pool: We woke up to the news that the guy from Zimbabwe who had checked in with his wife the day before, was found at the bottom of the pool around 4:15. It was insane! The police/coroner came but didnt ask anyone any questions and not a single person was interviewed or anything. So everyone spent the day piecing what happened together and finding out who saw him last etc. It was a big mystery and really strange all day.
8) Tekwini: We left the next day for another hostel more in the city called Tekwini. It was cool. We went to Victoria Market where they have all these amazing African crafts, and then ate really good seafood. When we got back from dinner Ansteys called and told us that they caught the theif and that they had my camera! That NEVER EVER happens! When you get your stuff stollen you never get it back! Then we went out dancing.
9)uShaka: Me and Melissa went to get my camera from the police and heard all about the scams and fraud the guy committed. They are planning on putting him away for 10 years. Then we met up with Chris, Karolina, and Irena at uShaka water park/sea world. It was sooo much fun. We went down the water slides, did the lazy river, and saw all the cool fish and stuff, including the dolphin show. Then me and Melissa got amazing Thai food.
10) Bye Bye Durban: Sadly we had to leave the next day. So we grabbed one last Big Mac and hit the road for Lesotho. Me and Melissa went to Irena's house for the night and we all got completely soaked by the rain while trying to buy green beans from her neighbors. It was hilarious.
Now I'm back in Maseru chilling out before All-Vol and then Phase III training. I'm sure there'll be more updates later this month!
I hope you all had a good Christmas and New Years, I did. Here's a recap of the craziness.
1) Christmas: I went down to my friend Melissa's house in Mafeteng for Christmas. We made a tree out of paper and decorated it..so cute. We made some yummy food, watched some movies, played with her kittens and relaxed before leaving for our Durban vacation.
2)Durban: We crossed the border in Ficksburg South Africa and took a taxi to Durban, which took about 5 hours. It was me, Irena, Melissa, and an older volunteer Barb. Durban is HUGE. The very first thing we did once in Durban was eat McDonalds...which we don't have in Lesotho (the only american chain is KFC). Then we took another taxi to our hostel by the beach, Ansteys.
3) Ansteys: Ansteys was really cool. The people were really cool and the staff was hilarious. There was Dean and Tony. Dean was the biggest drama queen ever and provided endless entertainment. We slept in a tent at the hostel...in a tiny spot that was too small for the tent. One corner was off the ledge and I had a banana tree in my side lol, still fun though. We hung out with a bunch of Afrikaaners and some PCVs from PC South Africa.
4) The Mall: We went to the mall our first day because the weather wasn't great. The mall was HUGE and so great. Me and Irena got haircuts, and me and Melissa got our noses pierced. I also went shopping....
5) The Beach: The beach was like 2 seconds from the hostel and was really nice. The water was really warm, but the current was super strong. I got kncked down more than once only standing knee deep! But being in the ocean and on the beach again was amazing.
6) New Years: So Tony from the hostel was telling people about this "beach party" for New Years so everyone from the hostel decided to go. It was no beach party. It was essentially at the Elks/VFW/YMCA with a bunch of old Afrikaaners and little kids. We were all pretty horrified....especially since we got there at like 7. Unfortunately, about 10 mins to midnight I noticed my camera was missing off the table. Melissa and Barb saw the guy, who had just arrived and had been just booked at the hostel, being sketchy near us and then immediatly leave on a bike. Bad luck for me and also the family who's tent he robbed. Then we went back to the hostel and went swimming and went to bed around 330.
7) Dead man in the pool: We woke up to the news that the guy from Zimbabwe who had checked in with his wife the day before, was found at the bottom of the pool around 4:15. It was insane! The police/coroner came but didnt ask anyone any questions and not a single person was interviewed or anything. So everyone spent the day piecing what happened together and finding out who saw him last etc. It was a big mystery and really strange all day.
8) Tekwini: We left the next day for another hostel more in the city called Tekwini. It was cool. We went to Victoria Market where they have all these amazing African crafts, and then ate really good seafood. When we got back from dinner Ansteys called and told us that they caught the theif and that they had my camera! That NEVER EVER happens! When you get your stuff stollen you never get it back! Then we went out dancing.
9)uShaka: Me and Melissa went to get my camera from the police and heard all about the scams and fraud the guy committed. They are planning on putting him away for 10 years. Then we met up with Chris, Karolina, and Irena at uShaka water park/sea world. It was sooo much fun. We went down the water slides, did the lazy river, and saw all the cool fish and stuff, including the dolphin show. Then me and Melissa got amazing Thai food.
10) Bye Bye Durban: Sadly we had to leave the next day. So we grabbed one last Big Mac and hit the road for Lesotho. Me and Melissa went to Irena's house for the night and we all got completely soaked by the rain while trying to buy green beans from her neighbors. It was hilarious.
Now I'm back in Maseru chilling out before All-Vol and then Phase III training. I'm sure there'll be more updates later this month!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Finally an Update!
Sorry about waiting forever to update the blog, sometimes you just have other stuff to do.
So here's a little picture of what I've been up to since the end of September.
1) I went to Bloemfontein in South Africa the first week of October to get my ankle checked out by a specialist. Turns out, my ankle was fractured after all. It healed well but there is soft tissue issues and just yesterday I finally got the rehab routine for it.
2) When I got back from Bloem I was really really sick because I caught something on the bus on the way to Maseru. It may or may not have been swine flu...my clinic is ridiculous so who knows.
3) I went to Maseru again for a week to attend a workshop and had a great time with the other PCVs.
4) Work is boring and I'm working on talking to 2 of the local primary schools about teaching lifeskills for them.
5) Halloween. Halloween was super fun. I went as a highway (thanks for the idea mom). I had been planning on going as another PCV Tara because we look alot alike. People call me Baby Tara/Little Tara.
6) One of the PCVs I was closest with in Mokhotlong went back to America about 2 weeks ago. Sad for me. In another month, Violeta and I will be the only ones in Mokhotlong until January.
7) They turned the water off in my village for 5 days. Me and my neighbor Kefuoe had no clean dishes by the end of the week that we had to eat bread for dinner lol.
8) We've been having killer lightening storms lately. The lightening is really intense and makes me nervous.
I'm sure a ton more has happened but I'm having a hard time remembering what I did. When I think of something else I'll post another better update.
So here's a little picture of what I've been up to since the end of September.
1) I went to Bloemfontein in South Africa the first week of October to get my ankle checked out by a specialist. Turns out, my ankle was fractured after all. It healed well but there is soft tissue issues and just yesterday I finally got the rehab routine for it.
2) When I got back from Bloem I was really really sick because I caught something on the bus on the way to Maseru. It may or may not have been swine flu...my clinic is ridiculous so who knows.
3) I went to Maseru again for a week to attend a workshop and had a great time with the other PCVs.
4) Work is boring and I'm working on talking to 2 of the local primary schools about teaching lifeskills for them.
5) Halloween. Halloween was super fun. I went as a highway (thanks for the idea mom). I had been planning on going as another PCV Tara because we look alot alike. People call me Baby Tara/Little Tara.
6) One of the PCVs I was closest with in Mokhotlong went back to America about 2 weeks ago. Sad for me. In another month, Violeta and I will be the only ones in Mokhotlong until January.
7) They turned the water off in my village for 5 days. Me and my neighbor Kefuoe had no clean dishes by the end of the week that we had to eat bread for dinner lol.
8) We've been having killer lightening storms lately. The lightening is really intense and makes me nervous.
I'm sure a ton more has happened but I'm having a hard time remembering what I did. When I think of something else I'll post another better update.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
My Tech Demon Strikes Again
So some of you may remember that I have the worst luck with technology EVER. Well being in Africa has not changed that at all. My laptop is broken Like won’t turn on broken. Granted, this time it’s my fault, but still it sucks. I am sending it to Maseru and hopefully someone will fix it, if not I have to wait a month until I go down myself in October. That’s the only way all my pictures won’t get lost forever…
Anyways, I had a super fun weekend. I went to Butha Buthe on Friday because a ton of PCVs were meeting up on Saturday. I had a blast. I got to know a bunch of PCVs better and see almost my whole group again! Basically good times all around. I managed to get a ride down to BB (like 2-3 hours away and expensive) with a women who works for CARE Lesotho (which works with GROW). The best part of this story is that it was me and the woman and TWO SHEEP! They were put in bags in the trunk of the SUV. Like 45 mins into our trip one of them totally escaped! We looked back and it was standing up in the back! It was hilarious and we had to stop and ask some herd boys on the side of the road to tie it up again lol….oh Lesotho…
Yesterday (Tuesday) I went to village with GROW and actually participated in a workshop for community based health care workers. I gave a presentation on nutrition. They don’t speak English and I don’t speak Sesotho so I had one of the other presenters translate. Unfortunately it didn’t really go very well. The women just didn’t get it. But at least I tried I guess.
Not that much else has been going on. Clearly I live a boring life. I’m working on taking pictures of Mokhotlong so that when I am in Maseru next I will post them for you. Thanks for the letters! They really help so much!
Anyways, I had a super fun weekend. I went to Butha Buthe on Friday because a ton of PCVs were meeting up on Saturday. I had a blast. I got to know a bunch of PCVs better and see almost my whole group again! Basically good times all around. I managed to get a ride down to BB (like 2-3 hours away and expensive) with a women who works for CARE Lesotho (which works with GROW). The best part of this story is that it was me and the woman and TWO SHEEP! They were put in bags in the trunk of the SUV. Like 45 mins into our trip one of them totally escaped! We looked back and it was standing up in the back! It was hilarious and we had to stop and ask some herd boys on the side of the road to tie it up again lol….oh Lesotho…
Yesterday (Tuesday) I went to village with GROW and actually participated in a workshop for community based health care workers. I gave a presentation on nutrition. They don’t speak English and I don’t speak Sesotho so I had one of the other presenters translate. Unfortunately it didn’t really go very well. The women just didn’t get it. But at least I tried I guess.
Not that much else has been going on. Clearly I live a boring life. I’m working on taking pictures of Mokhotlong so that when I am in Maseru next I will post them for you. Thanks for the letters! They really help so much!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Mouse Attack
So, the other night I was laying on my bed doing some work on my computer when out of the corner of my eye I see something move in the corner by my front door. I look AND listen for a minute and dismiss the whole thing. I see something again. This time I’m more curious…and slightly paranoid. I watch for a longer time and nothing. Then I see it. A MOUSE. I obviously gave a little shriek and started to panic. I get out of my bed, grab my broom and headlamp (for the dark spaces), and cautiously look around. No sign of the mouse. I pull everything out from against the wall so I can see better and still nothing. I go back to my bed (broom in hand) and keep watch for the mouse. Those of you who know me may remember my aversion/fear of animals, especially those that can hide. I begin to doubt myself, and think that maybe I just imagined the mouse… house is not that big and I couldn’t find the stupid thing anywhere. So I text my neighbor who works with me and she calls my other neighbor and tells me to talk to little sister. So I essentially run across the room and out the door to her sister’s house. Her sister found the mouse in about 3 seconds, and together with my other neighbor they killed the nasty thing. I legit have goose bumps just thinking about it. Thank goodness for my superhero neighbors who are not in least afraid of mice because I defiantly would have gotten no sleep at all that night!
Aside from the mouse hunt, not a ton has been going on here. I planted my garden! And when I say “I” I mean that my Mphoso came over and planted my garden. Radishes and broccoli…I know, who eats radishes? Answer: not me, but I’ll give them away or something. They have started to sprout and everything.
I finally met my Chief this week! This is the real bug news of my week given that the Chief was the first person I was supposed to meet. My Basotho friend Tifi agreed to go with me (as a translator) and I’m actually going to be giving a workshop to the village’s support groups about HIV and AIDS. In another stroke of luck, Tifi agreed to translate the workshop too! Then Tifi came with me to visit some of the schools here. The visits went really well and I’m super grateful that he was around. It was probably the most productive day I’ve had here lol (I also did a TON of laundry that morning). However, I did get a somewhat monstrous sunburn that day…the sun block is officially in use now.
Last weekend I went to St James again with the other volunteers here for a youth workshop for Ben’s students. The workshop went really well and I learned a lot from being there. I also learned about anther myth floating around: that pregnant girls make all her classmates fall asleep, because when her baby is sleeping in her womb, everyone around her falls asleep. Classic. This week the volunteers are coming here to town and we are having a workshop at the high school here where James works. I’m really excited because I want to start a youth group at the school and will start making connections.
Other than that I’ve been living a pretty boring life. Reading books, watching the 5 movies that I have on my computer over and over again…nothing particularly interesting. Next weekend I am going to the next district Butha Buthe for a PC get together where I will see my friends again! But that’s all I have to say, so have a good one! Thanks for reading!
Aside from the mouse hunt, not a ton has been going on here. I planted my garden! And when I say “I” I mean that my Mphoso came over and planted my garden. Radishes and broccoli…I know, who eats radishes? Answer: not me, but I’ll give them away or something. They have started to sprout and everything.
I finally met my Chief this week! This is the real bug news of my week given that the Chief was the first person I was supposed to meet. My Basotho friend Tifi agreed to go with me (as a translator) and I’m actually going to be giving a workshop to the village’s support groups about HIV and AIDS. In another stroke of luck, Tifi agreed to translate the workshop too! Then Tifi came with me to visit some of the schools here. The visits went really well and I’m super grateful that he was around. It was probably the most productive day I’ve had here lol (I also did a TON of laundry that morning). However, I did get a somewhat monstrous sunburn that day…the sun block is officially in use now.
Last weekend I went to St James again with the other volunteers here for a youth workshop for Ben’s students. The workshop went really well and I learned a lot from being there. I also learned about anther myth floating around: that pregnant girls make all her classmates fall asleep, because when her baby is sleeping in her womb, everyone around her falls asleep. Classic. This week the volunteers are coming here to town and we are having a workshop at the high school here where James works. I’m really excited because I want to start a youth group at the school and will start making connections.
Other than that I’ve been living a pretty boring life. Reading books, watching the 5 movies that I have on my computer over and over again…nothing particularly interesting. Next weekend I am going to the next district Butha Buthe for a PC get together where I will see my friends again! But that’s all I have to say, so have a good one! Thanks for reading!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Working Girl
So basically my life consists of work right now. I’ve also noticed that I start just about every blog with the work “so.” I thought about why I do this and this is what I came up with: I basically write these things the way I think/speak, therefore, when I start all these little stories of my life I would start with “so” if I was talking to you in person. Clearly I’m super bored right now and have filled a solid 3 minutes with a random side note.
I’ve been working with my organization GROW to figure out what I’m going to be doing there. Things are going better, and I guess I’m sort of lucky to have some structure…I’ve also been trying to get out and meet people and learn about my community. When I say my community I’m referring to the camp town. Right now I still don’t know anything at all about my village, although, I have ascertained that there is a bar somewhere in the vicinity of my house because I can hear the music at 3AM. I plan on learning more about my village soon though, so no worries on that front.
I’ve been going out to the rural villages a bit lately. Let me describe to you what these trips entail. (1) a long trip in some old pickup truck (extended cab), (2) the “roads” are bad and therefore you are slamming into the side of the car the whole time, (3) you are squished in with other people (this week I was one of 4 grown adults in the back seat of the truck for at least 2 hours), (4) you become invisible and the people around you speak lightening fast Sesotho, until they make fun of you for something, (5) you never get to go pee and are always starving by the time you get back. Usually I’m at each village for at most an hour and I don’t really do that much. So clearly this is time well spent. Just yesterday the truck actually DROVE OFF THE ROAD! Mind you, there are no rails to prevent you from careening off the mountain. Luckily we slid into the mountain instead of off it—plus there is no cell phone reception that far out. Yikes.
I’m pretty excited because Rachel is in town this week so I’ll have someone to hang out with. Also, PC is coming up so hopefully I’ll get my packages! Yay! This weekend I’m going to go to Ben’s site at St James School to watch a workshop that Rachel and Violeta are giving there. And if I get my packages, I’ll stay and go on a hike with them on Sunday. (I need the ankle brace in mom’s package in order to hike). Update on the ankle: it’s neither better nor worse really. This week it was really sore, but hopefully it will heal eventually.
Anyways, I’m at work right now (so obviously consumed with things to do) and I guess I should wrap this up. Quick note first: I am rarely on the internet. It’s expensive and SUPER SLOW here, so I send my blog posts to Jess and she posts them. The same for my pictures (which are really hard to send and almost impossible to post in Mokhotlong). So don’t think that I’m ignoring you or anything if I take a while to respond to emails or FB messages, its just that I’m a broke volunteer lol. I’ll load a bunch of pics at the end of November when I’m in Maseru.
I’ve been working with my organization GROW to figure out what I’m going to be doing there. Things are going better, and I guess I’m sort of lucky to have some structure…I’ve also been trying to get out and meet people and learn about my community. When I say my community I’m referring to the camp town. Right now I still don’t know anything at all about my village, although, I have ascertained that there is a bar somewhere in the vicinity of my house because I can hear the music at 3AM. I plan on learning more about my village soon though, so no worries on that front.
I’ve been going out to the rural villages a bit lately. Let me describe to you what these trips entail. (1) a long trip in some old pickup truck (extended cab), (2) the “roads” are bad and therefore you are slamming into the side of the car the whole time, (3) you are squished in with other people (this week I was one of 4 grown adults in the back seat of the truck for at least 2 hours), (4) you become invisible and the people around you speak lightening fast Sesotho, until they make fun of you for something, (5) you never get to go pee and are always starving by the time you get back. Usually I’m at each village for at most an hour and I don’t really do that much. So clearly this is time well spent. Just yesterday the truck actually DROVE OFF THE ROAD! Mind you, there are no rails to prevent you from careening off the mountain. Luckily we slid into the mountain instead of off it—plus there is no cell phone reception that far out. Yikes.
I’m pretty excited because Rachel is in town this week so I’ll have someone to hang out with. Also, PC is coming up so hopefully I’ll get my packages! Yay! This weekend I’m going to go to Ben’s site at St James School to watch a workshop that Rachel and Violeta are giving there. And if I get my packages, I’ll stay and go on a hike with them on Sunday. (I need the ankle brace in mom’s package in order to hike). Update on the ankle: it’s neither better nor worse really. This week it was really sore, but hopefully it will heal eventually.
Anyways, I’m at work right now (so obviously consumed with things to do) and I guess I should wrap this up. Quick note first: I am rarely on the internet. It’s expensive and SUPER SLOW here, so I send my blog posts to Jess and she posts them. The same for my pictures (which are really hard to send and almost impossible to post in Mokhotlong). So don’t think that I’m ignoring you or anything if I take a while to respond to emails or FB messages, its just that I’m a broke volunteer lol. I’ll load a bunch of pics at the end of November when I’m in Maseru.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Mokhotlong Life
I had written a blog post a while ago, but I never got a chance to post it—and now its really too late so I’m going to recap because so much has happened since I last updated.
So I’m officially a resident of Mokhotlong now. Living in the mountains is really great, so much prettier than the lowlands. I’ve been busy turning my house into MY house—nesting and whatnot. The first big event that happened since I last updated is that I got sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer; meaning that training is finally over and now I can be a real life volunteer! Swearing in was a pretty big deal this year because the Prime Minister’s wife gave a speech for us. That put us on TV and in the papers! I also had to give a speech for my group in Sesotho. I was nervous but it turned out ok…and it put me on TV and a couple people have recognized me on the street lol.
After swearing in we all had to leave to go to our new homes. I’m never particularly excited to go to and from Mokhotlong because it just takes SO long! In a private car it takes about 5 hours to get there, on public it takes about 9, and it takes at least 6 hours to get to Maseru on public. When I say public I’m talking about the bus. The bus is a fairly standard coach type bus—except that they fill all the seats (including putting all children under 8 on laps) and then proceed to fill the aisles so full that no one can move at all. Its definitely an experience.
I’ve been at site for about two weeks now. I work for an organization called GROW, which works with some of the rural villages. The people I work with are really friendly and I’m excited to start projects with them. I also really like Mokhotlong a lot, and just walking around the town I am getting ideas for community projects.
I live about 10 minutes from Grow, and about 30 minutes from town (walking). The walk is nice and people stare at me and shout “Hi” and stuff…typical. People are slowly learning my name, they confuse me with another volunteer who already left. Town is pretty small for a camp town. Its mostly a bunch of Chinese run stores (they call them Machinas). I’m having fun getting to know my way around, and the other volunteers have been really helpful in showing me things.
So there are 5 volunteers in Mokhotlong now; Violeta, Rachel, Ben, James, and Me. James lives in the camp town too, but the others live a little further away. Last weekend we all went to Ben’s site (a school) for my Newbie Party. It was so much fun. Violeta is a really great cook and made homemade manicotti, Italian bread, and a bittersweet chocolate pear cake (we all helped cook a little lol). It was great to get to know everyone a little better. Ben and James are leaving at the end of November though because their 2 years of service are up.
This weekend has been fairly uneventful—which is exactly what I needed. I sat outside my house yesterday and read a book…and got a sunburn! I know right, surprise surprise Kristine got a sunburn. And today I did my laundry and walked to town for a bit. In case you are wondering, I do NOT like to do laundry. 1) I always spill water on myself, 2) its super tiring to wash jeans and sweatshirts, 3) my neighbors and passers-by always stare at me and I’m pretty sure they are making fun of me, 4) its unacceptable to hang your underwear outside on the line, so a weeks worth of panties are strung across my house. But I fully intend to pay someone to do my laundry for me, so hopefully that will happen soon.
This is a pretty long blog so I’m going to wrap it up now. Thanks for the letters and FB messages everyone. Enjoy what’s left of your summer! I’m almost done with winter and about to start the windy season—please try to contain your jealously.
PS other volunteers have better access to internet than I do and have posted pictures onto Facebook—if you check my FB page you will see if I am in their albums and then you can look at their Lesotho pictures too (they will post more often).
So I’m officially a resident of Mokhotlong now. Living in the mountains is really great, so much prettier than the lowlands. I’ve been busy turning my house into MY house—nesting and whatnot. The first big event that happened since I last updated is that I got sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer; meaning that training is finally over and now I can be a real life volunteer! Swearing in was a pretty big deal this year because the Prime Minister’s wife gave a speech for us. That put us on TV and in the papers! I also had to give a speech for my group in Sesotho. I was nervous but it turned out ok…and it put me on TV and a couple people have recognized me on the street lol.
After swearing in we all had to leave to go to our new homes. I’m never particularly excited to go to and from Mokhotlong because it just takes SO long! In a private car it takes about 5 hours to get there, on public it takes about 9, and it takes at least 6 hours to get to Maseru on public. When I say public I’m talking about the bus. The bus is a fairly standard coach type bus—except that they fill all the seats (including putting all children under 8 on laps) and then proceed to fill the aisles so full that no one can move at all. Its definitely an experience.
I’ve been at site for about two weeks now. I work for an organization called GROW, which works with some of the rural villages. The people I work with are really friendly and I’m excited to start projects with them. I also really like Mokhotlong a lot, and just walking around the town I am getting ideas for community projects.
I live about 10 minutes from Grow, and about 30 minutes from town (walking). The walk is nice and people stare at me and shout “Hi” and stuff…typical. People are slowly learning my name, they confuse me with another volunteer who already left. Town is pretty small for a camp town. Its mostly a bunch of Chinese run stores (they call them Machinas). I’m having fun getting to know my way around, and the other volunteers have been really helpful in showing me things.
So there are 5 volunteers in Mokhotlong now; Violeta, Rachel, Ben, James, and Me. James lives in the camp town too, but the others live a little further away. Last weekend we all went to Ben’s site (a school) for my Newbie Party. It was so much fun. Violeta is a really great cook and made homemade manicotti, Italian bread, and a bittersweet chocolate pear cake (we all helped cook a little lol). It was great to get to know everyone a little better. Ben and James are leaving at the end of November though because their 2 years of service are up.
This weekend has been fairly uneventful—which is exactly what I needed. I sat outside my house yesterday and read a book…and got a sunburn! I know right, surprise surprise Kristine got a sunburn. And today I did my laundry and walked to town for a bit. In case you are wondering, I do NOT like to do laundry. 1) I always spill water on myself, 2) its super tiring to wash jeans and sweatshirts, 3) my neighbors and passers-by always stare at me and I’m pretty sure they are making fun of me, 4) its unacceptable to hang your underwear outside on the line, so a weeks worth of panties are strung across my house. But I fully intend to pay someone to do my laundry for me, so hopefully that will happen soon.
This is a pretty long blog so I’m going to wrap it up now. Thanks for the letters and FB messages everyone. Enjoy what’s left of your summer! I’m almost done with winter and about to start the windy season—please try to contain your jealously.
PS other volunteers have better access to internet than I do and have posted pictures onto Facebook—if you check my FB page you will see if I am in their albums and then you can look at their Lesotho pictures too (they will post more often).
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