Dearest friends and family and other people who also read this:

This is my first post in quite some time. A friend of mine recommended that I post an update soon after I returned from Africa, but I am just now feeling as though I am ready so here we go!

I left Peace Corps early for many reasons. Two main reasons were that I did not feel 100% safe and accepted at my site. Various crimes took place in my community and in Lesotho. Some of these crimes involved my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers who are and will always be my family. (To Peace Corps credit I was offered a different site when I decided to leave, but declined). I also did not have much interaction with my host organization and they were supposed to be my main focus. I was fairly isolated in my community and felt quite alone, especially when I didn't have support from the teachers I was teaching with at my local primary school. Basically, I wasn't happy.

Even with all that being said, I did have a wonderful experience overall. I learned about a world that until Peace Corps was entirely unknown to me. Some of you know that I wanted to go to South America so Africa was a big change from my original plan. I am so glad that I was placed in Lesotho so I could experience life in a village firsthand. I met some of the most dynamic and intriguing people in the world and even met a guy who I thought I would marry. I broke up with him shortly before I returned to the US and even though I miss him a ton, I know it was the right thing to do. I learned a lot about myself and about what really matters in life.

I learned that we must be grateful for what we have. Don't make the song lyrics, "You don't know what you got til it's gone," be true in your experience. We all have people, experiences, and things in our lives that we know we should be grateful for. Oh yeah, tell the people in your life why you love them. It's important.

Just so you know, I love you all. And mostly it is because you are reading this ;)

I learned that I don't know much of anything, but I do know that I want to be happy. I really don't believe that we have any other purpose. I think the hardest thing in life is to find out what really trips our trigger and makes us laugh, smile, and dance. Maybe we should just laugh, smile, and dance until we find it. And maybe we'll find out that laughing, smiling, and dancing ARE what trips our trigger and that is what we should do. HAHA Ok, you know what I'm saying.

Reverse culture shock really started to sink in this month. I quit my job at the cemtery I was working for and moved back in with my parents this week. I think I tried to do too much too soon. I moved out of my parents house two weeks after I arrived home from the Peace Corps and had a job within a month. I was working 6 days a week and it was too much. Also, why did I think that working for a cemetery was a good idea??? Or living with cats again??? Let it be known that I, Emily McKeen, cannot live with cats now or ever again.

So yes, that is where I am right now. I plan to have a plan by my 25th birthday (April) and I want to be out of my parents' house before the summer. I would like to be out before then preferably, but I realize that I need to take some time to recharge and prepare for the next chapter of my life. I want to move to a sunny place and am interested in Americorps, environmental organizations, and solar technology organizations for employment.

Thanks to everyone who has been listening to my Africa stories. Thanks to everyone who supported me during my adventure. Thank you to the people who have had to deal with my disorganization and antisocial behavior since returning to the States. And thank you to those who will be there during my next adventure. I can't wait to hear about yours as well. :)

Peace, Love, Harmony, Laughter, Balance, and Clarity to you all!

Today I leave for America. I am really excited. I feel like this is the right time for me to leave because every project I have wanted to try I've tried. I have done the best I could to make my site and situation work for me, but unfortunately it has not. Many of you know that I had to deal with a few safety and security concerns during this past year. I also did not have a structured job. The decision for me to return to the States came because of my secondary project with the primary school. I was sent home for teaching children about puberty and sexual abuse. At that moment I made a pros and cons list of why I should stay or go. There were several more reasons to go than to stay. When I left my village this past Tuesday to come to Maseru I had an urge to cry. Not because I was sad to leave, but because I was so happy to go. I also felt a little upset for wasting so much time there, but it's not something I'm going to regret. I have learned so much during this past year and a half. I know more about the world and look at development work and aid funding through completely different eyes. I also learned a lot about myself. I know that wherever I am in the world I can feel at home. After Peace Corps I truly feel like a global citizen.

I don't want to discourage potential Peace Corps Volunteers from joining PC. This experience is amazing and can never be replicated. However, you must have realistic expectations when applying. Unfortunately many volunteers never see the results of their actions. We have to trust that the seeds we are planting are going to grow when we leave. Also, countries that receive aid from other countries tend to also have lots of corrupt leaders. Most of the money doesn't go to the people who truly need it. Read the book Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo to expose yourself to a different and in my opinion more accurate view of Africa's aid situation.

I will miss the people I connected with in my village. One family in particular was wonderful to me. I traded vegetables with them when my garden was flourishing. The dad in the family also fixed my front door handle when it fell off. They were the most active people in my village. Even the grandmother herded sheep when she had time. (Most women don't deal with animals). I also connected with the shop owners in Thoahlane. It was hard for me to say good bye to them. I will definitely miss my Peace Corps family. I have met the coolest and craziest people while on this adventure. I asure anyone who joins Peace Corps will realize that we're a different breed. Most people don't sign up to give up electricity and running water. (I've learned that running water isn't that important if you have a clean water pump, but electricity is fantastic). (Also I don't mind latrines).

I am worried about returning to my native culture. I have developed different social habits and am way more emotive than I was before I left for Peace Corps. Sometimes I feel more African than Amerian. In fact yesterday I went shopping with my friends in Maseru and we stopped at a cafe for drinks. I told the waiter/receptionist that I didn't want to buy a sparkling water from him because I could get it cheaper down the street. He told me, "As white as you are you sure are acting black right now." This was coming from a black South African from Pretoria. It's funny, but probably the most racist thing I've heard in awhile. I think I'll fit in eventually...but it might take awhile. :)

The plan for life in America is tenuous. I don't what I'm going to do for sure. I want to stay in Defiance for two weeks before moving out to Akron. Is that cool Brian, Sharon and Amy? After that I want to get a job and just hang out until the first of the year when I can apply for financial aid. I'm thinking about going back to school for psychology.

Ok I must go to meetings then head to the airport. I'll be in Ohio tomorrow at 1PM. Crazy! I can't wait for my 16.5 hour flight. lol.

See y'all soon!!!!!!!

Here's a link to the CNN article about what happened here in Lesotho.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/09/05/lesotho.peace.corps.death/index.html

I have to post some really terrible news right now. I had the following blog typed before I knew what I'm about to type, but I still wanted to post it anyway.

On Friday night a Peace Corps Volunteer in Lesotho was shot and killed in Maseru. It occurred after a celebration for some volunteers who are leaving the country soon. The PCV who was shot was a new volunteer in the lastest Education group. His family has been informed and Peace Corps is trying to help us deal with it the best way possible. Many of us are at our training center just spending time with each other. I haven't seen some of these people in a really long time and it's been nice being around them.

All of us are safe now and are just trying to wrap our minds around this completely senseless act of violence. We only came here to help. It doesn't seem fair or right that we have to endure something like this.

September 2, 2010

Turn on Me

There is so much to report and unfortunately not all of it is positive. I have had a fairly difficult couple of weeks at sites. On the bright side I have been able to leave my site most weekends to see other volunteers while on business in Maseru. So while life at site has been challenging, I have been able to get away to recharge frequently.

To start I’ll talk about something happy. I had a wonderful weekend in Bloemfontein early last month. I was able to get my hair cut and go shopping! We were celebrating the close of service for a 3rd year volunteer. It was awesome getting to send her off properly with a couple nights out on the town. I can’t believe I’ve been out to a club/bar only 3 times the entire time I’ve been here. Sometimes I would be out with friends 3 times a week in the US!

Teaching hasn’t been fun lately. I’m finally teaching the kids the hard stuff and I have not received the support I need from the teachers. In fact one day I was told that I couldn’t teach class 4 girls about periods and had to go home. I didn’t get to teach at all that day because my teacher said it was a culturally sensitive subject. I have 14 year old girls in that class that need to know about their bodies!! A week later the same teacher said I could teach sexual and reproductive anatomy since that was in the official (national) life skills syllabus. When I showed her the diagrams I was going to use she said I could teach anatomy without pictures!!!!!! This same teacher told me before I started teaching the children about puberty that she did not know what was happening to her when she got her period. She was scared because no one had told her about it before she got it and she still wouldn’t let me teach her students about the subject. To this day I do not understand why not.

Not being able to teach these kids what they need to know has been a complete disappointment. Another teacher got angry with me for teaching kids about sexual abuse and what to do if they are abused because that was inappropriate. Actually he said it was wrong to teach it. Even after a speech from me about safety and how we (in the US) teach kids about this when they are in class 1 he still didn’t want me to teach it to his class 5 students.

Besides not being allowed to teach what I think the kids need to know I have been frustrated with my primary school for other reasons. I was in class waiting for a teacher to finish her lesson before I started mine when a kid started acting up. She smacked him in the face. Corporal punishment occurs at most school around the country, but I was told that it didn’t happen at my school. I guess that wasn’t true.

I had a yard sale recently to get rid of some of the crap I have accumulated over this past year. It’s amazing how much stuff I have received from volunteers in groups before me who have already left Lesotho. I'm selling everything for pennies. It's nice to know that this stuff with finally be used now. My host aunt who is mentally ill started fighting with a woman at the sale and when my host mom intervened my host aunt started wailing on her. The woman who was attacked first took refuge in my house and my host aunt tried to get in which almost caused me to get attacked as well. It was the first time I was really worried about my immediate safety. Thankfully she’s living with other family members for the time being. She was in the hospital for a month before this happened and I’m not sure if she’ll have to be admitted again or not.

Besides that I’ve just been generally annoyed with living here. I’m sick of feeling like a freak and being disrespected. I really don’t like the culture here. The food sucks and so does the music. One volunteer here has said that she’s never been to another country where she didn’t like at least one food item until now. Sometimes I feel like it’s just me, but volunteers are constantly complaining about being harassed and about cultural differences. It’s so sad writing this down! Can this place really be this terrible?

I know it’s not true, but because I’m from a different culture it seems like all the people here are extremely rude. There are no words in Sesotho for please or you’re welcome. I hate sounding so racist and mean, but it feels wonderful to finally put on this blog what I feel most of the time. I try to keep everything on the bright side, but today I’m venting full force. Don’t be surprised if I don’t finish my full term here in Lesotho. I’m learning that being miserable is not worth the feeling of accomplishment from finishing a full 2-year service period.

In more happy news again I am in Maseru for Reconnect with my group. It’s so nice to catch up with everyone and to see what everyone has been up to. I haven’t seen some of these volunteers in 8 months! One girl just got back from a visit to America which should be exciting to hear about. I am sure there is a lot we have missed. A sobering moment occurred when I was listening to the radio and the DJ said, “And here’s a song from Pink that was popular a year ago,” and I didn’t know what the song was. A year ago! Pink!! She’s popular! It’s not terrible being out of the loop with popular culture. I’m glad that most of us get on the internet regularly enough to read the big news updates though. One volunteer I know didn’t hear about Obama receiving the Nobel Peace Prize until recently. That’s not good, but I don’t think that happens often. I hope!

In even more happy news I get to see my parents very soon and my boyfriend even sooner! At first I wasn’t very excited, but I think it’s because it didn’t seem real yet. Now there are only a couple weeks until my vacation and it’s coming together. I’m halfway packed and I’m definitely ready to go mentally. I don’t even care what we do; I just want to be with people I love and who love me!

I’ve been sleeping too much recently. I think it’s just because I’m bored. I guess I’m in a bit of a funk, but I know that I’ll be out of it very soon. :)

The seasons have changed for us already and it is hot. I don’t think Spring or Autumn really exist here. It’s winter to summer straight. I was just sleeping with 3 blankets and now I’m only using a sheet and my sleeping bag. I swear no place like this exists anywhere else on this earth.

Take care!!

Emily

School started again this week. Surprisingly my kids have remembered much of what I taught them last quarter. I’m more than pleased. The first day of classes I introduced “question boxes” for my grade 6 and 7 students. They are for questions that kids may want to ask, but are too shy or embarrassed to do so in front of the class. I’m excited to see how this experiment works. This quarter we are going to learn about puberty which should definitely be an impetus for all sorts of questions.

This month I am traveling a lot! I am in Maseru this weekend for a Gender and Development (GAD) meeting, next weekend I am traveling to Bloemfontein, South Africa for a girl’s weekend (I’m going to get my hair cut for the first time in 7 months! I’m so excited!), and the last weekend of the month I am going to Maseru again for PSN training. I was just nominated to be on the Peer Support Network (PSN) and will now be a resource for other volunteers to call when they need to talk to someone. My program director said he approved of my nomination because I have had some experience with difficult situations. Lol. I am excited to be on this committee.

I’m reading a really good book called Dead Aid (note I did not put an S). We’re talking about charity, cash money given to people who claim to need it. Some believe that giving money to people doesn’t solve problems. After living in Lesotho for over a year now I have seen (and heard) about lots of corruption taking place within NGOs and other charitable organizations. Bilateral aid (governments giving other governments aid) isn’t the answer either. I haven’t finished the book yet, so I don’t know what the answer is, but I am relieved to read something that includes not giving handouts to people in developing countries. Many PCVS (including me) believe that all foreign aid should be taken out of Lesotho, besides maybe Peace Corps only because we teach instead of handing out money. And why stop at Lesotho?

Eleven full months of service left! I plan to COS (leave) in July at the earliest date possible. :) A couple people have asked what I plan to do after this and much to my parents chagrin I believe I will live abroad again for another few years. I don’t have a job in mind yet, but I’ve just started looking. Who knows exactly what the future will bring? I am very excited about it though. And I will probably be living in Africa. I never thought I would make this place home, but this might be the case. I can call my village in Lesotho “my site” or my “place of assignment” instead of “home”. I don’t have to make Lesotho seem like a permanent place of residence, but next year I will probably be calling South Africa “home”. It’s a surreal feeling.

Have I ever mentioned that Maseru has a mall now? It’s owned by South Africans I believe and is really nice. We have a supermarket, a movie theater, and three sit-down restaurants as well as a food court and some decent shops. I saw the Alice in Wonderland movie there when it first came out. The seats aren’t the most comfortable and the popcorn I bought was slightly burnt, but it was a blast! It’s nice to have a place to do everything when I go to Maseru. And it’s open later than the other shops which is really nice. Also, the supermarket always has dates. I flippin love dates.

Right-o. Not much else to write. I should get busy and do something productive like write up a lesson plan. That would be the responsible thing to do. :)

Hello! I'm in Maseru for two days trying to attain optimum health since I have had a very stubborn cough for some time now. I have to take an antibiotic for a week unfortunately, but that's life. I also had to obtain an inhaler for the first time in a decade. My asthma is unfortunately exacerbated in this climate. But I hope to be at 100% soon.

Last month was very busy for me. I've been working hard even though it's winter right now and most people are having a bit of a break. I had a workshop for my cooperative members on HIV and Nutrition which went very well. A village health worker performed the condom demonstrations for both male and female condoms (she's Masotho so it was entirely in Sesotho) and nurse from the clinic presented some information on services available for the community. I liked it because I wasn't the one talking the entire time. It was more of a discussion. I have yet to get the feedback forms translated so we'll see what my community wants to learn about next!

Next month school starts again which will keep me busy :) And in September my parents and Aunt Shellie and Aunt Susan will be meeting me in Cape Town for vacation. Gerhardt is going to meet us there as well which will be perfect.

Besides that I have a blog to copy here. I had intended to post in early June so forgive me, but I think it's necessary to post still because of a couple events that should be documented.

Righty-o take care!

-Emily

June 18th 2010

Classifieds

My spirits are high in Lesotho at the moment. Most of it is due to the fact that I am leaving for vacation this weekend. I am so excited to leave the country for longer than just a day trip across the border. I am also excited to see my Afrikaner friends in Jo’burg and to attend 2 World Cup games! My friend and fellow PCV Rocio and I are going to Ellis Stadium for the Spain vs. Honduras game on Monday June 21 and Ghana vs. Germany on Wednesday at Soccer City Stadium. Soccer City is where the kick-off game was last Friday. It’s too bad it was a draw, but I loved watching it in my camp town nonetheless. I’ve been looking forward to World Cup for so long and now it finally is here. I love the energy that has permeated the media and general spirit of most people in Lesotho.

Unfortunately I have some strange and sad news to report as well. I went through a hell and back ordeal where my host brother ran away. I felt as though it was my fault because, well I have to tell the story from the beginning to tell you why I felt that way... I have multiple plots where I grow vegetables at my site. I do it because I like gardening and because I don’t have access to much fresh produce in my village. My host family’s sheep has gotten into the garden multiple times and have eaten quite a few vegetables. I priced the materials it would cost to build a fence and I cannot afford it. I also shouldn’t have to build the fence because the sheep should be watched when they are let out of their corral. They simply shouldn’t have the opportunity to invade the garden, but they do. The last time they did they ate the rest of my lettuce, my spinach and my beloved broccoli plant. I was devastated because winter has just arrived and the lettuce that was left was the last I would have been able to use before our first frost. Everything has died that isn’t a winter crop so I couldn’t plant more lettuce, etc… I told my host grandmother about it and I was angry. I was the angriest I have been in this country. I asked her why she hasn’t respected me enough to take care of her sheep and on and on. (The sheep have never invaded her garden since I have lived here). So that night she castigated the kids and threatened to beat my host brother Bokang because watching the sheep is part of his responsibility. The next morning he pretended to go to school, but instead ran away. No one knew where he was and I cried most of the day because I was so worried. The general feeling was that he crossed the border into South Africa. World Cup is here and the influx of drug dealers, thieves, and general “bad guys” in South Africa is no doubt significant. Bokang is about 10 years old and while he is a resilient Masotho child he is no match for the “bad guys” in South Africa. The possibility of him being hurt was real and I was so worried. Also feeling as though I was responsible didn’t help either. I know that I wasn’t to blame. I didn’t yell at him, I didn’t threaten to beat him, but my issue with the sheep was the instigator of the entire dramatic situation. Thankfully he was found the next day at an extended family’s home nearby (not in South Africa) and he returned home a day after that. It was the second worst experience of my entire life. Maybe I worried too much, but the possibility of harm coming to him seemed very real to me at the time.

Another incident that happened recently is more strange than sad. My host sister’s Mom is now staying at the family compound with us for reasons I don’t entirely understand. Actually the fact that she hasn’t been living with us the entire time is what doesn’t make sense to me. She is mentally ill and has other medical problems. She had been living in South Africa prior to this, but I don’t know in what she was employed. She periodically has “fits” where she laughs for no reason. That in itself isn’t awful and one gets used to it eventually. It’s not frightening or demonic laughter and is just something I try to ignore. Last week she had a fit where she started shrieking instead of laughing. I thought someone was harming her or that she was in pain, but nothing and nobody in our environment seemed to be causing it. She started writhing on the ground and rolling back and forth very fast. Between the yelling and shrieking she was spitting and making other strange noises and I was scared. Thankfully a volunteer was staying with me and we came inside and locked the doors. We watched her through my window until she sat up and looked straight at us. We didn’t leave the house the rest of the night to be safe because she took off shortly after looking at us through the window and ran away somewhere. She came back the next day while I was at the house alone reading and she appeared normal. I’m not sure what to do about the incident as of now, but I’m generally being cautious around her.

Today I am getting over a small cold that I hope will be gone by the time I leave for South Africa. I’ve had the cold almost all week and I think it’s because the weather has gotten significantly colder over a period of just a few days. The temperature has been dropping below freezing in my house at night. It snowed last Tuesday in my village. I didn’t think it would snow here in the lowlands! It’s not fair that I don’t get the beauty of the mountain scenary, but I still get snow. It’s not that bad though and I’m still happy that it’s not summer. :)

Well it’s time to take care of some work-related business on this lovely Saturday. Be well everyone! And watch the World Cup!!!!!!!! I still can’t believe Switzerland beat Spain…or that RSA tied Mexico, or Germany lost to Serbia and that the US tied with Slovenia last night. What the heck is going on? This World Cup has been full of surprises.

Sorry I haven't written a long blog in awhile. I haven't been in the capital long enough to write anything decent! I will next month though. I'll be in Maseru for a couple nights for training. I just want to write quickly that my address has changed. Our post office situation in my camp town isn't working out as planned so I will use our main office in Maseru as my address for the rest of my service. Don't worry about past letters and packages sent to the old address, I'll keep checking that post office regularly for mail, but please send all future mail to Maseru. Here's the new address:

P.O. Box 554

5 Bowker Rd.

Maseru 100, Lesotho

Southern Africa

Thanks so much!

And now on to the incredible World Cup Final. WOOOOO Spain!! I was so excited last night. I thought Spain had a wonderful chance at winning this World Cup. I wish I had bet money on it...lol. It's cold here today in my camp town. I think we're going to feel the effects of a cold front coming through the Northern Cape this week. I just hope the worst will be over by August. I officially now have one more year left here. I hope to get out the first week I am able to apply for a close of service date. :) Now it does feel like the home stretch.

I hope you all are enjoying a lovely summer. If I were there I would go to Cedar Point. I've been thinking about it soooo much recently! I think that's only thing I'm doing as soon as I get back to Ohio. :)

Be Well

My last post didn't go through unfortunately and I don't have the time to type out everything at the moment, but I'll try to write the essentials right now :) The World Cup games I saw were amazing. Our seats were excellent; far better than we thought we had. My camera was accidentally picked up by a friend of a friend so I'll post pictures as soon as I get it back. I hope I get it back soon, those pictures are priceless! I am sad that Ghana didn't win the Ghana vs. Germany game, but they are advancing so it's all good. Spain beat Honduras 2-0. It was a very good game. Honduras never gave up. The US did better than I expected. I wish I had purchased a ticket to see them. Maybe WC Brazil 2014???

Work is slow at my site for the moment since the schools are on break and it's the dead of winter. I'm staying busy now by planning for another HIV workshop next month and writing up lesson plans for school. I have lots of ideas for topics and I need to do some research.

In personal news I now have a boyfriend! Gerhardt and I met last Christmas in Durban while we were both on vacation. We've been in contact ever since and decided to hang out while I was in Johannesburg for the World Cup since he lives there. Not only did he let my friend Rocio and I stay at his place for free, but he also drove us to our WC games, the mall, and McDonald's about 100 times. :) I knew his friends from Durban and met some new ones on this trip. We are pretty much perfect for each other. He's on facebook if you want to see pictures of him. :)

That's it for now. Take care and keep watching the World Cup. Go Spain!!!!

In just a few weeks I will have been in Lesotho for one year. At times it seems like it’s been longer than that, yet at others it seems like I arrived yesterday. The sense of time passing here is much different than it was in the States. Some of that probably has to do with the complete reversal of seasons I experienced. It’s warm when it’s Christmas and cold on Independence Day. Winter is upon us at the moment and I have been enjoying it tremendously. Even though it’s been fairly cold at night and in the morning and only will get worse in the coming months I’m still not worried. I’ve learned that I’m more of a cold weather person rather than a hot one. Also I'm not a huge fan of higher elevations.

I’ve fallen into a routine. I teach life skills 3 days a week at the local primary school and keep up with my cooperative on the weekends. Each class is moving at a different pace than the others which has been a little challenging for me to keep organized. My class 6 and 7 students are learning about HIV right now while my class 4 and 5 students are still on the concept of self-esteem. We only have a few more weeks until they gone on break for awhile so I plan to review all this material again in August to keep them refreshed. Sometime I have to go over very basic concepts over and over again, but I think it’s important that the students actually internalize this information rather than moving on to new topics constantly.

I’ve been growing pak choy in the garden recently. It’s great with rice or noodles and soy sauce. I’m very happy that Chinese people are here and operate stores that sell their food. Growing pak choy has been fun. It should last in the winter. My broccoli plant finally started showing me the goods last week! I should have a head of broccoli in another week or so. I can’t believe it finally started growing something edible. Besides that I won’t be gardening much until next spring.

A teacher at a local high school and I started follow-up interviews for my last work shop on HIV/AIDS. We are analyzing the answers to find out what people actually learned. Unfortunately many participants don’t seem to be internalizing a lot of new information. Thankfully this entire year the workshops will be on HIV/AIDS so I have more time to teach. I know that results don’t happen overnight, but I hope to see some in the near future.

I’m a bit disenchanted with the idea of development work at the moment. Some PCVS have said that Lesotho is the best example of development gone wrong. NGOs, charities, and others have poured so much money into this country without a huge impact on the overall development of Lesotho. Corruption is rampant as well as the sense of entitlement. Sometimes I wonder if countries like Lesotho wouldn’t be better off if outside organizations and governments just left...

In exciting news I am going on vacation next month! I am going to the World Cup with a fellow PCV and we are going to Johannesburg for 2 games. The first one is Spain vs. Honduras at Ellis Stadium and the next one is Ghana vs. Germany at Soccer City Stadium. I can’t wait! I’m for Spain. They are currently ranked #2 behind Brazil I believe. I think they have a real chance at winning this thing & I really hope they do. Spain has never won. We are staying with Afrikaners we met on vacation last Christmas in Durban. I’m so happy to see them again and hang out. It’s been too long. They are some of the most hospitable and friendly people I’ve ever met.

In other news unrelated to anything is the fact that I love the metric system. The U.S. should adopt it immediately. Using the metric system not only makes sense because every other country in the entire universe uses it, but it is also easier to understand. We already buy 2 liters of soda, track teams run 100 meter dashes and all those who study or work in science and math related fields use the metric system. I admit that converting from Celsius to Fahrenheit can be tricky, but honestly everything else is much easier. True story.

Also I just want to say that I’ve been missing my friends and family a lot. People are moving on with their lives back home and I sometimes feel like I’m stuck here doing nothing, but I know that’s not true. However it is still surprising to me when I realize how many of friends are married from high school. Most of my college friends are in the single boat with me though! Many of my friends are having kids and buying houses already. We're not supposed to grow up yet! Life isn't supposed to go on while I'm gone. :) lol.

I’ve been thinking about what I’ll do after Peace Corps a lot as well. I am thinking about going to grad school in the States or finding a job in South Africa. I’ve been thinking about moving to England or teaching English in a Spanish speaking country. There are so many options! It can be overwhelming to think about deciding on any one thing. It’s hard to reconcile the side of me that wants to stay in one place, get a job, buy a house and a dog and the other side that wants to keep exploring and learning about the world. Plus, do I want to get into serious debt by going to grad school? I love learning, but I don’t really like school. I like working because to me I’m producing a tangible result when I’m receiving a paycheck. Studying and getting good grades don’t do enough for me. In the meantime I’m going to start studying for the GRE and looking up information on renewable energy sources and grad school programs on the subject. I have time to decide right?

Well today I need to finish up reporting for Peace Corps then I'm going to watch movies on my laptop while I have electricity. It will be a nice and easy Sunday. I don’t know if it is my old age or what, but I am just not as social as I used to be. I have a feeling that that might change when I’m in Jo’burg or when I return to the States. I just have to get back to my element. :)

Be well everyone! Take care & thanks for reading.

I'm busy! Finally! I'm excited that I finally have a structured schedule with my primary school. I teach there three days a week in classes 4-7. I just had them do presentations in front of the class and they did a really good job. We're learning about the concepts of identity and self-esteem right now and will be moving on to decision making skills and thinking skills next. After all that I will start sex ed. I feel like I know the students better and I think they trust me more now. Also, a few have been saying that life skills (the class I teach) is their favorite subject! To me that's fantastic.

I had a really fun birthday. It was a simple and easy day. I jogged first thing in the morning, taught at the school, made tortillas and cooked beans for lunch and topped off the day with a bottle of hard cider. It wasn't bad at all. Thank you very much to those of you who sent birthday cards. :) I have taped the first ones I received on the wall near my bed and look at them often.

The day before my birthday I attended a funeral. My host sister's baby died on the way back from the clinic the day after Easter. I believe she died while my host mother was carrying her on her back because that's how she arrived at our house. The next day we had the funeral at the house to save on expenses. A few men killed one of my host mother's sheep right outside of my house that morning and I helped prepare food for the guests. I had to cover my hair to show respect. I didn't go to the grave for the burial because I was told to stay and help sweep the house and continue preparing food for the guests. This funeral was the saddest funeral I have ever been to. Babies are not supposed to die. She wasn't even six months old. My host cousin started wailing when he saw her in the coffin. He was her older brother. Another cousin started crying and I talked to her about what was going on. I was glad to be there to help comfort the kids because no one else was. Basotho don't seem to mourn and hugs aren't given to the ones that actually cry. I let the younger ones color in my coloring books too. I don't know if it helped, but I know that I liked being busy that day. I didn't mind sweeping, cleaning and cooking. In a way that helped me mourn. I had just given the baby a toy a few days earlier. I knew she was sick, but I didn't think she was going to die.

I wish it hadn't happened, but I am grateful to have attended a funeral and to see the rituals up close. For once I was treated just like a Masotho and not a foreigner. I had to wash my hands three times after sweeping the house before the guests arrived. Five of us women used three basins placed outside the gate of our property and we dunked our hands at the same time three times. I'm not sure what that signified. The next day my host sister (the mother of the baby) shaved her head. She will do it again in exactly one month. It is a sign of mourning. Usually family members where white after the death of a child, but I haven't seen anyone do that. I often see people where a black cloth and that shows that one is mourning the death of an adult. I've seen more tents up for funerals lately and each time I do I think of the funeral that happened right outside my house.

My last workshop on HIV went really well. It was just a basic awareness workshop and people enjoyed it. One man said that he didn't know older people could get HIV which was a huge breakthrough. One woman said she thought she had HIV and was going to get tested. Next weekend a friend of mine who teaches at a high school near me and I are going to visit the homes of people who attended the workshop to ask follow up questions. Some still believed myths about HIV and I want to make sure that they know the truth and understood what we talked about. I want to know if they've gone to get tested or if they used the condoms that I handed out. I told them about female condoms and they want me to get those for the next workshop. Our next one is in July and will be on HIV and nutrition. I think that will be really beneficial for the people I work with. I need to get them to eat protein! And to eat it regularly.

That's it for now! Thanks for reading. I'll update again when I have the opportunity. Today I'm in my camptown meeting up with some of my friends for a girl's night. I cannot wait to paint my naked nails.

Be well.

Emily/Naleli

P.S. I climbed a mountain near my house on Monday with a couple friends. The view was breathtaking. I didn't make it all the way to the top (stupid asthma) but now it's a challenge. :)

Hi folks! Today I am in Maseru for a GAD meeting. I am still technically the secretary, but will step up to co-chair soon I believe. Either way I am very involved with GAD which stands for Gender and Development. We are working on our identity/mission statement at the moment and hope to have plans for future events in place soon. We are focused on raising issues about gender discrimination in Lesotho. Domestic violence (or as it is more progressively known, intimate partner violence)is rampant in this country. It is considered normal for men to beat their wives, girlfriends, etc. We want to change that! Also we want to bring awareness to issues of homosexuality as well. Many of you may know that public displays of homosexuality are considered criminal acts in various countries in Afria. While that is not the case in Lesotho homosexuality is not discussed or looked upon favorably. We want to change that too!

My job is better at site. The hiv/aids education and awareness workshop is in a week and a half and we have a Lesotho organization confirmed to join us in village to help discuss the difficult issues. I am optimistic that it will be a success, but also realistic that it may not go precisely as planned. Such is life in Lesotho. I am happy about the fact that my cooperative members asked for this information so I know they will be eager to receive it. I just hope that cultural boundaries will not be hindrance to learning. I don't know if I'm more concerned about talking about sex with my primary school students or my cooperative members. Either way it's not entirely comfortable! Wish me luck.

Kids constantly say "bye bye" when I wave and say hello to them. I've tried to teach them to say "hello" instead ever since I arrived in my village. Last week a young girl said hello to me first before I said anything. I almost cried. Also another young girl has been jogging alongside me when I run past her house. She's done it about 4 times. Sometimes she's with friends or her sister, but usually it's just her and she runs 10-15 minutes with me then goes back home. Her name is Mpolokeng and is very dear to me. Sometimes when I'm just concentrating on running the last 3rd of my jog she comes out and completely distracts me to the point where I'm able to run longer than I thought possible. Mpolokeng is adorable.

Without much else to report I want to plug a product. Solio chargers. They are small portable solar chargers that have connectors to charge various electronic devices such as phones, iPods and digital cameras. I have one and it's what keeps my phone and iPod charged 24/7 at my site where I have no electricity. It's a wonderful invention that is helping me stay safe and secure in Africa and is also helping the environment. Obama has a solio charger. (How's that for celebrity marketing?) It's true, there are pictures of him holding one. lol. I don't know if he actually uses it or not. Why would he need to? But it is still a wonderful invention. Check it out and consider other solar charging possibilities. Germany is currently the leader in the solar technology in the world. Ohio gets more sun than Germany does. Just putting things into perspective for my fellow Ohioans. Did you know The Onion calls us "America's State"? That's another true story.

Alright, I must go. It is getting late and I must walk back to our training center for the night. Take care, be well and love the world wisely.

Emily (Naleli)

I have recently been informed that the chief of my village is prohibiting “private clothes” from being put on the “wire” between 10am and 2pm. If we do indeed put our clothes (or sheets or anything) on the line between those times he told us that hail will result. I did it after the announcement was made (before I knew about it) and then apologized for any future storms that brought hail with them. :) I hang clothes up inside until 2pm after I do laundry just so they will start to dry. It’s really annoying, but this is part of adapting to a new culture and it won’t kill me so I have to comply.

My kids are doing great in my life skills classes. Some are exceptionally bright. I have a quiz at the end of each class to see if they are learning anything and they are! They are actually paying attention. I don’t know why I thought it would be so difficult. It’s been a lot of fun. The first two weeks I simply introduced myself which included answering questions like “Are you from Brazil?” and “What is your clan?” and I also introduced the idea of life skills. The third week’s topic was communication. We have a lot to work on with that one. I can’t wait to teach a few sessions on presentation skills. I’m going to wait to talk about sexual health until they know me better. I need to develop trust.

The parents of students I teach have been telling me what the students are learning about in my classes. I’m so excited that they are including their parents in this information! I’ve taught the kids a few games and I’ve seen them playing them in the village when they are out playing. I feel like I’m making an impact.

I have a workshop planned for early April on HIV/AIDS education and awareness. During the feasibility study workshop multiple people asked for information on HIV so we’re giving it to them. I’ve been told that people out in the rural areas don’t care about HIV or what happens to them, but it’s simply not the case. I think of it differently. For example in the U.S. we are constantly bombarded with advertisements and information. It’s information overload. We are aware of serious health concerns, natural disasters and just everything that is in the news. People out in the rural villages where I live don’t receive messages about anything, let alone HIV. There is no electricity and no internet capabilities where I live. We can get some radio stations, but that’s it. And what villager in Lesotho is going to listen to the BBC news in English when they can listen to Basotho music in their own language? Of course they aren’t receiving information and when they do it conflicts with what chiefs and traditional healers are telling them. Who should they trust? Why should they want to learn anything about HIV when they think it doesn’t affect them? I hope we can make an impact in these rural areas and give them the truth about HIV and how to prevent transmission. Lately I’ve been talking more with my co-operative about the long-term effects of HIV and just now they are putting two and two together. We have funerals literally every weekend because of deaths of HIV. The estimated population of Lesotho in 2010 was supposed to be over 2 million. It’s actually only 1.7 million right now; possibly lower. Villagers are now realizing that these deaths are not normal and are the result of AIDS. It’s powerful. Hopefully we can get some people tested during on of our future work shops and start getting some results!

The harassment of course continues and will never stop. I’m dealing with some of it in a more humorous way now. When I’m called a foreigner (and the people shouting it are closer than 20 feet) I tell them that I am Masotho and then tell them my Sesotho name. They always laugh which makes me laugh. Then I tell them where I live and what I do. I basically just speak Sesotho continuously until they go away or until I’ve walked far enough away to make a general conversation impossible. Sometimes when I’m wearing a cloth on my head or have a blanket around my waist I think I’m particularly convincing.

Sometimes when someone says something rude or grabs me for no reason I swear at them. I don’t know if they know what it means and sometimes they repeat it which is hilarious. I try not to swear too much though. It just comes out sometimes. Like when a taxi conductor wouldn’t give me change. It wasn’t just a Rand or two. It was 25 so I was getting really upset. That’s 2 ½ liters of coke! Or a veggie burger in South Africa! Or 25 apples. I’m really surprised I didn’t lose it with the guy when the driver started to drive away (he did it a couple times). I cursed only once and I’m proud of myself for that. :)

I still get asked for money or candy wherever I go. Recently I was in a small taxi and the driver told me, “all whities have money”. He was actually a nicer guy so I had a decent conversation explaining to him that not all white people have lots of extra money to give away whenever and to whomever they choose. I tell people here constantly that I’m just a volunteer and sometimes I tell them my salary. They are always floored because oftentimes they make more than I do. That’s not always true of course and I have a lot of privileges that people here just do not have. The degree of poverty here is astounding, but they need to realize that not all “whities” have money. It makes me feel like people only want to be around me because they think they get something out of being close to me. Men I don’t know ask me to marry them. Everyone asks to be my friend and I have to ask myself, “Do they really want to get to know me or is it just because of the color of my skin?” It’s really weird being constantly reminded that I am a foreigner, white person, American, whatever.

A quick garden update. Everything is doing well! The cucumbers actually did come up and I picked the first one a couple days ago. The plant looks a lot like a squash or butternut plant and everyone kept telling me that it was just a type of squash. I didn’t plant squash so I was confused, but it did end up being cucumbers. So that’s fun and I have one broccoli plant that survived and may produce something, who knows? My watermelons are getting bigger, I’ve been picking green peppers and lettuce leaves every couple days and my carrots are as big as my foot. Gardening has definitely been a positive release. Next I’m getting a plot ready to plant winter crops such as beans and cabbage. It’s nice having stuff to eat at site when I don’t have the chance to get near a store for days or weeks at a time. Also it’s peach season! I’ve been getting lots of peaches and vegetables from local people. I trade my swiss chard for tomatoes, potatoes and peaches. I planted a decent amount of swiss chard and have realized that I don’t like it so I trade it for other stuff.

That’s it for now!

Until next time, be well.

Yesterday I officially went to the optometrist to get glasses. I really like them, but they won’t be ready for a week or so. They are blue and much cuter than I expected any glasses I’d find in Lesotho to be. I was really impressed with this doctor’s manners. He was very kind and quite knowledgeable. Apparently the main problem with my eyes is astigmatism. I don’t recall ever having astigmatism before…he thinks it occurred after my eye surgeries. I don’t know how it’s related, but whatever I’m just glad that I’ll have improved vision in the near future!

So far I’ve been happy back at site. I’m teaching life skills finally and I’m really enjoying it! I don’t know if it’s because the students aren’t used to me yet or what, but they are extremely attentive. I thought I would have lots of problems getting them to pay attention, but this hasn’t been the case. I just hope they stay interested.

The cooperative has been very lucky with the rainfall we’ve been getting. All the crops they planted are going to be harvested and sold in the camp town soon. Everyone’s private gardens are doing well too. I’ve been extremely lucky. Almost everything I’ve planted has come up besides the cucumbers and broccoli. I planted a ridiculous amount of onions and had to transplant some to a new plot. My supervisor said I’ll have enough for the winter. That’s until September. Lol.

I’m not sure when I’ll be back in Maseru. I hope to be back soon to pick up the glasses or to go to a GAD (Gender and Development) meeting. I like being at site, but I need to know the next time I’ll get out as well. Speaking of future plans, I’m going to the World Cup! I’m going to the Spain vs. Honduras game in Johannesburg in June. I can’t wait!!!!! Especially since Spain has a real chance to win this thing. My friend Rocio applied for the tickets a long time ago and just found out yesterday that she won them!!

I’ve heard that Ohio has been getting lots of snow. I hope the roads aren’t too bad. I miss it in a big way. I’ve realized since being here that I much rather like cold weather than hot. I hate sweating all the time.

Well I should head back to village now. It seems like I can never leave too early.

Be Well Everyone!

Emily (Naleli)

Phase III is now over! I am not sure that I learned a lot, but it was really nice to hang out with people with my group. :) At our program design management workshop my supervisor and I planned 4 HIV/AIDS education and awareness workshops for 2010. I was really happy to effectively use the time we were given. Other PCV's counterparts and/or supervisors did not show up and didn't get any work done unfortunately.

I will start teaching life skills next week. I am excited to interact with kids because they are often more receptive to new information than adults. Plus, I want teachers to learn how to teach life skills from me!

I am also excited about planting some new vegetables in my garden. My supervisor checked out my garden and has told me that my watermelon seeds did indeed germinate. I wasn't sure what was a weed and what wasn't so it's good to know that it has taken off! I'll update more about the veggies in a little bit. I haven't yet enjoyed the fruits/veggies of my labor.

A quick update on health: I am feeling 100% better since getting sick after our Volunteer Conference at the beginning of January.

Speaking of the Volunteer Conference we have been given notice that rules are going to be better enforced in the future. I want to report that we have not had a country director since October, multiple staff members have been required to hold several positions at once and current volunteers have not received the support they were deserved. My group of CHED '09 has been required to integrate into our communities and Lesotho with several staff changes. In fact we did not have either a Country Director or APCD for awhile. Note the disclaimer at the right side of this blog. My views do not represent those of Peace Corps, The United States Government, or the Government of Lesotho. I understand that rules need to be enforced. People need to be held accountable for their actions, however, I do not like feeling as though I am guilty before I am proven innocent. Peace Corps Volunteers generally want to help people and we deserve respect and to feel as though staff is on our side. I have been given considerable support during the stressful time I have gone through being sick and wanting to quit Peace Corps. I have not felt safe in my village and may need to transfer. There are significant security concerns that may need to be delt with in the near future, but at the same time there is a chance that I will stay in the village where I have been placed. Note, I was placed without a counterpart and with a supervisor that lives 2 hours away and who works in a different district. To be honest I have not felt as though I had the proper support needed during my intergration period, but thankfully that has changed recently. With all that being said I am looking forward to getting to know our new APCD even more. I have made the decision to stick with Peace Corps and to see it through until the end. I considered destroying this blog and my account with blogger so that my views would be more private. (As private as you can get posting anything on the internet). But, I am not going to do that. I only wish that those who read this blog are genuinely concerned about my Peace Corps experience and wish to support me.

And with a very formal send off....

Thank you,

Emily

Also, since I'm staying in Lesotho in my same village my address is the same!

I have many updates for the past few weeks! I went on vacation and fell in love with Durban, South Africa. I loved the ocean, the salt water air, and just the general vibe. I got offered a job at the backpacker's hostel us chicas were staying at and decided to quit Peace Corps and move to SA to take the job. Unfortunately I could not get a VISA for longer than 7 days. Everything has changed because of the World Cup supposedly. It's difficult to get a 3 month pass to SA like we had been getting from any of the Lesotho borders. I talked to an immigration specialist who gave me the low down and in order to get the VISA extended I'd have to go through other legal stuff as well. The Peace Corps staff was really supportive and tried to help me find a solution, but the early termination procedure had also changed. I don't want to return to the States right now, so I've decided to stay in Lesotho and continue working as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I'm in Maseru for the next 2 weeks for training and will have somewhat regular access to the internet during that time.

After my vacation I had a conference with all the PC volunteers in Lesotho then went home to my village for a couple days. This past Wednesday night I felt really ill and went to Maseru in order to see the doctor the next day. Unfortunately I couldn't make it overnight and had to be hospitalized for diarrhea, vomiting, and fever. I was really dehydrated and they kept me in the hospital for 3 nights. I just got released this morning and am hanging out at the training center until our in service training starts on Monday. I'm still a little out of it and am feeling a little dizzy, but I am definitely better. Hopefully I'll be at 100% in a few days. I'm really glad to be out of the hospital though. They put an IV in my left hand and it swelled up to balloon size and hurt like crazy. I made them take it out and refused to have another one put it. The doctor took my swollen hand later and slapped it with the back of his hand and asked me if it hurt. I was angry as hell and told him not to touch me and that I was appauled at his behavior. He said it was a joke, but I'm still angry. I'll never go back to that hospital again. And it's supposed to be one of the better ones. :/

So, yeah. I'm going back to village in February to start teaching (finally) and will give Lesotho another chance. If I have to switch villages I will, but I don't really want to. I've been having some security concerns that I've reported to Peace Corps and we're just waiting to see if anything escalates before I do anything drastic such as moving.

I have to get going right now, but I'll post again soon!

Later,

Emily

Alrighty I can't explain everything right now, but I will as soon as I can. But some information you all need to know is that you shouldn't send me any mail for the time being. I will receive anything sent before this posting, but it will be difficult for me to receive it.

I had a blast on my vacation in Durban. We left early and had Christmas at our hostel. We had a BBQ and met tons of really cool people during the 11 nights we spent there. :) I got my hair cut, we saw Avatar in 3D, and ate lots of really good and healthy food. The beach was AMAZING. We could see it from our hostel. We also went to a water park (uShaka) and saw a dolphin show. While we were there I went down the tallest slide in Africa twice!

Ok, I must get going, but I will post again soon with more information about my situation as soon as possible.

Much LOVE!!!

-Emily

While being here in Lesotho I have come across two really great recipes that you must be aware of!

Ethiopian Red Lentils

I cup red lentils

I can tomato paste

1/2 onion

garlic

oil

black pepper, salt paprika & ginger

Fry onions and garlic in oil (or just cook them in vinegar or water) until onions are golden. Add tomato paste and water (I usually use a 1/2 cup then add more as necessary). Add spices (I use more ginger and paprika and less salt and pepper). After 5 minutes add lentils. Cook until thick and creamy, but not stiff. Adjust seasonings and serve.

Crispy Bean Tacos w/Feta and Cabbage

4 tortillas (if you need a tortilla recipe email me)

2 cups shredded cabbage

1/4-1/2 minced onion

1 can kidney beans

1/2 cup crumbled feta

5 tsp. oil

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp ground cumin

salt, pepper

1/4 cup cilantro (opt.)

hot sauce

Partially mash beans and add cumin and minced onion. Mix 2 tsp oil with lemon juice and toss in bowl with shredded cabbage and cilantro. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat 3 tsp oil in large nonstick skillet and add tortillas in a single layer. Spoon 1/4 bean mixture onto each tortilla. Fold in half and cook 30 seconds - 1 minute on each side. Stuff tacos with slaw and feta. Serve with hot sauce on the side.

*I add tomato slices to the tacos. Also in the original recipe the onion is added to the slaw. I prefer onions cooked slightly raw than raw so I added them to the bean mixture. I didn't have cilantro and they were still great. Gotta use the hot sauce. Oil is not necessary. This recipe doesn't sound fancy or fabulous, but it's amazing. Hands down the best thing I've eaten in Lesotho in 6 1/2 months!*

I have many many things to write about! I haven't been to town in awhile and refuse to go to Maseru any more than is absolutely necessary. I like my quiet little village where everyone knows me. I still get asked for money, candy, my bag, etc... but I don't get seriously harassed like I do in the camp towns or the city.

First, Cherry Fest. I went to Ficksburg, South Africa the weekend before Thanksgiving for their annual cherry festival and it was different than I expected. It was like a glorified carnival in the US with cheesy rides, fried foods galore, and of course lots of cherries. I met a few Afrikaners there and I must say they are an interesting group of people. I live near one in my village and he's great. I figured we Americans would blend in because many of us are white (and so are Afrikaners), but we definitely did not. We had lots of stares. The Afrikaner style is way different from ours. Men wear really short shorts to show off their seemingly hairless legs while women have very unique hair dye jobs. Also flare bottomed pants seem to be popular. The men are very stocky, some have no neck, and their calves are huge! No wonder they are so good at rugby. It was definitely a cultural experience. I stayed the night with a couple PCV's at a woman's house in Ficksburg. We went out for breakfast the next morning and had pizza at 9AM. Fun. :)

Next, Thanksgiving. I awoke early on Thanksgiving morning to my host mother telling me in Sesotho, "The sheep ate everything." I said, "Everything?" in a very groggy voice and went outside to see what was going on. Sometime in the night a few sheep got loose and ate all the spinach out of my garden. A couple green pepper plants were damaged as well, but three of them are doing quite well now. The root vegetables were fine. I had planned on going to town to see a friend that day, but the taxi didn't show. I had a rash from the day before that I got while gardening that was itching terribly and needless to say I was not happy. I decided to stay home because I knew that the cookies I had made would be melted by the time I walked to the road to catch a ride to town. And I just wasn't in a good mood so Thanksgiving wasn't much fun.

After the theft of spinach I planted swiss chard, broccoli and lettuce in it's place. It's all sprouted and looks good! I'll harvest it in late January or early February. I built a new garden (the day before Thanksgiving) and just planted cucumber and tomato seeds in it. Just before I leave for vacation I'll plant baby spinach and other greens for a second harvest in our Autumn (Ohio's Spring).

I visited one of my best friends here, Elissa the first week of December. She lives in another district and is closer to my camp town than me! Maybe not spatially, but it takes her way less time to get there than it does for me. We had a blast. I need to visit her more! She works with the World Food Program and one day I went with her to monitor seed planting and growth. Her org. gave out seeds and she had to document who was planting and how the plants were progressing. I saw my first openly HIV positive person who was really sick. Most of the openly positive people I've met receive treatment (ARV's) and are remarkably healthy. It was a really grounding experience. I had another similar experience yesterday. I went to a nearby village and met with a woman who has two disabled children. It broke my heart to see her son because of his story. He had lived an average life until he was hit by a car. Now he cannot walk, sit up on his own, or speak and she has zero aid. I told her that he suffered brain spinal injuries, but it may be possible that while he cannot communicate he may be able to understand what others are saying. He smiled and responded to me when I talked to him. I don't know what to do to help at the moment, but I'm trying to get both of the kids toys. Children here have little to no toys. The older daughter is obviously neglected, but really cheerful. She hides her face constantly and exposes herself without a second thought. I met with a young woman in the same village who has ideas of where we can get aid through the government. I'll update more on them in future posts.

I have an update on the work shop I had at Tsa Kholo high school on HIV/AIDS with a few other volunteers. The kids I taught wrote me letters and asked more questions about HIV. I just wrote them back and responded to all their questions. Some were really great! I can't wait for them to read them once they get back to school in January. I really want to visit them again and maybe hold a follow-up work shop.

Speaking of work shops I planned my own for my cooperative in my village and held it last week. More people showed than I expected and it went really well. My supervisor and a young woman who is my age helped me translate and present information. I did it on feasibility studies for small businesses. I wanted the people in my village to consider all costs before starting up a small business or project to see whether or not the said business is feasible or a good idea. For example the last time we had a chicken project the woman in charge of it did not consider medicine as a possible cost and almost lost money on the project because of it. The comments I received from the workshop were really positive. Most people want me to conduct more work shops related to small business and agriculture and there were requests for an HIV work shop. I plan to have a few HIV/AIDS workshops from Jan-March, then have an all day event in April where people can come to get tested. Other similar events have failed in the past in other villages and I hope to prevent that from happening by informing people about HIV first. The hope is that people will get tested later during the HIV day event if they are properly informed. How do you really eliminate stigma? I want it to be catered and have at least two non-profit organizations come and hand out information and whatnot. Wish me luck on getting funding! I'll check PEPFAR first.

During the feasibility study work shop the new Peace Corps Country Director (Kathy) came to visit. I didn't have time to chat with her really. We got through introductions then she and a few other PC personnel observed the work shop. She was really impressed that my cooperative is not funded by any outside organization and that we didn't receive funding for the work shop. Most aid that comes in is used up quickly and the projects started with foreign aid disappear as soon as the funders do. They are simply not sustainable. We used scrap paper and pens to give people to take notes and we used the local school to present our information. Our only real expense was chalk and the cooperative keeps a box or two on hand most of the time. It was fun having people come visit! Kathy also brought me snickers. Yum.

Right now I am in Mafeteng camp town waiting for a friend to bring me malaria medicine from Maseru. I have to take it a week before I leave for Durban and unfortunately I couldn't get it here in my district. None of the chemists (pharmacies) or the hospital had the medicine. Malaria isn't a risk in Lesotho, but still all government hospitals should carry it. I'm getting ready for vacation and already have a couple things packed. I can't wait!

The rest of this week I am going to work on lesson plans for teaching life skills next year. I'll be teaching grades 4-7 two days a week at the local primary school. I'll cover self esteem, health in general (mental, physical, and specifically sexual & reproductive), relationships, and we'll of course talk about HIV a lot. I can't wait! I think it's going to be fun.

Well I think I've written plenty for you all to read so I'm going to stop here. I'll try to post again just after Christmas (I'm going to stay in village for that holiday then go to Maseru for vacation). I really hope to post pictures in early January. I have so many good ones to put on facebook and by then I'll have vacation pictures too. :)

Happy early Christmas and New Year!!!!!!!!!!!

**Special thanks to Marylin Clark from Napoleon for sending me my first holiday package. :) I sent you a letter and you should receive it by January hopefully. I waited on Marylin and her husband at Applebee's shortly before I left for Africa and she's been following the blog ever since!**

Also, Megan sorry this is the first time I've had access to the internet in awhile so I haven't been able to post special holiday care package ideas. :( Some new additions to the list are men's undershirt tank tops (wife beaters, ugh terrible term) in size small, stationery, envelopes, good smelling candles, pancake mix & light syrup, and a college level dictionary. Unfortunately the dictionary I bought here is not acceptable. If someone could send me a dictionary and perhaps comment that they are sending it that would be great so there aren't multiple senders. However, I could always give the extras away!

Cheers,

Emily (Naleli)

These pics were taken when my coop helped me build my first garden. The really awesome laughing guy is my supervisor!

“After the winds, the rains will come.” -Al S. (current CHED PCV in Lesotho)

We have been receiving a lot of rain lately. Thankfully it comes for just a few days at a time then we have some sunny dry days in order to do laundry and let it dry outside. Since the rains have come I do all my laundry with rain water. It helps out a lot since I don’t have to pump extra buckets just for laundry. Why don’t we have tanks off of every gutter in America? We could do so much with it! Maybe we wouldn’t use it to wash clothes (why not?) but we could use it for cleaning cars, windows, siding, etc…

I’ve been getting even busier at site. My cooperative elected a new committee and they are doing a great job at the moment. We have decided to hold a feasibility study workshop in December to help people make better decisions on starting small businesses/projects. We are inviting representatives from various organizations in the area to participate. I really hope it goes well because this will be the first big event I will have planned and held myself. My main goal is to have my coop members decide for themselves whether or not a project (e.g. a chicken project) is feasible based on the facts and resources they can come up with on their own instead of asking “so-called” experts like myself.

Speaking of chickens, some people have asked me what the big deal about chickens is. Why don’t we just raise chickens on our own in our own villages? Well my village is very rural and very poor. If we don’t get enough rain to water our crops this spring and summer there won’t be enough food to eat. Buying baby chicks, feed, & medicine; transporting the chicks and having enough space to shelter them costs a lot of money. Also it’s difficult to buy just a few chicks at a time because suppliers have minimum amounts that one can buy. We have to buy at least 100 layer chickens at a time and we probably only have enough money to take care of 20 right now. Currently we buy meat chicks regularly for a steady income. It takes only 2 months or so to raise them and then they are sold for meat eating purposes. Layer chickens are more expensive and simply lay eggs. People eat them, but their main purpose is to lay eggs. Layer chickens bring in more money so naturally they are more expensive. The shops in my area buy their eggs from the Chinese or merchants from South Africa (we’re right on the border). (Sometimes I feel like Sarah Palin when I think, “I can see South Africa from my house!”) They do so because no one can afford to raise layer chickens in the area and people like eggs. Fortunately I have one guy who lives in a village near mine who procured a couple layer chickens from somewhere so I can buy eggs from him. When I first arrived at site and realized everyone was buying eggs from the Chinese I said I wouldn’t buy any eggs in Ha Thoahlane until we raised our own chickens and could keep the money here in the area. The guy’s village, Bokone, is right next to mine so I won’t mind walking a little extra for eggs from now on. It’s better than not eating eggs at all. It’s difficult to incorporate enough protein in one’s diet here. Very difficult. I hope that explains the chickens situation clearly enough. Please ask more questions if necessary!

Besides the meat chickens projects and feasibility study workshop my coop has decided to plant some crops for the summer and to start building tanks to keep water for all of our other projects. There isn’t enough money to do much with the irrigation project at the moment so we’re just working on getting funding for building tanks. We can get free cement from the government and they will transport it here if we collect rocks with which to build the tanks. Also, the meat chickens project is going well enough that we will start selling the chickens to groups outside of our area. There is a new mine being built at a mountain near us and they want us to supply the workers with meat.

My cooperative helped me build a small trench garden last week. We transplanted some spinach and it looks great! Pictures have been posted of the garden on facebook. The next goal is to build a keyhole garden this upcoming weekend. I hope to show them the proper way to build one because they have a lot here, but aren’t up to par. I think I saw someone growing corn in their keyhole garden which is ridiculous! They are meant for smaller root vegetables like beetroot and carrots and some leafy greens. A keyhole garden is a circular medium sized garden with a small divot in the middle. They were designed for the sick and the elderly so they could manage a garden easily in a sitting or standing position. I want to build one at my site so my host mother (I call her Grandma) can use it when I leave. She’s getting older and needs an easy place to plant a few vegetables in the future. She has tons of green beans, pumpkin, and corn growing, but I don’t know if she’ll be able to take care of these big gardens later in life. She also has a few peach trees and a grapevine. My garden only has the spinach in it at the moment, but I’m going to buy a ton of seedlings at the garden shop on my way home. I really want to get green peppers! I’m very excited about it. It will be so nice to have food right outside my house. It’s not worth spending 34 Maloti in a day to buy 3 Maloti worth of spinach. In fact I don’t do it and I’m getting sick of having cabbage as the only available leafy green vegetable in my diet day after day.

My life has been revolving around crops and irrigation consistently the past few weeks. I helped a family plow a field of potatoes recently and turn the soil for a small garden of root vegetables and one for green vegetables. It’s actually better to incorporate companion planting in a garden. For example planting a row of leafy greens then a row of root vegetables since the root vegetables don’t need as much space on the ground and the leafy greens don’t use as much root space. Or corn next to pumpkins. The corn provides shade for the pumpkins which don’t need much sun and don’t take up precious soil space that the corn needs.

Transportation is especially difficult to my site right now because of a road widening project going on. It took me 9 hours to get home one day which was so exhausting. This country is about the size of Maryland. It shouldn’t take 9 hours to get anywhere! Especially when traveling from one district to a neighboring one, but it makes me want to stay at site more and of course I’m becoming more patient. Both of those things are good for me at the moment, I shouldn’t complain too much.

Culture differences have been getting in the way lately as well. Last week a woman insulted me in my own language which really ticked me off. If she said it in Sesotho and I understood I probably wouldn’t have been that mad, but using my native tongue to insult me was frustrating. One man during the life skills workshop told me that Americans shouldn’t teach the Basotho about HIV/AIDS because it isn’t a problem in America and we don’t know what we’re talking about. People here plan meetings and don’t show up. It’s hard not to get frustrated when these things happen, but there are plenty of motivated people here who do want assistance so I have to remember that THEY are the reason I’m here. Not the others who have the “crab mentality.” The crab mentality is like the image of a bucket with crabs trying to crawl out to find freedom, but people keep pulling the crabs back in the bucket. The crabs could succeed if only the agitators wouldn’t stop the crabs from achieving their dream.

Bad transition.

I had a very relaxed Halloween holiday. It’s the first time in 5 years that I haven’t spent Halloween in Athens, Ohio for the amazingly fun block party. My friend Eric came to visit since I couldn’t leave my site (I had a meeting that morning). He gave up two party options. One with PCVs and one taking place at the Ambassador’s house. I really want to go the Ambassador’s house eventually. The man has a piano in his house! I have now been here 5 months and I haven’t touched a piano in that entire time. I need some piano time. Ukulele progress is still going on. We have a little talent show coming up in January for the AllVol conference where all the volunteers in country spend some time going to sessions and meeting up with our supervisors and fellow PCVs and I want to play a few songs then. We’ll see how it goes…

Before I sign off here I want to thank everyone who has sent me mail and packages. It felt like Christmas last time I was in Maseru when I received 3 packages. I just can’t thank everyone enough for their support. I really can’t wait until I can go to South Africa and buy goods there. We just don’t have many (any?) options here in Lesotho. Some of that is relieving to me though. I remember being in a grocery store in America once and seeing the myriad varieties of gum in one single isle. That many chewing gum options are not necessary. In fact, it’s like sensory overload. We have enough important decisions to make in life; do we really need the stress of having to decide between plethoras of different choices for each and every product we buy? I do not think so.

I’m in town again traveling through. I got a lift from someone with AC today. AMAZING. I decided to visit my friend Eric in his district up north in Butha-Buthe. His dog just had puppies and I wanted to check them out. Their eyes aren’t open yet, they are that new. While Eric was at my site two of the dogs died, or so he thought. His host family’s brother actually killed the only two female puppies to enforce population control. It was pretty sad when we found out; I would have rather taken one or both of them home instead. I do want to take one home eventually when they are ready…I need some extra protection at the house and some kind of companion. I’m not sure if I want to spend money on a dog though. And it will make my house messy for sure. I’m still thinking about it. :)

I’ll be back in town again I’m sure. I still need to figure out if I’m going to South Africa for the cherry festival coming up or if I’m doing anything for Thanksgiving. I really wouldn’t mind just spending the weekend in Ladybrand, South Africa hanging out and eating decent food by myself. Two groups have plans for Thanksgiving, but I’m just not into going to any crazy parties. When a bunch of volunteers get together here it can get rowdy. We’ll see what happens. For Christmas I’m going to Durban, South Africa (to the beach!!!) with a few girls from my CHED group. It should be a lot of fun. After experiencing two winters back to back (one without electricity) I think we deserve a couple days camping at the beach.

I have had new creatures in my house as of recently! One even spent the night without me knowing about it. I should have charged rent. The most annoying of the critters were bed bugs. The old bedtime adage seems cute and funny. Bed bugs are neither cute nor funny. They bite you when you are sleeping and leave you with red welts the next day that itches for at least a few days afterwards. I have been told that some of the bites leave scars, thankfully I haven't noticed any yet. The bed bugs had a sneaky war time strategy. They bit me 1-5 times a night and made me think they were something else. Bed bugs tend to bite in one area and leave many welts. Then, all of a sudden, they waged total war leaving marks all over. I took my bed frame outside and sprayed it down with a repellant called "DOOM". We found the bugs hiding in the frame. Sneaky, sneaky things. And quite the intrusion. How dare a bug come into my house, live in my bed, and drink my blood! I killed one the next day after the total war incident and when blood spurted out I knew it was mine. I felt so violated. I also laid my mattress and pillow case in the sun and washed all my bedding. I sprayed pretty much my entire house with DOOM as well. So far so good. I'm 7 days bite free.

I have also had a mouse and a lizard besides the usual spiders, crickets, and flies. Yay! The lizard spent the night. It was more scared of me than I was of it. I tried to take a picture and it high tailed out of the house. I swear my house isn't that gross though even though this post makes it sound like it. I promise. :)

Right now I'm in Maseru for a GAD meeting that we had this morning. Nine of us in the country are on a committee that holds events and raises awareness about issues related to Gender and Development. As of today I'm the secretary and am happy with my decision to join the committee. We're applying for a grant soon to hold events all next year in different districts regarding gender roles and responsibilities in this country. One issue is the fact that most men still beat their wives and we're trying to change that. We're basically trying to educate men about their roles in society while also empower them to make better decisions for their families. We also target youth and try to break down gender role boundaries. Next year we also plan to participate in International Women's Day on March 8, but we're not exactly sure what we're going to do yet. It's very exciting!

Next week I will be visiting a friend of mine up north. I love going to the highlands to experience the mountain life. My site is beautiful, but the mountains are breath taking. So hopefully I'll have time to post pictures next week!

Not much else is going on in my life. I've been meeting more with my cooperative members and am in the process of planning a feasibility study workshop in my community. I want to have representatives from various organizations come to listen in on topics like budgeting and marketing. As Americans we grow up learning the basics of marketing. It's ingrained in us at a very early age and here people just don't think of those things. Suggesting that weavers make smaller objects to sell more of a less expensive item is just unheard of. Suggesting the use of different or more vibrant colors isn't immediately thought of either. In that sense I've been able to give my cooperative and other organizations many ideas regarding their operations.

I'll post again next week or maybe in a week and a half. Take care!

The past 2 days and this morning I have been at a village in Mafeteng (my district) participating in a life skills workshop with junior high and high school students. Six of us Peace Corps volunteers focused on the topic of HIV/AIDS and also discussed reproductive health in general. The kids here don't learn about these VERY important subjects even though life skills is supposed to be in the curriculum for all students in 4th grade and up. They are supposed to learn about self-esteem, mental health, reproductive health, drugs, HIV/AIDS and anything related to these topics. We answered tons of questions which was amazing. And since we had three sessions over three days we were able to ask them about information we taught them before and they always knew the answers. I felt like I was doing the job I came here to do. FINALLY! :)

The first day we talked about what HIV is and what it does to the body. We used the elephant game to demonstrate how the virus attacks the immune system making the body more likely to get diseases, viruses, germs...etc. One child is the baby elephant (or the body) and 6 other children are the adult elephants (or the immune system) and try to protect the baby from 6 other children who are the lions (or HIV, germs, diseases, colds, TB...) Once the baby elephant is touched by a lion who represents HIV we take a few adult elephants away, making it more difficult to protect the baby elephant (body) from other diseases. Then we explain that AIDS doesn't kill the person it is the other diseases and that AIDS affects the immune system. All the kids love that game and it really helps make an impact. Activities are always encouraged when working with youth.

Hopefully my blog is making sense, I don't have time to proofread! The second day we talked in detail about how one contracts HIV and how to protect oneself. We did two condom demonstrations. One with a male condom and one with a female condom. Male condoms are free here, unfortunately female condoms are not. Many little girls wear the female condoms home after school in order to protect themselves in case they are raped. We also discussed facts and myths about condoms and contracting HIV. Some people here still believe in the old myth that having sex with a virgin will cure AIDS. Others believe traditional healers have found a cure. It's incredible to think that some people actually believe these falsities. Thankfully, many of the kids knew the right answers. I got a question about pregnant women having sex and if it was possible. I love being able to tell these kids the truth. Especially when they ask about condom usage. Some wanted to use both the female and male condom for extra protection, or two male condoms at once. I'm so glad we were there to tell them that they can't because if we don't tell them, who will?

Today was the last day and we talked about the stigma against people who are different, specifically those who have HIV. We had an activity and was a great way to wrap up the workshop. Talking about going to clinics or going with friends to clinics to get help (ARVs, PEP) was incredible. They don't just need to know what HIV is, they need to know how to get help if they want to get tested or treated, and they need to know how to talk to someone else who might reveal their status to them.

I believe the workshop was a success.

The weather is definitely warmer here now. It's the rainy season is here and my taxi doesn't run on the days it rains because it's impossible to travel on the "road" (made of rocks and dirt). So I won't be traveling around too much more in the near future! I'm getting used to this life and feel like I'm finally being useful. I truly believe I'm going to make it work here. I just hope I can make a difference or create some positive social change! I know that Lesotho has already changed me.

Thanks for reading. Take care and Happy Halloween!

Love,

Emily

Hello!

I'm a bit hyper right this red hot minute from a lovely cup of coffee I drank about 2 hours ago in a cafe in Maseru. I rarely drink java, but sometimes I find having a cup during a vacation or lunch date very appropriate and enjoyable.

I'm in Maseru running errands. Unfortunately I have to pick up a package myself from the post office instead of at the PC office and I'm not sure if I'll make it there in time!! I spent the entire morning just browing stores in the city looking for a pair of fun shoes. I don't need them, but it would be nice to have a nice pair of shoes to wear at special events. Like, the graduation I attended on Saturday. I was there for 4 hours and never saw the graduate...she apparently was running just a little bit late. lol.

I'm doing better obviously. I've talked with so many PCV's about their first few months at site and they all had a difficult time. My site is particularly challenging and I just have to accept that. One teacher at the primary school said that they "needed me" last week and it's made me realize that just my presence in the community and my personal conversations have the potential to change lives and make a difference. I'm thinking small now and hopefully that will help me out.

I hope you all are well and guess what? Lesotho is getting warmer! Summer is upon us and I cannot wait.

Sunday September, 27 2009

Right now I’m staying with a married PCV couple (Ed & Carol) from my CHED group at their site in Matsieng, Maseru for a few days. I had to go to a graduation party within my host family in a village near Matsieng and they were more than happy to host me on my mini vacation. Last weekend I went to a newbie party for the district of Bothe-Bothe which is way up north, so I don’t really have an excuse for needing a vacation, but I really like being around Americans and getting away from my village. Today I went to a newbie lunch for the district of Maseru with Ed & Carol so I’ve crashed two of these parties/meetings so far. I have really enjoyed the homemade food and hanging out with everyone and I don’t think people mind paying less since I help contribute! The newbie party for my district (Mafeteng) is in a couple weeks which will be a lot of fun. I like everyone in my district, they are relaxed and aren’t as big of partiers as the other districts so we won’t be boozing it up or anything. It will be a nice chill evening without going all out. (However, that is still necessary once in awhile).

I have hitch hiked in this country now a few times now. It’s SO much nicer than riding in cramped taxis and it’s free!! You get to your destination faster and less sweaty. I’ve had a good amount of luck finding taxis; even on Sundays when there aren’t a lot of private cars on the roads. On my way to Ed & Carol’s site I got a lift from two men in a Blue Ribbon bread truck which was fun. I even got a free ride on a Quantum which is a top of the line bus/taxi. I just kept telling the taxi rider (guy who collects the money) that I didn’t have any money and they still let me on. I saved 25 Rand or 25 Maloti on that hitch. The first time I hitch hiked in Lesotho I did it by myself and I walked for 1 and a half hours before I saw my first car. That was walking straight from my village because the taxi didn’t come when it was supposed to. It takes me 1 ½ to 2 hours to walk home when I miss the taxi going back to my village. I take a taxi to the last main tarred road closest to my village then walk through fields and dongas to get to my site. Sometimes if I’m walking alone I have to ask directions to my village because it all gets a little confusing. I’ll get it down in the next two years I’m sure, but I’m going to avoid walking home at all costs when the rains come. I’m afraid I could get hurt if a flash flood came through the dongas or something.

I have been playing my ukulele haholo! (haholo= a lot) I have calluses on my fingertips now and everything. I even played “happy birthday” to a few people at the Bothe-Bothe newbie party. There is a guy from a previous CHED group named Eric who also brought a ukulele to Lesotho (what the heck are the odds of that?!?) and we’ve “jammed” and shared some techniques. He taught me a cheat cord for the “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World” song and now I can play it without any problems. It’s very exciting.

I’m coping better at site. I think. I keep talking to older PCV’s about my struggles and they keep telling me to wait it out at least a few months. I’m definitely making it to Phase III of training and I’m reevaluating my job and basically my life in February. I’ll see if I think I can make it a few more months then or if I should just ET. Life really is too short and if I’m miserable here then I shouldn’t stay, however I need to make an honest effort and see it I can make it work. I think February is a fantastic time to reflect on my service. I will have spent 6 months at site and 9 months in Lesotho by then so I should be able to have somewhat of an idea on how life will proceed after that. Plus on our emotion chart showing us the general pattern of attitudes, behaviors and emotions is at a high point in February. Not unsurprisingly this month and the next few are a low point on the chart. Most PCVs say it’s the most difficult part of an entire term of service.

I recently had dinner at the home of a man who lives in a village near mine. He is a white South African man of Dutch ancestry who speaks fluent English, Afrikaans and Sesotho. He is a Boer of course. His wife (who is a Masotho) made a traditional Basotho dinner and I got to play with their 19 month old son. Their son definitely has his mother’s eyes and hair, but he has his father’s big ears. He’s an adorable child. N’tate Bute (Mr. Bute) is extremely hospitable and has been very friendly towards me. He’s the only one in my community who has invited me into his home and I believe he truly wants me to have a positive experience here. He doesn’t understand why I would want to live and work here though, in fact he’s asked me many times, “What the f*** are you doing here?” And sometimes I just have to say “I don’t know N’tate, I just don’t know” Lol. I’ve asked him the same, but he came here because he worked in the South African mines like many Basotho men and met his wife, retired and now is raising their child in Lesotho. I imagine it’s much cheaper to live here than in South Africa. And South Africa has a lot of crime etc… One hilarious thing N’tate Bute does is pull up his shirt sleeve to expose his forearm then put his arm next to mine to show that we are both white. He doesn’t say anything, but just looks at his arm, my arm, then nods. He’s a bit pastier than me, but N’tate Bute is right. We are both white and apparently that automatically means we are friends. Lol. He calls me his daughter and argues with my host Mom about it sometimes. Sometimes he’ll pull up his sleeve during those squabbles as well and everyone laughs.

Health wise I’m doing well. I need to exercise regularly again. I get a serious high from running and it usually keeps me going all day. I have been having some weird pains in the stomach area and Carol says it’s probably acid reflux. Dad! I’m following in your footsteps! I’m going to try to see the doctor soon and see what he says and beg for vitamins again. I don’t know how they expect me to get all the vitamins and minerals I need from the food I get in my village. We only have cabbage for vegetables and while we do have a decent variety of fruit (apples, oranges & bananas) they don’t always have them. LAME. Oh and I’m going to get a water filter tomorrow as well. I should have probably picked that up awhile ago…

Package update! I just received one from a Mrs. Megan Fenton (thanks Megan!!!) and she sent it to the new address in Mafeteng. It got here in just 3 weeks. I still haven’t received some that were sent to the other address in July so if you plan to send mail, make sure to send it to Mafeteng, it will get here much faster. I’m told the Peace Corps office has issues with customs since it’s a government organization, but for whatever reason it just takes them longer to receive mail.

Email me/facebook me if you’d like to hear about other adventures I’ve been having while in Lesotho, but will not be able to post on a public blog.

Thanks for reading!

Friday September 4, 2009

I’m back at site after a wonderful visit in the Mafeteng Camp Town for a birthday and then a couple subsequent days in Maseru for picking up mail and interneting. Unfortunately I’m feeling under the weather and haven’t left my house in two days. I feel lazy, but then again I really am that tired. I can barely read for very long or cook supper without having to sit down for a little bit. And since I know myself all too well I know I shouldn’t try to push my body to its limits. This cold was long in coming. I thought it was just allergies for days. Then it transformed overnight it seems into quite a debilitating cold/flu thing. I am, however, reading a lot and enjoying it. In fact I’m not that bored ever any more. Still lonely, but I can just stare at my candle melting at night or watch flies mating on my curtains and it keeps me occupied/entertained for quite awhile.

I have returned to site physically sick, but emotionally on the up and up. I have talked with other PCVs who are also encountering their own speed bumps and detours during this weird phase II of training. It feels weird because I’m still in training (sort of) and I’m also an official Peace Corps Volunteer. Anyway, it’s nice to know that I’m not the only one having difficulties transitioning. This job or whatever you want to call it is difficult. Especially if you actually care about what you’re doing. I honestly can’t believe the Peace Corps has been around this long and hasn’t been cut out of the budget. Lots of people ET. A term we use as a verb meaning, “early termination.” We can ET at any time. It’s a way of just saying “quit”. Other phrases used with leaving service are Administratively Separated and Medically Separated. The first means fired basically and the second means you are no long qualified to serve based on a medical condition. I don’t want to be separated for any reason or ET willingly. I want to stick it out! I have no money if I return on my own and I have no real job experience. Also I am just stubborn and hate quitting anything. Anyone remember my regrettable cheerleading moment in high school? I just wouldn’t quit even though I hated it most of the time. I have to admit cheer camp was fun. So yeah, besides my own pride and unwillingness to quit anything to which I have made a commitment; I truly want to stay here and help people.

& I have ideas.

For instance people have gardens designed for the elderly and sick already built on their properties. Unfortunately they are not being utilized. I wish to build my own garden (called keyhole gardens, look them up) and show people here how to grow their own veggies. I want to show them how to compost. Speaking of compost I had some vegetable scraps in a covered bucket outside my door that I planning to compost with. Suddenly the scraps disappeared and my bucket had a stone in it to hold it down. I tried to talk with my host mom about it and I still don’t know what happened. I think they fed the scraps to the sheep. Either that or burnt them in our trash pile. I was so annoyed, why would they touch stuff on my porch? And the bucket was covered, it’s not like I just had the scraps out and some dogs ate it. Ugh. It’s going to be a long road ahead. It was also, pretty funny. People don’t touch stuff on your porch in the US, especially nasty vegetable scraps that are turning into hummus.

I have other ideas about starting a girls’ youth group to talk about feminism. Basically an empowerment sort of deal. I already have girls who visit my house daily after school for fun. I’ve tried to get them to color what they want to be when they grow up, nurse, teacher, etc… But they usually draw snakes and stars. I don’t know why snakes are recurrent theme. I haven’t seen one snake since I’ve been here. Basotho people kill snakes immediately when they see them. Same with unknown animals. If it’s not a sheep or a cow, it will probably be killed. Is that why there aren’t any antelope here? I don’t know.

Two days ago a girl who is quite pushy and demanding told me to give her a present for her birthday which was the next day. I drew balloons and stars and various animals on a piece of paper and wrote her this message inside the makeshift card, “May you not only grow one year older today, but may you also grow in wisdom, patience, kindness and character. May you have a wonderfully happy birthday surrounded by family and friends. From your friend, Emily (Naleli).” I think that’s a better “present” than something from my house. Lol. Also, the paper I used was from the note she had written her request for a present. I hope she enjoyed it. I really do, but I wasn’t about to give her something for her behavior.

So my friend Elissa has visited and my friends Eric and Chris want to visit soon too! I’m so happy! And surprised because I’m in the lowlands and while I think it’s pretty here, it doesn’t compare to the beauty of the highlands. So why do people want to see my rural village with only one shop and a few water pumps? I’m not sure, but I relish in the company.

Right now I’m going to read a little bit then I’ll take a bucket bath. And it’s about time. I don’t know what I’ll do in the States when I have running water again. I’ve noticed that we’re already adjusting to no electricity. Often when PCV’s are together at the training center we’ll leave the lights off until it’s almost dark or someone from another room will come in and turn on a light. Then we’re like, “oh! I forgot electricity existed!” I can just see myself in a future US apartment boiling water to bathe with and then realizing, “oh! I have a shower!” Or pouring out leftover tea into a bucket to throw in a rock pit outside then realizing I have sink. I guess I have done a lot of adapting so far. It doesn’t really feel like it since it’s been somewhat of a slow transition, but still I don’t use half the gadgets and modern comforts of living that I used to. I haven’t driven a car, used a blow dryer or iron, or had a hair cut in 3 months. I do however have a garlic press. I know, I’m just too fancy. I couldn’t help myself. Thankfully there is a microwave at the training center and a washer and dryer. I get to use those facilities about once a month. Sometimes more, sometimes less.

I really miss driving.

Probably because driving is a bit of an escape in itself. Even when you’re in traffic with hundreds of other people you can roll up your windows and get lost in a song on the radio or talk to yourself while pretending to be on your phone.

Sunday August 30, 2009

The next few entries are all being posted at once since I haven’t had access to a computer in a few weeks. I typed them at site on my computer that has an awesome battery life. I love my little ACER netbook. I highly recommend them for travel. I’m in Maseru right now because I was supposed to be here with my cooperative for an event, but they never told me where to meet them and since I had already asked permission to stay at the training center I decided to come anyway on my own. I really needed to get away and have some time to think. You’ll probably read in the next few entries about how my last few weeks here have been a struggle. I’m trying to make it.

This past weekend I hung out with some fellow PCV’s to celebrate a birthday in our group. Before that I hung out with my friend Elissa who came to my village to visit. Her organization gives food to clinics and hospitals all over Lesotho and I happen to be close to one! It’s about an hour away by foot in Sekameng. So she was able to come here on business which is fabulous. We’re not supposed to be travelling around much. Peace Corps wants us to stay in our districts, but honestly I think we should be given a monthly pass somewhere during these 3 months. I know I’ve needed to see people (Americans) to stay sane. I’ll definitely write that on an evaluation form.

I've really enjoyed being around other Americans and people that can understand my English the past few days. Elissa said that my Sesotho has gotten better which made me really happy. I couldn't really tell if I was learning anything new or not. Having her visit and tell me that she is envious of my rural life (she lives in the camptown) helped me realize that I do enjoy living out in the stix. She even helped me pump water and put a bucket on her head! I'm getting callouses on my hands from pumping my own water. I think I'm going to age faster here with all the pot scrubbing, water pumping, and sun exposure. lol.

I'm starting to get to know people in my community and discussing ideas I have for work helped me out too. I have some plans for the future; I just have to be patient right now and work on integrating into my village community and learning Sesotho. It's just so difficult trying to figure out what to do each and every day. I have made a couple minor accomplishments so far. I told a woman how to better portion out her food, less papa (a high calorie almost zero nutrient food) and more vegetables. I might try to help her utilize her garden space better too. And I talked to a high school girl about feminism when she came over for help with an essay on the equality of men and women in Lesotho. Hopefully she'll keep coming back and we can develop some sort of mentor relationship.

So yeah, I'm not as down as I was in some of the following posts. It's just all part of adapting to this new way of life I'll be living for the next two years! Also, check out a few new pix on facebook.

Later everyone!!!!

Tuesday August 25, 2009

I honestly don’t know if I’ll make it here. Short funny moments are interspersed in and around longer moments of intense loneliness, fear and sadness. I don’t know if I’ll be able to make a difference here. I have no schedule, no places to be, and no appointments to keep. I can’t live like this. I know that I could form relationships and try to teach groups in the area about various subjects such as HIV/AIDS, permaculture (gardening), and basic business skills. But when will I do that? I could build a garden or library in the future, but what should I do today, tomorrow, or even the next day? I think I’ll go crazy without having anything planned to do. If I have a one hour tutoring session scheduled in a day I’m ecstatic. It gives me something to plan the rest of the day around. And I’m sick of cleaning everything just to have something to do. I don’t know what Peace Corps expects me to do here. I don’t know what my cooperative expects me to do day in and day out. I wish I was living in a camp town surrounded by other people, things to do, and a job that required me to be there Monday through Friday 9-5.

Yesterday I cried a couple times after people came to visit and I had no idea what they were saying. I can’t communicate with my host mother because she speaks only a few words in English. Am I putting too much pressure on myself to learn the language and save the world? Probably, but I feel pressure from the people in my village too. They expect me to know everything and be able to understand them.

Sometimes I wish I had taken the assignment in South America so I could learn Spanish and have a job. I just didn’t want to be an English teacher and I thought for some reason I was supposed to come here. Was I really supposed to come here? I don’t know.

Sunday August 22, 2009

Today I needed to use a latrine in Mafeteng. I asked a shopkeeper to use one of his out back. A fairly large ram was chained up next to two latrines standing side by side. I attempted to use the one closest to me. It was a bit dirty so I attempted to try the one next to the ram. It charged me. I still used the latrine since it was chained up by one of its horns. I darted towards it while I was leaving. It charged me again and I almost died laughing. This is my life now in Africa. I was almost rammed by a ram today.

Tuesday August 18, 2009

It’s all about getting through each day. One day at a time. I’ve been a bit down lately, but I really do think I’ll make it here in Lesotho. I’ve often thought of my travel plans for when my service is over. I think I have the general itinerary down. I’m pretty excited about it! I want to go to Kenya first, then Uganda, Ghana, and finally end up in Morocco. I figure I could then visit Portugal and Spain and catch a plan from Madrid back to the US. And all that is two years away. I shouldn’t be thinking that far ahead should I?

Life in the village is tough sometimes, there isn’t anything to do. If I complained in Defiance or anywhere else I’ve lived about having nothing to do, I should have thought about rural villages in Africa first. Lol. I don’t mind the slow way of life. I love the silence early in the morning or at night when everyone and everything seems to be asleep. I don’t miss cars honking their horns or any of the typical sounds heard when you’ve found yourself rambling about deep in the abyss of infrastructure. I just miss structure itself I guess. I’ve always been the type that needs some guidelines or structure in order to stay creative and productive. I suppose I’ll have to learn to construct my own schedule. Each day I try to go somewhere to meet people and hang out. I love one of the shop keepers at the only shop in my village. She’s great. She bought me a Coke the first time I met her and talked to me in Sesotho to help me learn it even though she knows a little English. I could see myself hanging out there a lot, but there’s only one shop in this village!

I’ve had diarrhea since last night when I got back from the Mafeteng camp town yesterday. I don’t know exactly what it was that I ate that has caused me to feel sick, but I think it was the dairy. I haven’t been eating cheese at site and I had some yesterday. I also had an egg and I haven’t had an egg in awhile. I told my village members that I wouldn’t buy another egg in Lesotho until people in my village sold eggs to each other instead of buying them from the Chinese. I don’t want to eat eggs now anyway, but it made a good statement nonetheless and I plan to abide by it. (The egg I had yesterday was free; a fellow PCV got it w/her meal & didn’t want to eat it). I really hope by the end of these two years people in my community are making money off of buying chickens that lay eggs.

So yeah, I don’t feel good and I actually had stuff I wanted to do today. I didn’t run this morning, but I did do dishes and make flat bread. I’m going to basically eat oatmeal and bread until I’m not getting sick anymore. Bland diets are the best for these sorts of situations. The Basotho people make flat bread a lot, I don’t know how their bread tastes, but mine was awesome today. It’s just 1KG of flour (I always use nutty wheat or wheat), 1 tsp salt, 10 tsps sugar, and I package of yeast. Add warm water as you need it/knead it. Then just form into balls, flatten out a bit w/hands (don’t use a rolling pin or your nalgene bottle ;) and cook on a hot skillet. You can cut the bread into a kind of pita thing to stuff with whatever you like. It’s fabulous. I might steamed bread cooked in bowl inside a pot with water better…but I’m not sure. This pocket bread stuff is pretty good.

Some of our pictures were in the paper for our swearing-in ceremony. You can see me really well in one and I look ridiculous because I’m singing a song we prepared for the event. It’s fun though. I bought the paper, but I don’t know what the article about us says. It’s in Sesotho. Seventy-five percent of the paper is in English, but that article is in Sesotho. Figures. Lol.

I’m currently ready a really good book titled “2666.” It’s a bit graphic and violent at times, but definitely a good read. I’m happy my friend Rocio is letting me borrow the volume right now. It’s divided into 3 books and I’m on the 2nd one right now. I have NO idea how it’s going to end. And the way it’s written is peculiar. Maddy, I think you’d like reading it. Maybe Arienne, Matt, Alex, Emily & Steph too. I’m not sure who else would have the patience to get through the 2nd book. Or the first twenty pages for that matter. Haha. I wasn’t fond of the introduction, but I really like the book. I definitely recommend it just because it’s different. It’s about a German author…sort of. I’d recommend reading a critics review.

I just finished a book on eating healthfully titled “Eat to Live” by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. It’s brilliant if you ask me. It simply makes a lot of sense. I’m into food so I always read diet books and whatnot, but they all seem to either say the same things or seem completely off the mark like the ridiculously UNhealthly Atkins diet program. Dr. Fuhrman discussed the logic behind that diet in his book. He also writes about The Zone diet and a few others. Personally, I liked the Skinny Bitch books about veganism because they were totally different and gave phenomenal info about the USDA and other government organizations related to food, but they still recommended eating processed food. Just because something is vegan or vegetarian doesn’t mean it’s healthy! Processed food doesn’t do a thing for our bodies. The “Eat to Live” book is pretty strict about certain ingredients added to food like oil, salt and sugar. So it’s definitely not a picnic, but it makes sense! I’ve been trying to follow the diet for about a week now and I’m doing a decent job. The bread only thing today isn’t probably what Dr. Fuhrman would recommend that I do, but it’s the best way I know how to handle diarrhea. So yeah, I’m trying not to add oil, sugar, or salt to anything that I eat. I eat few simple carbs like pasta, rice, bread and even limit the starchy veggies like squash and potatoes. I eat tons of cabbage, vegetables and fruit. I eat beans a lot; nuts and avocados sparingly. I eat 1 cup of oatmeal or less each morning w/o adding sugar. Just raisins and nuts. And I’ve tried to cut out dairy. I think you all know I don’t eat meat. It’s been over a year now! Awesome. By the way, Dr. Fuhrman doesn’t say we should all become vegans or vegetarians. If anything, you’ll eat smarter if you don’t decide to follow his basic plan. He answers lots of frequently asked questions in the back too which help a lot. Ok, I’m done with that plug… haha. But if I can basically follow the plan in Africa, it should be easy in the US.

I can’t wait to start working more. I know I won’t be able to do much on a day-to-day basis to help the coop so I plan to start teaching the men and women in the group English. I want to teach a life skills class at the local primary school and maybe build a library. These are things I know I could start doing right away, but I’m really not supposed to start any work yet. Some other PCV’s from my training group have 9-5 schedules and are already working. I’m just sort of in limbo again. In the first week of December I’ll be in Phase 3 for some more training in Maseru then, after we get back to site most people will be on vacation. Everything just sort of stops in December. I won’t really be able to begin work until January. It seems so far away!! So I guess I’ll keep occupied with my Phase 2 assignments and reading. And visits to the camp town every so often. I’ll just make sure to bring food with me next time I guess. Maybe I’ll start hanging out with my neighbors. We’ll see. Today, I’m definitely not going anywhere besides the shop where I already bought flour for my flat bread. I am really not feeling well.

Saturday August 15, 2009

I have a new address! It’s P.O. Box 1189 Mafeteng 900, Lesotho Southern Africa. It’s now posted on the right. Letters and packages that have been sent to the Maseru address will still get to me, so no worries there. I’ll just get mail faster from this box now since it’s in my district. Yay for that!

Life is going by slowly here in my village. I’m certain that’s why we’ve been given assignments to accomplish during our time in Phase II. I’ve gathered information for a few profiles and started my community mapping. I still don’t know how to get this stuff to Maseru. No one seems to go there from my village. They all go to the Mafeteng Camp Town or neighboring villages. I’ve been reading a lot which is great. I am increasing my English vocabulary and have no one to use it with. Lol. I’ve been exercising regularly in the morning; it feels great and warms me up when it’s still cold. I’ve even been doing some yoga, I feel like such a “typical Peace Corps Volunteer” writing that, but it really is great exercise. I basically just do a few poses for increasing back strength. I only downloaded 2 podcasts on yoga before I left. I’ll have to get with the other PCV’s for more poses. I’m going to hang out with a few people from my district soon for a newbie party. It should be a blast. I can’t wait to see another American!

I bought a chale (blanket worn around the waist) a few days ago when I was in the Mafeteng Camp Town and it has changed my life. I feel so much warmer with it on. It has truly been a great investment. I put it on top of my covers at night for extra warmth and then when I put it on in the morning it’s still warm from my body heat. AWESOME. It’s burgundy, various shades of mauve, black, and tan.

On a frustrating note, my latrine door doesn’t shut properly. The wire I used to keep in shut (while I was gone and while I was inside it) broke. I knew it would break because the wire was being bent in the same spot over and over again; it was only a matter of time. I use a lock (which I don’t have the key for) to keep it shut, but you can’t use it while you are inside. I don’t close the lock itself; I use the ‘U’ shape of the metal to keep the door from flying completely open when I’m not using it. I used a completely useless whistle on a necklace that we received in our medical kits to sort of tie myself in it while I’m in there so I don’t have to hold the door by hand. I need to figure out a new plan soon. Or maybe I’ll buy some heavy duty wire while I’m in Maseru. I don’t know where I’ll find it, but someone will know, right? Such is life in Africa. :)

Friday August 14, 2009

Something funny happened before I left for my site that I never wrote about. While I was shopping at a popular fruit and vegetable store in Maseru (called Fruit & Veg…lol) a woman asked my for my silver hoop earrings. It wasn’t the first time someone had asked me for my jewelry in that very store. A few weeks before the checkout lady asked for my nose stud. I was really turned off by that for some reason, but when the new lady asked for my earrings I said, “I will give you my earrings, ONLY if you give me yours.” Hers were black with white details, I thought they were beautiful. It took a few moments for us to figure out what we were each saying and to agree on this condition. Then we each took out our earrings, she needed help putting my hoops in. I think her ears were pierced with a needle when she was probably very young. The holes looked OK, but didn’t go straight through her ears. So we traded earrings and I got to wear beautiful black earrings to my swearing-in ceremony and she has a nice modern pair of sterling silver hoops. Sometimes the unexpected inquiry turns out to be a fabulous exchange.

Tuesday August 11, 2009

It’s the first week of Phase II, I’ve actually begun service, but really, what have I gotten myself into? I’m happy to sleep through the night with only hearing the rooster crow once outside my window. I wash my clothes and dishes by hand almost every day. I seem to always have my hands drenched in a bucket of soapy water, but I’ve decided, “I eat food every day, so therefore I must do dishes every day.” It’s amazing how many dishes pile when you cook breakfast, lunch and dinner each and every day. Sometimes I just soak oatmeal overnight and eat it cold in the morning. No waiting for breakfast and consequently one less pan to wash. It’s hard to get fresh fruit and vegetables. I know I can get onions and potatoes at one store, but it’s about a 45 min-1 hour walk away, I’m not sure what my local shop sells. I have to get on that soon. Today I’m going to go around my village and draw up a little map. Part of that is an assignment for the second phase of training, part of it is merely for my own benefit. My village/community is rather large, so it’s a little more difficult to find out where everything is and where everyone lives. I know where my chief lives, where important members of KKM (my co-op) live; and where some water pumps, a primary school, a high school, the bus stop, a clinic, and a popular NGO are located.

*pause in writing*

A boy whom I’ve never before just came to my door asking for money, candy, a cookie, a knife among other things after I noticed he had been looking in my back window. He probably looked through the others at my back and I just didn’t notice. Ugh, if I knew him I probably would have given him an orange or something, but when a boy who is probably 13 or so is so rude as to peak in your windows and demand to know your name and what you are doing-you don’t want to give him anything. Plus, the Peace Corps advised me not to give away stuff unless is someone you know. It’s also advised to wait to give such gifts until a relationship is established.

Later,

Naleli (I’m trying to get the name to have a comeback. I don’t want to be called Lineo).

p.s. I found out later that the boy is basically my “cousin” so it was OK that he went into my M’e’s house and made some food for himself. He is really annoying though, I went outside to get my laundry and he asked where I was going and what I was doing and later when I went for a walk he came with the same barrage of questions. I hope he doesn’t hang out here much.

Tomorrow I will officially be a Peace Corps Volunteer! Training is essentially over. I received a score of intermediate medium with a star (meaning I was close to intermediate high) on my language assessment so I passed. During the assessment I talked about my family in my training village, my future job with my co-op, and how to make bread. I don’t really remember the rest, but yeah it went well. I knew we’d all pass so I wasn’t concerned about it. I knew I studied and would be ok. I’m definitely learning the language anyway so I know I’ll get better. For some people Sesotho isn’t a priority, for me it’s a necessity.

Yesterday (Monday August 3) people in Maseru were having a “stay-away”. I think it’s basically when people refuse to go to work. Like a city-wide strike. So it was a political thing and we were told not to leave the compound, but then we were allowed anyway. We had extra guards here, but honestly I don’t think anything happened. We were told it was one of the quietest “stay-away” situations Lesotho has ever had. I might pick up a newspaper to read more about it, but it wasn’t as big of a deal as we thought. I miss watching the news and having a radio. Lol. I feel very out of the loop sometimes.

Today we are going shopping for our site and I have a ton of things to buy. Fortunately I’m not buying many groceries here in Maseru; my camp town in Mafeteng has everything I need. There is a decently priced kitchen store here in town where I’ll probably buy a kettle and a pitcher. I’m really excited to make my house my home. I’m going to buy two blankets as well: one for my bed and one to wear around my waist. Basotho women wear blankets around their waists to keep warm and keep them on with HUGE safety pins. Basotho men wear blankets too, but they usually wear them around their shoulders, women do that too, but I really like the waist blanket look. It’s called a “chale” and the head scarves women wear are called “tuku”. I wear head scarves a lot now because I wash my hair only once every three days or so. It’s just getting oily by that point, but on that second or third day it doesn’t look as good so a head covering is perfect! I also wear head scarves during lipitso (community meetings) and I’m supposed to wear them to funerals and church. I haven’t been to either a funeral or a church yet, but I’ve been shown where the churches are and I know of one funeral in my village already unfortunately. I’m not going to attend anything like that for awhile because people expect you to go to every single one eventually. Also church here lasts like 3 hours and sometimes people attend on both Saturday and Sunday for one or two services. I definitely don’t want to get into that routine, but I want to visit one eventually.

So now the work begins. We had a session yesterday on our assignments for the first three months of service. We’re now in phase two and have to write weekly reports on various people and important information about our villages. The CHED Phase II Workbook states that our job for the next 3 months is to:

-Learn all we can about our communities

-Learn all we can about people in our communities

-Learn all we can about our host organizations

-Learn all we can about key stakeholders/highly motivated people and establish relationships

-Learn about resources (people, organizations, government) outside our communities

-Start building lasting relationships

-And finally, to find our special niche

We have to write 5 profiles of people in our village every week during this phase of training. We are going to learn A TON about people in our communities. I like the assignment because it forces us to learn as much as we can about where we are going to live; it’s just going to require a lot of writing. Part of the assignment is finding someone to bring the reports to Maseru once a month since we’re not supposed to leave our districts. I have no idea who that person will be for me. I guess I’ll figure it out soon enough!

We’ve been watching so many movies here at the training center. Others have watched way more than me, but I’ve seen The Goonies, Volunteer (it’s about the Peace Corps, total joke but necessary for us to watch :) and High Fidelity. I’ve seen parts of Ratatouille and Empire Records, but for some reason I can’t always sit through them. A couple nights ago Magnolia was on, but I couldn’t handle a 3 hour movie. Not a chance, lol.

I have plans to cook a lot these next few months. I’m going to experiment making my own salsa because there is a very slim salsa selection here. We have Doritos mild salsa, that’s all I’ve found. I want to make my own pizza dough and tomato sauce. I think it’ll happen I should have plenty of time on my hands. If anyone has good vegan or veggie recipes drop me some e or snail mail! Remember that I can’t get exotic fruits or any far out ingredients. :/ it’s lame, but reality. Also it’s getting warmer so using my house like a refrigerator for dairy or perishable products just won’t happen.

This is my last post for awhile. I might be able to access the internet in my camp town in a month, but there is no guarantee of that. In three months though I’ll be back in Maseru and I’ll have internet access again. Until then remember I love you all. Also, keep it real.

Be well,

Emily

p.s. I forget to tell the people who will find this funny every time I’m on the internet, but the song, “Celebration” by Kool & the Gang is the opening music for a very popular radio station in Lesotho. I heard it one of the first nights I was in community based training and I still hear it every few days somewhere. :)

I now have a new village, chief, and house! I live in a village called Ha Thoahlane in Mafeteng. I live in the community of Sekameng which includes about 10 villages. I’ve been to at least three different villages, maybe four and I’ve met 3 chiefs. Everyone has been extremely friendly. Since I’m the first volunteer to work with this community I have had to deal with some interesting questions. It’s difficult because they basically see me as this new white person who will solve every problem and give them everything they want. I have been told that I should fix a community-wide irrigation system including the pump, underground pipes and storage tanks. They want different tanks for keeping drinking water, another group wants me to fix drying machines so they can dry fruit to sell, another group wants me to fix a milling machine. In all I’ve met with 13 organizations; 12 other than the one I have been assigned to work with and they all want me to do at least one big project with them. I’ve tried to explain that I am primarily supposed to work with the co-op Kopana ke Matla (Unity is Strength). Hopefully my supervisor, N’tate Sehapi (or Mr. Sehapi) understands this. He has given me some information on government grants and writing business proposals that I’ll deal with while I’m here in Maseru. I hope I have time to go over some of the documents, but we’re kind of pressed for time this week. I do feel very overwhelmed at the moment, but I'm just going to take things one day at a time and see how it works out. Since I'm in such a rural area I'm definitely going to learn Sesotho. Only a few people speak it really well and one of them is my supervisor, but he's usually away from the village.

People really like to talk about my love life. I've also been proposed to, asked why I don't have a husband, and if I could find someone an American wife. The questions haven't been that bad and they haven't been calling me a "lehua" or "foreigner" which is great. I'm not sure if I'm spelling lehua correctly, but it's not the most pleasant term one can be called here.

Something that really surprised me is that there is a white man living in a village next to mine. He's from South Africa, he used to work in the mines there and he's been in Lesotho for about 9 years. His ancestry is Dutch and he has piercing blue eyes that instantly captivate you. It was so strange seeing him living the village life, he's been a great asset to the community because he has some technical expertise in repairing machinery. He speaks Sesotho fluently and seems to be an all around nice guy. He's probably 60 something and just had a child last year with a Masotho woman. He has two older daughters who live in Joberg.

I’m so happy to see my friends from training right now. It’ll be difficult dealing with the solitude, but honestly I enjoyed it these past few days. It's just a matter of time before loneliness kicks in.

I'll be able to post at least once more before I return to my site. My address is still the same, I haven't set up anything at the post office and I may not do it at all. You can always send me letters and packages at the address on the right. After I leave for my site I may not have internet access for 3 months. I am supposed to stay in my district and primarily in my village for that period of time. We're only supposed to build relationships and integrate into the community, but I think my supervisor wants me to start working right away. Actually I'm sure of it. I already have a few meetings planned besides my office pitso (community meeting) the day after I return from Maseru. There were be people from at least 3 villages attending and it's supposed to be a big deal. I'm supposed to have a little speech prepared as well. I'm kind of glad that I've already had 2 unofficial lipitso. I know what to expect.

So yeah, that was my site visit! My house is cute, much better than my training house. My new host Mom is actually a grandmother so that's what I call her. Her grandchildren are always at her house hanging out. I'm going to try and post some pix on facebook right this red hot minute so check them out!

Also, they changed my name and I don't like it. It's now Lineo (meaning gifts) and it's pronounced "dineo." They call me a gift from God which is nice, but I really liked my old name. I'm going to try and convince them to call me Naleli, but we'll see. Also, my new last name is Thoahlane which is the name of my village. That actually rocks because it's a status thing. People will know where I'm from based on that name.

That's it! Later homies!

We have just finished our community based training in our villages. It’s bittersweet really, I felt like I was just starting to get close with my first host family. I felt like I was able to finally communicate at the basic level and then we had to leave. I did, however, find out during the last week of training that my host Mom has a cell phone and I got her number. Hopefully we can stay in touch so I can visit them in the future sometimes. One of my sisters wants to visit me in Mafeteng in October for a week or two. I really hope she can because I think it’d be good for her. And she’s just awesome. I showed her how to make tortillas last week and she loved them. I think we bonded.

Last Saturday we went on a hike with our country director (Ted) and had a BBQ at a lodge in Tsehlanyane. The lodge is going for a 5 star rating and is absolutely gorgeous. The view is amazing, breath taking actually and the accommodations are spectacular. If anyone wishes to visit me in Lesotho in the next two years I would recommend staying at this lodge at some point. The hike we went on usually takes about 2 hours, but a few of us finished in an hour and a half. There are plenty of other trails too, depending on how long you want to hike. Six of us from Mokhethoaneng got the VIP treatment and rode with Ted to and from the lodge. It was nice getting to know him and it was nice getting a break from the shuttle we take everywhere. They provided the vegetarians with veggie burgers at the BBQ and we ate a ton. I think it was the best day I’ve had since I’ve been here. We got some sun, exercise and food that we didn’t have to prepare-and no dishes! Yahoo!

Speaking of tons of fabulous food, we had a feast at the community centers in our respective villages for our big send off. We started preparing food the day before. We had rice, samp, cole slaw, a weird baked beans, green peppers, onions and carrots mixture, chicken, potato salad and butternut squash. Before we ate the women in our village danced and sang for us. The younger girls performed a dance as well. Then there were speeches from our host Mom’s, the village chief, our training director and I gave a short one on behalf of the volunteers. We thought we would eat at 11 or 12, but after all the celebratory dances and speeches we didn’t eat until 2. I don’t know if it was the wait or what, but it was the best food I had ever eaten. :)

Right now we are in Maseru hanging out at the training center for a couple days. We are going to go food shopping today then leave for our actual site visit on Monday or Tuesday. I’m pretty sure I’ll leave Tuesday because I’m not as far away as other volunteers. We’re only going to be there for a couple days to move in our stuff to our house and meet our counterpart. Mine is a high school teacher which I don’t quite understand right now. I’m working with a co-op so I’m sure the teacher is part of the co-op. At least that would make sense…we’ll see. I hope to get somewhat acquainted with the community and figure out where things are, but my village is on the larger side and I don’t know what I’ll be able to accomplish in just two days. It is, however, very exciting. We’re finally going to visit our new home! And next week we’ll officially move in! We are supposed to stay at our site for the first 3 months. That means no travelling out of the country and we’re not supposed to leave the district. I’m sure I’ll be able to travel to the camp town in my district for food though. I just can’t wait to play house and decorate it! I don’t have much in terms of decorations, but I do have my name written in wooden letters that my friend Steph gave me. I’ll find a place for those and I’ll plan out my curtain colors and such.

I wish I had more exciting news. It is exciting for me to use a shower and a toilet for a bit. I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather the past couple of days so I’m happy to use these facilities. It’s the first cold I’ve had since being here and it hasn’t been that bad. I’ve slept a ton and am feeling better today. I’m glad that I haven’t had much to complain about. I had a little rash on my foot and this lame cold-that’s it.

So yeah, life is good. I’m happy to visit my new home for the next two years. I hope to get plenty of rest here at the training center and some friend time in as well. I’m going to miss these people I’ve been constantly around nearly 24/7. They’re family now and I won’t get to see them for awhile. I am happy that we are all going to be at our new homes though.

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying summer. In mid-August we’re told that it’s going to get warmer. I can’t wait!

Love,

Naleli

p.s. I just posted my first photos on facebook. I really hope it works. Check them out!

Today is the day I have been looking forward to for a very long time. It seems like forever really. Today we received our site placements with a map of our district and the name of the organization we will be working with once we are sworn in and become actual Peace Corps Volunteers. I will be living in the district of Mafeteng in a larger village called Semakeng. I'm 20 km away from the camptown in Mafeteng which is where I'll buy "good" groceries and other things I'll need. I will have a general store or two in my actual village. I'll be working with an organization called "Unity is Strength". It's a co-op that focuses on each sector of our CHED program. The possibilities really seem limitless with this organization. I hope to work on HIV/AIDS related projects, permaculture and youth. I'll write more if I get more information about "Unity is Strength".

No Peace Corps Volunteer has ever worker with this organization or with this community before so I have a lot to prove. Even though I don't have to live up to some other person's legacy, I have to show my community why I am even there. That in itself will take awhile. There is an educational volunteer who works at a high school in Semakeng. I hope to become fast friends with him. If any other PCV's read this you'll have to plan to visit me!!! I love hanging out. :)

I will have a tin roof (booo, but i'll just make a covering so it doesn't rain on me in the morning), no electricity, and no running water. It's exactly what I'm used to so I'm not disappointed. There is a girl who lives right outside the camptown in Mafeteng and I hope to use the electricity she is supposed to have! Mafeteng is considered the lowlands in Lesotho which I'm both happy and sad about. I've been living in the lowlands and would like a change, but I know that my asthma can handle the lowlands so that's good. I've been running after school with a high school jock and have been doing alright. We even improved our times yesterday when we ran to a neighboring village. After that I usually lift rocks. I know, how lame is that? I have one rock for biceps and one for triceps. I might graduate to a new bicep rock soon. lol. It might sound dorky, but I call it resourceful. :)

So yeah, I'm very very excited to know where I'll be living the next two years. I'm ever more excited about finishing training and starting my own projects. I just hope that I am an asset to my community. Next weekend I should be in Maseru again so I'll try to post another blog Saturday. Thanks for reading! Andrew I'll let your M'e and N'tate know you're thinking about them. Arienne I got your package last week, THANKS so much. The cliff bars, the note, everything was amazing. Mom, I got your 2nd letter yesterday. Be well.

Khotso,

Emily

“Peace Corps has not only taught me to look at the glass as half full, but to look at it and think, ‘hmm-I could bathe in that.’”-PCV

This quote I found from one of the MANY books Peace Corps has given us in these first 5 weeks holds true in my life. It’s amazing how little water one needs to feel “clean.” I use that term loosely. lol. There is an incredible amount of dust in Lesotho right now. We’re in the dry season (Winter) which means there isn’t much on the ground except dirt. Red, dusty dirt. If you’ve ever read The Grapes of Wrath or live out West you probably have an idea of what we’re dealing with here.

I’ve had only one major frustration since I’ve been here. And that frustration was a spider infestation in my house. My house/room isn’t completely sealed off. I have a window that has space all around it and a door that has about a 2 inch gap from the bottom to the floor. It rained a lot for a couple days which is a bit rare and I think that’s what brought the spiders in. There were a good size, but not poisonous. I stayed awake pretty much all night because I couldn’t kill one that made it into my suitcase. (This was before I found out they weren’t poisonous). I also found one in my bath water one morning. THAT was fun to wake up to. lol. I still don’t know how it got in the water. I know that when I started bathing it wasn’t there; then before I was finished I had a drowned spider in the basin. This all happened in the darkness of the morning hours. My trainers and the training director came to my house one day after school to fix my stove and they gave me bug spray. I bought a can of the same stuff and have been using it every so often to spray for bugs before I leave for school. It can also be used to spray the spider or bug and kill it on contact. It’s very useful. Since spraying I haven’t found any more big spiders, just a couple smaller ones. The flies have even gone away.

Right now we’re just waiting to find out our site placements. We’ll know a week from this Friday! It’s so exciting. We had our second interviews today with the top dawgs to determine where we will be placed. I essentially told them I didn’t have any preferences. I had some trouble with breathing when I first got here, but since then I’ve gotten used to the altitude. I thought it might deter me from requesting the foothills or the highlands, but I think I’ll be able to handle whatever altitude in which I’m placed.

Last week we went on site visits where current PCV’s are serving. It was SO nice to get a break from our daily routine of class, chores, and more chores. We still had chores of course, but it was nice not to have class every day. It was a nice mini vacation. :) Each group ate a ton of food. Maya was our PCV and she cooked us quesadillas and guacamole one night which was spectacular. Knowing that I can also make Mexican food while living in Lesotho is quite a relief. In fact, I made quesadillas one of the first nights we were back from our site visit. Thankfully the meal got good reviews from my homies here in Mokhethoaneng (pronounced: mo-hey-twa-neng). The ‘hey’ sound comes from the back of the throat. It’s a bit breathy, kinda hard to describe instead of actually pronouncing it.

Last night I made steamed bread for the first time. It’s really not difficult at all. I don’t measure any ingredients. Just use a lot of flour (white or wheat), a little sugar, a little salt, and a little yeast. You just have to let it rise for a few hours before baking. Mine only took 30-35 minutes to bake/steam. One guy in my village has made banana nut bread which we dipped in melted chocolate. It was so good. We’re definitely learning how to work with what we’ve got.

Everything seems to be coming up really fast. We have a few more field trips, a concert, a community meeting, and a village feast before we leave for our actual site visits. After that we return to the training center, take our language assessment test then swear in for service. The ceremony will be on August 5 then we leave for our sites the next day. June just flew by so I can’t imagine how fast this month will go. Thankfully it will start warming up here during mid to late August. I can’t wait to see this country with green grass and some flowers! It’s gorgeous as is with the mountains, but I’ve been told it gets even better.

I got my first piece of mail on July 2 from my parents. They sent it on June 6 I believe, so that took a little while. I’ll try to let everyone know when I receive mail. I’ve heard it sometimes takes only 2 weeks so I guess it varies. It also could have been at the training center awhile. I don’t know how often they check it to bring to us in the villages.

It looks like we’re going to go food shopping in the city once a week until we leave for our sites. I hope to have access to the internet cafes during those times so I can keep up with the blog. Thanks for all the comments, emails, and facebook messages. They mean the world to me. I miss you all a ton! And happy belated Fourth of July!!!!!!!!!!!!

This week we got to cook for ourselves which was amazing. Those of us in Mokhethoaneng cook for each other almost every night. It's great because we get to socialize and we don't have to dirty up our own pans constantly. Last Sunday we had a soccer game in Bokone (our neighboring village with the other 8 PCTs). The girls played in skirts which sucked, although I'm getting used to it. Today we're leaving for site visits with current Peace Corps Volunteers and we get to wear pants! I honestly don't remember the last time I wore pants... I'm going to start wearing jogging pants in the morning to run or walk. It's getting ridiculous.

Right now I'm going to admit I feel a bit restricted. The dress code, not being allowed to go to the other village whenever we want, not being allowed to spend the night with other PCV's, and not being allowed to drink. I understand that there were some problems with a past group of volunteers, but still we're not that group and there is no policy against it. OH WELL. I bet my parents will be happy to know I'm not partying. lol. I love you guys. We have class 6 days and week and follow a really strict schedule. It's really not that bad, but I'm used to having a lot more freedom. I know it'll get better as we go on, but currently it's still a frustration.

I really love my host family and pretty much everyone I've met in my village. I'm getting closer to the PCTs in my village too which is great. We went on a hike after school one day to a river that was nearby. It's gorgeous. We're going to have a picnic there soon too. We were so close to South Africa we could see the border. (actually we can see south africa easily from our villages) One PCT, Brice, and I started walking yesterday morning. I really need the exercise since we sit in classrooms all day. We're always tired at the end of the night though. I got to be at the ealiest at 8:30 and the latest at 10:00pm. I'm usually up by 6 or 6:30 to the sounds of roosters cackling, donkeys doing whatever they do, and sometimes cows mooing. Our village is FULL of animals. My family has a horse, at least 2 donkeys, a pig, some chickens and roosters, a cat, and a few dogs and some brand new puppies. We harvest poone or maize and I've helped remove the kernels from the cob with rocks or just our hands and unload the cart of maize. Since it's cold I volunteer to do the manual labor to keep warm. Oh yeah, I'M JEALOUS OF THE SUMMER YOU ALL ARE EXPERIENCING. You better think of me when you're wearing your tank tops and shorts! :)

Anyway, I'm going to try and get my pictures uploaded. I have to figure it out this time. lol.

Love,

Naleli

So I've been in my village for 6 days now and making the transistion to village life has been quite the experience. This first week we didn't have to cook for ourselves which was great, we're shopping in Maseru today for food, but we still had to get used to bathing in a bucket, peeing in a bucket at night, and washing anything else in...you guessed it...buckets. The name of my village is Mokhethoaneng and my Sesotho name is Naleli Chake. Naleli (pronounced na-lay-dee) means "star" in Sesotho which is just perfect because that's all I've talked about with my fellow trainees since I've met them! Chake is my family's last name.

Unfortunately my internet time is up. :( so I'll post pix some other time? this sucks. later homies

Today is a very exciting day, we are leaving for CBT(Community Based Training) after lunch! There are two groups of 8 going to 2 different villages. Unfortunately I only remember the name of one village because it's easy to say/spell and that is Bokone, the other one is my village and it starts with an 'M' and ends in 'g'. I'll learn it soon! I can't wait to meet my host family. I got a few small gifts inlcuding a veggie pealer, stickers and a box of chocolates. I might give the kids my jump rope, we'll see. I hope they like me!! Our trainers bought tea sets for us to give the family as well.

We stay at the villages overnight and have class during the day in either our own village or we travel to the other groups'. We also come back to the training center every once in awhile for presentations and sessions. I'm really excited for this part because we'll finally be with people who know very little or zero English. I'm more of a "doer" so I need to just practice speaking Sesotho to learn it.

So Lesotho isn't as warm in the winter as I had previously thought...we had a couple of really nice warm days when we first got here and now it's getting colder. It's supposed to get colder before we transition into the next session. The air is very crisp and the sun is almost always shining. The temperature varies a lot during the day, it's pretty chilly in the morning but gets pretty warm during the middle of the day. It's all about layers here for sure. You can spend the day putting on and taking off your coat and scarf a million times. I wear my scarf almost constantly though, even to bed. lol. Right now we're in the dry season and haven't had much rain. There is snow is the highlands.

I can't wait to start cooking in my village. My 'M'e (mom) will show me how to cook all the essentials the first week like bread which will be an experience for me. I've never cooked anything dutch oven style. After that we buy our own food and cook for ourselves. We're living pretty much like we will at our placement site. We learned how to bathe in a bucket/basin yesterday and how to use our gas heaters. I'm going to miss having a hot shower! We are definitely spoiled here at the training center, but it'll be nice roughing it. That's why I joined the Peace Corps!

Everyone in our group is awesome. We don't have any bad apples or pansies. lol. It's nice because everyone is willing to help out or volunteer for everything. It's nice being around a group like this. I am going to miss not being around Americans all the time, but it's good for us.

Well I have to go because we have to get back to our training center for lunch then off we go to our villages!! I have pictures and a video of our trainers to post, but I don't know when I'll be able to do it. The computers here are pretty jacked up in the cafes.

Later homies!!!

Love,

Emily

Howdy homies,

So I’m in Lesotho! It’s fabulous. It’s been much warmer than I had anticipated. Our welcoming was incredible; a group of women who are our teachers sang a song and danced as our van drove into the Training Center. I call it post, the compound and site too if it gets confusing. There are 16 of us total including a married couple in their fifties. The rest of us are 22-30 years old with all the ages being equally dispersed. There might be an extra 22 or 23 year old.

Our training center is in Maseru which is in the foothills part of the country. There are lowlands, foothills and highlands. I jogged today with another PCT and a PCV and couldn’t handle it. I think the elevation really got to me. I should be fine and will continue to drink a bunch of water and just start working out a little bit at a time. We’ve only been here for 3 days, so I should get used to the elevation soon. Other than that I’ve been great! I’m eating better here than I was at home. They feed us 3 times a day and there is a bowl of fruit and biscuits around most of the time. They are accommodating my vegetarian diet and my host family will too. We start community based training on week 2 which starts on June 15th. I can’t wait to get into a village! But I definitely want to learn some more Sesotho. So far it’s been easy, but I only know how to say “Hi, my name is Emily….thank you….what is your name.” Pronunciation is key.

So yeah, Lesotho is awesome! I won’t be able to take pictures of the city(maseru) for awhile. Actually, I’m not sure when I’ll be able to do that. It’s not good to show you have a camera out in public. There are a lot of rules in order to keep safe. We just learned where we can and cannot walk, who we shouldn’t talk to, and how to safeguard our stuff after shopping. It’s obvious where you shop based on the bags so we are to keep everything in our backpacks. So pictures of the site, the other PCT’s and whatever else I can find will come soon!

Thank you for reading and please tell others to do so as well. I have limited internet access which is difficult to use. We have to stand on a mound of rocks and then try to maneuver the touch pad on our laptops!! But at least we have it right?? 

Khotso, Pula, Nala!

Peace, Rain, Prosperity!

Emily

I sit here at the desk, very tired. I cannot sleep because of excitement. So many emotions and causing my stomach to churn. Or maybe it's the HUGE ice cream cone I consumed without guilt or shame after already eating out twice today.

It doesn't matter. Tomorrow we leave for Toledo at 3 PM. It's the last time I'll see my Grandma for two years. It's the last time I'll pet my dogs for two years. In a way it feels like any other Sunday night I've had recently. I'll just watch a couple episodes of Forensic Files or CSI. Maybe catch up on a TV series on youtube. Chat on AIM. See if someone knows when I work tomorrow. Being temporarily jobless the past few days has been nice!!!

I still have some last minute things to do. I'm going to donate more clothes, etc... Drop of the laptop to the computer store to add some more music to it. THANKS JOSH! I might print out some more pictures to take. Thankfully my near OCD double checking of things has made me really relaxed about arriving at Staging. I just hope I get there on time. RAR.

Now it's time to fall asleep.

G'nite

I have always considered myself to be an excellent packer. Unfortunately I may have to give up that title since it's taken me over a week to get everything packed. Tonight was the second or third time I've had to take items out of my luggage. Thankfully I think both of my suitcases are under under the 50lb weight limit. I really hope my carry-on bag isn't too big. We'll see how it goes. I think reading the recommendations of current and past volunteers was a great idea, but I felt the need to pack everything they suggested. :) I liked to be prepared!

I have one week before my parents and I head to Toledo to spend the night before my wonderful 6am flight to Chicago. I have a slight delay then will depart for Philadelphia where my group will have orientation. (I wish I just had a direct flight, but oh well...I will read!) I get my first shots during orientation (or staging, which is what the Peace Corps calls it). I'm actually happy about that. I figured we would get a few series of shots before we left, but that will happen while we're training in Lesotho.

I do have a few things to look forward to this week. I'm going to a roller skating party for employees of Applebee's this Tuesday. It'll be nice to see everyone in one place before I leave for good. I'll be in BG on Friday, then spend the weekend with family in Defiance.

It's all starting to feel real finally. For the longest time it felt like Lesotho was so far in the future that I hardly thought about it. I said goodbye to a friend of mine who is getting married next weekend. She will have had 3 anniversaries by the time I get back! Another friend of mine is planning on having a baby within the next year or two. And many people I know are just now starting their careers. Where will they be when I get back? Hopefully a few of my closest friends are still planning on making the great move to Portland or Boulder soon. :) If not I'm heading out that way when I get back. And I'll need roommates!

'Sup

I have less than two weeks to tie up all my loose ends!! My last day at work is May 28th and I will leave Defiance on June 1st. I just received an email from the CDU or Country Desk Unit giving us more information on training and specifically what we'll be doing our first week. Everything is pretty regimented. This is what training looks like for the first 9 weeks:

Week 1 - Technical and Language Overview

Week 2 - Community Based Training (CBT)

Week 3 and 4 - Site Visit with Current Volunteers

Week 5 - Community Based Training (CBT)

Week 6-7 - CBT

Week 8 - On the job training (Actual site visit)

Language assessment

Week 9 - Administrative Details

Swearing-in/Departure to site

They also sent me useful Sesotho phrases. I'm still not sure how to pronounce everything! I can't wait to hear it spoken. Below are a few really important ones:

Lumela (pronounced Dumela) Hello

U phela joang? How are you?

Lebitso la hau u mang? What is your name?

Lebitso la ka ke ………… my name is ……………..

Kea leboha Thank you

Sala Hantle Stay well

Ha ke utloisisi I don’t understand

Ntsoarele Excuse me / forgive me

Tonight I think I'm going to pack a little more. I have to take out a few things because I've already run out of room for everything. Some volunteers seem to be underpacking and I have no idea how!!

Hey everyone,

I probably won't start blogging regularly until I begin my Peace Corps training, but this will be the place to go for pictures and important updates about my experience in Lesotho. I only have 11 weeks until I leave for staging and I haven't started packing yet!! Tomorrow I am going to an REI store in Ann Arbor to pick up more essentials like my sleeping bag, head lamp, and durable clothing. I have to wear skirts and dresses during my training and will probably continue to wear them during my service. It's going to be difficult finding rugged, yet dressy clothing.

My going away party is on April 25th from 1-4 at the First Presbyterian Church in Defiance. (501 Washington Avenue) Please call me if you need directions or a place to stay!

Love,

Emily