Yup. Went on another vacation - yes, many of you are probably wondering "say, why isn't she working as hard as she should be in Peace Corps?" Well, it's been winter here and like most villages and towns, schools & training centres have been closed. It's the only time I can travel, or just merely see some volunteers I don't have the chance to otherwise.

Stay tuned for photos.

- Kelly

Yup, so there are just some (funny) things as a Peace Corps Volunteer you come to accept as normal. Here a just a few:

1. You constantly assess the question, "How much mold is too much mold?"

Sidenote: The answer varies on food product.

2. The label "Refrigerate After Opening" does not apply to you. Ever. In fact, mayo never is refrigerated.

3. Along those same lines, expiration dates are like Stop Signs: they are mere suggestions.

Sidenote: Milk here lasts for weeks, unopened, unrefrigerated. Your good ol' processessing at work.

4. Bathing once a week in winter is a necessary evil...I mean just that one time. It's cold and a chore - a deadly combination.

5. An entire language can be faked by using mumbling sounds, a smile, and a nod. Try it!

6. There is no TV show, no movie, no YouTube video too bad to watch. Constantly. Who knew I would be watching Battlestar Gallactica?

...I will try to think of others.

- Kelly

What's more exciting than watching sheep graze in my yard? Lizards.

The answer is always lizards.

And more importantly: winter is definitely in full swing.

Sleet & hail are sleep's enemy.

So for fourth of july we had a little braii at Ariana's. And it was also to celebrate Peace Corps' 50th Anniversary. I ate my weight in food. Basotho neighbors and coworkers hung out with us. The other Americans are the volunteers in my district. That's right. There's only 5 of us total. Anyway, enjoy, and sorry for my skinny-girl neck tendons...

So from June 19 - 23rd, I hung out at a little quaint place called Clarens, just outside Lesotho. It. Was. Gorgeous. Good food. Good beer. Good times. Enjoy.

Yup. Winnie "Hunter" Anderson has grown from her runt status; in case you cared. She rocks. And yes, she may be the thing I talk to most on a daily basis. It's not depressing in any way lol.

On Friday, May 13th, my training centre traveled to Mohale's Hoek camptown to visit other schools as a local exhibiton / open house event; to basically see what the other institutions are doing, how they work, their facilities, and to meet the teachers. My students got all dressed up to impress the other students (i.e. girls) in town (so precious). We traveled in style - rented our own driver and blasted house versions of every Beyonce song one can think of. It was like going to prom and I was just a chaperone. Check out the picture of them on the bus; the other picture was taken in the school's chapel - most of the students aren't actually smiling, which is a normal Basotho thing. People tend to stand there straight faced, it's kinda hilarious.

I take pictures without thought, when I'm bored or walking, or just to fool around with the settings. Yeah, sometimes you just have to make your own entertainment. Well anyway, I just happened to have caught Mohale's Hoek (my camptown) at dawn (you can see the distant lights of its downtown area) and my village of Liphiring at dusk. Enjoy:

So basically I had an intimidatingly large and blank wall in my kitchen when I first moved into my house way back in August. Clearly, something had to be done; I mean, it was basically mocking me. After considering my options (breaking down the wall, lighting it on fire, using a paintball gun to decorate) I decided to draw a giant mural with various illustrations from Shel Silverstein poems; some of which are; A Giraffe and a Half and Where the Sidewalk Ends. I have been working on and off for months now (times when I had nothing to do) and it's finally done (for now). It's something I add to all the time when I'm just standing around waiting for my mac n' cheese to be done. Well, here's a look of it:

I’ve been MIA for way too long now. Seems like an eternity. I will make amends and try to update you on everything that has happened in the past 6 months (and perhaps upload some photos/videos). The update is as follows:

January -

Came back from Durban (which I currently miss - mmm, Indian Food) and the end of my first summer break. My training centre opened for school Jan 17th...students showed up 2 weeks after lol (that’s how things work). Had to complete my first trimester VRF (Volunteer Reporting Form) - this takes all my possible attention span, which takes some time to recover. The VRF basically summarizes what we volunteers have done, accomplished, have started, etc in our primary projects (i.e. the place where we work). This is to help lobby for Peace Corps in Washington (more funding?). Also this month, I spend too much of my money to call friends on their birthdays. and I realize have too many friends with January birthdays.

February -

This month I can’t remember anything I did except work. Work work work. And some more work. Restless nights. I search for my appetite again. I get sick of grilled cheese sandwiches and beans. I start eating grilled cheeses again. Ignore Valentine’s Day. But have a good dinner anyway that night (meat). I also realize people back home think Peace Corps is more exciting than it is lol.

March -

Beginning of March is hectic (naturally), and I have a 5 day training for Peace Corps the week after at a hotel in my camptown. Food is provided, and every room has a shower in it (this is a vacation to me). I eat too much, and shower too much. Consequently, I break out incredibly, and immediate gain several pounds. Cut to the week after and I lose that weight. I officially stalemate at 155 lbs (about 30-35 pounds less than I arrived in Lesotho). Ariana goes on a South African vacation with her parents and uncle. I become slightly jealous of their fantastical safari rides and I bond with my cat, Winnie “Hunter” Anderson, in the meantime. She eventually comes back and we celebrate St. Patty’s Day with a few other volunteers and I get to enjoy some beautiful Guiness, brought over from SA by Ariana. We also make tacos. This makes sense to me somehow. The week after, I celebrate turning Quarter of a Century. This is a good thing - I somehow find comfort in the fact that I'm getting older. Celebrate it in my camptown on a mountain (you’ve seen photos) with some drinks. Not a bad birthday. March has come and gone.

April -

I have a pretty stressful first couple of weeks. On the 15th I head to Maseru (the capital) for the Lesotho Solar Energy Exhibition at the National Convention Centre. I get in the day before and Peace Corps puts me up in a local hostel and look forward to eating good food, drinking good beer, watching Toy Story 3, and relaxing overall. However, I spend a good part of my night killing an army of cockroaches. My rest and relaxation dissipates (cockroaches are not as cute as they are in Wall-E). I leave the room looking like a crime scene - cockroach carcasses everywhere - walls, ceiling, sink, floor, bed, and closet. I used the hostel’s bible to kill them. I laugh at this. One of the Peace Corps Staff - Jim - picks me up to drive me back to our office before I go to the exhibition and I realize he may be the nicest man I have ever met. His daughter won the NCAA Div 3 national championship in basketball at UMASS. We talk sports. The next week my training centre closes early for Easter holiday and I get some real relaxation finally. My centre opens again and it slowly pics back up.

May -

So far, my training centre has been rushing to get things done for customers (furniture, burglar bars for windows and doors, etc) before we close for winter break. Most schools and training centres close for the winter (June and July) because there is just not enough money to constantly run their gas heaters. It gives the students a good break since Christmas too. I start planning on how I’m spending two months off because things can get pretty quiet when the cold and snow comes. Plan on traveling to Clarens, SA, in June for vacation (a shorter, quieter, relaxing vacation). I find out restaurants there have beers on tap. This makes me jubilant. I also realize I will be in Lesotho for a year on June 4th. Preparations ensue to not lose my mind completely. June 4th. One year. Jeez, that went by too quickly, and most volunteers say the second year goes by even quicker. Go to a going away party up north for the CHED ‘09 group that is leaving in the next couple of months. Does not make my one year anniversary any easier. Start planning for my transition back into America - no, I’m not talking about grad school, employment, or school loans. I’m talking about Feast Week 2012. What’s Feast week, you ask? Well, sometime when I’m back in America after I COS (Close of Service) I will be integrating back in the best way I know how - by stuffing my face with good ol’ American food. I say “week” but traveling and resting in between meals will dictate my time. My (very tentative) Feast Week schedule is as follows:

Part One - NYC - Sushi at that place I can never remember the name of, and the dessert place close to it that I can never remember the name of. But most importantly, Happy Hour at Brooklyn Brewery. A taxi cab ride home will be needed because I will not be able to walk. No, not because of the beer, but because of my nausea from eating so much food. I might buy a pint glass.

Part Two - Dinosaur Barbeque, Troy, NY. Although I would have probably already have eaten it before Feast Week, it clearly belongs in this schedule. Also, this will be an all day affair with multiple rounds of food and pitchers. I. Miss. Micro. Brews. A barf bag may be needed. As well as stretchy pants. Will jeggings still be in style?

Part Three - Fast Foods. So far (and in this order) Taco Bell, Dominos, Burger King, Arby’s (curly fries), McDonalds, and Wendy’s. And more Taco Bell. And, any place that serves nachos with that fake nacho cheese sauce. OMG, do I crave that nacho cheese sauce. ABSOLUTELY NO KFC. KFC is found everywhere in Lesotho. In fact, I may be completely sick of chicken by this time. And surely this list will grow. Antacids and lots of Gatorade and aspirin will be involved. Perhaps catching up on famous Youtube videos. Stretchy pants will still be on. Something tells me I should eat fast food while sitting on a toilet...

Part Four - Chinese Food. With the large Chinese population found in Lesotho, you’d think one could find Chinese food. Nope. None. And I miss dearly the greasy, messy, unidentifiable glory that is Lo Mein. With pork. And Spring Rolls. Actually, everything found at a Chinese Food place. Perhaps other Asian foods will be involved - Vietnamese anyone?

Part Five - Mexican Food. Preferably not from Taco Bell. Also, margaritas. With salt. People, make this happen for me. I’ll take Beano before any of the mexican food. Promise.

Part Six - SANDWICHES. Pastabilities bread and garlic dipping sauce (from Syracuse) will be necessary. I will eat sandwiches from all the good places you could think of - delis, bagel places, etc etc. I’ll even settle for Subway. No, wait. No I won’t.

Part Seven - This is where all Miscellaneous foods and drinks could be involved. Good coffee - at an actual coffee house, local beers, Indian food, Italian food, that place on the corner that you’re just dying to take me, more nachos and nacho cheese sauce, cheesecake, pies, cookies, brownies, jalapeno poppers, garlic sticks, soup, steaks, I think you understand the point I’m trying to make.

Better yet, a small pool has been started to guess the amount of weight I will gain from the start of Feast Week until its end. Ariana says 11 lbs. I say 16. Everyone guess, and the winner gets to buy me a gym membership. Kidding. So, everyone start to think of places to take me, etc. And someone needs to provide a scale for scientific proof of weight gain.

Lesotho's Winter -

Some of you have asked me how cold it really gets here. Well, it depends on where we volunteers are located. As for me, since I’m located in the south where the mountains start up again, it tends to get freezing here. We’ve already had our first frosts, and I need to greatly layer up in the mornings and at night. The middle of the day, when the sun hits my house, it tends to be a bearable temperature. As for snow, I’ll get a little, nothing compared to the Northeast this past winter, but enough to enjoy. Some roads in the most mountainous and rural areas of Lesotho are closed during winter because of the amount of snow they get.

Mail -

I just want to take some time to thank everyone who emails me, sends cards, letters, packages, and/or calls me. Even if its been only once since I have arrived in Lesotho. You have no idea how much it means to get mail - virtual or otherwise, while being a volunteer. No matter how short or seemingly stupid, it’s like Christmas when it happens. It picks us up when we’re down. Makes us sane. It gives us a little reminder of what we miss in America when sometimes we can’t even picture what we looked like before coming here. It remind us that there’s people who miss us back home.

One more thing. If you're wondering what I would want to get sent to me, there's only two things: 1. Gatorade powder mix, and 2. Magazines/Newspapers - Time, Newsweek, Economist, Foreign Policy, The New Yorker, Wired, Science, Scientific American, National Geographic, The New York Times. There's one thing for certain during my service - although I get one radio news station, they cover South African news, and only gigantic world events - i.e. Bin Laden's death; so I am completely in the dark with everything else, other than the royal wedding. So, I am in DESPERATE need of anything news. These magazines are my lifeline to the world I no longer live in. Just...putting that out there.

All in all, I’m happy, healthy (knock on wood - because some of you know about my latrine story - damn lock...), and realize I never want to leave this place, even on my worst days where I just want to curl up in my bed and shun the world. And as I am writing this - Monday, May 9th - have no more than 460 days left in Lesotho. Sometimes I find this as a good thing (enough time to enjoy myself and not rush) and sometimes I find this as a bad thing (too many to go). But, it is what it is. And I still look forward going to work, seeing my coworkers, and teaching my students (solar stuffs or Life Skills - a.k.a. sex ed, health, or real life issues - like gender equality).

Always, Kelly

P.S. The King’s Speech is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time. The new season of Futurama was awesome. And, I don’t understand anything that’s happening on Tosh.0. I’ll need to get updated on Youtube videos.

P.S.S. My cat, Winnie, has turned from litter’s runt to amazing African critter killer. Bats tend to be her favorite, with moles and lizards following. She has thankfully stopped bringing them into my house. She also prefers pasta over rice. Just an FYI.

...stay tuned for more photos and even a video, what?!

I work with a women's group - basically every Tuesday - who make candles & vaseline (from local aloe plants) I've been helping them with little business stuff - marketing, grant & proposal writing, budgeting, quality control, etc etc. Here's a couple pictures of our building (which is that little thing attached to my house), and them working on candle production.

...ok, so maybe Justin Timberlake has cooler friends than I do; but I come in a very close second. Recently (as in last week) I received a package from the one and only Jess Hurwit. And in this very lovely package was a Flip Video Camera! What? That's right. Video Camera. And even better, pre-loaded with some amazing videos taken by/of: Jess, Chris, Jeanne, Adrienne, Becky, Clayton, Jimmy, Krissy, Sarina, Matt, Mike, Andy, Baby Evan, and Denise Heckman (I didn't forget anyone, right?). Anywho-skies, this has to be the best thing people have done for me (maybe except my parents conceiving of me). You. Guys. Rock.

I've already used my camera like whoa. I'm trying to upload them now...

Love Always, Kelbear

...there have been some interesting recent developments in mylife (i.e. travelling to Durban, South Africa, etc). Stay tuned for updates - both photos and videos, in a couple of days. You'll want to come back and see, believe me.

- Kelbear

Ok. Not really. But this is kinda important:

CHANGE OF ADDRESS

Kelly Anderson

Private Bag F004

Mohale's Hoek 800

Lesotho, Africa

...if you have mailed something to me at my Maseru address, it's still ok. That address will be permanently mine while I'm here. This new address is something I've opened in town, so I could collect my mail easier.

Miss everyone like crazy. Merry Xmas, Happy Holidays, and other appropriate and politically correct holiday sayings.

- Kelbear

SO i know I did this about a month ago, but, here it is. Also, I threw in a nice little "before" picture to remind you all what I looked like before.

PS, every girl should shave her head. It rocks.

Potluck + beer + afternoon soccer game. 'Nuff said.

(Adam, me, Wes)

Yup, this is what I have to live with. Cruel, terrifying wildlife. My kitten likes to chase them:

...I have the world's cutest kitten. Meet Winney. Yes, as in Winney Cooper. Enjoy:

So some of you already know, but my beloved puppy Alec has unfortunately been recently killed. A student from our high school washes my next door neighbor's car. And, for whatever reason, this student decided to move the car that day (which he has never done before). Anyway, he didn't see my puppy, etc. So for now, I'm going to hold off buying anymore dogs.

Alec, my puppy, is the new man in my life. And yes, I named him after Alec Baldwin, because I am obsessed with 30 Rock. I'm a nerd, I can't help it! This weekend I'll be getting a kitten too. Stay tuned for more pictures of puppy antics. Enjoy these:

So, close to my house lies the our main dirt road. If one walks down that road, they'll come upon some eroded ditches. These ditches reach down to about 50 feet and scatter throughout the surrounding villages. They're fun to hike through and explore. However, these ditches are a grave sign of top soil erosion - not a good thing for an agricultural country. Nonetheless, enjoy the views:

First, I apologize for not updating this for about a month. I didn't have any good stories or pictures, and plus - I was extremely sick a couple days (but that's a different story, and you can ask Mom & Dad).

But more importantly, thank you to everyone for sending me letters, cards, and packages - I have finally received my mail. I had six packages in all. SO...thank you to everyone (you know who you are) who sent me them, you have no idea how excited and happy I am to receive packages. And also, I have received all the packages that people had sent me, fully intact.

SO, Thank you all again.

Just some superfluous things about my village...

First, there's this old, beautiful abandoned church that the village is slowly building funds to refurnish as a community hall. I love it; I think it's gorgeous. I obviously like walking through whenever I please lol.

Second, there's a small family of lizards that live in the cinder blocks of my house. They tend to sunbathe with me. And, fortunately for me, they have been the biggest critters in/around my home (knock on wood). But, unfortunately for me, I recently found out that tarantulas are not uncommon in my village. Blurg.

During our Peace Corps district meeting (where I finally got to meet most everyone in my district - like a county), Ariana was brave enough to have her head shaved. Thankfully, she looks wicked good now, and I may be brave enough to also buzz my head (sorry Mom) by the end of the year. Maybe.

PS. Compare and contrast each of our houses. She lives in town and I live in village. They're a tad bit different don't you say?

Enjoy such pictures of the other volunteers and I chopping her hair off:

There is a farm at the border of my town that rests in South Africa. A normal agriculture practice is to burn the fields to get help get ready for the planting season. Sometimes the fires spread faster than one can manage; and sometimes this effect is gorgeous at sunset.

So, there exists, in the epicenter of my village, a very large, yet welcoming mountain which you can see from miles away. On top of it lays a tall white pole that marks the border of South Africa. I have tried to reach its summit once, but had to turn back when I reached the bottom of the rock due to the sun setting. Also, the volunteer who lives in my town has a dog (and she loves me a lot); the dog followed me the whole way I up. She was also wicked pregnant.

My primary project (aka my job) is Taung Skills Training Centre, a vocational school. We teach students metal shop, wood shop, construction, computer literacy, business skills, agric/permaculture, and solar energy - which I help teach and build capacity and resources. Note: the students and teachers were on break, hence the small activity.

So on Aug. 20th, I received a dog, but however, due to his environment, he was already extremely sick and weak. I did what I could, but he died shortly after. Someone told me this dog was 2 years old, and he was the size of puppy. Poor little thing. Death happens to be an unfortunate common part of life here...

In memory of Fritzwicky:

Here is my new home sweet home. The door and left window is mine, the window to the right belongs to an attached neighbor's house. When you walk in, it's the kicthen, and then the following room is my bedroom. This is a perfect size house for me. The whole thing is made of concrete and I have a tin room - noisy when birds land and when it rains (which is usually never).

On my second day in village I started to coach a girl's soccer team. I leave no time to waste lol. Our team is called: Taung Banyana-Banyana. We're gonna kick some serious butt...

This was our Swearing In Ceremony - where we become official Volunteers, and no longer Trainees. This was at the American Ambassador's house, sweet eh? And, this may be the best we ever look in the 2 years here in Africa. Enjoy:

(Top to Bottom: Matt, Lee, Chante; Lauren and I; some Charlie's Angels thing; training center roomies; us Hoekers - Delia, Me, Ariana; some 'cool' dudes; us Mokhethoaneng girls; waiting in the training center; Mokhethoaneng).

We had a huge village feast our last day, in which I had to give a speech in Sesotho to everyone (it went over great, they loved my jokes lol). Well, here's my training village. Note: our amazing red shirts that were given to us. And, the fact that young Kate is in almost no pictures - she runs away from my camera). (From top to bottom: 'M'e Kate, Juliana and I, Brandi and I, Adam and Grant, Grant and I, Wes and I, Adam and I, the group, the boys).

These two beautiful women were our Sesotho teachers (language). They had amazing patience (with me). I already miss them dearly. (Left - 'M'e Francinah; Right - 'M'e Mabatloung):

So, here's a little bit of our second soccer game we played as the CHED '10s. We played against the American embassy, and guess who won? I didn't play in this one, hence how I was actually able to take pictures this time. (Photos top to bottom: Team, Playing, Jesse and I, Ariana and I, and Wes). Note: awesome black eye stuff. I thought I'd be cool and only have one eye...enjoy!

Hey, here's just a few pictures of my extremely generous and awesome host family:

So, this past weekend, when I was in my camptown of Mohale's Hoek (about an hour away from my site), I was all set to spend hours on the interwebs...however, the internet place didn't have working internet lol. It's Africa, just bear with us. So...right now, I've bought hours of internet usage and am about to bombard this blog with updates and pictures. Yup, you're welcome.

- Kelly

So I came to the camptown today to update my blog with photos, etc. But, I met up with some other volunteers and I didn't quite make it to the internet place.

My bad. Perhaps next week?

I have some fantastical news!

I have just been given my official permanent site placement...Liphiring, Mohale's Hoek. Don't ask me who Mohale is or what is a hoek, I know neither of those things. What I do know is that we all had to apply to our choice of top locations/jobs from a list of 34. I got my number one choice!!! I am now officially a renewable energy co-teacher (whatever that really means).

Also, fortunately for me & potentially unfortunately for Peace Corps administration, I have been placed with two of my closest friends there - one 30/45 minutes away, and the other about 5 hours.

Heh. Cue evil laugh for the dangerous fun that will ensue the next 2 years of my life.

Woot. Get hyped. And, stay tuned for details on my job!

So, Mokhotlong and Sanni Pass are clearly in the mountains. Sanni Pass is home to an annual triatholon and Africa's highest pub (which has amazing bangers & mash).

It's just a cool place we went to. Rural traditional village attached to a mountain face.

Enjoy:

Pretty, awesome, right?! I love it so much. I lucked out with the furniture - most volunteers just have a table & some chairs, and a bed. I have a whole living room set, as well as an armoir, but I think that's because it's the parent's bedroom/family living room. My room faces West, so I get to watch the sun set every day while I eat dinner - and it hasn't gotten old yet.

You can see in the pictures, that I have a gas stove and heater - which, in Winter, is especially essential. What I haven't shown/forgot to take pictures of, are my washing buckets, bathing bucket (it's my bath tub), water buckets, and my pee bucket. That's right, a pee bucket. You're so jealous of my African life right now, I can tell. Well, I'll explain. One, it gets PITCH black outside at night, so using the latrine is pretty annoying. Also, dogs are used as body guards and house alarms (and sleep outside), so walking out at night may prove harmful. And lastly, we LOVE our pee buckets. This is something in which I may actually take back to the States with me. Think about it, middle of the night, below freezing in my house, pajamas, pitch black, dogs, and the fact that our buckets are the precise size and comfort level for doing such deeds. Trust me, it's not that weird or gross. Unless, of course, one forgets to dump their pee bucket in the morning - you know who you are!!!

Oh, and, I get my water from a pump not too far away. Some days it's actually nice to fetch my water (I said SOME days). I have to turn this big merry-go-round wheel (about 12 feet in diameter) to get the siphoning pipes to start, in which I can go to the spout and just turn the lever to get my water. However, on days in which I'm tired, lazy, or the pumps are exactly working well, I have to turn, turn, turn, and turn to get the pump to start. Luckily for me, my host mother usually yells for one of my little bo-abuti (brothers) to come and assist.

I'm sure I'm forgetting to tell you a plethora of more details and also, it's 20 Rand per hour for internet here and since I'm not made of money...

Mokhetoaneng -my training village! It's gorgeous, eh?

Anyhoo...So I live with the greatest (and biggest) host family around. They make me feel at home, and on long training days, I look forward to going home to my 'M'e and Ntate (mom and dad). Pictures of my house will be coming up.

So, training is basically structured in a way that makes my head want to explode. Ok, that's a little harsh, but for those of you who know me will realize how much I cannot stand the classroom, as my attention span is that of a goldfish. However, the Basotho (people of Lesotho) teachers rock and we all love them dearly.

Training hasn't been as stressful as I previously have thought. It's long, strenuous, tedious, draining, and completely necessary, but in no way does training make you want to quit - in a good way. Challenging, very...but stressful, not.

Every morning we start (at 8:30) with singing the Lesotho and American national anthems, which we love! Some days we sing more Sesotho songs, it really depends if we can provide a good key...most times we cannot carry a tune together. Afterwards we learn & speak Sesotho until about 10-1030, in which we had tea. I have a new found respect for tea time and a new found addiction to tea.

After tea, the bus comes and picks us up to arrive in Bokone (an adjacent village) where all 3 training villages (27 people total) meet for the afternoon technical sessions. Cue my bad attention span, uncontrollable fooling around during class, lunch, and more tea.

All in all I cannot complain. My host family are amazing people, the people in my training village (Adam, Grant, Kate, Juliana, Kate II, Wes & Brandi - married couple) are friends for life - whether they want to be or not, and the food is abundant & cheap. Beer is a little harder to get for girls...sorry Mom. There's only 4 (on a good Shop day) to choose from: Castle, Castle Milk Stout, Hansa, and Carling Black Label. As I type away, I'm thinking of the fortune I spent on the Guiness that is in my Shoprite bag. Sigh...

So, I know what you're thinking, where has Kelly been?! Well, not on the interwebs obviously. I'll be taking this time to update you all on the last 7 weeks of my life. Let's start with training - the above pictures are from the training center in which we spent our first week here in Lesotho. The Training Center makes me miss flush toilets, but more on that later.

The Training Center is all bunk beds - which helped us get close to each other as soon as we met, whether we wanted to or not. My room of girls rocked, but again, more on that later. The guards are super fun, the staff super nice, and the water super clean. Ahhhh, filtered water. Oh yeah, there are amazingly hot showers. I miss showers...

Every day was structured as such: Breakfast at 7ish, Sesotho (language) in the mornings, lunch, then some afternoon how-to's about Peace Corps life - how to bucket bathe, etc. Pee buckets are also involved.

The Training Center was our temporary home in Maseru, the capital. Whenever we get bussed in, or take a combi to Maseru, us volunteers rush to the Training Center for hot showers, toilets, heated floors, TV, movies, books, and just general r&r.

All in all, the Training Center is pretty sweet.

Oh, and, that bus picture was from the day we departed the Training Center for our respective villages. We all look so fresh and clean.

Hello everyone, guess what: I'm still here and LOVING it. I'll be updating with stories and photos etc. soon. Write me or send a care package!

Love, Kelly

Heyo, so...

June 1st, I'll be driving down to Philadelphia for staging [a 2 day orientation with all the other CHED Lesotho volunteers] and then flying out of JFK June 3rd.

We fly straight to Johannesburg, then to Lesotho. Booya, grandma.

I'll have more updates & photos during and after all this extensive travelling.

Wish my jet lag luck.

PS. CHED = Community Health and Economic Development

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