October 16 - Month of Exploration

The month of October has been my exploration month! It began with a school trip to Katse Dam in the mountains of Lesotho. What an incredible trip! Some of the highlights were:
1. Seeing the faces of the students when they were given Kentucky Fried Chicken for lunch! It was as though someone had ordered champagne and caviar for all!
2. My ride up and through the mountains on the oldest, most rickety bus one could imagine! There were actually times when I had to close my eyes; the mountain roads are NOTHING like American mountain roads!
3. Stopping the bus on the steepest incline and narrowest curve possible so the kids could all get out and take a bathroom break…in the middle of nowhere!
4. Again, stopping in the most dangerous, curvy places to allow donkeys to cross the road.
5. The enormity of the mighty dam, surrounded by tiny stone and stick huts with people living in the vicinity without electricity, plumbing, heat, transportation, etc.
6. And again, stopping on a crazy curve on the way back, so we could all get out and dance on the road, making our own music with mouths, shoes, sticks and stones!.
It was a wonderful field trip!!
A few days later I went on another school field trip. This time we went to the famous Thaba Basio…the mountain that represents the beginning of the history of the Lesotho people. It’s where King Meshoeshoe I protected his people from the Boars and other enemies. After climbing the mountain and learning the history of the forming of the Kingdom of Lesotho, we went to visit the Parliament building in Maseru. The children got to sit in the councilmen’s chairs, etc.,…but their biggest thrill was driving through a city! None of them had ever seen a stoplight before! On the way home, we stopped at the Lesotho Agricultural College and got to see three camels being cared for by the agricultural students..
That trip was on Friday, the day before a weeklong school break. On Saturday my friend Karen and I left for Victoria Falls. We stayed in Zimbabwe and went on a safari in nearby Botswana. The safari was an all day affair; the morning was spent sighting animals from a boat on the Zambezi River, which separates Botswana from Namibia. I guess I can say I was in Namibia because we pulled right up to shore to watch an elephant give himself a mud bath.




After an incredible buffet lunch, we piled into jeeps and drove through a national park…Wow…I wish I could send the hundreds of wonderful photos home for everyone to see…we saw herds of elephants, hippos, water buffaloes, giraffes, a lioness, warthogs, monkeys!!! It was one of my most special days!

















Our day of viewing the falls was just as breathtaking. It’s the dry season in most of Africa right now, so the falls were not at their fullest. We were told that we might be disappointed, but we certainly weren’t. Apparently, when the falls are at their fullest, there’s so much fog and mist that you really don’t get a very clear viewing. Well, we saw everything…even a group of crazy teenagers on the Zambia side sitting in a pool of water RIGHT AT THE EDGE OF THE FALLS.






Africa is a wonderful continent…and I’ve only just begun to explore it! In trying to sum up my trip, I guess I’ve come back to Lesotho with my eyes, mind and heart more aware of the work that needs to be done here. Botswana and Zimbabwe were so clean…no litter anywhere. I suppose one could say that it was that way because I was in tourist territory, but that’s really not the case. We drove through poor areas in both countries and they were litter free. Both countries had signs on the roads reminding people to pick up after themselves. Not so in Lesotho…but I’ve not given up yet. Even if the government of this tiny kingdom doesn’t have a sanitation department or litter/conservation education, that doesn’t mean it can’t be introduced in the schools…maybe by Peace Corps volunteers!!! (I can feel another school project formulating in this crazy brain for next year.)
I wish I could somehow bring you all with me when I travel. I want you to meet the wonderful and diverse people of Africa! I miss you all, and want to remind you, again, of what a lush, privileged life we live in America. Those of you living in Steamboat, please help the home school group with their project of bringing a library to my children here in Tabola. Go to their bake sale on October 25th at City Market.

September 17, 2010

Ntate Lebohang Patrick Koto has died. He was a wonderful teacher and an even more wonderful friend. Memories of his smile, his voice, his love of music will be in my heart always. May his soul rest in peace, and may his dear wife and two young children find comfort in knowing that he is no longer in pain. May we all find happiness in his memory.

Here Ntate Koto is perfecting the decorations we drew on the chalkboard for his birthday; he was actually quite a good artist.

Here he's blowing out the candle on his birthday cake that I made for him...there are no birthday candles so I used one of my night lights!

This was at one of our sporting events; he was so proud that Reneking won that he held the winner and brought her all the way back to us.

Here he is cheering with the Renekeng kids.


One of my favorite, though not a very good, picture. It was a day that the taxi didn't come for us and we all trudged home...almost a two hour walk in the afternoon...after teaching all day...but we sang and talked with the animals all the way home.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

just a cute picture of Tsoene in his bed

this is the rooster I meant to send last week. He just decided to pay the school (Mopeli) a visit one morning

two donkeys (lidonki, pronounced deedonkee, or liesele, pronounced dee esele. donki is Afrikans and esele esotho. li or ba in front of a nound makes it plural. We met these donkeys on the way to Nkhono's.

this is a baby lamb (konyane) I met on the hike to Nkhono's house

Where do I begin?…perhaps at the point of present thoughts…I hope that this is the worst week I’ll ever have had experienced in the Peace Corps.

That being said, I can now tell you that we here in Lesotho are all survivors; we are strong and share a common bond. Thank goodness!

Let’s go back to last Thursday. That’s when I went to visit a dear friend in Peka. Ntate Koto is a teacher at one of the schools to which I am assigned. I went to visit because he’s quite ill with tuberculosis. It is thought that he contracted it when he was at college during our winter break from school. He thought he had a cold, and when his cough worsened, he had it checked out; that’s when it was discovered that he had tuberculosis. He was put on medication, so all of us were relieved to know that he was on the road to recovery. Last week we were told that he had been taken off his medication because of adverse affects on his liver, so many of us went to pay Ntate Koto a visit after school. Now, you may remember the pictures that were posted of Ntate’s 43rd. birthday. You could see that he was a handsome, young and vibrant man. When I saw him on Thursday, he had aged about thirty years; he was small, frail and curled up on his mattress like an infant; he could barely speak, but he was still so happy to see us.

It was then that I said a silent good-bye to my friend.

The next day, after an awful night’s sleep, I did something to make me feel much better. I went with some Girl Guides (like American Girl Scouts) to help a very old Nkhono in my village.
This is a view of Mopeli from the top of one of the hills we climbed on the way to Nkhono's hut.
These are the girl guides trudging up the road with supplies for Nkhono

Some teachers went with us, so we all pitched in with the dancing, singing and jobs to be done…

This is a picture of Nkhono Alis
We had found out that she had no food, was too weak to wash her clothes and house, and was desperately worried about her seventh grade grandson for whom she was responsible; both of his parents had died.

Nkhono and Sekloholo
Nkhono Alis, Motsoalle and Me 2
The girls were WONDERFUL!!! They sang and danced as they did their chores.

this is a picture of a dunga, a deep, eroded pit, which we passed on the way to Nkhono's place. There are many dungas here because the people haven't quite grasped the concept of soil erosion.
Cow Dung and loam

This is one of the teachers chopping wood with the grandson
This is the mixing of cow dung and soil so that the outside of the hut can be smeared

we smeared the outside of her hut with a mixture of cow dung and soil (part of a Masotho’s spring cleaning).Smearing 2

Then we washed blankets,

Washing Blankets
put tons of donated food away and danced and sang some more!!

some of the girl guides who helped that day. They're sitting in the middle of Nkhono's compound.

I had to leave the “party” early because of another obligation, so I went to say good-bye to Nkhono Alis…but she wouldn’t let me go! She insisted that I wait just one more minute because she had a gift for me. I did, all the while wondering what this woman who owned virtually nothing wanted to give me. Finally Nkhono hobbled out holding two mismatched glasses…kind of like the ones you’d see at a second-hand shop. My heart wanted to break when I saw how proud she was of her gift for me. I wanted to cry, “No, Nkhono, you need those for you and your grandson. Please, please keep them!” But I didn’t because I knew how much it meant to her to be able to give something in return. There was no way I would refuse the gifts and hurt her feelings. When I leave Lesotho I have already decided to leave most of my possessions behind; I still will…with the exception of my two lovely glasses.

the gift

By the way, Nkhono told me that she was born in 1912!!!!! That would make her 98 years old. I asked my ‘M’e who couldn’t confirm Nkhono’s age; but what does that really matter? That day I felt that there was an angel (or maybe a turtle) watching over all of us.

It was an inspiring and wonderful day. It was also the day I found the pen-pal letters from America waiting at the post office for one of my classes!

That same evening I received the tragic news that one of my fellow volunteers had been shot and killed in Maseru. My heart sank when I heard the story of his death. I joined my colleagues the next day and the mourning process began.

Hard, hard, hard.

A memorial service was held for him on Monday. I am back in Tabola now…happy to be back with the Basotho people I call family. They have been wonderfully supportive during this horrendous week.

I worry about my young colleagues. Most of them are having a lot of trouble coping right now. I know that time is a great healer, but I also know that time is slowly passing for all these volunteers. I know that none of us can “fix this mess”…but all of us wish, somehow, we magically could just make it all go away.

I must close by telling you that I am very proud of all the volunteers in Lesotho…especially my Ed. ’10 group (of which Tom Maresco was a part).

We shall survive this.

A special thank you must go out to the Lesotho Peace Corps Staff.

Their incredible work has made this tragedy easier to handle.

They addressed and took care of all the logistics of getting every volunteer safely back to headquarters, feeding us, putting us up in various places for many nights, organizing a profound memorial for Tom Maresco, Jr., who, by the way, was only 24 years old and the only child of Mr. And Mrs. Maresco, and finally, having the foresight to have professional counselors available for all involved.

Thank you, Tabby, for your kind council.

I am still very proud to be a member of the U.S. Peace Corps.

some lovely peach blossoms along the path...they're all over the countryside right now

This is a view of my rondavel and Ntate and 'M'e's house...the peach colored one...as we climbed another hill to Nkhono's place.

I taught the Mamoabis how to make smores one night. This is a picture of Mathabo and Teko roasting marshmallows.

August 31, 2010

You know those times in life when you could just kick yourself for not having a camera? Well yesterday was one for me. I opened the door to the pit latrine at one of my schools and I was greeted by three frightened, VERY young lambs! When they saw me, they huddled closely together as though I were some sort of evil monster. When I tried to approach them, the three of them scrambled up to the seat of the latrine so fast that I was afraid one would fall in. I backed off and calmly tried to coax them outside...no dice!!! So, I walked slowly toward them, just to get them to jump down from the pit, which they did. The poor things were so afraid of me that they couldn't even utter a whisper of a baaa. Finally, I realized I'd have to pick them up. So I did, one by one, and placed them outside the toilet. As I put each one down, it squeeled a fervent baaa for mama. What an experience! These little guys where so new that they were still white!! I guess those are some pictures that will be in my heart only.
Last week there was a cultural day in Peka. My three schools participated in dancing, singing, debate and poetry competitions! Mopeli took first place in the poetry section because of a poem a fifth grader wrote on A.I.D.s. She'll participate, now in the district (state) competition! Yea! We're slowly making progress toward the connection of electricity to one of my schools; things go slowly here, and I've learned to take baby steps and be happy with anything that happens even in "Basotho time". I'll try to get some pictures of the cultural day events posted as soon as I get back to my home in Tabola. The air is filled with spring...birds chirping, peach and apricot trees blooming, children shedding layers and smiling more! Life is good in Lesotho; I hope it's good for you wherever you are! Rusty

Here are the pictures:

10. should be a picture of a rooster which wandered onto school property

5. girls dancing...note the bells under the skirts...made from bottle caps

12. a group portrait of the Lapholisa boys and girls before they performed

14. boys dancing

20. girls singing


27. the pattern on my seshoeshoe

4. teachers sitting and waiting for the competitions to begin

6. younger girls dancing

13. boys dancing

16. fifth grade poetry winner performing her original poem about AIDs

25. boys singing

Friday, August 6, 2010

This has been such a fun week in Tabola! It was the first week back to school after the long winter break (June 8th.-August 2nd). The month I spent in the U.S.A. helped me to beat the coldest part of the year in Lesotho. Now, although the mornings and evenings are still quite chilly, the afternoons are sunny and pleasant…shirtsleeve or sweatshirt weather.
Thanks to the incredible donation of 308 pairs of brand new socks from friends of Audry and Fran, there are now a lot fewer cold toes in Leribe!








The children were thrilled with their likausi (socks, pronounced deekaoosee).





I also managed to bring back an “I love NY) tee shirt for each teacher in the three schools I service. The teachers have decided to wear their new shirts to the next sporting event, so I’ll try to catch an image during the games.
I also found out that each school will be going on a field trip in September!!!! Fun!!! Renekeng will be going to Taba Basio, the mountain which houses the ruins, gravesites and story of the founding of Lesotho by King Meshoeshoe I. I’ve already been there and am anxious to go back; I want to know as much as I can about this magical “Kingdom in the Sky”. Lepholisa (pronounced Laypodeesa) has decided that their trip will be to Khatse Dam; I haven’t seen this place yet, but here the scenery is magnificent. Mopeli (pronounced Mopedee) has not decided where their school trip will be…I’m hoping we go on some sort of safari…oh well, I can still dream.
My last bit of fun news is that the Steamboat Springs home school parents have decided to help build a library for one of my schools! I believe they’ve already begun fund raising and collecting new and gently used books. If anyone in the area wants to lend a hand with books or fund raising, I’m sure they’d welcome your help.
Tomorrow I shall take a young boy into Maputsoe to buy him a pair of shoes. Then I’ll meet some other volunteers later in the day to discuss a workshop we’re planning about teaching life skills (mainly H.I.V./A.I.D.s prevention and care).
I spent a lovely afternoon playing cards with Ntate and ‘M’e Ramoabi. I was the BIG loser…but it was still so much fun. We sat outside to play, allowing the spring sun to beat down on us…lovely. It’s truly wonderful to be back!

August 2, 2010

It's good to be back home in Lesotho! My visit to the U.S.A. was very good, but I am glad to be back and working again!! It was wonderful to see Joey and Lulu, my two grandchildren!! Yes, of course I've come back here with loads of pictures of the darlings. I've finally figured out how to get into this blog, so I'm writing directly to it rather than through Audry. Unfortunately, I haven't the slightest idea of how to post pictures; maybe Audry will be kind enough to post Joey and Lulu for me. The east coast was hot and muggy...CT was just a bit better, but the joy of being with Golfo, her family and my family made the weather quite bearable! ( Golfo, by the way, is doing quite well; she had surgery two weeks ago to remove the cancer from her body. According to the oncologist, there is no visible cancer left. She will undergo 3-6 more chemo sessions, and, hopefully be back on her feet and running around by mid November.) I must admit that the first two weeks I actually savored the heat...having come from the middle of winter in Lesotho! My timing for the trip back to the U.S.A. was just right (thank you, Audry and Jedd) as spring has just begun here. I am told that July was incredibly cold!

Thanks to the generosity of two of Audry's friends, I brought back over 300 pairs of brand new black socks for the school children. Mornings and evenings are still quite cold here, and will be through September, so the socks are very welcome!!