October 28, 2011

October 28, 2011
 
This week I had the honor of hosting two Peace Corps trainees for a few days.  Despite the fact that they both had to share my bed while I slept on the floor, they had (I think) a good experience!
Both Peggy and Katey made themselves quite at home with my bucket bath, pit toilet, spotty electricity and outside water pump.  They’ve been here in Lesotho for a bit more than two weeks and amazed me with how much Sesotho they already speak and understand…they’ll go far!  It was great to find out that both of them are training in the very village where I originally trained, Hamabekenyane.   I think that one of the highlights of their visit was the fact that they loved the steamed Basotho bread that I made for them…yup, we all love to be praised sometimes.
The few days they stayed with me were actually very busy; we visited all three of my schools, where I introduced them to staff and children and had them participate in parts of school lessons.  The comments they made about the schools were interesting.  Katey, who will be working in only one primary school as an English teacher was most concerned with the fact that she might not like her only school.  I tried to reassure her that the experience would be what she made of it.  Peggy, who will be a resource teacher like me, at three schools,  didn’t seem that concerned with her future placement.  I guess she feels that one out of three good schools may be enough to keep her satisfied.
Besides simply shadowing me, we did have some other adventures:  we went to Peka to meet the post-mistress, we visited the local shopping places in Tabola, we rode the crazy taxi, we visited TY and used the internet café and we ate at the hotel in TY, where they insisted on buying my lunch.  They are now safe and sound back at their training families’ homes…and probably exhausted! Unfortunately, I was so busy trying to be a good hostess that I forgot to take pictures…sorry.   I hope that I’ll be able to attend their swearing-in ceremony some time in mid-December.

October 7, 2011

Our short trip to Swaziland has helped my three friends and I agree on one certainty about Lesotho…we P.C.V.s in Lesotho are truly getting the real Peace Corps experience. As soon as we crossed the border and saw the lush, green vegetation, the abundance of colorful fruits and vegetables, the smiles on the mellow, easy-going people…and electricity and flush toilets everywhere, we knew that we are lucky to be serving in Lesotho! No, that is not a touch of sarcasm; we really are having a good, tough experience here…one which has changed our lives forever. Our little vacation has reminded us of how hard life really is in Lesotho. .
Let’s step back for just a minute…my three travel companions were Andrea, Kimiko and Sara; we made a wonderful foursome! Although we are all so different, our differences complemented one another and made for great conversations, activities and much laughter!! Sara and I love to shop in the local crafts places; Andrea and Sara love movies and malls; Kimiko and I love nature, animals and photography…and all of us loved getting away and relaxing together. We actually traveled up to Swaziland as a five some, but Katey had other friends in Swaziland and went her own way after our first night in Mbabane, the capital of the country. In fact, Katey is still there! Apparently there were some protests just after we left on Wednesday morning, and Katey had to stay in “lock-down” with some of her Swazi P.C .V . friends; I think she’ll be home on Sunday.
Our trip started at 5 am last Friday. We crossed the border from Maseru Bridge into South Africa in the dark; then we got a combi (van-taxi) to Jo’burg. That was about a five-hour ride. In Jo’burg we battled the hordes of people as we walked from one taxi rank to another…about five blocks of teaming humanity, loud noises, incredible traffic jams, great smells, wonderful outside stalls selling everything from used clothing to razors and staring eyes…all looking at the five Americans brave enough to be taking this walk. When we arrived at the next taxi rank, we were told to give the conductor our passports. Sara said, “uh uh…ain’t giving my passport to anyone”…after which she received a marriage proposal! With a bit of luck we were able to go with the passports to where they had to be registered….and finally, the combi to Swaziland. This was another five hour ride, but we managed to reach our hostel, Bambaso’s, before dark. Needless to say, we all slept well that night.
The next morning we bid farewell to Katey and headed down toward Manzini in the Ezulwina valley. Here we found Lidwala, a wonderful hostel that we stayed at for the next three nights. The owners had a room with three bunk beds for us…perfect! Again, we slept very well until the monkeys running on the tin roof awakened us at dawn.
After making ourselves some breakfast and packing a lunch, we headed toward Manzini and the craft markets. Our travels on the combis were wonderful; all the people in this little kingdom speak incredibly good English, so we were able to have many interesting talks. Most of the people are so very happy here…they love their king and never really want to leave Swaziland. Only once did Kimiko and I hear otherwise. One day she and I took off for a nature reserve. The taxi driver who took us there was totally different from the other Swazis we’d met; he was against the absolute monarchy, wanted a say in the government, wanted unions for all workers and claimed that the only reason all the other people on the combis seemed so happy was because they were afraid to do otherwise. It was an interesting different perspective.
What amazed me most during my short visit was seeing all the primary schools with electricity and running water! That’s a far cry from what we are dealing with in Lesotho. Our day at the nature reserve was indescribable; Kimiko and I walked and took photos all day. Sara and Andrea stayed behind and visited a mall and a movie theatre.
Our most exciting experience at the reserve was when we were standing on a small ledge overlooking a pond with a small island in the middle where two hippos were napping. While shooting the hippos, Kimiko whispered, “Rusty, don’t make any sudden moves but just look down.” There below us was the most tremendous sleeping crocodile I’d ever seen. We’d been standing within “snapping distance of him taking pictures for at least five minutes!!!! We very quickly and quietly backed away…and of course he never even opened an eyelid! Our trip ended all too soon. On Wednesday morning we were on the road again; we got into Lesotho after dark, but were picked up by a Masotho friend of mine who owns a taxi.
Today, Tsoene Mathata (Monkey Trouble), my cat, had his first trip to the doctor. My friend was kind enough to hire his car to us for the day; he drove me, Ausi Mathabo and Tsoene to the veterinarian in TY, where he was “fixed” and received all his necessary shots for coming home to America with me.
Believe it or not, I am glad to be back “home’. I’m refreshed and ready to start work on Monday…of course I’ll not get much done in Tabola; I have a three day classroom management workshop to conduct in Roma next week, and then I am going to the airport in Maseru to greet the new education trainees who are coming in on Friday. Poor Tsoene; I’m always leaving him.
I miss everyone back home. For those of you who might not have received the news, I’ve decided to extend my service so that I can finish my projects in Tabola. I shall be home for one month during Dec/Jan., but will stay only on the west coast to visit all my children. Stay well and always remember that you live in a wonderful country. Treasure your freedom!

September 16, 2011

Spring in Lesotho. It’s a lovely time of year. There are blossoming fruit trees all over the countryside, and children’s mouths water in anticipation of the coming fruits.

September 9, 2011

Cultural Day for the government schools in Leribe took place today at Hlotse. It was a day filled with dramas in both Sesotho and English and many traditional Basotho dances. What a day it was. (September is like March in the Northern Hemisphere, filled with gusty winds, cool mornings and evenings and lovely sunny days). When we weren’t busy trying to shield our eyes from the enormous amounts of dust blowing at us, we enjoyed watching the young ones perform. The rhythms are incredible and usually made with only plastic buckets as makeshift drums and the lovely voices of the student singers. The songs and dances are passed down from generation to generation; you’ll not find a “dance or singing school” anywhere in Lesotho, yet almost every child can sing and dance the stories of their heritage.

August 29, 2011

It’s almost September!…and August has been filled with its ups and downs. I have officially requested a one-year extension to my service in Lesotho. I want, desperately, to see my projects come close to fruition before I head back to the United States. Getting my project proposal together has been a difficult task.. I finally submitted it to the Lesotho Peace Corps office last week and was told that it’s a nearly impossible task I am attempting. So, do I give up? Do I just say I’ve bitten off more than I can chew?…forget it and just go home??? I can’t! I can’t tell if I am dealing more with the ultra idealistic Rusty or the ultra stubborn one. At any rate, here I stay for one more year .I shall certainly give more time to writing down details that the Peace Corps needs on paper. I can understand where this extreme organization with meticulous and very detailed questions has come from…no money waste, no fraud and full participation on the part of the Tabola community. I shall try to give the office what they want.
Enough about how tough things are. The weather has changed, yea!!!! Spring is definitely here; fruit trees are showing lovely pink and white blossoms, little lambs, calves and donkeys are “popping out” in every field, compound, etc., and young are and old are enjoying the longer daylight hours!
Last Friday our region of schools participated in a cultural day on the grounds of St Rose Mission in Peka. I am so very proud to announce that Mopeli Primary School took first place in the girls’ traditional dancing competition. We shall go on to compete in the district of Leribe contest on September 9th. Wish us luck! Yes, I did go wearing the traditional Basotho garb… seshoeshoe, scarf and blanket. In fact, I’ve become so accustomed to the blanket that half way through the day I found myself, like the Basotho ladies, taking it off my shoulders and rearranging it around my waist.
This Saturday the volunteers from my group, Ed.’10, will go to Maseru, to the site where Tom was killed last September 3rd. We’ll hold a small memorial service in his honor and then be on our ways back to our sites. It’s hard to believe that that was just a year ago.

Looking back on the past two years, I realize that it’s been darn hard; I guess the Peace Corps is right in saying “…hardest job you’ll ever love.”

On yet another note, enjoy some of the “everyday” pictures of Lesotho.


1. me, Andrea and Nathan waiting at the bus depot in Bloemfontein


2. the hostel in Cape Town


3. This is when Kimiko, Andrea and I went to Katse Dam for my birthday. In the picture are the three of us, Ryan and Nate...all volunteers.


4. Herd boys in traditional Basotho blankets


5. Me Matumo and her daughter, Lerato in school uniform


6. just a friendly rooster visiting Mopeli


7. A view of the convergence of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, taken from Table Mt. in Cape Town.

Missing all of you and the United States a lot, Rusty.

August 18, 2011

Some things will take a long time to change…this becomes more evident every day in Tabola, Lesotho. After twenty-one months here, I am still shocked when I walk into a classroom and find a teacher beating her children for reasons beyond my comprehension. (Beating doesn’t have the same connotation here as it has in the U.S. Beating is synonymous with hitting with a stick.). “You’re wearing no socks today,” “Your book is still not covered,” “That answer is wrong,” “Your head is not shaved.” or, “. You did not bring in your money.” I shutter at the sound of the twig crashing down on innocent little fingers or the backs of shivering calves.
Yes, I know that I have not come here to change teachers…I am here to experience Basotho culture and offer glimpses into United States’ culture. But it’s so hard to watch! The more I work with Basotho children and teachers, the more proud I am of the American system of education. We do embrace the child! Most of our teachers can teach with enough self-esteem so as not to have to use punitive, forceful, negative methods to “get results” from their charges. We truly are a country that has learned that a child absorbs knowledge best in a safe, comfortable and positive environment.
Don’t misunderstand me; there are potentially good educators here, but they all seem to have a stick attached to their right hands (or left, as the case may be)…and, without the false power that the stick holds, most Basotho teachers are unable to function. Ask them to teach a lesson without holding that stick, and they become lost little puppies. By the same token, Basotho children truly believe that the only way for them to work is through threat and physical abuse. It will be a long time until a teacher can walk into a classroom in Lesotho and command respect without that attached stick! What an incredible waste of potential teaching talent.
I can understand that the more mature teachers might have trouble giving up the stick; after all, they’ve been teaching this way for years, and habits, good or bad, are hard to break. But why the young ones?? Why the teachers just out of the university or the teachers’ college where they are supposedly taught the theories of positive thinking, teaching and reinforcing?? Why do they immediately pick up the stick when they inherit classes of their own?
Yes, I have given workshops on alternative methods of classroom management, and yes, I have shown successful alternative methods through examples when I am in a classroom. For the most part, I am stared at with a look of skepticism and pity for the poor American who doesn’t realize that Basotho children are different…lazy, dishonest and apathetic…ugh
Some common reasons for the “stick” method are:
1. Children are lazy; they need to “feel the stick” to learn.
2. Children cannot be trusted; beat the “bad” out of them.
3. Children are forgetful, but they won’t forget if you threaten to beat them.
Sometimes I wonder why I am still here…but then a little one passes me on the path to or from school and shyly smiles, knowing that I, an adult, will smile back…even stop to talk…and then I know that I belong here.
If one young soul learns that kindness begets kindness, then some progress is being made. Maybe she or he will one day stand in front of a class filled with eager, smiling young faces and say to them, “Good morning my children; how can I help you today?”

June 26th., 2011

There were two entries for May, but they seem to have gotten lost! So much has happened since the April entry. First of all, it's incredibly cold right now; we're in the middle of Maria (winter). The winter solstice was a few days ago, so the days should start to get longer and warmer now...I hope! Today it's sunny, so everyone (including me)is out of their huts warming themselves in the lovely sun. The Ramoabis have most of their grandchildren visiting for the vacation...noise, chaos and lots of fun.
Today is also the one year anniversary of the death of