18 Feb 2010

18 Feb 2010

First of all, I’ve received several emails asking about sharing this site -- please feel free to pass this blog on to anyone who may be interested. I’m happy to share my experiences with all who care to read about them!

It’s been a crazy week.

Monday and Tuesday I was frantically scrambling to get all the Peace Corps homework finished (writing about my meeting community members, as well as what I’ve learned about transportation, shopping, etc) so I could bring it with me on Wednesday when I went to Maseru for the H1N1 vaccination.

I had planned to go and come back to Sekameng in the same day, understanding that taxis can be pretty unreliable here. I figured I would leave when I finished classes around 1, walk to the junction, catch a bus to Maseru and arrive there in plenty of time. When I shared this plan with the other teachers, they insisted I go earlier. “Leave at 11 when the rest of us go to Church, and be sure to come home plenty early because once it gets dark, things are not safe.” They didn’t have to tell me twice. Though I was a little disappointed to be missing Ash Wednesday, I walked past the Church and saw people waiting around. Knowing Lesotho, it wouldn’t start for another hour, and even then the service was bound to last for at least an hour and a half. I set off to the junction, incredibly pleased with myself for choosing the right day to journey to Maseru. I reached the junction around noon and waited as several private vehicles and several taxis passed, none going to Maseru. Finally, around 12:30, one stopped with a sign in the window for Maseru. It had a grand total of two other passengers, so I figured business was just slow. Along the way, we picked up a couple more women, and I thought we were just making a routine stop when the driver and conductor hopped out and bolted into the shop across the street. The older women also got out, hopped into the back of a pickup truck and were off along some other road while one woman and I waited for nearly an hour for the driver and conductor to eat, smoke, digest and excrete food. I was absolutely furious but naturally, there’s nothing that I could have done. Lucky for me, I had a book because boy, did I read.

The two men emerged from the shop (and latrine) looking rather pleased with themselves, and lazily sauntered over to the car. A few more greetings and we were finally on the way again. He drove for only half an hour (very slowly, mind you) before stopping again. This time, the conductor had to come back to the car to turn the engine off so he and the driver could socialize with anyone and everyone they found. I’m not sure how long we waited there, but I was starting to worry that Dr. J might not even be in the office by the time I reached Maseru. After a while, we were on our way, yet again, and not too much later, we turned down the most random dirt road, honking and trying to gather customers for them. It was all I could do to bite my tongue, breathe deeply and roll my eyes.

All in all, it took almost five hours to travel a relatively short distance that should have only taken an hour and a half, tops. I made it to Maseru, got my shot, spent some time on the internet, charged my computer (hence this post – hooray for electricity!) and was on my way again. Unfortunately, time was really not on my side. I reached the taxi for Kolo just after the previous one had left, which meant I would have to wait for it to fill up before we would leave. By this time, it was after 6 in the evening, and it does start to get dark here around then (sunset is usually at 7 and it’s generally dark-dark by 8:30). I sent a text to my principal, warning him that I was on a taxi but probably wouldn’t make it home before dark, so could he please meet me where the taxi would let me off? He responded with a phone call to let me know he was actually on his way to Maseru. Drat! How would I make it from the junction home? It’s a minimum of a 45 minute walk (in broad daylight and good conditions) and there are absolutely no lights anywhere to guide the way. He told me he would try to work something out and let me know, meanwhile I should wait on the taxi and hope it fills quickly. Maybe fifteen minutes later, he called back and instructed me to get off the taxi (not a very common thing to do here, the driver wasn’t too pleased with me) and wait, and that his wife would come and pick me up. My first thought was “how in the world will she recognize me?!” but I remembered I stick out like a sore thumb in this place, so I thanked him profusely and hung up. Sure enough, moments later, ‘M’e Kolobe was introducing herself and shaking my hand, walking me back to her vehicle. She said we would be meeting up with Ntate Kolobe somewhere along the way and he would bring me back to Sekameng. Wow. I felt absolutely terrible at the prospect of making him drive so much, especially at night, and especially when I know how rarely he sees his family (only on the weekends!). They both assured me it was no problem; the taxi rank in Maseru is hard to anticipate and that public transport here is notoriously terrible in general, but I still felt pretty bad.

We had a nice chat on the way and finally arrived back to Sekameng around 9 in complete darkness.

It’s absolutely fascinating driving in this country at night because you can tell where there is electricity and where there is none. In villages that have electricity, lights are on in homes and shops, but where there is none, you can barely tell where the houses are. If you look closely, you can see the faint glow of candles or paraffin lamps, but there’s really not much more than that to indicate any sort of civilization… Oh, and the stars are incredible, especially when there’s only a little sliver of a moon.

Major thanks go to Ntate Kolobe and his family for putting up with me and my naive assumption that I could master the Maseru taxi rank, and for making sure I made it home safely. Looks like I have a really delicious cake to bake.

Today (Thursday) has been pretty tame. I’ve just been sleeping and reading and running and teaching and looking forward to the weekend!

All my love from Africa,

-Katie

16 Feb 2010

16 February 2010
What a great weekend! On Friday, the packages from home (finally!) arrived, carrying Christmas presents as well as my old cell phone from home and a flash-drive with plenty of new music (thank you so so much, everyone!). I have yet to make the phone actually work with the Lesotho SIM Card, but I have faith in Vodacom, so I’m sure things will work out.
Saturday was very hot but I made it home in the late afternoon, made some early dinner and began reading a new book: They Poured Fire On Us From The Sky. It is an autobiographical account of several of the “lost boys” from Sudan and so far is very captivating. It’s an easy read – I definitely recommend it!
As I was beginning to drift off, I heard some odd noises coming from inside my kitchen. I was pretty baffled; they didn’t sound like the mouse noises from several weeks ago. I knew my door was locked, so it couldn’t be anything too dangerous. Not even two seconds later, there was a bat, flying in circles around my bedroom. Thank goodness I had put the mosquito netting up last week! There was no way I was going to get up to try to deal with it, so I blew out the lamp, put my book down and went to sleep.
When I woke up on Sunday around 7:30, there was no sign of the bat (no surprise; they’re nocturnal after all), so I went back to sleep for several hours, postponing my run until later. When I finally got up to run, I wasn’t quite sure whether or not I’d make it to church (I had told ‘M’e Motselisi I would go again since there were visitors there from Germany, she told me), so I took off towards the road and figured I would go late (Basotho time). I had been running for maybe 15 minutes when I saw a huge caravan of vans and trucks coming down our (absolutely terrible) road. This was puzzling, since usually there are not that many vehicles, and the funeral (a village over) was long done. I was too far away to see who was actually in any of the vehicles, but I’m sure they saw me and thought me strange, just like every other Basotho.
After my run, as I was coming back towards the school, one of my students approached me and told me I should go to Church (now there’s a guilt trip for ya!) … so I hurried home (still sweating and panting) to change clothes and head back to church. ‘M’e Motselisi saw me leaving the school for church and we sat by each other. To my surprise, there were a dozen other non-Basotho sitting along the front of the church: the Germans. Service was nice again, lots of music and dancing, and with many churches visiting, we raised a huge offering. At the end of service, it was announced that the leaders of the various churches would meet with the visitors to discuss certain matters, so they should all process out first. Imagine my surprise when the Germans turned out to be Americans, from Washington state! They were visiting Lesotho for about a week in partnership with the World Vision Organization. I snuck out at the end to chat more with them… wonderful people. They invited me to lunch with them after the “quick” meeting, which, in true Basotho fashion, lasted almost two hours. They were each presented with a beautiful Basotho blanket and we made our way to the next room where the catered lunch awaited us. It was probably the best lunch I’ve had in a long time, since I’ve been eating the school lunches! We chatted for a while about what they were doing here and what I’m doing here before they were ushered along to the next village meeting.
To any of you friendly Washington-World-Vision-friends that might be reading this: thank you so much for your warmth and interest. I greatly appreciate that lunch and hope you had a great (and very safe) trip back to the States! Don’t hesitate to email or write!
I found my way home and hung out with Emily, a CHED (Community Health & Economic Development) volunteer who lives one village over for a while. She brought me basil and swiss chard seeds, so whenever the students actually show up to help me with my garden plot, I’ll be ready! I’m excited to have fresh vegetables (much cheaper than those from town) and especially the basil! I’ll be able to make pesto after all!
The rest of Sunday was a bit of a scramble as I had done no lesson planning all weekend, I still had to bathe and I had lots of clothes to wash (did I mention how much a laundry machine would come in handy?!). Amazingly enough, I got it all done, and washed dishes on top of it.
Sunday night, a huge storm rolled through Sekameng. There was some crazy wind and lightning that truly lit up the entire sky. I’m not scared of the storms, I really do like them, but sometimes the lightning can get really intense. I’ve heard that a student last year actually died when he was struck by lightning, so I have a healthy respect for it.
Sunday night, my visitor also came back. Yep, the bat. I was just sitting at my table with the lamp lit, working on my physics lesson for Monday when there was a flapping and the bat was flying around above my head. Yikes! It’s not so much that I fear the bat, I just don’t like the idea of being bit and the whole rabies procedure… yes, I’ve had vaccinations, but apparently I would still have to get more shots… no thank you.
I wasn’t sure what to do. I had no net with which to catch the visitor, so I opened my door and burglar bars (keep in mind it’s late, pitch dark and stormy – rain is coming into my house even under the porch) and tried to shoo it out. No luck. Instead, it climbed back into the ceiling where it had been. Alright, fine, I closed and locked my doors and went back to lesson-planning. Moments later, it came back for more. I opened both doors again, hoping it would sense the wide openness of outside, but no luck. Instead, a furry, wet critter brushed up against my leg and I absolutely screamed. The cat had come in, seeking shelter from the storm, and thought I was bent down to give it attention. Ha, not quite.
At this point, I decided to call it a night and wake up early to finish my lesson-planning the next morning. I ducked my head, dashed into my room and read for a while until I was sleepy enough to actually doze off. Wow, it’s an adventure here.
Yesterday (Monday) was fine, I finished my lesson-planning and taught all my crazy lessons. At the end of the school day, I was all ready to run but five minutes into my run, there was an absolute downpour, so I retreated to the staff room. This storm was complete with more massive lightning (that struck pretty close to the school in my estimation) and even some hail. Let me tell you, there is no noise quite like hailstones pummeling an uninsulated tin roof. It. Was. Loud.
The bat made no appearance last night, though I did go to bed relatively early…
Today was fine and good until after school, after my run (in the rain! it was glorious!), when I came back to find other teachers beating students for speaking Sesotho when they are supposed to be speaking English. This, five weeks in, was the first time I have actually witnessed the corporal punishment. There were several teachers all standing around a group of students. One by one, the students came forward and held out their hands as one of the teachers wound up and struck them on the hands five or more times with a long stick.
I don’t even know what to say about it. I knew it was here, and I’ve seen the sticks each teacher uses, but to actually witness it is something completely different. How a teacher can strike a student and think it is the right thing to do, or the only way to punish a child, is absolutely unbelievable to me, and it makes me so sad in my heart. If anything, it acts as incentive to find (and successfully employ) better methods of disciplining my students, for I could never, ever hit a child.
Tomorrow is Wednesday and after classes, I will go to Maseru for my H1N1 vaccination. It will be the first time in Maseru in over a month, and, honestly, I’m not really that excited. It’s almost too big and too much to handle. Plus, traveling with public transport is usually somewhat of a hassle. Who knows when the taxi will come and how full it will be or how loud the speakers will be… I guess that just reiterates how much this place is beginning to feel like home, a very reassuring thought.
I can’t think of much else to say. Life continues with its highs and lows, and for the most part, I’m really enjoying it. Teaching presents plenty of challenges, from explaining a basic concept to patience as the whole class watches a wasp fly in the window and around the room, shrieking in alarm until it leaves us in peace. Most of my students are fantastic, and I am continuing to learn names (though it is pretty hard). Water shortages are definitely a problem, but I’m lucky to have several buckets stored up. Plus, whenever we use the generator, I can charge my computer! There’s a silver lining to most things, and I’m learning to be optimistic enough to see it.
All my love from Africa,
-Katie

11 Feb 2010

11 Feb 2010
I’ve officially been at my site (Sekameng Diocesan High School) for (over) a month now. I’ve learned the names of all of the other teachers, some (okay, a few) of my students, and I know where I can buy all the essentials like a head of cabbage or some airtime for my phone.
I’ve been in Lesotho for three months (today, on the 12th), which means, if my term is to be 27 months (an overestimate in my opinion), I am one ninth of the way done. But who is counting?!
Last weekend we found out about World Cup tickets – I’m fairly certain our group has tickets to seven different games, so we’ll need to choose which one(s) we actually want to see. Volunteer’s budget doesn’t accommodate expensive taste in soccer matches!
This week was a blur, a very uncomfortably hot blur.
Monday began the final new official time-table. My Mondays are still loaded; I teach 6 of the 9 total classes and see all my students, but all my teaching hours are much more efficiently blocked together, so I don’t feel as though I’m wasting as much time just waiting as before. After school study officially began, as did before-school study. This means the students come at 7am, study (aka sit in their classroom and do what they want) until 7:40. Assembly begins at 7:45 and then classes commence around 8. The day ends at 3:20 and after a ten-minute break, students sit in their classrooms again until 4:30. I believe these two study times are meant to encourage students to look over their notes, which would actually benefit them quite a bit. The notes they take in class are strictly copying down whatever the teacher writes on the board. While vigorously taking these notes, they seem to zone out everything the teacher is saying or doing, so there is not too much retention.
I gave a physics quiz on Monday, and was absolutely appalled at the amount of cheating. It is shameless. There was a pair of students, sitting at the same desk, and one had finished her exam early, clearly knew what was going on, and had written her answers on another piece of “scratch” paper (yeah, right!) and passed it to her neighbor who was struggling with her quiz. Unfortunately for both of them, the smarter one forgot she had written her name on that scratch paper, so when I went to collect the exam from the copier, she had a piece of paper with a different name on it. The kicker was that I had made two different versions of the quiz, so none of the answers matched up at all. It really kills me that cheating isn’t a big deal here. I told all my students that I take it very seriously, and in every single class I’ve given a quiz/exam, I’ve caught students red-handed and made a scene of it. I’m still brainstorming things to say to them or have them do so as to minimize copying, but they are definitely crafty.
Also on Monday, students were notified of teachers’ prefect selection, and given the opportunity to elect a head boy and head girl. I’m still not exactly sure what all the responsibilities and benefits are to each position, so I just imagine head students and prefects like in Harry Potter.
On Tuesday, ‘M’e Malitaba from the Office visited, bringing info about taxes, my partner class in the States (with whom I’ll be corresponding regularly, I hope), and a letter from my grandma (thanks, Gram!). She observed my teaching and then asked questions about how I’m adjusting and if there’s anything I need… I basically told her life is pretty good!
I cooked dinner for my counterpart on Wednesday: a hearty soup with split peas, lentils, barley, carrots, onions, some other things and lots of spices. I baked a loaf of garlic and Italian herb bread, and for dessert we had apple crisp. I was pretty pleased with myself for how it all turned out, and the best part was leftover apple crisp on Thursday morning for breakfast! (Last weekend I happened upon Gala apples in the grocery store and bought a huge bag… they’re basically gone).
With the new time-table, my Thursday mornings are very laid back – I don’t start teaching until 11am! I slept in and went for a run, took a bath and cleaned dishes, all before I had to be at school! We had a department meeting to discuss fund-raising and participation in the nation’s science club organization… I’m hoping to help in the math-related areas of science club once that gets started. I also volunteered to help with the poultry project! Sekameng will order around 200 chickens (yes, two hundred) to live in our poultry room (I wouldn’t exactly call it a chicken coop). We then sell the eggs to teachers, students or villagers, and the profits go towards keeping school fees for students reasonable. It’s my job to make sure these chickens get fed and watered (though by someone else), and that the eggs are collected. Then either I or someone else have to count and keep track of how many eggs we get each day, and how many we sell. I have a feeling I’m going to be eating a lot of eggs in the near future… We also have a “piggery” where there will soon be piglets (and piglets are so cute!), and I understand our school will sell those too.
The agriculture classes have been planting up a storm: cabbage, beets, green beans and maybe some onions too… those vegetables will also be sold, some to our kitchen for lunches, and some to villagers.
On Fridays, I only have two classes. One is first thing in the morning; the other is not until 11:40. With that long of a break, I usually try to run to a nearby village and back. Around that time in the morning, there is typically a large group of bo’m’e (women) that gathers near the road to try to even it out (the roads near Sekameng and Ha Thoahlane, the other village, are really terrible and whenever it rains, they become a little more uneven). The work they are doing is harder than the work I see many of the men here doing, and it is truly artistic. The small sections of road they’ve already reconstructed are simply beautiful. They always cheer and clap and Basotho-yell for me and sometimes pretend as though they are going to run with me. Though my Sesotho is still minimal, we can carry on small conversation, and they know some English. Seeing them has become one of those things that always brightens my day, no matter what.
The weekends always bring traveling – this time to Dustin’s rondavel. He is the only one in Mafeteng from our training group to not have a house, and this is the first weekend we’ll be hanging out somewhere with a latrine rather than a toilet – could be interesting! Its always really nice to see other Peace Corps Volunteers, to share stories and to cook delicious food. So far we’ve done Mexican night, stirfry night, pizza night… I’m not sure if the menu is set for tomorrow or not, but there was talk of vegetable curry and naan bread… Yum.
WOW – Sunday marks the middle of February already!
As much as St. Valentine’s Day is a Hall-Mark Holiday, I still believe it’s important to show love every day of the year, so to all my family and friends who are reading this, know that I am thankful for you in my life and I love you all so very much. Thanks for your continued support and love; I wouldn’t be here without you!
All my love from Africa,
-Katie