Farewell, Africa!

My last post from Africa.
What an incredible two years and a fantastic vacation.

Updates from last time:
I completed my graduate school application - University of Minnesota's Masters in Development Practice program... it felt so good to get that submitted! It was pretty neat being able to write about my experiences in Lesotho for something other than a blogpost. I now have to wait for a month or two to find out, but I think I'll be pretty busy readjusting to life at home, so it certainly won't preoccupy my mind.

On Thursday I went driving around the Cape Point peninsula with friends - Kalk Bay, nice beaches, Chapman's Peak and Cape Point (not necessarily in that order though). The first time I was here we drove down to Cape Point but, as cheap PCVs, opted not to go all the way to the point. This time we just did it. It was beautiful. Every once in a while along the drive to the point we'd see an ostrich neck and head popping up, looking around - they are so funny looking. No babboons but plenty of seagulls and even a couple seals.

That evening, I went out with (and stayed with) the girls on Long Street. Just another great part of Cape Town - very fun and I'm glad to have spent time on Long again. Then Friday (my last full day in Africa), I went around town, shopping for gifts for friends and souvenirs for myself. The vendors are so anxious to sell their wares, making friendly conversation... "Where are you from? How long have you been in Africa? ..." etc. They all seemed pretty impressed I'd been there so long and promised they were giving me the "African price," though I'm sure I still paid way too much for the stuff. On the minibus taxi back to Obs (where I've been staying), I apparently landed in the wrong seat. About five minutes after we started driving, people in the back started poking me in the back with their money and saying things in strange accents (the places they intended to get off the taxi). Usually in Lesotho I recognize the destinations but here I had no clue. I looked and felt like a tourist, but it was pretty funny.

Last night my gracious host and two other friends and I went to a beach to watch the sun set over Signal Hill. Stunning. I was pretty close to tears sitting there thinking back on my week and past two years, knowing it'd be my last evening in Africa for a while. Though Africa isn't perfect, it has become my home and I am really truly very sad to be leaving it without knowing when I may return. I've learned so much about myself and would not be the person I am today without it (I realize it sounds hokey, but it has never been more true). I love this place so much.
Almost time to finalize packing my bags and get a taxi to the airport... cross your fingers I make it on the flight tonight, then I'll be in Atlanta tomorrow morning and home in time for Sunday dinnner!
Thanks again for your love and support, sending my last bit of love from Africa...
-K

Katie Shepard, RPCV

Greetings from Cape Town!
Last week Thursday (December 8th) I earned my R and my pin and became an RPCV (the R is for returned). That afternoon I left Lesotho for Bloemfontein to catch a bus to Cape Town.
I cannot believe my two years of service are over. They flew and dragged at the same time... so many ups and downs - even a few sideways - and finally I'm done in Lesotho. Really, words don't do the rollercoaster I've been on these two years any justice.

My last few weeks at site were pretty unbelievable. I felt like everything fell into place. I somehow managed to pack up, sell or give away all my belongings. Even selling and donating most of my clothes, it was a struggle to fit everything from my African life into my massive suitcase and backpack. The photos came down from my walls, leaving my house incredibly empty. I got rid of most of my American things and packed my many memories from my travels in Lesotho, South Africa, Mozambique, Swaziland and Tanzania.

My time in Cape Town has been very refreshing. I've been able to relax in a place that is not much like my life in Lesotho or the States. On Monday some friends and I did a wine tour and even though Mom and I did that tour when she was here in June, it was beautiful to see the vineyards in the summer (and nice to taste the wine again too!).

My flight out of Johannesburg is now scheduled for this Saturday (the stand-by numbers didn't look good for today or the rest of the week so I switched it to stay in Cape Town a while longer) and I'm crossing my fingers that they have a seat for me! For the rest of my time here I'll continue my relaxation stint, eat more delicious sushi, probably taste some more wine and just generally enjoy being on this crazy continent.
Thanks for all your reading support these past two years - I'll try to do a big post again at some point but for now my mind has been focused on my graduate school application, not so much on my blog!
Love from Africa,
-Katie

November

I can't believe today is the 1st of November already. Really, where has the time gone?
Last weekend I hosted several friends for my second annual Halloween weekend... it was considerably smaller than last year, but at this point in my service, I think it was the perfect size. We had mexican food - tons of beans, piles of rice, a loaf of cheese, veggies and guacamole. I'm pretty pleased with my ability to make a solid mexican meal... all from scratch. It'll be so much easier in the States where beans come in cans, tortillas come in packages... and the cheese comes pre-shredded!

My birthday was also last week. While celebrating almost any holiday in Africa is slightly strange (seasonal differences and lack of friends/family), it was a pretty good birthday. I taught my two classes (Wednesdays are nice, light days), went on a run, did my laundry, read some book and watched a movie. Nothing too extravagant but definitely enjoyable. A couple of my close Basotho friends at school sang me "Happy Birthday" (they know the song here, too!) and told me they'd have my present the next day. I assured them I didn't need anything but they insisted. On Monday morning (aka Thursday, in African time), they came to my house to present me with a ceramic plate, painted with a Mosotho woman carrying her baby toward their home, and the word Lesotho. It is absolutely beautiful and will come home with me for sure. (It even came with a stand to hold it up so I can proudly display it in America!)
Not too much else new has been going on. The weather is beautiful - sun almost every day except for the occasional windy and gray day. We haven't seen any real rain yet, which is going to be a HUGE problem for farmers and everyone else here. Usually by this time, we're well into the rainy season with a couple rainy days each week, but the weather has only been teasing us. It'll be really cloudy with wind, sometimes it even smells like rain, but then it may sprinkle, or it may just move on. The upside of that is that the mosquitoes haven't really come out yet, but there are enough flies to make up for it. The lack of rain is still very disappointing; I'm hoping for at least one good scary thunderstorm before I leave.
I'm still teaching, my students (I hope) are still learning... I'm definitely still missing home. In fact, it almost seems worse now that I only have just over 5 weeks left... It feels like the last stretch of a marathon, where you can see the finish and you know how far you've come, but you're just not there yet. I can envision myself landing in the Twin Cities (projected date: December 19th, possibly earlier) and coming down the escalator to see my family waiting for me... but that won't happen for a month and a half, and I have SO much to do in the meantime.
I've been selling some clothing items and some kitchen items but still have a long way to go before my belongings will all fit into two suitcases and a carry-on. A friend is coming this weekend to run and help me (hopefully finish) the paintings that were started 3-4 years ago by the first volunteer here... It shouldn't be too challenging since we'll just be redoing what she did, but for some reason it has taken me a long time to get the motivation to just go out there and do it. I've managed a couple coats of white, but there's still plenty to paint. I'm hoping to involve some students who did the project with her initially (that'd be a nice touch, don't you think?)
Today's lunch was samp, which I just can't stomach anymore. Most of the other teachers here are also tired of it, so I told them we'd have American lunch today: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! I let them make their own (since everyone likes different pb:j ratios) and even though they totally skimped on the peanut butter, everyone thought they were a treat. Success!
Time now to go get ready for my afternoon class and reclaim whatever is left of the PB and J. Hope all is well at home (or wherever else you may be)... I'll be home for Christmas!!!
Love from Lesotho,
-Katie

One Thing I'll Miss...

Hey all,
I just wanted to post this story while I'm thinking about it (aka before I forget).
Yesterday afternoon the kids came. These are the most adorable Basotho children in my village; they come to my house after school is over to color with crayons or play with the bladder of a destroyed soccer ball, depending on the day. Yesterday it was four girls and they wanted to color and draw with pencils. I got out new pencils for each of them and grabbed my sharpener, a fancy "machine" that holds the shavings in a little plastic compartment, which you then empty. They all had sharp pencils and had drawn some lovely scribbles. After I had marked their drawings and given them stickers (as is our unspoken agreement), one little girl wanted to resharpen her pencil. Two of them got into a little tiff and soon the pencil sharpener had fell to the ground and popped open, scattering pencil shavings all over my porch. The little one began crying so I came out to show her it was fine - the sharpener was certainly not broken. She didn't seem to care about that; she was more concerned that my porch was dirty, so I grabbed my broom so she could sweep if she wanted to.
(Note: Basotho brooms are just small bundles of straw; they have to bend over to sweep. I got an upright broom when I first got here because I very much dislike bending over to sweep... I'm too tall)
The broom was at least twice as big as she was... another of the girls grabbed the broom and proceeded to sweep my entire porch, even under my bench and mat, giggling the whole time.
The little one (Reitumetse) had stopped crying and started giggling too (and there is nothing more adorable than a small child's giggle)... meanwhile the one sweeping started telling me, "M'e Katie, Rethabile (the one who had knocked the sharpener out of Reitumetse's hands) is a FOOOOOT!" I looked at her, pretty confused at what she meant by that; I pointed to my foot. She shook her head and repeated: "Rethabile is a FOOT!" Finally, Rethabile stepped in to defend herself and correct Papali. "No, 'M'e Katie, Papali is a FOOOOL." Oh. Fool. Of course. But this wasn't what Papali had in mind either... "No, Madam, Rethabile is a FOOOOD."
Even now, I'm not sure what any of them meant, but it was pretty cute.
Love from Lesotho,
-Katie

Farewell and Swaziland

With less than two months to go, I find myself experiencing a range of emotions I don’t even understand. I’m excited to start selling things but nervous about how much packing room I’m going to have. I’m ready to be done teaching but now is the time that matters most for students – they need to pass their year-end exams or they have no chance at passing their grade. It’s practically summer so all I want to do is be outside but I can’t (duh); I have to teach. Most of all, I’m ready to go home, but I realize how much I’m going to miss this place and these people.

Two weeks ago was the farewell party for the external students who will be leaving us next year because hopefully they’ll be moving on to one university or another. Lots of preparations were made all day Wednesday: cleaning, cooking, sound-checking (because there was electricity at this year’s farewell!) and everything else you can imagine. Wednesday evening teachers and students were up late cooking chicken and pork (from the recently slaughtered pig from our piggery), making chaka-laka and the traditional ginger drink.
On Thursday morning, it was rainy but the teachers played the students in soccer anyway. I hadn’t played in a very long time but laced up my oldest tennis shoes and threw on a jersey… if it hadn’t been for the students on the teachers team, they would’ve completely decimated us. As it was, they beat us I think 3-1, but it was great fun. It always amazes me how much the boys of my Form A and B classrooms become men on the field.
After a quick bath and a rushed attempt to write a farewell speech fit for the entire school, I headed up to the hall for the farewell ceremony to begin. As an outgoing teacher, it was also my farewell. Many students participated: singing, dancing, reciting poems, acting out dramas and giving speeches.
When it came time for my speech, I was incredibly nervous. I have been speaking in front of 40 people every day for the past 2 academic years but now it was closer to 400 with all the teachers, students and guests. I talked about how I had no idea what to expect from Sekameng: what the students would be like, how the teachers would be, what my house and village and school would be like… and then how impressed I’d been with everything. Students care about their work, and teachers and students care immensely for each other. The school is really a great place. I ended by urging them to continue working hard and thanking them all for a wonderful two years. It was a simple speech so I’m hoping everyone understood my English (ha).
I managed to make it through my speech without crying (which surprised me), but several speeches later, I was called up to the stage again. The students I’d applied with for a tuition scholarship wanted to thank me, or so the MC announced. When I reached the stage, they had a very large envelope and a funny-shaped bag. One of the students pulled a large handmade card from the envelope and read it out loud: “We shall miss you for your support and love. Thank you for everything. Wherever you go, whatever you do, our prayers shall follow you. Best of luck and God bless you” and they listed their names. Then, from the bag, they pulled out a Basotho hat. They explained that they had combined resources to thank me by giving me the hat. At that point, I lost it. These were some of the brightest, most needy students who had contributed money to thank ME. I gave them all hugs and sat down, smiling and still wiping my eyes. It was one of the most generous gifts I think I’ve ever received.
After the ceremony was lunch (at 4pm) and we all feasted before the post-meal entertainment: a beauty pageant. This beauty pageant was honestly one of the most ridiculous things I think I’ve witnessed in Africa. There were maybe 7 or 8 girls entered and they had to strut and pose and dance in front of the whole school and a handful of judges. They dressed up in their street clothes and for one of the categories even got to wear a very fancy formal dress. Maybe it was because I’d seen so much of the rehearsals the days prior, but I didn’t watch much of this pageant. Afterwards, they kept the sound system going for a massive dance party. From what I could tell, the students really enjoyed the farewell.
The next morning however, all the previous day’s fun came back to bite us… all. Everyone who had eaten anything at the farewell was running to the toilet. Repeatedly. Teachers, students, staff, guests… my stomach didn’t calm down until late in the afternoon. Looking back, its pretty funny, but at the time we were all miserable.

On Saturday I left for Swaziland to visit PCV friends there (who I met on vacation in Mozambique). It was an incredibly long day of travel: we crossed the border shortly before 6am, left for Joburg at 7am, arrived in Jozi about noon and were on the way to Mbabane by 1pm. The travel gods were smiling down on us – no problems in Johannesburg and the taxi for Swaziland left very soon after we all piled in. We reached Mbabane by 5:30, our hostel by 6, dinner arrived about 7:30 and we all conked out at 8:30.
The next day we parted ways; I went with PC-Swazi and my travel companions went their own way. We relaxed another day in Mbabane, cooked a tasty Mexican meal and enjoyed one more hot shower before camping in the Ngwempisi gorge the next day. There were 7 of us total staying at a tree-house for grown-ups, as we called it. It was an awesome open-air lodge/hostel place built in and around a massive boulder. There were beds to sleep 16, a kitchen, and several areas to have bonfires. Possibly the greatest part was the toilet and shower. They were situated around the boulder so there was privacy, even without a door. While sitting on the toilet or standing in the shower, you could look out and see the river valley and the many hills in the distance. Truly stunning.
On Tuesday we went hiking down to the river, across the river, and on a barefoot death hike to one of the most disappointing hot springs I’ve ever seen. Except the barefoot part across little burs and sharp twigs (which was the death hike – our feet hurt so bad!), it was really amazing. Crossing the river was a bit scary as the current was fairly strong in places, but the cool water was refreshing, and thankfully there were no crocodiles. The hike back up was difficult but only because our trail-blazers were practically flying… no “pole pole” like on Kilimanjaro! That night we sat around the fire and ate dinner before going to bed very early.
We were up and out pretty early the next morning… into Matsapha for pizza at a great place called “The Italian Job” … probably the best pizza I’ve had in Africa (other than my own homemade, of course). Then, because of planned protests in Mbabane and Manzini the next day, I went with Megan to her site for a few nights. We reminisced about Minnesota (and America in general), did massive amounts of laundry and walked around her community – a very nice place. Her family was very sweet and gave me the Swazi name “Nomaswazi” which I’m told means Swazi girl… I learned greetings in Siswati and really enjoyed seeing how another PCV in another country lives. Plus the volunteers there are awesome – we’ve hung out together in 3 different countries now!
My last night, we went back to Mbabane so I could leave early the next morning… we tried to make black bean burgers but they turned out terribly. First, we had to use lentils instead of black beans. Second, we burned the lentils. Third, we made sangria. All in all, a very fun night and a good way to exit with a bang.
Traveling all the way back to Lesotho wasn’t difficult, just long. My head hurt, my stomach hurt, and I didn’t want to drink too much water for fear of stopping the taxi every hour to use the bathroom. Oh, Africa. I made it back to Lesotho sort of late, but I found a friend crossing the border to share a taxi with to my destination so it worked out just fine.
I got to site on Sunday afternoon, unpacked, had a snack and fell asleep almost instantly… until 1am. My afternoon nap turned into almost 16 hours of blissful sleep before teaching again this morning!
Other than all of that, not too much new to report. I’m looking into possibilities for jobs or grad programs after I get home but it’s really daunting… One day at a time!
Love from Lesotho,
-Katie

50th Anniversary Celebrations

Hello again,
Two posts in one week... you lucky ducks! (Though I won't even comment on the quality of these posts... I haven't really been in the writing mood recently)
All of the volunteers in Lesotho recently gathered for a joint All-Volunteer conference and 50th Anniversary Celebration. The 50th celebration had speeches, singing, dancing and even the King attended. It was fun to get dressed up and hear the good things people had to say about the work we're doing (recognition is always nice!) and that they hope the States will continue to send volunteers here. The cultural dancing was great fun to watch - I'd seen the female dance before but the male dance is very entertaining, with lots of stomping and showy moves.
The King did not give a speech but plenty of other important people did - one of whom was the principal of my school! He was incredibly honored and (I think) did a great job. After the ceremony, they split us into groups (important people, school dance troups and everyone else) and he made it into the important people tent; when I saw him later, he was absolutely beaming at the honor of eating in the King's tent.
I'm told the celebrations were televised but I doubt I'll be able to find a television in time to watch it! I do think the photos will find their way to some website somewhere.
Not too much else to report. I have something like 12 weeks left! All my appointments are scheduled (medical, dental, language assessment, etc) and I'm more than ready to leave! (...though I will miss this place once I'm gone)
Love from Africa
-katie

September 12, 2011

Greetings from Lesotho!
I realize it has been a long, long time since I’ve updated at all… probably since Kilimanjaro? Life has been a rollercoaster since then, lots of ups and downs, and somehow I never quite know what to post.
Probably the biggest thing is that the school’s generator is now completely fixed and functional. Much thanks to the Hilbert students in Wisconsin for their incredible fundraising, we were able to get the alternator fixed and installed. The electrician had to come several times to make sure everything was usable and on his final visit, a student came running to my house and told me to try my lights. I flipped the switch and THERE WAS LIGHT. IN EVERY ROOM OF MY HOUSE. Since then the school has been using it to pump water and provide light for the older students to study in the evenings. It’s wonderful!
Other than that, the biggest news is that I’ll be leaving my school early December to finalize all my paperwork and leaving Lesotho several days later. Though I don’t have my trip all planned yet, I’m looking forward to a couple weeks of travel before arriving home for Christmas!
With my COS (close of service) date looming just a couple months away, I’m trying to make sure all the things I’ve been working on are appropriately wrapped up and handed over to people who will be able to continue them in my absence. The egg project is finished – the chickens haven’t been producing enough eggs, meaning they’re no longer worth keeping. I believe almost all 150 chickens have been sold so I’m not going to have to worry about eggs or chickens anymore, probably for the rest of my life. The library is still a library, and as long as my teachers can choose new librarians for next year, it will be just fine.
Classes continue to be fine. We have just under 3 weeks left before Independence Holiday (a week off in October), after which the external classes begin their serious exams. After that, only a month and a half of school before we close in November.
That’s all for now, folks…
Love from Lesotho!

PHOTOS!

I almost forgot!
Our group started a website to share all our photos. Check it out: http://teamtorcheskilimanjaro.shutterfly.com
It may take some time for everyone to finish their travels and actually get around to uploading photos but I'm almost finished and I saw that Kellie uploaded hers too.

Here are a few, just to snag your interest...



Adam and me at Uhuru Peak!














Group photo at the Lava Tower on Day 4










Adam and me with our first glimpse of the mountain

Kilimanjaro 2

Kili continued...

When I last left this, I think we had boarded a bus to go to Moshi again, back to the Springlands Hotel (Zara Tours accommodation for its tourists). We looked a mess and probably smelled worse, but I think the glow from our accomplishment prevented us from caring. At reception they told us there was no room at Springlands (again), so we’d be staying right in Moshi, at the Panama Hotel (again). We were psyched – this meant we could go shopping in and around Moshi the next day before our flight around 5pm. Meanwhile, they fed us. Lunch tasted great and was a never-ending buffet… the guys went back for seconds and thirds. After we were stuffed, they brought us to the Panama again and gave us an hour to clean up (first shower in a week!) and meet back in the restaurant for a little ceremony.
I cannot even describe how amazing that shower felt. It was a little strange since the hotel had no designated shower area, there was just a showerhead in one corner of the bathroom and a couple of drains on the floor. This did not matter. I cranked the hot water and watched the dirt just stream off. It took me a solid 30 minutes to clean myself. I emerged two shampoos, one very deep conditioning, gobs of facewash and nearly an entire bar of soap later, wrinkly but clean.
The group hardly recognized each other! All the guys were clean-shaven and everyone was in street clothes instead of hiking gear (and at least one layer of “tan” – dirt and grime – lighter). We each ordered a Kilimanjaro (the local beer) and got down to business. The guides gave us certificates for having succeeded, as well as a very heartfelt speech about how they thought we’d all known each other going in to the whole thing, and how our almost instantaneous friendship definitely helped us along the way. Chombo told us how he’d seen groups who didn’t talk, had no fun, and then blamed him when they didn’t reach Uhuru. It was very clear that all the guides had really enjoyed our group (which made me happy) and they were proud of us for having grown so close so quickly.
Then it was our turn. One of the British guys made a short speech about how we wouldn’t have made it up without their excellent team, and how appreciative we were. We handed over a tip and presented them with some articles of clothing. I donated my hiking boots (selfishly, I didn’t want to lug them back to the States and would rather see them on the feet of a porter or guide than someone in my village who probably won’t ever climb a mountain in their life), hiking pants (hand-me-overs from another PCV), a nice pair of socks (still clean!) and some bug repellent. Adam also gave his hiking boots. It was very sweet how appreciative they were of our donations; that just affirmed to me that it was the right decision (and I found myself wracking my brains: what else could I give?!). We then got to just relax and have a beer with the guides and talk to them on a completely non-professional level – I think they let their guards down considerably. After a while, they excused themselves, saying they wanted to get home to their families (and probably bathe too), but thanking us and giving us their email addresses.
And then there were seven. The gang went out for food and landed at a fairly touristy place (though it was a Sunday night, so not much else was open) where we chowed down on pizza and Indian food, reminiscing and laughing about the previous week together. It felt like I’d known these people forever even though it had only been 8 days. It’s really amazing to me how being in a situation like that can really draw you close to people… it also made me realize (again) how great our group was. Aww ☺
Back at the hotel we played cards until almost midnight before calling it a night. We had to say goodbye to one that night (his flight was super early the next morning and his ride was coming at 3am or something ridiculous), which was hard. The next morning, to our delight, breakfast was included in our stay in the hotel. After more showers, we headed out to explore the Moshi market and do some shopping. We lost two more then (off to spend time at the Hilton in Zanzibar, lucks!) and although it was hard to say goodbye, four was a much more manageable number for walking around as tourists. A local Tanzanian decided he would guide us around town; he took us to the stall for whatever it was we said we were interested in: jerseys, jewelry, t-shirts, paintings… After a few hours of this, we were exhausted and had to head back to the hotel just to get rid of him. It was definitely lunchtime, so we went back to the place Adam and I had found a week before for a huge plate of fish and rice.
Adam and I were on the same flight as the other American woman so we left the last group member there around 3pm to go catch our flight. Again, it was hard to say goodbye. He had become sort of a grandpa to me on the trip and I hope to reconnect once we’re all back stateside.
No problems at the airport (except I stupidly forgot to pack my nice knife in my checked bag and so I lost it to airport security). Our flight was a tiny bit late but to me, that was a good thing. It would only minimize our 13-hour layover in Addis Ababa. In Ethiopia, we wandered around a little, said goodbye to our fellow Yank, got some water, and curled up on the floor to start chipping away at the long night ahead of us. We’d been asleep maybe 30 minutes when a security guard came over and asked for our flight information. Where were we from? Where were we going? When did our flight leave? I thought we were going to be kicked out (or at least in deep trouble for not making better flight arrangements). He just told us we had to go downstairs to some desk to find out about our hotel. Adam and I were both pretty confused… we had no hotel and we sure didn’t want to have to pay for one. He insisted we go downstairs so we did.
At this desk, we found out that not only did we have a hotel room (apparently it got reserved with our tickets? maybe that’s why they were so expensive?), we also had shuttle service to and from that hotel room, as well as two meals in the hotel! Ten minutes and an Ethiopian transit visa later, we were on our way to the Panorama Hotel in downtown Addis Ababa, actually a very beautiful hotel with delicious food, hot showers and an amazing bed. I think the only thing that could’ve made that part better is if we’d realized it earlier, and not spent hours in the AA airport trying to kill time. We made it to the next flight in plenty of time and were on our way back to South Africa.
One of Adam’s teachers was at the Johannesburg airport (a very welcome sight), waiting to bring us back to Lesotho. Apart from stopping for burgers at Wimpy, I honestly don’t remember a lot from that ride either. It was cozy and warm and I fell asleep soon after we started moving. After that, it’s not too exciting. I spent much of Wednesday in the PC Office uploading photos and working on the first half of this massive blog post (so I hope you enjoy!) and then ended up back at site. I slept 17 hours the first night, was awake for about 4, took a 3 hour nap, woke up long enough to prepare tea and a bowl of cereal, and slept another 15. Needless to say, I was pretty well rested by the time water arrived the next day. Friday was laundry day… buckets and buckets of water, loads and loads of laundry. You know you’ve done too much laundry (all by hand, mind you) when by the time you’re finishing the last load, most of the stuff hanging on the line is already warm and dry. In any case, clean clothes are nice. I won’t even try to describe how dirty the laundry water was (and I haven’t even tried to wash my socks yet – ew).
I think that’s all I have for you… climbing Kilimanjaro was absolutely phenomenal. If you get a chance to go, I highly recommend it, though I will also advise you to be in pretty good physical shape, and ready for ridiculously high altitudes. Really, a handful of blog posts and all my photos don’t do it any justice… another incredible adventure to add to my list.

Peace and love from Africa,
-Katie

Kilimanjaro

July 20, 2011

Well, we made it. All the way up and all the way down. I’ll do my best to recount everything but it may take 2 (or ten) posts to do the trip justice.
Adam and I left two weeks ago on the 8th for Johannesburg. We lucked out big time and the taxi left Maseru as soon as we were in. It was quite a long drive, all on back bumpy roads with more potholes than Minnesota during road construction season. As PCVs, we’re told to avoid the Joburg taxi rank as much as possible, so I was sort of nervous, however other volunteers have said that it’s definitely manageable, and it was. As soon as we arrived, there was a guy outside the taxi offering to bring us anywhere in the rank. It was once we arrived at the airport taxi that he asked for money, but we’d made it safely, so I was happy to pay.
We got to O.R. Tambo around 2pm… plenty early for our 9pm flight… but there were restaurants to visit! At first, it didn’t seem like there was anything available to us in the International Departures Terminal so we had to walk around a bit but eventually found Subway and a handful of other great places. We had sandwiches first (delicious but not quite as speedy as in the States) and then sat down for bottomless coffee and the best muffins on the face of the Earth at Mugg & Bean. Four (or five?) cups and a few hours later, we were wired and walked around a bit before checking in (they let us check in way early – some people are so nice!). Once through security and immigration, we bummed around a few more hours, looking in bookshops and the Duty Free stores. One of my favorite things to do in airports is people-watch and we did a fair amount of that too.
We grabbed some food for the flight (not expecting anything) and boarded, off to Dar es Salaam. That flight landed around 1:30am. We groggily found our way to immigration to buy our Visa for Tanzania. When we got to the desk, they asked for $100 (which we didn’t have) and we offered our credit cards. No luck. The machine that took credit cards was down, they said, but there were some ATMs outside. They held our passports and we headed outside to withdraw Tanzanian shillings, which we would then need to change to USD. No luck. The ATMs we found wouldn’t take either of our cards… At this point, I was getting pretty flustered. We were in a foreign place, it was 2am, we couldn’t get our Visas, our cards didn’t work, and we had to climb Kilimanjaro the next day. Thankfully Adam was incredibly calm about the whole thing. He went back in and explained to the woman the entire situation. She accompanied us to the immigration desk and explained to the guy that we would just need to pay for the visa upon departure. He wrote in each of our passports “subject to pay visa on departure, usd100 for multiple entry visa” and we continued on our way to the next leg of the journey. I cannot even explain how relieved I was, but also how worried I was; my only means of getting cash wasn’t working – would I be able to get cash once we got to Moshi?
We crashed for a few more hours in the airport in Dar before our 6am flight to Kilimanjaro airport. That flight was absolutely spectacular. It was just starting to get light, and above the clouds, we could see the whole sunset. As we approached Moshi, I could see Kilimanjaro in the distance, the top just peeking above the clouds… stunning. Once we landed, it wasn’t too long before a car came to pick us up and bring us to check in for our climb. We were supposed to stay at this little (touristy) oasis of a place, about 15 minutes from downtown Moshi but they were overbooked, so we ended up IN Moshi, which was actually much better. We got to walk around town without having to worry about getting there or back. After not much sleep the night before, I was exhausted… Adam, however, somehow had enough energy to walk around a fair amount. As we were waiting to get a sim card for the cell phone, I fell asleep, right in the store. That was when he agreed to let me go take a nap . My nap was great… he even let me sleep longer than I wanted because he was scared to wake me up (sound familiar Mom?) We found a great local place (right next to the place we stayed) for lunch – Zanzibar rice with beans and spicy sauce and some salads. A huge portion cost the equivalent of $1. We vowed to go back for dinner.
A few more hours of walking around put us at about 4:30pm so we headed back for our group meeting and briefing with our guides and other group members. I had been a bit concerned about who else was going to be in our group… would they be older couples with whom we had nothing in common? Would they be cool? Would they even speak English? All these worries vanished when we met a couple of awesome British guys and another American woman… they seemed very cool. We were told there were two more guys on the way but we didn’t end up meeting them until the next morning: another British guy and another American man. We were 7 in total, 3 Brits and 4 Americans… needless to say, there was a lot of banter flying in the group. We all learned new phrases in the other “language” and got to practice our accents… even though the Brits said our accents were “rubbish” and (to us) they just sounded like hicks most of the time.
I was relieved to find out that the others in the group were just nervous as I was, if not more, about the climb. Our guide and assistant guides were very reassuring; they’d had a great summit record together and were confident we’d be great. The 7 of us bonded very quickly (as you tend to do when in a situation like that) and even our guides didn’t believe that we hadn’t known each other before coming to Tanzania.
The drive to the gate the first morning was pretty long. We were all chatty, not sure what to expect but relieved that at least the first day was said to be relatively easy. When we arrived at the gate, we had to check in with passport numbers and register all our information. They gave us a nice box lunch, we drove another hour (through some crazy brush – in a massive safari-like vehicle on a path that was maybe meant for a bicycle… it was bumpy) before disembarking, packing up our packs and hitting the trail.
The first day’s hike was indeed relatively easy, only about 3 hours, all through the rainforest. Some ups, some downs, and I think we were all on a big hiker high. We arrived at the first camp around dinner time, found our packs and dragged our belongings to the tents. The porters brought us warm water for washing and directed us to the tent where we’d have tea. It was a pretty small tent with a very small (and wobbly) table with popcorn on a big platter, as well as 7 mugs, 7 small spoons and an assortment of tea, Milo (cocoa) and coffee. Then came dinner… first a carrot soup and some bread, then later fish and potatoes and vegetables. We were all in awe – we were going to be waited on hand and foot for the next week. After dinner, our guide, a very gentle, professional Tanzanian named Chombo, came in and told us the program for the next day (which would also end up being the schedule for most of our days). We would wake up for tea at 7am, get some more warm water for washing, take breakfast at 7:30 and hit the trail by 8. We’d go about 6 hours to the next camp, and the day would be sort of difficult. With this news, we headed to the tents to get some sleep. Adam and I had no trouble falling asleep (this is where being accustomed to poor sleeping conditions comes in handy!) and staying asleep until 7am when there came a knock on the tent – they brought tea to our tents.
Breakfast was several courses as well: first uji, a porridge (not unlike lesheleshele in Lesotho) made of maize and sorghum meal. Then came pancakes (thin – no baking powder in them, almost like sweet tortillas) and bread, and finally eggs and sausages. We hadn’t realized how much food there would be so we all sort of filled up on the uji and tea. Then it was time to pack and hit the trail.
As any of my family members can attest, I’m not usually huge on hiking, and even less keen on camping, but this was an adventure. The hike was beautiful – more rainforest, and then eventually into some other ecological zones (not sure what else to call them). Plenty of up-hills and several rests… but the prospect of a good hot lunch was waiting for us. About 4 or 5 hours in to our 6-hour hike, we finally caught a glimpse of the mountain. It was spectacular… and all of a sudden the task ahead got a whole lot bigger. Camp the second night was probably my favorite. It wasn’t as crowded as the first camp, plus we could see the mountain directly out of our tent and caught a grand sunset and sunrise.

Day 3 was easier, pretty flat and basic (though the sun was shining and many of us got a bit burned), a chance to rest up and acclimatize for the next day. Day 4 was rough. It was a lot of uphill, up to around 15,000 ft at a place called the Lava Tower, a beautiful rock formation on one side of the base, and then back down to about 12,000 ft. The up part wasn’t too bad and I think the down would’ve been alright if it weren’t for the fact that we’d already been hiking 4 hours up. By the end of our descent that night into Barranco camp, I felt absolutely terrible. I had a pounding headache and felt weak and worried whether or not the next day would bring any relief.
As soon as we got to camp that night, I went to the tent to lie down, but only managed to rest a few minutes before tea time. Sugary tea and salty popcorn helped a lot, but I still felt pretty terrible… I got to rest probably only 30 minutes (not quite long enough to really fall asleep but to start drifting off) before dinner. I wasn’t sure about eating dinner but figured it couldn’t hurt… and I was right. After dinner, I felt ten times better and slept really well.

Day 5 was supposed to be easy… we had to climb Barranco wall, basically a cliff, up which we “bouldered” … a.k.a. scurried up. The night before, Chombo had told us we should not bring poles because we would need to use our “crawly hands” … absolutely accurate. There were a couple places where we had to be really careful with balance and there was a very specific “left foot here, right hand there” pattern we had to follow. What amazed me the most was how quickly the porters could scurry up the side of the wall with probably 30+ pounds of stuff on their head/neck/back. Several hours later (like 5 I think) we arrived at camp. It wasn’t a super difficult hike but it was not as easy as we’d anticipated either. After lunch we got time to rest but before we could sleep, the assistant guide, Lucas, came to the tent to see if we wanted to go for a short acclimatization hike, basically a short jaunt up a ways and then back down, so we’d be camping lower than the highest elevation of the day (which wouldn’t have been a problem since the top of the wall was pretty darn high). I figured it couldn’t do any harm... I’d been alright that day and had started to get pretty nervous about the summit day and this at least would calm my nerves.
Day 6 actually lived up to expectations. It was not terribly difficult. The hike was about 4 hours, but this time we were seriously going up in elevation. This was the real deal – up to 15,000ft to camp at Barafu for a few hours before the summit hike to Uhuru. After a warm lunch, we were sent to our tents to relax, which we did willingly until our early dinner. Around 5:30pm they brought in a huge plate of pasta with some very thick vegetable sauce – carbo load! As we were taking tea, our guide and assistant guides came in to tell us how the summit would be. Everyone was very quiet but the tent was absolutely electric. We got a pep talk fit for a professional sports team from Chombo (with Lucas and Charles on his sides, nodding and adding in Swahili when he left something out). The plan was as follows:
We were to go to sleep (it was 7pm at this point) until 10pm. We would wake then, dress in warm layers, take tea and biscuits at 10:30pm and set off on the trek up the mountain at 11pm, headlamps on head. We would climb and climb and climb, take more tea about halfway up, and climb some more, all the way to the top. We’d get 10 minutes at the top to take photos and revel in the moment before beginning our descent…

So, at about 10pm, Adam and I woke up and started layering on clothes. I ended up wearing two pairs of socks, hiking boots, 3 pairs of pants (long underwear, hiking pants and water/windproof), 6 layers on top (various wicking shirts, some fleece and insulation), a neck gator, headband, hat, hood, gloves and mittens. Tea was nice and warm and again the tent was electric. Everyone was excited and nervous, anxious about what might happen if something went wrong but optimistic that nothing would.
By 11:05pm we were off up the hill, a nice little train of headlamps up a very big mountain. I think we were probably the second or third group to leave camp that night… one of the group likened it to a Christmas tree – all lit up. We went maybe an hour and a half before stopping for a break; we were all out of breath even though nobody was moving faster than a snail’s pace. At this point we split off – Bill with Chombo to go a bit slower and the rest of us with Lucas and Charles (the assistant guides). At this point, I just remember being tired and cold. Not super fatigued or sick, just tired and cold. After we’d been going a while, we had to go up some bigger rocks and I must have taken it too quickly because everything started going blurry and I felt much worse. I asked to take a break at which point Charles swiped my bag off my back and I was told to go second in line, right behind Lucas. We slowed down a little bit but kept going, trudging slowly, slowly up. The group was mostly quiet but every once in a while someone would ask how I was feeling (or how someone else was feeling). It was really incredible, feeling their support and knowing not only how badly we all wanted to summit but also how badly the guides wanted it for us.

We stopped again and this time I felt absolutely nauseated. I couldn’t tell if I was going to throw up or pass out or what was going to happen… One of the guys in the group offered me some glucose tables which I took and sucked on. There was no way I could’ve taken solid food at this point or I surely would have vomited, so thankfully these helped and I felt like I could continue.

Many hours of the trek are a complete blur. I know we climbed for 8 hours total and stopped several times. We stopped for tea which warmed us all a little bit, and then finally it was only 45 minutes to Stella Point, which was to be 100 vertical meters from the top, another 45 minutes up to the sign for Uhuru Peak.

Somehow, I’m still not sure how, we all made it up. Stella was an incredible site, especially knowing how close we were. The sun was beginning to rise at this point and the sky was warming from deep blue to shades of yellow and orange, and the moon was still full on the other side. Everything was absolutely breathtaking (literally and figuratively). The attitude in the group definitely lifted from Stella the rest of the way. It was almost like a magnet was pulling us up because I honestly don’t know how any of us had any energy left at that point. We just kept going…
Finally, the sign was in site and I couldn’t stop myself from crying. It was such a beautiful moment: achievement, friendship, support… natural beauty too, with the sun rising on one side and the moon still up over another (smaller) mountain on the other side… As I looked around, others in my group were crying too. Then it was a giant hug-fest as we congratulated each other and commiserated about how terrible we felt but how thrilled we were to be at the top.

Several photographs later, we were back on the way down, and as crazy as it sounds to only be at the top for 10-15 minutes, I think we were all ready to go back down and rest for a little while. As the guide told us, it’s not very good for people to be up that high (over 19,000 ft) for very long, and anything can happen at the top. Shortly after 7:15am (and a stop for a little chocolate) we were on our way, half walking and half stumbling, back down to Barafu.

We made it to camp about 3 hours later (though much of that time is also a blur to me). I remember being exhausted, having a bad headache, and being concerned about Adam feeling really sick. As soon as we got to the tent, we were both passed out.
We rested a while before taking another hike back down the mountain about 4 hours, in order to camp at a lower elevation, about 10,000ft. We all slept like babies that night… “like totos” as the Tanzanians would say. The final day was all downhill and that was when I really started getting sore. It was only 4 hours downhill, and we descended 5,000ft before exiting through the gate, boarding a bus, and heading back to Moshi.

Unfortunately, I think I need to get going now, but I will definitely post more at another point – soon!
All my love from Africa,
-Katie

Kilimanjaro, here we come!

Adam and I leave tomorrow (early) to get to Johannesburg for our flight(s) to Moshi, Tanzania.

Our climb begins on Sunday and we're scheduled to summit on the 16th (right after a full moon - it should be incredible). Our route has a pretty high summit rate (around 85% I think) so keep your fingers crossed that neither of us gets altitude sickness and that we both (along with the other 6 in our group) stay healthy and make it to Uhuru Peak!

We looked at some of the altitudes and compared them to our lives in Lesotho. The elevation where we start is roughly the elevation of the mountain near Adam's house, which we've climbed several times. It's not thaaaat much higher than where his house is and I don't honestly think that's too much higher than where my house is (but that may just be my optimism speaking). All in all, it's a lot less daunting knowing that our elevation here is going to help us out with adjusting.

Time now to repack everything so my carry-on bag isn't to big and my checked bag isn't too heavy...

I'll update again in a couple weeks after we're back!
Love from Lesotho (and eventually Tanzania and Kili!)
-Katie

Winding Down and Gearing Up

June 28, 2011
Morning from Sekameng. I won’t say good morning because this is the most miserable cold I think I have ever experienced, possibly in my life. I know it sounds like I just like to complain (and to some extent, I’m sure I do), but it is legitimately cold. I wake up in the morning and my house is 45 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s cold, folks.
As my mom found out, I don’t generally heat water unless it’s to drink or bathe in, so each time I wash dishes, my hands freeze. I basically have an endless mug of coffee or tea or plain hot water with me wherever I go. Enough about the cold.
It’s hard for me to believe that only a week has gone by since my mom and I went our separate ways in Cape Town. I flew back to Bloemfontein and actually (surprisingly!) made it all the way home to Sekameng in one day. She had a longer journey back to the States but is now safely home and hopefully readjusted to Central Standard Time.
After I got back, I stayed home barely long enough to do laundry before taking off on another mini-trip. Some friends and I did our own version of “Christmas in July” even though it was June. We figured it was more like “Christmas and a Half” since in exactly 6 months, it would have been Christmas Eve and Day. We planned a feast (and shopped accordingly), lugging all sorts of food items up to one of the more remote places in Lesotho. On Friday, as we were in town gathering supplies, there was snow in the air. I’ve only seen snow here one other time and I just remember it being miserably cold. I had no clue what we were in for…
We made it to this friend’s house early afternoon and it was just as cold (if not colder) at his place. At least every PCV is given a heater for the duration of their service. He had no gas for said heater, but at least the shop wasn’t too far. We decided to go the next morning (“Christmas” morning) to try to get a refill so we wouldn’t freeze too solid the next day. Unfortunately, part of the joy of being at such a remote site is that there really is not much there. None of the shops (near or far) had any gas refills. So we stuck it out (not like we had much choice, ha), crowding in the kitchen, sipping tea and cooking delicious things for later.
After everyone was awake (I woke up to a fistful of snow in my face and then ran outside only to find that there was not much on the ground), we did our own little Yankee Swap gift exchange. The rule was that the gifts had to come from our houses (we’re all sort of poor and have big vacations coming up). I contributed some instant Starbucks coffee packets, clay and a Clif Bar (highly valued, given my next big vacation). Other gifts included a t-shirt, a Lego version of Dumbledore (my winning), a book and DVD that actually belonged to someone else there (shockingly enough, he ended up with that gift), stickers and pencils, and coupons for a various assortment of prizes. We had a fold-out tree complete with small wooden decorations, and a lovely garland (thanks to my father) to decorate the house – it almost felt like real Christmas.
Around noon, some of us went for a run. It was absolutely gorgeous, across the river and along some really neat rock formations that conveniently shielded us from the wind. I’d heard a lot about the various running routes my friend had (especially training for the Ultra-Marathon in Cape Town) so it was great to see his part of the country. An added bonus was that we all warmed up considerably – I think I may have even sweat a little!
We all left on Sunday and after waiting over an hour for the taxi, finally piled on to one of the longest taxi rides of my life. The road (for all but maybe 20 minutes of the ride) was dirt and rock, quite bumpy. We crossed a river at several points in the journey and were lucky because it was low – had the river been much higher, I’m fairly certain we would have all had to get out and walk across (and pray the taxi made it).
Several stops after we got on (just before the taxi was full way past capacity), a very drunk (and still drinking) man got on and sat next to Eric, who was sitting next to me. This man was loud and obnoxious, constantly talking and gesticulating wildly. Eric was a champ for dealing with him and even managed to poke fun at him for a while (telling him we were going to Lesotho but we didn’t know where it was, etc) before we realized this guy was not going to tire. Eventually, he did. Miracle of miracles, he passed out and sort of collapsed into his own little area (rather than expanding onto his neighbors as some do). Relief! After more than 2 hours, we reached town and let me tell you, KFC has never tasted so good.

Now I have just over a week before I head to Maseru to finalize some things for the Diversity Committee, then Adam and I fly to Tanzania to climb Kilimanjaro on the 8th. We’re both pretty excited, obviously for the climb, but also to just spend some time in airports: people-watching and restaurant-hopping (Mugg & Bean has delicious bottomless coffee and the best muffins you’ve ever tasted… I think we’ll spend a few hours and cups of coffee there before our flight). It’ll also be nice to be near the equator (WARMTH!), if only for the first couple days of our climb.
I’ll do my best to post again before Kili, but if not, you can definitely expect an update after we return. I hope all is well at home, I’m excited to be there in 6 months!
Love from Africa,
-Katie

Mom! In Africa!

Winter vacation is here!
My students completed all their exams (successfully, I believe) and have begun helping their family to harvest their crops: maize, sorghum, beans, etc. The external classes (Forms C and E) are still coming to school for winter classes. Luckily these start an hour later than school did and only go until about 1pm.
When I wrote last, I was in Maseru working on some things for Peace Corps but mostly just waiting for my mom to arrive. On Wednesday morning, I got up early, took a hot shower (!!!) and made it to the border fairly early. I met Kimiko there (she was coming with us on safari) and we found the taxi to Bloemfontein, where we’d rent the car to drive to Joburg airport and pick up Mom. The weather was pretty bad, cold and rainy with no sunshine in sight. We found our taxi and were the second and third people in a taxi that was supposed to hold 22 people. When planning, I’d built in extra time in case we had to wait for a taxi to fill or couldn’t quite get to the border early enough. When we got to the taxi before 9 and it still hadn’t filled at 11, I started getting nervous. Finally we had enough people to fill a small taxi (only 15 people needed) and we took off towards Bloemfontein just before noon. I managed to calm down, but then, naturally, we hit road construction.
Mom’s flight landed around 4:30pm and we were stuck on the road to Bloem when we were supposed to be driving to the airport. After three more delays thanks to construction, we were finally cruising. And then the kicker. After all the rain, the final stretch of road had been flooded so badly we couldn’t pass. We had to pay more money, turn around and take a long detour. This not only meant we were going to be lateR to pick up our car, but in addition, now we wouldn’t be passing the junction airport, so we’d have to take an extra (expensive) taxi to the airport.
Approximately 3:30pm we finally left the car rental place in Bloemfontein to head to Johannesburg. I was absolutely livid. We had had these grand plans of going to the Joburg airport and drinking bottomless coffee and eating delicious muffins all day long while waiting for my mom’s flight. When she arrived, we’d happily run into each others arms, smiling and crying… Instead, she was the one who had to wait in the airport for us.
We made it to Joburg several hours after she arrived and picked her up (there were indeed tears) and made our way to the place we’d be staying that night.

The next day we left for Kruger National Park to go on safari. We had quite a drive, but once we got past Nelspruit, it was beautiful. The plan was to stay in the park for three nights at two different camps, and during the days drive around the park to see as many animals as we could.
That day, we barely arrived at the gate in time. The man admitting us told us we had to go as fast as the speed limit would allow us or we might not make it into the camp. We were not to stop for any animal because otherwise we might be locked out, stuck in the park after dark. (Actually, I’m not really sure what would have happened to us if we didn’t make it into our camp, but we didn’t really want to find out.) So we drove… but within the first five minutes of being in the park, we had to stop because there were so many cars blocking the road, all looking at lions. No big deal, LIONS were the first animals we saw upon entering the park. We could only look for a short while before continuing on. Next, we saw rhinos off on the left, and after a little while more, we had to stop. There was an enormous elephant right in the road. It walked around eating for a while before we could pass it but eventually, we did make it past and made it to the camp in time.
The next two days we left our camp early to go out and see as many animals as we could. The list of animals we saw includes: lions, elephants, rhinos, buffalo, kudu, impala, waterbuck, crocodiles, hippos, hyenas, giraffes, zebras, vultures, monkeys and probably several more that I’ve forgotten about. After two and a half days total of driving around, my legs were stiff from lack of exercise but my camera was full and I definitely had a new appreciation for all of Africa’s animals. Safari was incredible.
After safari, we headed back to Bloem to return the car and as an intermediate stop before reaching Lesotho, the second stop on our voyage. We had lovely accommodation there and enjoyed muffins and bottomless coffee before returning to Lesotho. That day, as my mother is proud to report, we took 6 taxis in order to get back to my stop, and then had to walk 45 minutes to get home. We didn’t reach my stop until dark but several students came to pick us up and help carry luggage in to Sekameng.
Over the next few days, Mom learned what it was like to live in Sekameng. When we arrived, there was no running water, so we had to wait and hope and pray that it’d be there the next day. We cooked by candlelight and went to sleep fairly early after a busy and exhausting day.
Tuesday and Wednesday we walked around my village. She met the other teachers at my school and many of my students. We did laundry in cold water, baked bread and ate chaka-laka, motoho and papa. I think she really enjoyed it; I know I loved showing her the life I've made here.
On Thursday, we climbed the nearby mountain, Kolo. It was an all-day affair. We left around 8am and made it back to my house just before 3pm. We had to walk there, then go up, come down and walk back… by the end of the day, I think we all had blisters on our feet and our legs were definitely sore.
That night we went to stay with my Kenyan friends so Mom could meet them too, and the next day was a trip (back again) to Bloemfontein to fly to Cape Town, where we are now. I still love this place. So far, we’ve seen penguins at Boulders, climbed (the back of and hiked around) Table Mountain, shopped for gifts, eaten at Eastern Food Bazaar (honestly one of my favorite restaurants), and gotten lost driving around the city plenty of times. It’s great to be back here.
Today, we were supposed to tour Robben Island, but unfortunately the weather has not been cooperative. It has rained off and on and is just generally cold and windy. Instead, I think we’ll head over to the waterfront and shop more.
Tomorrow, we have a wine tour scheduled. We’ll visit several vineyards and taste wines, cheeses and chocolates. Tuesday is the day we split; she’ll go back to Joburg to fly home and I’ll go back to Lesotho.
It has been a whirlwind two weeks with three great mini-vacations. It’ll be sad to see Mom go but I know the rest of the family at home misses her a ton. She’ll go home with lots of good pictures and memories and it’ll be really nice for me to be able to talk with her about Lesotho and South Africa once I get home.
Time to get ready for another day – hot showers are so great!
Love from Africa,
-Katie (&mom)

World on Fire

School is almost out and winter is definitely here.
My house is consistently 45 degrees at night and in addition to sleeping in long pants, wool socks, several layers on top plus gloves and a hat, I have 4 very warm blankets on my bed at all times. It. Is. Cold. Last winter was never this bad (or my memory has just faded with the heat of summer). I've used my heater. Multiple times. I admit it. Last year I hesitated (we were having a contest to see who could last the longest without using their heater and in my mind, I won) but this year I've come around. Plus, the previous volunteer left me several partially full tanks of gas. Plus, it's just not worth it. Cold is miserable. Everyone turns into monsters and my students hate it even more. Imagine sitting in a freezing cold classroom with no heat and broken windows. It's basically sitting outside (in the shade)... you wouldn't like it either.
Enough complaining about the cold. We have one more week of exams at school... I cannot believe the first semester is already almost finished! I actually finished my exams (and grading and reporting!) yesterday because my MOM IS COMING ON WEDNESDAY!!! We have quite the vacation planned: safaris, my school, climbing some mountains, and then we'll end our time together in Cape Town (probably my new favorite place). I am so thrilled to be able to share my new life here with someone from home. I put plenty of blankets on her bed too, and will graciously share my heater :)
As always, I have many stories from the past month to share and I'll do my best with the time I still have in town before Vodacom closes for the day. First and most recent...
The other week I made a batch of chili. I started with dry beans, cooked them, let them soak, added spices, cooked them some more (dry beans take FOREVER to cook), and worked on the other ingredients too. I was so excited. I'd inherited chili powder and cumin from other volunteers when they left so I had the fixins for a really delicious pot of chili. It turned out really well. Not so spicy that I couldn't taste everything, but it packed enough heat to warm me up. I've also almost perfected bread-making, so I had some tasty bread to go with my chili. The first batch was so good that when it was finished, I decided to make another batch. Now, I decided this late in the evening. Ok, it was actually only about 6:30 but I usually crawl into bed to read or watch a movie on my iPod around 7. It was getting late. I put the beans on to boil and got ready for bed. I crawled into bed and watched a movie, blew out my lamp, rolled over and went to sleep.
The next morning I woke up to one of the most foul smells I have ever encountered. I had left my burner on. All night. The beans had hydrated, cooked, and completely dehydrated to tiny little shriveled black nuggets of burn. To make matters worse, I had unplugged my carbon monoxide detector because it goes off whenever I bake bread or have my heater on, both of which I had done. Before you scold me, please understand I completely realize all the dangers of this. I could have burned my house down. I could have suffered carbon monoxide poisoning. I could have... and the list goes on. I am alive and completely fine (I sleep with my bedroom door closed which helped a lot), though my house still smells terribly of burned beans. This was on Tuesday night. It is now Saturday and my house STILL gives off the odor of burn. My students tell me I smell like tobacco. Gross. Lesson learned. I will not cook dry beans overnight ever again.

In better news, the alternator for the school's main generator has been fixed. I finally got all the money from Hilbert Middle and High Schools and my principal will go and pick it up hopefully sometime this week! One more step on the long way to electricity! Thanks again, Hilbert - we could not have done it without you!

Last week we decided to take the students out to the dirt road from the main road to my village and do some road work. They had shovels, pick axes, wheelbarrows and a lot of patience. We split the students by class, so my group, the Form B students, were second farthest from school. In all modesty, I worked harder than most of my students, but it was great fun. We picked up rocks and put them into the big crevices in the road to try to even it out. Some of the boys would go and chop up termite mounds and bring big chunks of them to smash into the smaller cracks that wouldn't hold rocks. We had it down to a system.
It was interesting though, trying to explain to students why exactly we were out doing work on the road. "It's just the right thing to do" didn't quite cut it, so I took a different approach. I asked them where they ate lunch each day and how they thought the food magically appeared in the kitchen. That seemed to work a bit better... Ultimately, I'm not sure if they really understood the significance or the reason we were out there, but I was so proud of all the students. Plus it gave me an excuse to throw some big rocks around and impress them with how strong I am. Ha.

As I was walking out of my village this morning (before I got a lift - all the way to town!), I walked past some funeral tents. Apparently the former chief of a neighboring village passed away. Men were out working on the tent and manly things while the women were bustling around making preparations involving food and hospitality things. At that same moment, Sarah McLachlan's song "World on Fire" shuffled onto my iPod. If you haven't heard the song, give it a listen. Actually, even better, go to youtube and look up the music video. Homework for the weekend - ponder that song.
I've been reading a book called "Dead Aid" ... about how aid in Africa is not only not helping, but actually hindering African development. It's an interesting concept - check it out if you get a chance. It's really an interesting combination. The song and the book... it really struck me this morning.

The rest of the weekend will hopefully be relaxing. I have some laundry to do before Mom comes, but depending on the water situation I may have to postpone that. Too bad. A teacher friend and I are planning on baking apple pie tomorrow, even though I have never in my life successfully made a pie crust. I can make graham cracker crusts like it's my job, but pie crust will be interesting. (Brian - I'll let you know how it goes!) I am, thankfully, an apple expert, so that part is well taken care of.

Well, my computer is about charged and actually my fingers are getting a little chilly. Hope all is well at home in the great US of A. Enjoy the summer (and being done with school)... congrats to the graduates (my brother and several friends :) !!)
Love from Africa,
Katie

April 29th

Greetings and Happy Spring!
At least I imagine it to be springtime there. Here it is definitely fall, though probably closer to winter. The temps at night are pretty chilly, but thankfully when the sun is out, it’s not too bad. Apologies for not writing more frequently. I always intend to, but then find something else to do. I’ve also been journaling more frequently, so I feel as though I have less to tell you all, even though that’s clearly not the case.

The first quarter of the school year just ended before Easter. Because Easter was so late this year, the first quarter was unusually long. I was definitely ready for a vacation. Ever since I arrived in Lesotho and heard about the Two Oceans Marathon in Cape Town, I knew I wanted to run it. Last year we registered too late; all 14,000 spaces had been filled. This year we registered much earlier; there was no way I would miss the race two years in a row.
The marathon is always on the day before Easter. There is an ultra marathon (56km or about 35 miles) and a half marathon (standard 21.1km or 13.1 miles). I opted for the half, even though I’ve run two full marathons before. I was concerned about training and just how painful an ultra might be. Part of the tradition of this race (for other volunteers at least) is renting a car and driving from Bloemfontein to Cape Town (look on a map… it is a long distance). So on Wednesday morning last week, we made it to the border by 6am, were in Bloemfontein by 8, the airport by 9, McDonalds at 10 and on the road to CT by 11. We drove and drove… and drove some more. We were 8 altogether, two cars full of very excited runners and supporters.
We had two cute little cars, not too much leg room and even less trunk space, but we had music (iTrips must be one of the best inventions) so we were fine. I was one of the registered drivers (one of the few manual drivers) so I pulled the car around to load it up, turned it off and went inside to get the copilot and passengers so we could take off. We loaded the trunk (very full) and piled in, only to find out that the car would not start. I tried everything. I jiggled the steering wheel; I gave it a little gas as it was starting; I turned it completely off, locked the doors, unlocked the doors, crossed my fingers and tried again. Nothing. Finally, after a frustrating couple of minutes, I went back in to the desk and explained the situation. The man who had showed me where the car was came back out and said he’d take care of it. He tried everything I did and then started fiddling with the fuel hose (I think? That’s what a friend said it was at least) … still no luck. We went back in and the manager behind the desk said, “Forget about that one, I’ll upgrade you, free of charge, so you won’t have to worry about your car starting when you’re actually on your trip.” SCORE! UPGRADE! We were pretty psyched, imagining all sorts of large vehicles with ample leg room and some other super fancy features. Ha. Boy, were we wrong. The upgrade did indeed have a little more leg room and definitely more oomph than its predecessor, but noticeably less trunk space. It was a tight fit, but we made it work (story of Peace Corps, really) and got on the road.
The drive was long. Very, very long. We made only a few stops for gas and snack breaks and still only made it to Cape Town at 11pm. Now, I’ve never really lived in a city. I grew up in suburbia, went to school in very rural Iowa and currently live in a very rural village in Lesotho. I have never been a city driver. However, I was behind the wheel and had to find our hostel… let’s just say I learned city driving pretty quickly. I managed to stay on the correct side of the road (the left side) and go the correct way on one-way streets. We only got a little lost coming in to the city, but that was easily fixed. Parking was another story though. To park in front of our hostel was about R10 at night, or R9 per hour during the day. We ended up parking the cars a 30minute walk away, in a sort of residential area. This way we didn’t have to worry about being towed or spending a fortune (parking ramps were definitely not any cheaper).
The next day we spent primarily in town. We walked around, taking in the sights and sounds. It may have been because we’d all been in Lesotho so long, but everyone loved Cape Town. It has anything anyone could ever want. There is a beach not too far away, a huge mall (not quite MoA, but still, very large), plenty of outdoorsy things to do (Table Mountain or other hikes), nice bays and Cape Point not too far, Robben Island (regrettably we didn’t make this trip), penguins at Boulders and so much to do and see in town as well. The food was phenomenal. We ate like kings and queens. I think my favorite meals had to be Mexican (frozen blended margaritas!), sushi (real sushi, not the kind Kimiko and I make, which is also delicious but without fish), and a restaurant called Eastern Food Bazaar. EFB had every kind of eastern Asian food imaginable, in generous portions for very reasonable prices. The menu spanned the whole back wall and the restaurant was the length of a city block, but in the middle, so there were two entrances. It smelled amazing and tasted even better. The chefs prepared your food before your eyes and then you took it and sat down at a table to eat. We all left incredibly full but very satisfied, and willing to go back the next day. There were also a couple nights we ate in – one night we made pizza and another (the pre-race night) pasta. Those were also excellent meals even though they are common for us in Lesotho when we get together.
We spent the next day (Friday) at Kalk Bay, visiting the delicious bakery there and walking along the beach, taking in the sights. There was also a bookstore that lured us all in (until we caught a glimpse of the prices!). We had lunch there at a nice little restaurant – lots of pasta with seafood. Kalk Bay is also home to the original (yes, the very first) Fish’n’Chips place, called Kalky’s. We looked at the line and the runners agreed – greasy food maybe wasn’t the best option the afternoon before a race, so we opted for the café instead.
Saturday was the big day. The alarm went off at 3:50am. It was kind of cool how all four of the runners got down from the top bunks simultaneously, grabbed clothes and shoes and water, and headed out to get ready. We met in the kitchen for breakfast and coffee and stretching. It was a very entertaining breakfast, as people who had been out the night before were passing through the kitchen on their way to bed. They were all very confused as to why we were awake and especially as to why we were dressed as if we were going to run a marathon (I can’t imagine why!).
We left the hostel right on time, about 4:45am and headed to the parking area we’d found the day before on our drive-around. It was a little ways away from our hostel, so I was really glad to have the cars. We called a couple other friends who were staying with their parents and met up with them as well so we could start the half marathon together, while the two running the ultra split off to get ready. The half started at 6am and the ultra started at 6:25. The cannon went off at 6am sharp, and we didn’t even cross the starting line until 6:05.
I ran a pretty good race. It definitely wasn’t as fast a time as I wanted, but I still feel pretty good about it because there were so many runners I spent over the first 10k (half of the race) simply trying to pass the people I knew I was faster than. There was a substantial hill about 2/3 of the way through the race, and I continued to pass people here. I want to believe that was my altitude training kicking in, but I really can’t tell. The last 3-4km were a bit rough; it seemed like the last 5 or so were all gradually uphill, which really hurt after I had been pushing myself so hard the first part of the race.
I finished in 1hour, 59minutes. I’m pleased with sub-2 hours and know I could have done better if it weren’t for all the people I had to try to pass early on in the race. All in all, a fun time, though the crowd did not cheer nearly as much as that of the Twin Cities Marathon.
After we met up with other friends who’d finished, the big group of us went to the International hospitality tent, where we were served lasagna, sandwiches, salad, bread, fruit and whatever we wanted to drink. It was a nice post-run meal and a good chance to meet some of my friends’ parents who had come to visit them and see them run, as well as see Lesotho and Cape Town. Then, a handful of us made our way back to meet up with the ultra runners as they were on their home stretch. We ran with each of them for maybe a kilometer or two, to boost them on towards the finish line. Both were in pretty serious pain but they both finished in great time.
The rest of the day we relaxed and walked a little to try to ease up the soreness and stiffness. That evening we had dinner with all the parents and volunteers who were there at a nice Portugese (I think?) place. I don’t remember much from that night except that the food was good and I was incredibly tired. When we got back to the hostel, I took a quick nap and told my friends to wake me up when we were going to go out. Instead, I woke up at 2am with my contacts in and my clothes on. The room was dark; my friends had already gone to bed. I obviously missed the fun. The next morning when I asked them why they didn’t get me up to go out, they said they tried and I got really sassy and told them to leave me alone so I could sleep. Ha! Ultimately, I think that was the better option.
Sunday was kind of crummy. It alternated between drizzle and light rain the whole day. We drove down towards Cape Point and saw the penguin colony at Boulders (near Simons Town). Penguins have long been one of my favorite animals so it was incredible to see them so close! I have more pictures of penguins from the trip than everything else combined (I unfortunately didn’t take many photos). We piled into the cars again and were off to explore Cape Point. It ended up costing more than we wanted to pay, so we just found a little beach to walk around and take some pictures, pretending like we were at the point.
We had Eastern Food Bazaar for dinner and then went out on Long Street. It was so fun to be out after dark and see people other than volunteers and Basotho! Monday was the last day in Cape Town, so we had to make it good. We’d seen an advertisement for all-you-can-eat sushi and decided that sounded like a good lunch option. When we got to the restaurant, we realized it was only between 6 and 9pm, for dinner. We had sushi anyway, and headed to the waterfront to see the mall and other sights. We had draft beer at a nice Belgian restaurant and brewery, and watched people at the pier. I went with the Swazi volunteers around the mall before heading back to the hostel to get ready for Mexican food for dinner.
We went out again on Long street on Monday night, since it was the last night there, and had McDonalds at 3am. Oh, the joys of civilization! I realize the above is just a very brief summary of my trip and I do hope to write more, but the generator just turned off and I want to save some battery for the weekend… plus, the chief of the village and all the teachers and male students are outside, trying to deal with a man who apparently just tried to kidnap some girl and marry her. Cultural differences indeed!
I’ll fill you in on that after I figure out what’s happening. Until then, I hope all is well in the States and in your lives.
My love from Africa,
-Katie

Week 6

Greetings friends and family,

I’m having a hard time believing February is almost over, but I find myself writing exams because it is the end of the month. The sixth week of school is coming to a close and its time to find out exactly how much my students have learned. They’ll write math tomorrow, and physics early next week, just in time to welcome March.

This week marked the start of preparation for our track and field day next week; students started practicing running, jumping and throwing. On Monday, we separated boys and girls and took them running. Some of the girls really were not thrilled about having to run and stopped after less than ten minutes, but there are definitely some natural athletes. I’ve run a crowded marathon before, but when I was running with over a hundred girls, I was beyond crowded, plus the ground was really uneven. I think I probably elbowed several girls in the head and may have stepped on a few, but we made it. The most amusing thing to me was that when they run, they all run in sync. Left, right, left, right… and they sing to the beat of their stomping feet while they run. Now, I can carry on easy conversation while I run but singing is out of the question. It was definitely an experience.
On Tuesday, I took the girls running long distances with me on my training run. We went out on one of my favorite routes and stopped to stretch a while before turning back. On the way back, we did a line drill where the last person has to run up and pull ahead of the first person. At first they were confused, but once they understood what we were doing, they ran fast. I guess it didn’t click with them that the faster the first person goes, the faster everyone else has to go too. We sprinted to the finish – the girls I was running the drill with all outran me. They are so lucky to be African and living at such a high elevation. I was amazed so many of them could keep up with me on a training run when so few of them exercise regularly, if at all.
Today we added jumping to the mix. I’ve seen some talented athletes at various track meets, but watching some of these kids jump… wow. Their long jump technique seemed ok (not like I know a whole lot), but the high jump was pretty amusing. Rather than coming at the jump from off to one side, they came at it straight on, and somehow managed to land on their feet (most of the time). I’ll take some photos and video next week when the students compete so I can post them or show you all when I get home. I saw some amazing jumpers today.

Teaching continues to keep me partly busy and pretty entertained. Earlier this week, I was talking with my students about something we did last year in math, and I made some joke about their math teacher last year and teasing them about how lucky they were to have me again this year. A couple of them were so sweet, “Madam, and you will teach us next year for our JC exam!” It broke my heart to tell them that I’d most likely be back in America. “Oh, madam! You can only teach us here for two years?” I said yes, but that I would miss them terribly, and as soon as their exam results were released, I would call Ntate Kolobe to ask how they had done. One boy, sometimes troublesome, but always quick to respond, looks at me and says completely sincerely, “Madam, you can just change your name and come back for two more years!” I almost died.

Today I taught physics in Form A1. Because it was the last class for them before their exam next week, we finished the lesson a little early. I gave them the scope of their exam, and asked if they had any questions. For the longest time, they have been (seemingly) terrified of me, very quiet and respectful in class, hesitant to raise their hands, ask questions, or respond to anything I ask as I teach. Something must have changed recently because all of a sudden they were interested in everything. “Madam, do you speak Sesotho?” “I know some words but I’m not very good at it.” I told them I spoke some Spanish and Italian and they wanted to know if I knew French. One way people ggreet each other here (usually men) is “Ola” … it absolutely blew their minds that “ola” comes from the Spanish “Hola.” The boys were all giggles as I showed them how to say hello or good morning in Spanish, French, Portugese and Italian.
Then came the questions about America. “Madam, how did you get to Lesotho?” … “What do you think – do you think I walked?” … “No, madam, I think you took an airplane!” … “Yes, you’re right, but I actually took three plans.” … “Ach, madam, it’s too many! How many days did you take?” I gave them the condensed version of how I got to Lesotho from Minnesota. Then they wanted to know what I did before I came. When I told them I was a student not so long ago, they asked how many babies I had (by far one of the funniest questions I get). I said, “No babies! I’m too young for babies!” which of course leads to the question about a husband: “Nope, no husband either.” “Ah, but madam, how old are you?!” I like this question too, and my response is always the same: “How old do you think I am?” Their guesses are funny; today’s were especially so. “18!” Nope. “30!” Not quite. “20!” Closer… Finally a student from last year chipped in and they came to 23. Then came a lot of mumbling in Sesotho and I imagine they were thinking of their closest relative who is nearly my age, trying to set us up. It has happened before.
There are a couple boys who are especially characters. Last week when I overheard them speaking in Sesotho (strictly forbidden, especially in the classroom where the language of instruction is English). I asked them, “Gentlemen, why are you using Sesotho? What would Ntate Kolobe think?” They looked up at me and, without missing a beat, one of them responded, “No, madam, it is Afrikaans!” I had to give him credit for that one.

I’m really enjoying having fewer classes this year. I feel like I’m much better able to get to know students and work with the students (and teachers) in other ways. I’ve been able to sit in on Form E math and English lessons so far, and hope to observe more classes as the year progresses. Math class was especially helpful because I got to see firsthand what students are struggling with, even in Form E. Later in the year, I’m really hoping to help lead some study sessions, or just act as a tutor for them. The exams they’ll write in October are pretty challenging, and it really is hard to completely cover a syllabus in one year.
I was helping some students with math problems last weekend. They’d brought in several probability problems and after we’d exhausted those, they pulled out some old exams. There were some questions that I had to think about for a little bit before I could jump in and help them; the key to the proof wasn’t immediately apparent. I followed my intuition and eventually we came to the solution. They were SO impressed. “Ah, madam, you need to be teaching Form D and E, not just A and B!” I cannot even express how good that made me feel. It also made me wonder if they think I don’t know mathematics as well as the other teachers who teach it at higher levels. In any case, I cherish that compliment.

Plans for April are firming up – it’s less than 2 months until departure for Cape Town and the Two Oceans (Half) Marathon! – we have a place to stay in CT as well as a pair of cars rented for the appropriate dates. I need to keep my training up, which shouldn’t be too much of an issue, as long as the rain is reasonable. It’s been raining off and on at night, but thankfully nothing quite as intense as 3 straight days of rain. Sunday was my first long run around home. From the junction with the tar road, I went a ways to a T in the road, then turned around and ran back to school. It was 70 minutes (probably about 8 miles) and I honestly felt great, even though it was the heat of the day (I gobbed on the sunscreen though, so thankfully my face is still on).
Other things to look forward to include: Athletics Day (aka Track and Field Day), next Friday. March 11th is Moshoeshoe’s (moh-SHWAY-shway) Day and rumor has it the teachers might be taking a trip up north to one of the parks. Nothing has been verified but that doesn’t mean it can’t be thrown together in the last minute. Even if we don’t take a trip, I’m sure something fun will come up; after all, it’s a long weekend!

Time now to type up a couple physics exams (so they can be copied tomorrow) and then sleep. Since I was on duty last week, I got used to waking up shortly after 6… a habit that has stuck around well into this week. Anyone who knows me even a little is likely well aware that I love my sleep, and if I don’t get enough, well, it’s not pretty. I’m worried that if I take a nap I won’t sleep at night, so I don’t nap. I just try to sleep earlier and earlier each night, but of course that doesn’t work. After athletics practice, we usually play some soccer. Then cooking, cleaning, classwork… early bed just doesn’t work. Ok, enough complaining. Hope this finds you all healthy and happy in life. I’m thrilled people still enjoy hearing about my remote little life in Lesotho, so thank you for reading.
Love from Africa,
-Katie

iBook#2

Hello from a new (slightly used) computer!
My old iBook finally pooped out. It was close to 6 years old, and after battling the battery every time I wanted to use it without a consistent power source, the display finally stopped... well, it stopped displaying. Thankfully, I have an amazing stepfather, who found a gently-used computer, basically the same as my other one. It doesn't have everything my other one had (yet), but thankfully I managed to back up most of my music and photos on a big external harddrive, so all I need is software. No big deal! The battery on this puppy lasts quite a while, so I can hopefully update this blog more frequently.
We're now in the 5th (I think) week of school. I'm teaching only 14 credits (last year I had 20). I'm teaching Physics to Forms A and B, just like last year, and this year I have half of the Form B Math, B1 only. I like having only one math class - it means we move at their pace without worrying about the other class getting too far ahead or behind. I believe the other teacher is actually ahead of us, but I'm not too concerned yet. It has been quite a blessing to have so few. I've been able to start on some projects in the extra time.
First, I've begun repainting the murals that were done several years ago by the first volunteer at Sekameng. I have 5 liters of paint and I'll have to get more soon, there are several big walls that need to be re-done. I just hope I can do them justice - the murals are stunning! Then there's the school gym that my counterpart and I are working on. The first step was finding a good room to host the gym. Our two options were: a room that is so full of broken desks and doors that it's impossible to enter, and a room that filthy dirty and partly full of the school's old typewriters (they apparently used to offer typewriting as a subject!) ... with help from some of the senior students, we managed to clean out the typewriters and load them (on two different occasions) into the back of the school's truck. My principal then took them to a dump in Maseru somewhere... I don't even want to think about how much of a hassle that must have been, but the important thing is the room is empty! The next steps: finding a way to lock the room, collect containers, buy cement and start playing around, constructing barbells and equipment! If you have any suggestions for creating your own gym equipment, please let me know! Finally, we started a math problem-solving competition last week. Several teachers and I will meet with any interested students each week to give them several problems to try to solve. Last week it was 3; that seemed to be a good number. Each problem is worth one point, and then the student at the end of the quarter with the most points will win some sort of prize (to be determined - again, any suggestions?). It was pretty funny last week watching their faces as they struggled to solve the problems. Most got none correct, and only a handful scored one point - some by luck! I think I'll go for easier problems this week, haha.
The school is still selling eggs. I've still not implemented the br-egg-fast program, but as more and more students are asking to go to the village shop to buy breakfast, I'm becoming more and more convinced that we should. Unfortunately right now the (raw) eggs are in high enough demand that I feel bad buying them and boiling them. I think I'll wait a little while, until there are actually trays to spare.
The external exam results from 2010 for Sekameng were pretty good. We had a few students earn first class (a big deal for the school!) and overall, they scored very well. It helps the teachers because it means we can tell the students to work harder if they want to score well on their exams. In fact I threatened my students to get serious just this morning. The results also brought news for our librarian; he scored well enough on math (the only subject he was rewriting) to apply to (and most likely attend) Accounting School next semester... so we lose Rethabile in June. This year, he has been wonderful. The other day, he asked me to help him teach the new students about the library. He brought small groups of the Form A students in and asked them (very teacher-like) questions about how to use the library, or why someone might come to the library. He explained to them (in good English) how it works and encouraged them to come explore. I was thrilled! We are really going to miss him, but he needs to start the next chapter in his life. He'll do well wherever he is; he works harder than most of the other teachers and is a fantastic role model for the other students. Last weekend I realized the school he'll be attending in Maseru is right across the street from the office, so hopefully if I do need to go to town, we can at least meet up!

The weather continues to be hot, though thankfully not quite as hot (or humid!) as Mozambique was. We've been getting rain fairly regularly, which helps cool things down, but makes running quite a feat. If there is too much rain, the school becomes a swamp and the village a giant mudhole. I'm told it'll start cooling down in mid to late March. I started my countdown. My garden is doing alright except for the fact that it's sort of under a peach tree. This peach tree has produced only a few (nasty looking) hard rocks of peaches... but that seems to be exactly what the students like. So they're jumping around in my garden, crushing my peas, beans, basil, cucumbers, trying to get these disgusting excuses for peaches. I've tried to warn them to stay out (and I'm sure they make fun of me for it behind my back), but they always manage to stomp on something. I have managed to make several batches of pesto. The first was too big for me to eat before it started smelling not so like pesto, so I baked it into bread. The second was a birthday gift for my friend whose basil was apparently eaten by neighboring cows. Ha.

This past weekend, I went up north with several friends to do a massive training run for the half-marathon in April. Two of them are registered for the ultra (something like 34 miles), but the other two of us (Adam and I) are only doing the half. Thank goodness. The ultra runners started at one volunteer's house and ran to meet the other two of us partway between, and then go back to Adam's. They left around 8am. We left around 9am. We ran to the pre-determined meeting point and ended up waiting several hours. I think we finally met up with them close to noon, and were home by 1:30. The route from Adam's was mostly an enormous downhill... so returning was uphill. Needless to say I didn't run much of it... walking suited me just fine. My best guess is that I ran between 9-12 miles, and the crazy two think they put in closer to 20-24 but nobody knows for sure... we haven't quite made it to map-my-run yet. We were all pretty tired (and dehydrated) afterwards. I managed to get sunburned (African sun and all...). Yesterday my forehead was peeling and it freaked my students out pretty bad. "Madam, your face is coming off!" I had to explain that no, it was not "coming off," I just got sunburned and this was natural. I'm not sure they were convinced. Now it's my upper back... thankfully that's easier to cover up with a t-shirt. My legs were pretty sore for a while (I haven't done a long run like that in ages!) but yesterday and this morning I ran and felt pretty good. I think I'm in decent shape for this point in my training, which is reassuring.

I've gotten some emails or facebook messages asking about Cairo... unfortunately Egypt is no longer in the travel plans, even though it might be safe by the time June rolls around. Thankfully, we never actually bought those tickets (though I was concerned about how much the price was going to go up after Christmas - it ended up being for the best). We decided instead to just travel around South Africa (hopefully Cape Town/wine region, Kruger/safari!) and Lesotho (my site and Malealea for the waterfall and hiking). Let's hope nothing too drastic happens in South Africa and we're still allowed to travel there!
I think that's a fairly accurate update of my life right now... I'm just waiting for a software update and my battery to charge... I hope all is well at home. Sending all my love from Africa,
-Katie