A Year Unfocussed

I have now been in Lesotho for one year and three months with one year remaining left of my service. In this post, I am going to depict what has technically changed.

I have seen two groups of Peace Corps Volunteers go. The CHED 11 and ED 12 have left us. The ED 12 volunteers are the ones who trained us, and basically mentored us through our first year, always giving their interesting perspectives on life in Lesotho. Both groups gave us little tidbits on how to deal with winter, how to hitch from town to town, and most importantly how to open a quart of beer with another quart. It is kind of weird with them gone.

I used to have a cat. Then it got eaten. Its name was Ghost. Now it is a ghost. Now I have a dog. It was the one who ate the cat. I call it Chompy.

I have seen two groups of Peace Corps Volunteers come. The HY 13 and ED 14 have come as fresh faces with all the awe and excitement that we all come into Lesotho in our first year. Everything is new and entertaining. The very first day I was at the ED 14 training, a fellow trainee was elated to see a child riding a donkey and documented the event by camera. It was infectiously energizing to hear all the questions and ideas of their future service. I am really looking forward to getting to know many of them in the following year. I am also excited to finally be among the expert (old) volunteers.

When I give handshakes, I can’t help but do it the Mosotho way. I even hold hands with BoNtate now just because it seems so normal. 

I have completed a full year of teaching. I work at school from 8am-4pm every weekday and therefore accumulated 1520 hours of school time. Each week, I teach 23, 40-minute periods of math or science. Therefore in the 1520 hours I was at school, I have taught 583 hours. My hourly pay for being at school is 17.4 Rand per hour or $1.74 per hour. I have been on school field trips, visited many other schools, given out marked over 1,080 official exams for my four classes. Teaching is an extremely tiring, and rewarding job. I was a new teacher this past year, but now I know how things work and I am more than ready to handle this upcoming school year. The Legend of Sir Shawn lives on.

I have been sick, pretty intensely. I had intestinal bacteria, and essentially died for two weeks. It was partially because I was too stubborn to ask for help, or take medicine. I think if I am ever sick again, I won’t hesitate to call our Peace Corps Medical Office for assistance.

I have become quite excellent at Sesotho. In the beginning I would struggle, and often say absurdly incorrect things like, “I speak Sesotho like a Vagina” instead of “like a baby.” The words are quite similar. But now I feel confident enough to hold conversations with a variety of people on varying levels. Now when I am in taxis and Basotho think of me as the “lehooa” (white person) who doesn’t know Sesotho, I confront them with a witty Sesotho idiom such as, “you eat the wire” which means “you are crazy.” Then ignorant faces become astonished ones, then enthusiastically elated. I now get defensive when someone will ask me, or question if I know Sesotho.

I respond equally and to either Sir Shawn or Tebatso.

I have been through an unimaginable amount of media. I have completed Avatar: The Last Airbender, Avatar: The Legend of Korra, Community, Arrested Development, Death Note, Parks and Recreation, The Office, Once Upon a Time (I regret), Futurama, Heroes, Modern Family, The Mindy Project, Newsroom, The Walking Dead, and True Blood. I cannot mention all the movies I have watched, but there have been plenty. Life with a solar setup is quite grand; I would recommend volunteers to invest in one in their country of service. I am only realizing now that I apparently watch way too many animated shows.

I have travelled to many different locations. My first vacation was in Port Elizabeth with a few Peace Corps friends. I had a competition for the Innovation Challenge in Pretoria. My father and I traveled to Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Kruger National Park. I have been to eight out of the ten districts in Lesotho, which include Mokhotlong, Butha Buthe, Leribe, Berea, Maseru, Mafeteng, Mohale’s Hoek, and Thaba Tseka. I have yet to visit Quthing and Qacha’s Nek. I have even hit up some important spots such as Sani Pass (highest pub in Africa), and Tsehlenyane (triple pool waterfall).

I rarely cooked in the States, and now I am a pretty creative chef. I have made casseroles, wontons and dumplings, samosas, plenty of pasta sauces, breads, cookies, etc. Perhaps I will utilize these skills when I return. This year, I plan on perfecting my newly attained abilities.

I have eaten at every restaurant in Maseru except one. Lancer’s Inn here I come. Reviews are also to come.

Yes, this year has been a very good one.