Lumela from Ha Sefako, Lesotho!

Tonight will be my second night staying in my new village! Each time I walk out the door, I am amazed at how beautiful it is here. Huge mountains surround my village. When I walk out my door, a Lesotho mountain range is on my left and to the right is South Africa! There is a river* about 10 minutes from myhouse that separates the two countries. I will be working with teachers in 4 schools and will have to walk along the river for about 1-2 hours to get to three of the schools. My house is amazing! I was worried that I wouldn't like it or feelcomfortable in it, but really enjoy it! I spent the entire day cleaning, unpacking, and rearranging the furniture. My friend Phil also lives in this village and he helped me to rearrange my furniture and kill spiders. I lost count, but I am pretty sure there were over 100 spiders in my house. I think I got most of them, but we'll see tomorrow. Last night I jumped up several times because I heard things moving around my hut. I am pretty sure I have a rat living in or around my house. I heard something really big last night and found alittle bit of rat poop in the bottom of my dresser. I also might have bed bugs. I was definitely bit, but I'm not sure when. They take afew days to show up, so I am going to attack my hut with 2 cans of bug spray before I leave tomorrow morning! My family is also incredible. Now that I am living here, I am a part of the family. So I have new parents and siblings. I think it might take me a while to feel comfortable calling other people my family. I am not completely sure what the situation is next door, but I know that I have 2 sisters, 2 brothers, and 3 other children. The ones that I am directly related to are my age, and the children are my nieces and nephews, I guess? My mother and one of my brothers just passed away, but I am not sure how recently. My water pump is about a 5-minute walk from my house. I have a 5 gallon (I think) bucket that I fill up and use sparingly. I went to fill it up today so I wouldn't have to walk to the pump at 5AM tomorrow and was encouraged to take the wheelbarrow so it wouldn't be as hard. Pushing that big piece of metal up a hill took everything out of me! I was exhausted by the time I got to the pump. The wheel on it points in every direction, so I zigzagged all the way up the hill. Once I got water, I figured it would be an easy walk down. I made it 5 feet before I hit a rock and flipped my bucket on the ground. There must have been 10 people standing around watching the show. I was so embarrassed that I started sweating. So I walked my bucket back to the pump, filled it up and went to try again. By this time a few more people came outside to see what was going on. I managed to avoid the rock that I hit the first time, made it an extra 15 feet and lost it again. Without even looking up, I took my remaining gallon of water and went home. I sent my brother to get the wheelbarrow! Great way to introduce myself to the village! Tomorrow Phil and I will be going to the town in our district to meetup with 3 other volunteers. We will be going back to the Peace CorpsTraining Center on Tuesday and thought we should break it into two days. We are about 2 hours from the town and are the second to last village in northern Lesotho! I thought that was pretty cool. I will be working in the two farthest north villages! My schools are all right on the border. Well I am going to cross my fingers that the bed bugs aren't in the bed that I will be sleeping in tonight. I sleep with a flashlight incase anything creepy decides to jump on my face. Hope everyone has a great new year! Wish I was there to celebrate with you!! Oh, I do not have cell phone service in my village. I am planning to buy a South African cell phone, which will be much less expensive to call! I will keep you up to date! I will be in Maseru, where I do have service, until January 10 and hope to get some calls or texts!

*The Orange River (Afrikaans/Dutch: Oranjerivier), Gariep River, Groote River or Senqu River is the longest river in South Africa. It rises in the Drakensberg mountains in Lesotho, flowing westwards through South Africa to the Atlantic Ocean. The river forms part of the international borders between South Africa and Namibia and between South Africa and Lesotho, as well as several provincial borders within South Africa. Although the river does not pass through any major cities, it plays an important role in the South African economy by providing water for irrigation, as well as hydroelectric power.

More Pictures!!

Merry Almost Christmas!

**There are three new posts before this one!  Scroll down to read them!

We just got back to the training center and are getting food ready for tomorrow, we are cooking diner for ourselves, and are getting ready for our Christmas party tonight!

Just wanted to say hi and that I miss everyone!  I'll try to type more tomorrow!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

P.S.  I'm sitting outside in shorts and a t-shirt writing this...that's crazy!  Christmas is supposed to be freezing!  I'll have my phone with me all night and day!  

011 266 59166881  reference maria's post below because I keep messing the number up!  Look forward to hearing from you!!!!  I also get texts and can usually respond!

Hiiii

What a day!  I just got back from Tsehlanyane, a really nice lodge that is on the Botha Bothe/Liebre border (I am still not sure if I am spelling some of these Sesotho words right!).   Side Note:  a huge spider just fell on my laptop.  I am very much over living with spiders.  I have a feeling they will only get worse when I move into my thatched roof hut, but still.  It was really big and moved faster than I did.  Where did it even come from???  And where is it now?  I can’t find it anywhere.  When it hit my keyboard, it sounded like someone dropped a marble on it.

Anyway.  It was so nice to see everyone from my group.  We are split into three villages, so we don’t get to be together as a group very often.  While we were at the lodge/park, we had the chance to hike to a natural swimming pool.  There is a really cool river that runs through the country and at one point a natural damn created a small swimming pool.  It even had a natural rock slide!  Men here do not wear shorts, so it was so nice to wear shorts.  We also had a cookout.  I don’t really cook meat on my own, so it was nice to have some meat.  I think once I have my own place I will start cooking meat more.  For now, it is just too hard to keep it from spoiling.  I am also so lazy!  There have been a few nights where I have skipped dinner or eaten a piece of fruit because I had a big lunch.

Well I am going work on book number 3 since getting here!  I borrowed The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch.  It’s a great book!  Hopefully I will be reading without my new spider friend.  I have this product called DOOM.  It says to spray and then leave the room for 30 minutes.  On more than one occasion, I have blasted the life out of a spider from my bed.  The lavender scent just doesn’t seem as toxic?  Merry almost Christmas!!  I have really cool pictures from our trip and am hoping to get many more pictures up in the next week or 2!!!!

Phone Number

Hi everyone! This is Maria, Mike's sister...he asked me to re-post his number because the other one is wrong!

011-266-591-66881

Don't forget he's 7 hours ahead of us!
I talked to him today and he says hi to everyone, he really misses you guys and wants you to call him!!

Hello!

Lumela!  I just got back from my friend Meg’s house.  Seven of us are living in Mokema and have been taking turns cooking dinner for the group.  Tonight, Meg, Nicole, and Janice made hamburgers.  I brought a pineapple!  Eating together is a nice way for us to spend our nights.  We are usually free from 4 until we go to bed.  It gets dark around 7, so the fact that I am up at 8 is a little bit late! 

When I got back to my house, I spent a little time with my family.  I got to hold baby Mike, who is about 24 days old!  The family I am staying with decided to name him after me because we arrived at the house on the same day.  Apparently it is a huge honor to have a child named after you because names are chosen based on characteristics the parents would like to see in the child.  Who knew I had such great characteristics!!  Right now, my room is a mess and I have dishes that I really should do.  One of the 5 gallon basins that I wash my dishes in broke, so I have to figure something out.  I have a desk/table that I have all of my stuff on.  It looks like someone just dumped a box of stuff on a table and put a lantern in the middle. 

We went food shopping today and I bought a ton of fresh fruits.  I am kind of boycotting the vegetables because one day last week my peppers were fine, the next they had maggots and were just a ball of funky mush.  My onions smelled like BO and my tomatoes had layer of fuzzy mold around them.  I guess my large pot that doubles as a refrigerator when I place it on the floor in the shade doesn’t work so well!  I went through 4 years of college without eating Ramen Noodles.  It took me 1 week in my village to cave and buy 6 packs with my friend John to make a few times a week.  I am going to have to figure something else out very soon! 

So my site in Ha Sefako…I found out last week that I will be living in Botha-Bothe, one of Lesotho’s 10 districts.  It is a northern district and I am as far north as you can get.  I am very close to the South African border, which is awesome because they have great grocery stores!  I love the fact that I will be able to buy almost anything I would need to make almost any dish.  Now, I am not so sure that I will be making a wide variety, but it’s great to know that I can! 

Quick note, I just took a bathroom break.  I don’t think that people will ever think that it is normal to see me walk around with a light strapped to my head and a roll of toilet paper in my hand.  I am hoping that I do, however, get used to the latrine.  I have a feeling that sitting in a little out house that leans to the left and has a solid 15-20 foot drop will always be uncomfortable.  Being able to wave to other people from the inside always helps to break the ice though! 

Anyway, I will be living in the north and I have a neighbor!  Phil, whose blog is listed on the left, will be staying in my village.  I call it “my” village because I hope to be the king J  I am really excited to have a neighbor.  I am starting to get the idea that my village is pretty remote.  I asked someone how far we were from the camp town, which is the capitol of the district and usually has a place to buy food and stuff like that.  They told me that it was about 2-3 hours away from me.  Many people hitch hike here, which is very safe and free!  When I asked about that, my friend laughed and said that not many people travel to that village and that it is the end of the road.  Things could be very different when I get there, so I am trying not to make any assumptions.  Whatever it is, I’ll make the best of it!

By the time I post this, it will be Christmas Eve!  I can’t believe the year is almost over!  It is soooooo hot here that even listening to Christmas music doesn’t help it to feel like Christmas.  Tomorrow we are hiking a mountain, having a barbecue, and swimming in a lake!  I’ll tell you all about it later!

Miss everyone!  Love the comments! 

Merry Christmas!

Hello everyone!!! I only have a few minutes, and didn't have time to write a post on my laptop. Hopefully, I will be able to write a few and post them on Christmas Eve. I just want to say that I LOVE reading everyone's comments!!! Maria tried calling me today and couldn't get through. I am not sure what the problem is. Texts worked though! So if you want, we can try texting? We are in town today to shop for food and get any supplies we need. I need to buy a new dish washing bowl because I snapped mine in half.

So on Christmas Eve, all 19 of us will be back in the training center. We are in charge of cooking for ourselves on Christmas! We have a great spread planned. I'll type a more detailed list this week in my hut.

Hope everything is going well! I miss everyone! I'll make sure I have a few fun posts by Wednesday! Merry Christmas!!!

I would like to introduce you to my friend Mr. Pee Bucket

What a week! Although some of this blog post is embarrassing, I am keeping our motto T.I.A. (This Is Africa) in mind. We refer to it when anything goes wrong or when really embarrassing things happen!
This was the first week that I was responsible for cooking for myself and many of my vegetables went bad because I didn’t use them! I can’t blame it solely on poor planning, though. On Tuesday morning, I didn’t feel great when I woke up, but figured I would feel better when I got to school. I only had a little bit of oatmeal for breakfast and had planned on having a big lunch. By 10:00, I had a very upset stomach and decided to go home to sleep. Four days later, I am finally feeling better and am not going to the bathroom almost every hour. When we first got to Lesotho, the Peace Corps told us about all of the things we would need to survive during our two years here. I couldn’t understand why they insisted on us having a “pee bucket.” Now, however, I completely understand and can’t live without it! I think I’ve said before that we really aren’t supposed to go outside at night, even to use the latrine. I didn’t think it was a big deal and wasn’t worried about it. On Tuesday night, I found myself laying in bed at 2AM thinking, do I use my bucket, knowing that everyone in my house will know exactly what is going on, or do I sprint out to the latrine and get in trouble for leaving. I am so happy that I made the decision to use the bucket on that first night, because it was the first of many times in only 3 nights! I couldn’t keep my mouth shut about it the next day, so when I retold the story, I was welcomed into the Peace Corps by several of the current volunteers!

With all of that said everyone else in my group has been really helpful. I helped out as much as I could during the workshop that we had planned, but my friends really covered for me. During most of the first day, I only spent about 20 minutes at a time in our workshop. Most of the teachers there noticed me racing to the latrine and realized that I wasn’t feeling well. Every time I saw them they rubbed their stomach and said something in Sesotho!

My computer is almost dead and a really loud thunder storm just came rolling in, soooo… Tomorrow we are hiking Thaba-Bosiu. I am not really sure what we are doing, but I heard it was a great time! After that, I will find out my site for the next two years! We will get to see video of our hut and will find out more about it. I can’t wait to see which volunteers, if any, are close to me! By the time I post this, I should be able to write about that!

UPDATE! Obviously I figured out my USB drive! I am still working on pictures though! my phone number is.... 001 266 59166881. I am not so positive about the first 2 area codes. the 001 is to get out of the US and 266 is to get into Lesotho...dad, if this is wrong, can you post the real number? CALL ME!! We are 7 hours ahead of Pittsburgh.
Next, I found out my site! I will be living in a village called Ha Sefako. It is in Botha Bothe. I am very excited! I have a very small house, but that is Ok. Some people have really amazing places with hot water and electricity, butttttt whatever. There are 5 people in my district and it is about a 2 hour bus ride from Maseru.

Hope everyone is doing well!!!! Miss you all so much! I can't believe it is snowing where you are and I am sweating my face off here! I should be back on here next Saturday and will be back together as a group at our training place on Christmas Eve. OH! I posted i think 2 more posts below this, so check them out! Hopefully pictures and a wish list of things that would be great to have here will be posted next week!!!!

Hello from Mokema!

Good Morning! It is 8:10 here and I just got up! Sleeping until 8 is such a nice change from 5:45. Yesterday, we went food shopping and are going to start cooking for ourselves. I already got lazy and didn’t cook dinner last night! I was exhausted from the week and decided to call it a night around 8:00. This morning, I made oatmeal with cinnamon, raisons, and brown sugar. It turned out really good! In about an hour, I am meeting a few friends to hike Mt. Thaba. I am going to try for a second time to put pictures and my blogs on my flash drive and just put them in my blog. I had some technical difficulties yesterday. Sitting on the top of the mountain is really cool. I can see for miles and I think I can see the villages where the other volunteers are staying. After our hike, we are meeting at the school to plan for the workshops that we are having for the local teachers. 60 teachers signed up, so we think about 30 will really show up. As of now, our workshop is going to have about 5 stations and will teach teachers how to make their lessons more creative and learner-centered. Many of the teachers simply write things on the board and expect the students to memorize the information. Some subjects, like science, are not taught because the teachers do not really understand the content. We are planning on getting the teachers in small groups and modeling creative teaching while teaching them the content. They have access to amazing science kits, but do not know how to use them. I think my station will focus on using the science kits. My other station is going to be an independent station and will require the teachers to create a book. On one day they will create the story and the other, they will create the pictures. I made a book for a lesson I taught last week and used a book to help the students to understand the seasons. I am hoping that this station will encourage the students to make visual aids and also to have their students create books.
**Any PDS friends reading this, I am so happy that I did PDS before I came here! There are 7 of us working as resource teachers, and most of us have just graduated from college. All of the workshops that we had and the work that we did last year has given me so many ideas as I work with the teachers here!!

To quickly jump back to yesterday, we went food shopping in town and I got so much food! I am guessing that I spent a little under $100 and was able to buy a $10 phone card, lunch, plates, knives, utensils, a 5 pack of cooking spoons, and food that will last a few weeks. Some of the more exciting food times were a pineapple, apples, something similar to ramen noodles, beef and chicken base, soup mix, whole-wheat pasta and rice, and many other fresh vegetables and fruits! I am so excited to cook for myself!! I have a 2 burner gas stove and 5 pots that vary in size. My largest pot will double as a Dutch oven. My ‘M’e (mother) has taught me how to make bread in the Dutch oven, but I am going to try to roast vegetables and eventually make an apple pie! Volunteers are encouraged to stay inside at night, so we have lots of time, especially during the winter when it gets dark around 5, to cook.
Well I hope everyone is doing well! By the time I post this, I should know where my permanent site will be!! I am really excited to find out!

No one told me there were scorpions in Lesotho!

I just got back from a 2 hour hike with my host brother. The family that I am living with lives in Mafoka, a small village in Maseru. Their home is at the bottom of a small mountain range. I got here yesterday and am really enjoying myself. When I got to my host families home, my ‘M’e, or mother, renamed me Rethabile Mothibe. From now on, I am expected to use my Sesotho name when introducing myself.

Their home is made of cinderblock and has a tin roof, which is one of two types of homes I have seen. I have my own room with a bed, table, and cabinets. I think they use this room as their kitchen when they are not hosting volunteers. Last night my ‘M’e made beans and bread for dinner. The bread was really good! She told me that I would learn how to make the bread on Monday! Right after dinner she showed me something in my room, told me goodnight, and closed the door. It was only 8:00 so I cleaned up my room by candlelight and went to bed. Around 12:00 the strongest, loudest storm ever came through our town. I was convinced our roof was going to fly off. The lightning lit up the whole room and the thunder was incredibly loud. When my ‘M’e woke me up this morning, I asked her if the thunder kept her up, she said no! It takes a serious sleeper to sleep through a storm like that.

This morning, I took a bucket bath at 6:00, which is still pretty strange. I managed to get soap in my eyes and water all over the place. I just got back from a hike with my “brother.” I thought we were just going to check out the village, but we ended up hiking to the top of a cliff-like mountain and sitting on the top of a huge bolder for a while. The view was amazing! He laughed for a few minutes when he noticed that I was gripping the rock as hard as possible.
Later today, I will be mapping the community with the other 7 volunteers staying in this village. It’s really nice to have a day to relax.

Pictures from Qacha's Nek

These pictures are from when I visited another volunteer. Her site was really cool, I think I described it in another post. I am going to try and put up more pictures soon!!! The second one down is the bath tub that we use here. I just got my own the other day!!

Qacha's Nek

I just got back from my 8 hour bus ride from Qacha’s Nek!  We got to stay with current volunteers to see how they live and what their site is like.  Meg and I stayed with Kylie, a primary resource teacher.  We left at 5:30 on Monday morning to take public transportation to her village.  I knew that the transportation was not the most comfortable, but actually experiencing it is completely different. 

We got on our Sprinter, which is a van that seats about 15 people.  The Sprinter makes fewer stops because it holds less people, so it gets to its destination much more quickly.  Other means of transportation hold more people and make more stops, so we really lucked out getting the van.  When we got to it, some people were already on the van waiting to leave.  The vans do not leave until they are full, so sometimes people have to wait for an hour or two for them to fill up.  Ours filled up very quickly and then we left!  Brett and I sat in the front row of seats, which is probably the worst spot.  I had to stand up and let people through every time we stopped!  After about 20 minutes, the van was full and people were standing.  A few stops later, the van was very full.  I already had a child on my knee, a woman’s purse on my lap, and my head was being supported by an older woman’s chest.  Just when I didn’t think I could get more uncomfortable, we stopped and let several more people on!  The driver drove sooo fast through the windy roads of the mountains, which made the ride even more uncomfortable.  After about 5 hours, we stopped for a stretch in a small camp town.  During our 15 minute break in the drive, an older woman asked me to switch her seats.  She could tell by the look on my face that I wanted nothing to do with it, so she let me know that it was the passenger seat.  I agreed and jumped in the front seat with my new van driver friend!  Right after we pulled out of the camp town, an old man asked me to hand him the dark bag that was next to me.  He didn’t speak any English, so it took me a while to figure out that he wanted the cooked pig foot that was sitting next to me!!!  He also thought it would be fun to eat it with his hands right behind me!  When he was finished, he started talking to me in Sesotho.  I didn’t know what he was saying, but I did understand when everyone in the front of the bus started laughing!  Apparently, he wanted to take me to get circumcised!  Awkward!

 

Once we got to Kylie’s community, we ate lunch and checked out the camp town, which is the capital of the district.  Later we made our way to her village and hiked up a small cliff/mountain to her rondoval.  It was really cool to stay in her place.  I took tons of pictures and am going to try to put them up soon!  Yesterday we visited her school, so she asked us if we wanted to bathe in her bucket.  I figured I would have to do it eventually, so said OK!  Kylie doesn’t have electricity, so I found myself standing in the dark with an empty bucket and a bucket with a gallon of warm water.  A few minutes later I had soap in my eyes and mouth and jumped when her cat jumped through the window.  I can only imagine how much I talked to myself through that process.

Later that day, we visited one of the three schools that Kylie works in.  Her job is to work with the teachers to improve their lessons and act as a resource as much as possible.  The kids were great and were so excited to see us.  I can’t wait to post pictures of her site and what the landscape looks like.  Kylie’s house is surrounded by huge mountains that are so close to the clouds.  The view is really incredible.  I took a few steps outside once it got dark and couldn’t stop staring at the stars.  I have never seen so many stars!  I also saw a shooting star!!

Well I think I’ve blogged long enough.  Once I get some pictures up, my blog will be more interesting!  I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!  We will be spending it at the Ambassador’s house.  

Pictures?

I'm not sure if this will work, but I'm trying!

Bug bites and dance parties

Hello from a local internet cafe! A few of us decided to walk around the town and check out the shops, but they are all closed because it's Saturday!! I found an internet cafe, which sounds way nicer than it is, and thought I'd say hi!

The past few days have been sooo busy, but I have really learned a lot. I am starting to really get into Sesotho, but am still throwing in some of the few Spanish and Swahili words that I know. Yesterday, some of the current volunteers presented a workshop about classroom management. It was really interesting and helped us to understand what the classrooms would be like at our site. During the presentation, I noticed a small bug bite on my arm. It didn't hurt or anything, it was just itchy. After about 10 minutes, someone else noticed the bite and that it had a nice size rash around it. I was asked by several people to see Dr. J, the Peace Corps doctor. When I got there, he said it was just a bug bite and asked me to take some kind of over the counter medicine and to put some cream on it. Today, the bump is still there, so I might go back to see him tonight. I really don't think it's something to worry about, but we'll see!

Earlier this week, a few of us discovered the local beer store. The night started with us just having a few beers and sharing stories of home...a few minutes later I got a hold of someones Ipod, turned off the lights, grabbed a few headlamps, and it turned into a dance party! It was a great way to break the ice! I'm sooo excited for tonight because we're going out with a few of the volunteers that have been leading workshops all week. It should be interesting!

Sorry this entry is so scattered! I usually type them on my computer and just paste them in, but I only have a few minutes on this computer!!!

Yesterday, we had the chance to take a 4+1 (cab) to the taxi rink. The taxi rink is where people get taxi's (really they are small 10 passenger busses that cram about 15 people in). It is also a local market. It was really neat to walk around and see what people were selling and buying. There were a lot of small stands that sold anything from dead chickens to clothing. The reason we visited the rink was to learn how to navigate on our own. On Monday we will be visiting current volunteers to see how they live and what their Peace Corps experience has been like. They will travel to Maseru, where I am now, and will take us back to their site. My site is in Quache's Nec (I think I spelled that wrong...and the Q is pronounced with a click!).  It turns out that the cite I'm visiting is the furthest away from Maseru.  It will be about a 6 hour bus ride!  

Yesterday we met the US Ambassador in Lesotho.  He is a pretty cool guy and asked us to come over for Thanksgiving and swim in his heated pool!!  So Thanksgiving won't be so sad away from home!  It sounds like it will be a pretty good time!  

Well I have to go!  Hope everyone is doing well!

Lumela!

Lumela (Hello) from Lesotho!  I am exhausted after our second 12-hour day in the classroom.  I might have mentioned before that we have 8 weeks of really long days to learn as much as we can before we are placed at our permanent sites.  Today, we visited a preschool, primary school, and high school, which were about 40 minutes from where we are staying.  The students were very excited to see us and immediately sang us songs at all three of the schools.  The high school had several, one-story buildings with two classrooms in each.  I think I counted 6 classrooms, plus a main office.   The principal was very nice and seemed to have a genuine interest in her students, as did the other principals we met today.  The classrooms were very empty, with a few long desks and benches for the roughly 35 students in each class.  The primary school had far more students, because it is offered free of tuition.  There were about 55 students in one of the 4^th grade classes.  The rooms were a little more decorated, but were still very empty.  The preschool was the last school that we visited.  There school was made up of two very small rondavil’s (homes made of clay and thatched roofing).  When we got there, all 30, or so, of the young children were outside, so it was hard to imagine how they fit in the very small, round buildings. 

We visited these schools to help us understand what a typical classroom looks like in Lesotho.  We will also be living in these communities for two days and will practice teaching in the classrooms.  I think we are doing this next week, which is really exciting!  I will be working in the primary school and helping to teach levels 4 and 7, which are made up of children of all ages. 

Once we got back to where we are staying, we ate a huge lunch with fish, beef stir fry (kind of), potatoes, salad, and squash.  Right after lunch, one of the Peace Corps doctors came and explained all of the things in our medical kits.  Our kits include everything from Pepto-Bismol to suntan lotion.  She wanted us to explore our kits, which no one wanted to do, but made it fun by making it a game.  She gave an orange to the first person to find the item she called out.  I really didn’t win often, but I got an orange in the end.

After that, we had a tea break and then our 1.5 hour Sesotho lesson.  They split us into groups of three for the next few weeks and I really feel like I’m learning a lot.  My group’s teacher is N’tante Paul.  So far, I’ve learned how to ask where, when, what, and how questions.  I can also greet people and have a very simple conversation with them.  It looks something like this…

Lumela!  (Hello)

U mang? (What’s your name?)

Ke abuti… (I am…)

U phela joang?  (How are you?)

Ke phela hantle.  (I am well)

Just a little sample!

The last thing we did tonight was to attend a Gender and Diversity workshop that was presented by two current volunteers.  They had 4 charts made and asked us to discuss stereotypes and typical gender roles for men and women in the US and Lesotho.  It was really interesting to hear how women are treated in Lesotho.  Some Basotho were there to discuss gender roles for men and women in Lesotho.  It was really difficult to hear them discuss the expectations for men and women from their point of view.  It was interesting to see how similar the list was for men in the US and the men in Lesotho, and the women, too. 

Now, it’s almost 10PM and we’re all exhausted.  Hope everything is well at home!  I LOVE seeing all of the comments you post!   I hope this makes sense!  It's really windy, which I love, but is making the internet really slow.  If I can find a better connection, I will definitely put pictures up!  They just aren't loading!  I heard a hotel down the street has good internet, I might try to take a trip on Sunday!  

Hello from Lesotho!

I'm in Lesotho!  We got here early yesterday morning and the weather has been beautiful!  When we got to the airport a few of us were missing some luggage.  After talking with some people mine turned up without anything missing, but other people had a ton of stuff stolen from their bags.  They handled it really well.  

Right now, I'm at the Peace Corps Headquarters.  It's so nice!  We have a guard on duty 24/7...just in case, a staff of people that are working on showing us around and teaching us the language.  The next 8 weeks are full of 12 hour days where we'll have language classes and all kinds of other classes to help us learn about the country.  The food they are cooking for us is great, we're eating a lot of chicken and fresh vegetables.  They are mixing in some Basotho (People of Lesotho) food, which isn't bad.  The food, people, and landscape really reminds me of Tanzania.  I keep catching myself greeting people in Swahili instead of Sesotho.  

I am pretty sure today is our first and only "free day."  Sunday's are typically our day off, but I think after this week we will have cleaning, studying, and other small projects to work on.  A lot of us are taking time to write letters and just relax today, which is sooo nice!  Earlier today, we walked around the city and checked out some of the local shops.  I was really surprised to walk into the local grocery story and see 15 isles of stuff.  It was comparable to any nice grocery store in the states!  It made me feel so much better to know that I could get anything I could possibly need in the city.  I met a volunteer that has been here for a year.  She lives about 3 hours away and comes to the city at least once a month.  

I will be staying here for about 8 weeks before I am place in my permanent village.  Until then, I should be able to get online 2 or 3 times a week!  I am working on getting a cell phone!  I'll post the number soon!

Byeee!!

And I'm back in Johannesburg...

All 19 of us met in the lobby of our hotel at 4:00 this morning.  My roommate decided to go for a run or something around 2 and I rolled over before he had a chance to have a conversation!  Things went really smoothly at the airport and we were all so excited to get to Lesotho.  When we walked onto the actual runway to get on our plane, I was shocked to see that it only held about 3o people.  It was so small and we weren't sure if it would hold all of our luggage - especially mine!  Our flight was only supposed to take an hour.  Right around the one hour mark, the pilot came on and told us that the weather was bad, we couldn't land, and that we were going back to Johannesburg.  We all looked out our window and agreed that although there were tons of huge, white, fluffy clouds, there was no bad weather!  After waiting about 5 hours in the airport for the next flight, they cancelled it!  Anyway, I'm back in the Southern Sun hotel and am going to take full advantage of the shower, buffet, and bed.  I thought about going to the gym and even put gym clothes on, but I fell asleep for a few hours!

We're trying our flight again tomorrow at 7AM and if the clouds are still too big, the Peace Corps is going to bus us into Lesotho.  I have my fingers crossed that we don't have to take a 5 hour bus ride!

Hope everyone is doing well!  Miss you!!!  Hopefully the next time I talk to you I'll be in Lesotho!

Hello from Johannesburg!

Hello from South Africa!  It doesn't even feel like I'm in Africa.  Everything is so beautiful and we're staying in an awesome hotel!!  Someone at the airport told me that the whole country is getting ready for the world cup in 2010!

Our flight was about 18 hours long.  We took a quick pit stop in Dakar, Senegal to fill up and let some people on and off.  I slept the whole first 6 hours!  When I checked in, I asked if I could switch from the middle seat to the isle seat.  Ended up being a great move because I had the whole row of 4 seats to myself.  Right after we ate, I flipped up the arm rests and passed out for 6 hours.  After we left Dakar, I watched "Beat the Drum."  Great movie...it's about a boy in South Africa and how he learns about AIDS.  Then I slept for another 5 hours.  I'm pretty well rested!! 

I just got finished eating dinner in our amazing hotel!  I really didn't expect to stay in a hotel this nice in the middle of South Africa.  The rooms are really modern and feel like something I would find in a big city in the US.  I got in the shower and realized that the wall was a tinted glass and that my roommate, or anyone else in the room, could see my silhouette when I was in the bathroom! 

 

For dinner, we ate in the hotel restaurant.  We all ran through the buffet line several times.  I couldn't believe they were serving lamb, beef, mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables, and about a dozen salads and desserts. 

My next flight is at 6, so we're leaving the hotel at 4.  Next time I'm on, I will be in Lesotho!  Byeeee!

I'm in the airport!

Hey everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!  I'm in JFK airport and am bored out of my mind.  We've been hanging around here for almost 4 hours and our flight leaves at 5.  I will be in the air for 17 hours and then will stay over in Johannesburg, South Africa.  We need to be out of the hotel at 4AM to make our flight...blah.  I'll be in Lesotho at 7Am on Friday...it will be about 12:30 Am our time.  

The 19 people in my group seem pretty cool.  I think we're going to have a great time!  I think I'll have internet access in South Africa, so I'll be back on then!!

Miss everyone!!!!

I'm in Philadelphia!

My flight left Pittsburgh at 9:35 this morning and got me to Phili around 10:45.  The plane was soooo small, but it was a nice flight.  I'm sitting in the lobby of my hotel now trying to relax and get past the idea that I will probably have more luggage than anyone else.  I am still not sure how I managed to pack 100.5 lbs of stuff into those bags!  People thought I was out of my mind when I was in the airport trying to waddle around with all of my stuff.

At 2:00 today, I will get to meet all of the other volunteers and will go through an orientation.  Thennnnnnnnn, Alli and Amee are picking me up and we're going to dinner!  I'll try to get on here again before I leave, but I might not be able to for a few days.  My address and everything are in a previous post, pleeeeeease write me!  I'd love to hear from you!!

Talk to everyone soon!  

Surprise Party!!

On my way to dinner with my friends Kristin and Justin, we took a pit stop at La Bella Bean to turn off the alarm that accidently went off after closing.  I thought it was so cool that Kristin and I just happened to be a few streets away from the coffee shop when Ashley called to ask me to swing by and take care of the alarm.  As soon as I walked in, the lights went on and some of my friends from work, my family, and neighbors yelled "SURPRISE!"  As it turns out, everyone knew about it and planned a great party.  I couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate one of my last nights in Pittsburgh than a party at the Bean! 

I'm the worlds worst blogger...but you get the idea!!!

Happy Thanksgiving/Merry Christmas/Happy Easter Dinner

My family celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday so I wouldn't miss it as much for two years.  As it turns out, we celebrated Easter and Christmas, too!  My family decorated our house for each of the holidays!!  It was so great to have everyone over and the food was amazing.  My family got me some really great gifts to help me out when I'm in Lesotho.  I can't wait to pack my bags and try out some of the awesome stuff I got. 

I have a little over 1 week left!  I can't believe how quickly the days are going!!!

It's official!

I booked my flight yesterday!  I will be leaving Pittsburgh at 9:30 for Philadelphia on November 11.  I will be leaving one day later than I thought, which is perfect.  I know I am going to need that extra day to get myself ready.  I will be in Philadelphia for two days, then it will be time for my almost 18 hour flight.  I am going to have to turn the isles of the airplane into a track...I don't know how I am going to sit still for that long.

I'm still getting used to this whole blog thing...I'm not really into it, but it will be a nice way to keep in touch while I am gone. 

Going Away Party

Close to 50 of my friends from Penn State and home came to celebrate my last month home.  It was so nice to see some of my friends who live out of state and others that I haven't had the chance to see for a while.  My Penn State friends all came to my house Friday night to eat, catch up, and have a few drinks.  On Saturday, tons of people came over to eat dinner before a school bus picked us up and took us to Mt. Washington for a picture and then the South Side to Bar Room.  I had such a fun night and am so happy that so many of my friends were able to make it.  

My Address

Michael Dissen, PCT
c/o Peace Corps/Lesotho
PO Box 554
Maseru, 100 LESOTHO

While in pre-service training, I will receive all mail through the Peace Corps Lesotho post office box address. Once I have completed training in January of 2009, I might have my own mailbox. Even if I get my own mailbox, I can always get mail from the address above!!

Also, my e-mail address is Michaeldissen@gmail.com.  I'm not sure how often I will be able to check this, but I will try to reply to e-mail as often as possible!

My Assignment!

Country: Lesotho
Program: Education
Job Title: Teacher Training Resource Teacher 
Orientation Dates: November 10-12, 2008
Pre-Service Training: November 14, 2008- January 8, 2009
Dates of Service: January 10, 2009- January 9, 2011

Welcome to my blog!!

Thank you so much for visiting my blog!  I will be serving in the Peace Corps for 27 months and will be leaving for Lesotho, Southern Africa on November 10.  I am so excited to start this incredible journey.  

This is my first blog post...just a trial run!