Pen Pals

I though I'd post my most recent letter to my pen pals, Mr. Diersen's classes at IKM-Manning Middle School. They asked some really great questions and I thought my answers might be of interest to some of you too.


9-16-08
Hello Mr. Diersen and classes!

I was so happy to hear from you all! I am glad to hear you enjoy my blog and were able to see some of my pictures of Lesotho. This country is very diverse and hopefully my pictures and stories help convey that.

Here's the answer to some of your questions.

Landscape: I agree, Lesotho is VERY beautiful!It is unique among African countries in that it has mountains and has a climate much like that of the Midwest in that it has four seasons, snows in the winter and is hot in the summer. Mafeteng, the town I live in, is in the lowlands meaning it is flat. But as you can hopefully see in some of my pictures, the foothills are just outside town. The mountains are further inland and I will be visiting them again later this week. Hopefully I can send you some pictures from that trip with my next letter.

Housing: My house is very small but I like it. I am lucky to have gotten electricity as Peace Corps does not require that Volunteers have electricity. I would guess that less than 1/3 of the Volunteers in Lesotho have it at their houses. Since I live in a camptown (the largest town in the district where people who live out in villages come to do major shopping and conduct business; also where government offices for the district are located) it isn't surprising for me to have electricity as most houses in town do. Some surrounding villages do as well, and many people who live in villages without electricity have solar panels. Volunteers who do not have electricity at their houses usually charge electronics at their family's home (the family who serves as their landlord and/or who's compound they live on), at their work, at the local clinic or at a local shop. My latrine is located outside my house and I have included a picture of the outside of it with this letter.

Housekeeping: I do not have running water in my house so I get water from a tap (maybe 10 yards from my door) and store it in large buckets in my house. I take bucket baths in a large tub inside my house. I heat water in a kettle on my gas stove and add it to cooler water before bathing with a cloth. I also wash my hair in the bucket by pouring water over it with a pitcher. I wash dishes using a large basin of soap and water to wash and another of boiled water to rinse. I also hand wash all my clothing in the same tub I bathe in. I pour soap and water into the tub and clean the clothing by scrubbing the fabric together with my hands. I then rinse the soap out in another tub of water and hang them on a clothes line to dry. Once I am done bathing or doing dishes or laundry, I dump the dirty water into the grass in the back of my house.

Food and water: I can drink the water here but it must be boiled for at least three minutes first. Most Basotho drink the water without boiling but it is not really safe to do as the water is not cleaned, treated and filtered like in America. I bring my water bottle with my own water every where I go and if I run out I must buy bottled water in a store to drink. Most shops here also have Coke, Fanta (orange, grape and pineapple flavored pop) and juice which are also fine to drink. As for food, I am pretty lucky living in a large camptown with a Shoprite. Shoprite is almost like Hy-Vee or Fareway! That means I can get, for the most part, any kind of food I want. We also have small shops, called “shopongs” in Sesotho, that carry basic items. Volunteers who live in more remote villages or districts rely on shopongs for all their food and can get other items only when they go to the capitol, Maseru, or a larger camptown like Mafeteng. So I on occasion I can eat things like Doritos, Oreos and Snickers. I also have available a wide variety of vegetables and can get apples, oranges, bananas and pears. I can also get meat like hamburger, chicken and steak but don't often buy it as I don't have a refrigerator to keep it in. I have cooked things like Thai noodles, tuna casserole and even made tortillas for burritos.

Some examples of traditional Basotho food, which can be made with the basics found at shopongs, are:
*Moroho: greens, like cabbage, spinach or swiss chard, finely chopped and cooked
*Papa: corn meal mixed with water and cooked until stiff
*Mokenya: dough balls, deep fat fried in oil
I don't usually cook this for myself but eat it at special events or sometimes get it at shops in town. I will try to get some pictures for you.

Travel: Peace Corps Volunteers don't have cars, so we walk to take public transportation to get around. This is common in Lesotho, very few people own a private vehicle. When traveling in town I usually walk as I live a 5 minute walk from work and a 25 minute walk from the shops in town. If I am carrying too much to walk home or am traveling to a village just outside town I take a 4+1. A 4+1 is a car with a yellow stripe on the side. They are called 4+1's because they can accommodate four passengers plus a driver.

If I am traveling to another district or to a village more than a few miles outside of town, I take a kombi. A kombi is something like a cross between a small bus and a van and accommodates around 20 people. If I am traveling a great distance I take a bus.

Buses run on regular schedules. When taking a 4+1 or a kombi, you must wait for them to fill up before they leave, so you may sometimes have to wait a long time before you leave for your destination. Also, if someone gets off before the vehicle's final destination, the kombi or 4+1 will often drive very slowly or stop frequently to fill back up.

I also sometimes hitch to get where I am going. It is safe to do here and most of the private vehicles here are in better shape than the public ones.

Language: The official language of Lesotho is Sesotho. During my first two months in Lesotho I was in training with Peace Corps where we had daily Sesotho lessons. I wish I knew more Sesotho than I do and being able to speak the language well would always make work and life here easier. That being said, I know enough to get by. I know how to greet people, explain basic things about myself (where I live, where I work, where I'm from, etc.) and ask basic questions. All of my co-workers speak excellent English and since I live in a camptown, many people in town also speak some English. This is not the case, however, in the rural areas and Volunteers there usually find someone to translate for them. I hope to pick up more of the language the longer I live here.

Religion: Lesotho allows freedom of religion and according to statistics, most Basotho are Roman Catholic. In my personal experience, however, most Basotho I've talked to are protestant Christian. I have not been to church here yet but I am allowed to attend if I choose. There is also a mosque in Mafeteng and many people in my area are Muslim. I have not experienced any religious tension here, but Basotho are not shy to ask you, even when they don't know you, what church you go to and invite you to theirs.

Basotho titles: Here are some common Basotho titles and the best I can translate them for you.
*'M'e – literally means “mother.” 'M'e is a title of respect given not only to your own mother but to any woman who is married, in a professional setting or position of honor. It is kind of like Ms. or Mrs. My 'M'e is my landlord and also the woman who's compound I live on.
*Ntate – literally means “father.” Has the same usage as 'M'e but for men. Is kind of like Mr.
*Ausi – literally means “sister.” It is a title of respect given not only to your own sister(s) but to any girl or young woman who is not married. It is kind of like Miss.
*Abuti – literally means “brother.” Has the same usage as ausi but for boys or young men who are not married.

I've also included some pictures of a few of the things you asked about. I will do my best to get pictures of the other things you requested as the year goes on. I look forward to hearing from you all again soon!

Go Wolves!
Kelly