Peace Corps Lesotho version 4.0

I often find myself thinking about my Peace Corps experience and what it would have been like to be a PCV in the 1960's...or even five years ago, for that matter. I think about coming here when there were literally no paved roads, when Volunteers lived only in the lowland districts because the mountains were unaccessible by any means, when the trip from Mafeteng to Maseru took one day instead of one hour, when mail arriving at all was considered a miracle.

I also think about my Peace Corps experience compared to others in my group. Take my friend Rachel, for example. She lives in a small village way up in the mountains of Mokhotlong. To get to her site from Maseru she must catch a 6 a.m. bus which she rides for 7-10 hours, speeding through the lowlands before spending arduous hours crawling through mountain passes, until she arrives in Mokhotlong camptown. Since it takes several hours to reach her site from there, she usually spends the night in town on the floor of the remote Volunteer Resource Center (VRC). But at least there she can use a computer (and soon, internet, thanks to modems purchased by PC) and has time to stock up on supplies. Though the “supplies” available in Mokhotlong consist only of absolute basics and in-season; no Doritos or Snickers here. The next day she boards one of the two daily kombis that go to her area, rides for a of couple hours, then hikes another couple to her village.

Rachel hikes an hour or so from her site for a few bars of cell phone reception. Things like electricity are not even a possibility. Most people in her village don't speak a word of English. She has left her district just twice in five months, both for PC-mandated events (though she also took vacation during one of the trips down), because transport is so difficult and expensive.
I haven't visited Rachel, though I hope to during my service (but only during the summer – it's nearly impossible to get to her site when there's snow) as I want to get a taste of the life she lives. It's hard sometimes to believe that we live in the same country, much less one which only the size of Maryland! Thinking about my life, with its Shoprite, electricity, computer, 24/7 cell phone service, pizza at the hotel and proximity to a mall and movie theater, versus hers, I know what Peace Corps says really is true: each and every Volunteer will have a completely different experience, an experience all his or her own.

On Monday, I embarked on the fourth incarnation of my Peace Corps experience (or the communications aspect of it, anyway).

Version 1.0 – Letters, fèla (only; to end or to finish). Occasional use of a public phone. This lasted about a day.

Version 2.0 – Cell phones and email! The world of cross-continental text messaging, something I'd never considered, blew me away. We quickly discovered Maseru's internet cafés and learned that, when we finally left the lowly ranks of “Trainees,” we could use the internet at the Maseru VRC for free. While we were here for about a week before we were able to take advantage of this, it was evident almost immediately that this was not our parent's Peace Corps.

Version 3.0 – I leave for site, a newly minted PCV, no more T! Electricity! Internet I could use for free at work (though only occasionally)! More text messaging! And then, one day, the impossible happens. Vodacom Lesotho gets their stuff together and introduces affordable, reliable mobile internet service, right on my cell phone. Just like that I could check email, news and weather. Merry Christmas to me!

Version 4.0 – Upon my return from Turkey I discovered the Vodacom store in Mafeteng was selling modems that utilize a sim card (just like my cell phone) to provide fully-functional, pre-paid internet service for computers. At All-Vol Conference, Deepak (the PC Lesotho IT miracle man) and Shafiq (the chair of the Technology Committee) explained the details of the modem's usage and touted its reliability. It turns out there are two modems, one that provides service slightly faster than dial-up and another, which costs twice as much, that provides high-speed internet. Being on a PCV budget, I opted for the first. After a surprisingly painless set-up at the Vodacom store on Monday, I entered the world of real, actual internet in my home. In Lesotho.

Just like all things, there are some limits. Since usage is charged by the MB downloaded, just like on my phone, I really have to watch how long I'm online. To keep from destroying my budget I allow myself 7MB of usage per day, which is plenty to check email, Facebook and do a little chatting, but is also very easy to burn through quickly. I've also set my web browser to not show pictures, which means I download less MB per page but also have limited ability on some sites. I won't be downloading any music, movies, photos or files from home. Gmail chat doesn't work (though AIM Express and MSN Messenger do).

Despite all that, this is pretty cool. It makes life, and most importantly, staying in touch with friends and family, a lot easier. I may not be living the remote existence I imagined, but I am living my very own Peace Corps experience.

And so, welcome to the first of many blog entries posted directly from my house in Mafeteng, Lesotho!