Top 10 Favorite Things About Lesotho

3-11-09
I have today off for Moshoehoe's (pronounced Mow-shway-shway) Day, the Lesotho national holiday honoring the country's first king. Not that it really means much of anything different from my regular days here, except that I can go to South Africa today without taking any vacation time. It's the middle of a particularly uneventful week, and honestly there isn't much for me to blog about. I decided to relieve some boredom by making a top ten list. And since I'm trying really, really hard to be positive these days, I decided to make a list of my ten favorite things about Lesotho. So, here we go.

10. Children – Ok, I really have to be in the mood for this one. Most days the children would be listed on my top ten least favorite things about Lesotho. But, every once in awhile, they're nice to have around. Talking to children allows me to practice my pitiful Sesotho without fear of being laughed at. The children will eagerly carry heavy bags, fetch water and listen to stories. And every once in awhile, they're just cute.

Earlier this week I was walking home from buying groceries, and a group of children, maybe 5 or 6 years old, were playing on the side of the road. They started off with the typical, “Good morning! Good morning! Hello! Hi! Hi! Hi!” I replied with a greeting in Sesotho, which usually makes young children stop yelling because they are confused by a foreigner speaking Sesotho. A couple of children, however, were just encouraged. “Be my friend! I want you to be my friend!” I usually ignore this, because “be my friend” generally means “give me money and candy.” But this day, I simply said, “Sure. We're friends.” I continued down the road to a background chorus of “Hooray!” I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Very rare, but good stuff none the less.

9. Plates – Basotho food is generally bland, starch-heavy and doesn't include much variety. The “plate,” the typical Basotho meal, consists of beef stew or chicken (usually fried); moroho (greens finely chopped and cooked with a lot of oil and MSG); papa (corn meal and water cooked until stiff), samp (a type of corn dish), rice or bread; and salads (beet salad, pumpkin, which is like sweet potato, and/or cooked veges).

When I arrived in Lesotho, during the first week of community-based training (CBT), we were required to eat with our host families. I liked the steamed bread and learned to make my own version of moroho (minus MSG, cooked in a minimal amount of oil, chopped into larger pieces with the addition of carrots, onion and other available veges), but beyond that, I never thought I'd learn to enjoy Basotho cuisine. I was wrong. I find myself actually craving a plate some days. I've gotten used to papa, really like samp and buy steamed bread from the bo-'M'e outside the hospital. While many of the ingredients used in Basotho dishes are available in the States, I know that I'll never be able to re-create it exactly, so I'm making sure I get my fill while I'm here.

8. Kombi rides – Like many things on this list, kombi rides would probably also be included on the top ten list of things I least enjoy about Lesotho. They are cramped, can take hours to fill (the kombi has to be full before it will depart) and usually leave me drenched in sweat (Basotho refuse to open the windows because some here believe that being exposed to the breeze causes tuberculosis. And, of course, there's no air conditioning) with ears ringing from the blaring Basotho accordion music.

But kombi rides are also some of my favorite times here. There are rare moments when it hits me, when I think, “Wow, I'm here, living in Africa. I'm doing this.” And those moments usually occur on the kombis. I don't know what it is, maybe something about being up-close and personal with Basotho, their music playing, their language being shouted, their countryside passing by the window. But whatever the reason, I appreciate those moments of clarity, those moments of appreciation, those moments where I feel accomplished, in a deeply personal way.

7. Fresh fruit and veges – I didn't eat nearly enough fruits and vegetables in the States. And when I did, they usually came frozen, canned or as part of a larger dish ordered at a restaurant. I had no idea what I was missing out on! Almost all the fruits and vegetables here are grown locally and, though only available seasonally, have incredible flavor. In the summer, fresh peaches, mangoes, guavas and plumbs are available at every street stand. Almost every dish I cook here includes fresh vegetables (onions, tomatoes, green beans, carrots, peppers, squash, greens) from my 'M'e's, or a local person's, garden. The frozen and canned stuff is actually more expensive. I know this new appreciation of fresh fruit and vegetables will be something that stays with me long after I've left Lesotho.

6. Mountains and Thunderstorms – I don't get to see them as often as I'd like, but the mountains here are amazingly beautiful. I am stunned each time I get the chance to visit the highlands or places like Malealea Lodge. I often forget I live in a really unique, gorgeous country. Visiting the mountains brings me back from the cynicism, provides peace, helps me forget, for awhile, the things that I struggle with every day.

The thunderstorms are also incredible. They roll in quickly, thick, dark clouds rushing over the mountains in the distance. Thunder rumbles, racing towards town. Everything is completely still. And then, in an instant, the wind rushes in and the rain pours down. Lightening appears in brilliant flashes across the sky. And then, as quickly as it arrived, the storms moves on and the clear, blue sky returns.

5. Free time – Yet another good and bad thing about my life here. To be quite honest, I'm bored a lot, and I hate it. I'm the type of person who'd rather be working 80 hours a week, getting no sleep, having no time off, than be bored. But here I've had to make the curse into a blessing.

I've had to get creative, try to find new interests, been forced out of my comfort zone. While I do waste plenty of time watching movies or episodes of t.v. series' (and am infinitely grateful for my laptop!), I've also been able to do things that I just never seemed to have time for back home. I am able to spend hours each day reading. I have time to hand-write letters and notes to friends and family. I've visited almost every shop in town, talked to people that I otherwise would've ignored, become friends with people who I never would've otherwise met. I have time to devote to studying for the GRE (guess that means I better do well), to travel, to pondering life. I'm doing my best to use this time to “stop and smell the roses.” Perhaps in the end this will also provide me with a better balance, an appreciation of both having important things to do and also slowing down enough to enjoy them.

4. Wine – South African wine is really good...and cheap! The SA wine that is imported to the States, at least the stuff I had before coming here, was not so good. But for R26 ($2.60 U.S.) I can get a bottle, here in Mafeteng, that is as good or better than decent U.S. wines. And in South Africa you can get a pretty high quality wine for just over R50. The trip to Stellenbosch helped too, giving me an idea of good wineries and introducing me to Pinotage, a variety made only in South Africa. I have a feeling I'll be importing some bottles of my own when I come home.

3. Germans – Outside of other PCVs, my closest friends and social circle consists of German volunteers and students. The ex-pat community in Mafeteng is just them and me, and I'm infinitely glad to have them around. We all experience the same challenges, frustrations and successes. Having people close by who can understand what I'm going thorough really makes a difference. And every single German I've met in Lesotho has been really cool. :) Maybe I should forget about learning Sesotho and try German?

2. Travel – This isn't so much a great thing about living in Lesotho, but it is one of my favorite parts of being in the PC. I love to travel and want to experience as much of the world as possible. PC is allowing me to not only experience Lesotho on a much deeper level than most people will ever experience a foreign culture but also spend significant time in southern Africa. The “expensive” part of traveling here is the plane ticket. And since the PC took care of that part, I intend to continue to make the most of it!

1. Mail from home – Again, not really about Lesotho, but certainly my favorite part of my life here. Letters, packages, cards - whatever the form, mail lifts my spirits and makes my day. I've enjoyed interacting with people in my life, some of whom I've known literally forever and some who have just come around in the last few years, through a medium that isn't used very often anymore. It seems that both they and I are a little more candid that normal, more willing to say how we really think and feel. There are people in my life whom I've come to know in a totally different way just because of this experience. That's something that I will value for the rest of my life, and a blessing that would've never occurred were I not to have come here. Easily, that deserves the number one spot.