Reflections

Today has been four months since I left home. I can’t believe it. The time is flying by. There are slow days and bad days but mostly there are good days. I have accumulated an abundance of patience. I am more flexible than I ever thought possible. My sense of humor is grand and growing. Waiting hours for public transportation, three weeks for a letters, or six weeks for the internet still amazes me but stopped bothering me long ago. These things seem normal now and always provide a good laugh. I have really slowed my life down and have begun embracing the finer things in life: a conversation with the neighbor, the seasonality of foods, or the spectacular stars.

I came here as a full-blown idealist and am becoming more of a realist with each passing day. I wanted to implement change and serve as an aid to this country (especially my students and school). Instead I find myself in the learners seat. The Basotho have taught me more in four months than I ever thought possible. They have taught me to how far a small act of kindness (like greeting a total stranger and inquiring about their day) can go. I am learning to take time for others. There is nothing more important than taking time for others. I am learning how little we need to live and how to use resources minimally (and to think I thought I was in the US). They have taught me how to make bread. I am learning how to grow my own food and the importance of rain. I have been taught how to wash my clothes by hand. I am learning a new language, along with an abundance about this country and culture. I have learned how to embrace disconnectedness and exotic surroundings. The list goes on. I can only dream I am going to teach me a quarter of what they have already taught me.

I have grown to truly respect and appreciate relationships. I could not do this without your continued support back home or without my new friends here (Basotho and American). You do not have to be best friends with everyone you meet, but it is really good to grow and share ideas with other people, especially those so different from yourself. It promotes peace (perhaps, that is how this organization got its name) and understanding. We all have bad days. It is part of life. I am quite hard on myself, to the point I annoy myself. Connecting with new people from this country has made me realize part of life is about letting go and moving on, talking things out, and sharing ideas. It helps us problem solve. Make sure your voice is heard, but listens to others as well.

I feel like I am still integrating into the community, but I feel completely integrated into my family. Having an incredible host family has made the experience so far (and I am sure will continue) amazing. I would be no where without their constant love, help, advice, encouragement, and support. I especially value my relationship with middle sister. I look forward to the days end so we can hang out. I help her in math, science, business education and she helps me pull carrots from the garden or wash the sweat stains from my clothes. I am still not fond of teaching, but I really enjoy the one-on-one tutoring I have set up with middle sister, brother, and two other students at school. I can already tell, these four especially, are getting better at English (speaking and understanding).

My classes are going much more smoothly. I still feel really limited by the size of my classes (71, 66, and 62 students) and my students lack of understanding of the English language. However, I am beginning to understand the school system a little better each day. The early frustrations have been channeled into laughs. My student and I are now able to laugh together and continue to learn more about each other. I wish we could just hang out together because they are hysterical! We are now realizing each others goals and expectations, and even learning a little bit of DRY math. As much as I want to reach out to each one of my students I realize this is unrealistic. I have slowed down quite a bit and have started providing tons more examples, but I had to find a middle ground. This week I think I found it. I am sure it will need some tweaking. For now, we call this p-r-o-g-r-e-s-s! I have not really connected with many of the teachers at school as I find myself quite busy during the day. There are a few I rely on to answer questions, the rest just exist. I am not giving up on them just yet.

The biggest challenge is definitely going to be helping grant all my schools wishes when there is absolutely no money ANYWHERE, no space, minimal time, and so much that needs to be done. I am taking it one day/project at a time. I have also been able to set boundaries recently, meaning no projects without student or staff support. The environmental club has been started, and the pen pal system seems to be underway. When I get back from Easter break I am going to start the lifeskills club and hopefully get more involved in sports. On top of teaching and these activities, I am going to be sponsoring five students at my school, organizing/cleaning up space for a library, and teaching the students how to fundraise for their kitchen.

The technology situation has been more than a nightmare. Oh well. I have established a daily routine for chores and activities. Hopefully May 6th when I get my new phone I will have more regular phone calls from back home and I will even be able to BLUETOOTH internet to my computer from my phone. How crazy is that? It will be slow, but AWESOME. Seems worth the wait, what is 57 more days (not that I am counting). What is 57 days when you have 23 months?

I give myself a B.