make it a 4-wheel drive

This beautiful Sunday began (and ended) with the story of public transportation in Lesotho. If Peace Corp officials were with me on public transport today we would all have cars. Around 10AM I set out to pick up a kombi for the two and a half hour journey back to my hut. Five hours later, a kombi (van) showed up. During my wait, two trucks passed me (no luck hitching, both were totally full). Wow, I am isolated. The Kombi might have come at 3PM, bus this is Lesotho where vehicles do not move until they are full. Luckily, we only waited 30 minutes for the kombi to fill up. I am incredibly thankful the time was so short; the wait can be longer than two hours. We drive about 30 minutes and stop for an hour for unexplained reason to me. Sit. Pace. Sit. Pace. Come to find out we stopped so my driver could consume past the legal limit of alcohol. I am 30 minutes from my starting point, and two hours from my destination. It’s 5PM, the daylight will be gone in a little over two hours. I have no choice but to continue. Picture curvy, dirt, mountainous roads with no guardrails and steep cliffs… all with an intoxicated driver. Part of the experience? May be a part, not a part I enjoyed. This is the only point in my almost four months here I have felt extremely unsafe. The driver was in no hurry. He kept stopping the kombi to chat it up with friends along the way. I made it back to my site as the sun was setting, about 7PM. I made him drop me off at my house. I am not sure if staying in the car longer was the best idea, but I was in no mood to walk the 25 minutes home for the bus stop and I figured I had already made it this far. Alive and well.

Where do you draw the line?

I gave my first test last Thursday (02.17.10). Ideally, I would have given it much sooner; a month of math is a lot for an eight grade brain. Cultural norms say tests here are given monthly, and I am not about to stray from those. I was so excited to see how my students performed. It was going to be my first chance to see if they were really grasping the material.

Disaster 1: The test was prepared with 29 questions, 55 possible marks (points). I thought this was reasonable. The students were going to have 90 minutes to complete the test so I figured about three minutes a question was appropriate. Most of my students did not get past question 20. I felt so bad. Their cries of panic about how they were going to fail, ALL. MY. FAULT. Lesson Learned: No more than 15 questions for a 90 minute test. It will take a lot more work to make 15 well-developed questions that span across a month of material. Plan ahead.

Disaster 2: We have to write the tests with the other teachers in our subject (I suppose to standardize things as much as possible). I teach two of the three eight grade math classes. Due to the fact I am incredibly impatient, I allowed the other eight grade math teacher use my test. He “approved” of the test and gave it to his students as well. He is a student teacher, so I think he appreciated it, but he might be lacking the same experience in practicality I am. Lesson Learned: It is okay to ask for help and gather advice from other more experience teachers, even when they appear flustered and super busy.

Disaster 3: There are no computers at my school which means I had to write (more importantly fit) all 29 questions on the chalk board. The students start working as soon as I start writing questions which means my back was turned to them for 30 minutes while I wrote questions on the board. The chatter was kept to a minimum, and I want to believe the best. Sadly, we live in a results based world where true learning is often left at the door. There are some similarities to America. Lesson Learned: Now that I realize how slowly they work it is okay to pause after every question or so to peruse the aisles (not that I can fit down them).

Disaster 4: In the middle of one of my tests visitors from the Ministry of Education came to talk to the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs), which happened to be 36 of my 71 students. Ooops, definitely did not tell anyone I was giving a test today therefore they neglected to tell me the visitors were coming. Like everything in life, we made it work. Lesson Learned: Ask in advance, way in advance, about any upcoming events.

Disaster 5: Telling my students I would get their tests back to them the next day. I regret ever harping on a teacher/professor for not getting assignments back promptly. Until you are actually grading 137 math tests with 55 possible points each you can’t understand how much work goes into the process. Not to mention teaching also involves lesson planning and a multitude of other activities going on at school to take part in (Mushroom Demonstrations? Grants to write. Science labs to clean.). Oh a lets not forget my students who have atrocious handwriting copied the questions from the chalk board, following their train of thought with my very neat key is i.m.p.o.s.s.b.l.e. They write the questions like I receive your letters, one, six, three, fifteen, four, and twelve. (Rant: They do not number their problems. Tell them to number them. Yeah, I have. They do not understand this foreign concept. I admit defeat on this battle. How many different ways can you explain number the questions? And after seeing their results we should not be wasting any more class time on this matter!) When I was not in class I was marking, for four straight days. No socializing, no lesson planning, no lunch breaks, no reading, no letter writing, no fun. Lesson Learned: Make no promises. Way less questions=way less marking. Smile.

Disaster 6: The students performance. Sub-par, to put it nicely. This only makes me dislike teaching more. Out of total 137 students I had two students make an 87%, one make an 80%, one make a 72%, one make a 70%, and two make a 67%. Seven(!!!) students performed well(?) and after that the closest was a 51%. Lesson Learned: I have not decided between lower my expectation (a lot), or move even slower in class with even more examples.

This test made me realize that I am not going to be able to reach out to all of my students no matter how much I want to. All my life I have wondered why certain teachers cared so much. Now I understand. Despite my passionate hatred of teaching I hike to school to teach, day after day because that is what I came here to do. I put an ample amount of time into preparing my lessons, hoping to connect to my students and really drive the points home. I want everyone to do well. I want to believe in every one of them, give them a glimpse of hope. That’s impossible. I hate to use that term (especially so early), however, it is unrealistic. I may not be the best teacher. I know I am not the best teacher. I try really hard and someday all that trying is going to pay off. Oh pipe dreams.

Mushroom Demonstration

Today at school we had a mushroom demonstration. A mushroom demonstration is just what it sounds like, a lecture on mushrooms. The lesson was actually taught in English, accurate, informative, and interesting. I just covered nutrition and I am going to start species diversity in my freshman science class so this tied in really well. The only problem I have is you can’t get mushrooms in this country, not in my district, not anywhere. I had to ask. The lecturers informed me they had not really thought about it, they get theirs from South Africa. Oh that is perfect, since most of my teachers (one of the highest paying professions in Lesotho) have not even been to the capital of Lesotho 6.5 hours away. That is how we do things in Lesotho. Here is this great (as in healthy) affordable food… that you can’t have. Enjoy (looking at pictures).

My School

Since arriving in Lesotho I have only been to four high schools, and I have to say mine is definitely the nicest one. The school sits on a mountain plateau with the most breathtaking views of a million mountains surrounding a river valley. The school was built in 2006 and started with eight-grade only. With each year the school has added 100 plus students, the next grade level, and a classroom. This is the first year with all five grades (eight through twelfth), approximately 550 students in all. We have three eight and ninth grade classes and two tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade classes. Unfortunately, we only have eleven classrooms so the third ninth grade class is occupying the AMAZING science lab. No lie, the science lab is nicer than the ones at either of the high schools I attended. I am trying to encourage my teachers that we can still utilize the lab (it can’t sit there all year untouched) by some sort of sign up system. They are not taking to that too well. I teach my science class in the lab, so if nothing else my students will partake in lots of experiments.

Primary school (first through seventh grade) is free in Lesotho. High school is up to the parents. Tuition is 430 Maulti for the year (about 57 dollars), and 220 Maluti (30 dollars) for books. We are a government school, meaning the government is supposed to give us funding. There is a lot of corruption in the government so that funding rarely shows up. We are lucky enough to have electricity, RUNNING water, the science lab (I mentioned), and a fair amount of equipment in the science lab! This is all great, but we are extremely short on teachers so there is lots of time in the day when the students just sit in class with no teacher and nothing to do. Sigh. Only one of my teachers has been there more than one year, four are student teachers (no pay, young, little work ethic), and one is a PCV (me). Working in the highlands is a starting position; people ideally want to work in the lowlands where life is more developed. There are no computers at my school (I am attacking this one pronto). Do you know how much time it takes to write a test on a chalkboard? Let me not fail to mention, while you write your back is to your students meaning cheating is at an all time high. The school lacks a library (my first true project), a kitchen (another thing I am going to be pushing), and an assembly hall (very important here, good for fundraising).

School runs from 7:00AM to 4:00PM. From 7:00-7:45AM the students have a mandatory study period. At 7:45AM we have assembly, the highlight of the day. The students sign the national anthem, sometimes a cultural song, then they recite the Lord’s Prayer, and listen to announcements. Classes start at 8:00AM and run in 40 minute increments, with a 20 minute break at 10:40AM, and a one hour lunch break at 1:00PM. The schedule is different everyday. Math and science have seven periods a week each so twice a week (in each class) I teach doubles (80 minute blocks). The students sit in the same classroom all day, and the teachers pass. Friday classes end at 1:00PM, but students have to stay on campus and study, play sports, or participate in a club. We have a volleyball and a net as far a sports go. Clubs consist of science/math club, debate, drama, and choir.

Uniforms at my school (and most others I assume) are taken very seriously. The girls where button up shirts under their turquoise jumpers. Then there is a turquoise sweater that goes over the jumper. The button up shirt collar comes over the sweater. The boys were gray dress slacks, with the same button up shirt, turquoise sweater, collar must be over sweater neck. Black dress shoes for boys and girls. Monday and Wednesday it is white button up shirts and white socks while Tuesday and Thursday it is khaki button ups with black socks. Do you remember when tracksuits were in? Okay, maybe they were never in… but here they are in, so in. Friday, it is turquoise track suite day. Best part, I am getting hooked up with one soon (in Lesotho, that means by then end of the year). I can’t wait to rock my turquoise tracksuit (a day off from a skirt)! Hair must be shaved, both girls and boys. If you wear the wrong uniform or forget the uniform you are sent home.

The Joaleng

This weekend we had a “welcome to your new district party” at my place. All the volunteers in my district gathered together for good food and fun. Good will be the term I use to describe any food not cooked by me! Most parties serve a little booze.

Problem 1: There is only beer in my district, a substance my body will not allow me to drink.

Problem 2: We are in Lesotho.

Why are these problems? You have already learned abusing alcohol is a major problem in this country. Well you see in order to get that beer sold by the quart you have to bring back your empty bottle.

Us: “Ntate (equivalent to Mr.), we have not bought beer here before, how can we have empties?”

Ntate: “No sell, no empties.”

Us: “What do we do if this is our first time at your bar?”

Ntate: “No sell, no empties.”

Us: “Can we bring them back to you in the morning?”

Ntate: “No sell, no empties.”

This conversation went on for quite sometime. The sale was not made until we found some villagers to provide us with empties, which are now being held hostage till my next visitors arrive (under the command of the other volunteers).

This is Lesotho.

Teaching

Cross teaching off possible career options. I do not like teaching at all, which is horribly depressing since that is my primary project while I am here. Teaching is not sustainable. It could be… but not in my case. I have a background in Biology (not teaching or math). I am teaching eight-grade math (adding and subtracting fractions, sets, properties of shapes, measuring angles). I have no experience teaching classes of 70 plus students who are learning in their second language, nor do I have knowledge in classroom management. The only “teaching” I have done is tutoring where there were never more than five students at a time. Not only do I lack teaching experience, I have not been here long enough to grasp the education system (patience, patience, patience). I did not expect it to be like America, and I do not want it to be. The Basotho have so much pride in their culture and country. I do not want to step on any toes or make changes in that department. I just want to get my students and I want them to get me.

I am happy to report my principal and co-teachers have been nothing but helpful, friendly, and understanding. I am supposed to be here to help them and instead I feel like a burden. I am constantly asking them questions, shadowing their classes (anything for new ideas), and using their lesson plans. They will stop everything they are doing and try their best to explain things to me. I am so grateful they do their best to speak in English when I am around or translate when I ask.

Teaching is also not challenging. My only challenge is finding a way to make myself like it. I do not use other teachers lesson plans because I am lazy… I use them because I tend to overdo it. The “textbooks” here are very basic and bland so when I have memories of something one of my teachers did growing up I like to spice it up, which on multiple occasions has led to mass chaos, laughter, and confusion. Never hurts to try, or keep trying? As of now I go to school, I write notes on the board, I repeat the notes twice orally during class, I ask questions, the students answer incorrectly, I correct them, I assign homework, I grade homework. Repeat Monday through Friday. It’s depressing. I realize making any true changes/differences in this country is impossible. I am not giving up. I am being realistic. This is more of a survival/cultural experience.

Growing up my teachers have definitely been the most influential people in my life. Here I am, given this incredible opportunity to “give back” and be that person for my students. That brings me to the third reason I dislike teaching: I can’t communicate with my students. They do not understand basic instructions (write your name on your paper, this is your homework, pick up your notebooks at break in the staff room). The school system is so test oriented (much like America) as opposed to learning oriented. The majority of my students struggle because they have never been taught how to learn. They do not take notes in class, they attempt to memorize everything (does not work in math!), and they have no concept of time (and how to manage during a test). I wish I could take class time to teach them some of the things I find beneficial, but it would take days to for them to “get” it, meaning “wasting” tons of class time when I need to be cramming their heads with math facts. In my opinion, it would not be a waste at all. It could potentially benefit them for life, except we are in Lesotho where there is NO future thought. I am in a bind.

On the upside, I did pick up a ninth grade science class last week. I still do not really enjoy teaching, but my students have an extra year of English under their belts (so much help). Plus, they are ever so curious. They like when I come hang out with them, and they are really open and honest with me.

True or False?

I burn bread. True. Here the bread cooks in grocery bags, imagine the smell of burnt plastic for days. I melt holes in countertops. True. When you boil eggs it is not okay to set the hot pot on the plastic counter. It melts and also releases burning plastic toxins. I forget baking powder when I cook scones. True. To think, I thought I was a decent baker. The 400 batches of chocolate chip cookies A.L.R.L. and I made should have given me some practice. Scones aren’t cookies. Dutch ovens are not ovens. There is a patch of arm hair missing on my left arm due to improperly lighting my gas stove. True. Light the match, and then turn on the stove. Lesson(s) learned. I made some zucchini slop not even the starving dogs would touch. True. I hate being the “rich, white American” who puts food out for the flowers. Another true story. When I disposed of my zucchini slop I thought I hid it well. Later that night my well-educated host mother approached me to inquire, “Why are you feeding the flowers?” I knew exactly what she was talking about. I thought I hid the slop well. Umm, I was actually hiding that from you. My face turning bright red, my brain frantically coming up with excuses. I replied, “the dogs must have dragged it from the pile.” Her reply, “You know it is pretty bad if the dogs in Lesotho won’t even touch it after a day in the flowers.” I am well aware.

How did I make it to 22? Most days, I wonder that too. I have come to realize the first 18 years for I lived in a house with two gourmet chefs. Year 19 those same gourmet chefs paid a ridiculous amount for me to eat cereal and peanut butter on bagels out of the dining hall. Years 20-22 breakdown: I spent too much money at Moes, made/held onto friends that know how and enjoy cooking (& sharing!!!), and I inhaled processed goodness!

Major Problems: cooking for one, no refrigerator/freezer, no oven, no microwave, no processed food, no restaurants. I like a challenge. I haven’t given up yet.

My Host Family

Rocks! I might just have the best host family in all of Lesotho.

Mother: She is a do-it-all, progressive Basotho, with a heart of gold. Her husband passed away in 2003, survived by their seven living successful children. A success story: one of their sons is a DOCTOR in NEW YORK. Most of her children have moved to South Africa, minus one who lives here in my district. She is a retired (ha, ha) principal from the primary school about a 20-minute walk away. She works for Red Cross, runs Thaba Tseka Poultry, is very active at the Roman Catholic Church, and has taken in four orphans (plus me). Yesterday, she officially gave up her position as head of the school board because she feels overcommitted for her age. You think? Oh, she also runs one of the four restaurants in town, “breeds” dogs, and has her own piggery. “Collector of the nations” is the English translation of her nickname.

Oldest Sister: She is 32 and does the cooking at my host mother’s restaurant. She wants me to learn to speak Sesotho more than anything else in this world. (I am trying, I really am!) I enjoy when she pops in each night after work to say hello. She never finished school, and seems eager to go back someday!

Middle Sister: This one is a piece of work. I am probably closest to her. Her English is the best of all my siblings and she is closest in age to me at 26. We can joke around together, much appreciated. I am teaching her all about sarcasm. It is an extremely important secondary project I am working on. She is repeating 11^th grade for the third time this year at my high school. My host mother keeps her occupied with work to keep her out of “trouble.” She is always gardening, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry and thinks it is funny that I like to watch her. She rarely lets me help, which she claims is because I need to relax… I think she is trying to tell me I slow her down.

Younger Sister: She is the newest, most adorable orphan. She has only been living with my host mother since October 2009. She is 15 and in seventh grade at the primary school my host mother used to be the principal of. She is INCREBILY shy (we are talking seven words in five weeks to me) and speaks ZERO English. Despite this, I still feel like we have bonded. She finds my expressive personality quite funny. It would probably be funny to all of you too because as you well know I am not expressive. Here you have to be, and yes I overdo it to make my point clear (you can NOT get rid of the dogs in the middle of the night without telling me, I think it is HYSTERICAL when you go at the rats* in my place with brooms, and hauling pigs in bags is NOT normal in America).

Brother: He is 17 and repeating 11^th grade for the second time. He also attends school where I teach. He seems to have a really large friend base. The girls never talk about their friends or seem to have no time for “hanging out.” From observation, he does not seem to have near the amount of responsibility and keeps to himself most of the time. When he is out and about doing “man work” he loves to stop and talk to me. Most of our conversations involve comparing and contrasting American and Lesotho. He is well aware of my mission: he has two years left of high school and I have two years here. He is WAY more optimistic about our goal than middle sister. I look forward our tutoring sessions where the he eagerly tries to conceptualize fractional distillation, atomic mass, and elements.

*Is it really possible I could get rats in two different huts, seven hours apart? Yep! And you thought I was kidding when I said without cats there are numerous rats. Not kidding, not one bit. Dogs killed the cats. No cats make for happy rats!

Nutrition Lesson Plan

Here is an idea of my freshman science lesson plan on nutrition to give you an idea of how basic things are and how slow we have to move. This lesson plan took seven periods to cover or 280 minutes. Some of this information presented may not be accurate, but this is what they are tested on so this is what I am teaching. I especially like this lesson plan because as sad as this sounds, basically all food (healthy and unhealthy) can be placed in your balanced diet. My lesson plan could not be typed without commentary! Smile.

Animal Nutrition (also called animal feeding, really?)

There are three (that’s it?) classes of food

1. Carbohydrates:
1. Importance: good source of energy, one gram of carbohydrates releases 17 kj of energy in the body
2. Sources: Jam (ha), cookies (ha, ha), cakes (ha, ha, ha), potatoes, maize bread, rice, cereal (I presented them in that order. I know cookies and cakes are carbs, however, are they good sources of carbs? Are there cookies and cakes in this country? If yes, where?)
3. Elements: Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen

i. Element: is a substance which is only made up of one type of atom

2. Proteins
1. Importance: they make new cells and repair damaged cells, body building foods, make antibodies and enzymes
2. Sources: meat, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, beans, wheat(?), maize
3. Elements: Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen
3. Fats
1. Importance: good source of (good? I think more along the lines of quick or temporary) energy, keeps heat inside the body, insulates against the cold
2. Sources: meat, milk, cheese, butter, egg, yolk, plant fat (sunflower oil) (note: jams, cookies, and cakes are not considered fat)
3. Elements: Carbon, Oxygen, Hydrogen

In addition to the three classes of food, diet must also include minerals, vitamins, water, and fibre (Welcome to British English land)

Vitamins: protective food, they help our bodies fight disease	Food Sources	Function
A (Retinol)	Liver, eggs, oranges, green vegetables, carrots	Necessary for good eye sight, especially at night
C (Ascorbic Acid)	Fresh fruits and vegetables, particularly citrus fruits	Prevents scurvy, bleeding gums, and helps wounds heal fast
D (Calciferol)	Liver, egg yolk, butter (maybe if you can find it fortified?)	Helps body absorb calcium for strong bones and teeth

Minerals: keep body healthy, come from the soil, green plants are sources	Food Source Animal Plant		Functions
Calcium	Milk & other dairy products	Green leafy vegetables	Prevents rickets in children & osteomalaria (not even sure what this is or if it is spelled right) in adults by helping building strong bones and teeth
Iron	Meat, liver, egg yolk	Peas, beans, peanuts	Help blood to carry oxygen, prevents anemia

• Water: the body is made up of 70% water
• Importance: transports substances in blood, sweat, urine; water is lost from the body by breathing, sweating, urinating
• Sweating: cools the body when it overheats in sweat salts
• Urine: water helps remove waste from the body (urea)
• Blood: helps transports materials around the body (food)
• Sources: water (imagine that), juice, food
• Elements: Hydrogen, Oxygen
• Fibre (roughage): not digested but is important in keeping food moving in the gut (digestive system) this prevents constipation (difficulty passing feces)
• Sources: fruits, vegetables, beans, samp, bran
• Balanced Diet: diet that contains all nutrients in correct proportions and the right quality. Needs to contain carbs, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals
• Water and Fibre are not nutrients, still essential part of diet
• Malnutrition: poor eating, diseases caused by poor nutrition, can result from under feeding or overfeeding
• Overfeeding

1. Obesity: a condition where the body stores excess food it does not need & becomes too big (too much fat leads to obesity)

• Underfeeding

1. Marasums: caused by lack of food in general (little carbs, protein, fats)

2. Kwashiokori: caused by lack of protein in the body

For those of you who did not get too bored and made it to the end, I am really not a horrible volunteer. We scheme (do not get me started), lesson plan, and write the test together as freshman science teachers. I make sure to cover the general lesson plan because the test are “standardized” to the entire freshman class. Normally, I try to jazz it up a little. In the case of this lesson plan, I did not know I was teaching freshman science until the Monday I started. I am more than thankful I was even given a lesson plan.

Funny Questions

To make my list of funny questions the question had to be asked at least five times (by different people). These are common questions, with some of my responses.

1. Who is Isaac Newton? Sadly, all I know about him is he is responsible for Newton’s Laws. I am not positive what those are, but if I had to put money on it I think they have to do something with force. Physics never was my strong point. Oh textbooks, better yet, internet!
2. Can you say “mother fucker” in front on an adult? Definitely not! I probably would not say that in front of anyone. I stick to other choice words. Yay, media influence.
3. What is improper English?
4. Do you have AIDS? They think the “white people” brought AIDS to Africa, only because they did not know of it until “white people” showed up to help. Sigh.
5. How did you get here (to Lesotho)? This question blows my mind. In America if the distance is far enough it is assumed one flew and for closer distances the assumption is one drove. My school looks out at an airport runway, and it BLOWS their mind I flew here. They will swear to you all day and night I drove here. Actually, I crossed this major ocean… requiring alternative transport.
6. How IS you? I am by no means a grammar girl (probably did not even have to tell those of you reading)… but for some reason this question, more specifically how it is asked, annoys me. Of course, I probably butcher Sesotho all day and night so who am I to talk about their attempt at English.
7. Are you a virgin?
8. Where are you going? Or where are you coming from? In America we would find it obnoxious and creepy if a total stranger (or everyone you encounter, which is several people on a 45 minute walk to school) wanted to know where we were going and coming from. These questions are part of the normal greeting here. I usually am coming from Mars and going to the [nonexistent] train station.
9. Can I use a Simba wrapper (think Ziploc bag) as a condom?
10. Do you know (insert celebrity here)? No!!!
11. Are their Basotho in America? I am sure there are. In fact, I know of at least one. My host mother’s son lives in New York(!!!). Follow up question: But, your president is Basotho and so it that guy (Tyshawn Taylor) hanging in your hut? They are black, you are correct. Yes, there are black people in America. Sadly, the Basotho know very little about diversity. You are a la-hoo-ah (white person), Basotho (black person), or ma-china (anything of Asian decent).
12. In American, what village do you live in?
13. Do you eat blood? I may read novels about vampires, but I’m not one. I thought this question stemmed from my recent reading of the Twilight series, which I proceeded to lend to one of my teachers. Nope, according to my teachers some Basotho do indeed eat (or drink) blood from sheep. I was not kidding when I said NOTHING goes to waste.

Here's the mail, it never fails

Today, after waiting for three plus agonizingly long weeks I got some mail from home. I immediately read through all the letters and then whipped out my computer to jot down my emotions. I can’t explain to you how much I love(!!!) mail. It’s fantastic! I appreciate you writing! I always have an immediate attitude adjustment after reading the letters and a renewed sense of faith in relationships at home. I think (know) I was being a tad insecure about my relationships back home. Thankfully, lots of encouraging emails last time I had internet (which apparently is not going to be a Saturday routine, sigh) made me realize I need to chill out, breathe, and reflect. If I spend all my time on the internet I am never going to integrate. I must stop moping around and dreaming all things American or this is never going to an enjoyable experience. Things are definitely getting better. According to Pops, you can’t change a country over night (or in three months). Who knew? Not I. Unfortunately, you also can’t get patient overnight. Lesotho and I are under construction.

I thought I would give some mail superlatives:

Best Cards: Mom, you win. They’re cute and perfect for me.

Best Picture: A tie between Aunt L.B.V. and A.L.R.L./T.D.R.L.! I mean who doesn’t like a dog dressed as a reindeer or a Christmas picture of two of the most adorable kids on the planet?

Best Postcard: New Zealand (duh) from K.A.R. Things do not get much better than vacationing (or study abroad) in New Zealand! On the topic of postcards, please send postcards when you travel (especially overseas). I think it will be fun to track where all my friends and family travel while I am gone. Plus, it is a really good way to teach the Basotho there are other countries (besides Lesotho, South Africa, and America).

Biggest “life change” since I left (revealed in a letter): Winner, the college age brother (C.D.H.) who right before I left I had the opportunity to visit. He was ‘finally’ content with his major and now he reveals Saturday, February 5^th he is taking the LSAT. Ahh, what happened? He finally realized how intellectual he was and craves a challenge. We all know how I feel about standardized test. Good luck!

Funniest Letter: Hands down, this one goes to the little brother, C.A.H. I can’t describe to you how funny and informative his letter was. I absolutely LOVED it. If only he frequented the letter writing department a little more!

Letter most like his/her personality: This one goes to J.L.W. Her letters are typically short, always quick and to the point!

Longest letter(s): C.J.R. writes the longest, most detailed letters. And, they’re great! Please do not stop. I feel most informed on your life!

Most Encouraging Letter: Definitely, K.F.A. You rock! You are too kind and you always seem to know exactly what to say. When I am down you pick me up, and when I am doing good you give me added confidence. You make me feel like I have superpowers that actually allow me to really save this world!

Most informative in the sports department: Tie again! If we are speaking strictly mail then Pops takes the cake. If we include email, M.L. who just so happened to give me the play-by-play in one of the playoff games definitely shares the cake.

Most Letters Received: Grams, is topping the list with five letters received. I would like to point out that her letters came in random order (and this is a trend I am starting to notice with many of you, no complaints, they are making it): letter one, four, three, and then two and five today!

Of course, all your mail is fabulous! I can’t wait till the puzzles and world updates start rolling in. My head might explode.

More on the Opposite Effect

In America I would not, could not hurt a fly, squash a spider, or ruin an ant mound. Sure, the pesky critter might be fluttering in my face but what harm is that really doing? None. Here, I am a fly swatting, spider crushing, mosquito hunting machine. No bug better step in my way. That is, unless it wants to die. I make sure to kill at least ten critters before I start each day, beginning with the fly who was brave enough to land on my face and therefore wake me up! You can’t possibly begin to imaging waking up to 47 flies floating around your kitchen/bathroom/bedroom combo one room “hut.” Forgive me for failing to mention the three massive spiders and 14 new mosquito bites that also greet me EACH and EVERYday. Since critters, more commonly known as insects can’t be trained, it is an all out war.

Some might recognize me as the girl who always carried around that purple (clear, or orange) Nalgene full of nice clean American water waiting to be gulped. She is not coming back from Lesotho, and her days are numbered (740, but who is counting?). That girl is coming back and never drinking water again. It is not that I am drinking more water here, still averaging my three liters a day (with a heck of a lot more work I might add—three to five minutes of boiling, followed by an hour long filtering process). The fact that I have no cold skim milk or anything else besides water is killing me. I’ll stop being picky, it does not have to be cold or skim. I will take any milk-like substance. Much to my dismay, all the milk in Lesotho shelf milk (long life full cream). I guess I could find a dairy cow, milk it myself, and then pasteurize it. Pasteurized it myself? Let’s be honest, that will never happen. At least there are options… like wait till you get back to America and DRIVE a car to the air conditioned store to buy cold skim milk. Let’s face it I probably won’t ever stop carrying around that Nalgene, it’s part of me. From now (as in February 2012) on I am just going to be filling in with cold skim milk!