Africa Continued...

May 9th...

Today is Mother's Day and I celebrated by moving in with my new mother. The whole day has been filled with so much, first going to Church and then moving into my new surroundings.

Church this morning was full of new sights, sounds and smells. We arrived to a building about the size of our living room. Absolutely no sitting room in the stuffy building with two small windows. The windows let in a little light, but it was still fairly dark. You really felt the spirit among all the believers. It was a very joyous celebration. The service included bible reading, prayer, song, dancing and prayer for healing. I stood near the window so I wouldn't overheat and M. kept me company. It was amazing to me how the spirit moved I couldn't understand the language, but the meaning seemed to be clear.

After Church we headed back to the lodge for our last long rest. I packed up what I would need for the village stay and it seems like so much.

When we first arrived in the village it was a little overwhelming with all the relatives in for the funeral. M'e Theresia is dressed in morning now for the death of her eldest daughter. M'e Theresia and all the sisters have their hair shorn in morning. The sisters seem embarassed by their lack of hair. The family (extended) was staying on one more night feasting and drinking Basotho beer. No one seems terribly upset over the death of their family member.

In fact for our arrival there was singing and dancing and plenty of games. The games included the young and the old, but they were fun for all.

For dinner I was given the traditional Basotho meal...big dinners. It was chicken, boiled cabbage and papa. I was only able to finish half of my meal and my sister finished the rest. In our group only R. was able to finish his entire meal and he looked like he was suffering.

The evening ended by going to bed early and taking some pills to help sleep.

May 10th...

I awoke this morning to water being poured and realized that my m'e was standing nake before my bed and washing herself. She saw that I was awake and told me to go back to sleep, I was onoly too happy to comply. Breakfast was a great thing of bread and eggs and I was happy to eat. After breakfast I spent time washing the dishes and myself. Then it was to school to see m'e Theresia teach her students. She gave us a great lesson about composition. The lesson seemed to be in a wonderful African style with much animation. After visiting m'e Theresia's classroom we went around to the other rooms and helped with lessons and watch their lunch hour. Lunch is fixed for the students everyday and sometimes it is the only meal they will have. The students often eat their meal of papa and boiled cabbage in pencil boxes.

After school we came home to a wonderful meal of rice, mashed potatoes and curried hot dogs. The rest of the afternoon was spent playing cards, reading and journaling.

I'm still trying to find my place in this house. So far I've been able to wash dishes and make my first batch of papa. Other than that I feel more like their guest and less like part of the family. My favorite family member is M'e Theresia but she is gone so often in the day that I'm forced to be with Justinna and Peter's girlfriend. Even my favorite little sister left for school in Maseru today. I think though she was very pleased with the gifts I gave her.

May 11th...

This morning I awoke to sesotho. M'e Theresia woke us by way of, "O robeste joang?" (You slept well?) I don't think too clearly in the morning, especially when it is a foriegn language. My dreams have been mostly of home and Chili's (man that's weird), it is my escape from life here in the village.

It seems to me that most people are just trying to endure this week, rather than enjoy it. I can't say that everything is pleasant, but I am finding peace in life here. There is a peaceful, easy way of living here that some would call laziness, but I find to be living life.

One thing I've noticed is that everyone in the village is out looking after one another. If someone is in need another is willing to give. The three hundred membrs of the village is like one big family.

This morning I helped by make a traditional breakfast of "le shilly shilly." I was alone in the kitchen, with the exception of my two host sisters. I watched as they picked dead bugs out of the meal that makes "le shilly shilly"...yummmmm. When the R. and D. joined us for breakfast when it was all prepared I decided against filling them in on the dead bug incident. This was definitely a case of what you don't know won't hurt you.

Then I stood by while R. made bread dough from...flour, salt, sugar, yeast and water (nothing special). The family loved to watch on and see this sight of a man kneading dough.

Today as a group we traveled to the clinic to listen to a lecture on AIDS in Africa. About 30 percent of Lesotho is infected with the virus. That's amazing to me that 3 out of every 10 people I meet are probably infected. Education is being done and people are starting to practice safe sex. It's not enough though because there still remains a stigma about using condoms.

There also remains a stigma around the infected person. We met an elderly woman today who shared with us her experience with AIDS. Only her close family knows that she has been infected. She does not want to share with the village afraid of the stigma it would put upon her and her children. She shared with us today that her life has been made much better by a new diet, which includes...lemon, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, pronutro, ginger and brazil nuts. To have enough of these ingredients to last one month would cost around two hundred rand, which is about thirty american dollars. This kind of money is beyond the means of basotho people. For an American thirty dollars is easily spent going out for dinner. So one meal for an American is equivalent to a month of health for an African with AIDS.

The evening before m'e Theresia was telling us that the student fee was one hundred and nine rand a year. In dollars this about 16 dollars. This feel pays for the child's texts, teacher's fees and a lunch each day. Sometimes this fee is beyond the families means and the community will contribute. Often though the child will just not go to school. It is the performances by the choir and bad that help support the families that can't afford the fees.

Today we went to visit Brian and Steve in the lower village. One the way we ran into a basotho man (elderly) who spoke english very well. He asked me a very profound question (though it might not seem so to everyone) "If we are only in Lesotho a very short time why do we learn sesotho?" I replied that it is important to learn much so we are able to share much with others. I hope that wasn't too cliche? I'm afraid it was though.

This afternoon began a break in the ice with my family. Things I thoughts so differently before now seem comfortable, even the idea of using a bucket in the middle of the night instead of the outhouse. The relationships with my family are growing and I'm enjoying their company more.

My sister Justinna (the most distant) even wanted to braid my hair today. I first noticed the change when Malesa (Peter's girlfriend) said she would not leave for Maseru she didn't want to leave us. I think things became better between Justinna and myself when I helped bring up water and D. stayed back. It gave us a chance to bond just the two of us.