As our first week in Lesotho nears its end, I must say it has been nothing like what I imagined. During the long flight from Houston to Frankfurt to Johannesburg, I waited in anticipation to finally reach our destination. The drive from Mafeteng Airport to Thaba Bosiu was absolutely breathtaking. On both sides we saw golden fields running miles and miles into the distance and a crisp blue sky with not a single cloud in sight. The sun’s rays were so bright, almost blinding. Once we reached the Mmelesi Lodge, our “home away from home” for the next 2 months, I was eager to finally settle down. Even the individual lodges were designed to look like the traditional villages in Thaba Bosiu; I felt like I was a hobbit in the Lord of the Rings as I walked along the narrow pathways from hut to hut. Ntate Chimombe, our supervisor, called Thaba Bosiu the “shrine of Lesotho,” and I am excited to find out why.
The highlight of this week was visiting Letsie High School, where Beverly and I will be teaching a problem-solving camp, Camp Challenge, to Form D (~11th grade) students. We met most of the staff members and Principal Violet; all of them were very happy to see us and glad that we would be teaching their students. We also introduced ourselves to the Form E students who Brittany and Beth would be teaching, and I felt so much joy just seeing their smiling, cheerful faces. I can’t wait to spend the next 6 weeks with them!
On a random/funny side note, because our lodge does not have a kitchen or refrigerator, we must make all of our food using the water boiler we bought. After searching down all the aisles in ShopRite, the local grocery chain in Maseru, we found all the food we could keep unrefrigerated and make using only the addition of water. So two nights ago, we managed to successfully make pasta with bacon, mushroom, and cheese pasta sauce, and it was quite delicious! Not nearly up to restaurant quality, but better than I had imagined. Last night we cooked up sliced Vienna hot dogs and paired it with instant beef and vegetable soup, yet another edible dish. Unfortunately, we have not been able to produce a hard-boiled egg, but we are still trying!