Rustler's Valley, Career Fair, Quthing, etc

so, i tried to post last week, but the computer wouldn't let me get on the site, so that didn't work. but rustler's valley rocked. there was electricity (complete with electric blankets) and indoor plumbing, and AWESOME food. i ate way too much. and it was great. technically speaking, it was also the best session thus far. they guy leading the talks was really knowledgeable, though he did get on his soap box a little. it was also really cool to see all of the housing, which was sustainable. many of the people there had built these houses as their first attempts, and they worked out pretty well. most of the houses were made of clay and cow dung. we also go to learn about medicinal plants, some of which i thought sounded a wee bit sketch, and companion planting, and good indengenous plants to grow in the garden.
after rustler's valley, we got to go to leribe on a field trip to see some dongas (really nasty erosion) and how they were being reclaimed, as well as animal care (including pigs, chickens, and cows). it was a little sad, because the animals weren't living in the best of conditions (i.e. chickens with beaks clipped, pigs in cement enclosures) but i guess i should be more concerned with the people. another kinda sad thing was a huge silo full of corn that had been sitting there for 2 plus years. china had donated it, and because of beaurocratic probs it had never been distributed and was now kinda ruined. animals could eat it, i suppose. we also saw some greenhouses and one of the 2 large dams in lesotho. that was neat, because we got to see how forestry built up trees around the dam to preserve the earth. forestry in lesotho is basically planting as opposed to maintaining trees, since there are few trees here.
yesterday all of the volunteers came together in a village to have a career fair for the kids around. it was supposed to start at 9:30, but no one showed up until 12, which is apparently normal for lesotho. it went over pretty well after that. the permy group talked about increasing protein by diet adding powdered milk to bread, eating beans, etc, and about decreased the amount of carbs and increasing the amount of colored veggies in the diet. we made some bread and lentils as an example.
tomorrow, the trainees go to tselhanyane, a national park in the leribe district, for the entire day. it's supposed to be cold, but hopefully it will be fun, and hopefully i will remember to bring my camera! sunday, the permies go to quthing for more training there, in what i'm not sure. there supposed to be electricity and indoor plumbing where we're staying, so i'm happy. next week is also our last week in the villages where we've been living the past month. a week from saturday, we have a village feast and then return to maseru for a week and a half before heading to our permanent sites. we find out our permanent sites next wednesday. i'm hoping for mohale's hoek or leribe, but we'll see.

thaba bosiu

the rest of this week has been pretty uneventful. just training, learning sesotho, etc. we did have a pretty good session on thursday, though. a man came to talk with the permaculture group (permies) about growing orchards, including, growing seedlings, budding, pruning, etc. we got to practice budding, which is moving a bud from a mature tree to a seedling. this is done because it encourages the seedling to grow to produce fruit like the mature tree, so obviously you want to choose a good tree. also, you can put an apricot or plum bud on a peach seedling and the seedling will grow into and apricot or plum tree. same with apple trees and pear trees. this is good because some seedlings, like peach seedlings, are hardier than others, so chances of producing a tree are better. we also learned about pruning, and got to practice that. we then drove around a mountain looking at dongas, which are massive ravines caused by erosion. they grow larger every year unless measures are taken by the community or the govt to stop them. erosion was caused mainly by overgrazing, and the dongas are prevented from growing by fortifying their sides with rocks, and then planting trees. it was a nice day, very hands-on, which i like. also, the presenter was really knowledgeable and interested in his topic, which hasn't always been the case.
this morning we went to thaba bosiu, the night mountain, which has a rich history for lesotho. i'm sure you can research it online if you want, but briefly, the basotho and the orginal king who brought the country together, moshoeshoe, sought refuge on the mountain during a war, and battled the forces as they came up the mountain. there are still remnants of the houses of moshoeshoes 140-odd wives, and a cemetarty where all of the kings and their male relatives since are buried on top of the mountain. there is also a eucalyptus tree that was given to moshoeshoe up there. he planted it at the top of the mountain and it's now 171 years old. and we saw bullet holes in rocks on the side of the mountain. it was a nice morning. the tour guide was fun. and it was nice just to get outside and hike for a while.
tomorrow i go to rustlers valley, about an hour outside of vicksburg, s.a., with all the other permies, to learn about permaculture. i'm excited, as i've heard it's a good trip, and there'll be running water (indoor plumbing) and electricity. hooray!! will report back later.

ann

PCV Site Visit/Party

the party on sat was pretty crazy. we got to butha-bothe around 5 or so, and there were a lot, probably a majority of the PCV's in country at the hop in (the bar at which the party was held). it was a lot of fun at first, i got to drink beer in public (girls generally can't) because the bar was owned by and ex-pat. the bar was supposed to be closed for a private party, but they started letting basotho in, and things got pretty crazy. the ntate (the men) can be pretty raunchy, and they kept grabbing us, so we ended up leaving and spending the night in someone's randevaulle. a couple of people had money and phones stolen once the ntate showed up to, so it wasn't the best of weekends. i came out fine, though. on sunday 2 other pct's and i headed back to tseroane with a pcv to visit her site. public transportation in this country is pretty wild. they try to rip you off because you're white, they drive really crazy, and they pack some people in, which is even rougher when people are smelly. there was one drunk guy who got on the combi and kept asking us "how much" as in "how much do you cost" which was annoying. generally the bo-me (the women) step in to set him straight, but there weren't many on the combi that day. the conducter finally stepped in.
unfortunately theresa, the pcv with whom we stayed, doesn't really have a job right now. this has been a problem for her since she got to site. she has compensated by doing a lot of hiking. she lives about a mile up a mountain, and away from the road (it's a fun walk, especially yesterday when we helped her carry a full gas cannister up to her place). there are some good hiking places, though. we went all the way up to the top of the mtn, saw a water trickle, and then walked around to the other side of the mountain to see some dinosaur footprints. they were really vivid in the rocks. pretty cool stuff. hopefully i'll be able to get some pictures posted eventually. we also saw some cave paintings. i slept pretty well that night. it was good to see what people do to their homes, and how to do things like make dutch ovens. theresa had a randevaulle, too, which was nice to see. they are actually nicer than most homes in lesotho, cheaper to make, warmer in the winter, and cooler in the summer. people don't build them because the more expensive houses are a status symbol of wealth, which is silly. oh, well. all in all, this has been the most fun that i've had thus far. we'll see what the future holds. i go to south africa on sunday!
ann

so this past week was a loooooooooooooooooot of sesotho, and then some economics and beaurocratic lessons about lesotho. some of them were interesting. 4 hours of sesotho is a lot, though, especially when the teacher is not that great. yesterday, we finished up at lunch and i had to go take a walk to cool off. the teacher is not clear on what he wants and gets frustrated when you don't understand what's happening. arrrrrrrrgggggghhhh. anyways, we also had an ocd albino come to talk with us about crop management and pest control. he gave an incorrect definition of pests, and took about 20 minutes to do it, and when on to give another couple incorrect pieces of info. the stuff on actual pests seemed pretty accurate, though. the other lessons weren't that bad, though. one on economics that sounded interesting i missed most of because i got sick. fyi, diarrhea is no fun. i have no idea how i got it. could be stress, or maybe not boiling water long enough or washing food well enough, or dietary change. anyways, wednesday was pretty rough. in the middle of the talk i felt like i was going to pass out, so i walked out of the room. as soon as i got outside i blacked out for a second and ran my head into the cement wall of the building. i've got a nice scrape on my head. then i fell down and lost control of my faculties (yep, pooped in my pants). i'm fine now, though. haven't quite regained my appetite, but hoping to soon. today, all of us trainees are going to visit pcv sites. actually, all volunteers are getting together tonight for a party, probably a post 4th of july gathering (we didn't really celebrate on wednesday, and i was sick anyways). it's at a bar owned by and ex-pat in butha-buthe, so girls can drink beer in public!!! i can also wear pants. hooray! booya for jeans. anyways, i'll be back to the computer on tues, so update you on the weekend then. hope you all had a good 4th of july.

p.s. marriage proposals up to 1