Here in Lesotho, a wonderful part of
Pre-Service Training [PST] is HVV or the Host Volunteer Visit. During
this four-day experience, the trainees are sent off in small groups
to all corners of Lesotho to stay with PCVs.
And so, two trainees, Joni and Katie,
joined me in my village for four days. On Saturday, I went to town to
meet them. Another PCV had traveled to the training villages the
night before to bring them as well as his own guest up to Butha Buthe
as traveling via public transportation to a place you have never been
to stay with people you have never met can be overwhelming in the
first few weeks in a new country while working on limited language
skills!
The five of us dined at the favorite
Basotho restaurant in town before saying hello to two other PCVs in
town and navigating three different shops to get food for the next
few days. It was amazing how much more attention we drew walking
through Butha Buthe. Most of the shopkeepers and taxi drivers
recognize those of us that live in the district, so normally when I
am in town they spend their time greeting me-often by name-and asking
me where various other PCVs are. Walking with three Americans who are
new faces, however, caused far more commotion. Everyone wanted to say
hello, taxi drivers immediately assumed we were heading to South
Africa, and shouts of “Makhooa!” (white people) filled my ears.
Finally, we were in my taxi and headed
home. Having company is the best excuse to cook extravagant meals. We
ate like queens throughout their visit: tacos with homemade
tortillas, lentil shepherd's pie, banana chocolate chip pancakes with
bacon (or what is sold as bacon here...it is more like Canadian
bacon), peach cobbler, and veggie fried rice kept us happy and full!
When 'M'e Masechaba told me that my
guests would be Joni and Katie, I was excited as I felt we had a lot
in common. 'M'e Masechaba laughed and said “Ausi, I know you!”
She certainly assigned us well. Despite being firmly in three
different decades of life, our professional American lives all share
similar cultures. This made our living together incredibly laid back
and easy. We shared stories from work and stories from our personal
lives. I felt we really got to know one another well in the three
nights they were here.
During their visit, we went for
multiple walks around the village. My villagers were thrilled to see
my company. Greetings became longer and longer as people wanted to
know all about my guests. After less than a month in country, both
Katie and Joni were able to hold their own for simple greetings and
questions. When the Sesotho became too fast or too complex, I stepped
in with answers and explanations.
Monday of their visit was
Take-Your-Trainees-To-Work-Day. I had a meeting scheduled with my
organization. I tried to give them information about the meeting
ahead of time, knowing that it would be nearly impossible for them to
follow all the Sesotho that would be flying around.
The meeting turned out to be the
perfect opportunity for them to see what my real day-to-day work is
like. We arrived a little after 10 for the 10:00 meeting. There were
a handful of women already present. Finally at 11:30 or so, we went
inside and started the meeting with 20 of our 26 members. The meeting
lasted over 2 hours and was exclusively in Sesotho. We ran through
the details related to our project relatively quickly.
After I stopped leading the part about
the project, the women had a lively discussion about CCC and the
Support Group. Technically they are two separate groups despite being
comprised of almost all the same people. This is a discussion that
has been held nearly bimonthly since my arrival. It concluded as the
others have, with everyone present apparently agreeing that the
groups should unite as they have similar purposes and membership.
From there, smaller things were
discussed including fixing my leaky roof (Yahooooooo!!! Hopefully
more on that later!)! At some point one of the women shared some
roast maize with me, which I in turn shared with my counterpart and
guests. As the meeting wound down, I encouraged my counterpart to
lead us all in “Hai eo Mathata,” an easy to learn and fun to sing
song. Then, we prayed and were on our way home.
Walking home, Joni commented on how
passionate everyone was during the meeting. Because she could not
understand what was being said, she was much more aware of people's
tones as they spoke whereas I am usually spending my efforts on the
words they are saying to ensure I understand.
On Tuesday, I took my guests to town
and helped them get started on their trip back to the training
villages-their first foray into public transportation without a
guide.
Despite their departure, their presence
is still felt. Most of my villagers are still asking me about them,
when they left, where they are now, and when they will return.
Prior to this visit, I have only had a
guest or two at a time spend one night at a time. Having three of us
sharing my hut for three nights opened my eyes in many ways. By
Basotho standards, I am spoiled to have this lovely and large hut to
myself (and a double bed too!). With the three of us sharing, there
was enough space for us and and their small backpacks of stuff, but
the hut would seem profoundly smaller if three of us shared it all
the time. It certainly makes sense then that Basotho spend most of
their relaxing time sitting outside instead of inside and why
children only play outside.
Also, three people eat more and make a
lot more dishes that just one. Katie and Joni were amazing guests;
always helping with cooking and doing all the dishes for me, but it
still impressed me how quickly things piled up. If we did not do the
supper dishes before breakfast, I found myself crossing my fingers to
ensure we had enough silverware to eat!
I am excited to share that despite my
fabulous houseguests for half the week-guests who enjoy drinking
copious amounts of water just like I do-my water consumption for the
week was still low: only 50L! Considering that the average 8-minuteshower uses 68L, I am pretty impressed with us!
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