Still Alive!

Howdy Gang.  It’s been brought to my attention that I have not posted in some time!  Don’t worry, I’m doing great…I’ve just been too lazy to put up a good, deserving post lately.  I’m not too lazy to put up a crappy one, though!

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I have just returned from a 2 day hike from Morija to Malealea.  We were told by multiple sources that the trip would take about 6 hours.  True to Basotho perception of time…the trip took 2 days.

We did HIV/AIDS outreach to the herd-boys along the isolated path.  We distributed a total of 75 condoms and gave a great number of herd-boys lectures in Sesotho on HIV/AIDS and proper condom use along the way.  Who said you can’t mix business with pleasure?

The hike was gorgeous.  The first day was through the lower foothills.  As night approached, a boy told us that the village ahead might be dangerous.  We asked a ‘M’e if we could stay on her property in our tent.  She welecomed us and we stayed without event.

The second day was an uphill battle.  When we thought we were near the finish, we had to unexpectedly climb over a huge mountain to get to our destination in time.

We ended up setting up camp in a nice pine forest.  It started pouring down rain when we arrived.  We all got soaked putting up the tent, but all in all things went great.  The next day we stayed at our site, had some barbecue, and absorbed the scene.

There was a young boy that we got to know well by the name of Karheli.  He was probably about 9 years old, living alone in the village.  He told us both his parents were alive, but one was in South Africa, the other in Maseru(true?).  They had more or less abandoned him to take care of the herds in Malealea.  He hadn’t seen them in some time(cheap labor?).  He carried himself and talked like a full grown adult, tending to the fire, asking us questions (he spoke to us only in Sesotho).  He didn’t want to enjoy our company without contributing in some way, so he went to his home and brought maize to cook on the fire.  Living on his own, this kid had been forced to grow up quick.  He was attending school, tending to the animals, and caring for himself.  Right now he is okay.  As a young man, he is a great person, his head is on straight and he no doubt has a good heart.  Still, you can’t help but wonder about the ultimate consequences…what lessons has he missed, what games has he never played?  What is the consequence of a life without childhood?

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On a lighter note, I received my first package today, a great number of letters for my current students from my old Middle School in Michigan!  They are going to correspond as pen-pals through the World-Wise Schools program.  There were also some goodies in the box just for me…hahaha.  Thanks so much to everyone who was involved in getting this box to me!  My kids are going to be stoked.  Really, it means so much!

As for those who are worried about their packages not coming in yet, this one took 6 weeks.  I have been assured that when packages get lost, they always end up making it in due time!  Even after 6 months or a year, somehow they trudge along to their rightful place in Lesotho(sometimes they get sent to south america before getting here!  Hm!?), so don’t feel like they’re lost for good.  It just takes some good-old fashioned patience, I suppose!  I’ll let you guys know as soon as I see-em.

Unless you’re sending something very small, Make SURE that you get the FLAT-RATE “Care Package” at the USPS.  There is no peace corps discount.  The flat-rate box is 50 bucks, regardless of weight or what is inside.  It is a nice-sized box and the best for the money.  If the person at the counter doesn’t know what you’re talking about, tell him to investigate until he finds out, because it is supposed to be available at every USPS store.  Happy shipping!

Tagged as: hiking, HIV/AIDS, shipping