17 February 2015: Ramblings

1)      Valentine’s day is a thing here, as I learned while I was trying to explain it to my students. They were all like “we know” and I even saw a few heart-shaped cards going around. If they knew the extent that candy was involved in an American Valentine’s day, they would go crazy. I swear, some of these kids only live for sugar.

2)      It’s been 3 or 4 weeks of teaching, and as you have probably already read, I’m bored of it. I’ve been making the form A and Bs make flash cards to help correct their abominable multiplication skills, and teaching my form C life skills class how to z-snap and how to say things like “wasup” and “peace out,” mostly because I have no idea what I’m doing in life skills class.When I’m in class actually teaching, it’s great, but the suckiest thing is grading- especially homework, because most of the kids just copy off each other anyway, so it doesn’t even matter. Then at school, there’s just a lot of waiting around, wondering if we’re actually gonna have sports after school, seeing what banal task one of the teachers wants me to do (type anything, see which computer mouses work, install software, etc.). Half the time, like the students I guess, it feels like I’m going to school for the free lunch, which is really not half bad. I’ve foregone breakfast mostly out of laziness, so by the time 1pm lunch rolls around, it’s quite satisfying. Other than that, there is a lot of teacher absenteeism, especially on Friday afternoons if a truck passes by and they want to go home for the weekend.

3)      Last week, two staff members came to my village for site visit, obligatory at least once a year for each volunteer. They rolled up to my school in their white SUV and proceeded to kind of tour around and talk to my principal. Then we all drove on the “road” back to my house where they were able to talk to my ‘me and ask me some very PC-esque questions about integration and the like. Then they gave me two packages, one from Mom and one from the JCC. I was so happy. Double presents! I forgot that super useful and/or quirky stuff even existed for a minute until I saw some of the wonders in the boxes.

4)      This past weekend, I went to Mohale’s Hoek, the camptown north of Quthing, and went to this really bad excuse for a jazz concert at one of the hotels there. It was advertised as starting at 4pm, but being in Lesotho, by 6pm they were just getting around to doing sound check. Then I went to the VRC [volunteer resource center] at the other hotel. The wifi! The flushing toilets! The pool! The shower! The books! The chicken burger! The cheese slice on the chicken burger (I haven’t had cheese in forever)! Yes, it’s the little things, and they were so needed.

5)      Getting a 4+1 (a small sedan-like taxi) in Mohale’s Hoek, after I put my big backpack in the trunk, I instinctively went on the right side of the car to where, before I came to this country, the passenger’s seat has always been. Obviously, the driver was already sitting there, so I was like whoops, and went around to the left side. As I got in, the driver was dangling the keys out, laughing and asking if I was planning on driving. He then immediately asked if I was American. It’s like that scene in Inglorious Basterds where the guy asks for 3 glasses with the American 3 (index, middle, and ring fingers) as opposed to the German 3 (thumb, index, and middle). Dead giveaway.

6)      I am eating peaches on peaches on peaches, as well as cactus fruits. My little abuti likes to climb the trees and pick the peaches on the high branches.

Sun-drying peaches outside

7)      I’m teaching the form Bs how to do Sudoku. They’re really getting into it!

8)      When someone sneezes here, people don’t say “bless you” or any kind of Sesotho equivalent. In fact, during training, one of the other volunteers made a point to ask a lot of Basotho what you say after someone sneezes, and they all told him something different, because you don’t really say anything. And that’s how I think it should be everywhere. Your heart isn’t stopping. You don’t need to be blessed. Just have your bodily moment and move on.

9)      The most popular beer here, made in Lesotho, is called Maluti, after the Maluti mountain range. The national currency is also named after these mountains. Sometimes when people say they’re going drinking, they say that they are “supporting the currency.”