After Long Last, Pictures from Training!

I have been promising pictures since October and I have finally found the opportunity to do so.  Below are pictures from my training which lasted two months.

This is Bearea, the village I stayed in until December.  In Lesotho most people ride donkeys instead of horses.  It's very rare to see a horse here.  Fun fact: Donkey bray about every 2 hours and apparently, before the dawn of cell phones, they were used to tell how much time had passed.  I timed the braying once and it's accurate to about 1/2 an hour.

Another view of the village.  It was surrounded by mountains which we climbed a few times.  Tough hikes but the views were worth it.

My host family's property from my door.  To the left is the main house where the kitchen and master bedroom are.

The family cat.  She was my daily visitor especially when I was cooking.

And her kittens, the best playmates I could ever find.  It was so much fun watching them grow up for the few weeks I was there.  There was a third one but I think it passed away.

The two dogs.  They're tougher than they look.  Every morning I would find them sleeping on my door step.

A herd of sheep by the tap right in front of my house.

Some may remember my facebook post about the new donkey.  This picture was taken right after he was born as you can see from his wobbly legs.  By the afternoon he was confident in his stride but he never made it through the night.

Sunsets in Lesotho are different every night.  This is a picture of one of the homes on the compound which has a thatched roof.  I also had a thatched roof so even on a hot summer day my room stayed very cool.  The downside is that they shed.

The kids in the village.  All of these kids go to Berea High School where I taught for a few weeks.  The high school has one of the best choirs in the nation and they sang at our swearing in.  Another fun fact: boys and girls going to school have to have their heads shaved so in the classroom the uniforms are very helpful for telling if someone is male of female.  One fun fact: the girl on the left, her Christian name is Constance, is an amazing singer and dancer.

Local flower.  I think it's the closest thing to a rose here (can you see those thorns)!

View from one of the mountains.  Once you climb up the mountains are completely flat.  I've seen villages on the mountains.  The school kids most likely climb down the mountain to go to school or don't go at all.

Thaba Bosiu, a historic mountain in Lesotho.  This isn't a picture of it but I had to climb it to get this picture.  This mountain looks exactly like a Basotho hat.

See the resemblance?

Cave paintings in a cave in the North.

A rainy day in Lesotho.  The funny thing about the weather here is that it is completely unpredictable.  One minute you have sunny skies (the right) and the next minute it's about to rain (the left)

Me wearing a seshoeshoe (say-shwe-shwe) for swearing in.  One of our language and culture facilitators (LCF) is a seamstress and made many of us dresses/skirts for swearing in.  Not only is the fabric the traditional seshoeshoe fabric but the style of the dress is too. It also has pockets!  This type of dress is considered formal in Lesotho and for certain occasions, such as funerals, you have to wear the scarf to cover your head.

All of us who lived in Berea village and our LCFs: (from left to right, top row: Sadie (Ausi Lerato), Me Masebkhoa, Teresa (Ausi Palesa), Ausi Reaboka, Janelle (Ausi limpho), Me Lisebo, Mary Jane (Ausi Retumetsi), Ed (Ntate Retabile), Nancy (Me Matebelo), Tishina (Ausi Mpho), Nick (Abuti Tsepo), and me (Ausi Neo))

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!  For more pictures check out the facebook album:

I will try to upload videos soon.

Merry (belated) Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Aparna