NEW BLOG POST!

Here's an update since the last time I posted...

AUGUST -School Starts. August 11th - my centre takes a school trip to Maseru (the capital) and TY (in the north) to visit other training centres and to observe what each are doing. My centre visits Cassie's training centre (most of you know who she is) and meet her for the first time (she's a current & new volunteer in the CHED 2011 group - she arrived to Lesotho during my one year mark). This trip just so happens to be undeniable my WORST day in Lesotho during my service. Apparently my first impression was not exactly amiable.

SEPTEMBER - All Vol - A conference during the 14th through the 16th for all the volunteers (hence the name) in country. Well, during said conference I redeemed my less-than-perfect first impression with Cassie. During the conference, we celebrated Peace Corp's 50th Anniversary. The King attended the celebration, and the new CHEDs got to swear in - which the King helped to conduct. The rest of Septemeber proved exciting - winky emoticon!

OCTOBER - I start visiting TY almost every weekend. The month goes by without much fanfare - my training centre has its midterm break and I get a week off. Sleep was caught up with. Weather is warmer, spring is definitely here. Take Halloween weekend to sleep some more. I guess you could consider my costume the all mighty hibernating bear.

NOVEMBER - Funding at my school has halted and dried up. We are left with almost no more materials - no gas or food for cooking class, no wood for carpentry, no metal for welding, and the solar equipment for training was stolen a year ago. I mainly spend this time at my centre hangin' with coworkers or teaching life skills. Spend Thanksgiving in TY with a bunch of volunteers (you may have seen photos on Facebook). Also, I find out that the mysterious stomach pains that have plagued me since last Decemeber (yes, as in 2010) have been caused by an ulcer. I was rushed to a private hospital in Maseru after a night of extreme pain and nausea. After a comprehensive ultrasound, it was determined that the pain, loss of appetite, and rapid weight loss (about 40 lbs) have all been casued by this ulcer. I was given about five different pills to take for a week & everything clears up. Luckily, I get my appetite back for Thanksgiving. My centre closes a week earlier than normal (schools close in the beginning of Deceember for holidy and harvest).

DECEMBER -Desperately saving & penny pinching for my New Years trip to Cape Town. Because of the healed ulcer, I NEED to eat regularly, several times a day, but because of my lack of money, this proves difficult. I notice some weight gain (this is a very good thing). Spend Christmas in TY with some friends. Still strange to have a sunny and extremely hot Christmas. Summer now is in full force.

Cape Town - take a 12 hour overnight bus from Bloemfontein, SA to Cape Town. Bodily discomfort ensues & I hope the bus back to Lesotho is more comfortable. It isn't. Anyways, Christopher William McMillan, my hero, flies into Cape Town the day we all arrive. We have a (explicit) blast. I miss his face. Cape Town rocks, NYE rocks, Mexican food still rocks. Afterwarsds, I notice even more weight gain - even better. I have gain 10 lbs since my ulcer healed. YAY.

JANUARY - Return to Lesotho, with Chris, on the 5th. after another terrible bus ride. I already miss Cape Town. Chris spends a night and a day at my site and does his own laundry by hand. Cassie and I try recovering from the travel and our general denial of returning to village. Chris, Cassie, Ariana, and I travel South (4 hours) to visit a volunteer who has left since. Chris crashes "Ladies Night." We return the following day to Ariana's house. We spend several days there and are sick of travelling, the thought of it makes us cry. Well, not really. I already relish the electricity, running water, and shower at Ariana's house. Afterwards, we travel North (3 hours) to Cassie's house. Chris, unfortunately, leaves the 12th, and Cassie and I travel with him to Johannesburg. We arrange private transport (i.e. Cassie's coworker) to drive us. This costs me way too much money, for which I'm still paying off to this day.

School Opens the 16th. Come to find out, someone broke into our woodshop, took out the battery from our pickup truck, took apart the solar equipment, and used the wires from the solar panels to try to recharge the car battery. Now, since car batteries have nothing to stop them from overcharging, it explodes, ruining the solar equipment and spraying battery acid everywhere. We are without electricity for our computer class, capentry, and welding. Plus, our solar equipment - the last of which is left from theft is damaged. I basically spend my following days at my centre doing nothing. I must therefore have to spend my time and energy on secondary projects. My centre's director is unhappy about this, and Peace Corps has to intervene.

FEBRUARY - Start planning for Valentine's Day and realize that my originality for gifts is lacking. Plus, I'm in Africa. I start reading books again for the first time in months. I have also realized that I've been trying to read all them "thinking" books and actively find ones you don't need a bedside dicitnonary for. Also, I don't have TB. My heavy cough remains a mystery...

UPCOMING EVENTS - Vday & Anniversary in Ladybrand, SA. Just a day for good ol' food and relaxation.

Plan on updating to a Blackberry. So, anyone who has one can message me with BBM for free. Even though I'm in Africa.

For my 26th birthday in March, a couple friends and I intend to spend a weekend in South Africa to celebrate.

EXTENDING A THIRD YEAR -That's right people, I'm intending to extend for a full third year. I will definitely be extending elsewhere at a different site and a different job, which is very common for third year extensions. Also, I am going up for the PCVL position (Peace Corps Volunteer Leader) - a third year position, which is based outside of Maseru (the capital). In addition of working for the Peace Corps office on various assignments, the PCVL has a part time "regular" job and acts as a liason between current volunteers and the staff. If I don't receive this post, I will definitely extend as a normal third year volunteer. FYI - I'm only looking at sites for third year that include running water and/or electricity. And a bathtub wouldn't hurt. The good news about extending - I will have madatory home leave for a month (probably in July). So you will be able to see me then!


- Kelly


P.S. I didn't have time to reread this post, so I hope there's no typos...