Gum Boots

        Last Week I traveled out to another PC volunteers village.  We had a big plan to get started early and spend our day hiking through the beautiful Tsehlanyane National Park.  I told her I would leave my place at 6:30 and she would then wait for me by the junction of her village, around 7:30.  As it turns out I got to a deserted taxi rink around 7, didn't leave town till 8:30 and then got to her at 9:30, oh well!  When you get in a taxi here, a small van than seats 18 people, or 26 if it is a school day, you don't leave until the entire thing fills up.  If you are one of the first it can be overwhelming trying to decide where to sit.  Do I want to be next to a window?  Where will I most likely not be sat on by someone else?  Where are the older people going to want to sit?  Where will I be noticed less?  Anyway my decisions were made and after moving a few times to accommodate everyone I had a surprisingly amazing ride out to Maggie.  I couldn't believe that the scenery would get even more beautiful.

 It took us almost 3 hours of hiking / walking just to get to the park.  Our plan was to try and hike within the park for around 5K then turn around and head back, but we were running out of time in order for me to get all the way home before dark.  It was amazing though.  Several mountain ranges and river valleys. Passing through villages and meeting people who wanted to sing to us along the way.  There is also a 5 star resort in the park that we stopped into for a yummy glass of wine (on the way back)!  It is called the Maliba Lodge, look it up, it will make you want to come visit.  It is very pricey, but they contribute a lot of resources to the nearby villages and community programs.  Anyway it was an amazing day and the scenery was breathtaking!

        As I mentioned last week, my school had visitors from a special education class at the Lesotho University.  Unfortunaley they were a few hours late, kind of normal here, so the program had to be shortened.  There were about 30 students and they wanted to visit the school, play with the students, ask questions etc.  It was great to see so many people very enthusiastic about special education.  Our students performed a song, they performed a song, our teachers performed an amazing song (which I was part of, just pretending to sing in the background!) and then there were a lot of presentations.  They asked me to speak and I was kind of put on the spot, but did say a few words about the importance of special education and disability rights.  After I was asked about 50 times to take pictures with the students.  It is funny how people who don't know anything about you want pictures with you.  Remember Southeast Asia and India Amy! 

       

            The picture below is of our students practicing a "gum boots" dance with their teacher.They were supposed to perform this during the visit, but since it started so late we ran out of time.  I figured I would give it some attention on my blog!  It is almost like "Riverdance" or tapping but with big rubber rain boots on and lots of slapping your legs!  Overall It was a really nice day and the school and students felt proud of themselves. 

        An unpleasant thing that has happened at school is an outbreak of Chicken Pox.  Although this is very common, here it can be harsh.  People who are HIV positive (which is close to 1 in 4) can't afford to get sick.  Also we are a residential school and that makes it very contagious.  Right now we are up to about 6 cases, but I imagine it is going to be more.  The kids also get very frustrated because the school tries to quarantine them in a seperate room and they just don't understand.  They are very unhappy and they sometimes succeed at escaping out the window!  Hopefully it will not be too bad. 

       All for now.  Next time I will write about seeing the KING of Lesotho at the Peace Corps 50th anniversary celebration!