Winter - Summer

  Spring is here.  Actually here people don't talk about spring or fall.  On August 31st it was winter and then the next day they said it was summer!  I was really confused at first because a few things changed at work on the schedule and then I realized that we were now operating on the summer schedule.  The tree to the right is my Peach tree, in my yard with beautiful pink flowers.  I took this picture at twilight when the light is so nice here, but the picture doesn't really reflect it so well. Another sign of summer is that I have taken off a layer of clothing.  Now I just where one layer and a jacket.  It goes from being around 40 degrees here in the mornings to around 80 in the afternoons.  It is very confusing to me, but I am slowly adjusting. It is also extremely windy right now and there have been a couple of days that feel like dust storms.  People here just go about their business, but I have to hide in my jacket and then run for my house because it is so dusty.  The dust just never goes away here. I should have brought a Netti Pot.

Another PC Volunteer just moved nearby, about a 45 minute walk between our houses.  She is very nice and it is fun to have a friend in the area.  The picture on the left was taken on the walk to her house.  It is amazing how just walking to town or a friend's home is like going hiking here.  The views are amazing and the terrain is rough.  I am kind of sad that I did not bring hiking boots, my sneakers are getting worn out quickly.  On our walk to her house we passed through several villages, climbed through a ravine, and came across many herds of cattle and sheep.  Some days I get stuck behind large herds of sheep and goats and usually someone will come by and say "I didn't know that you were here to take care of the sheep!"
 

This week at school has been very busy.  I was able to travel to the capital to meet people at Sentebale, the charity that provides a lot of funding to our school.  Sentebale was founded by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso who were overwhelmed by the plight of vulnerable children in Lesotho.  This school has really benefited from the charity and they have made great improvements in the kids lives.  One thing they did for the school is build a usable kitchen, ramps and better dorms for the students to use.  On the left two of our students are washing dishes in the kitchen.  It actually has hot running water!
     Besides going to Maseru, I have been helping the teachers prepare for visitors on Friday.  The students and staff have been cleaning the whole school and practicing music and dance routines.  They are having visitors come from National University of Lesotho, the only higher education in the country.  Their students studying education will visit us tomorrow to see what happens at the center.  I will put some pictures from that visit in the next blog.  The students continue to work on improving their vocational and self help skills.  I continue to work with the teachers on adding strategies to their teaching and ideas for using materials they can get easily.  We are making a lot of TEACCH tasks (for those special educators!)  I am also working hard at trying to speak more Sesotho, I have never been good at learning languages, but I am getting the basics down at least.  All for now