I swiped my title from Lord of the Rings, I just watched it AND I live in the land where Tolkien was born so I would be a failing fan if I didn’t integrate it into my blog at least once more and as my chances are diminishing I am jumping on the opportunity. Anyways, I have been kind of slacking with my blogging, you may have assumed I am completely wrapped up in the paper work, errands, and medical visits that all must be done in order for me to close my service by May 28th. This is mainly true. I have also been grappling with the idea that I soon won’t be here and, as a result, I have been procrastinating having to make it concrete by putting it in words and writing up a blog where I would undoubtedly have to face this fast approaching reality. This is no longer avoidable, I have since started to put things in labeled bags, resisted buying the larger container of honey and instead opted for the smaller one, and, doing what is most dreaded, looking ahead to a very uncertain future. As I write this, I hear some rather ambiguous noises outside my house, that once I am at home, I won’t be able to pawn off as just noises from the drunken men at the Jakaranda or from the mice that I am certain live in my walls. So, as the beginning of the end moves from the beginning to the end of the end, I have begun my retrospection and thought I would share with you some of the things I will most definitely miss and some of those things I have learned during my time here.
So going on with the former, the things I will miss from Lesotho 1) How a Basotho’s face melts to smiles when you greet them in Sesotho—this is very true, when they see you and see you are a foreigner they assume you will not greet them in Sesotho and look at you like they may kill you because you are ignorant of the language, so when you do they are pretty surprised and pleased. 2) The smell of guavas in the taxi rank—because normally it is hot and smells of urine, so when the sweet smell of guavas hits you, it is like the best smell ever. 3) Helping the kitchen staff at the clinic—they want to learn so much, I mean last week I taught them how to make tuna salad. 4) Having time to do things I didn’t have time to do before—like knitting and learning how to make curry. 5) Finding a new culinary ingredient in Shoprite/Pick n’ Pay that wasn’t there before—the best day ever may have been when they got parmesan and swiss cheese here. 6) Quality time to spend with friends because of lack of anything else to do—when you hang out with people there is nothing to distract you, no Blackberrys, no wireless internet, no TV, no movies so you really talk about stuff which is nice and I’m really disappointed to leave this because at home, you no longer get to spend time like this with friends and family, there is always and email to check, someone is always getting a text and so on. 7) How parties generally last at least two days—you have to arrive a day early because you couldn’t get there the day of and had to come early because of public transportation, the next day you wake up and hang out and party and the next day you drag your hung over bum home. 8) Having time to cook dinner—everyday I dedicate at least an hour or so to dinner, it is my therapy. 9) Getting to work with the high school students—they are quite possibly the most fun and they think I’m just full of fun ideas, I mean what high schoolers at home would love to play ‘duck, duck, goose’? 10) How good brownies are—I can’t remember the last time I had a brownie, and they are soooooo good when you do get to have them here, along with a variety of treats like real ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, and cheesecake. 11) How helpful taxi’s can be—I can literally start a trip off with only knowing my destination and get there no problem on public transportation because the drivers are so helpful. 12) Conversations in taxi’s—I’ve discussed everything from condom use, to HIV, to religion, to racism in South Africa, to music, to my job and just about every other topic under the sun in taxis with other passengers and drivers. 13) My Peace Corps and Basotho friends—they have been my family for the past two years, and they have been the best. 14) Names of taxis—Naming your taxi here is a pretty big deal and as a result some very interesting names are currently being used, here are some examples: Passion Wagon, Baby Lover, Taliban, Chocolate Mousse, The Holy Roman Catholic Mass (with detailing including the 12 Apostles), Accessorize, Slow Poison, If They Could See Me Now, and etc. 15) Listening to Britney Spears and other guilty pleasures on my iPod during taxi rides—you generally have to listen to something with a strong beat to drown out the awful Basotho music that is played and Britney so happens to be perfect for that. 16) Taking walks that turn into life skills lessons—“M’e Nthabi (that’s me) how do I use the female condom?” enough said. 17) Getting to dictate what I do in my job—I know this will never happen again. 18) Spontaneous Basotho dance parties—where there is a beat and rhythm, there is a dance party, that even means at 7am on Sunday on the side of the road to the beat of the music in a passing car. 19) Going to bars/clubs in Maseru and being cornered by a Basotho male who is interested in how to use condoms and their importance and who also would like to know more about HIV—no time like the present, right? 20) Dance parties of all kind in general—maybe I’ve taught myself many of the dances from Glee and attempted choreography to many of my Broadway favorites, I’m not saying I definitely have, but maybe I have. 21) The moments where Basotho realize they are totally capable, especially the women—it’s rare but when it happens, it definitely changes you. 22) The welcoming and warm qualities of the Basotho culture—I mean in St. Libory, how long does it take for someone to feel fully welcomed and integrated? Surely more than two years, here they accepted me and my role in 2 months. 23) Peaches!—and basically all the fresh fruits here at the clinic, I mean I am 20 feet from a pomegranate tree, yebo antioxidants! 24) Singing Broadway tunes at the top of my lungs—this is a totally acceptable practice, I mean everyone here sings, good or bad so I just fit right in with my diva-ness in regards to Broadway. 25) Being called ‘Nthabi’—this is my Sesotho nickname, it is short for my full Sesotho name ‘Nthabiseng,’ which means ‘we rejoice.’ Allison is nice and I want to say it means something to do with the moon, which is cool and all but I will never be called ‘Nthabi’ again. 26) The sheer craziness of day-to-day happenings—I mean the other day I found a live bird in my sink, no clue how it got there, just walked by and it was there. 27) My view—every morning I wake up and watch the sunrise over the Maluti Mountains, it’s a pretty nice deal. 28) How everything I do here is full of the potential for adventure, and usually ends up being one—every time I set foot in a taxi, I know good and well I am taking my life into my own hands. So that’s all I’ve got so far, but it’s a running list that I am sure I will continue to add to long after I am home and realize all of the other little things I miss. It is very bittersweet leaving all of this, to be sure. It is my family and it is my life currently, and I have to up root it all over again like I did 2 years ago and the more I think about it the easier it would be to just stay.
So to move on to the things I have learned, which in reality is a very extensive and involved list basically summing up how I have learned to live on my own and be myself, for what it seems, the first time in my life. To have the freedom and acceptance of being yourself is quite liberating and realizing what that is, is a blessing, which would be lesson number one, and quite frankly, one I came here to dig up. 2) Being an American is awesome—never give it up, your American passport is literally your ticket to the world, and people have killed and died for a lot less in hopes of getting one. And not to mention, and I hate to go all Toby Keith on you, but America is a pretty wonderful place, I mean we have a minority as a President and cheap fountain sodas, you don’t get that combo everywhere, let me tell you. 3) I have a pretty great family—Mom and Dad go ahead and give yourselves a pat on the back. I am utterly grateful for my upbringing, seeing family dynamics in Basotho culture and hearing about the variety of upbringings that my fellow PCV’s have had makes me really glad for what they provided for me. Yeah, I had to play softball when what I really wanted to do is learn how to be Tiffany and Madonna, but you can’t win ‘em all, and what I did get is pretty darn good. 4) How grateful I am for good friends—there are so many people here, and a few at home, who put up with my crazy so that I may do the same for them, and those that do that for you are pretty much the best people you will ever be able to find in the world. 5) I have learned how to distinguish what I need from what I want—for the past two years I have lived below the poverty line in America, and with such limited funds, I have been able to discern what I need as opposed to what I want. Here are a few examples: I know I need Diet Coke, so that takes priority over me wanting to eat chicken, I don’t need chicken when I can just get an egg for R1 and take care of that nutritional need and put the rest in my Diet Coke fund; I know I need to see people so I will use my gas money for my heater, which I want, to see people when they are in Maseru; I know I need money for graduate school but that I want to go on safari in the Serengeti after I go to Zanzibar, so I must forgo the safari in hopes I will get a higher degree; I know I need the new Glee: The Power of Madonna album from iTunes but that I want to get sushi tomorrow, so I will opt for the album and not the sushi; and so on and so forth, I mean I don’t even remember the last time I bought clothing, probably when I was home for Christmas. 6) I have learned to relax, and it is important that I have learned the different kinds of relaxing and when to apply them. I have learned how to take it slow on Sundays. At first when I was here I would freak out if I had a Sunday all by myself at my house, I have since learned to cherish these days and how to fill them with relaxing, albeit, productive activities, like blogging, cleaning, and bread baking. Another kind of relaxing is to know that the higher power that rules over Africa makes everything work out just fine. I may be stuck in traffic at 4pm on a Friday in the winter trying to make it back to my site before dark, but I know there is no use in freaking out because, somehow things work out, I may get an amazing hitch or that power which presides over Africa keeps the sun up for those last crucial moments when I am just arriving at my house. I have also learned to relax when there is absolutely nothing you can do about a situation. Since being here there has been quite the change in our administration, our new one being more strict than the previous, and I knew I had to relax about it and just see how things play out, because at the end of the day there’s not much I could do about it. 7) Never scare or play a practical joke on a Basotho—I may have done this and it did not go over well. 8) I’m coming back, maybe not necessarily to Lesotho, but Africa, you bet. This is just scraping the surface with things I have learned and I know as I look back on my experience I will continue to learn from it and I will always be thankful for that.
So I will leave you with this, I really hope to get at least one more blog up before I leave and one when I get home so that I relay my Zanzibar trip and after that I will probably be done until the next opportunity pops up. So thanks for reading, take care and have a great week! Salang hantle!
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