The Simple Things in Life

It is always amazing to me how much more I appreciate things after being without them.  This simple Sunday lunch is a good example of some things I appreciate so much more now that they are not a part of my everyday life.  It may look like quite a simple meal, and it was, but I think I appreciated it far more than some fancier meals I have eaten in Canada.  Can you guess what I enjoyed so much? The ratio of green things to carbohydrates, eggs instead of meat, drinking my juice with my meal, ketchup (or at least the closest thing to it here) and eating with a fork were the main things.  The unseen parts that I considered a bonus were spontaneity (this meal was not on the menu), listening to music while eating and a quite lunch by myself.  I do enjoy eating regular meals with my host family, but this is just an example of how I am learning to appreciate things as a rare treat, rather than expect them as a regular part of life.  

A simple Sunday Lunch

Lesotho in November

Today was the first day it felt like summer here. This is not meant to rub in the fact that it is cold in North America, it is just an observation.  It has not felt like summer yet, even though there have been some very hot days.  Many days I am out working in the field, and it is just too hot to enjoy. But today is Saturday and I was finally able to just laze around in a tank-top and shorts and read a book (I was in the shade, which made being outside enjoyable).  The mountain climate though reminds me of Manitoba, in the variableness of the weather.  On Thursday (which was American Thanksgiving) it felt cold enough for it to be Thanksgiving in North America, but today it is too hot to be comfortable in the sun in the middle of the day.  There is my rambling about the weather, just to give you a little taste of what things are like here.  The more important weather news is that it RAINED this week! There was a lot of rain on Wednesday and Thursday.  Unfortunately it is hot and dry now, but we are hopeful that the rains will continue.  Hopeful enough that we (the project) have been planting and we (my host family) are continuing to plant.

We are getting to the end of school, and the beginning of the holiday season, which means a lot of comings and goings at my host family.  The 2 smallest children left a couple of weekends ago, the oldest girl left last Wednesday and the only other child will leave this week.  However, the house will not be empty for long.  MeMalintle’s son and daughter, plus the daughters child and husband, will be coming for the holidays.  We are going to be visiting family and going to a wedding in mid December as well.  I am looking forward to meeting more of the family and getting to know some new brothers and sisters.  However, I am going to miss having the other children around.  As much as I sometimes wish for my own space, I have grown a love for all the children.  

There have been a lot of groups coming and going at the project as well.  There have been groups from South Africa and Lesotho for training, researchers from Lesotho and America and most recently (and most excitingly) the other young adults doing the same program as me.  It was refreshing to be able to speak English, enjoy conversation and cards and late night star gazing.  It was also wonderful to be able to enjoy some of the foods I have been missing, like fresh vegetables and dairy.  I do get a little bit of each of those, but not nearly as much as at home. 

Well there is a short update on life here in Lesotho.  As always, if you want to e-mail and chat about anything I have said, or ask other questions feel free.

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