"Some volunteers will be issued a horse..."

Lumelang Bo ‘M’e le Bo Ntate (Greetings, ladies and gentlemen)!

Lesotho! Oh, South Africa's kingdom in the sky!

(pronounced Leh-soo-too)

I have 9 weeks before I leave and preparations are under way. I have a few big... BIG... purchases to make. They say you don't need to spend a lot of money getting ready for the Peace Corps but if you are not avid backpacker/hiker/ultra-rugged outdoorsman galore then that's a lie. I've started researching to figure out the best of the best in sleeping pads, internal frame backpacks, hiking boots and rain jackets. And there are lots of options. Anyone have any personal suggestions???

When I was officially invited I thought, "Thank God! All that paperwork is behind me!" Then the U.S. government said, "Psh! Bite me, Carly." Luckily, I don't mind paperwork. So in the last week I've applied for a Peace Corps passport (not like a regular passport), finished my dental qualifying stuff (mmm.... people hands in your mouth), applied for the Correspondence Match program (go, Schoony!), mailed my press release forms (keep your eyes open receivers of the Daily Telegram) and read my Welcome Book twice. And what have I gotten in return for this paper-based slave labor? Juicy, juicy knowledge!!!

So, let's begin our first Life-In-Lesotho lesson. The people in Lesotho are Basotho (Bah-soo-too). The language in Lesotho is Sesotho (Seh-soo-too). The population is largely Christian but some older cultural traditions still persist, like bride prices. Cattle are prized more than currency in many cases and 85% of the country is rural. Because of the traditional Christian norms, women do not wear pants or shorts and do not show much skin up top. The Peace Corps also told me I had to wear a bra while teaching. Darn. Maybe Lesotho likes bras because they are a constitutional monarchy. The government is very similar to England's political system with a king (figurehead, mostly) and a prime minister who is elected and a cabinet. The economy relies heavily on South Africa, in multiple ways. Lesotho sells water and electricity to South Africa and imports almost all of their food stuffs. Wars with South Africa sucked away Lesotho's viable farm land in the nineteenth century and now the majority of food consumed by Basotho is imported from South Africa. Lesotho has been politically stable for decades since gaining their independence in 1966 apart from a little hiccup there at the turn of the millenium. Whoopsy.

I will be living dorm-style with the other 26 people in my group for the first two weeks abroad to start language, culture and safety/health lessons. The next 5 weeks I will be living with a Basotho family and continuing the lessons. The last two weeks of training (lessons) I will be back in dorm-style living. 9 weeks total- after that I will be assigned to a specific village or town somewhere else in the country and my group and I will be shipped off to our respective new homes!
Oh- and some volunteers will be issued horses for transportation, other bicycles. But most of us will be doing lots and lots of walking.

If any one knows of any shoes that are 'dressy' but also comfortable for walking many miles at a time please let me know.

That's all I've got for now. I leave you all with a mildly thought-provoking post of the week but mostly it's just me ranting and trying to contain my excitement.


Peace!