Today was my last day in Bethel, but more importantly, it was Jeremy’s last day. We woke up earlier than usual, and Jeremy immediately tackled the rest of the packing that had to be done. We ate leftover “papa” from last nights’ dinner. Papa is made from maize meal. When the maize meal is mixed with water, you are left with a hard white substance somewhat akin to mashed potatoes or maybe cream of wheat. But it is largely devoid of taste. Papa is one of the staple foods in Lesotho, and while it tends to be a joke amongst the Basotho, I did enjoy it.
Perhaps the funniest event of the day was the saga of Jeremy’s air pump. It seems that one of the teachers had borrowed Jeremy’s pump. We needed the pump to inflate the inner tubes for tubing, but when we went to borrow it, he explained that he had used it “heavily” and that it no longer worked. He had previously agreed to buy the pump from Jeremy, and he let us borrow a “working” pump, so we were not really worried. When the time came to return his pump and collect the money for the other pump, he was not to be found. Jeremy had previously planned on placing his pump in the science lab, but we came up with a better idea. We sold the pump to one of his friends and told them that they could either keep it or return it to the other teacher for the 25 Rand that he was promised!
I also need to mention last nights’ dinner. Jeremy and I cooked the rest of the pork over his fire pit. Jeremy made up a honey garlic glaze for the pork, and we also made papa and beans. It was awesome. But even better was the fire. When you BBQ meat, you need to put out all of the flames, and sadly, you don’t really get to enjoy the fire. Last night, after dinner, we started up the fire again and roasted marshmallows. It was a perfect way to end the visit.
We were given a ride to the Peace Corps headquarters in the school truck, and I am definitely glad that this was offered to us. The ride was incredibly bumpy and I cannot imagine making that ride in one of the mini-buses. Even in a relatively comfortable truck, the 6 hour ride left my butt in extreme pain. Despite the length and the discomfort, the scenery was awesome. Lesotho is so beautiful. It truly is the mountain kingdom of South Africa and it is an honest to goodness paradise for outdoorsy people.
We arrived at the Peace Corps Headquarters and made our way to a nice coffee shop, “Temptations” where we ordered lunch. I got a pita stuffed with chicken that was also great. Then we stopped in at Shop Rite to purchase chicken for dinner. At the headquarters, I was finally able to shower and wash my clothes. At that point, I had not showered for about 4 or 5 days and my clothes had been dirty for over 2 weeks. Ugh, I stunk. I also met some of Jeremy’s friends and his bosses. Of course, everyone had good things to say about my brother. His boss also had some incredibly stories about his time in the Corps.
I have about 5 days to spend here in Maseru, but I am looking forward to the break in things before the vacation kicks up again. I will do some reading, blogging, and just plain relaxing while Jeremy rushes around finishing up all of the paperwork that he has to do.
And, I also found out today that Jeremy’s good friend Keketso will meet us tomorrow for lunch! I eyed Jeremy’s hamburger today at lunch, and tomorrow I think that I will order it while he and Keketso purchase their KFC. Despite the stereotype in the states, the Besotho love their KFC.
If the internet is working nicely, I may be able to upload pictures, but no promises. I have plenty of great shots to share, but they may have to wait for a bit longer.
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