Finding Time at Malealea

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One weekend not too long ago, Kathy and I accepted a last minute invitation from our friend, and her colleague, Charles, to spend the night at Malealea Lodge. We had been there once before, as described in an earlier blog entry, but did not hesitate to go back. It is a beautiful place that does wonders for weary souls.

Along with Charles and ourselves, our group also included Prince (from Rwanda), Kevin (an American Peace Corps employee living in South Africa) and Armando (from Mozambique). We spent most of the weekend simply relaxing, admiring the views and being entertained by the peacocks that had the run of the grounds.

We did go for a brief walk that evening, during which we were reminded that we were most definitely out in the country:

Kathy and I also took time out to enjoy the evening's entertainment, which consisted of a local youth choir:

And a band of local musicians who play homemade instruments, sing and dance:

The following morning, I rose before anyone else and went for a sunrise hike. Wandering through the mountains and villages at sunrise was easily one of the highlights of my time here, or anywhere. Here is a sample of what I saw:


On the way back, I wandered through a local village, where I met some enchanting people:

For the rest of the morning, all the others in our group went pony trekking while I remained back at the lodge. I have had my fill of horse riding, much preferring my own feet. So while they rode, I sat at the coffee shop and learned two new songs ("One of Us" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want") - when I was not entertaining two young Afrikaner children who were staying at the lodge.

Once the others returned, we relaxed a bit more:

Then we bid farewell to the spectacular view:

New Do

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It is my understanding that Basotho youth are all required to shave their heads in order to attend school. Interestingly, this presumably public health based precaution has evolved into a cultural norm, even a style. Many Basotho maintain this hair cut well into adulthood, women as well as men.

One consequence of this is that, while many of the male Peace Corps Volunteers in Lesotho (and perhaps elsewhere) use their time in Peace Corps to let their hair grow, a surprising number of the female Volunteers here have taken to shaving their heads. This, in turn, became too much of a temptation to my wife...

Then came the All Volunteer Conference. I spent the morning out front of the venue, practicing (as I recall I was focused on learning "Row Jimmy" that day):


It was a beautiful day for such a pursuit, and where I sat provided me with just the right view:



Later, though, during a break in the conference sessions, the time came to turn my wife's head over to the Volunteers. One of these women looks excited (one of the Volunteers who had shaved her won head, as it turns out). The other looks, well, not so excited:


Then the shaving began:

And went on, with a few participating, and many watching:

And then, it was done:

I think it looks really, really cute...
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The King and Not I

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In order to commemorate Peace Corps' 50th Anniversary, Peace Corps Lesotho hosted a gala celebration in Morija, on the grounds of the Morija Museum and Archives (a lovely spot):


The most notable guest of honor? His Majesty, King Letsie III, here being greeted upon arrival by my wife (how cool is that?):


Many of Lesotho's Peace Corps Volunteers were in attendance:

The Master of Ceremonies was none other than Ntate Clement, one of Peace Corps Lesotho's two Associate Peace Corps Directors, as Mosotho, a truly nice guy, and perhaps the most consistently well-dressed of Kathy's co-workers:

Kathy took advantage of the celebration to recognize Basotho members of the Peace Corps Lesotho team who have been working for Peace Corps for many, many years (one since 1967):

We were all treated to some traditional female dancing:

Kathy sat in the dignitaries tent, along with various ministers, the King and the US Ambassador to Lesotho (my wife, the dignitary!):


The newest batch of Volunteers was sworn in:


As part of that swearing in, they all got to shake the King's hand.



We then got to see some traditional male dancing. Unlike the female dancing, I had not seen this before:

One of the highlights of the day was a speech delivered entirely in Sesotho by one of the new Volunteers (this probably got more of a reaction from the crowd than anything else all day - certainly the most ululations):

Did I mention that my wife, in her new Seshoeshoe (seh-SHWAY-shway) dress, looked absolutely stunning that day?


Especially when she smiled:


The Volunteers provided us all with some wonderful musical performances, beginning with a couple of "traditional" American folk songs. "This Land Is Your Land" (my suggestion, actually):

Since I do not have any photos of that particular moment, here is the Volunteer with whom I played "Hurricane" at Tsehlanyane (as described in a prior post):


The Volunteers also performed "American Pie":

Then "America the Beautiful" and both the American and Lesotho national anthems:

After all the speeches and cultural performances, lunch was served. Kathy dined in the VIP tent with the ambassador, various ministers, and the King. Yep. That's right. She had lunch with the King. Be impressed...
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