Updates from the Mountain Kingdom

This is probably the first Peace Corps blog post I am writing solely out of pure boredom. I was just sitting here, staring at my ceiling on this temperate late-summer-early-autum afternoon, when I realized that its been a while since I last added to the blog.

Well, here I am!

When I write these posts, I typically go through my camera roll, from the date of the last post until present, to gather ideas of what to write about, and to refresh my memory. But this time there was very little to work with; I think because I'm taking less photos, and perhaps taking more in, plus being locked in a steady routine leading up to Phase 3 training, which was the most exciting (and exhausting) event since last I wrote.

Phase 3 Peace Corps training, also dubbed Reconnect, was all of last week (March 8-14). The purpose of Reconnect was for all the volunteers in my cohort to meet again, share our experiences at site thus far, and learn a host of new things for the return to site. We polished Sesotho skills with the same tutors from pre-service training, learned how to initiate community work and youth clubs, and got updated guidance on how to report everything we are doing so that Peace Corps continues to receive funding.

We worked from 8am to 5pm solid; Combined with meals and post-training socializing meant that we were busy everyday from first-morning-stretch to head-on-the-pillow. A considerable shift from to our lives at site, but it was well worth it.

We stayed at Khotsong Lodge, which is part hotel, part nature reserve, and fully amazing. There were multiple morning walks where zebras, emus, springboks, and wildebeest were spotted. And they would come right up, within feet of you. Absolutely insane. It was so encapsulating that I have no pictures on my phone from seeing these animals. Too in the moment, I guess; or perhaps, just enough.

Now to backtrack a bit, and perhaps partially why Reconnect was so tiring; the weekend before Reconnect I ran a mountain marathon from my camp town (Roma) to a friend's site (where I recovered over the weekend, before training). While road marathons are something I have experience with, running one off trail, with 3700 ft of vert, and at 6500 ft elevation was a first. Of course, on that day there was also a continuous downpour, turning the trails, fields, and cattle tracks I was running on into a thick muddy soup. I arrived at my friend's doorstep soaked through and dirty beyond belief. But it was a great time. The adventure took 5 hours and 15 mins, which is certainly my slowest marathon but, given the treacherous conditions, I was just glad to finish.

But now the marathon and Reconnect are well behind me, and I am back at site with a freshened mind. Peace Corps staff emphasized that we should begin doing more community work with clinic staff and other available counterparts. With that in mind, I am starting to do health work outside the clinic, with village health workers (VHWs) in the area. A VHW does home visits for clinic patients with ART or other chronic illnesses to ensure medicine adherence and to help in any way needed. Peace Corps is encouraging me to join and assist VHWs near me, so I will help with home visits for the first time on Sunday.

In addition, I will soon be starting a youth club with kids who attend the primary school near my community. You may remember that students would come after my Sesotho lessons and ask me all sorts of questions in English. I plan on starting a biweekly club, at the school, focusing on promoting "positive living" (as the Peace Corps calls it). It will be a sort of adventuring/exercise club; climbing mountains, running, playing in the river, team building, etc. I've already talked with teachers at the school about it and they are very excited. Our first meeting is slated for the Thursday after Easter weekend, and in the meantime I'm told the teachers will spread the word to their students.

What I find so awesome and inspiring is how willing the community is to help me, and their community, start clubs and projects. All I did was throw out some ideas to my clinic staff and the rest worked itself out. When it comes to future project ideas, Peace Corps very much emphasizes that we are assistants in creating change in our communities, and should NOT be a director for twofold: being a director makes anything you do during service unsustainable once you leave, and you may end up doing only what YOU want and not what the community wants.

The ladder is why hundreds of NGOs trying to do "good" end up failing. You can't just show up to a community and tell them what the needs are and how to live. Yet this is exactly what billions of dollars are spent trying to do. Instead, Peace Corps emphasizes gathering ideas from the community, AND letting the community lead instead of you.

In terms of community projects (not youth clubs/community clinic work), we are still in the formative phases. In fact, from now until we have further training in July, Peace Corps just wants us to start a conversation with our community to identify needs and interests. We are in the "dream" phase, as our project framework calls it, from now until July. So, I guess we will see what comes of it!

Beyond work itself, there isn't much different or much at all to tell about how I am passing my leisure time. I'm still running and lifting like crazy, of course. And outside of that I pass lots of time sitting, reading, thinking, laying down, writing, or meditating. For a while I was watching tons of movies via an external hard drive that was given to me by a previous volunteer. But I am now often leaving that drive at the clinic, and therefore going without easy crutches against boredom at home.

Why am I doing this? I'm not exactly sure. Partially out of curiosity as to how experience feels when everything is dramatic slower. Partially to live closer to how my community lives, where it's not uncommon to see someone sitting on their doorstep for hours, just taking it in. And partially to amplify, and provide contrast, for all experience to shine brighter. As an example: going to my clinic is much more exciting when all I did the night before was read and think (instead of watching a movie or scrolling). Burning my trash becomes a highlight of the day, instead of a chore. By removing those activities which stimulate/distract me the most, but ultimately don't provide long-term fulfillment (social media, movies, news, etc), the small things are seen in a new light. And in fact, the small things are seen once again, no longer blinded by brighter forces.

Also the big events become something beyond the word "exciting"; electrifying, perhaps. Such a thing, for me, is the upcoming trip to Durban with my friends. It's only two weeks away and I am psyched beyond description. Perhaps more than if I'd been filling my free time with distractions. Durban is a coastal city in South Africa, where it will be my first time swimming in the Indian Ocean, among many other adventures yet to be had. Certainly more will be said on this trip in the next post, after it happens.

I think that's all for now. Thank you for reading and your continued interest in my journey here in Lesotho. I hope these words bring a smile to your face, give you something to think about, or catalyze an idea into action.

Until the next one,
Connor / Bohlokoa (Boo-shlo-kwa)