Winding Down

Well, I suppose many of you know that my academic career in South Africa has come to a close. I have finished my final project, handed it in, defended it, and now I'm done! I will leave my res on Wednesday (they kick you out here immediately when exams end) and move in for a while with Lynne and Peter. I'm trying to wrap up the final things I need to accomplish in Jo'burg and then I'll head out on the 3rd for a trip to Cape Town. You should see me back home around the 12th of December!



So, I'm debating what to write to you about right now. I'm going to try to write something once per day until I leave for Cape Town so that I can process what I'm feeling and you can know some of what's going on with me. In the meantime, here are some pictures which I have been remiss in posting until now.



Can't wait to see you all in person!



From my weekend getaway with Lynne, Peter and Tamlynn at Lynne and Peter's and then on a lunch cruis on the Vaal River:

A real Southern breakfast! They loved the grits and hash browns!

The turkey at Stonehaven on Vaal that we considered stealing for our Thanksgiving meal

A friend of his, for my mom

Lunch on the boatThe Vaal River and the South African flag

Long Time Gone

The Dixie Chicks song doesn't really do justice to the content of this post, but I like it and I have been gone a long time, let's be honest.

So, I thought I'd catch you up a little. First, I will do a post about my recent trip to Lesotho because I know that's what you're all interested in. Later this week, I'll do a good catch-up blog so that we can be up to date. Quickly, though, let me fill you in on the relevant details: I have finished all of my academic responsibilities, so I am officially FINISHED! So, I will be updating this a few extra times in the next few weeks and then taking a bit of a holiday before coming home...

Now, LESOTHO!

My friend Ursula and I decided to spend a weekend with some friends who live in the Kingdom of Lesotho in order to see the country a bit. Lesotho is about a 4 hour drive from Jo'burg through the Free State province and it is beautiful! Sadly, Ursula and I saw very little of the beauty on the way down because of the incessant rain. Nonetheless, we made it and then proceeded to stay up half of the night with Jeff and Anu. Jeff and Anu are pediatricians at the Baylor School of Medicine Pediatric AIDS Unit in Maseru, the country's capital. Yes, that's Baylor Med from Texas. The unit provides pediatricians for the country of 2.3 million. Without the Baylor docs, there is only 1 pediatrician in the entire country. As a country with an extremely high HIV/AIDS prevalence, this is extremely concerning!

In case you're wondering which country is Lesotho, it's the one that's the little land-locked hole in the eastern side of South Africa. Yes, it's a kingdom, but it has a Constitution and Parliament. Regardless, the king is beloved, King Moshoeshoe II (pronounced mo-shway-shway). People in Lesotho speak SeSotho (remember, I studied SeSotho for a few months) and are called Basotho. They are known in SA by the blankets which they wear around their shoulders in the winter. We saw a few while we were there. Here's a picture, if you're interested. Funny story about how these blankets became popular: Apparently, one of the members of the British royal family was visiting Basotholand (the name of Lesotho before it became an independent country) and brought a blanket for King Moshoeshoe I. King Moshoeshoe I loved the blanket and wore it around his shoulders like a cape. Since then, everyone has worn the blankets in this fashion. This goes to show you the devotion to the king--and keep in mind that the reign of King Moshoeshoe I wasn't that long ago. We're only on King Moshoeshoe II now. Of course, all I could think of was that the British royal family sent A BLANKET to the KING of Basotholand--how arrogant!

Ok, next story. In addition to the blankets, the Basotho are famous for their Basotho hats. Not surprisingly, this fashion statement was the result of a king, as well. One of the older kings was being pursued by a rival tribe and took cover under a mountain that looked like a pointy hat (think of the traditional chinese hats for rice harvesters). In order to commemorate his escape, the Basotho began to wear these hats--click to see a picture of the mountain. Now click to see a picture of the hat. Funny, right?! The hat is even central on the nation's flag and car licence plates!

Maseru was a very interesting place to visit. It's really not a remarkable city in much of any way except its unremarkableness. The doctors drive across the border to Ladybrand, SA, in order to go out at all except for one good club in Maseru. And by go out, I mean eat out or see a movie. We're talking little here, folks. I was struck by the poverty all around. It's different than here in South Africa. People aren't so much living in huts. They're typically living in round mud houses with thatched roofs (the Afrikans word which has become the common name for these dwellings is rondavel). Instead, there was just a feeling of poverty that loomed large over the city. Regardless of the day or time when we were driving around, we saw hundreds of working-aged people walking around the streets. As in South Africa, joblessness is a huge problem. To me, there was a very hopeless feeling about Maseru. A palpable hopelessness that I don't feel as often now in Johannesburg. One I can't really explain. It reminded me a good deal of my time spent in Walker, KY.

Anyway, what you really want to know about, as Allison will remind me, is what I did in Lesotho. Sooo, here goes. We did a lot of hiking in Lesotho. Everywhere in Lesotho is considered walkable land--you can hike anywhere you please. So, we took advantage and found some interesting areas and decided to explore. We were quite fortunate and found a 15-year-old BaSotho boy who showed us around his little village and the mountain nearby, taught us the word for dassie in SeSotho (pila) and showed the ruins of an old house which he used to play in. We really enjoyed it. The mountains in that area are marbled red, pink, orange, and white and have little vegetation. It's actually quite beautiful.

The next day, we set off to an area in the mountains called Oxbow. Oxbow is about 2 hours drive from Maseru up roads which rival those of Walker, KY! It is quite mountainous, and quite beautiful. We really didn't hike much on that day, but here is what we saw:

So, that's Lesotho. I promise to have some more updates soon. Hope you enjoyed this one!