March 30, 2006 (written by Janeen)
Well we are back in Maseru and let me say, it is a very different feeling. It is Friday afternoon at the end of the month and the lines for the ATMs are HUGE! I bet people stand in line for about 2 hours or more! Most people get paid at the end of the month and then withdraw most of their money at that time, since the bank pretty much charges for any transaction (deposits, withdrawals, from the ATM and even more inside the bank). Plus most people here do not really save money. They live paycheck to paycheck.

Anyway, my friend and I walked around downtown Maseru and it was pretty crazy! I felt a little flustered because there were so many people around and I am not used to that. It kinda felt like the mall at Christmas time!

It is nice to be back around with other volunteers, but its pretty crowded at the training center this time because other volunteers not in our group are also staying with us because there is another group of volunteers also in town because they were having their Close Of Service (COS) conference and the transit house was full. There were a lot of volunteers in Maseru this week!

So this morning we talked to our country director about something very important to us. We have been considering adopting a child while we are here, but had to get his permission before we do so. He has given his blessing and we are going to start looking into that process. Its pretty crazy to think that within a year or so we could be parents!!!

Well next week we are off vacationing and are excited for that time. The only unfortunate part is that I have to grade papers while I am there. Report cards are due four days after we get back and my 200 students all took a quarter exam last Monday. My supervisor is going to bring them when he comes on Monday for a workshop. So I am trying to enjoy my time until I have the burden of that grading. Jason and my friend Nichol (who is my twin & born on the same day & year) have offered to help, so that will be nice.

We are coming up on the 5 month mark of being here. I can’t believe its been so long, but at the same time miss everyone like crazy. Love you and miss you much!

March 30th, 2007 (written by Jason)

So training this week is finally wrapping up and that is good because some times it just drives me a little bit crazy. I have been trying to stay cool and calm but sometimes it can be really really hard to keep my mouth shut. I almost seriously lost my cool with the safety and security coordinator but I managed to wrangle my emotions back in. I am however really enjoying the ammount and quantity of food that we get here at the training center. It is amazing.

In reality I am having a hard time not thinking about vacation. In only 5 days time, we will be in South Africa at what is considered by many as the premeire backpackers in southern Africa. It is really hard to focus as I spend most of my time dreaming about the ocean and not doing anything for a few days.

Some of you have written that you have noticed that we might look like we are losing weight. The answer is yes we have. Janeen has lost about 15 pounds and I am around 20. The thing is, is that we are losing weight naturally and healthily. It is really nice. I am excercising about 2 hours (because of the long bike trips) a day and Janeen and I think we are going to train to run in a half marathon in Cape Town next year. It should be really good. Help keep us motivated as at the elevation it can get discouraging some times. Ok well I think I have bored you enough for this installment. Hope everyone is well. Love and miss you all.

Jason

March 28th, 2007 (written by Jason)

Well it has once again been way to long since I have e-mailed and let all of you know what is going on with us. WE are currently in Maseru for yet another round of trainings. This will be our final stage or phase of training until our half way point. WE are getting more information on technical training stuff and language. It is a little bit redundant for those of us who were either trained professionally as educators or have been working as teachers, but it does give us a chance to get away from site for a few days and mellow out which is nice!! Mostly people are venting their frustrations alot but that is cool as we all need some healthy release.

After this week of training, Janeen and I with some other people are going to be going on our first vacation to S. Africa! We are super excited to spend some time at the beach doing a whole lot of nothing. It will be great to get away too. The place we are going to is called Cintsa or East London. Check it our on Google Earth and let us know what you think! WEll I should wrap it up.

I did fix our computer problems that is good but I have to redownload the Service Pack so that I can get Office 2003 to work. It kind of sucks because it is like 166mb and the internet here is lets just say, slow!! Ok miss you all! Jason

March 9th, 2007 (written by Jason)
So I am not going to write very much today as I am at the internet cafe and I am helping them update their software. It is really dragging the network down but it is good to make friends and help out when you can. A little more on the computer stuff. We are attempting to get the internet at school so by next week we may get it.
This was a hard week on my emotionally. Fortunately I have my life mate here to help me get through the rough patches. She is a rock star!!
Well all the best to all of you out there.
Next Blog Preview:
Vacation Plans!!
Jason

March 3, 2007 (written by Jason)
So what a week it has been. Very long and a little tiring. Janeen is still blugging away at grading her 200 compositions that the students wrote a few weeks ago. I think that this has definitly turned her off to teaching high school in the US, not that she was ever "turned on" to that idea anyway. I am trying to stay out of her way as much as possible so that she is just able to work. It has been a good strategy that has worked thus far.
So bad news. Computers at the school have been crashing because of viruses so this will be a shorter blog than normal because we have not had a computer for a few days. If there are any rescue strategies that I should try or links to emergency boot disks, that would help me out immensly as I am acting IT guy (as I have the most computer experience, which is a little scary).
Health wise, Janeen and I are getting used to going to the bathroom quite frequently and we have what is know here as Kea Matha (I have running). So that is tons of fun! But we are doing good otherwise.
I am also doing my first workshop tomorrow after school so we will see how it goes! It is on "routines and procedures". Sounds boring but it needs to happen.
Well anyway, hope that you all are good and enjoying your weather (still hot as blazes here).
All the best,
Jason