July 28, 2007 (written by Jason)
Greetings to all my peeps out in the world. So we are back in our home country of Lesotho after such an amazing, amazing time in the beautiful island nation of Mauritius. It is an amazing place that very few Americans ever get to experience because of the location. However if you ever have a chance to get to Africa and want to spend some time unwinding from that ever stressful Safari, Mauritius is the place to do it.
First off, the island is goregous. I mean seriously all you have to do to see what I am talking about is look at Google Images and type in Mauritius. The place is like something out of a story book. The green mountains jut out of the endless fields of sugarcane and end in the bluest water that I may have ever seen. Then with the beautiful environment came a hotel that felt like we were in the Taj Mahal after being at our site for nearly 8 months now. On top of all this the people of the island were nice and helpful in nearly every way. They made us feel safe and protected and above all relaxed.
But the vacation was not the only exciting thing to go on for us. As many of you know Harry Potter 7 hit the shelves on the 21st of July. I was the 5th person to purchase the book at the Mauritius Airport and I finished it in under 2 days. I won't say anything else to ruin it for those who haven't read it (unlike the NY Times), but it was a great book. Well done Ms. Rowling, well done.
Well that is pretty much it for us right now. School starts back up on the 1st of August and that will keep us pretty busy until my parents and siblings visit at the end of September. I am super excited about their coming and can't wait to see them. Keep letters and e-mails coming as we really miss all of you right now. We love you!
All the best
Jason
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
July 11, 2007 (written by Jason)
Hello friends out there in the world. We are coming from you live t-minus 3 days until our island vacation. We are so excited about getting away for a few days that it has been hard to focus on anything else as of late. However we are getting some stuff done. Janeen finished all her reports, early, at that. She also has finished the leveling which she has talked about in other blogs. It is kind of a strange practice but the people here really enjoy knowing how they compare to eachother I guess.
I have been keeping busy too. Today I was involved in a panel discussion with the new volunteers where we talked about the diversity of Peace Corps here in Lesotho. We talked about odd cultural interactions and the funny and sometimes ridiculous situations that go on here. All in all the PCT's said that it was the best training that they had so far. And as an added perk I got to have a nice lunch paid for by Peace Corps.
So I am waiting for my wife to arrive tomorrow so that we can spend a few days with friends before heading out to Jo'Burg. We hope that you are all enjoying your summers. We have heard it is hot but I hope that you are happy.
All the best
Jason
Hello friends out there in the world. We are coming from you live t-minus 3 days until our island vacation. We are so excited about getting away for a few days that it has been hard to focus on anything else as of late. However we are getting some stuff done. Janeen finished all her reports, early, at that. She also has finished the leveling which she has talked about in other blogs. It is kind of a strange practice but the people here really enjoy knowing how they compare to eachother I guess.
I have been keeping busy too. Today I was involved in a panel discussion with the new volunteers where we talked about the diversity of Peace Corps here in Lesotho. We talked about odd cultural interactions and the funny and sometimes ridiculous situations that go on here. All in all the PCT's said that it was the best training that they had so far. And as an added perk I got to have a nice lunch paid for by Peace Corps.
So I am waiting for my wife to arrive tomorrow so that we can spend a few days with friends before heading out to Jo'Burg. We hope that you are all enjoying your summers. We have heard it is hot but I hope that you are happy.
All the best
Jason
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
July 4, 2007 (written by Janeen)
Lumelang and Happy 4th of July! It has been quite some time since I have written a blog. Jason has been to
Anyway, I am proud to say that I finished grading my 200 exams today. It is such a relief! Now all I am left with are the reports and they should not be too bad. I was lucky to have help grading from our visitors. We have a few friends staying with us right now. The initial intent was to work on generating some curriculum that integrates HIV/AIDS education into our English lessons this week. We have done some of that, but not too much (because I still have been grading). We are planning to continue working tomorrow and the next day.
So there won’t be any fireworks for us tonight, but we do have some decorations thanks to our friend
Well, not much else is going on. It is nice having a break from teaching. I am really looking forward to getting out of the cold and going to
Janeen
July 4th, 2007 (written by Jason)
Hello to all of you back home and happy 4th of July. We are at home enjoying the holiday with a few friends from here. We are also enjoying a reprieve from the cold streak of last week. We didn't really talk about it but we got a nice snow storm at our house. We had 3-4" of snow on our anniversary (June 27th) which was kind of strange. We figured that it might be the last time that we have snow on our anniversary unless of course it snows again next year.
As I am typing this Janeen has just wrapped up her final composition and is finished with her marking for the 2nd quarter. WOO HOO! It is really a big achievement as she had 204 to mark. That is a whole lot of reading as you all may know. She is still finding time though to respond to the many letters we have received lately. Good job and keep it up.
We hope that you all enjoy a great day of barbecue and weeny roasts. Have a few extra burgers for us and let us know what your favorite toppings are? Don't forget that comments and e-mails are really appreciated as well as the traditional snail mail. All the best,
Jason
Hello to all of you back home and happy 4th of July. We are at home enjoying the holiday with a few friends from here. We are also enjoying a reprieve from the cold streak of last week. We didn't really talk about it but we got a nice snow storm at our house. We had 3-4" of snow on our anniversary (June 27th) which was kind of strange. We figured that it might be the last time that we have snow on our anniversary unless of course it snows again next year.
As I am typing this Janeen has just wrapped up her final composition and is finished with her marking for the 2nd quarter. WOO HOO! It is really a big achievement as she had 204 to mark. That is a whole lot of reading as you all may know. She is still finding time though to respond to the many letters we have received lately. Good job and keep it up.
We hope that you all enjoy a great day of barbecue and weeny roasts. Have a few extra burgers for us and let us know what your favorite toppings are? Don't forget that comments and e-mails are really appreciated as well as the traditional snail mail. All the best,
Jason
Friday, June 29, 2007
June 29th, 2007 (written by Jason)
Hey all. Back again with a brand new addition! After a large snow storm earlier this week we are in town for the funeral of our village mother. It is a weird time for us as we have not really thought about what that would be like and what that would entail. Janeen was just saying that she had kind of dealt with it (as we found out about her passing on June 9th) but now that we are about to go and see our village again, that she is unsure how she will react.
I know that it will be a difficult time as this is the first real death that we have had to deal with. It is a strange feeling as we think of death in totally different perspective than than they do here. We have had friends lose some family members from home and the perspective that the people here have on it is, get over it. It is just death after all. I mean we see funerals every weekend as they are publicized with the huge rented tents that people get to honor the family members.
Anyway, this is on the heels of some other rather disappointing news. We found out this week that the Lesotho government has put an indefinite hold on all adoptions both in country and international. This comes as a surprise to us and it is a little disheartening as we had really gotten excited about the possibility. We have not given up hope yet but we are not really sure where this will put us in 18 months. So some prayers and petitions on our behalf would go a long way right now.
We do have a small (or rather large) bright spot in our future. We are headed to the islands of Mauritius in little less than 2 weeks. It will be a nice break from the inconsistent and some what bitter cold of Lesotho. We are going with some friends of ours here and are really excited. I think I am even going to finally get to try Kite Surfing (pending the wifes approval).
Anyway that is pretty much the scoop this week. Hope you are all well and happy.
All the Best
Jason
Hey all. Back again with a brand new addition! After a large snow storm earlier this week we are in town for the funeral of our village mother. It is a weird time for us as we have not really thought about what that would be like and what that would entail. Janeen was just saying that she had kind of dealt with it (as we found out about her passing on June 9th) but now that we are about to go and see our village again, that she is unsure how she will react.
I know that it will be a difficult time as this is the first real death that we have had to deal with. It is a strange feeling as we think of death in totally different perspective than than they do here. We have had friends lose some family members from home and the perspective that the people here have on it is, get over it. It is just death after all. I mean we see funerals every weekend as they are publicized with the huge rented tents that people get to honor the family members.
Anyway, this is on the heels of some other rather disappointing news. We found out this week that the Lesotho government has put an indefinite hold on all adoptions both in country and international. This comes as a surprise to us and it is a little disheartening as we had really gotten excited about the possibility. We have not given up hope yet but we are not really sure where this will put us in 18 months. So some prayers and petitions on our behalf would go a long way right now.
We do have a small (or rather large) bright spot in our future. We are headed to the islands of Mauritius in little less than 2 weeks. It will be a nice break from the inconsistent and some what bitter cold of Lesotho. We are going with some friends of ours here and are really excited. I think I am even going to finally get to try Kite Surfing (pending the wifes approval).
Anyway that is pretty much the scoop this week. Hope you are all well and happy.
All the Best
Jason
Saturday, June 23, 2007
June 23rd, 2007 (written by Jason)
Hello all of you all around the globe! I am away from my wife for officially the longest period of time that I have ever spent away from her. We have been married for 3 years on June 27th, 2007 and have been together for about 4 years. In that time the longest that I have been away from her was a period of time that we have spent apart was 3 days. Coming to this week, I have now been away from my amazing, beautiful, sophisticated and intelligent wife. So needless to say that I miss her.
However, the reason that I spent the week away from my gorgeous spouse was that I went up to the mountain to visit a good friend of mine. He was an 8 hour bus ride up the hill. I was not doing very well as I had developed as they call it here, symptoms of the common cold. They would also say "I am suffering from the common cold." It kind of kills me. Anyway, after getting up there I found that I am extremely glad to be living where I am living. The mountains while being very nice and pretty, it is super isolated. We had a good time altogether reading and enjoying it not being cold.
So now I am in Maseru again. I am here for a nerdling convention, otherwise known as the Technology committee. We basically are going to meet to and discuss ways that we can make volunteers lives easier while in country. We also will discuss how to create better opportunities to communicate our experiences here with technology and media. So that is what is going on here.
As you may know we are wrapping up the school for the first term. Janeen is working hard grading her students mid-term papers and would love to hear from all of you. I am so glad to read e-mails from you all and look forward to them. I hope you can get a chance to write to us and send us a quick note. All our love
Jason
Hello all of you all around the globe! I am away from my wife for officially the longest period of time that I have ever spent away from her. We have been married for 3 years on June 27th, 2007 and have been together for about 4 years. In that time the longest that I have been away from her was a period of time that we have spent apart was 3 days. Coming to this week, I have now been away from my amazing, beautiful, sophisticated and intelligent wife. So needless to say that I miss her.
However, the reason that I spent the week away from my gorgeous spouse was that I went up to the mountain to visit a good friend of mine. He was an 8 hour bus ride up the hill. I was not doing very well as I had developed as they call it here, symptoms of the common cold. They would also say "I am suffering from the common cold." It kind of kills me. Anyway, after getting up there I found that I am extremely glad to be living where I am living. The mountains while being very nice and pretty, it is super isolated. We had a good time altogether reading and enjoying it not being cold.
So now I am in Maseru again. I am here for a nerdling convention, otherwise known as the Technology committee. We basically are going to meet to and discuss ways that we can make volunteers lives easier while in country. We also will discuss how to create better opportunities to communicate our experiences here with technology and media. So that is what is going on here.
As you may know we are wrapping up the school for the first term. Janeen is working hard grading her students mid-term papers and would love to hear from all of you. I am so glad to read e-mails from you all and look forward to them. I hope you can get a chance to write to us and send us a quick note. All our love
Jason
Monday, June 11, 2007
June 11th, 2007 (Written by Jason and Janeen)
Today brings some sad news. On Saturday we were helping our friends with their 3 v. 3 soccer tourney which went really well. After the event we went to a local hotel for pizza and drinks to unwind and relax. Janeen and I were sitting waiting for our food when Janeen received a phone call. On the other end was a friend of ours who called to tell us that our Me’ (Mother) from our village stay had passed away. She was the one that I had written about many times how I was worried that she was not receiving the medical attention that she needed. It is a very sad loss for the both of us but we are going on as we knew that this would be a reality in our lives when we moved here. This is definitely the closest person to us that has passed away and has brought the reality of HIV/AIDS home for both of us.
On other news, I finally got our tickets for Mauritius after spending an entire day waiting and then having to return today to retrieve them. I left this morning with some friends who stayed the night, to go to the border and cross into South Africa to meet a courier. It was not until I got to the border that I realized that my passport was sitting in the closet back home. So I then had to go back home, collect my passport and go back over the border. I went to a little place that knows us well and they had the package that the courier left ready and waiting for me. It was great.
The weather has continued to be cold and rainy (off and on). We do love the sun so much now though as it is the warmest heater around and it is free. We are looking forward to some time off in a few weeks. Jason is going to go up to Thaba-Tseka to visit with a volunteer in the mountains. He will be packing all his warm clothes for that one and it will still probably be just enough. Janeen however will be holding down the fort here as she has school until the 29th of June.
After that we are going to be hosting some volunteers for a curriculum writing workshop in which we will try and add some detailed lessons for English teachers about HIV/AIDS. The goal is to make them something that can integrate in with a day’s lesson planning instead of having to think about how the volunteer can add HIV/AIDS into a lesson. This will hopefully reduce the workload of the teacher and get them to be more proactive about having HIV/AIDS stuff in their classroom.
Then we are off to Mauritius for a well deserved break from the cold. We will be staying there for a week before we return back home for a few weeks before the beginning of the 3rd quarter.
Adoption update: We are in the initial stages of communication with the Ministry of Social Welfare. They have told us that we have to work with an Adoption agency from home and so far they are only working with 2 agencies in the US; neither of which is in California. So we are excited but we still have a long way to go before the end of this process.
We would love to hear from any of you and hope that you are doing well. All the Best
Jason and Janeen
Today brings some sad news. On Saturday we were helping our friends with their 3 v. 3 soccer tourney which went really well. After the event we went to a local hotel for pizza and drinks to unwind and relax. Janeen and I were sitting waiting for our food when Janeen received a phone call. On the other end was a friend of ours who called to tell us that our Me’ (Mother) from our village stay had passed away. She was the one that I had written about many times how I was worried that she was not receiving the medical attention that she needed. It is a very sad loss for the both of us but we are going on as we knew that this would be a reality in our lives when we moved here. This is definitely the closest person to us that has passed away and has brought the reality of HIV/AIDS home for both of us.
On other news, I finally got our tickets for Mauritius after spending an entire day waiting and then having to return today to retrieve them. I left this morning with some friends who stayed the night, to go to the border and cross into South Africa to meet a courier. It was not until I got to the border that I realized that my passport was sitting in the closet back home. So I then had to go back home, collect my passport and go back over the border. I went to a little place that knows us well and they had the package that the courier left ready and waiting for me. It was great.
The weather has continued to be cold and rainy (off and on). We do love the sun so much now though as it is the warmest heater around and it is free. We are looking forward to some time off in a few weeks. Jason is going to go up to Thaba-Tseka to visit with a volunteer in the mountains. He will be packing all his warm clothes for that one and it will still probably be just enough. Janeen however will be holding down the fort here as she has school until the 29th of June.
After that we are going to be hosting some volunteers for a curriculum writing workshop in which we will try and add some detailed lessons for English teachers about HIV/AIDS. The goal is to make them something that can integrate in with a day’s lesson planning instead of having to think about how the volunteer can add HIV/AIDS into a lesson. This will hopefully reduce the workload of the teacher and get them to be more proactive about having HIV/AIDS stuff in their classroom.
Then we are off to Mauritius for a well deserved break from the cold. We will be staying there for a week before we return back home for a few weeks before the beginning of the 3rd quarter.
Adoption update: We are in the initial stages of communication with the Ministry of Social Welfare. They have told us that we have to work with an Adoption agency from home and so far they are only working with 2 agencies in the US; neither of which is in California. So we are excited but we still have a long way to go before the end of this process.
We would love to hear from any of you and hope that you are doing well. All the Best
Jason and Janeen
Monday, June 04, 2007
June 4, 2007 (written by Jason)
Hey there kids! Hope this finds you all doing really well. We noticed that our page views kind of peaked off in March. This is probably because we have not been posting as diligently as we were towards the beginning of our service. So I vow here and now that I will try and be more diligent in posting. However, this will probably be on our other website as I still can't get the school computer to work right. That address again is,
www.lifeofanominee.blogspot.com
Anyway, Janeen filled you all in on the haps with the Irish Ambassador. That was really fun being able to have a really deep and intellectual conversation with a seasoned verteran in the "system". He was extremely knowledgable about his job and had lots of interesting stories. I hope that over the next few years I am able to pow-wow with him and his family a little bit more.
Going into exams this week means that my first 2 quarters are pretty much done. The teachers are really just proctoring examinations. This means that I will really just be hanging around doing nothing but planning for the next term. It is good though because the teachers I think are sick of me telling them that they are doing good but they could still do "this and that" better. It does also give me a chance to catch up on some all important reading and journaling too.
I am also starting the process for a Peace Corps Partnership Grant. This is where all those of you who feel compeled, will be able to give to an actual project that I am involved in. It won't be too much money and it will go to something amazing. I am just building anticipation though as it still needs to be approved by our out-going Country Director. So stay tuned...
Hope that you all are doing great. We would love to hear from all of you. So send us an e-mail, letter, messenger pigeon or any other such device any time.
All the best
Jason
June 4, 2007 (written by Janeen)
So we're in Maseru again, but today we have a meeting scheduled with the Department of Social Welfare at 2. We are going to talk with the head of the department about the adoption process and hopefully get the ball rolling today. We are very excited and are praying for a smooth process.
This weekend has been enjoyable. On Saturday we went up to TY to join our friends as they celebrated 2 girls' birthdays. It was fun and we got to see some volunteers from the northern part of the country that we have not seen in over a month.
Yesterday afternoon we enjoyed lunch with the Irish Ambassador and his wife. They are very generous people. Jason met Dee when she was at our school finding students to give scholarships. She also works a lot with different orphanages in Lesotho. They both have big hearts and especially enjoy the children here. It was great to be able to sit and talk with them.
Well we'll hopefully have an update for you about the adoption process soon, but you'll have to check the other blog because we will not be in Maseru for a while (I have used up my 5 days. Luckily the quarter is almost over.)
Hey there kids! Hope this finds you all doing really well. We noticed that our page views kind of peaked off in March. This is probably because we have not been posting as diligently as we were towards the beginning of our service. So I vow here and now that I will try and be more diligent in posting. However, this will probably be on our other website as I still can't get the school computer to work right. That address again is,
www.lifeofanominee.blogspot.com
Anyway, Janeen filled you all in on the haps with the Irish Ambassador. That was really fun being able to have a really deep and intellectual conversation with a seasoned verteran in the "system". He was extremely knowledgable about his job and had lots of interesting stories. I hope that over the next few years I am able to pow-wow with him and his family a little bit more.
Going into exams this week means that my first 2 quarters are pretty much done. The teachers are really just proctoring examinations. This means that I will really just be hanging around doing nothing but planning for the next term. It is good though because the teachers I think are sick of me telling them that they are doing good but they could still do "this and that" better. It does also give me a chance to catch up on some all important reading and journaling too.
I am also starting the process for a Peace Corps Partnership Grant. This is where all those of you who feel compeled, will be able to give to an actual project that I am involved in. It won't be too much money and it will go to something amazing. I am just building anticipation though as it still needs to be approved by our out-going Country Director. So stay tuned...
Hope that you all are doing great. We would love to hear from all of you. So send us an e-mail, letter, messenger pigeon or any other such device any time.
All the best
Jason
June 4, 2007 (written by Janeen)
So we're in Maseru again, but today we have a meeting scheduled with the Department of Social Welfare at 2. We are going to talk with the head of the department about the adoption process and hopefully get the ball rolling today. We are very excited and are praying for a smooth process.
This weekend has been enjoyable. On Saturday we went up to TY to join our friends as they celebrated 2 girls' birthdays. It was fun and we got to see some volunteers from the northern part of the country that we have not seen in over a month.
Yesterday afternoon we enjoyed lunch with the Irish Ambassador and his wife. They are very generous people. Jason met Dee when she was at our school finding students to give scholarships. She also works a lot with different orphanages in Lesotho. They both have big hearts and especially enjoy the children here. It was great to be able to sit and talk with them.
Well we'll hopefully have an update for you about the adoption process soon, but you'll have to check the other blog because we will not be in Maseru for a while (I have used up my 5 days. Luckily the quarter is almost over.)
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
May 29, 2007 (written by Jason)
So yet another exciting adventure in the story of Jason and Janeen. I am in Maseru for a medical appointment, which they did not have me down for and am taking care of some other business whilst I am here. We are now in the thick of winter and have offically survived our first frost filled week. The coldest day of the last week was Tuesday. Janeen in her blog said that "Jason thinks that if it were to rain today, that it would not be rain, but snow." Well shortly thereafter it surely did do just that.
After figuring out the coal stove we did eventually warm during the evenings, however by this time I had already got some sort of flu bug. It lead to many trips to the toilet on Friday and basically ruined the plans for us to head to a friend's place in the mountains. We did get to see our friend off though who is just finishing her service. It was a good weekend.
Now I am killing time waiting for the doctor as they did not make me an appointment. So I hope that you all are reading this and checking up on us from time to time. All our Love!
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
May 21, 2007 (written by Janeen)
Brrrrr! I am writing to you with my long underwear, a t-shirt, a fleece jacket, and my windbreaker on AND I am still cold! I also am wearing an earmuff type headband, a scarf, tights, pants, and gloves. I guess the only way to get warm is to put even more clothing on! Winter has arrived! I think it is worse today because it is so windy! Jason thinks that if it were to rain today, that it would not be rain, but snow. Poor me! I’ve only ever lived in Southern California and this cold thing is NOT my cup of tea. Not to mention that I have had several cups of tea and coffee already today!
I am proctoring an exam for students who missed the English exam last Monday. Many students were absent because they had to go home to collect school fees. In fact, I’ve had one student who is in my B1 class who has not returned since they have asked for the second quarter school fees. I hope that he can make it back, but he has been gone over a week now and of course is missing important information in all classes! I asked about him from other students and they were not able to tell me anything. Its sad to think that he has dropped out because his family is not able to pay. It of course makes me want to pay for his schooling and then I think about all the kids who can’t even afford to come to school at all. Of course orphans get their school fees paid for by the government, but that does not include the cost of renting books, uniforms, or any additional fees that schools have (i.e. my school has a building fee and a computer fee). So THAT makes me want to pay for everyone! Of course I can’t afford to do that, but I just wish that they could all get a good education.
That’s enough blabbery thoughts for today. We get our next stipend on June 1, and we are crunching pennies (we get paid once every 3 months because the bank charges even for deposits & Peace Corps wants to save $)! The joys of Peace Corps volunteers! Miss you and love you all!
May 22, 2007 (written by Jason)
Ok so I will second the cold thing. Today on my way to school I wore a t-shirt, a wool sweater, a windproof vest and an outer shell jacket. Even with all of these things the wind bites through me like a knife. I can’t even begin to imagine the poor little boys and girls who have nothing but thin outer jackets, wholly shoes and thin pants or skirts with no stockings. It makes me want to hold all of them all day so that they stop shivering. The teachers at my school do what they can but it is so little and there are so many.
Things have been tough emotionally lately. I know that I am making an impact on my teachers but the progress is slow and the results are poor. Tomorrow, they want me to give a few model lessons. I am fine with this as the lessons that I have observed are very weak. I hope that I will be of some help to these teachers! Who knows though really?
One positive thing is that my school did finally finish their grant proposal for the U.S. Embassy grant. I think that our chances are pretty weak but who knows right?? Ok I am cold now to the core and am going to go home and start a fire. God bless the coal stove.
All the best
Jason
Brrrrr! I am writing to you with my long underwear, a t-shirt, a fleece jacket, and my windbreaker on AND I am still cold! I also am wearing an earmuff type headband, a scarf, tights, pants, and gloves. I guess the only way to get warm is to put even more clothing on! Winter has arrived! I think it is worse today because it is so windy! Jason thinks that if it were to rain today, that it would not be rain, but snow. Poor me! I’ve only ever lived in Southern California and this cold thing is NOT my cup of tea. Not to mention that I have had several cups of tea and coffee already today!
I am proctoring an exam for students who missed the English exam last Monday. Many students were absent because they had to go home to collect school fees. In fact, I’ve had one student who is in my B1 class who has not returned since they have asked for the second quarter school fees. I hope that he can make it back, but he has been gone over a week now and of course is missing important information in all classes! I asked about him from other students and they were not able to tell me anything. Its sad to think that he has dropped out because his family is not able to pay. It of course makes me want to pay for his schooling and then I think about all the kids who can’t even afford to come to school at all. Of course orphans get their school fees paid for by the government, but that does not include the cost of renting books, uniforms, or any additional fees that schools have (i.e. my school has a building fee and a computer fee). So THAT makes me want to pay for everyone! Of course I can’t afford to do that, but I just wish that they could all get a good education.
That’s enough blabbery thoughts for today. We get our next stipend on June 1, and we are crunching pennies (we get paid once every 3 months because the bank charges even for deposits & Peace Corps wants to save $)! The joys of Peace Corps volunteers! Miss you and love you all!
May 22, 2007 (written by Jason)
Ok so I will second the cold thing. Today on my way to school I wore a t-shirt, a wool sweater, a windproof vest and an outer shell jacket. Even with all of these things the wind bites through me like a knife. I can’t even begin to imagine the poor little boys and girls who have nothing but thin outer jackets, wholly shoes and thin pants or skirts with no stockings. It makes me want to hold all of them all day so that they stop shivering. The teachers at my school do what they can but it is so little and there are so many.
Things have been tough emotionally lately. I know that I am making an impact on my teachers but the progress is slow and the results are poor. Tomorrow, they want me to give a few model lessons. I am fine with this as the lessons that I have observed are very weak. I hope that I will be of some help to these teachers! Who knows though really?
One positive thing is that my school did finally finish their grant proposal for the U.S. Embassy grant. I think that our chances are pretty weak but who knows right?? Ok I am cold now to the core and am going to go home and start a fire. God bless the coal stove.
All the best
Jason
Monday, May 14, 2007
May 14, 2007 (written by Jason)
Ok So I just wanted to say a quick whats up to everyone. As Janeen said we had a nice wekend and it was fun to get on the internet and do somethings (inclding the update of this site. Hope you enjoy!). I also have been trying to stay much more motivated as I often run out of things to do at school. This means I have been writing out the projects that I am actively involved in and am trying to get them accomplished in a timely manner. It is a good way to stay organized and focused on what needs to get done now and in the future.
I finally got a crop in the ground so soon I could even call myself a farmer. That should be fun. We planted beans, peas, onions, carrots and of course rape. That is right their is a plant called rape. Apperently it is a lot like spinach so we will see.
Well I better go. Janeen already left for the market and I am meeting her. All our love to you, wherever this may find you!
May 14, 2007 (written by Janeen)
This weekend we have spent our time in Maseru lounging around at the transit house (a house owned by Peace Corps for volunteer use when in Maseru). We have watched several movies and taken a few hot showers. (NICE—especially since we didn’t have to heat the water on the stove before jumping into the shower) Yesterday we also had the opportunity to visit with the directors of Beautiful Gate, a center that cares for abandoned and HIV/AIDS affected children. They are just about to move into permanent facilities and they are amazing. Just talking with them got us excited. According to Lesotho law, we are unable to adopt directly through the center, but the kids there were absolutely adorable. The visit was very affirming and even though we were already convinced that we want to adopt here, we became even more assured! In fact, Jason even picked up a baby to hold ALL BY HIMSELF. Normally, I have to shove a baby at him and say, “You need practice.” At the center, there were 2 rooms of children. The first room we visited had the toddlers. One three-year-old child came up to us right away and grabbed my hand. He was so cute, and has quite a sad story. He is the oldest one there and has seen many other children come and go. We were told that each time new prospective parents come through, he is hoping that they will be his! Apparently his new parents have been in the process of adopting him for over a year now, and have had so much trouble, that they are starting back at square one again! Anyway, today we are headed back home. Jason is trying to download a later edition of Internet Explorer in hopes that we will be able to post blogs to this site. We’ll see!
May 12, 2007 (written by Janeen)
Yeah! We are finally able to post on our site!! In town the internet has been sketchy and we have been unable to post here. However, I am in Maseru right now and it now works at the Peace Corps office! yippee! They just installed new computers here and we can now publish blogs here, where the internet is much faster than elsewhere.
ALSO, we have internet at our site now. We spent the big bucks and bought a bluetooth phone, so that we could have access using the computers at my school. We have had that for about a month, but it is still terribly slow and a tad expensive for a Peace Corps salary (roughly 20-30 licente a minute). HOWEVER, we just found out that we can purchase data bundles instead of using air time for the internet. We can purchase 10 mega-bites for 10 rand. Now, that turns out to be 2-3 licente per minute-- very affordable, even on a Peace Corps budget! The internet is still slow, but it is not the amount of minutes that matter, it is the amount of information being sent/received so we can be on for longer and have it cost less. Yeah! So, all of you that complain about your hand cramping when writing letters, can now just email! :) Though the snail mail letters really do make us feel good, so those can still keep coming & I will still be writing responses!
By the way, we have been posting on Jason's blog www.lifeofanominee.blogspot.com since this site has been finicky. If there are no posts here, be sure to check that one out.
Well, I have several papers to grade this weekend, so I better get going.
Lots of love-- Janeen
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
May 2, 2007 (written by Janeen)
Well it has been a while since I have written a blog! Our computers at school are finally virus free and all the software works. Yippee! Jason had to download something off the internet in order to fix the problem. He finished fixing everything just after we got back from vacation. I just realized that the last blog I wrote was a bit of a sad one. I was having a hard time getting back into the swing of things. I have good news to report that I am doing much better. I taught some good lessons and am enjoying my students again. We have already given the first exam for the second quarter. For my form A students it was a reading comprehension exam and for form B it was a composition. I am finished grading the form A students’ exams and am going to start the form B students’ exams today. I also gave them 3 choices for topics so at least I won’t have to read 100 of the same paper!
It is starting to get pretty cold here. In fact the other day it was snowing. It wasn’t cold enough for it to stay on the ground, but it was definitely snowing! I’ve heard the winter here is harder to bear because there is no escape from the cold. You go from a cold building to another cold building. At home you only have to brave the cold when you leave a building! Jason and I have a coal stove that we are going to test out. Our other option is our standing gas heater (I’m told that only heats a small radius). The days are not unbearable. I’ve been wearing layers, and shedding some throughout the day. The evenings are the challenge, which is why we will probably start going to bed at like 7!
Before I blab on too much, I need to share an experience that really touched me this week. Yesterday we were traveling on a bus back home from town and this frail man got on just before the bus left the rank. He had sores on his face and his entire face was sunken in so much that I could see all the facial bones. Jason noticed him right away and pointed him out to me. I realize we were speculating, but he had the signs of a person with AIDS. It really hit me hard to see a person in this condition because it made the disease real. Because there are no signs when a person is HIV positive, the reality of the disease has not really affected me. As of now, we have not been to any funerals and most of the funerals we have heard about have been from car accidents. Seeing him made me realize that about 25% (or more) of people in this country will die in that way. The only thing they can do is go on ARVs which only allows them to live longer. The HIV will eventually progress into AIDS and they will die. I guess there is some hope though. Magic Johnson is still living a healthy life. Though he is not living in a country where opportunistic diseases are rampant (TB, etc). Grandpa Durkee just sent me an article with an interesting statistic- There is an 85% fatality rate of people with both HIV and TB. Anyway, it hit me this week. I am going to continue to have conversations with my students about it. I also had an idea of creating a lesson plan book with ready made lessons that integrate HIV/AIDS education into English. The thought is that the students need to talk about it enough that they feel comfortable talking about it. The language needs to become regular so that there is not so much shock factor and if or when the disease affects them (I don’t think there is anyone not affected by the disease), they will be prepared.
Once again, it has been almost 6 month since we have been here and we still miss you all like crazy! All these births and weddings are making us miss you even more! We send our love and wish we could be there with you sharing your memories!
May 2, 2007 (written by Jason)
Hello to all my huge fans out there. I know we have not been blogging as much as I said we would but you have to understand that life here moves at a totally different pace than back home. Our lives are really a number of boring routines that you would have a hard time reading if we were to just write the same things over and over again. It is like when we get together with PCV’s, we know that certain things will dominate conversation; e.g. Politics, Corporal Punishment in the classroom, and who is “hooking up” with whom around the Peace Corps circles. But I digress, as some memorable stuff is going on.
So it took me about 6 months but for the first time I actually was thronged by a group of kids at school. Many of you back home know that kids and I just get each other but for some reason or another I was keeping my distance from kids and what not. Today though after reading an entire Newsweek magazine waiting for class to start, I asked myself a simple question; “How badly do these kids need an adult to just recognize them?”
This was spurred on by one little boy Neo, who is in standard 1. He is this cute little independent man but whenever I am outside, he is right there beside me grabbing my hand and leaning against me. This led me to my experiment. So today at lunch, I took the kids out to the play area (a big grass lot) and played helicopter and airplane. I had to quit after about 30 kids though because by then, I had the entire 1, 2, and 3 classes mobbing me wanting me to swing them around. The truly sad part was after we quit, the students just wanted to be near me. Students were holding my hands, touching my clothes, just wanting to be near an adult who took interest in them. It was exhausting but fun and exhilarating as well.
Otherwise, things are going along as normal. School is fine. We would love to hear from anyone out there. We miss you all. Take care!
Jason
Well it has been a while since I have written a blog! Our computers at school are finally virus free and all the software works. Yippee! Jason had to download something off the internet in order to fix the problem. He finished fixing everything just after we got back from vacation. I just realized that the last blog I wrote was a bit of a sad one. I was having a hard time getting back into the swing of things. I have good news to report that I am doing much better. I taught some good lessons and am enjoying my students again. We have already given the first exam for the second quarter. For my form A students it was a reading comprehension exam and for form B it was a composition. I am finished grading the form A students’ exams and am going to start the form B students’ exams today. I also gave them 3 choices for topics so at least I won’t have to read 100 of the same paper!
It is starting to get pretty cold here. In fact the other day it was snowing. It wasn’t cold enough for it to stay on the ground, but it was definitely snowing! I’ve heard the winter here is harder to bear because there is no escape from the cold. You go from a cold building to another cold building. At home you only have to brave the cold when you leave a building! Jason and I have a coal stove that we are going to test out. Our other option is our standing gas heater (I’m told that only heats a small radius). The days are not unbearable. I’ve been wearing layers, and shedding some throughout the day. The evenings are the challenge, which is why we will probably start going to bed at like 7!
Before I blab on too much, I need to share an experience that really touched me this week. Yesterday we were traveling on a bus back home from town and this frail man got on just before the bus left the rank. He had sores on his face and his entire face was sunken in so much that I could see all the facial bones. Jason noticed him right away and pointed him out to me. I realize we were speculating, but he had the signs of a person with AIDS. It really hit me hard to see a person in this condition because it made the disease real. Because there are no signs when a person is HIV positive, the reality of the disease has not really affected me. As of now, we have not been to any funerals and most of the funerals we have heard about have been from car accidents. Seeing him made me realize that about 25% (or more) of people in this country will die in that way. The only thing they can do is go on ARVs which only allows them to live longer. The HIV will eventually progress into AIDS and they will die. I guess there is some hope though. Magic Johnson is still living a healthy life. Though he is not living in a country where opportunistic diseases are rampant (TB, etc). Grandpa Durkee just sent me an article with an interesting statistic- There is an 85% fatality rate of people with both HIV and TB. Anyway, it hit me this week. I am going to continue to have conversations with my students about it. I also had an idea of creating a lesson plan book with ready made lessons that integrate HIV/AIDS education into English. The thought is that the students need to talk about it enough that they feel comfortable talking about it. The language needs to become regular so that there is not so much shock factor and if or when the disease affects them (I don’t think there is anyone not affected by the disease), they will be prepared.
Once again, it has been almost 6 month since we have been here and we still miss you all like crazy! All these births and weddings are making us miss you even more! We send our love and wish we could be there with you sharing your memories!
May 2, 2007 (written by Jason)
Hello to all my huge fans out there. I know we have not been blogging as much as I said we would but you have to understand that life here moves at a totally different pace than back home. Our lives are really a number of boring routines that you would have a hard time reading if we were to just write the same things over and over again. It is like when we get together with PCV’s, we know that certain things will dominate conversation; e.g. Politics, Corporal Punishment in the classroom, and who is “hooking up” with whom around the Peace Corps circles. But I digress, as some memorable stuff is going on.
So it took me about 6 months but for the first time I actually was thronged by a group of kids at school. Many of you back home know that kids and I just get each other but for some reason or another I was keeping my distance from kids and what not. Today though after reading an entire Newsweek magazine waiting for class to start, I asked myself a simple question; “How badly do these kids need an adult to just recognize them?”
This was spurred on by one little boy Neo, who is in standard 1. He is this cute little independent man but whenever I am outside, he is right there beside me grabbing my hand and leaning against me. This led me to my experiment. So today at lunch, I took the kids out to the play area (a big grass lot) and played helicopter and airplane. I had to quit after about 30 kids though because by then, I had the entire 1, 2, and 3 classes mobbing me wanting me to swing them around. The truly sad part was after we quit, the students just wanted to be near me. Students were holding my hands, touching my clothes, just wanting to be near an adult who took interest in them. It was exhausting but fun and exhilarating as well.
Otherwise, things are going along as normal. School is fine. We would love to hear from anyone out there. We miss you all. Take care!
Jason
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
April 17, 2007 (written by Jason)
Well I have been talking about doing this for a while but it finally happened. I got the internet hooked up at our site. It isn’t fast or flashy (yet) but it is the internet with e-mail and blogging capabilities. I am super excited as it isn’t really even that expensive. I hope to open the service up to the students, if I can get some funding from the school to do that. I want to be able to show them the basics of the internet and how it can help them with research and other things. It is pretty cool though. I also hope to get instant messenger back up on this computer so that we can set times to have live chats with groups of people back home. I think that it would really enhance our experience here and yours back at home. If you have any other ideas, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment or shoot an e-mail to me or Janeen @
jason.samuelian@gmail.com
janeen_samuelian@yahoo.com
All the best
Jason
Well I have been talking about doing this for a while but it finally happened. I got the internet hooked up at our site. It isn’t fast or flashy (yet) but it is the internet with e-mail and blogging capabilities. I am super excited as it isn’t really even that expensive. I hope to open the service up to the students, if I can get some funding from the school to do that. I want to be able to show them the basics of the internet and how it can help them with research and other things. It is pretty cool though. I also hope to get instant messenger back up on this computer so that we can set times to have live chats with groups of people back home. I think that it would really enhance our experience here and yours back at home. If you have any other ideas, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment or shoot an e-mail to me or Janeen @
jason.samuelian@gmail.com
janeen_samuelian@yahoo.com
All the best
Jason
Saturday, April 14, 2007
April 13th, 2007 (written by Jason)
What a crazy couple of weeks it has been. We are just beginning to settle back in to our quiet little lives here in Tsa-Kholo after the last few weeks of “big city” life and vacation. The transition has been a little difficult after having some well needed time off and time away. That is the problem though. We have heard with people going on vacation is that when they return to their homes in Lesotho, there is some feeling of dread. Not that we dread living here, which is not the case at all. It is just that after being able to drive (a rental car with the drivers side on the right; manual transmission which was weird but you get used to it), stay out at night passed 7 p.m., go to restaurants and the movies (we saw 300 and Music and Lyrics), and just feel like life was a little more normal, going back to a cold house with a single light bulb hanging from the roof and a bathroom that smells like an odd combination of mildew and poop, is a little depressing (for those living in houses with none of these features I imagine the feeling is even more intensified).
Work can also be disappointing. I know that the first quarter can start slowly no matter where you are, but seeing that same pace carried into the next quarter is down right frustrating. I sat in class today and waited for 30 minutes while the teacher asked, “If you don’t understand ask me questions.” This is massively frustrating as the teacher knows that you are there to observe the best that she has to offer and that is pretty much the extent of her ability.
But it is not all bad being back in Lesotho. I have found that I have a liking to some of the simpler foods here. Roast corn known as Pone (not at all like roast corn in America) is one of my favorite snacks/meals here. It kind of tastes like unflavored corn-nuts or pop corn kernels partially popped. The pace of life is also kind of fun. I do like having long bike rides to think about things in life and taking naps in the afternoon after work. It is a pace of life that I know will not be able to be emulated as much back home, especially once we start a family.
It has also been great being home because we get to hear from all of you. Your packages and letters, this means we did receive it Kyle, Ronnie and yes you too Dakota ;-) have made all the difference in turning a bad day into a manageable one, although it does make us miss you something fierce. This is especially pertinent to all of you back home having babies. It really makes us wish that we could be there and celebrate the new lives with you.
One more quick shout out and then I am done. Congratulations to our best friends, Brad Blaze and Valerie Jorritsma (now Valerie Blaze), in the whole world on finally tying the knot. We have tried calling a few times to wish you well but have been unable to get a hold of you. This is the next best thing though. Announcing to the world, via the internet, our heart felt love and congratulations to you. Hope that you had a great time at the Adventura Spa Palace!
I think that is all I got to say today. We are still working on trying to get the internet here at school but I will definitely hit you all with a fatty blog once we do get that sucker rolling. All the best,
Jason
April 13th, 2007 (written by Janeen)
Well, I can’t really say that I am too excited to be back. The return to school meant that I had to finish grading 200 quarter exams, which all consisted of reading comprehension questions, grammar questions, and the dreaded compositions. This time the topic for Form A students was: “My first day at Tsakholo High School” and for Form B students: “A day when my friend disappointed me”. So I got to read about 100 of each of those. It can get just a tad boring and sometimes the essays all start to blur together. Though, I can say that I am almost through. I’ve only got about 50 more compositions to read. Then I get to fill out quarter reports for each student. All of this is due by Monday, so my first weekend of being back at school is of course going to consist of doing work! Our small home is in disarray, and needs a good sweep and mop (not to mention that I need to clean up my piles of clutter that have accumulated as I have spent my time grading, sleeping, eating, and going to class).
ANYWAY! I am going to stop complaining because the teachers here do this ALL the time, and I only have to deal with it for 2 years (I’m never going to be a high school teacher). For those of you out there that have ever thought, “Those who can’t do-teach” you are TOTALLY wrong. This is one of the most challenging jobs ever. Many days I get frustrated because I know that I can do better, or I wish that there were more hours in the day so that I could do all the things that I hope for.
And then there was how I was feeling this week—like I didn’t want to do any of it any more because I didn’t think that what I was doing was making any difference any way. Here a passing score is 40% and many students are happy just to pass. I am NOT okay with that and of course want my students to score in the 70% or higher range, but those are few. So of course I feel like I am failing because my students don’t do as well as I would hope. So I ask myself does it even matter that I am here? Am I really making any difference?
I guess I am probably just dealing with “coming home from vacation blues” and I am sure things will settle down. I do enjoy my students and I hope that I am teaching them well. It can just get you down sometimes when you know how much better things could be, you see what the reality is here, and then realize that my impact may only be small.
Thank you again for all of your correspondence. They really do help cheer us up when we are having a frustrating day! When we left for training & vacation I had just about caught up on my letters, but since being back I think we are about 10 letters behind, which of course will not get responses until AFTER I am done with all the exam & report madness! We miss you all so much!
What a crazy couple of weeks it has been. We are just beginning to settle back in to our quiet little lives here in Tsa-Kholo after the last few weeks of “big city” life and vacation. The transition has been a little difficult after having some well needed time off and time away. That is the problem though. We have heard with people going on vacation is that when they return to their homes in Lesotho, there is some feeling of dread. Not that we dread living here, which is not the case at all. It is just that after being able to drive (a rental car with the drivers side on the right; manual transmission which was weird but you get used to it), stay out at night passed 7 p.m., go to restaurants and the movies (we saw 300 and Music and Lyrics), and just feel like life was a little more normal, going back to a cold house with a single light bulb hanging from the roof and a bathroom that smells like an odd combination of mildew and poop, is a little depressing (for those living in houses with none of these features I imagine the feeling is even more intensified).
Work can also be disappointing. I know that the first quarter can start slowly no matter where you are, but seeing that same pace carried into the next quarter is down right frustrating. I sat in class today and waited for 30 minutes while the teacher asked, “If you don’t understand ask me questions.” This is massively frustrating as the teacher knows that you are there to observe the best that she has to offer and that is pretty much the extent of her ability.
But it is not all bad being back in Lesotho. I have found that I have a liking to some of the simpler foods here. Roast corn known as Pone (not at all like roast corn in America) is one of my favorite snacks/meals here. It kind of tastes like unflavored corn-nuts or pop corn kernels partially popped. The pace of life is also kind of fun. I do like having long bike rides to think about things in life and taking naps in the afternoon after work. It is a pace of life that I know will not be able to be emulated as much back home, especially once we start a family.
It has also been great being home because we get to hear from all of you. Your packages and letters, this means we did receive it Kyle, Ronnie and yes you too Dakota ;-) have made all the difference in turning a bad day into a manageable one, although it does make us miss you something fierce. This is especially pertinent to all of you back home having babies. It really makes us wish that we could be there and celebrate the new lives with you.
One more quick shout out and then I am done. Congratulations to our best friends, Brad Blaze and Valerie Jorritsma (now Valerie Blaze), in the whole world on finally tying the knot. We have tried calling a few times to wish you well but have been unable to get a hold of you. This is the next best thing though. Announcing to the world, via the internet, our heart felt love and congratulations to you. Hope that you had a great time at the Adventura Spa Palace!
I think that is all I got to say today. We are still working on trying to get the internet here at school but I will definitely hit you all with a fatty blog once we do get that sucker rolling. All the best,
Jason
April 13th, 2007 (written by Janeen)
Well, I can’t really say that I am too excited to be back. The return to school meant that I had to finish grading 200 quarter exams, which all consisted of reading comprehension questions, grammar questions, and the dreaded compositions. This time the topic for Form A students was: “My first day at Tsakholo High School” and for Form B students: “A day when my friend disappointed me”. So I got to read about 100 of each of those. It can get just a tad boring and sometimes the essays all start to blur together. Though, I can say that I am almost through. I’ve only got about 50 more compositions to read. Then I get to fill out quarter reports for each student. All of this is due by Monday, so my first weekend of being back at school is of course going to consist of doing work! Our small home is in disarray, and needs a good sweep and mop (not to mention that I need to clean up my piles of clutter that have accumulated as I have spent my time grading, sleeping, eating, and going to class).
ANYWAY! I am going to stop complaining because the teachers here do this ALL the time, and I only have to deal with it for 2 years (I’m never going to be a high school teacher). For those of you out there that have ever thought, “Those who can’t do-teach” you are TOTALLY wrong. This is one of the most challenging jobs ever. Many days I get frustrated because I know that I can do better, or I wish that there were more hours in the day so that I could do all the things that I hope for.
And then there was how I was feeling this week—like I didn’t want to do any of it any more because I didn’t think that what I was doing was making any difference any way. Here a passing score is 40% and many students are happy just to pass. I am NOT okay with that and of course want my students to score in the 70% or higher range, but those are few. So of course I feel like I am failing because my students don’t do as well as I would hope. So I ask myself does it even matter that I am here? Am I really making any difference?
I guess I am probably just dealing with “coming home from vacation blues” and I am sure things will settle down. I do enjoy my students and I hope that I am teaching them well. It can just get you down sometimes when you know how much better things could be, you see what the reality is here, and then realize that my impact may only be small.
Thank you again for all of your correspondence. They really do help cheer us up when we are having a frustrating day! When we left for training & vacation I had just about caught up on my letters, but since being back I think we are about 10 letters behind, which of course will not get responses until AFTER I am done with all the exam & report madness! We miss you all so much!
Sunday, April 01, 2007
April 1, 2007 (Written by Jason)
So James and myself, ditched our last language session meeting to come down to the VRC (volunteer resource center) and putz around a little bit on the computers here. We were just starting when these 2 older gentlemen came in and introduced themselves. Fred, a former volunteer in Columbia, back in the 70's, and Matt, a former worker down in Antarctica were coming through on vacation. Fred knew that Peace Corps volunteers are the real source for the on the ground information as to where to stay and what to do while in country.
The trully funny part was that Fred now lives in Mariposa, which for those of you not from the north is only like 30-45 minutes away from Sonora. It is kind of funny that things like this just seem to happen. I really do love the random nature of events as they happen around the world.
Ok well I thought that this was blog worthy. Sorry to bore you if it wasn't!
Jason
So James and myself, ditched our last language session meeting to come down to the VRC (volunteer resource center) and putz around a little bit on the computers here. We were just starting when these 2 older gentlemen came in and introduced themselves. Fred, a former volunteer in Columbia, back in the 70's, and Matt, a former worker down in Antarctica were coming through on vacation. Fred knew that Peace Corps volunteers are the real source for the on the ground information as to where to stay and what to do while in country.
The trully funny part was that Fred now lives in Mariposa, which for those of you not from the north is only like 30-45 minutes away from Sonora. It is kind of funny that things like this just seem to happen. I really do love the random nature of events as they happen around the world.
Ok well I thought that this was blog worthy. Sorry to bore you if it wasn't!
Jason
Saturday, March 31, 2007
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!
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!
Friday, March 30, 2007
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
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
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
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
Friday, March 09, 2007
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
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
Saturday, March 03, 2007
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
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
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