Introducing...Reesey!

If you tuned in to last week's post you would have discovered the new feline family member, Mr. Spooky. Now the household has expanded, and I am the proud owner of a pup!

Meet Reesey.

She is named after my beloved favorite candy, Reesey's Peanut Butter Cups. Not only is she just as sweet as Reesey's PBC's, but she is the same color as creamy peanut butter. Her name came to me about 30 minutes after I got her, upon my Mom's insistence that the puppy must have a name. She kept asking me what my favorite spice was (to invoke a name), but garlic just doesn't have that nice of an appeal to it.
So Reesey popped into my head, and it stuck!

My sister Meghan commented isn't it funny that I (being someone obsessed with food) would name my dog after food. Not surprising, I guess!

Now the story of how Reesey came into my life is a great one...

Remember how we went to Semonkong last weekend? Well my Dad had been talking a lot with the Chief of Semonkong. We had met him at an event at our house a few weeks prior. When we went up to Semonkong last weekend we spent a lot of time with the Chief. The Chief wanted to show my Dad his appreciation for all that he is doing for Semonkong by giving him a sheep.
Being oblivious and naive, I asked Dad what would we do with a sheep?

He said that we would have it slaughtered and have a big party.

I'm sure most of you can imagine the look on my face and response to that idea!

So I told my Dad that if we get a sheep, we are keeping it as a pet in the backyard!

Later during dinner with the Chief, the Chief told us that he would give the sheep to us the next time he was in Maseru. My Dad told him that I was going to make him keep the sheep as a pet because I love animals so much and miss our dog back in the States. We all had a good laugh, and then the Chief said "Do you like dogs? I will have puppies soon, do you want a puppy instead of a sheep? "

(Once again, I'm sure you all know my response to this!)

So upon my ecstatic yes, he told us that he would be having puppies at the end of October. He said that he had one puppy now, but that she was "not very nice." At the time I told him I wanted a male. (I have always wanted a male for some reason.)

When inquiring about what type of dogs he has, he told us they are bulldogs (read: MASSIVE). He uses them as guard dogs, as many people do in this country. After some searching on the internet, I believe they are called boerboels, which is a South African dog.

So I spent the next week obsessing at the prospect of having a dog. I talked my Parents into the idea, and I have to say that I am lucky to have a Dad whose response to the question "do you want a dog" is "whatever makes you happy."

So last Thursday we saw the Chief at the PEPFAR reception at our house. As you can guess, the conversation of dogs came up. He told me I could either take the one puppy he has now, or wait for the new litter.

After the party I spent some more time obsessing about my future puppy. The debate was either to take the female he has now (not knowing how old it is), or wait (impatiently) for a male later on.

Then I had a "eureka" moment. I originally dismissed the prospect of the already born puppy because she was "not nice", and who wants a "not nice" giant massive bulldog? Not me!

But lets back up for a minute- Dogs in Lesotho have functional purposes. They are not pampered pets, which is the American way, but used as guard dogs. This makes sense in a country that has both high poverty (pets are a luxury), and high crime (pets are weapons).

I put two and two together. A "not nice" dog in Lesotho would mean that it is not a good guard dog. What would a nice guard dog be? It would be mean, aggressive, and all things that I do NOT want!
So a "not nice" dog was really what I was looking for! Apparently she was the only puppy that he did not sell from the litter. I could not imagine the future of this little pup if she was not desired, "not nice" and living in Lesotho!

And I admit, sometimes I can be a teeny tiny bit impatient and obsessive. Waiting for the new litter would feel like an eternity. Plus I need to fill a void since my Mom is leaving me for the States for a few months, and I'm missing out on the birth of niece! And as a mentioned before, a house is not a home without a pet, and this is especially true when it comes to dogs. Living doggie free for 1 month was 1 month too many!

So little Reesey has arrived just in time. (Meghan and Steve, I guess we can say that this is your daughter's replacement!)

My Dad called the Chief Friday morning, and by Friday night I had my little peanut butter cup.

Getting Reesey from the Chief

And yes, I am absolutely in love. Puppies are hard work, but I am loving every minute of it. This is my first pet that is all my own and my responsibility, so that makes it pretty cool too. I am going Dog Whisperer style and am taking the training very seriously. This is especially important since she is going to be HUGE and I do NOT want her to act like a typical (aggressive) dog in Lesotho. I'm raising her to be a sweet lady.

Training Reesey

Meeting one of our guards

She is so sweet. She absolutely loves people, and follows me around everywhere. She has a bad habit of biting pant legs and getting a bit too mouthy at times, but I am trying to curb that immediately. So far that is her only bad habit, and it is not a constant. I'm guessing that before I got her she was trained to do that. Well that don't fly with her new Momma!



So all of my parent's children have/will have baby girls. Ryan and Martyna got their new puppy, little Chloe, a few weeks ago, I have Reesey, and Meghan and Steve are expecting their less hairy human baby girl in less than 2 weeks!

So after two years I can either use my savings to fly her back to the U.S, or give her to someone here in Lesotho. You can place your bets now!

All of the Basotho that I have talked to think that I am crazy for choosing a dog over a sheep!

But to conclude the story of Reesey...

She is much better than a sheep!

Kisses for Mom

Running the yard

Snow In Africa

EDIT: I forgot to publish this post last week- it was saved under drafts

Yes it's true...snow does fall in Africa!

We had quite a surprise Saturday afternoon while we were headed to visit the village of Semonkong. I had envisioned a weekend of sunshine, hiking, and horse trekking, not fires, mittens, and snowflakes!
Semonkong is located high in the mountains of Lesotho. It is famous for the Maletsunyane waterfall, which is one of the highest single dropping waterfalls in all of Africa. It is actually the highest waterfall in all of Southern Africa. The waterfall creates a haze of smoke from dropping into into a spectacular gorge. The name Semonkong actually means "The Place of Smoke."

So, we had driven for about 2 1/2 hours before it started to snow. We could see snow capped mountains in the distance, but figured that only the caps had snow. When we stopped for a pee break the snow started to fall.
All of a sudden the mountains dissapeared in a fog of white. It was a bit nerve racking since we were driving on the edge of windy mountain roads.


A car that belonged to the superintendent of the police flagged us down. He warned us about the snow, and advised us that it may be wise to turn back if we did not want to get stuck in Semonkong.
Well we were so close that we decided to keep on truckin'. This really was my Dad's idea! My Mom was a bit skeptical and nervous about getting stuck, and I wanted to keep going, but was a bit nervous as well.

An umbrella for a spring (snow) shower

I am really glad we stayed, because it was amazing to see snow in Africa. It really is surrealistic, and most people from our side of the world cannot connect Africa and snow together.
But man was it COLD! The electricity at the lodge was not working, and we did not get power until 6pm-10pm. Luckily I have awesome firemaking skills, and it was my job to tend to the fire to keep us warm.
It was fun to walk around in the snow, throw some snowballs, and warm up by the fire.

Winter Wonderland!


Snowball fight

By Sunday afternoon all of the snow had melted. I guess spring showers in the mountains involve snow! We were able to go hike around the waterfall for a while. It really was spectacular. First of all it is situatated in a spectacular and enormous gorge. The sound of the water falling is so loud.

We hiked down the moutain and onto the flat top of one of the cliffs that jets out into the ravine for a better look. We discovered several little mini waterfalls and pools. Our driver John and I went right up to the edge, but my parents stayed back. There were not happy that we were inches away from a straight drop! John (who was actually born and raised in Semonkong) told us all about the legend of the giant crocodile that lives in the pool underneath the waterfall. Apparently everyone really believes that a crocodile does live there, but I doubt a giant crocodile could handle a Semonkong winter! ! !

Our driver John: "Want me to drive closer?"
Us: "NOOO!!!"



Shepherd Boys

They had huge smiles AFTER seeing their photo

Love Letter...

Here is my first love letter as a teacher...



For those of you who can't translate first grader speak- here is what is says:

Dear Miss Nolan,
I am very sorry that you were sick.
I love you very much.
I hope you feel better.
I miss you very much.
Love, Katleho P. The end.

I love my kids. It's little things like this that make the back breaking work and endless preparation worth it...
Could a computer write me such an awesome love letter? I think not!

Meet Mr. Spooky

I would like everyone to meet the lovely Mr. Spooky.

He is the man who has stolen my heart in Africa. We share a bed together every night. AND he loves my morning breath. No really, he wakes me up by kissing me and purring all up in my face every morning. We also cuddle every night and morning, and we fall asleep every night in a warm embrace. Jealous, ladies?







So, the story on Mr. Spooky...
As many of you already know, my Mom befriended a feral cat that has lived in our yard for several years. She was always a wild woman, but Mom charmed her, Cat Whisperer style. She also named her Miss Mouser, due to her tremendous mouse hunting abilities. Apparently Miss Mouser was quite the wild lady, and birthed many kittens throughout the years. Her partner in crime was a fat orange cat in the neighborhood, Mr. Frisky (also named by my Mom, and the name is for obvious reasons).

So back in March my Mom discovered a litter of little kittens in one of the potted plants on the patio. She worked her Cat Whisperer ways and tamed all of the little kitties. Even though cats are all over the place in Lesotho, tame kittens are hard to come by, as most are wild. Word got around, and my Mom placed all 4 kittens in homes. Mr. Spooky (yes, also named by my Mom) was one of those little kittens born in the flower pot.

Kittens in a flower pot


Mr. Spooky as a little kitten

Spooky is the white kitten eating food out of the... ashtray!

Even though the urge was strong, she decided not to keep any for herself since she would be keeping the kitten as an outdoor cat, when so many people wanted them as pets. One kitten went to a Peace Corps Volunteer, another to one of the guards, one to our cook Patrick, and another to Patrick's friend.

Sadly Miss Mouser has disappeared, presumably gone to this world. The last time my Mom saw Miss Mouser was in late July. She would see Miss Mouser everyday; feeding her, playing with her, and talking with her (Miss Mouser was a chatty cat). Who knows what exactly her fate was. My Mom was so disapointed since she had recently tamed the wild Miss Mouser.

Miss Mouser and her kitties

Our kind cook, Patrick, saw the void left by poor Miss Mouser. So, one morning he tells us we have a guest. So we go outside to his truck to greet the guest. And who is this guest? The kitten Patrick took, Mr. Spooky!


At first Mr. Spooky lived up to his name. He was quite spooked by his new surroundings, even though this is his birthplace. He played shy at first. That night my parents went out to a dinner, and I spent the night laying in bed with Mr. Spooky eating, reading the paper, and watching the tube. He stayed by my side all evening, and needless to say I was in love.

From our first night, or as I like to call it, the night he stole my heart

We were unsure if Patrick gave us Mr. Spooky, or if he was just here for a visit. Patrick told us we can keep Spooky for as long as we want. We can "share" him, or if I want I can take him back to the states with us.

Having Mr. Spooky around has been awesome. To me, pets always make a house a home.

I love the little guy. He is so affectionate, and man does he talk.

He has the best of both worlds because he is an indoor/outdoor cat. He gets to go play outside in our big yard during the day, but he also has the comforts of a warm home.

He is not exactly a skilled hunter like his Mother, he has yet to learn the art of bird catching, and runs full force at them. He is actually scared of the Ibis birds, which are giant birds with giant beaks. It is my mission for him drive these birds away, as they have the most god awful squak, which starts every morning at 5 am, RIGHT outside my window.

There was this one night he escaped and spent the night in the neighbor's yard, fighting with his father, Mr. Frisky. He came up with a cut up tail and an appreciation for my warm bed! We refer to that night as his wild night on the town, and chalk it up to typical teenage rebellion.


My parents should have known that the "No Pets in Africa" policy would never work with me in the house! =)

Winking at the camera

Salmonella Food Poisoning!

So, I had a lovely bout with salmonella food poisoning!

(Don't worry, this post will NOT have pictures!)

It started almost 2 weeks ago, when I came home from school I took a nap and woke up feeling nauseous. The night before we had eaten at a buffet at a hotel with folks from the embassy. Eating at a buffet in Africa? Risky, I know!

Fast forward to the next day...

My Dad was having a reception at the house that night, and I took some tums to help deal with the nausea during the party. I definitely knew something was wrong, because I could barely eat any food, AND I only drank half of my wine...(unheard of, I know!)

After the party was over the storm hit. I was up all night vomiting and with diarrhea. The next day was Friday, and on Fridays school gets out early at 12pm, so I tried to be brave and go to school. This was only the third week of school, so I didn't want to start wasting sick days!

Lets just say I lasted 5 minutes. To make matters worse, my 2 new students and their parents both showed up that day. Well the nurse saw me keeling over in the teacher work room and could see that I was dying. We discovered I had a fever as well. So after the nurse and my Director saw the lovely state that I was in, I was sent home.

I spent the next 6 days sick. I was barely eating at all, and anything I did eat came right out. Not a pretty picture.

After 6 days we realized this wasn't your average sickness & wasn't going away. My Dear Momma took me to a clinic to see a doctor. They diagnosed me with salmonella food poisoning. They said it wouldn't go away on its own, so I've been taking a bunch of pills. I'm on antibiotics because salmonella bacteria can keep growing. After two days I felt better and all things are running as should be. I'm still on the pills for a few more days though.
I am still a bit run down and tired, but feel so much better.

So, I thought I would share this adventure. It may not be as pretty and fun as the mountains, pony trekking, caveman paintings and wild animals, but it still is part of my African adventure!

(And yes, I will be avoiding this buffet at all costs in the future!)

Oldenburg Game Park

This weekend we went to Oldenburg Game Park in South Africa! This was such a great day trip because it is only 40 minutes away from our house. Oldenburg is a really nice lodge and game park situated in the mountains of South Africa. The weather was gorgeous today; spring has sprung, and the sun is warm and shining.
We started off by having a nice big lunch outside on the porch of the lodge. We had roast chicken, lamb, roast potatoes, veggies, and pumpkin fritters. For dessert we had a delicious apricot sponge cake with custard. (If you don't know by now, I have to mention food in my posts!)
There were four really nice dogs at the lodge, so after lunch I had fun running around getting my fill of dog love. (I miss my Brenna Boo!) The manager of the lodge has a huge beautiful macaw bird from South America. I played "ball" with him and even got to hold him. Oh by the way, his name? Costalot!


After lunch we went to check out some caveman paintings on the property. My Mom has been dying to see cave paintings (there are a lot here in Southern Africa). We started on a path up the mountain to the paintings, and thank goodness we didn't have to go to the top, because we were breathless soon into the jaunt! Then we went through an entrance into the cave dwelling that led us to the paintings. These cave paintings were made by the San bushmen of Southern Africa, over 800 years ago! The shaman go into a trance like state when they make these paintings. The ceiling of the cave was completely black from the smoke of the bushmen. It was so cool, and hard to imagine that we were standing right where the bushman were standing over 800 years ago.

The cattle were drawn above the people to rain milk and blood over them. See the smoke too?

This painting has a deer head, man body, and an erect ::eh hem::

Next we went on a game drive/walk around the park. First animals we saw- giraffes! They are so huge and pretty in person. Animals really do look better out in the wild as opposed to viewing them behind steel bars. The interesting thing when viewing the giraffes was how intently they stared back at us. They were just as curious about us as we were about them.

We also saw wildebeest, Eland antelope, impala, springbok, ostriches, and zebra. We spent a lot of time walking around the park to get the best views of the animals.

Wild animal spotted!

We had such a wonderful day. The food was great, we were privileged to see rare caveman paintings, and see beautiful wildlife. Oldenburg park will definitely be a place to bring visitors! (Hint- Come visit us!!!!)

We had a lovely and excited Sunday. Back to the grind on Monday!

Spotting a giraffe in the distance

At a watering hole