Somewhere over the Rainbow

An Eventful Night

2009-04-22T05:59:00.008-04:00

This will be short, as I have been awake since 2:50am (its now 12:00pm) and my head is pounding and I am still riled up.

Last night we were woken up by the sound of machine gun shots. I then spent the next 3 hours lying on the floor in the hallway with my Mom, Dad, and friend Katie, hunkered down and listening to machine guns firing right outside of our home. We had no idea what the hell was going on around us, and lost count of the number of rounds fired.

No one was shooting at us, just next to us. We live right next door to the Prime Minister, and last night there was an attempted assassination on him at his residence.

Not sure if it was an attempted coup as well, who was involved, and what will happen next. I will post the details of our story later, and any information on what actually happened. We are still waiting to hear what exactly happened, as the Lesotho government has been slow to release any information or let us know what is going on.

Rest assured we are safe. I have an understanding boss, so I am sitting at home today instead of teaching my kids. I am pretty shaken up right now. My Dad is at work on Diplomat overdrive right now, and life is semi normal here today... as the majority of people here are not even aware what happened last night...except the people that were awakened by gun fire.

My thoughts are with any possible innocent victims, and I am hoping this is not the beginning of a turbulent situation. Time will tell. We are all waiting.

More later

Colleen

A riveting schedule of the busy day to day things...oh yah and a safari too

2009-04-05T09:58:00.004-04:00

Monday: School, followed by teaching private English lessons to adults, then gym.

Tuesday: School, followed by teaching Spanish after school, then gym, then a 200+ person PEPFAR reception at our house. (I'm a teacher by day, spending my days chatting with little sticky 6 year olds-and Diplomatic Schmoozer by night, chatting with not so sticky Ambassadors and Ministers!)

Wednesday: School, gym, hopefully getting my haircut, writing a paper for graduate school, and packing for Easter break!

Thursday: School, teaching private English lessons to adults, grad school work, then maybe gym?

Okay here is where it gets good, I promise!

Friday Morning: Off to Bloemfontein to start my 10 day Easter break! Flying from Bloem to Joburg, then to Gaborone, Botswana.

Friday afternoon: Landing in Gaborone, spending the night with my Aunt, Uncle and their lovely golden retriever Tana in their home in Gabs!

Saturday-Tuesday: Headed to the Tuli Block in Botswana for my first ever safari! ! ! My Aunt, Uncle, and 3 of their friends will be in attendance. (We have to leave Tana behind in fear that a wild animal might eat her...better us than her, right?). Yeehaw!

Wednesday: Flying from Botswana to Cape Town South Africa! (One of my favorite places in the world!) I am meeting my friend Margit there, and hopefully Katie too(friend from home)!

Wednesday-Sunday: Eating amazing food, drinking amazing wine, doing amazing shopping- to sum it up- partaking in most of my favorite indulgences!
Also amazing in Cape town- the mountains, the sea, the beautiful people and scenery.

Oh oh AND...I was also told by two people that the hotel we are staying at has one of the most amazing breakfast buffets in the world- what a way to start the day! (Yes, that is pretty exciting news to me!)

It will be a busy 2 weeks…first starting off with not so fun busy things that make me collapse by 9pm….followed by a vacation of a lifetime. Can’t wait!

Lists in my head...

2009-03-15T07:09:00.005-04:00

Things I miss about America
(People not included- because the list would be too long.)

1. Being able to be anonymous. To drive and walk around without everyone staring at me or making comments.

2. Driving. Nicely paved roads that allow two cars going opposite directions to drive at the same time. Not having to focus on potholes, sheep, goats, or cows in the road, trying to avoid hitting pedestrians, having more pedestrians than cars on the road, drunk drivers galore, crazy insane taxi drivers that are constantly about to crash into me, constant honking, no common speed limit, and driving on the left side.

3. The grocery store and all of her wonderful options and choices.

4. American T.V...especially the Food Network.

5. Diverse food options. (Mexican, Thai, Sushi, Kabobs, etc)

6. Good infrastructure. A lack of litter, and how clean and nice everything looks.

7. Hearing people speak Spanish, seeing Latin American influences, people, and cultures.

8. Going out to bars, restaurants, clubs, music shows, etc

9. Shops. So many shops, so many products to choose from.

10. Chincoteague, The Outer Banks, or any beach. I’m landlocked over here!

11. Being able to walk around anywhere I please, whether I’m in the woods or in town.

12. Feeling safe.

13. The diversity in American culture and geography.

14. All of the different things to do on the weekends.

15. Dating, or the prospect of meeting someone. It is tough to be 24 and single here. It can be pretty lonely. I have not been on a single date since I’ve lived here..At least I am getting an over abundance of time to learn about myself and what I want- had to put a corny spin on things :)

16. How life is easier.

Things I love about living in Africa

1. Beautiful scenery

2. The mountains

3. The amount of dancing I get to do. Every party is a dance party!

4. Visiting places that few Americans will ever get to see, seeing unimaginable places

5. Exploring a different part of the world

6. Cape town

7. My students, I really love them.

8. My small, diverse school.

9. Seeing my Dad as a U.S Ambassador and all of the things he does here. (I am extraordinarily proud of him.)

10. Having a beautiful and big yard full of flowers, plants, and fruits. It is a haven and escape.

11. Learning about new cultures.

12. The challenge of learning a new language.

13. Passion fruit and coconut drinkable yogurts, I drink two a day.

14. Being surrounded by a culture of warm, kind, and sincere people.

15. Realizing and appreciating how blessed I am.

16. Leaving the familiar and trying something new.

Reesey Post Surgery!

2008-12-09T14:24:00.004-05:00

Reesey the day after surgery

So far so good with Reesey! She had her surgery on Friday, and they worked on her for 1 1/2 hours. They completely took out the ball part of the hip bone. It seems really complicated and confusing, so I don't really know how to describe it, other than they took a big chunk of hip out of her! The Dr. said she felt good about the surgery, and that Reesey is a strong puppy.

On Saturday my Dad and I woke up bright and early and went to Ladybrand to visit Reesey.
We got to take her out of the kennel and sit in the grass out back. At first she was really sleepy and not moving to much, but was really happy to see us. The vet tech said that she had been sad, and was on 7th Heaven now that I was there. As you can see in the pictures, the poor girl has a big bald spot, massive stitches, a painful leg, and purple stuff all over! She was quite a sight!

My Dad went off the grocery shop and I stayed and hung out with Reesey. I got to sit outside with her from 9am-12pm. It was pretty great! We just hung out in the grass. I think it was nice for her to be outside of the kennel in the fresh air...and with me of course! (Too bad a got an awful sunburn!)

The office was closed Sunday, but I went to visit Reesey on Monday and today, Tuesday. Each day she seems to be more active and feeling better. She still is not putting much weight on her foot though. As I said before, the Dr.s are happy about the surgery, but are concerned about the possibility nerve damage. Hopefully she will start to slowly put weight back on it, and does not have any problems.

I am certainly happy that things have gone smoothly thus far. Only time will tell.

Hanging out in the grass

Tomorrow my Dad and I are headed off to Cape Town, South Africa! He has a conference there, so I am tagging along. My Uncle Steve will be there for the conference, along with my Aunt Judy. So it will be a nice reunion with family, food, wine, and beautiful scenery.

We will return home from Cape Town on Sunday. Then on Monday I FINALLY get to pick my puppy up. I miss her so much. All of the staff house asks about her everyday and talks about how much they miss her.

Please keep Reesey in your thoughts and prayers for a successful recovery, and to be healthy and PAIN FREE!

Tending to her wounds

2008-12-04T11:46:00.000-05:00

So today Reesey got an awesome, huge dog house. It could really be on MTV cribs.

As I was coming in the house from work I caught a glimpse of a giant white house in the corner of my eye. It was Reesey’s new dog house, or should I say, mansion. We had a carpenter make her a dog house since she hangs out outside while I am at work. We were borrowing one from someone, but she quickly outgrew it! I asked for it to be big since I expect her to be a big girl, but jeez was I shocked when I saw this! I did have some warning that it was going to be large though- two of my Dad’s coworkers saw it being built and both joked that it could be suitable for a human.
Sure enough, it is a dog mansion.

Of course I immediately crawled inside the house with Reesey to check it out. I can extend my legs out completely, in BOTH directions. (I am 5’’7 ½, I can’t even do that in a bathtub!) Also, my head is nowhere near touching the roof.
So if the economy is still bad in the U.S when I move home and I am out of luck for a place to live, at least know that both Reesey and I will fit in her dog house! (Lets be real though, we all know I will be living back at granby ct. with my parents, so I hope this fits on our porch!) Sorry Mom and Dad, you can’t get rid of us : )
And on a side note, Meg and Steve- I think Kaitlyn will be able to use this as a great playhouse too!

After we had crawled into the house there was a huge thunder, lightening, pouring rain, AND hail storm. Lucky for us, we kept dry in the mansion and watched the hail pummel the yard.

The house is painted white on the outside, and is unpainted on the inside. I seriously want to paint the inside of the house and paint picture windows. I also would like to spruce up the outside since it is so white.

Anyone have any good decorating ideas? I feel like my Wilson clan could especially come up with some great ideas- too bad Aunt Sally isn’t here to paint stars on the ceiling and some scenic murals!

So since I am here alone, I need everyone’s creative support! Reesey is going away tomorrow for her surgery and will be gone for 10 days, so I figure that would be a good time to do it since she can’t meddle with the paint and I can stay occupied with a painting/decorating job!

Please keep Reesey in your thoughts! I hope everything goes well with the surgery on Friday. It sucks that she will be gone for 10 days too, I will miss her and be thinking about how she is doing a lot. I am trying to keep a postive attitude now!

I look forward to your decorating ideas. This could be like one of those TLC decorating challenge shows :)
Winner gets...some sort of prize from Africa!

Reesey Update

2008-12-03T11:14:00.002-05:00

Well I have some sad news, with maybe some hope thrown in. My Dad took Reesey to the vet this morning and left her for the day. We came back at 4:30 to pick her up and talk to the vet. The Vet immediately told us that it turns out Reesey does not have hip dysplasia (which was immediate good news in my mind) but instead a birth defect of a deformed hip (not good news & worse than hip dysplasia). She showed up her x-ray, and I was shocked how crooked her hip was and how much the left one completely jutted out. Tears immediately welled up in my eyes. She said that her hip was completely out of the socket, she barely had a socket, and it was basically bone rubbing against bone. (This is her left hip, her right hip is normal). And because of this, her pelvic bone has not developed as well.

I'm glad my Dad was there to ask questions, because I just stood there fighting back tears and couldn't say anything.The Vet told us that I have to decide is she is worth the money, and if so we could try surgery. That statement was quite a shocker to me. Without surgery she would suffer in pain, and eventually have to be put down. There are two options for surgery- one would have to be in Joburg and is a full hip replacement, and way too much money. The second one is a reasonable cost (especially with the dollar's strength against the rand) would be here at the vet's, and involves shaving off part of her bone so that it can fit into the socket.

So Reesey is going in for surgery (the local, less expensive, less evasive one) on Friday morning. They will keep her there for 10 days, (yes, 10 days, yikes!) For 4 of those days I will be in Capetown with my Dad.

Needless to say, I am still very upset right now. I know I should look on the brightside, but right now I am so shocked and suprised. I didn't expect this, and did not expect it to be so serious and to evoke a "God" moment (let her live or let her die). I am worried since the surgery is not a guarentee fix, and there are always risks involved with surgery.

But my Dad reminded me, Reesey is the luckiest dog in Lesotho. If I did not have her she would be a guard dog living outside, not eating very much, getting abused, covered in flees/ticks, and have no human affection. And since dogs are functional here, a deformed dog would not last. They would either kill her, or let her die in pain. So no matter what, I know I am giving her a great life. Right now she is lying on my feet sleeping soundly. I gave her a pain pill, so hopefully that will help. I will be so anxious during those 10 days that she is gone. Please keep sweet lil Reesey in your thoughts.

Reesey

2008-12-02T12:49:00.002-05:00

Poor little Reesey is having some health problems. Ever since I got her in September, I noticed that she had a bit of an awkward gait. Her hips would sway side to side when she walked, and she would run very oddly- like a bunny hop. Well I have been noticing that is has been getting worse. Ever since last week I noticed that her left leg seems to be bother her, and she is limping a lot and continuing to get worse. She certainly is acting much more lethargic. She has not been as active this week, and is slower to get up. She even seems more “sad.” Friends and staff at the house have all noticed her limping and sad and lethargic behavior on their own, so I know I am not going crazy or over reacting.

When I first noticed her funny gait it got me thinking about hip dysplasia. This is a hip problem that is very common with large breed dogs, like Reesey. I don’t know too many details about it, but it can cause them great pain and a shortened life. I have been self diagnosing on the internet, and the limping and “bunny hop” unfortunately are symptoms of hip dysplasia.

I have been waiting to see if it gets better, but since it has been getting worse, I am taking her to the vet tomorrow. Or should I say- the best Dad in the world is taking her to the vet at 7am since I have young minds to mold. They will x-ray her, observe her, and keep her for the day. We will go pick her at around 4:30pm. Needless to say I have been very upset, worried, and paranoid.

I know she is “just a dog”, but if you know me, then you know a dog is not just a dog. I am an absolute animal (especially dog) lover. She is my baby, the first pet on my own, and I love her to death. She especially has helped me get out of the homesick funk and culture shock, and made Africa feel more like a home. The condition she is in right now reminds me of how our 13 year old collie Cara was towards the end of her life. I just hope that this is nothing serious, can be fixed, and will not cause her too much pain. I am quite a worrier and “obsesser” (made up word), so this is consuming my mind. I guess this is similar to how parents feel when their children are hurt!

So please keep Reesey in your thoughts and prayers. I will update after I get some news.

See how she does a "bunny hop" with her hind legs?

Playing with her deflated soccer ball

My pup is growing up

2008-11-29T06:33:00.002-05:00

This is not a picture from Thanksgiving- its from last week's Cherryfest. But the higher powers won't let me put it on the last post!

Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I had a really nice holiday. Of course it wasn't the same without my family (and Woo!), and my Mom's cooking, but we enjoyed ourselves.
It is a bit surreal to be celebrating Thanksgiving in the summer time. (For those who don't know, since Lesotho is in the southern hemisphere the seasons are opposite- July is the dead of winter, and January is hot hot hot!)
For Thanksgiving we had over the new group of Peace Corps volunteers, a few old volunteers, and a couple of people from the Embassy. We prob. had a crowd between 30 and 40 people.

I was really looking forward to cooking since we have a cook here so I barely ever cook. I needed to flex my muscles a bit and make sure I had not lost my culinary touch! So I planned the menu, went grocery shopping in South Africa, and created a game plan with our cook Patrick.
After a busy week full of report cards and parent teacher conferences, I began my cooking mission Wednesday evening, took an 8 hour sleeping break, and starting back up at 7am on Thanksgiving.
Here is what was on our menu

Turkey
Stuffing
Mashed potatoes
homemade green bean casserole
homemade gravy
cranberry sauce
cheesy rolls
Corn on the cobb
Butternut squash pie
apple crumble pie
Pumpkin cake with cream cheese icing
Texas sheet cake (Grandma Wilson's recipe!)
Apple crumble

YUM! I made the stuffing, green bean casserole, butternut squash pie, pumpkin cake, and Texas sheet cake.

Preparing the stuffing

Since I couldn't fine cream of mushroom soup and french's onions, I made homemade green bean casserole instead. And it turned out MUCH better! First I sauteed chopped mushrooms and onions in butter. Next I made a cream sauce out of sour cream and heavy cream, and mixed the mushrooms and onions with the sauce. I seasoned it a bit with garlic and salt. I added green beans (frozen ones that had been thawed) and put the mixture into MANY casserole dishes. When I was cooking the green beans Patrick asked me "Colleen, are you cooking for 40 or 400 people?" Lets just say I overdid it a bit and we will be eating Thanksgiving leftovers for quite some time. I was really afraid of having too little food, so I kind of cooked about 5 times the ammount we really needed.
Instead of the unavaible french's onions, I made a topping of crushed crackers that were mixed with butter, garlic, and seasonings.
I really liked this version better, and plan to make it for Christmas.

Nolans do everything in excess!

I cooked nonstop from 7am to 3pm. Patrick made the turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, and apple crumble. He said that he was really impressed by my cooking skills and was suprised with how hard I could work (har har har)!

Everything went smoothly, with only one potential disaster. One of the challenges of living overseas is not being able to find certain food items, and learning the different names for food items. For example confectioners sugar is calling "icing snow" and brown sugar is some word that starts with a "t" that I can't even remember.
So on Wednesday evening I was shopping for all of the food, and there was 10 minutes left until closing time. (The grocery store closes at 7pm, haven't they ever hear of 24 hour Harris Teeters?!) I was having quite a connundrum searching for the heavy cream for the butternut squash pie. Heavy cream was nowhere to be found. I found something called "full cream milk" so I assumed that full cream=heavy cream and put that in my cart. I also saw a container labeled "fresh cream" and there was a picture of whipped cream and strawberries on the cover. I assumed this was whipped cream- and as we all know, pumpkin pie (or in my case, butternut squash pie) needs whipped cream!

Flash forward to Thanksgiving day at about 1pm. I had cooked the squash, mashed it, and mixed all of the ingredients together. Next it was time to mix in the heavy cream. I put the right ammount in, and mixed it all up in hopes to have a smooth concoction. It was completely liquidfied, and was a souplike mixture. I have never made butternut squash pie before, but I could tell that it just didn't look right. I showed Patrick my squash soup and asked him what was up with it. I showed him the "full cream" I used and he started laughing. Apparently full cream= whole milk. Oops. Luckily I am a genuis, so I used a collander to get rid of the damned full cream and was able to salvage the squash and other ingredients. Patrick was going to go out to the store to buy some heavy cream when alas- he looked in the fridge and saw that I did buy heavy cream! Turns out the fresh cream that I believed was whipped cream was actually full cream. Whew. I had *just* enough to make the pie, and it turned out great.
We were this close to eating butternut squash soup.

On to the festivities....
It had been extremely hot all week, and of course on Turkey day the sky threatened rain all day. We had out celebration outside on the patio and the tent, and luckily the weather held up.
We had good food, good company, and a good time. Even Reesey got to hang out, all of the volunteers went gaga over her. They all remarked that it was great to see an actual nice dog in Lesotho. She was pretty well behaved, and is getting a lot better about her fear of strangers.
After we stuffed ourselves silly, we went swimming!
All of the pcv's brought their suits, so when the sun went down we went swimming. We had chicken fights and other types of pool games. The most entertaining one was when people did a running jump into the pool and attempted to catch a beer midair! Hahaha. The new volunteers had an 8pm curfew, but the rest of the vols and myself lingered in the pool until we were waterlogged and the rain finally came down.

All in all it was a special and unique Thanksgiving.
We still have a ton of leftovers, so I am inviting some of the volunteers over for leftovers and swimming- aka Thanksgiving round 2!

Love and miss you all!

Me with all of the desserts!

A weekend full of cherries, festivals, and meeting the King!

2008-11-24T10:14:00.012-05:00

Greetings! I had a great and busy weekend. Friday night my Dad and I went to a Diplomatic Dinner hosted by the King. That's right, I got to meet the King! It was black tie and evening gown, so we got to get all dressed up and swanky. This also gave me an excuse to shop with my Dad in Blom S.A last week since all of my dresses were too short!
The dinner was attended by the Prime Minister, all the other Ministers and dignitaries, and Ambassadors in Lesotho and South Africa. It was pretty cool to meet the King. I actually see him working out at the gym quite frequently (with his entourage of guards) but its not like I would just hop in the treadmill next to him and introduce myself!
Since it was a diplomatic crowd, I was certainly the youngest one around. My Dad and I were laughing because people probably thought I was his young trophy wife.

I said "All the women are probably looking at you and thinking 'Bastard!" and all of the men are probably thinking 'lucky Bastard'! Har har har.

We sat at the table with the French Ambassador, Swazi Ambassador, and the Chief Justice. The food was good (salad, chicken, lesotho trout, cheesecake) and red wine of course is always good. We got to listen to a good local jazz group, as well as a Lesotho choir (these people can sing, American Idol has nothing on them!)
During all of the excruciatingly long speeches I killed the time by practicing a breathing technique I learned at my first yoga lesson last week. One cool thing was the the King mentioned the U.S election and how happy everyone was, and how it was a good example of a peaceful transfer of power (see, I wasn't just completely tuned out and into my rhythmic breathing- I did some listening too!)

Me and my Pops

It's like Prom all over again!

Then on Saturday I went to the Ficksburg Cherry festival in S.A. This is basically like a county fair type of thing. For my Wilson clan- it is just like the Clearfield County fair, but in Africa! Except the whole thing is centered around cherries. Ficksburg, which is about 1 1/2 hours away from Maseru, grows a ton a cherries. So this is indeed a reason to celebrate.
I went with my Peace Corps friends Rebecca & Eric. We hitched a ride with some friends, and met up with others once we were there.
The highlights of this trip included: beer garden, free samples of cherry liquor, and FOOD!
We imediatly got tickets for the beer garden (and before you judge me too much, our money went to a charity, so I was drinking for a cause!)
After being in Maseru for a while, Fair food had never looked so good. There were too many options and food to be eaten. Rebecca and I decided on paninis. Only problem was that everything on the menu was in Afrikaans. We stood in line and I attemped my best Afrikaan accent while reading the options. Luckily a nice man from Durban saw us struggling, so he translated for us. However we were pretty smart and figured out on our own that "kaas" means cheese. Crucial word for me to know.
We also had freshly fried potato chips on a stick, sprinkled with kaas. To top it off we found a little shack that was making FRESH doughnuts!! There was this little machine that plopped the dough into a river of boiling oil...the doughnuts would sail down the river and fall on the the plate, ready to be slathered in either chocolate, caramel, white chocolate, cinnamon-sugar, or in my case- all of the above!

Doughnut machine in all of it's glory . Mom, can I have one of these for Christmas?

Now moving on from doughnuts- to free liquor samples!
We went into the "craft" tent expecting to find awesome African crafts. Instead it was basically a giant dollar store full of crap. The tent was hot, crowded and smelly. Luckily it had one redemeening quality- lots of liquor. Now this was special liquor, Mom and Pops type companies made and bottled in SA. Everywhere you turned you could have a free shot. Cherry, marshino, semi sweet, sweet, sour, cherry blossom, brandy, vodka etc etc. There were some awful ones, and lots of yummy ones. I had to support local business, so I bought a few bottles of cherry brandy, lime vodka, and hazelnut liquor. My backpack was pretty heavy after that.

Well blogspot isn't letting me load anymore pictures...hope these ones work! I will edit this post and add more details & pictures if possible!

Thanksgiving!

2008-11-19T11:26:00.003-05:00

I won't be able to enjoy my Mother's DELICIOUS Thanksgiving meal this year ::sniff:: ::sniff::, but instead of wallowing, I will be going into a full force cooking frenzy!!!
My Dad and I will be having Thanksgiving this year at the house, and he has invited the new group of 19 Peace Corps volunteers that just arrived in the country, as well as some other people.
Our lovely cook Patrick and I are going to be cooking up a storm! We will be serving 5, that's right 5 turkeys!
I will be spending this week searching for delicious Thanksgiving recipes.
So I am asking my lovely friends and family out there to please share your favorite Thanksgiving recipe with me!
I especially know my Mom's side of family is VERY into food (and eating) so come on guys, share the goodness with me! =)
And...go!

WHY WON'T BLOGSPOT LET ME POST PICTURES?

2008-11-13T11:56:00.003-05:00

RAWR! This is me frustrated.

For about two weeks now I have attempted to post pictures here, with no luck. I go through the process of uploading and receive the "DONE" prompt, yet no pictures show up where they normally would. Normally it would take at least ten minutes to upload one picture (TIA- this is Africa, folks).
I don't get why it says "done" when there is no picture! It's like they are all invisible!!

I have tried using internet explorer and mozilla firefox.
Any ideas or suggestions for possible solutions to this problem?

grrrr.....

thanks!

So, apologies for my lack of photographs- and for the bloggers/computer experts tuning in, please help!

I haven't updated in 5 weeks...

2008-11-12T13:29:00.002-05:00

I was looking on Meghan and Steve's blog, and there is a link to mine, and underneath my blog it said "Updated 5 weeks ago." DOH!

My apologies.

Can I run through a list of excuses to explain the last 5 weeks?
Sure? Okay, great, drum roll please...

1. Went to Swaziland for an African International Schools Conference. (Pretty sweet!)
2. Did not have internet for over a week at some point in October
3. Two grad school papers due this month
4. Planned the Halloween Day for my entire school
5. Blogspot wouldn't let me load pictures, despite countless tries. And what is a blog without a picture?!
6. I am lazy.
7. I've lost my zest
8. I AM A FIRST YEAR FIRST GRADE TEACHER!!!!

I definitely think # 7 has the most validity! But if my cousin Emily -with four children under age 7 and one is a newborn- can update, and Meghan and Steve with a newborn...I guess I can make a better effort too.

SO this post will be filed under excuses/apologies, and we can all move forward from here, yes?

Photographs of Reesey

2008-10-06T09:02:00.009-04:00

I just want to share some new photographs of Reesey I have taken recently...

Can you guys notice that she has grown a lot this week?

She is definitely getting bigger!

Lounging by the pretty flowers

Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey

Not quite sure about swimming yet

A flower bed is the perfect place to plop down!

Hungry, hungry, hungry!

It's exhausting being a puppy

My little lap dog

2008-10-06T07:29:00.002-04:00

She may be a bit plus sized, but her favorite spot is still a lap. She just curls up and is content like this for hours. I can't imagine how this is going to work when she is full grown!

Introducing...Reesey!

2008-09-27T12:44:00.012-04:00

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

2008-09-24T10:33:00.009-04:00

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...

2008-09-22T15:08:00.005-04:00

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

2008-09-22T13:43:00.012-04:00

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!

2008-09-22T13:16:00.003-04:00

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

2008-09-07T14:40:00.006-04:00

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

Maliba lodgde at Tsehlanyane National Park

2008-08-25T13:51:00.011-04:00

We had an amazing weekend at the Maliba (pronounced Madeeba) lodge at the Tsehlanyane National Park in Lesotho. My Dad dubbed it "Almost Heaven." I could not agree more.
After an early morning and afternoon spent in my classroom, we hit the road and headed North/East of Maseru, for about 2 1/2 hours. The trip up was easy, and the scenery on a Lesotho road trip is always fabulous. The peach trees have just begun to bloom, adding splashes of pink everywhere. At first I thought these tree were something similar to cherry blossoms, but it turns out that they are peach trees, and will grow delicious peaches on them as well.

Besides the breathtaking natural scenery, I love to people watch from out the window, and since we were driving up on a Friday evening, everyone was out and about.
The mountains got higher and the roads got more bumpy and winding as we approached Tsehlanyane. We arrived at dusk, so we could not fully appreciate the incredible mountains surrounding us.

Maliba is a brand new 5 star resort in Lesotho. It officially opens in two weeks, but the Lesotho Minister of Tourism invited members of the diplomatic corp up this past weekend for a special rate. We were very happy to be "guinea pigs" as she referred to us, at such a lovely place!

Beautiful view from the deck at the lodge
Our chalet

The lodge is run by a wonderful couple, Floyd and Joanne, from Zimbabwe. They really made the lodge feel like we were staying there as their close friends.

I won't describe the lodge in too much detail, I will let the pictures talk instead. There is a small river that runs through the mountains, and creates several waterfalls and natural pools. The constant sound of the water was so striking. My Mom and I felt like we were at the beach, you could hear the water coming down the mountain all day and night, even from our chalet.

I cannot make a post without describing the FOOD! It was absolutely fantastic. It's a good thing that this lodge is in the mountains, because we were able to hike off all of the yummy meals we had. I had Lesotho trout, ostrich, lamb, sausage, apple crisp, chicken curry, chocolate meringues with amarula sauce, delicious homemade soups, etcetera, etcetera!

The highlight of the trip was our horse trek. We rode horses deep into the mountains to an impressive 3 cascade waterfall- which took us FIVE hours! We rode horses from the local village, and had a great guide that lead us up, down, and almost sideways on the mountains! I have not been on a horse since I was about 9 years old, and boy was it fun. It was so peaceful- and exciting. We kept getting higher and higher, and closer to the edge of the cliffs. Our horses were literally inches away from the edge of the cliff- with thousands of feet below us. At one point I could not even look to the side, that's how close to the edge we were! It was definitely a thrill- much better than a roller coaster! After we reached our destination- the waterfalls, we spent some time resting and enjoying the view. There was a good portion of the trek that we had to walk back down; it was too steep to ride downhill, if the horses slipped that would be the end of the both of us! Riding the horses deep into the mountains was such an awe inspiring experience. I wish I could better describe the rush and contentment you get from the experience.

To sum up the trip, we ate wonderful food, took in breathtaking scenery, and wore ourselves out with horse trekking and hiking galore.

Rest stop
Can you believe we took horses up that teeny tiny STEEP path!?

Dad is not as sure footed as Basotho horses!

Now can you see why we call Maliba "Almost Heaven?"

NOTE: I took so many beautiful pictures on this trip and I have been trying to add them to the blog. However when I try to upload them the server times out most of the times. I will try to add more pictures to the post as much as possible!

1st Week in Lesotho

2008-08-21T14:09:00.010-04:00

Greetings! I'm sorry it has taken so long for me to update; I know I promised many of you that I would update Sunday night, but I have been so incredibly busy. Tonight I finally have a moment to relax! I am no longer jet lagged, but struggled with it for a few days. I was extremely tired all throughout the day, but when it was time to sleep my body wouldn't let me, and I would toss and turn in bed all night.

So, I have been in Lesotho for exactly one week. My first week in Lesotho has been busy and exciting, and I am transitioning well.
My flight last Thursday went well, and I had the good fortune of having two seats to myself on the plane! The flight was surprisingly only half full, so it made things much more comfortable and peaceful. Once we landed at the Joburg airport I had to race the clock to catch my next flight. It took a while to disembark the plane, followed by long lines for customs, and delays in baggage. After I got my suitcases I hired a porter, and he and I ran (literally) across the airport so I could check in for my next flight, which was boarding in 15 minutes. Hiring a porter is the way to go if you are crunched for time. Thanks to him I didn't have to wait in the long queue (line) to check my bags and get my boarding pass. We skipped the line and off I went. Yes, I am a line cutter! But it was so worth it, since I made my connecting flight.
I arrived one hour later in Bloemfontein South Africa, and was sooo happy to see my parents waiting for me! (And I have to mention, my Mom greeted me in Wilson tradition- tears!) I don't think I've ever had anyone that happy and relieved to see me before! (Note- I will now expect a greeting with tears of joy upon all of my arrivals in the future :) ).

Hiking day trip
On Sunday afternoon my Mom, Dad & I went on a historical hiking trip to Thaba Bosiu. It was nice to get some exercise, enjoy beautiful scenery, AND get a history lesson! Thaba Bosiu is a sandstone plateau, that was used by King Moshoeshoe in the 1800s to protect his nation from invaders. It is often called the birthplace of the Basotho nation. While climbing up the mountain, our Masotho tour guide told me the history of all of the attacks that occurred here. All but one of the Kings, along with other royalty, are buried at the top. There are also ruins of houses built in the 1800s. It was fascinating and beautiful!

At the edge of the cliff!

These are actually flowering aloe plants

First week of school- for faculty
On Monday I started work. We started the day off with a staff meeting, and I got to meet my fellow teachers and assistants. The first day of school will be Monday, August 25th. Everyone is so nice, and I love the environment of the school. We have 9 teachers, as well as several assistant teachers, a librarian, nurse, office administrators, guards, a driver, maintenance men, and cleaning/playground supervision women. Our Director at the school is great! Off the top of my head, our ethnicities in the faculty include: American, Australian,Ugandan, Zimbabwean, Indian, Danish, and Basotho. There are three other American teachers, and the Director is American as well.

The school is housed in a gated compound, and the campus consists of separate houses for the buildings. It really is like teaching in one room school houses! We have little round picnic tables sprinkled around campus with thatched roof umbrellas, and stone pathways connecting the houses. It is the beginning of spring here in Lesotho, and the gardeners are busy planting flowers around campus.

On Tuesday we had an all day HIV/AIDS training seminar. It was very interesting. I thought I knew a lot about AIDS already, but I learned so much, and gained new perspectives. Living in an area so deeply affected by this epidemic really makes it so much more relevant and significant.

My classroom is finally decorated and ready for Monday! Man was it a lot of work. I spent the first day arranging all of the furniture in the classroom. The teacher before me taught in the same room for ten years, and she left all of her teaching materials in the classroom. She left a TON of great materials, but sorting through everything took forever! There was no rhyme or reason to things, and loads of boxes, folders, and full shelves everywhere. I had to throw away a ton of old things we could not use, but in the end it was worth it since there were many great finds. Just sorting and organizing took two solid days.

Having my Mom here is a GODSEND! She has been such a help, and is great at sorting and purging things. I wouldn't have been able to get through everything and decorate without her. I have certainly put her to work! I can't wait for her to help out in the classroom once my kids are there as well :).

Busy organizing my classroom (pre-decorations)

Bits and Pieces
On Sunday night we got to see a partial lunar eclipse in the African sky. The sky here is breathtaking, the stars are so clear, you can reach out and touch them. We are in the city too, so I cannot imagine how they look out in the country here in Lesotho. I put my new camera's zoom lens to work, and got some nice pictures.

Last night we went to a nice farewell party held for the Chinese Ambassador. I met him several times during my last visit, and he and his wife are so kind. I was disappointed to hear that they are leaving, I know many people in Lesotho will miss him.

At Ambassador Qiu Bohua's farewell party

I will take more photos of the school next week. Tomorrow my Mom, Dad & I are going on a weekend trip to visit a new lodge at the Tsehlanyane national park in Lesotho. I cannot wait! This weekend in the mountains will be full of R&R. I cannot wait to sleep, relax, catch up on reading, and of course plan my lessons for next week!

Well, I think I have bombarded you with enough details! I have plenty more to say, but I don't want to make your eyes too sore! Plus it is bedtime for me, I have an 8am staff meeting tomorrow. I will update after our trip to Tsehlanyane.

I miss you all and hope all is well! God Bless.

An African sunset to say goodnight...
Love,
Colleen

Moving to the Motherland...TOMORROW!

2008-08-12T11:26:00.006-04:00

Eeek! Time has been flying by! I can't believe that I'm moving tomorrow. I have been running around like a headless chicken the past two weeks taking care of business. Doctors appointments galore, errands, etc. I have been spending the past few days packing, organizing, and visiting with friends and family.
Meghan and Steve came over and made dinner last night (yum), and Ryan and Martyna came home from Poland yesterday, so we had a nice little sibling get together. Of course Meghan and I had a tearful goodbye (thanks for the blubbering gene, Mom!) It was even harder than a typical goodbye since she has a little Mini Megs in her! I'm sad that I will be so far away, but such is life. It's crazy that the next time I will see her she will have a little baby girl and I'll be an Aunt! I can't wait!

I am dreading the long flight. Since the car accident I get so sore, stiff, and deal with a lot of pain in my neck and back on a daily basis. The trip will take me about 20 hours...yuck. My doctor and physical therapist instructed me to get up and walk every hour, do my special exercises, use my neck and back pillow, and take my pain pills/muscle relaxers/anti inflammatory pills! It will be a long haul, thank goodness for in flight movies, books, magazines, and my ipod!

Anyways...I should probably not be blogging right now, and instead should be packing. Procrastination at its finest!

I'll leave you all with a few pictures from the highlights of my summer...

Annual family beach vacation on Chincoteague Island, VA

Baby Shower for Meghan & Steve :)

Visiting Grandma in the country & family reunion

My farewell shindig with friends

Alrighty, I'm off! Next time you'll hear from me I'll be in Lesotho! :)

Jumping on the Blogwagon

2008-07-23T08:59:00.000-04:00

So, I'm jumping on the blogwagon! The whole idea behind the blog is that it will be a way for me to keep in touch with folks while I'm living in Lesotho for the next 2 years. If you know me, then you know I suck at emails. I blame my email deficiency on three things:

1. Taking online classes and receiving a plethora of school related emails

2. Mason's spam blocker blows. Every day I get massive amounts of junk mail. I'm starting to question whether I am really a 70 year old male, based on the daily viagra advertisements I receive.

3. Technology & information overload. Don't get me wrong, I love, appreciate, and depend on all of the technology around me. But I do have a bit of cave woman in me, and dream of a simpler time when we weren't so dependent or reachable through technology. It often feels like a chore and burden to have to check all of the different means of communication throughout the day.

First there is the cell phone: Respond to calls, text messages, and listen to voicemails. (P.S I have a blackberry, and shut the email off of it, that says a lot about me).
Next there is the home phone: Check caller ID and voice mail. Luckily we have a funky audio caller id, so when someone calls this lady robot shouts out whose calling. (No need to get off the couch!)
Emails: Check Mason email, and gmail.
Blackboard (Kind of like an online classroom) : I have to check 2 different blackboard sites for my classes.
AIM (aka instant messenger): This tool has actually been a godsend. My Mom and I use it to talk all the time, so I can't complain! But it is one more thing to check.

So between the cell phone calls, text messages, voice mails, home phone, 2 emails, 2 blackboards, AIM...I suck. The skill of multi communication has been lost on me.

I'm hoping that being half way across the world will cure me of my email deficiency. I will be using email a lot more to connect with friends and family back at home. Using gmail instead of my Mason account makes email a much more pleasant experience too! So yes, I envision myself shooting off lots and lots of emails in the future :)

Back to the blog- I hope to use this to mass communicate; I want to share stories, pictures, and updates of my life. (As you can see, I'm envisioning my life in the Mountain Kingdom much more exciting than in Virginia!) Plus my cousin Emily has a great blog and I love reading it, and I wanna be just like her!