An Eventful Night

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

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...

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!

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

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

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

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