Happy April!

April e monate! (April eh moh-NAH-teh) For those who celebrate, I hope everyone had a nice Easter. Or if not, a good day off on Good Friday if you had one. Here, schools have their autumn break around Easter. It was right after our workshop, and this post will be sharing about Easter here and some other updates!

Ha Baroana

At the end of the workshop, we visited Ha Baroana (ha bar-WAH-nah). We hiked out to see the rock paintings that are in the cave. The hike was beautiful, though a bit difficult because it had been raining so there was mud and slippery rocks. We made it without any casualties though. Pictured are parts of our hike!

The paintings featured different animals and people doing various activities. I learned that if a cow was painted upside down, it was going to be slaughtered. Below on the left is a cow with some people, and on the right is more people. One of the staff splashed water on the paintings to make them more visible. In the middle is a view of the cave wall where the paintings are, with the river running beside it.

Easter

Last weekend was our Easter break. On Wednesday, 4/5, we just had a half day for school, and the next Wednesday, 4/12, was our first day back. More of my host nieces and nephews, who live in town or Maseru, were here to visit. Mohloli (moh-SHLOH-dee) and Tumo are in grade 3, and Mosa is in grade 4 and goes to the school I teach at. It was really fun having them stay with us, especially since I haven't seen the boys since Christmas break. Alice, who is Mohloli’s mom, also spent the weekend here. Paul, a fellow volunteer, visited me too. We spent time with my family, and also spent a night in my camp town with Samantha and Kalynn. Samantha and Paul live in a different district than Kalynn and I, and go to a different camp town, so it was nice for them to visit. Our internet café has a fire pit outside, so we made s’mores! (Pictured below in the middle row.) The staff had never had them, so we made s’mores for them too. On Easter Sunday, Paul and I made deviled eggs! My host family had never had them before, so I was happy to share an Easter tradition I grew up with. They really enjoyed them. There aren’t really Easter family traditions here, except some families go to church multiple days in a row. My host family went on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. They were gone all day Sunday, so on Monday, we did an Easter egg hunt. Well, a sparkly sponge hunt...since that was the closest thing I could find. I cut them into smaller pieces, pictured below on the right. It was partly kids from my host family - Thabisang, Mosa, Mohloli, and Tumo (pictured below on the bottom left) - and a couple neighbors joined as well - Mathetso, Lekhoaba, and Lebohang. Their search is pictured below on the top. Lekhoaba is actually in my grade 4 class. It was another tradition I was happy to share, and they had so much fun! Everyone wanted a chance to hide the sponges, and of course, we now have less than we started with. One of them actually turned up a couple days ago, found by Lekhoaba, who had hidden it! He was proud that he found such a good hiding place.

Running Nationals

Yesterday, Friday 4/14, was the nationals competition for running. There have been competitions starting at the district level, so this one was the top level in the country. Students from schools in all the districts competed. My school had 4 runners make nationals! Most of the teachers went to support, along with all the grade 5-7 students. We took a very big bus, pictured below on the top left, and the students had a great time singing and dancing along to the music the driver played. The competition was held at Setsoto Stadium in Maseru, pictured on the top right and bottom left. Most of the students hadn't been before, so it was a great opportunity for them. The stadium is very nice. There were all the usual running events, plus long jump and high jump. The students from my school competed in some of the running events. One student placed first for the 100m and 200m races! This means he qualified to go to Zambia to compete in the next level. We are all very excited and proud of him! (On the bottom right are a few of the teachers that went. From left - right: Sophia, Mohapi, Mapakiso, Martha, and I)

Kittens

Here are the kittens! They are growing up fast. They walk all around the house now, playing with each other and exploring. Unfortunately, we're down to two, but they're much more used to human contact now. The tabby used to hiss at me, but now I can pet her no problem! She also discovered her own reflection this morning:)

It's been getting colder and colder here, since it's now fully autumn. The cold is definitely not my favorite weather, but we have blankets, space heaters in our homes, and of course hot water. I hope things are warming up there in the States, and everyone is doing well. Until next time!