New Volunteers!

My first year in Lesotho anniversary was marked by the arrival of 23 bright eyed and bushy tailed volunteers. I am fortunate to be able to help with the training of the new group of Community Health and Economic Developement (CHED) volunteers this year and have been able to spend a lot of time with them. I was a “resident” trainer for their first week in Lesotho so in addition to getting to meet them all at the airport I got to spend the first week with them answering questions and providing some support. It was a fun experience.

The “newbies” flew into Maseru in the middle of the day so they got to see a bit of Lesotho. My group had walked across the border at 2am a year before. It was fun to see all their brand new clothes, shiny squeaky clean new hiking boots & shoes as they stood in line at customs. I knew they would be full of excitement and nervousness but wasn’t quite ready for the bombardment of questions immediately at the airport. Many had read my blog which was sort of a weird feeling and then many had questions like “what’s your project”, “what’s your house like”, “do you have pets?”, “do you have electricity?”, “whats ….. like?”.

Over the course of the week I answered a ton of questions about my experience, about Lesotho, about the Basotho culture, where to find things, and so much more. Some of the questions made me laugh like “where do you go to the bathroom? “Are there snakes in Lesotho”? Many of the questions made me reflect back on my first week arrival in country.

I’m at my “1st year mark/Mid service crisis” time. For me it hasn’t really been a “crisis” but a few things are challenging. Part of it has been a time of reflection on what I’ve accomplished this year, which is difficult to see and to measure. Another thing that is difficult about this time of year is the other CHED group is leaving some good friends are finishing their service as I type this. Many have left, but most will be gone by August/September. It’s tough to say goodbye to people whom have been sharing in this experience.

It was nice to get to spend some time with the “newbies” while they were still excited and energetic to be here in Lesotho. It was some good energy to be around at this point in my service. Also, the new group of volunteers is a great group that has a lot to bring to Lesotho. I’m looking forward to getting to know them better during the rest of their training and during the remaining part of my service.