July 1st was a day of travel from Johannesburg to Morija. This was an international trip, therefore we had to cross a border to get into Lesotho. The South African side of the border was nice and calm and caused no problems for us. The Lesotho side was a different story, however. First, it was insanely busy, as it was Friday afternoon so all of the Basotho who work in South Africa during the week were returning to their families in Lesotho for the weekend. It was chaotic, disorganized and the meaning of "line" was virtually nonexistent. After trying to be polite Americans and waiting in a line for our turn, we soon realized it wasn't going to work, so we followed the example of the natives and began pushing and shoving our way to the front of the line. After nearly an hour of chaos, we all made it through the checkpoint and back to the bus. Unfortunately, the worst was yet to come. As we were pulling away from the border, a group of police motioned us to pull over during a random vehicle checkpoint. Everything was fine until they asked for Owen's (our driver) driving license. After reviewing it for a minute, they asked Owen to step out of the vehicle and began questioning him. Inside the bus, we had no idea what was happening and were therefore quietly freaking out, as we were a group of white "rich" Americans sitting on a bus in an area of extreme poverty and violence surrounded by men peering in the windows, women yelling at us and police officers with guns harassing our driver. After a few minutes, Mark, our leader, informed us that Owen's bus license had expired and they were getting ready to take him to jail. Cue more freaking out. To make this long story a bit shorter, Mark saved the day by contacting our representative in Lesotho who has extreme pull in all things occurring in Lesotho. She spoke with the border patrol officers and convinced them to let Owen go on the grounds that she would immediately have a new license sent in from South Africa. It must be nice to be friends with the King!
We finally arrived at our guest house in Morija after 10 hours of driving. Morija wasn't a town, as I had expected, but rather a village consisting of probably 7 buildings for public use and several houses, all made of scrap wood, tin, tarps, straw and mud. The guest house was situated on the edge of the mountain, above the village and required a 10 minute drive on an extremely bumpy mountain "road" to get to. Upon arrival, it immediately felt like home. The house itself was lovely and extremely welcoming, as it was previously the owner's home. The staff was very friendly and welcomed us warmly. Although it was cold outside, it was warm and cozy inside, primarily because of the fireplace, but also because of the friendly environment and wonderful people in my group (and, of course, the house dog, Mosley).
The mountain on which the house was situated provided us with several opportunities to explore. The first day, we hiked up to an area with fossilized dinosaur footprints and a natural fireplace and chimney used by locals to perform various rituals. We were joined by a wonderful Canadian family who was also staying at the guest house during their time in Lesotho while adopting a young orphan. This family has affected me greatly...you will read more about this in a later post. After the hike, we went horseback riding through the mountains, which cost us a little more money, but was worth it as the money went to the owners of the horses, providing them with a little extra money to support their families. We ended the day with a walk through the village and a visit to the home of a local family.
The following day was incredible, yet exhausting. We spent most of the daylight hours hiking to the very top of the mountain, where we found a remote village, ate lunch on a cliff overlooking the mountains of Morija and heard stories of history and tradition. The hike up was intense and made me realize how out of shape I am. The hike down was awesome, as it resulted in the formation of Team JEG (John, Erica, Genevieve), the slowpokes who had a very difficult time walking but a whole hell of a lot of fun! We ended the day with a traditional song and dance performance by local children.
A few additional tidbits of excitement...
-Sesotho language lessons given by Bridgitte, the owner of the guest house
-Visits to schools and the National Curriculum Development Center to learn about Lesotho's education system
-Visit to a Chinese textile factory that could be considered a sweatshop (thumbs down) but employs MANY Basotho (thumbs up)
- Visit to the U.S. Embassy, which is included in the list of my favorite parts of the trip
-Visit to the Morija Museum where we learned about the history and culture of the Basotho
-Visit to traditional weavers, where I bought a small African weaving to go in my future child's nursery
-Magnificent views of the stars and Milky Way, which of course included a night photography session
-Visit to a local village where we saw demonstrations of mud thatching of houses and pottery making...and of course played with kids
-Hike to the top of Thaba Bosiu, the mountain on which the Kingdom of Lesotho was formed under the leadership of King Moshoeshoe
Our last day in Morija was one of the best days of the trip thus far. We visited Lesotho Teacher's College, the only teachers college in Lesotho. The visit started with a Q&A session with various professors, deans, etc., which, honestly, was quite boring. After, they told us to come outside, as some of the students wanted to share their work with us. They led us outside and into a crowd of people. Just as we were all wondering what was happening, we were led onto a stage surrounded by probably 400 students, all of whom were cheering and waving. The work they wanted to share with us was actually traditional instrument playing, dancing, singing and welcome speeches. It was so wonderful to be greeted in such a friendly manner and we felt so incredibly special to be included in their traditional ceremonies. Many of us cried, mostly from joy but also from sheer awe and amazement at the beauty of these wonderful people and their customs. It was an incredibly moving experience and will forever be a piece of me.
One final note about my time in Morija. This is the place where I formed some lasting friendships. The 14 people in my group all stayed in the same house, shared 3 bathrooms and gathered nightly by the fireplace, which allowed for bonding, stories and laughter. I'm fortunate to be a part of this wonderful group and to now consider these amazing people my friends.
The beauty of the people and the land of Morija have left a footprint in my heart. My final Lesotho post will be reflective, rather than factual in nature and will be posted whenever I feel comfortable with the way I have organized and collected my thoughts and feelings on paper. Whether that be tomorrow or a month from now, I hope you will read it and be able to at least feel a small piece of the wonder and magic of Lesotho and the impact this experience has had on my life.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Morija, Lesotho
1 comment:
You are beautiful. Amazing. Brilliant.
Post a Comment