le phela joang?

How is everybody? I have come to Maseru (capital) today to do some food shoping and stock up on much needed supplies to go back to my host village. I am staying in Bokone with a host family. I have my own stone hut on the family compound, but no running water or electricity. My home is equipt with a propane heater, a gas stove, a bed, a kitchen table, and a night table, and LOTS of buckets. I use buckets for everything. I have a pee bucket, a bathing bucket, a dish washing and rinsing bucket, water storage buckets, and so on. My family is very nice. My 'M'e (mother) does not speak much english and so the communication has been difficult. Yesterday I meant to say "I want to learn how to wash my clothes tomorrow" but instead I said "I want to learn how to wash dishes today". So I learned how to wash dishes right at that moment. All week my 'M'e has been cooking all my meals and so meal time is interesting because the two kids just sit and stare at me. However the two children are her grandchildren. They stay with her because the parents are in South Africa working in the mines. My meals have consisted of lesheleshele (poridge), bread, eggs, papa (ground corn), moroholo (greans), rice, soup, and chicken once. Today I begin to cook for myself which will be nice and allevate some of the pressure of having to eat and try to communicate at every meal. After breakfast I walk to the chiefs place to have sesotho lessons with 6 other trainies. We start the class by singing the Lesotho National Anthem, followed by the US National Anthem. We have class and then usually walk to the next village to meet as a whole group to have general lessons of health, medical, cross-cultural, and techniqal training. Next weekend I will go to a current PCV (peace corps volunteer) site and see what they are up too and how they are living and working. Training is very busy but I feel like I will be well prepared for my two year service in August so this is good. Oh the weather has been fine. It is the middle of the winter here, the nights get cool, frost in the morning, but the days warm up so that I have to peel the layers off. Apparently the highlands have snow, but not the lowlands. Last night it hailed and was thundering and lighting like crazy. I had a dance party by myself in my room, by candle light. I have to do something to entertain myself. Tonight, the 6 other trainies in my village will have a party for the solstice (winter) and Karrin's bday. This should be quite fun. I cannot think of anything else, there is too much to tell and I apoligize for my lack of english skills, being immersed in sesotho all the time I forget how to speak and write english, so sorry. Let me know if you are having trouble responding to my blog, some people have said that they cannot post entries, so drop me an email and I will try to get to the bottom of it. until next time- sala hantle.