December Holiday

When I arrived in South Africa and was in Pre-Service Training, the thought of ever making it to my Close of Service (COS) Conference was so unreal and so very far away. Well, COS conference has come and gone and I can’t believe it. 22 of the original 36 PCV’s in SA25 came together to discuss the logistics of closing up our sites and preparing mentally for going home.

COS conference really put it into perspective that I only have a few months left in service. Actually, today is my two-year mark of arriving in this beautiful country. I can’t believe that I only have two short months until I become a Return Peace Corps Volunteer. What a journey this has been!

After COS Emily, Julie, Dan, and myself took off to the Drakensberg Mountains to do some hiking in Lesotho. We spent the first night in a beautiful backpacker on the foothills of the Drakensbergs. I was ecstatic to see some mountains since I am use to the small hills of Empangeni. The next day we took off for Lesotho. We drove up Sanni Pass and it was breathtaking.

When we arrived at the backpacker, it was literally located within a Basotho (Sotho people who live within Lesotho) Village. Sheep and sheepherders surrounded the village, along with horses and cattle. It was cold and windy there so I can understand why the Basotho people keep warm by wearing blankets over their clothes.

We were stoked to go hiking so we found some local village kids to take us hiking up Hodgson’s Peak. There were about 8 kids who were willing to take us and it was a blast! We got nearly to the top and the clouds rolled in. The view would have been spectacular I am sure, but we were literally within the clouds and couldn’t see.

We wanted to go to the very peak but the kids informed us that there was a cattle point at the peak and there would be dogs that are not very friendly. It started raining like crazy so we quickly started heading down. Like 10 minutes after we booked it out, the clouds cleared, as did the rain. On the way back the kids kept us entertained with singing, small games, and lots of laughing.

Prior to our next hike up Saddle’s peak, we set off to find some traditional bogobe (bread). Between Dan’s Zulu, and mine, Emily and Julies Sepedi, we were able to communicate with the locals to find what we needed. The locals spoke Northern Sesotho, which is fairly close to Sepedi, so Julie and Emily did most of the talking. We found this lovely lady that went by the English name Emily. She knew what we were talking about and told us to come with her. We followed her into this warehouse where sheep were being sheered. I thought she misunderstood what we were asking, but she didn’t and she handed us some bread.

It was soo yummy! We bought plenty for our hike and off we went. On the way up, we meet this man who was a sheepherder. He was chilling playing his guitar made out of a plastic container, a piece of wood, and some plastic string. It was the coolest guitar and it was amazing to see how complex things can be made out of essentially rubbish.

When we got to the peak it was stunning. I can’t explain the view; it was like nothing I have ever seen before. Miles and miles of green rolling hills. Spectacular.

At the top I found a few stacks of white painted rocks and was confused about what they were for. So when I got to the bottom I asked a local man what it was for and it turns out they believe that the painted rocks will help keep the jackals away. This will help the jackals from eating their sheep.

Later that afternoon, Dan, Emily, and I decided to go for a horseback ride. It was awesome. We went for an hour and it was really relaxing and we saw some cool things. I was expecting the horses to go a bit faster but I think that is the thriller in me.

Our last day in Leostho we spent watching the Nelson Mandela funeral. What we were able to catch of it was neat to be able to watch. What an incredible man. While we were watching it, this nice family from Pretoria asked us if they could treat us to lunch. They were very nice and it was really neat to get to know them. We had asked them if they had spent any time in the village and they hadn’t. So after lunch, we walked them there and found a Gogo’s house that we had previously been to and treated them to some traditional beer. They had never been inside of a rondavel before so it was an experience for them. Peace Corps 2nd and 3rd goal are to teach the world about America, and to teach America about the world. Our Country director stressed the nonexistent “4th goal” of teaching locals about other cultures that surround them. This was a mission complete in the “4th goal.” It was a neat experience. We were also able to write whatever we wanted on the ceiling of the lodge and this is what we choose!

We left Lesotho and headed back to the first backpacker on the foothills. Dan and I took off the next day for an “In The Footsteps of the Bushmen” hike in uKhahlamba Drakenseberg Park. Besides the fact that it was raining the whole 12km, it was awesome and really neat. The Drakensberg’s hold the largest amount of rock paintings in Southern Africa. The paintings that we were fortunate enough to see had not been dated, but were estimated to be between 200-2000 years old. There are several animals that are painted but the most common is the eland (similar to an antelope).

It was an awesome experience to learn about the San people and it was amazing to see such old paintings.

Our last day, we headed for our last small hike. Unfortunately we could not make it all the way to the peak because baboons surrounded it. Those are not animals that I am willing to mess with. Regardless, we had an amazing view. We parted ways later that afternoon and I headed for Durban. I was lucky enough to spend a week in Durban over the Christmas holiday. We attended my friend’s nephews wedding and it was supper chill.

I had a really great December holiday. I left December 3rd and my org did not open up again until the 13th of January. I was able to find plenty to do once I got back from traveling. One thing I did was spent some time at my friends Bennie’s. It reminded me a lot of when I lived in the small village Bundu when I first arrived in South Africa. We spent a lot of time hanging out, cooking, and laughing. They dressed me in tradition Zulu beads and clothing and I thought it was so neat. I had a great time and hope I have another chance to visit before I leave in March.