Just Stuff

First. Jared and Brandon - Mac is not as intuitive as it claims or I truly am technology challenged. A couple of days back I was able to connect to the BG server and access the internet. Then – nothing. Then there is the matter of compressing photos so that I can post them on our blog. How in the world do I that? I sometimes find myself muttering that I should have gotten a PC.

Now to Lesotho: It is late winter in Lesotho and I find myself putting on an extra jacket when I go into a building. The brick construction of the buildings seems to work like a ceramic, which I guess it is - heat is not transferred through the bricks so the warmth of outside does not transfer through, though the cold certainly seems to. So part of my evening attire has become a blanket wrapped about me.

Yesterday I got my visa stuff done. It was easy and went incredibly smoothly. Beautiful Gate seems to be a well-respected agency in the community. I walked in with just my passport and a letter from the Director of BG, and a letter they typed for me saying I was volunteering, and 45 minutes later I had a two year visa.

It is month-end, and most wage payments here are made by direct deposit. The result is incredible line-ups at the ATMs about town. Not a time for us to be trying to get funds from the bank. Next week I will be going to one of the banks to try to arrange a wire transfer. We have arranged to purchase a vehicle and it will simplify the process to get a wire transfer rather than lining up at an ATM each day and withdrawing the maximum cash until I have enough.

The city center of Maseru is small. However, the city suburbs (if they can be called that) are scattered out over miles of hillsides. The density of the houses is likely little more than in Canada, though each little house may be home for 2-3 times the number of people as in Canada. It is so markedly different than the shanty towns of Capetown we saw last year where there was row upon row of shanties crammed together.

Yesterday was a windy day, lots of dust blowing about. A storm system blew in and we had rain and strong winds in the evening plus a bit of snow. Today we drove into South Africa and where there was a skiff of snow on the ground.

That gives a bit of an update on what has been happening. The two biggest frustrations for me have been the challenges of getting my computer to work the way I want so I can communicate. The other challenge is getting my head around having to put on extra clothes when I go into a building and often fewer when I go out. So if that is all I am struggling with, then I am still doing okay … but brrr, it sure is a different world without central heating.

Tsamaeang hantle all.

~ Benno ~