Full House

Last Friday was time, once again, to have my IB students over for dinner and a movie. An added blessing was having our two young Canadian house mates along for the ride. It was just great fun to listen in the background...well in the kitchen mostly, as the young people chatted and laughed together asking the typical questions and guessing at ages.

Surprisingly, one of my house mates was ALMOST the youngest one at 18, and to think, she's finished high school and is off on an adventure of her lifetime for six months in Africa, volunteering at one very... interesting orphanage. Quite the challenge for an 18 year old. Lucky her, though. Lucky so many young people in parts of the world, like North America; whereas, such dreams of traveling and just spending six months volunteering--having the finances to do it--are past the realm of possibility for so many here.

Even MY students who are considered 'the elite' are so limited financially. They were quite amazed that my house mates would have graduated from high school and just gone out to get a job, moved away from home, be living on their own, have their own vehicle... . What seems like a 'normal course of life' for so many North American youth is an impossible dream for young people here in Africa. The ONLY way is to get University education, for most funded through student loans, and to live at home/boarding school. In fact, many adult children remain living at home until such time as they can marry, even if they have careers. It's the only way to survive financially in Lesotho...for many.

BUT, back to a lighter tone. Friday was so much fun. I have not laughed that hard in a while. Between eating, watching a movie, and visiting there was the dancing! Basotho showing Canadians how to dance to House music. Canadians, not to be outdone, pulling out the Paul Brandt and teaching the Basotho how to line dance!

Then we discovered the DISTORT features on Benno's iBooth on his computer...

If yo think yo comin to thiz party, man, yo gonna hafta get past me!

Or me!

Or us!

Well, if you saw what this guy really looks like...What fun!

You know what I loved the most was that these young people were having a blast
and they did not need alcohol or drugs to do it!


By the way, REAL Basotho men DO help with dishes.
Hmm...Apparently, Basotho men are terrified of kitchens...or is it the women in them.
Actually, according to a Masotho friend who filled me in, if a Masotho male does kitchen stuff, or laundry, he must be TERRIFIED of his wife (You know, what some called 'whipped' in North America, I guess ;-). Well, my students must be terrified of their teacher because after threatening to take them back to the boarding house IF they didn't do their share in the kitchen, with a sigh they complied. Life is tough in the Fath household ;-) Eeish! I just take every opportunity as a 'teachable moment'!
I'm so proud of these guys, especially that one who even dares to wear 'the apron'! He DOES look scared, but I'm sure he's not.
(There were more. The rest are trembling somewhere out of sight.)