Ah, Lesotho

Anecdotes from Lesotho.

Construction Whoops:  The way into the local mall was diverted through a gravel pit a couple of weeks back.  As I arrived at the turn in to the mall, before being redirected, I saw the bottom of a truck.  It seemed to be standing up on its hind wheels.  Then I realized it was a mobile construction crane and the operator had mismanaged a load.  The crane boom and load, lying on the ground behind the truck, had lifted the whole truck onto it’s back bumper.  Spinning it wheels one could say, in the middle of the access road, with traffic diverted, while another crane was called in to try to amend the situation.

Garbage Gleaners:  I happened to look out over our yard fence one day, and some distance away saw a throng of women along a road sorting through clothes or something.  Often hawkers sell used clothes along the streets and I turned away thinking that was what must be going on.  A day or so later I drove past the same spot, where a few girls were picking through what was left, but it was not hawker’s wares. 

The location was nearby an exclusive street in the neighborhood, and the best I could figure out was that the garbage truck was full, and the garbage men and collected the bags of garbage from that street into a pile to pick up on their next trip, but they never got back.  When the passing throng realized this they figured that such “garbage” often includes cast offs from the well-to-do, that the less well to do, still value.  When we first moved into our neighborhood we had folks poking through our garbage thinking the same thing.  They soon realized our garbage was slim picking and I no longer have to re-bag our rubbish after it had been gone through by the local gleaners.

Wiring:  I will whine one more time about the cold inside the houses in winter here.  One compounding factor is that corners are often cut to save money when houses are built.  In our house this is manifest in that every electrical outlet in the house is on the same circuit.  Getting breakfast on means turning down a heater or two before plugging in the coffee maker.  And it is a sure circuit breaker to have the kettle and microwave going at the same time as a couple of heaters.  Fortunately, we have found one outlet wired to the electric stove, which IS wired to a different circuit.  It has meant less tripping of the electrical outlet breaker, though the stove top burners constitute a hazard to the heater cord. 

If I ever build a house in Lesotho …. .

Fork Lift Famine:  Driving to the Mustard Seed office each day I pass a site where a two story house is being built.  The workers are working on the second floor.  Those little fork lifts in Canada that attach to the back of a truck delivering construction materials have not found there way to Lesotho yet.  One day I drive by and bricks for the second floor are being unloaded at the work site.  Two men standing on the truck are tossing the bricks two at a time to two men on the ground who dutifully stack them in neat piles.

A few days later I notice that now there are two workers standing by the neat piles on the ground and two workers are standing on the second floor.  The workers below are tossing bricks up, one by one, to the workers above, who are stacking them there in neat piles.  Why the bricks weren't tossed directly from the truck to the second floor, I can't answer.

Taxi no Tire:  I have a fear driving here in Lesotho.  I listen to every squeak or whisper coming from my car wheels.  Anything untoward and I am considering a trip to the mechanic, (but if you remember from a distant past post, he only wants to fix things after they break). 

Nary a week goes by when I do not see a taxi in the middle of a driving lane, not with a flat tire, but with no tire, or more correctly no wheel.  How does that happen?  Recently I came upon such a sight while I was walking so took a closer look.  Yes, the whole wheel assembly had detached.  Leaving marks on the road for the last few metres before stopping was the hub, brake shoes exposed, no wheel, just the remains of the hub. 

Other times you see the taxi driver or his mechanic working on repairing what ever it is that goes wrong, traffic whizzing by.  No problem it seems, as within a day, sometimes two, they are on their way again.

I fear my mechanic might not be willing to respond to such a ‘road’ call. 

Elections:  On a very positive note, in late May general elections were held in Lesotho.  The incumbent Prime Minister was voted out.  The positive result was, not necessarily that he was voted out, but that for the first time in Lesotho’s history a ruling Prime Minister acceded to the wishes of the people and when voted out of office affected a peaceful transition to a new incoming Prime Minister.

Sunshine:  The days are getting longer and for the last few days the sun has been shining bright, with above average temperatures.  The kids are running about outside in their shirt sleeves and I am needing one less layer inside.  Oh happy day!!  Though winter is not yet over, within another four weeks, the trend will be warmer, upwards and onward to spring ... though I am already hearing people complain that then it will be too windy.

~ Benno ~