TTLs 1000th Child!

Today we had a big party at TTL to celebrate the 1000th child that the organization has taken in. All of the kids and BoMay came, as did a few doctors from the hospital and some local community members. We had a traditional Lesotho meal of papa (which is kind of like grits, and is made from maize), chocalaca (which sadly does not contain chocolate, it's like hot sauce with vegetables in it), cooked collard greens, and sausage. We sat with the doctors, who are all from the nearby Democratic Republic of Congo. We discussed a number of matters of utmost inter-cultural importance, including why Americans use debit/credit cards, online shopping, and the purpose of iTunes. All of the doctors are fascinated by american culture, and have tons of questions for us.
We decided to take a break from cooking this evening and headed to one of the two local restaurants, the Mokhotlong Hotel, for dinner. People get quite excited about this place because they serve pizza, which is apparently quite the delicacy in Lesotho. The restaurant had only one menu, but luckily we were the only customers. We had a very lively dinner with Rachel, Julie, Lyle, and Jen who is a friend of Lyle's and a peace corps volunteer from Swaziland (another country within South Africa). Jen, Lyle, and Rachel are going on a big hiking trip this weekend through the mountains and sleeping in huts in local villages along the way. Tiana and Julie and I aren't quite adventurous enough for such a trip yet, so we'll be staying back at TTL. Lyle and Jen have really interesting Peace Corps stories to tell. Lyle has lived in Africa for 15 years, working in the peace corps and for a number of NGOs. He told us a story about when he was in the peace corps in Ghana having to cross the border and exchange his currency on the black market and smuggle it back in his shoes just to be able to buy food when he was a peace corps volunteer 15 years ago! I think things have changed a bit, but hearing about the total immersion these people do in very rural areas makes me realize that the peace corps is not in my future. He also told a story about the time he was served bat soup by a family for dinner. Apparently the peace corps volunteers are taught that it is very rude to refuse food, so halfway into his bowl of soup when he saw a bat floating in the bowl, be just kept going because that was what they were taught to do. I don't think I'd last a day out there, but have tons of admiration for the people who do. They sure have amazing stories and make for excellent dinner company.
Tomorrow will mark one week in Lesotho. So far so good!
H