50th Anniversary/ Pony Camp

This year marks the 50^th anniversary since Peace Corps was established so there was a big celebration last week in Morija, a place near Maseru and also where the king lives!  It was an All Vol which means all the volunteers in country were invited to come.  We stayed for a few nights at the Mazenod Conference Center and generally just hung out and got to meet everyone.  We also learned about the different committees within Peace Corps that we can serve on as volunteers if we happen to have the time.

Part of the festivities involved the CHED 11’s swearing in again, which was really special since the ambassador, the king, several other dignitaries, Peace Corps staff, and all the other volunteers were there to see it.  Most volunteers swear in with just their villages and teachers, so this was particularly awesome.  ALSO, the king and the ambassador both said they liked my seshoeshoe!

There was of course tons of food after the event including some really amazing desserts.  I also took advantage of the fact that I was in Maseru (a city with an actual supermarket) and bought tuna, hummus, yogurt, cheese, and several other things I often have trouble finding in Thaba Tseka.

From there, two other CHED 11’s, Tommy and Carol, myself, and another volunteer, Joey, went to Joey’s place in Mafeteng, another district, to learn to ride horses! Joey worked a lot with horses back in the states and she trained some of the volunteers from the last group to ride as well.  The three of us will probably need to ride at some point for our work because we often have to go way out in the mountains where it’s difficult for even four wheel drive to get to.

Pony camp was definitely a lot of fun, even though I was unfortunately sore afterwards L One of the big difficulties with riding here is that the horses here are not so much trained but instead they respond occasionally to being beaten with a stick.  I unfortunately did not get the opportunity to ride on a donkey, but it will happen at some point in the next two years!

Me and my friend Lyndsey at the 50th

I shook the king's hand!