Lesotho Oddities

There are certain signs and oddities that remind me I’m in Lesotho, and make America seem like a distant dream-like world. Here are just a few:

-Towels are actually very nice skirts to wear around the village,

-Calamine lotion is used as a face-mask and sunblock in one.

-It takes over an hour to get a plate in the “fast food” hut.

-Why carry a small Tupperware container when you can carry it on your head? Suitcases too.

-A woman wearing gum boots is laughable, but fuzzy toe socks with flip-flops is very nice.

-KFC is fine dining, people will do almost anything for a piece of that special recipe chicken.

-A mouse, donkey, chicken intestine – if it’s meat my family will roast it up and eat it.

-MSG is a delicious spice, sprinkled on the top of any dish.

-Previous homework is actually free toilet paper, math seems to be the most popular in my family.

-Dogs are used for protection and definitely are not your best friend. Cows perhaps.

While these things may appear strange and often comical to me, I am sure that there is a much longer list the Basotho in my village could write about me. And yet, regardless of my oddities or accidental faux-pas, I am constantly greeted, accepted and loved by these remarkably friendly people.