It's Friday!

It's Friday which means I am 23 years and one week old. It also means that in an another hour I am off work and will be hitting the golf course with John (guy in pic) and Pedro. The three of us have decided to take up golf as there is a course about three minutes from where we work.
Certainly the course bares no resemblance to any course back home but there are greens and most of the ground is covered by a form of grass. Again though, the novelty of being able to to play a round of golf for $6 is pretty cool.

What is even stranger though, is hitting "a bucket" of balls before heading out on the course. As you jump out of the car, you get asked by a bunch of guys if you want to golf. What they mean is, "do you want me to fetch the balls that you hit into the field?" Seriously. What happens is you buy balls from a store and bring them to the "driving range," basically a big field, line up your balls, pay your fetcher (for lack of a better word) a few Rand, and start drilling them into the field. When you hit the ball, they chase it down, put it into a bag, and when you are done they bring all the balls back to you. Quite honeslty it feels somewhat wrong to me to have somebody chase after my beautiful, long, straight drives, but they are keen to do it, and they do earn a good wage in doing this work.

I think this weekend I am going to just chilld. I Have been a little under the weather this week so some R & R would probably do me good. I also registered for French classes today, which will start next Wednesday. A bientot!

Who needs Whistler when you have Oxbow?

I just had this picture sent to me but it was actually taken a few weeks ago when we were at Oxbow. As you can see, while certainly cold in the Mountains, there is not a lot of snow save for the man-made stuff on which we were skiing. Where I am standing is the top of the mountain and down below is the sprawling ski village.

Two of my best mates

On the left, Pedro from Spain and on my right, John from the UK, who has now adopted Sweden as his country of origin and who can speak fluent Swedish. This photo was taken in my kitchen.

My first African B-day

My birthday really started the night of the 20th. I was sitting in the Lesotho Sun, (the nicest hotel in Maseru) eating Chinese food with two of my best buds, Pedro and John, when my cell phone rang. Calling all the way from Vancouver was my brother and my Granny and Papa wanting to wish me a Happy Birthday. Though there was a significant delay, there voices came through loud and clear and we were able to have a normal conversation. It was so nice to hear familiar voices and talk to my family.

The actually day of my birthday, Friday the 21st, started off at the Maseru Sun (Sun is a hotel chain in Southern Africa) where myself, John and Ntate Bereng were facilitating the second day of a workshop designed to help define and flesh out a road-map for establishing the Human Rights Commission the Government of Lesotho is hoping to create. We had speakers from the Organization of the High Commission for Human Rights, a fantastic speaker from the South African Human Rights Commission and speakers from some local NGO’s. Basically, the UNDP’s role in establishing a NHRC is to push and educate where necessary, help with the logistics, arrange speakers, but ultimately take a back-seat to the Government. We help where we can and when we are needed but the idea and our mandate is to empower government and encourage local ownership over projects and institutions like a National Human Rights Institution.

Following the workshop I rushed home to get my house ready. I had bought some drinks and snacks for the festivities and had made sure I had a good supply of coal and firewood on hand so everybody would be warm. I also had to hurry home because I was expecting guests. Patti, a fellow Canadian and JPC, whom I had met in Ottawa, currently working in Swaziland for UNAIDS, had driven from Swazi with an American intern to spend the weekend in Maseru. Apparently, where they are living in Swazi, there is not much to do and so they were glad to get to Maseru and the UN compound and hang out with my friends.

People started arriving around 7. I had Americans, Canadians, Irish, Norwegians, British, South Africans and a lot of Basotho all attend. I was really glad that it wasn’t exclusively an ex-pat party but that there was lots of locals who came as well. In fact, a lot of people who came were unknown to me. What I learned was word travels fast in Maseru and when there is a party, people descend on it. Let’s just say that at around 1am I was glad that I lived in a gated compound with guards as they were able to turn away those that looked of dubious character.

As my house has no furniture yet, in fact, I have only a bed and bed-side table only, it was a perfect venue for a party. My living room is huge and there is a bar in the corner that a past resident built. John brought over his music and by about 11 the my place was full. The locals brought some good African music and everybody was dancing by the end of the night. The party went for a long time and I think I probably hit the sack at about 5am.

Four hours later I was up as I had promised to take my visitors to Malealea lodge for some pony-trekking in the Lesotho Mountains. Our first stop, however, was the Mediterranean Café, the only place in Maseru that does a real breakfast. Two fried eggs, hash browns, tomatoes, toast, mushrooms, two cappuccino’s, sausages, bacon and most of Patti’s and Sonia’s breakfasts’ later, it was off to Malealea. This “resort” is about 2 hours from Maseru. It is a beautiful drive and there is a lot to see along the way.

Upon arrival we decided on a two-hour trek to the Gorge. We got geared up and were taken to our ponies. To my horror, mine was white (have had bad experiences with white horses before). However, she was great and we had an amazing two hour ride into the Lesotho mountains. I took lots of pictures along the way. For me, this was certainly a highlight of my time here thus far. Back from Malealea I took them for a tour around Maseru and then out for Indian food. After this it was off to Good Times for a few drinks and finally off to bed as we were all knackered. Sunday the girls left early to get back to Swazi in daylight and I slept till 1. For the next 6 hours, no joke, I cleaned up my place as it was a bit of a sty.

Why not get my maid to clean up my place you ask? She is back in her village because her mom just died of AIDS. It really hits you, the travesty of this virus, when somebody you know dies or is affected by AIDS.

Sunday night I made some pasta and then watched Citizen Kane with a few people in the compound. I know my dad will be proud that I finally got around to watching it but I must say I neither liked it nor understood it. My Langley roots certainly show here don’t they?

Sushi in S.A.

Another week and weekend has now come and gone. For us here in Lesotho, it was actually a long weekend as it was the King’s birthday on Monday. Last week and this week, we are and will be, working towards setting up for a consultative meeting with stakeholders as we move towards setting up a National Human Rights Commission. This has involved policy work and research but also the fun job of logistics, protocol, invitations etc.

This weekend I went to Bloemfontein in South Africa. This is an Africaner town about 2 and a half hours from Maseru. Last week I received a six-month border pass which exempts me from having to register at the border. So, rather than lining up for an hour, we were able to drive right through the Lesotho, South African border. We arrived in Bloemfontein at around lunchtime and met up with some friends from work for some Sushi. I must say it was nice to have sushi again but like a lot of places in Canada, they have got to work on their raw fish to mayonnaise ratio. As many of you know, I have a profound distaste for Mayonnaise and a love of sushi so when put together, I am faced with the bane of my existence.

Bloemfontein is a lot like my good ol’ hometown Langley: fairly ugly with lots of malls and places to shop. The goal of the weekend was to catch some films and that we did, watching one on Sat and another on Sun before we returned to Maseru. We stayed over in Bloem Sat night and found a nice spot to play pool and have some Castle Lager. For part of the night we sat outside on the patio overlooking the road. A very common sight was private security trucks and cars driving by with the words “armed response” written on the side. I am very interested in this notion re the law. Can a security officer working for Company X shoot somebody the same way a legitimate cop can if he or she comes upon a scene of a crime. Is there not a chance that if this is allowed, this power could be used for malevolent purposes? I will investigate and report back.

On Sunday morning we actually found a place that did eggs and bacon and decent coffee. It was brilliant travelling with the friends that I was as they appreciate reading and coffee in the morning and this is what we did for an hour before our food arrived.

Sunday night when we got back we were invited to Estevan’s house. He is the Operations Manager for UNICEF in Lesotho. He is Iranian and cooked us traditional Iranian Food. His daughter and niece who are Iranian Canadian are staying with him for six weeks, so it was good to talk about Canada and catch up on the news back home. I also found them to be Hearts fans, and convinced them to play many a game of cards with me as we listened to Farsi and Turkish music. Among the guests were an American, head of Peace Corps Lesotho as well as an Iranian-Swiss-French couple. This couple speak amazing French and humoured me by speaking French to me throughout the night.

Sunday morning I went to the fabulous gym we have here in Maseru and then it was back to Estevan’s for an Iranian lunch. Again, we were treated to traditional Iranian food and music! After lunch, I spotted a basketball and convinced everybody to join me in a fun game of basketball. It ended up being pretty competitive actually and sadly, my team lost.

Before I left I invited people to my house on Friday to help me celebrate my b-day. I have no furniture in my house, so it is going to be, not a BYOB party but a BYO Chair party. I can’t believe I am going to be turning 23 in Maseru.

Skiing?

So I went skiing on the weekend. Three hours outside of Maseru is Oxbow, one of two ski hills in Southern Africa. I went with three of my colleagues. We got up early and drove through the Lowlands of Lesotho up to the mountains. At 3105 feet we arrived. It was quite hilarious. At that altitude there is snow but not enough on which to ski. However, with a lot of snowmaking equipment, an Austrian entrepreneur has compensated for the minimal amount of snow and created a ski hill. From top to bottom, it can be skied in ten seconds but that hardly seemed to matter as there is something quite novel about being able to ski at all in Southern Africa

Driving to the mountain was equally as interesting as skiing. About ten minutes out of Maseru, the true Lesotho starts to emerge. As we drove we passed dozens of small villages built up on the sides of mountains. Many of these villages are not accessible by car, only donkey or horse. In fact, a lot of what I saw reminded me of Mexico as donkeys are used extensively and most people we saw were wrapped in Basotho blankets, very similar to those you would find in Mexico. We also had to be careful on the road because of all the carts being pulled by oxen or horses also using the highway.

On this journey it became very clear to me that Lesotho has two distinctive zones, the Lowlands where Maseru is located and the Mountains. In terms of the latter, when you are into them, you come to appreciate why Lesotho has been dubbed the Mountain Kingdom. Incidentally, much of what I saw reminded me of Drumheller and the Badlands while other parts reminded me of Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland. Because it is winter and the rains haven’t started yet, the mountains look majestic but also hostile and inhabitable, though many people live in the mountains.

As you can imagine, there were not a lot of Basotho skiing at Oxbow, mainly serving food. In fact, I did not see anybody black skiing at all, just rich white South Africans who had come from Johannesburg. Even though the ski slope was fairly minimal it is at a very significant elevation, over 3000 feet. Therefore, skiing for just 10 seconds was hugely tiring.

At about 4oclock we left the mountain as it gets dark at around 6 in Lesotho and we wanted to get down from the mountains while we still had some light. Driving at night in Lesotho and parts of South Africa is a very strange thing. Because most places in the country have no electricity (actually only 10% of the country has electricity) you drive though communities that are pitch black. As you turn a corner, the car lights light up the side of the mountain and for a brief moment you see life happening and then darkness. And life does go on for Basotho in darkness because it gets dark at 6 so there is a lot of time left in the day. As we were driving, all we could see on either side were little fires dotting the mountains and valleys.

At about 7 we crossed over the border into South Africa (the roads are significantly better) and headed to Clarence, an artist colony cum tourist destination. The Lesotho- South African borders are always busy, one reason why there is a feeling here, not among the elites, but by the majority of the population, of wanting South Africa to annex Lesotho. However, because my friends are all employees of the UN and because we had diplomatic plates on our car, we just sailed through the border.
We had dinner in Clarence and then drove back to Maseru.

On Sunday, John and I went back across the border to SA to Ladybrand (about a half hour drive) and had lunch at Beef & Reef. It was great! I had coffee, wine, Calamari, fries, vegetables and chips all for around 125 Rand. Sitting across from us was Pascal, France’s representative in Lesotho. He and I began talking and he invited me to take French Lessons at the Alliance Francaise starting in August. I think I will take him up on this offer.

After lunch, John and I drove back to the UN compound. Our goal for the afternoon was to find the kittens that had been born by the resident cat. The reason being for this was because myself and Mapesa’s friend have decided to adopt the two kittens. I am very excited about this as I have always wanted a cat. Unfortunately, John and I couldn’t find the kittens. For the rest of the afternoon John and Adam and I sat around outside, built a fire, and hung out until the soccer match started. Then we all went down to Gynn’s house and watch France lose to Italy. I was disappointed but I did get a kick out of Zidane dropping the Italian player with his head.

Other than this, not to much new. If I had to say what I am missing most about home right now, besides family etc., is good coffee. I feel like I am back in Wales as I have had to accept Nescafe granular coffee to which you add hot water and milk.

And so it begins

...on the 18th of June when I flew to Ottawa and was picked up at the airport by a friend from HRSDC. I was going to stay with one of her friends but I actually ended up staying at the University of Ottawa. From Monday the 19th to Wednesday the 21st, I received training at CANADEM’s headquarters. Myself and all the other JPC's (Junior Professional Consultants) received briefings from: security officers, health officials and FAC and CIDA officials. The briefings were helpful but what made training fun was meeting the other folks who were departing for other placements around the world. Hopefully, over the next six months, I will be able to visit those working in Southern Africa and vice versa.

On the 23rd it was off to Ottawa International after being taken to lunch by my former boss at HRSDC, Catherine. Such a good meal and so great being full prior to lift-off as airline food never fills me up. So it was from Ottawa to Montreal and then from Montreal overnight to Paris where I was met in the morning by Karin, a good friend of mine. We spent a lot of time watching soccer, ambling around Paris and eating baguette and good cheese. Sadly, the 27th came to fast and I had to make my way, on the RER and subway, with my cursed bags, to Charles de Gaulle airport, which just may be the worst airport in the world.

At CdG, Karin and I said our good-byes and I made my way to Satellite 4 where I boarded my South African Airlines flight from Paris to Joberg. SAA is a wonderful airline and gives Cathay a run for its money in terms of good food and service. In Joberg, I got off the plane and went to the domestic terminal where I got a small, twin-prop plane to the airport in Maseru. As I stepped out of the terminal, I was greeted by Benjamin. He was the UNDP driver that had been sent to pick me up. As we drove from the airport to Lancers, the hotel I would be staying at for a few days, I realized that yes, I had arrived in Africa. If you want a visual, and this is not meant in a pejorative way, imagine a huge IR in BC’s interior.

I stayed at Lancers Wed (28th), Thurs (29th) and Friday night (the 30th) and was picked up for work each day. I have been advised not to walk anywhere, but to take a taxi or get a ride, for security reasons. In this time, I began to get to know Maseru. Maseru is a small city and, quite honestly, an ugly one. It has functional buildings: post office, hotels, business centre, restaurants etc., but aesthetically, this city will not win any awards.

Another observation I made was the city has very rich habitants and very poor habitants. There are rich Besotho, rich white folks, and rich Chinese people. Yes, it surprised me too. I overheard someone say they are here because it is easier to immigrate to Lesotho than South Africa and so they come here so they can eventually get into South Africa to do business. Many of them can speak Sesotho though, and so I think it is likely that there is a long history of Chinese people living here. Back to the rich/poor observation though. Driving down the street it is likely that you will see brand new BMW's and Land Rovers as well as rust-buckets that look like they aren't going to make it home.

On Wednesday (29th), the day I arrived, I went out for lunch with some of the people I would be working with. After this I was whisked back to the hotel where I slept for 15 hours or so. Thursday was similar. I was picked up by Benjamin and went to work. After work, it was back to the hotel and back to bed. I was recovered by the start of work Friday though and was eager to get going with work and move into my house. Incidentally, this Friday (June 30th) was the end of the month which meant payday for those who work in the textile industry in Lesotho. Across the street from my hotel then were maybe 1000 people lined up to use the ATM to withdraw some of their earnings to buy food. It was quite a sight. Factories here make jeans, shirts, jackets etc. for the big names like Gap, Guess etc.

After work Friday some of my colleagues and I went out for lunch. Work ends at 1:30 on Friday so we all work until 2 and then go eat a huge lunch and have a few drinks. That is another thing that I don’t mind about work here. It is almost mandatory that you take an hour lunch break and equally mandatory that you have a beer to go with it. After lunch we headed over to the UN compound. This is where I am living now. It is a fenced compound, guarded by a South African security company called Security Unlimited. There are about 10 houses in the compound and about 8 people living there at the moment. One of the people who lives on the UN compound is actually a fellow Canadian who calls Newfoundland home. She had just purchased a new TV and satellite dish and so we were able to watch both WC soccer games on Friday.

About a half hour before the second game started Friday (30th) night, Jose (from Spain) and I were getting hungry. “J’ai faim” I said. (lots of people speak French here so I am getting some practice) “Alors on va manger” he replied. We then jumped in his friend, Mapesa’s car, and headed downtown to Scooters. This is essentially an African version of Domino’s Pizza and it delivers! In fact on Saturday night, either because we were too lazy or had consumed to many beers, we had pizza delivered to us while we watched the other quarter-finals.

Sunday was fairly uneventful. I slept in and then spent the day arranging my house. This, I was told, was fairly redundant, because I would be getting a maid in the next week. The UN tries to employ a lot of nationals as unemployment is rife in Lesotho and so it is basically mandatory that all UN employees or UNV’s have a gardener and a maid, myself included. At the moment it is winter here so the gardens are lying fallow but one plant that seems unaffected by the cold is one native to Mexico, actually the plant that is used in the production of Tequila. It was brought here because it grows well in the soil they have here and prevents further soil erosion.

My house is quite big. I have a living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. I also have a servants quarters although nobody lives there. There is no central heating in the house so it is bloody cold. If the sun is not up, and this is basically whenever I am home, I walk around the house in fleece pants, two jackets, a toque and gloves. I have bought an electric heater for my house, a duvet as well as a Basotho blanket for my bed. I am warm while I am sleeping but as soon as you get up, yikes! Still, makes it easy to get up and going in the morning. Another interesting feature of my house is its lack of shower. All I have is a bath. So, showers in the morning consist of jumping in the tub and using a bucket to get all nice and clean prior to work.

My first real day of work was Monday. The routine is get out of bed and get dressed very quickly. Then, grab a bite to eat, lock up the house, throw on gloves and toque and head out-side. Most people on the compound have cars and all work at the same place so Jose and I just start walking down the road to work and whoever passes us first picks us up. Monday, we were picked up by two Irish girls who also live in the compound and work for UNICEF at the UN House.

At work, I was toured around and began to get a feel for the office. The UN House is four floors and each floor houses a difference agency. Third floor houses, UNDP where I work, second floor, World Health Organization and first floor UNICEF. The World Food Programme is beside us on the same street. As Jose and I arrived at work we walked down the street to the fruit vendor where we bought some pears and apples to keep us nourished till lunch. Work here is taken very seriously and people work very long hours, especially the international staff. It is not uncommon for people to get to work at 8 and leave at 8. It seems that typically, people go out for lunch rather than bringing a bag lunch. This is understandable because going out for lunch or a meal is quite reasonable. For example, on Tuesday we went out to an Italian restaurant across the way and I ordered a huge pizza and beer and it came to 50 rand which works out to like $7.50 Canadian. If you were wondering, yes, it does seem strange to eat some of the best pizza and Italian food I have ever tasted, but in Lesotho.

At the end of the day, I got a ride home from John (British guy, married to Anne, a Swedish girl…they speak Swedish with one another, very cool!) We stopped in at our houses (he lives beside me) and grabbed our gym stuff. Tonight, he was taken me to the new gym that had just been built. About 15 minutes later we arrived at the gym and quite honestly, it is the nicest gym I have ever seen. It has two floors, two pools, courts for b-ball, tennis and squash as well as great shower facilities which I may take advantage of seeing as how I don’t have one chez moi. We worked out for an hour and a half and then headed home.

This brings me to today, the day of my first blog posting. For the next four weeks I will be working for the Governance Unit of the UNDP. One of the projects they have now decided to put me on is helping establish a Human Rights Commission for the country. Today, I have a meeting with the Lesotho Ministry of Justice to discuss the parameters for a stakeholders meeting where the details of the Commission will be discussed and debated. Of course I need to be home by 8 though as I need to watch Germany destroy Italy in the semi’s!