Monday

This is a picture taken from a cafe just over the South African border. As you probably have heard, Lesotho experienced a significant snow-storm about two weeks ago and still, the snow is evident on the mountains. It is a beautiful site in fact, with the Lowlands, sunscorched and brown running right up to the foot of the mountains, covered in snow.

In other news, not much to report. The puppy, named Lunessa, is doing well. I doggy-sat on the weekend which entailed Lunessa either lying at my feet or sitting beside me, helping me slog through some Amartya Sen.

Work is going well. This week I will be out of the office working with a few consultants on Tourism projects in Lesotho. Also, getting excited because not this weekend but next I am off to Durban. Oh to see the ocean again!

Life in Lesotho

It has been a while since I last blogged. Not too much to report since then. I am now two weeks into my French course and it is going well. My teacher is from the Congo and has an accent just slightly more difficult to comprehend than that of a francophone Quebecer. I have also had keys to John’s truck (which has diplomatic plates) for the last week and have enjoyed cruising around in that.

Work is going really well. I am now working with two Units: Governance being one and Energy and Environment the other. With Governance I am still working on setting up the Human Rights Commission and this week, finished up a proposal for UNCT Lesotho to receive funds and a Human Rights Advisor through Action 2 funding. With the Environment Unit I am working on a few projects, one of which is setting up a National Youth Council, and another is bolstering Lesotho’s tourism industry. All said, I am busy but thoroughly enjoying the work assigned to me.

One thing of note is that the compound has adopted a puppy. Last Thursday, as two of my colleagues, who live in the compound with me, were driving home, they came across a puppy that had been hit by a car. It was nearly dead but they took pity on it and basically resuscitated it. They brought it to the vet the next day and yesterday, the vet allowed us to bring it home. It is not clear yet whether it will make a full recovery or that its back hips will heal appropriately, but it seems full of life and happy to be alive so we are optimistic. It is part lab so this should help mitigate me missing my dog.

Last two weekends have been absolutely gorgeous, blue sky, warm sun and a nice breeze and have largely consisted of me sitting on my deck, reading, a few beers, and listening to good music. In terms of music, I am excited for when I return home and can share all the music I have acquired and learned about since my arrival here. I have been introduced to so many good Irish, British, Swedish and South African bands and I am sure will know more by the time I leave.

C'est jeudi

Although Malaria and biting monkeys are not security issues here in Maseru, one does have to be cautious when venturing out into the city or when travelling. This is what I am told at least, as truly, I have not seen any indication of Maseru being a dangerous place in spite of Lesotho being a Stage 1 (security level) country, one level above South Africa. My perception of safety could be because when working for the UN they do really watch out for your safety, one of the things I appreciate about my employer. For example, when I arrived, or when any UN employee arrives, they are issued with a VHF radio. We keep these radios in our houses and if there is a problem we can radio UN Security or call the police from our cell phones.

Each Wednesday there is a radio-check for all UN employees. I, like the rest of the staff, have a call sign. When Security calls you you have to report back to “Mike Control” and state the clarity of the signal. I really like this part because I get to use the phonetic alphabet and apply my Coast Guard skills!