Dear Friends of Lesotho,

Hello from Lesotho. In the Drackensberg mountains, these are the most pleasurable days of the year. We hear on VOA radio about snowstorms in Washington - but we don't care! We're up early with the sun have a cup of coffee as morning floods our green valley and then, every other day, we run three miles on the only pavement in Qacha's Nek district, the runway at the airport across from our Farmer Training Center (on the other days we take a brisk walk there). There's generally only one or two planes a week, so no grave danger to life or limb. No jet take offs or landings to shatter our tranquillity either; usually the weekly plane is a little Cessna with Missionary Doctors. After a month of weepy monsoon storms, this week has been flawless. The farm cattle are knee deep in grass, students and staff are scurrying around mowing our "campus" and tending the rose bushes The temps are in the 75-80 degree range. My wonderful wife, Lynn, must have the best Peace Corps garden in Lesotho: beautiful heads of Romaine and red leaf lettuce, carrots, zukes, kilos of potatoes, green peppers (!) and today our first tomatoes. Soon corn. There's also cilantro and parsley. We're practically living off our kitchen garden and it's a great morale boost day in and out. Outsized orange mangoes turned up in the toropong (town center) this week. I'm helpless. These South African imports are a religious experience. And only a quarter a piece. And no "Jet Fresh" labels either! We've been spooning away all week..

This past weekend a local family rented our training center for a wedding. They put up a big tent, hired a band from Maseru, the capital, that was instrumented like a high school marching band - horn section, cymbals, drums - all from decades back The bride and groom danced the sweetest steps as they led a procession of 300 people to the reception here. Lynn and I got to watch - the only white faces. Just a great joy to experience.

I'm a professional cabinetmaker and I teach cabinets and carpentry in our farm shop. This last week we had to deliver an order of wall cabinets to the government hospital at Tebellong, across the rain swollen Senku (Orange ) River. We loaded the cabinets early and drove the 25 kilometers to the river crossing. We were taken aback to see that our river transport was a 14' rowboat. Nevertheless, we gamely loaded our substantial cargo and squeezed in with our rower. Of course, at the last moment four other people leaped aboard (assistant rowers?). Our great helmsman made an Olympic effort we could hardly believe and ten minutes later we were spared death in the downstream rapids and deposited on the far shore. We installed the job and came back five hours later to recross the river. Fifteen or twenty trips later the same guy was still rowing! Lynn and I thought we'd end up in South Africa, or worse, but our man roused himself from exhaustion and put in another blistering performance. We gratefully gave him a fat tip. People do these jobs in exchange for food and shelter here. Your heart goes out to them. When we last saw the Senku Rower, the boat was being loaded with 800 pounds of corn meal and passengers! WE had a beautiful evening ride home in our truck and a beer waiting for us. Life is hugely unfair and as Americans, we feel it's important for us to confront that reality.

Late, but generous rains have finally blessed most of Lesotho. Considerable maize crops will fail due to late planting, however. Downtown Maseru has new stores opening weekly following a major government rebuild effort. The rebuilt Lesotho Hat building is terrific and opening soon. Still few good restaurants, but the place feels alive again. Maseru has the usual urban crime scene, but we feel very safe up country... We continue to find purpose and pleasure in Lesotho, in the Peace Corps. Cheers to one and all.

PCV Eric Thomson
Qacha's Nek