So a couple weeks ago I "thought in Rand" for the first time. Reminded me of when I was in China and saw something online, for $20 US, but I thought, "Hmmm, 20 quai - that's not too bad!" This was the reverse, as it was something I thought would be much cheaper, something online for $40 US, and I thought, "40 Rand?!? That's ridiculous!"
It turns out, on the whole, the Basotho are wicked cheaters - and HYPER competitive. At our recent retreat, we had a night where we play a game for the three teams the local staff have been split up into. Last year it was a version of Jeopardy - this year, a version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? I picked the latter coz last year's game just led to too much cheating. Seriously, they are shameless. But even with Millionaire, a situation came up where I had to "referee" a disagreement over one of the questions and, man, it just devolved into this insane shouting match--granted, not TOO, too mean/angry/violent, but still amazing enough that us three U.S. Direct Hires just say there agog for awhile as they all yelled at each other. I finally had to step up and basically YELL them into quiet and warned them if they didn't stop arguing, and just accept the judges' ruling, they'd ALL lose points. THAT shut them up. This starts at an early age, too - I've talked to PCVs who said it's amazing to them to see how their kids AND teachers/principals cheat during games (even the principal cheating his kids!), and how hyper-competitive they are.
Speaking of cultural things, I keep thinking/hoping I will get used to the ridiculous, incessant honking of the 4+1 taxis, but I can't. It's just so STUPID. And annoying. I have done a quick calculation, and know I have heard this honking thousands and THOUSANDS of times now, and only ONCE - one single, effing time - did I see it "pay off" wherein someone otherwise didn't see/were aware a taxi was coming by and thus flagged them down. Otherwise, it's clear when people want/need one and they come up to them or put their hand out. Yes, it's competitive, yes, I know they're trying to make a living, but OMG is it annoying to hear it INCESSANTLY around town - and they're doing it for 6 rand! At the current exchange rate, that equals 40 CENTS. Sigh.
In PCV news, it turns out many of them are still amazingly stupid. In December, we had to administratively separate (ad sep) two of them for leaving the country/traveling w/o permission. This is PC Rules 101. We have to know where all PCVs are at all times for security purposes, and if they leave the country, on vacation or whatever, we have to alert the PC post in that country who assumes responsibility for said PCV while they're traveling. South Africa - esp. Durban - is a big temptation because it's so close. And, apparently, many PCVs feel that the twenty-four days vacation they get per year isn't enough (these folks are in for a rude awakening when they get jobs in the states with 10 days vacation - if they're lucky) so they sneak out of the country for "off the books" vacay.
When the two were ad-sep'd in December, we thought it would be a "wake up call" for the rest and things would calm down - that group had now lost 9 of their cohort by this point. But NOOO, not even three weeks after hearing about these other 2, three more PCVs from that same group decided to skip off to Durban for almost two weeks - even though they had reported to us they would be on a shorter trip within Lesotho. So this week we're saying goodbye to them. Even worse, while I had suspicions about some of these folks, one of them was SO clever she posted a lengthy blog entry about the trip, naming names, confirming dates, posting pictures, etc. ("Haha, look at this, here's (PCV name) throwing up in Durban!" I mean honestly! Now they're all weepy and upset about being kicked out and I'm like, "WTF?"
Luckily, there's still rock stars. I spent some time chatting with one guy last week who is never down here/in the office coz he's always in his site, integrated in his community, doing his job, etc. I'd seen him in passing once or twice and was struck by his demeanor - he always has this sort of "doe in the headlights" look and you feel like if you said "Boo!" to him suddenly he'd bolt into the forest. But, as I say, he's tearing it up at his site, is well-respected and loved by his fellow PCVs, and after chatting him up last week, I see why. An awesome, awesome young man that helps balance out the lame ones.
So last week was my first ever time to meet and shake hands with a King (well, if you don't count the kings of proms or leather pageants). His Royal Majesty, King David Mohato Bereng Seeiso Letsie III, is the owner of the new compound that Peace Corps Lesotho will be moving into in June. So I went to the palace last week to formally sign the lease. King Letsie is a pretty unassuming guy on the whole - as well he might be considering the monarch has very limited, mostly ceremonial power these days. He confessed he never uses the name David (although his son's name also starts with David), and I shared that the last King of Hawai'i was also named David. Then we made small talk about my time in China, each of us initialed every one of the 29 pages of the lease (two copies), signed, snapped a picture, and that was my brush with royalty. Oooooooh!
What I wanted to ask him is why he thinks the Basotho are all such batshit crazy drivers - honestly, besides the stupid 4+1 honking, that's the thing that drives me the craziest here: that they are so willfully and ridiculously, stupidly reckless in their driving. Not just driving at outrageous speeds wherever, but they're gross disregard of red lights, their willful ignoring of pedestrians (seriously, some of them SPEED UP when they see a pedestrian crossing the street!). It makes it hard to even feel sympathy for the high number of people that are killed in traffic fatalities. But it wouldn't be right to ask HRM that because his own DAD was killed in a car accident. That's right, the previous King of Lesotho was killed in a car accident. And STILL they drive recklessly and stupidly fast. Amazing.
Combine that with the fact that in 2016 they still think it's okay to pee wherever they want means it will be a long, LONG time - in fact, probably never - that Lesotho will "escape" Third World status. Yeah, there's the corruption thing and the violence, but honestly, when you all drive like 6-year-olds, and can't be bothered to wait/walk 100 yards away to a mall with a public toilet, you're doomed to ghetto-hood.
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