So again, I'm trying to catch up. Sorry again! On February 25th and 26th, my psychology class went on a field trip to Lesotho, which is a little country inside of SA. My class only has 11 students so we were all excited to get away from campus and the big group and go out together! Our prof was supposed to come but he was in a motorcycle accident a few weeks ago so he couldn't join us for this trip. Instead, his friends, Dave and Tish, came along with us to watch out for us on this journey. We left bright and early on Thursday morning and drove about tw
o hours to meet up with the men that would drive us up the through the Sani Pass. We met up with Greg, our driver, and all piled into the back of his truck. The drive up was the craziest, bumpiest, and most memorable drive I have ever been on! While we were driving up the mountain, Greg would stop to tell us certain land marks along the way. We passed an old trading post and Lovers Cascades (which is what the locals think to be a fountain of youth). At one point Greg stopped and asked "do you guys want to get dirty? i mean, do you guys want to get muddy?" He said if he drove through a puddle coming up really fast, he could get us soaked and then a little more up the road there is a mud
puddle so we could get covered in mud as well! haha So we were like, well TIA (This is Africa!) why not? well only get to do this once! So round one: the water; we got totally soaked just like he said, it was so funny! Then, round two: here comes the mud! He stopped a little before it to pause for dramatic effect and asked us one more time if we wanted to go for and we said YEBO (yes in Zulu)! So he goes through it, and a wall of mud comes over my side of the truck! We got it so bad, but it was great! After all this excitement, we began the real climb up the mountain. We drove back and forth on hair pin turns up the side of the mountain with a cliff on one side of the truck. We felt as though we were driving over boulders with how bumpy the road was!
We finally reached the top and crossed the border into Lesotho!! We came up on a small village with the Highest Pub in Africa. Upon arrival we were sent right away to get saddled up for the long day of horse back riding we had ahead of us! The guides begin handing out horses to everyone and Lauren gets a horse with one eye, Eli looks kinda big on his horse because the horses are smaller in Lesotho, and I look big on my horse too because not only are the horses smaller there but I had a even smaller horse than the others! That would happen to me! haha So our trek begins....side note, t
he guides will sometimes come behind your horse and whip it if it is not staying with the group....and literally five minutes after we leave, one on the guides whips Lauren's horse! So she takes off which causes all the other horses to follow, and two of the girls fall off their horses! One fell off because her saddle was coming loose so she slowly fell off the side as it was running. The other girl fell off because she could not hold on any longer as her horse was galloping! They were both fine and we were all so proud of them for getting back on the horse! We were on the horses for about 6 hours, yes you read that right, 6 HOURS!! It was so fun and such an incredible experience!! The scenery was absolutely beautiful! I have to admit I was getting quite frustrated with our guides because my horse, Lily, was pretty stubborn. Because of her stubbornness, we usually ended up in the back of the group, so yes, the guides would whip my horse and we would take off. I almost fell off a few times because I was not ready for the horse to take off so I had to ask them not to whip my horse...they didn't really listen haha We reached the top of the mountain 
and the view was insane! There were sheep herders who live up in the hills that we met and got to talk to. Every now and then we came across a hut that was in the middle of nowhere in which these boys lived. It was funny trying to talk to them because we knew very little of their language. We made a few connections but that was all. On our way back, the horses began to gallop, now, I was ok with trotting and maybe even cantering, but when Lily began to gallop, she would go away from the group! So I would try to get her to follow the group while trying to hold on for dear life, but i almost fell off so galloping made me very nervous. We finally reached the pub and headed down to our chalet to change and were all walking funny because we were so sore! On our way back to the pub for dinner, the fog had settled and we could not see the pub from our chalet! So we set out in the right direction, but then got lost! We stumbled upon a trailer and the man inside said he was going to the pub, so he walked with us in the right direction. I have never been in such heavy fog like that! The pub had a rustic feeling and was so homey!! The food was great and after we ate, we went and rested next to the fire and a few of us fell asleep! But it was so wonderful to just relax!
The next morning we got up for breakfast at the pub and then went out into the village. We had a guide with us who told us how the Besotho people live. We went into a hut of one of the locals and learned all about the people and how they live. One thing that really struck me was that marijuana is a big export in Lesotho. Our guide talked about how many people grow marijuana in order to have money to buy necessities and send their children to school. I was just struck by how differently America and Lesotho feel about marijuana. In Lesotho, the people use marijuana to make a living and just get by. Some people succeed and have a nice house with a few cars and some get caught and are sent to jail. While in the US, marijuana is seen as an escape from life. It is a way out; to get away from the high schools that we were able to attend with no charge. When we were coming out of the hut, a few women asked us to come into their house because they wanted to sing for us! We were able to hang out with them for a little and also the children outside.
o hours to meet up with the men that would drive us up the through the Sani Pass. We met up with Greg, our driver, and all piled into the back of his truck. The drive up was the craziest, bumpiest, and most memorable drive I have ever been on! While we were driving up the mountain, Greg would stop to tell us certain land marks along the way. We passed an old trading post and Lovers Cascades (which is what the locals think to be a fountain of youth). At one point Greg stopped and asked "do you guys want to get dirty? i mean, do you guys want to get muddy?" He said if he drove through a puddle coming up really fast, he could get us soaked and then a little more up the road there is a mud
puddle so we could get covered in mud as well! haha So we were like, well TIA (This is Africa!) why not? well only get to do this once! So round one: the water; we got totally soaked just like he said, it was so funny! Then, round two: here comes the mud! He stopped a little before it to pause for dramatic effect and asked us one more time if we wanted to go for and we said YEBO (yes in Zulu)! So he goes through it, and a wall of mud comes over my side of the truck! We got it so bad, but it was great! After all this excitement, we began the real climb up the mountain. We drove back and forth on hair pin turns up the side of the mountain with a cliff on one side of the truck. We felt as though we were driving over boulders with how bumpy the road was!
We finally reached the top and crossed the border into Lesotho!! We came up on a small village with the Highest Pub in Africa. Upon arrival we were sent right away to get saddled up for the long day of horse back riding we had ahead of us! The guides begin handing out horses to everyone and Lauren gets a horse with one eye, Eli looks kinda big on his horse because the horses are smaller in Lesotho, and I look big on my horse too because not only are the horses smaller there but I had a even smaller horse than the others! That would happen to me! haha So our trek begins....side note, t
he guides will sometimes come behind your horse and whip it if it is not staying with the group....and literally five minutes after we leave, one on the guides whips Lauren's horse! So she takes off which causes all the other horses to follow, and two of the girls fall off their horses! One fell off because her saddle was coming loose so she slowly fell off the side as it was running. The other girl fell off because she could not hold on any longer as her horse was galloping! They were both fine and we were all so proud of them for getting back on the horse! We were on the horses for about 6 hours, yes you read that right, 6 HOURS!! It was so fun and such an incredible experience!! The scenery was absolutely beautiful! I have to admit I was getting quite frustrated with our guides because my horse, Lily, was pretty stubborn. Because of her stubbornness, we usually ended up in the back of the group, so yes, the guides would whip my horse and we would take off. I almost fell off a few times because I was not ready for the horse to take off so I had to ask them not to whip my horse...they didn't really listen haha We reached the top of the mountain 
and the view was insane! There were sheep herders who live up in the hills that we met and got to talk to. Every now and then we came across a hut that was in the middle of nowhere in which these boys lived. It was funny trying to talk to them because we knew very little of their language. We made a few connections but that was all. On our way back, the horses began to gallop, now, I was ok with trotting and maybe even cantering, but when Lily began to gallop, she would go away from the group! So I would try to get her to follow the group while trying to hold on for dear life, but i almost fell off so galloping made me very nervous. We finally reached the pub and headed down to our chalet to change and were all walking funny because we were so sore! On our way back to the pub for dinner, the fog had settled and we could not see the pub from our chalet! So we set out in the right direction, but then got lost! We stumbled upon a trailer and the man inside said he was going to the pub, so he walked with us in the right direction. I have never been in such heavy fog like that! The pub had a rustic feeling and was so homey!! The food was great and after we ate, we went and rested next to the fire and a few of us fell asleep! But it was so wonderful to just relax!
The next morning we got up for breakfast at the pub and then went out into the village. We had a guide with us who told us how the Besotho people live. We went into a hut of one of the locals and learned all about the people and how they live. One thing that really struck me was that marijuana is a big export in Lesotho. Our guide talked about how many people grow marijuana in order to have money to buy necessities and send their children to school. I was just struck by how differently America and Lesotho feel about marijuana. In Lesotho, the people use marijuana to make a living and just get by. Some people succeed and have a nice house with a few cars and some get caught and are sent to jail. While in the US, marijuana is seen as an escape from life. It is a way out; to get away from the high schools that we were able to attend with no charge. When we were coming out of the hut, a few women asked us to come into their house because they wanted to sing for us! We were able to hang out with them for a little and also the children outside.Before we left, we laid down sleeping bags to sit on in the truck because we were so sore and also to put over us because we were cold. Good t
hing we had those sleeping bags because as we were driving back down through the Sani Pass, it started to pour!! We quickly created a fort and help the sleeping bags over our heads. I quickly realized that my backside was not covered by the sleeping bag and was soon soaked! While I was trying to adjust so that I would not get wet, Eli and I fell onto the others. Needless to say, we had kind of a rough time getting situated while most of the others were doing ok haha oh well, what can you do? That ride home was definitely an experience I will never forget! This whole trip was an experience I will never forget!! Meeting the people and seeing God's beautiful creation once again was such an incredible experience!!
hing we had those sleeping bags because as we were driving back down through the Sani Pass, it started to pour!! We quickly created a fort and help the sleeping bags over our heads. I quickly realized that my backside was not covered by the sleeping bag and was soon soaked! While I was trying to adjust so that I would not get wet, Eli and I fell onto the others. Needless to say, we had kind of a rough time getting situated while most of the others were doing ok haha oh well, what can you do? That ride home was definitely an experience I will never forget! This whole trip was an experience I will never forget!! Meeting the people and seeing God's beautiful creation once again was such an incredible experience!!
Hey Alyssa,
ReplyDeleteBahahaha, I just laughed when I saw how clean you two were taking a picture of yourselves and then your look-over-the-shoulder pic looks like your white shirts were tie dyed in muddy water! So glad you were able to experience another country...getting another stamp in your passport and actually trying to communicate with the shepherd boys. Very memorable! Thanks for sharing.
Alyssa, you make me laugh! You told me most of this stuff when we skyped, but when you write about it, it's more hilarious! Thanks for taking the time to do this...I know you're busy. Look forward to talking to you tomorrow night! Love you, Mom
ReplyDelete