Ke khutlile! (I have returned)

Thanks to modern technologies, I am able to travel from Boston, Massachusetts, USA to Qacha's Nek, Lesotho, Southern Africa in a few days. Though these two places are very different and distant, I consider them both home (along with a few other places). It's good to be back in the Mountain Kingdom.

Reunited with my Basotho family in Ha Manteko, Lesotho

Three weeks ago, I wrapped up a corporate marketing job in the financial district in the heart of Boston. Today, I started an artist residency in a small village called Morija in Lesotho. Morija is less than an hour drive from Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, and is considered the cultural hub of Lesotho. It is far from my old Peace Corps stomping grounds in the Qacha's Nek mountains. I'll be staying here in Morija working with the Morija Art Center as a resident artist for the next two months. Needless to say, life is different here. I'll write more about my artist residency in a future post.

I was reluctant to revisit this blog and post again after almost 6 years. However after re-reading my blog posts from my Peace Corps days and finding comments that were added years later, I decided to take this opportunity to write about my experiences in Lesotho the second time around - hopefully with a matured perspective. I welcome your comments and questions.

Before starting my artist residency in Morija, I traveled a bit around South Africa and Lesotho with my fiance Chris. We visited our Basotho families and friends in Qacha's Nek - Ha Manteko, Ha Makhaola, and the camptown. I was happy to be greeted by many familiar faces and people who remembered me. My Basotho family even threw a mokete (feast/party) for me and Chris. It felt really good to be back in my old Peace Corps village. We stayed at New Villa in Qacha town. 'Me 'Malimpho who has hosted Peace Corps volunteers in the past runs this guest house, and it's a nice, quiet place to stay in town.

At Ha Mafube, South Africa, on our way out of Lesotho.

Chris and I spent almost a week at Mdumbi Backpackers in the Wild Coast of South Africa. We had a fantastic holiday there and strongly recommend it to anyone interested in an eco-tourist site with a village feel - not to mention the most beautiful beach in South Africa!

More about my artist residency in the next post...