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| Hiking the Volcano |
March 5, 2011
March 3, 2011
January 30, 2011
January 29, 2011
Pictures
My frosty plane:
Driving to the training center:
View from the training center in St. Lucia
Driving to the training center:
View from the training center in St. Lucia
So, I made it
I was stuck in Newark airport for a little over 24 hours, but managed to run into G Dogg at like 4am after not sleeping. I am extremely thankful for SATO travel, who organizes government transportation, they made what was a nightmare for lots of other people (waiting hours in line in order to reschedule) really simple (20 minute phone call and they got me a new ticket with a different airline that left the next day). Considering my arrival time, it took almost as long to go from Lesotho to America as it did to go from New Jersey to Miami.
The day before yesterday I arrived in Miami at ~9pm and ate some cuban food at a restaurant before catching some blessed sleep. I woke up the next morning and got on a plane to St. Lucia, drove through the country to where I'm staying now. I met a lot of interesting people thus far, and I'm working on the whole name thing. I did manage to get out for a run this morning, which was great despite sweating for more than an hour after I finished running. We had some introductory meetings this morning and are now free for the weekend. I just finished lunch and figured I'd upload some pictures and just let everyone know that I made it over here OK. I'm not really interested in writing well for this first post, so expect some more interesting writing later down the line.
OK the internet is not cooperating so now pictures at the moment.
The day before yesterday I arrived in Miami at ~9pm and ate some cuban food at a restaurant before catching some blessed sleep. I woke up the next morning and got on a plane to St. Lucia, drove through the country to where I'm staying now. I met a lot of interesting people thus far, and I'm working on the whole name thing. I did manage to get out for a run this morning, which was great despite sweating for more than an hour after I finished running. We had some introductory meetings this morning and are now free for the weekend. I just finished lunch and figured I'd upload some pictures and just let everyone know that I made it over here OK. I'm not really interested in writing well for this first post, so expect some more interesting writing later down the line.
OK the internet is not cooperating so now pictures at the moment.
January 17, 2011
January 10, 2011
OH HI THERE
It's been quite a while. I'm stateside again, have been since December 17th. I'm leaving for St. Vincent and the Grenadines on January 27th to serve in youth development on the island of Bequia. I should have internet access, so it's likely that I'll be able to update this thing quite a bit (and I need to work on my writing skills, so expect that to happen).
November 24, 2009
It's been a while
Hey all,
Life is good.
The major shake-up in my life is that the education group that trained my group is now departing/has departed for the states. As a result I now have a lot more friends in the states (and quite a few less here).
As a result of these changes and a few others, I'm now also the only volunteer in the district of Qacha's Nek (~90 of us in country, 10 district) and that's kinda sad, as it means my closest American neighbor is at least 3 hours away. I'm bummed on that, but little else.
I have finished my first year. At some point I hope the internet won't be so slow so I can upload pictures.
till then!
Life is good.
The major shake-up in my life is that the education group that trained my group is now departing/has departed for the states. As a result I now have a lot more friends in the states (and quite a few less here).
As a result of these changes and a few others, I'm now also the only volunteer in the district of Qacha's Nek (~90 of us in country, 10 district) and that's kinda sad, as it means my closest American neighbor is at least 3 hours away. I'm bummed on that, but little else.
I have finished my first year. At some point I hope the internet won't be so slow so I can upload pictures.
till then!
September 5, 2009
Disclaimer: I will eventually post the photos I talked about, but the
internet is painfully slow today, even by Lesotho standards.
internet is painfully slow today, even by Lesotho standards.
THE LIBRARY IS ON ITS WAY. PLEASE HELP OUT! Contact Barbara Burk at
bburk@brookdalecc.edu, (732)577-1941, or 104 Juniper Dr. Freehold, NJ
07728
It's been quite a while since I've updated, and believe me it?s not
from lack of things happening. The main reason I haven?t written is
because I feel very distanced from technology in lots of ways (and not
so much in others) but I don?t really enjoy sitting behind computers
like I used to and when I have the option to sit in front of one it?s
probably the first time I?ve seen Americans in a month or two.
Lots has changed at school. We had three teachers quit in the period
around our winter break (remember, the seasons are reversed) which
means 40% or 2/5ths of the staff has left since I joined, I can?t take
responsibility for this, as the last Peace Corps volunteer was at my
school longer than any other teacher. He served 2 years.
Fortunately the three teachers who quit were the three worst at the
school and the three that have since replaced them have been pretty
incredible thus far. ?M?e Ntsatsi graduated from Form E, by the skin
of her teeth, last year (she was, however, the only )one who graduated
last year... the other 15 students failed their year end test). She is
still very shy around the other teachers as a result, I?m sure, of the
fact that quite a few of them probably hit her with sticks for talking
during class just the year before. However, she does lots of work and
gets along very well with the Form A?s and B?s. ?M?e Mphati is
actually my host-sister, who was living in Maseru till she got the
job. She?s very high-spirited and is easily one of the best educated,
motivated and smartest teachers at the school, it?s also nice to have
her around because she knows the deal with PCVs well already. Ntate
Khotso is my favorite of the new group. He?s very well educated, and
spent a fair amount of time in South Africa, so we?re able to talk
about lots of things: he?s a big fan of Wu-Tang and is very interested
in learning chess.
I do want to admit I just had a chuckle to myself imagining some of
the members of my family trying to figure out how to pronounce any of
those names. ;-)
This weekend is the annual district ?ball sports? meet. This means
that all the high school and secondary school children come to the
camp town for the weekend and play soccer, netball, and volleyball.
They also manage to get really drunk and cause lots of problems for
their teachers (who also manage to get really drunk). The first day
finished and my school won the boys and girls soccer matches we played
and lost at netball, which is no surprise considering we don?t have
netball hoops in my area, so they just practice by throwing balls back
and forth. For those not in the know, netball is like basketball with
no dribbling, a short field, and no backboards. Other than that
there?s almost no difference. Here?s a picture (my school?s team is in
the green):
PICTURE
On the home front, the sheep have birthed 3 baby lambs, and I was able
to witness one of the births (and managed to get a little involved).
The next picture could be a little gross (only a little) but this lamb
is not even a minute old, so I figure I?d post it anyway.
PICTURE
The most exciting part of these births is that it marks the beginning
of SPRING! This means the temperature has been consistently higher
than 50 degrees in my rondavel, which is very exciting, during June
and July it never topped 53. The sun is wonderful and has increased my
mood a lot, and now all the peach trees are blooming so there?s bright
pink everywhere. Lesotho really can be beautiful.
PICTURE
I?ve been teaching my brothers how to play Frisbee with the hopes of
them learning Ultimate Frisbee and a potential match being played
here, which I think would be a lot of fun. They really enjoy the game
and a bunch of my students and Bo-Abuti from the neighborhood are
getting really into it.
PICTURE
With the return of spring comes the return of the insects. Fortunately
I took the advice of some fellow PCVs and cut my mosquito netting
(malaria is not a problem in Lesotho, and mosquitoes don?t really hang
out at my elevation, 6,000 feet or so) and used it to make screens. I
also managed to accidentally trap a brown button spider (I think)
which is up there with the black widow, in it. It is one of the
smaller spiders I?ve seen running around my rondavel, but 2 inches for
a spider is nothing to shake a stick at. Again, the picture is not so
great because of the netting being in the way, but it demonstrates the
point
PICTURE
I?ve been running a lot lately, planning tentatively for the Cape Town
marathon in Easter with the potential to do one or two in the time
before then.
That?s enough for now, here?s a bunch of pictures from the past few months:
July 25, 2009
So
Hey it's been a while since I have updated. I've been teaching winter classes this past week (My Form C's need the extra work). My girlfriend came through and we had a lot of fun, I'll post pictures at some point (Maybe tomorrow). Sorry I'm bad at blogging as of late. More tomorrow I hope.
June 18, 2009
buy me this please
http://www.amazon.com/SWEATSHIRT-HEATHER-QACHAS-LESOTHO-X-Large/dp/B000G342WI/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&s=apparel&qid=1245343942&sr=8-16
size large
size large
June 10, 2009
posting and emailing this! forward to everyone!
As you may or may not know, I am a United States Peace Corps Volunteer serving proudly in a country called Lesotho (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesotho for more information). My primary responsibility as a PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) is as a teacher in Tebellong Secondary School, located in the Qacha’s Nek district.
This beautiful, rural school, set on the side of a mountain, hosts 250 Basotho students, Forms A through E (Think grades 8-12 in the US). These students have a great interest in learning, but their resources for doing so, both in and outside of school, are extremely limited. Fortunately, my school does have a library, thanks to a prior PCV’s effort. The children LOVE reading, they will sit for hours and pour through encyclopedias, poetry anthologies and anything they can get their hands on. When reading in the library they ask involved, interesting questions and want nothing more than to dive into the worlds the books provide. However, this library needs books that are more age-appropriate and new materials for the students. There are a few hundred books in there now, but many of them are well above the level my students can read at, and many others are not challenging, though they tear through them despite this. Because of this, I am asking for your help.
The African Libraries Project (http://africanlibrariesproject.org) provides support in building and filling libraries in Botswana, Swaziland, and Malawi, and Lesotho. Their primary function is as (relatively very cheap) cross-Atlantic transporters. The one thing I need on the stateside for my school’s library is to consolidate 250-1,000 books for shipping to Africa. My mother, Barbara Burk, has graciously volunteered to assist in the stateside efforts and will thus serve as my American liaison.
The books should be gently used or new and should be of the following types:
Juvenile Literature
Children’s fiction and non-fiction
Teacher’s books (the teachers can greatly benefit from resource)
Dictionaries
Encyclopedias less than 15 years old
Accurate, up-to-date atlases
Thesauruses
Books with universal themes (friendships, animals, love... The children will ultimately try to read anything, but their world is rather limited so plots involving specialized interests may be lost on them)
Books like Chicken Soup for the Soul (inspiring stories with life skills lessons)
Books about Africa or African Americans
Brainteasers, flash cards, educational games and puzzles
Even more important would be access to textbooks, and any other educational aides for the following subjects from grades 5-12 (the testing is standardized and based on a British exam)
Math books, including Algebra, Geometry, and Pre-Calculus
English books (focusing on grammar or comprehension, especially for ESL learners)
Geography books (Most of the kids had never seen a map before one was presented this year)
Health books (general is great, but anything regarding HIV/AIDs education is especially pertinent as the country has a 23% infection rate)
Science books including general science, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics books (again, these should be aimed towards middle/high schoolers)
The books can be dropped off at/shipped to
Barbara Burk
104 Juniper Dr
Freehold, NJ 07728
Telephone: 732.577.1941
Email: bcb1@optonline.com
My mother is also frequently at Brookdale Community College, so dropoffs can be arranged there as well, I'm sure.
I am hoping to get a school or schools involved (possibly a book store or two as well) so that books can be dropped off at those locations, but for now, focusing on digging through old books that you have access to would be more than enough. If you would like to contribute books, time, or help, my email address is brettmburk@gmail.com (though my access to the internet is rather haphazard here).
You can also reach me at
Brett Burk, PCV
Box 361
Qacha’s Nek 600, Lesotho
Southern Africa
Telephone: +266.59167839
Take note that it may take up to two months for me to respond to snail mail as the mail systems in place in the country are slow compared to America’s.
You can also check out my blog at http://itswhatyouwill.blogspot.com where I’ll make sure to post updates and it can be used to contact other people involved.
Thank you so much!
Brett Michael Burk
This beautiful, rural school, set on the side of a mountain, hosts 250 Basotho students, Forms A through E (Think grades 8-12 in the US). These students have a great interest in learning, but their resources for doing so, both in and outside of school, are extremely limited. Fortunately, my school does have a library, thanks to a prior PCV’s effort. The children LOVE reading, they will sit for hours and pour through encyclopedias, poetry anthologies and anything they can get their hands on. When reading in the library they ask involved, interesting questions and want nothing more than to dive into the worlds the books provide. However, this library needs books that are more age-appropriate and new materials for the students. There are a few hundred books in there now, but many of them are well above the level my students can read at, and many others are not challenging, though they tear through them despite this. Because of this, I am asking for your help.
The African Libraries Project (http://africanlibrariesproject.org) provides support in building and filling libraries in Botswana, Swaziland, and Malawi, and Lesotho. Their primary function is as (relatively very cheap) cross-Atlantic transporters. The one thing I need on the stateside for my school’s library is to consolidate 250-1,000 books for shipping to Africa. My mother, Barbara Burk, has graciously volunteered to assist in the stateside efforts and will thus serve as my American liaison.
The books should be gently used or new and should be of the following types:
Juvenile Literature
Children’s fiction and non-fiction
Teacher’s books (the teachers can greatly benefit from resource)
Dictionaries
Encyclopedias less than 15 years old
Accurate, up-to-date atlases
Thesauruses
Books with universal themes (friendships, animals, love... The children will ultimately try to read anything, but their world is rather limited so plots involving specialized interests may be lost on them)
Books like Chicken Soup for the Soul (inspiring stories with life skills lessons)
Books about Africa or African Americans
Brainteasers, flash cards, educational games and puzzles
Even more important would be access to textbooks, and any other educational aides for the following subjects from grades 5-12 (the testing is standardized and based on a British exam)
Math books, including Algebra, Geometry, and Pre-Calculus
English books (focusing on grammar or comprehension, especially for ESL learners)
Geography books (Most of the kids had never seen a map before one was presented this year)
Health books (general is great, but anything regarding HIV/AIDs education is especially pertinent as the country has a 23% infection rate)
Science books including general science, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics books (again, these should be aimed towards middle/high schoolers)
The books can be dropped off at/shipped to
Barbara Burk
104 Juniper Dr
Freehold, NJ 07728
Telephone: 732.577.1941
Email: bcb1@optonline.com
My mother is also frequently at Brookdale Community College, so dropoffs can be arranged there as well, I'm sure.
I am hoping to get a school or schools involved (possibly a book store or two as well) so that books can be dropped off at those locations, but for now, focusing on digging through old books that you have access to would be more than enough. If you would like to contribute books, time, or help, my email address is brettmburk@gmail.com (though my access to the internet is rather haphazard here).
You can also reach me at
Brett Burk, PCV
Box 361
Qacha’s Nek 600, Lesotho
Southern Africa
Telephone: +266.59167839
Take note that it may take up to two months for me to respond to snail mail as the mail systems in place in the country are slow compared to America’s.
You can also check out my blog at http://itswhatyouwill.blogspot.com where I’ll make sure to post updates and it can be used to contact other people involved.
Thank you so much!
Brett Michael Burk
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