Lumela everyone! Today has been a busy day but it’s been very exciting. We started with a relatively short but intense hike up a mountain to view Lesothosaurus footprints which were about halfway up the mountain. It was very cool to see dinosaur footprints for the first time, and I feel like everyone had a nice time heading up the mountain.
Following our hike, we met with a speaker who talked to us about gender issues and difficulties being a part of the LGBTQIA+ community within Lesotho. She was my favourite speaker yet and really encapsulated the acceptance that the Basotho had prior to colonialism and how being colonized shifted how members of the LGBTQIA+ were perceived and treated. She told us a Sesotho saying that goes “human beings are human beings by human beings” which means that what made someone human was not their sex or identity but instead that others accepted them. We were taught that there are no pronouns in the Sesotho language, instead everyone is just a human being which sewed a sense of community and acceptance. Due to colonialism, there are shifts in how much acceptance now exists within Lesotho, but the younger generations are becoming more open and accepting of expressing themselves in the way that makes them the most comfortable.
To end the day everyone went to the community center as a group to celebrate Ntate Scott’s birthday which was a very special experience. They performed traditional Basotho dances and celebrations for him, as well as having multiple members of the community speak, including the Morena (chief) to thank him and celebrate him for all he has done for the Ramabanta community over the years. It was very special to see them accept him as part of their community and to honor him in such a special way. Six of us also got to try the traditional dance in a Thethana, which is a traditional skirt made of bottle caps covered by fiber that would fly up to hit our back as we danced. It was far heavier than I expected it to be and took a lot of energy, but it was a lot of fun. To wrap up the night we had a chocolate and yellow layered cake that Lerato had made which was covered in Lesotho flags, which looked and tasted delicious. It’s been a nice couple of days off but I’m excited to get back to work tomorrow at the school to get more paintings done within the classrooms.
- Lebelo & Khotso
(Trace & Moose)