There is a new group of volunteers in town, and they are sharp. Some groups have quite a few strange ones, but this one seems better than average. I spent yesterday and today with them, telling them about the geography of Lesotho, about my life here, about what they can expect their life here to be like, and learning about their Pre-Lesotho life.
It was enjoyable to talk to them because they have a ton of questions for me about Lesotho and Peace Corps life here, and I can largely answer their questions. I feel useful. What do you eat? How do you bathe? How do people recharge their cellphones if they don't have electricity? Do you make your own lesson plans at school? Do you need to learn to write Sesotho well? How is your Sesotho? How cold does it get? How do you say, 'I'm sorry' in Sesotho? How many books have you read since you've been here?
It's also enjoyable to talk to them because I get an idea about how things are in America right now, and how I've changed since coming here. We played a charade-type game last night where I learned of new celebrity names. A girl let me listen to her iPod, which they say nearly everyone back home has these days. They talked about movies and television shows I had never heard of, and one I must check out when I get home (Will Ferrell's Anchorman). They all come from different parts of the States and so had varying accents, which I found incredibly pleasant to listen to. Kentucky accents, Wisconsin accents, Chicago accents, Boston accents, Georgia accents.
They're beginning their 8-week training now, and by the time they're finished they'll know nearly as much about Lesotho as I do after having spent two years here. You learn so much in training. Everything is so packed. I wish them all success, and I'm so happy that the group of new volunteers that I'll be spending my third year with here seems to be a very fine group indeed.