Lesotho

Dearest friends,

Hello! Guess what?! We made it! So, let's start from the very beginning... the very best place to start :)

Dayton, Ohio: June 6th, 2019 - we departed for our long journey to Lesotho. Arriving at the airport and seeing new and familiar faces, at last, we were all together. "It's actually happening" is all that was running through our minds. For some of us, we waited weeks, for others, months, and some, years. The first flight to Atlanta was quick and deceivingly easy to what was to come... a 14 hour and 49 minute flight to South Africa. With some luck, we caught a tail wind, which knocked our arrival time up 10 minutes :)

Upon our arrival in Johannesburg, our exhausted selves piled into the vans with all of our belongings, and took a very relaxing 5 minute drive to our hotel, where warm lasagna, chicken pot pie, and other goodies awaited us. We journeyed back to our rooms and tried to take a well needed rest... but all of the excitement we had may have been too much as many of us awoke in the early hours to the delightful smell of breakfast.

We stocked up on food preparing ourselves for the long bus ride that awaited us. The journey to Lesotho was riveting: we saw many a wild animal (ex: flerds of ostrich(es) (i) ?, cows, sheep, horses). The views were astonishing; we couldn't help but say "wow" every two seconds and worry if we dozed off, we just might miss something. Just after dark, we finally arrived in Ramabanta. We unloaded and unpacked, and enjoyed a wonderful meal together.

As we sit here, next to a cozy fire, writing to you this evening, we are filled with joy and excitement for all that is to come. As we glance at all of the amazing stars in the sky, which are so incredibly visible, we can't help but think how lucky we are to be here- experiencing the beautiful life, culture, language, and traditions of the Basotho people. We have already learned so much, and it's just the beginning. Tomorrow is a new sunrise...

Rachael Fink '20 and Francesca Janes '17