[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Uh huh. They had a church building.

[Assistant] What kind of church?

[User] Which was pretty large. Uh, I forget. It was a Christian, Christian church. I don't remember what sector of Christianity. I forget.

[Assistant] It doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. It, was it like a meeting room, a big meeting room?

[User] It was just a big space with windows and everything, with chairs. So, uh, you know, the village let us have it. They, of course, used it on Sunday, but the rest of the time, we could go there and have our, our Peace Corps sessions.

[Assistant] So let's talk about the sessions.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Which was pretty large. Uh, I forget. It was a Christian, Christian church. I don't remember what sector of Christianity. I forget.

[Assistant] It doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. It, was it like a meeting room, a big meeting room?

[User] It was just a big space with windows and everything, with chairs. So, uh, you know, the village let us have it. They, of course, used it on Sunday, but the rest of the time, we could go there and have our, our Peace Corps sessions.

[Assistant] So let's talk about the sessions.

[User] Okay.

[Assistant] What went on? What were they doing with you during training?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] It was just a big space with windows and everything, with chairs. So, uh, you know, the village let us have it. They, of course, used it on Sunday, but the rest of the time, we could go there and have our, our Peace Corps sessions.

[Assistant] So let's talk about the sessions.

[User] Okay.

[Assistant] What went on? What were they doing with you during training?

[User] Well, you know, it was a full day every day. We had language in the morning and we had wonderful language teachers who were just so funny.

[Assistant] There were native speakers of Sesotho?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Okay.

[Assistant] What went on? What were they doing with you during training?

[User] Well, you know, it was a full day every day. We had language in the morning and we had wonderful language teachers who were just so funny.

[Assistant] There were native speakers of Sesotho?

[User] Native speakers of Sesotho, primarily women who were also hosted in the villages like us. So these are ladies who lived, I believe most of them lived in villages around the capital. But when they sign on to be a Peace Corps instructor for language, they are also housed in the villages like us.

[Assistant] So they might be leaving behind their own family.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Well, you know, it was a full day every day. We had language in the morning and we had wonderful language teachers who were just so funny.

[Assistant] There were native speakers of Sesotho?

[User] Native speakers of Sesotho, primarily women who were also hosted in the villages like us. So these are ladies who lived, I believe most of them lived in villages around the capital. But when they sign on to be a Peace Corps instructor for language, they are also housed in the villages like us.

[Assistant] So they might be leaving behind their own family.

[User] They are leaving behind their families. Yeah.

[Assistant] And this went on, this was, the training session lasted how long? Two months?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Native speakers of Sesotho, primarily women who were also hosted in the villages like us. So these are ladies who lived, I believe most of them lived in villages around the capital. But when they sign on to be a Peace Corps instructor for language, they are also housed in the villages like us.

[Assistant] So they might be leaving behind their own family.

[User] They are leaving behind their families. Yeah.

[Assistant] And this went on, this was, the training session lasted how long? Two months?

[User] I think it was two or three months. Maybe two and a half months. Something like that.

[Assistant] So what was that like, learning Sesotho? You'd already, you were already fluent in three languages. Sesotho now is language number four.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] They are leaving behind their families. Yeah.

[Assistant] And this went on, this was, the training session lasted how long? Two months?

[User] I think it was two or three months. Maybe two and a half months. Something like that.

[Assistant] So what was that like, learning Sesotho? You'd already, you were already fluent in three languages. Sesotho now is language number four.

[User] It is.

[Assistant] How did they teach it?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I think it was two or three months. Maybe two and a half months. Something like that.

[Assistant] So what was that like, learning Sesotho? You'd already, you were already fluent in three languages. Sesotho now is language number four.

[User] It is.

[Assistant] How did they teach it?

[User] Uh, they just. Well, you were randomly pretty much put in these little classes. They really focused on small class sizes.

[Assistant] How small is small?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Uh, they just. Well, you were randomly pretty much put in these little classes. They really focused on small class sizes.

[Assistant] How small is small?

[User] Small is maybe four people.

[Assistant] Good.

[User] Yes. So they would split us up into groups. And you were put into just a small group randomly with four other volunteers and one instructor. And they would go through vocab and just try to talk to you about, okay, what did you have for breakfast? What is your house like? Family, you know, and then go through all the words. Really just starting with words, basic communication of how does that work. Then as you progressed, then they would really talk about, okay, grammar and sentence structure and how does that work, all of that. And as you increased your Sesotho capability, at whatever speed that was, they started to rearrange you into, okay, you know, you are learning this pretty quickly. We're going to move you into a class that is people that speak quickly, like with other.

[Assistant] Move along a little faster.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Small is maybe four people.

[Assistant] Good.

[User] Yes. So they would split us up into groups. And you were put into just a small group randomly with four other volunteers and one instructor. And they would go through vocab and just try to talk to you about, okay, what did you have for breakfast? What is your house like? Family, you know, and then go through all the words. Really just starting with words, basic communication of how does that work. Then as you progressed, then they would really talk about, okay, grammar and sentence structure and how does that work, all of that. And as you increased your Sesotho capability, at whatever speed that was, they started to rearrange you into, okay, you know, you are learning this pretty quickly. We're going to move you into a class that is people that speak quickly, like with other.

[Assistant] Move along a little faster.

[User] Right, people that move along a little bit faster.

[Assistant] That sounds good.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yes. So they would split us up into groups. And you were put into just a small group randomly with four other volunteers and one instructor. And they would go through vocab and just try to talk to you about, okay, what did you have for breakfast? What is your house like? Family, you know, and then go through all the words. Really just starting with words, basic communication of how does that work. Then as you progressed, then they would really talk about, okay, grammar and sentence structure and how does that work, all of that. And as you increased your Sesotho capability, at whatever speed that was, they started to rearrange you into, okay, you know, you are learning this pretty quickly. We're going to move you into a class that is people that speak quickly, like with other.

[Assistant] Move along a little faster.

[User] Right, people that move along a little bit faster.

[Assistant] That sounds good.

[User] So we were rearranged a few times with that.

[Assistant] I'm assuming you'd be in the fastest moving group.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Right, people that move along a little bit faster.

[Assistant] That sounds good.

[User] So we were rearranged a few times with that.

[Assistant] I'm assuming you'd be in the fastest moving group.

[User] I was not in the fastest moving group, actually. I was in a moderate group. Sesotho, I felt like it was challenging, you know, because I had had a lot of language experience. However, it was languages that have a strong foundation in Romance languages, you know. Spanish for me was not very challenging because I knew French already.

[Assistant] French, right, right.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] So we were rearranged a few times with that.

[Assistant] I'm assuming you'd be in the fastest moving group.

[User] I was not in the fastest moving group, actually. I was in a moderate group. Sesotho, I felt like it was challenging, you know, because I had had a lot of language experience. However, it was languages that have a strong foundation in Romance languages, you know. Spanish for me was not very challenging because I knew French already.

[Assistant] French, right, right.

[User] And why did I know French? Because I was.

[Assistant] It's the language of your home.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] And why did I know French? Because I was.

[Assistant] It's the language of your home.

[User] Yeah, it's the language of my house. So, um, in my language experiences, I always had that foundation and suddenly I did not have that foundation anymore at all.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah.

[User] So, I mean, I did all right in Sesotho. I was in an intermediate group.

[Assistant] Were they teaching, does Sesotho have an orthography? Is it a written language?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] It's a written language. I think the base language is called Sotho. I mean, it's part of the Sotho people who lived in the area. And it's a, it's a vast area because I know that parts of South Africa also speak it. And in Botswana, Botswana speaks Setswana.

[Assistant] Setswana, yes.

[User] Which is almost exactly like Sesotho. When I traveled, I went to Botswana and I suddenly was looking around saying, hey, I know what you're saying.

[Assistant] Wow.

[User] Which I had no idea. But so the language is spoken in different parts too.

[Assistant] So when they were teaching it, did they use written materials as well as oral?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Which is almost exactly like Sesotho. When I traveled, I went to Botswana and I suddenly was looking around saying, hey, I know what you're saying.

[Assistant] Wow.

[User] Which I had no idea. But so the language is spoken in different parts too.

[Assistant] So when they were teaching it, did they use written materials as well as oral?

[User] There was a manual that Peace Corps had put together and the language instructors had put together over the years. And they used that language manual. There was, they gave us little dictionaries. There were a few, a few things like that. And our Peace Corps instructors would give us, you know, like vocab lists and things like that. But it was limited, you know. I mean, Sesotho is a written language, but there aren't very many libraries in the country. So it was limited resources.

[Assistant] So most of your training in the language was oral.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] There was a manual that Peace Corps had put together and the language instructors had put together over the years. And they used that language manual. There was, they gave us little dictionaries. There were a few, a few things like that. And our Peace Corps instructors would give us, you know, like vocab lists and things like that. But it was limited, you know. I mean, Sesotho is a written language, but there aren't very many libraries in the country. So it was limited resources.

[Assistant] So most of your training in the language was oral.

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] Yeah. Yeah.

[User] And us taking our own notes from what the teacher was writing.

[Assistant] Right, right. Right, right. Yeah. And, and did you find that that language training was adequate? Did you learn enough to be able to function?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] And us taking our own notes from what the teacher was writing.

[Assistant] Right, right. Right, right. Yeah. And, and did you find that that language training was adequate? Did you learn enough to be able to function?

[User] I did, yeah. Yep. You know, at the end of Peace Corps language sessions, and really at the end of your orientation, you have to take a test to see if you can actually be in the community on your own and you speak enough of the language that you can function by yourself.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] So I did well enough. I passed. I think most people passed. And so, yeah, it was all right. Um. I mean, there were some of my friends that became very, very good in Sesotho.

[Assistant] Is it a tonal language?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I did, yeah. Yep. You know, at the end of Peace Corps language sessions, and really at the end of your orientation, you have to take a test to see if you can actually be in the community on your own and you speak enough of the language that you can function by yourself.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] So I did well enough. I passed. I think most people passed. And so, yeah, it was all right. Um. I mean, there were some of my friends that became very, very good in Sesotho.

[Assistant] Is it a tonal language?

[User] Uh.

[Assistant] Like, does the tone of it determine the?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] So I did well enough. I passed. I think most people passed. And so, yeah, it was all right. Um. I mean, there were some of my friends that became very, very good in Sesotho.

[Assistant] Is it a tonal language?

[User] Uh.

[Assistant] Like, does the tone of it determine the?

[User] No.

[Assistant] The meaning of the word?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Uh.

[Assistant] Like, does the tone of it determine the?

[User] No.

[Assistant] The meaning of the word?

[User] I don't, I don't think so, no.

[Assistant] Uh huh. Okay. So it's possible.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I don't, I don't think so, no.

[Assistant] Uh huh. Okay. So it's possible.

[User] Yeah, it's possible. But as far as I know, I mean, I don't remember having any experiences like that where I was saying something differently because of my tone.

[Assistant] Okay. Yeah.

[User] It was possible.

[Assistant] West African languages are tonal and that's.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yeah, it's possible. But as far as I know, I mean, I don't remember having any experiences like that where I was saying something differently because of my tone.

[Assistant] Okay. Yeah.

[User] It was possible.

[Assistant] West African languages are tonal and that's.

[User] Wow.

[Assistant] Just one more layer of difficulty.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] It was possible.

[Assistant] West African languages are tonal and that's.

[User] Wow.

[Assistant] Just one more layer of difficulty.

[User] I'm sure.

[Assistant] And so training was heavily, had a heavy emphasis on language training, and what else?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I'm sure.

[Assistant] And so training was heavily, had a heavy emphasis on language training, and what else?

[User] There were Peace Corps led sessions about safety. You know, that was a big, big part of it. Lesotho in 2010 had a volunteer that was killed.

[Assistant] Oh.

[User] Yes. So that was very, um. Very, uh, I mean, horrible, of course, you know, and very challenging to the program because it was basically an accident. I mean, it was not an.

[Assistant] It wasn't a deliberate murder?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yes. So that was very, um. Very, uh, I mean, horrible, of course, you know, and very challenging to the program because it was basically an accident. I mean, it was not an.

[Assistant] It wasn't a deliberate murder?

[User] It was a murder, but it was not, um. You know, because you are Peace Corps or you are American or this, this person was not, I believe, pursuing this individual in particular. He was just happened to be at the wrong place. And, you know, I can't, I can't speak much else to the, to that because I wasn't there and I didn't know what happened. But what happened once that became known was that Peace Corps in Washington, I mean, really wanted to close the program.

[Assistant] Oh.

[User] Because they felt like, well, this is unacceptable. You know, obviously it's not safe. And, you know, this volunteer was murdered and it was right near the Peace Corps office. So it just, just was bad all around. And so Peace Corps Lesotho made dramatic safety changes that were very strictly enforced to keep the program open. And, uh, we had resources that are available with the embassy. I mean, the embassy really helped us out, the U.S. embassy, to really put these safety measures in place.

[Assistant] What kinds of safety measures?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Because they felt like, well, this is unacceptable. You know, obviously it's not safe. And, you know, this volunteer was murdered and it was right near the Peace Corps office. So it just, just was bad all around. And so Peace Corps Lesotho made dramatic safety changes that were very strictly enforced to keep the program open. And, uh, we had resources that are available with the embassy. I mean, the embassy really helped us out, the U.S. embassy, to really put these safety measures in place.

[Assistant] What kinds of safety measures?

[User] Well, we couldn't really go anywhere without telling Peace Corps where we were going at all times. I mean, you had to have direct communication with Peace Corps for everything. I know that before, uh, you could go to South Africa pretty easily and Peace Corps didn't have to know about it if you weren't spending the night there. And so considering that Lesotho is completely surrounded by South Africa, that was a very simple, it's a very simple thing to do. I mean, you just cross the border to go to the grocery store on the other side.

[Assistant] Oh, okay.

[User] It's not a big deal. It's like crossing a state line, you know? But we could definitely no longer do that. You couldn't be in the capital city at night. You couldn't be in the capital city without telling anyone. A lot of the rules regarded the capital city really as, uh, as the area of most of the safety concerns. You had to be approved to be there at any time.

[Assistant] How did you communicate with the Peace Corps office to let them know your whereabouts or to, if you were in trouble, to, to reach them for asking for help? Did you have a cell phone?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Well, we couldn't really go anywhere without telling Peace Corps where we were going at all times. I mean, you had to have direct communication with Peace Corps for everything. I know that before, uh, you could go to South Africa pretty easily and Peace Corps didn't have to know about it if you weren't spending the night there. And so considering that Lesotho is completely surrounded by South Africa, that was a very simple, it's a very simple thing to do. I mean, you just cross the border to go to the grocery store on the other side.

[Assistant] Oh, okay.

[User] It's not a big deal. It's like crossing a state line, you know? But we could definitely no longer do that. You couldn't be in the capital city at night. You couldn't be in the capital city without telling anyone. A lot of the rules regarded the capital city really as, uh, as the area of most of the safety concerns. You had to be approved to be there at any time.

[Assistant] How did you communicate with the Peace Corps office to let them know your whereabouts or to, if you were in trouble, to, to reach them for asking for help? Did you have a cell phone?

[User] Yes, we all had phones and it was expected that we would keep our phones charged and available so that if anything did happen, we were able to be reached.

[Assistant] So they wanted to be able to reach you and you had a way of reaching them.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] It's not a big deal. It's like crossing a state line, you know? But we could definitely no longer do that. You couldn't be in the capital city at night. You couldn't be in the capital city without telling anyone. A lot of the rules regarded the capital city really as, uh, as the area of most of the safety concerns. You had to be approved to be there at any time.

[Assistant] How did you communicate with the Peace Corps office to let them know your whereabouts or to, if you were in trouble, to, to reach them for asking for help? Did you have a cell phone?

[User] Yes, we all had phones and it was expected that we would keep our phones charged and available so that if anything did happen, we were able to be reached.

[Assistant] So they wanted to be able to reach you and you had a way of reaching them.

[User] Yes. Of course, if that didn't work either, there were, there were other ways. There was a radio signal that we had to learn for the radio, in case there was an emergency and we couldn't be reached.

[Assistant] You had like a two-way radio?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yes. Of course, if that didn't work either, there were, there were other ways. There was a radio signal that we had to learn for the radio, in case there was an emergency and we couldn't be reached.

[Assistant] You had like a two-way radio?

[User] I didn't have a radio, but a lot of the families in, the, the host families and the Peace Corps did. So at least your host family, who, you know, many of the families had the radio on all the time, they could be reached and they could inform you about anything that's happening.

[Assistant] Huh. Yeah.

[User] So anyways, that was really the tone when, when my group had arrived. You know, a lot of our sessions were about how important the safety is and, and following all of the rules, which I completely agree with and understand.

[Assistant] Um, with women in Peace Corps today, I know there's a lot of concern about sexual assaults.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I didn't have a radio, but a lot of the families in, the, the host families and the Peace Corps did. So at least your host family, who, you know, many of the families had the radio on all the time, they could be reached and they could inform you about anything that's happening.

[Assistant] Huh. Yeah.

[User] So anyways, that was really the tone when, when my group had arrived. You know, a lot of our sessions were about how important the safety is and, and following all of the rules, which I completely agree with and understand.

[Assistant] Um, with women in Peace Corps today, I know there's a lot of concern about sexual assaults.

[User] Mm hmm.

[Assistant] Was there an expectation for a particular dress code? Were you expected, were you told not to wear mini skirts or, I don't know, whatever for your own safety?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] So anyways, that was really the tone when, when my group had arrived. You know, a lot of our sessions were about how important the safety is and, and following all of the rules, which I completely agree with and understand.

[Assistant] Um, with women in Peace Corps today, I know there's a lot of concern about sexual assaults.

[User] Mm hmm.

[Assistant] Was there an expectation for a particular dress code? Were you expected, were you told not to wear mini skirts or, I don't know, whatever for your own safety?

[User] Yes. There, I mean, it was recommended that we really try to be as respectful as we can to the culture and also that we are being seen as teachers really. So being role models and all of that to the community. We were supposed to wear long pants, long skirts, you know, try not to show.

[Assistant] When you say long skirts, ankle length or just below the knee?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Mm hmm.

[Assistant] Was there an expectation for a particular dress code? Were you expected, were you told not to wear mini skirts or, I don't know, whatever for your own safety?

[User] Yes. There, I mean, it was recommended that we really try to be as respectful as we can to the culture and also that we are being seen as teachers really. So being role models and all of that to the community. We were supposed to wear long pants, long skirts, you know, try not to show.

[Assistant] When you say long skirts, ankle length or just below the knee?

[User] Below the knee. Or even to the knee, that was all right. Nothing very tight. Just making sure that you're being professional at all times. Um. Yes. So no miniskirts.

[Assistant] Right, right. And so there was a lot of emphasis on your own safety and communication. What else did training include? Was there a talk about the culture of the people in Lesotho, cultural norms?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yes. There, I mean, it was recommended that we really try to be as respectful as we can to the culture and also that we are being seen as teachers really. So being role models and all of that to the community. We were supposed to wear long pants, long skirts, you know, try not to show.

[Assistant] When you say long skirts, ankle length or just below the knee?

[User] Below the knee. Or even to the knee, that was all right. Nothing very tight. Just making sure that you're being professional at all times. Um. Yes. So no miniskirts.

[Assistant] Right, right. And so there was a lot of emphasis on your own safety and communication. What else did training include? Was there a talk about the culture of the people in Lesotho, cultural norms?

[User] Yes, lots of culture sessions. Lots of, uh, you know, how to not make any faux pas about the, the community and the culture and all of that.

[Assistant] That's easier said than done.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Below the knee. Or even to the knee, that was all right. Nothing very tight. Just making sure that you're being professional at all times. Um. Yes. So no miniskirts.

[Assistant] Right, right. And so there was a lot of emphasis on your own safety and communication. What else did training include? Was there a talk about the culture of the people in Lesotho, cultural norms?

[User] Yes, lots of culture sessions. Lots of, uh, you know, how to not make any faux pas about the, the community and the culture and all of that.

[Assistant] That's easier said than done.

[User]
It is. We would have these little sketches where, you know, we would misunderstand something and how easily something could be misunderstood. So that was always very interesting. I liked those sessions because it was very eye opening. We had a little bit of, oh, we had education about the status of HIV and AIDS in Lesotho. That is very, very important. So a lot of information sessions about that and sessions that provided us with resources for teaching about HIV and AIDS, which is a very big component of Peace Corps volunteers there.

And then a session about, uh, resources for being teachers as well. We had people from the Education Department come and talk to us about, you know, how schools are in Lesotho, because that was my main concern. You know, how am I going to teach in Lesotho? I don't know what the school system is like at all

[Assistant] And you had not had education courses?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yes, lots of culture sessions. Lots of, uh, you know, how to not make any faux pas about the, the community and the culture and all of that.

[Assistant] That's easier said than done.

[User]
It is. We would have these little sketches where, you know, we would misunderstand something and how easily something could be misunderstood. So that was always very interesting. I liked those sessions because it was very eye opening. We had a little bit of, oh, we had education about the status of HIV and AIDS in Lesotho. That is very, very important. So a lot of information sessions about that and sessions that provided us with resources for teaching about HIV and AIDS, which is a very big component of Peace Corps volunteers there.

And then a session about, uh, resources for being teachers as well. We had people from the Education Department come and talk to us about, you know, how schools are in Lesotho, because that was my main concern. You know, how am I going to teach in Lesotho? I don't know what the school system is like at all

[Assistant] And you had not had education courses?

[User] I had. I had had one education course before, but it wasn't at all about how to teach at all. It was like, you know, theory of education. So that doesn't help me at all in Lesotho. So that was very, very eye opening. And resources for teachers, really. How can we teach our subject? The more we went on through orientation, we got split up into groups to science and math teachers and resources for them. And what is the curriculum like? All of that, and the same thing for primary English teachers.

[Assistant] Yeah. So I can see how you'd be in different groupings throughout the day. You'd be in one grouping for language instruction, but in a different one for talking about what your teaching life was going to be.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User]
It is. We would have these little sketches where, you know, we would misunderstand something and how easily something could be misunderstood. So that was always very interesting. I liked those sessions because it was very eye opening. We had a little bit of, oh, we had education about the status of HIV and AIDS in Lesotho. That is very, very important. So a lot of information sessions about that and sessions that provided us with resources for teaching about HIV and AIDS, which is a very big component of Peace Corps volunteers there.

And then a session about, uh, resources for being teachers as well. We had people from the Education Department come and talk to us about, you know, how schools are in Lesotho, because that was my main concern. You know, how am I going to teach in Lesotho? I don't know what the school system is like at all

[Assistant] And you had not had education courses?

[User] I had. I had had one education course before, but it wasn't at all about how to teach at all. It was like, you know, theory of education. So that doesn't help me at all in Lesotho. So that was very, very eye opening. And resources for teachers, really. How can we teach our subject? The more we went on through orientation, we got split up into groups to science and math teachers and resources for them. And what is the curriculum like? All of that, and the same thing for primary English teachers.

[Assistant] Yeah. So I can see how you'd be in different groupings throughout the day. You'd be in one grouping for language instruction, but in a different one for talking about what your teaching life was going to be.

[User] Yeah. At the end of our orientation, we had a practicum where we worked, when we taught classes in a school.

[Assistant] Right there in Makola?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I had. I had had one education course before, but it wasn't at all about how to teach at all. It was like, you know, theory of education. So that doesn't help me at all in Lesotho. So that was very, very eye opening. And resources for teachers, really. How can we teach our subject? The more we went on through orientation, we got split up into groups to science and math teachers and resources for them. And what is the curriculum like? All of that, and the same thing for primary English teachers.

[Assistant] Yeah. So I can see how you'd be in different groupings throughout the day. You'd be in one grouping for language instruction, but in a different one for talking about what your teaching life was going to be.

[User] Yeah. At the end of our orientation, we had a practicum where we worked, when we taught classes in a school.

[Assistant] Right there in Makola?

[User] Yes, I think it was in one of the villages outside of Makola, Berea. But anyways, it was the end of the school year and we actually went and did little language classes, I mean, for English, we did little language classes in the primary school there.

[Assistant] So what was that like? What, um, how, how, how many kids in a class?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yes, I think it was in one of the villages outside of Makola, Berea. But anyways, it was the end of the school year and we actually went and did little language classes, I mean, for English, we did little language classes in the primary school there.

[Assistant] So what was that like? What, um, how, how, how many kids in a class?

[User] In that practicum?

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] There were maybe 30, or 20 to 30 in a class. It wasn't a very big village.

[Assistant] And the kids were how old?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] In that practicum?

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] There were maybe 30, or 20 to 30 in a class. It wasn't a very big village.

[Assistant] And the kids were how old?

[User] In primary school we were teaching, I believe it was fourth grade and fifth grade and sixth grade.

[Assistant] So they'd be about the same age as kids in those grades here?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] There were maybe 30, or 20 to 30 in a class. It wasn't a very big village.

[Assistant] And the kids were how old?

[User] In primary school we were teaching, I believe it was fourth grade and fifth grade and sixth grade.

[Assistant] So they'd be about the same age as kids in those grades here?

[User] Mm hmm.

[Assistant] Nine, ten, 11.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] In primary school we were teaching, I believe it was fourth grade and fifth grade and sixth grade.

[Assistant] So they'd be about the same age as kids in those grades here?

[User] Mm hmm.

[Assistant] Nine, ten, 11.

[User] Yep. Most of them. Some of them, of course, were older and had been kept back because they, they weren't able to master the subject.

[Assistant] Or maybe hadn't had a chance to go to school.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Mm hmm.

[Assistant] Nine, ten, 11.

[User] Yep. Most of them. Some of them, of course, were older and had been kept back because they, they weren't able to master the subject.

[Assistant] Or maybe hadn't had a chance to go to school.

[User] Right. You know, I didn't really get to know them that well because it was really only a few days.

[Assistant] Oh, just a few days.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yep. Most of them. Some of them, of course, were older and had been kept back because they, they weren't able to master the subject.

[Assistant] Or maybe hadn't had a chance to go to school.

[User] Right. You know, I didn't really get to know them that well because it was really only a few days.

[Assistant] Oh, just a few days.

[User] Just a few days for practicum. Just to make sure that we could handle ourselves in the classroom.

[Assistant] Was, was there another, another teacher there in the room with you while you were teaching English during your practicum?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Right. You know, I didn't really get to know them that well because it was really only a few days.

[Assistant] Oh, just a few days.

[User] Just a few days for practicum. Just to make sure that we could handle ourselves in the classroom.

[Assistant] Was, was there another, another teacher there in the room with you while you were teaching English during your practicum?

[User] There were other PCVs that would observe you and give you feedback.

[Assistant] Oh, that's nice.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] There were other PCVs that would observe you and give you feedback.

[Assistant] Oh, that's nice.

[User] And then there was one Peace Corps staff member. It was very nice because in our education group, I'm also now remembering that we didn't just have math and science and English. We also had kind of like resource teachers. Some of them helped out in primary, like pre-K area, it was called ECCD. And so they worked with helping ECCD programs, which is like.

[Assistant] ECCD?

[User] Yeah, that's like early childhood programs. It's like pre-K, you know, infants and all of that. And then others were retired teachers from the United States who joined Peace Corps and had a lot of experience, obviously. And so they were kind of put in as resource teachers for a school to help them with their program, teaching teachers basically, guiding the school and instruction and all of that. So that was really great because that was an extra resource within our PCV community. I mean, those people, I used their depth of knowledge all the time to my benefit.

[Assistant] Oh, good. That's great. I'm glad they were there.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] And then there was one Peace Corps staff member. It was very nice because in our education group, I'm also now remembering that we didn't just have math and science and English. We also had kind of like resource teachers. Some of them helped out in primary, like pre-K area, it was called ECCD. And so they worked with helping ECCD programs, which is like.

[Assistant] ECCD?

[User] Yeah, that's like early childhood programs. It's like pre-K, you know, infants and all of that. And then others were retired teachers from the United States who joined Peace Corps and had a lot of experience, obviously. And so they were kind of put in as resource teachers for a school to help them with their program, teaching teachers basically, guiding the school and instruction and all of that. So that was really great because that was an extra resource within our PCV community. I mean, those people, I used their depth of knowledge all the time to my benefit.

[Assistant] Oh, good. That's great. I'm glad they were there.

[User] They were, and they were able to help me, you know, plan my lessons and everything and be successful in my job.

[Assistant] So eventually training comes to an end after two or three months. Was there a big swearing in ceremony or something?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yeah, that's like early childhood programs. It's like pre-K, you know, infants and all of that. And then others were retired teachers from the United States who joined Peace Corps and had a lot of experience, obviously. And so they were kind of put in as resource teachers for a school to help them with their program, teaching teachers basically, guiding the school and instruction and all of that. So that was really great because that was an extra resource within our PCV community. I mean, those people, I used their depth of knowledge all the time to my benefit.

[Assistant] Oh, good. That's great. I'm glad they were there.

[User] They were, and they were able to help me, you know, plan my lessons and everything and be successful in my job.

[Assistant] So eventually training comes to an end after two or three months. Was there a big swearing in ceremony or something?

[User] There was.

[Assistant] Back in Maseru maybe?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Nope, it was still in the village. Again, I think it was in the neighboring village, in Berea, for some reason. But there was a ceremony. The representative for the U.S. embassy came. There was singing and dancing, which is just a big part of the culture in Lesotho. It was, it was just really nice. Lots of speeches. And then we were each read our names, you know, our names were read off and we would come and get our certificate saying that we had completed orientation. We are now officially Peace Corps volunteers. I think we had to take an oath.

[Assistant] Uh huh.

[User] Yeah, it was a really good time. And then there was a feast, of course.

[Assistant] Oh boy.

[User] Because there's no party without food.

[Assistant] Yeah. What about alcohol? Um, is, is it a country in which people consume alcohol?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yeah, it was a really good time. And then there was a feast, of course.

[Assistant] Oh boy.

[User] Because there's no party without food.

[Assistant] Yeah. What about alcohol? Um, is, is it a country in which people consume alcohol?

[User] It is, uh, primarily men however. It's not. Women are not, it's not respectable for a woman to drink alcohol.

[Assistant] So even at this party, maybe it would have been dry.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Because there's no party without food.

[Assistant] Yeah. What about alcohol? Um, is, is it a country in which people consume alcohol?

[User] It is, uh, primarily men however. It's not. Women are not, it's not respectable for a woman to drink alcohol.

[Assistant] So even at this party, maybe it would have been dry.

[User] Yeah. There was no alcohol at the party. Lesotho is primarily Christian, a Christian country. I mean, a very high percentage is a Christian country. And so they have these, you know, traditional Christian values. So the clothing, the church, yeah, no alcohol. It's not necessarily a cultural thing. I don't know, actually, maybe not, but it's kind of these conservative values I believe that we find here too.

[Assistant] So you've finished with training and now instead of living in Makola, you're going to be sent someplace else?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] It is, uh, primarily men however. It's not. Women are not, it's not respectable for a woman to drink alcohol.

[Assistant] So even at this party, maybe it would have been dry.

[User] Yeah. There was no alcohol at the party. Lesotho is primarily Christian, a Christian country. I mean, a very high percentage is a Christian country. And so they have these, you know, traditional Christian values. So the clothing, the church, yeah, no alcohol. It's not necessarily a cultural thing. I don't know, actually, maybe not, but it's kind of these conservative values I believe that we find here too.

[Assistant] So you've finished with training and now instead of living in Makola, you're going to be sent someplace else?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] Uh huh. Where to?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] Uh huh. Where to?

[User] I was sent to Tabola.

[Assistant] Tabola.

[User] Tabola.

[Assistant] Now, how do you get to Tabola from your training site? Did, did you have to get back into Maseru at any point during training?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Tabola.

[Assistant] Now, how do you get to Tabola from your training site? Did, did you have to get back into Maseru at any point during training?

[User] We did. We took a trip to Maseru with our Sesotho instructors as guides. That was just a fun field trip day to kind of explore the city with, with a guide and see the different, different parts. We also went into Maseru to buy a lot of the things that we needed for our house.

[Assistant] Uh huh.

[User] So Peace Corps gives you a certain amount of money, you know, towards the end of your orientation to go and actually buy basic things for your house.

[Assistant] Well, how did you know what you were going to need? Had you, had you been given a glimpse of your house, the house you were going to be living in for two years?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] We did. We took a trip to Maseru with our Sesotho instructors as guides. That was just a fun field trip day to kind of explore the city with, with a guide and see the different, different parts. We also went into Maseru to buy a lot of the things that we needed for our house.

[Assistant] Uh huh.

[User] So Peace Corps gives you a certain amount of money, you know, towards the end of your orientation to go and actually buy basic things for your house.

[Assistant] Well, how did you know what you were going to need? Had you, had you been given a glimpse of your house, the house you were going to be living in for two years?

[User] Yes. Your, first of all, your community provides you with basic things, you know, a bed, a dresser, a stove, things like that.

[Assistant] Did you have a table and chair?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] So Peace Corps gives you a certain amount of money, you know, towards the end of your orientation to go and actually buy basic things for your house.

[Assistant] Well, how did you know what you were going to need? Had you, had you been given a glimpse of your house, the house you were going to be living in for two years?

[User] Yes. Your, first of all, your community provides you with basic things, you know, a bed, a dresser, a stove, things like that.

[Assistant] Did you have a table and chair?

[User] I had a table and chairs. Yep. Not everyone did though. So at the end of your orientation, you do, you. There are two things. You get to go and live with a volunteer who's, um, you know, doing something similar to what you're doing. So I went with an English volunteer and you get to follow them around and see how their daily life is. And then you also got to go to your actual site.

[Assistant] The place where you're going to.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yes. Your, first of all, your community provides you with basic things, you know, a bed, a dresser, a stove, things like that.

[Assistant] Did you have a table and chair?

[User] I had a table and chairs. Yep. Not everyone did though. So at the end of your orientation, you do, you. There are two things. You get to go and live with a volunteer who's, um, you know, doing something similar to what you're doing. So I went with an English volunteer and you get to follow them around and see how their daily life is. And then you also got to go to your actual site.

[Assistant] The place where you're going to.

[User] The place where you're going to be. And you go there for I think it was two days to meet your village, all of that, and see where you're going to live. And so for a lot of people, that was a glimpse of like, oh, you know, this is, this is. I need to buy this and this and this and.

[Assistant] Oh, yeah. Yeah.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I had a table and chairs. Yep. Not everyone did though. So at the end of your orientation, you do, you. There are two things. You get to go and live with a volunteer who's, um, you know, doing something similar to what you're doing. So I went with an English volunteer and you get to follow them around and see how their daily life is. And then you also got to go to your actual site.

[Assistant] The place where you're going to.

[User] The place where you're going to be. And you go there for I think it was two days to meet your village, all of that, and see where you're going to live. And so for a lot of people, that was a glimpse of like, oh, you know, this is, this is. I need to buy this and this and this and.

[Assistant] Oh, yeah. Yeah.

[User] What am I missing? Okay.

[Assistant] And then you go to Maseru and do some shopping.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] The place where you're going to be. And you go there for I think it was two days to meet your village, all of that, and see where you're going to live. And so for a lot of people, that was a glimpse of like, oh, you know, this is, this is. I need to buy this and this and this and.

[Assistant] Oh, yeah. Yeah.

[User] What am I missing? Okay.

[Assistant] And then you go to Maseru and do some shopping.

[User] And then you do some.

[Assistant] And they gave you a special allowance for settling in?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] What am I missing? Okay.

[Assistant] And then you go to Maseru and do some shopping.

[User] And then you do some.

[Assistant] And they gave you a special allowance for settling in?

[User] Yes, exactly. Settling in allowance.

[Assistant] Yeah. Good, good, good, good. And then off you go to Tabola. How did you get to Tabola?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] And then you do some.

[Assistant] And they gave you a special allowance for settling in?

[User] Yes, exactly. Settling in allowance.

[Assistant] Yeah. Good, good, good, good. And then off you go to Tabola. How did you get to Tabola?

[User] I would take a taxi.

[Assistant] The first time?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yes, exactly. Settling in allowance.

[Assistant] Yeah. Good, good, good, good. And then off you go to Tabola. How did you get to Tabola?

[User] I would take a taxi.

[Assistant] The first time?

[User] A public taxi. Well, no, I'm sorry. I'm getting ahead of myself. What happened was that we were sent to different regions, depending if you were going. If your site was going to be in the north or in the south of Lesotho, you were sent to a conference during training. And this was a conference for you to meet your counterpart, which would be instrumental in your getting to know the community and all of that.

[Assistant] So wait, your counterpart is a host country national, somebody. What do you call a person who lives in Lesotho?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] A public taxi. Well, no, I'm sorry. I'm getting ahead of myself. What happened was that we were sent to different regions, depending if you were going. If your site was going to be in the north or in the south of Lesotho, you were sent to a conference during training. And this was a conference for you to meet your counterpart, which would be instrumental in your getting to know the community and all of that.

[Assistant] So wait, your counterpart is a host country national, somebody. What do you call a person who lives in Lesotho?

[User] A Mosotho.

[Assistant] Mosotho.

[User] That's like one person, yeah.

[Assistant] So your counterpart would be a Mosotho?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] A Mosotho.

[Assistant] Mosotho.

[User] That's like one person, yeah.

[Assistant] So your counterpart would be a Mosotho?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] Okay. And that person would be a primary school teacher?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] That's like one person, yeah.

[Assistant] So your counterpart would be a Mosotho?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] Okay. And that person would be a primary school teacher?

[User] Um, I think that was the idea. Yep. I don't know if everyone's was a teacher. Some of them were the principals of the school. Mine was a, yes, primary school teacher at one of my schools because I had two schools.

[Assistant] So you had a chance to meet that person during that conference? Were you in the north or the south?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] Okay. And that person would be a primary school teacher?

[User] Um, I think that was the idea. Yep. I don't know if everyone's was a teacher. Some of them were the principals of the school. Mine was a, yes, primary school teacher at one of my schools because I had two schools.

[Assistant] So you had a chance to meet that person during that conference? Were you in the north or the south?

[User] I was in the north. My site was not very far from the capital or the training villages.

[Assistant] Oh, okay. When you say not very far, how long would it take you to get from Maseru to Tabola?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Um, I think that was the idea. Yep. I don't know if everyone's was a teacher. Some of them were the principals of the school. Mine was a, yes, primary school teacher at one of my schools because I had two schools.

[Assistant] So you had a chance to meet that person during that conference? Were you in the north or the south?

[User] I was in the north. My site was not very far from the capital or the training villages.

[Assistant] Oh, okay. When you say not very far, how long would it take you to get from Maseru to Tabola?

[User] An hour.

[Assistant] Oh, yeah. Oh, that's nice.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I was in the north. My site was not very far from the capital or the training villages.

[Assistant] Oh, okay. When you say not very far, how long would it take you to get from Maseru to Tabola?

[User] An hour.

[Assistant] Oh, yeah. Oh, that's nice.

[User] Yeah. So I was not, not very far at all. So we were. We went from our orientation to these conferences where we met our counterpart. And then the school was supposed to provide transport for you and your things to your village when you were moving.

[Assistant] Oh, from Maseru?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] An hour.

[Assistant] Oh, yeah. Oh, that's nice.

[User] Yeah. So I was not, not very far at all. So we were. We went from our orientation to these conferences where we met our counterpart. And then the school was supposed to provide transport for you and your things to your village when you were moving.

[Assistant] Oh, from Maseru?

[User] From your.

[Assistant] From, from Makola?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yeah. So I was not, not very far at all. So we were. We went from our orientation to these conferences where we met our counterpart. And then the school was supposed to provide transport for you and your things to your village when you were moving.

[Assistant] Oh, from Maseru?

[User] From your.

[Assistant] From, from Makola?

[User] Not from Makola, but from where you, from our conferences. We had brought all of our things to the conferences. So from the conferences you were going to take all of that stuff. So my counterpart had, uh, one of the people on the parents committee, a father on the parents committee, who had a truck that came and took me and all of my things. And we went to my village.

[Assistant] So you went to the village. What's the road like?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] My road was pretty good. I was right off of the main road. So there's one.

[Assistant] Paved?

[User] It's a paved road. There's one main paved road that makes kind of a C around Lesotho.

[Assistant] Okay.

[User] In the lowlands area.

[Assistant] And is it one lane or two lanes?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] It's a paved road. There's one main paved road that makes kind of a C around Lesotho.

[Assistant] Okay.

[User] In the lowlands area.

[Assistant] And is it one lane or two lanes?

[User] It's one lane.

[Assistant] One lane for both. One lane in each direction?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] In the lowlands area.

[Assistant] And is it one lane or two lanes?

[User] It's one lane.

[Assistant] One lane for both. One lane in each direction?

[User] I mean, it's one lane in each direction, right.

[Assistant] So it's a two, two lane highway.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Paved, yes.

[Assistant] Wow, deluxe.

[User] I know. And I lived right off of that road. So that was really nice because I really didn't have the transportation struggles that many, many people did, who would be cruising along on this paved road and then would turn for maybe 4 hours or more on a dirt road.

[Assistant] Yeah. Yeah.

[User] So mine, mine was not like that at all.

[Assistant] Okay. So you get to Tabola and you're collected in a truck that the school provided to bring you and all your stuff over and. And they take you to where you're going to live for two years. Describe that place.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I know. And I lived right off of that road. So that was really nice because I really didn't have the transportation struggles that many, many people did, who would be cruising along on this paved road and then would turn for maybe 4 hours or more on a dirt road.

[Assistant] Yeah. Yeah.

[User] So mine, mine was not like that at all.

[Assistant] Okay. So you get to Tabola and you're collected in a truck that the school provided to bring you and all your stuff over and. And they take you to where you're going to live for two years. Describe that place.

[User] So Tabola, um, is a village right off of the main road. It, I don't remember how many people lived there. It had an upper and a lower part. It was basically at the base of a little, I would say mountain, but it's not really a mountain. It's like a foothill. And it had a primary school and then it had other little villages very close to it that had another primary school and a high school. And so there were these little villages just around this main road that kind of connected to Tabola, that was this main area.

[Assistant] And did it have a post office?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] So mine, mine was not like that at all.

[Assistant] Okay. So you get to Tabola and you're collected in a truck that the school provided to bring you and all your stuff over and. And they take you to where you're going to live for two years. Describe that place.

[User] So Tabola, um, is a village right off of the main road. It, I don't remember how many people lived there. It had an upper and a lower part. It was basically at the base of a little, I would say mountain, but it's not really a mountain. It's like a foothill. And it had a primary school and then it had other little villages very close to it that had another primary school and a high school. And so there were these little villages just around this main road that kind of connected to Tabola, that was this main area.

[Assistant] And did it have a post office?

[User] No. It did not. There was a, kind of down the road, I mean, you know, 5 minutes in a taxi, there was a village called Peka, which was larger, and that was where the post office was. There were a few more shops there in Peka. I had my post office box there.

[Assistant] Okay. So if you wanted to mail a letter to somebody or pick up mail coming into you.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] So Tabola, um, is a village right off of the main road. It, I don't remember how many people lived there. It had an upper and a lower part. It was basically at the base of a little, I would say mountain, but it's not really a mountain. It's like a foothill. And it had a primary school and then it had other little villages very close to it that had another primary school and a high school. And so there were these little villages just around this main road that kind of connected to Tabola, that was this main area.

[Assistant] And did it have a post office?

[User] No. It did not. There was a, kind of down the road, I mean, you know, 5 minutes in a taxi, there was a village called Peka, which was larger, and that was where the post office was. There were a few more shops there in Peka. I had my post office box there.

[Assistant] Okay. So if you wanted to mail a letter to somebody or pick up mail coming into you.

[User] I went there.

[Assistant] You'd go 5 minutes down the road to Peka and pick it up. Yeah, that's not too bad. And where you were in Tabola, was there electricity?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I went there.

[Assistant] You'd go 5 minutes down the road to Peka and pick it up. Yeah, that's not too bad. And where you were in Tabola, was there electricity?

[User] I had electricity.

[Assistant] Ho ha!

[User] Which I think I was one of, yeah, maybe one other person in my group had electricity. I mean, it is very rare in Lesotho to get electricity. And primarily why did I have electricity was I was replacing another volunteer. So there was a volunteer who was before me and she had extended, so she had been there for three years in Tabola, living with the host family that I lived with. And so I think when she moved there, there wasn't electricity. And my host family did have electricity. So she managed to have somebody come and take a line and send it to her little, little house, which was on their compound. And so in your little traditional house, you had electricity. So I did have electricity and I paid my host family for what I used.

[Assistant] Oh, very nice.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I had electricity.

[Assistant] Ho ha!

[User] Which I think I was one of, yeah, maybe one other person in my group had electricity. I mean, it is very rare in Lesotho to get electricity. And primarily why did I have electricity was I was replacing another volunteer. So there was a volunteer who was before me and she had extended, so she had been there for three years in Tabola, living with the host family that I lived with. And so I think when she moved there, there wasn't electricity. And my host family did have electricity. So she managed to have somebody come and take a line and send it to her little, little house, which was on their compound. And so in your little traditional house, you had electricity. So I did have electricity and I paid my host family for what I used.

[Assistant] Oh, very nice.

[User] Every month.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah, yeah.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Which I think I was one of, yeah, maybe one other person in my group had electricity. I mean, it is very rare in Lesotho to get electricity. And primarily why did I have electricity was I was replacing another volunteer. So there was a volunteer who was before me and she had extended, so she had been there for three years in Tabola, living with the host family that I lived with. And so I think when she moved there, there wasn't electricity. And my host family did have electricity. So she managed to have somebody come and take a line and send it to her little, little house, which was on their compound. And so in your little traditional house, you had electricity. So I did have electricity and I paid my host family for what I used.

[Assistant] Oh, very nice.

[User] Every month.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[User] It was amazing.

[Assistant] And of course, Peace Corps gave you a living allowance.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Every month.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[User] It was amazing.

[Assistant] And of course, Peace Corps gave you a living allowance.

[User] They did.

[Assistant] That which was to cover things like your electricity. What else did you have to pay your? What else did you have to? What else did you need money to, to buy?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] It was amazing.

[Assistant] And of course, Peace Corps gave you a living allowance.

[User] They did.

[Assistant] That which was to cover things like your electricity. What else did you have to pay your? What else did you have to? What else did you need money to, to buy?

[User] I mean, you know, food and transport were major things. I did pay for my electricity, but most people didn't have electricity.

[Assistant] Didn't have any.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I paid for a data plan on my phone every month. I paid for, there was a really great plan that was unlimited data, which means that I could get Internet on my phone.

[Assistant] Wow.

[User] Yeah, I had a BlackBerry that I had brought from the United States, which was my dad's BlackBerry, per the recommendation of a Peace Corps volunteer that was there who said, you know, Blackberries are kind of passé in the United States, but here they are really important.

[Assistant] So you.

[User] And if you want, if you could bring one, that would be great.

[Assistant] So you had contact.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yeah, I had a BlackBerry that I had brought from the United States, which was my dad's BlackBerry, per the recommendation of a Peace Corps volunteer that was there who said, you know, Blackberries are kind of passé in the United States, but here they are really important.

[Assistant] So you.

[User] And if you want, if you could bring one, that would be great.

[Assistant] So you had contact.

[User] I did have contact.

[Assistant] How did you swing that?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] And if you want, if you could bring one, that would be great.

[Assistant] So you had contact.

[User] I did have contact.

[Assistant] How did you swing that?

[User] I mean, my dad had a BlackBerry. And so.

[Assistant] Yeah, but I mean, what I mean is how did you know? How did you have contact?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I did have contact.

[Assistant] How did you swing that?

[User] I mean, my dad had a BlackBerry. And so.

[Assistant] Yeah, but I mean, what I mean is how did you know? How did you have contact?

[User] Oh, I'm sorry.

[Assistant] With a Lesotho PCV to tell you what would be useful?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I mean, my dad had a BlackBerry. And so.

[Assistant] Yeah, but I mean, what I mean is how did you know? How did you have contact?

[User] Oh, I'm sorry.

[Assistant] With a Lesotho PCV to tell you what would be useful?

[User] Well, we had, you know, once you figured out that you were going to Lesotho, I immediately started doing research of, like, who was going to be in my group. Can I find a list anywhere? They had sent in my package of, you know, my informational package of my country and all of that when I first was accepted, they had sent a letter of someone who was just writing to say what his daily life was like, what were the things that he recommended bringing. And I don't know. I don't think he had recommended bringing a phone, but I just remember speaking with people via, I think, social media that were currently in Lesotho and ask them, okay, what should I bring? You know. And I asked about the phone, should I wait to get into country to buy a phone or what? And they said, if you can, bring something in.

[Assistant] What, how, how helpful.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Well, we had, you know, once you figured out that you were going to Lesotho, I immediately started doing research of, like, who was going to be in my group. Can I find a list anywhere? They had sent in my package of, you know, my informational package of my country and all of that when I first was accepted, they had sent a letter of someone who was just writing to say what his daily life was like, what were the things that he recommended bringing. And I don't know. I don't think he had recommended bringing a phone, but I just remember speaking with people via, I think, social media that were currently in Lesotho and ask them, okay, what should I bring? You know. And I asked about the phone, should I wait to get into country to buy a phone or what? And they said, if you can, bring something in.

[Assistant] What, how, how helpful.

[User] I'm sure.

[Assistant] That's very.

[User] Very different than a lot of people's experiences in the past.

[Assistant] Wonderful. That really smoothed the way for you. So I'd like to know more about the place you were. First of all, you were living with a family, another host family, a different host family now, not the one in training.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I'm sure.

[Assistant] That's very.

[User] Very different than a lot of people's experiences in the past.

[Assistant] Wonderful. That really smoothed the way for you. So I'd like to know more about the place you were. First of all, you were living with a family, another host family, a different host family now, not the one in training.

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] Now you're in Tabola.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Very different than a lot of people's experiences in the past.

[Assistant] Wonderful. That really smoothed the way for you. So I'd like to know more about the place you were. First of all, you were living with a family, another host family, a different host family now, not the one in training.

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] Now you're in Tabola.

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] What's your Tabola family like, your host family?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] What's your Tabola family like, your host family?

[User]
They were wonderful.

They were the Mognani family.

[Assistant] Mognani.

[User] Yes. My host mother was the principal of the primary school in Tabola, and my host father was a preacher at the church that they had on their compound, which was just a little building separate from their house and right next to my house. I lived on their compound in what's considered a traditional house, which is a stone rondavel. It's a circle, like a circle hut.

[Assistant] Your house was like that? A round rondavel?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User]
They were wonderful.

They were the Mognani family.

[Assistant] Mognani.

[User] Yes. My host mother was the principal of the primary school in Tabola, and my host father was a preacher at the church that they had on their compound, which was just a little building separate from their house and right next to my house. I lived on their compound in what's considered a traditional house, which is a stone rondavel. It's a circle, like a circle hut.

[Assistant] Your house was like that? A round rondavel?

[User] Rondavel, that's what they called them, with a thatched roof. And they lived.

[Assistant] What kind of door?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Rondavel, that's what they called them, with a thatched roof. And they lived.

[Assistant] What kind of door?

[User] A wooden door.

[Assistant] Huh. Windows?

[User] Yep. I had two windows. It was nice.

[Assistant] And then an electric light bulb?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] A wooden door.

[Assistant] Huh. Windows?

[User] Yep. I had two windows. It was nice.

[Assistant] And then an electric light bulb?

[User] I know. Yeah, I had a little, little light bulb. It was great.

[Assistant] You have a refrigerator?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I know. Yeah, I had a little, little light bulb. It was great.

[Assistant] You have a refrigerator?

[User] I did buy a refrigerator.

[Assistant] You did.

[User] A little one. It was such the posh life. It was. Peace Corps volunteers would visit me and just couldn't get over that I had a refrigerator because that just doesn't happen there.

[Assistant] And your host family's house was also a rondavel?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] A little one. It was such the posh life. It was. Peace Corps volunteers would visit me and just couldn't get over that I had a refrigerator because that just doesn't happen there.

[Assistant] And your host family's house was also a rondavel?

[User] It wasn't. It was considered a more modern house. It was a brick house with a tin roof and in a square shaped. So primarily around the Lesotho, you would find these round stone with thatched roofed houses as the older traditional houses. And then people, when they were expanding their compound, when families were growing, kind of the more modern thing to do would be building these stone, uh, sorry, brick, square brick houses.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] So, yep, they lived right close to me in this brick house. And they had a TV. They had electricity, they had a gas stove, and all of that.

[Assistant] Mm hmm. Did they cook for you?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] It wasn't. It was considered a more modern house. It was a brick house with a tin roof and in a square shaped. So primarily around the Lesotho, you would find these round stone with thatched roofed houses as the older traditional houses. And then people, when they were expanding their compound, when families were growing, kind of the more modern thing to do would be building these stone, uh, sorry, brick, square brick houses.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] So, yep, they lived right close to me in this brick house. And they had a TV. They had electricity, they had a gas stove, and all of that.

[Assistant] Mm hmm. Did they cook for you?

[User] No, I cooked for myself. I had a little gas stove, and I did all of my own shopping. I had a garden, which was very nice. They had a big area for their garden, and they gave me a little section of it so that I could do my own gardening.

[Assistant] Oh, very nice. What did you grow?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] So, yep, they lived right close to me in this brick house. And they had a TV. They had electricity, they had a gas stove, and all of that.

[Assistant] Mm hmm. Did they cook for you?

[User] No, I cooked for myself. I had a little gas stove, and I did all of my own shopping. I had a garden, which was very nice. They had a big area for their garden, and they gave me a little section of it so that I could do my own gardening.

[Assistant] Oh, very nice. What did you grow?

[User] Oh, I grew lots of things. I grew Swiss chard, which was phenomenal. It was just very successful. I grew zucchinis, green beans, lettuce. I think there was spinach. Things like that.

[Assistant] Are these things that your whole family also grew in their portion of the garden?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] No, I cooked for myself. I had a little gas stove, and I did all of my own shopping. I had a garden, which was very nice. They had a big area for their garden, and they gave me a little section of it so that I could do my own gardening.

[Assistant] Oh, very nice. What did you grow?

[User] Oh, I grew lots of things. I grew Swiss chard, which was phenomenal. It was just very successful. I grew zucchinis, green beans, lettuce. I think there was spinach. Things like that.

[Assistant] Are these things that your whole family also grew in their portion of the garden?

[User] No, they grew, um, well, they grew actually Swiss chard in their portion. They grew a lot of cabbage. That's kind of a staple in Lesotho. They grew spinach, a certain kind of spinach, and I think some beans as well.

[Assistant] What's the food, what's the cuisine like in Lesotho?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Oh, I grew lots of things. I grew Swiss chard, which was phenomenal. It was just very successful. I grew zucchinis, green beans, lettuce. I think there was spinach. Things like that.

[Assistant] Are these things that your whole family also grew in their portion of the garden?

[User] No, they grew, um, well, they grew actually Swiss chard in their portion. They grew a lot of cabbage. That's kind of a staple in Lesotho. They grew spinach, a certain kind of spinach, and I think some beans as well.

[Assistant] What's the food, what's the cuisine like in Lesotho?

[User] In Lesotho, the base, the core of the meal really is papa, which is a kind of a cornmeal mush. I think in the United States, it would be comparable to grits. But it's definitely very firm. So that was the staple food. And then people would eat moroho next to it. Moroho is really just any kind of cooked greens. So a lot of times it was cabbage just chopped up and cooked with some oil and salt. And you would eat that with the papa. It was very good.

[Assistant] Onions, any onions or garlic?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] In Lesotho, the base, the core of the meal really is papa, which is a kind of a cornmeal mush. I think in the United States, it would be comparable to grits. But it's definitely very firm. So that was the staple food. And then people would eat moroho next to it. Moroho is really just any kind of cooked greens. So a lot of times it was cabbage just chopped up and cooked with some oil and salt. And you would eat that with the papa. It was very good.

[Assistant] Onions, any onions or garlic?

[User] Sometimes they would put onions and garlic with beans or when they would make chicken or something. But not, not usually. Sometimes, yeah, they would make these kind of baked beans on the side. Meat was usually for special occasions or on Sunday.

[Assistant] Fish?

[User] No, no fish. It's a mountain country. There were not a lot of, um, not a lot of fish there.

[Assistant] And if there was.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Sometimes they would put onions and garlic with beans or when they would make chicken or something. But not, not usually. Sometimes, yeah, they would make these kind of baked beans on the side. Meat was usually for special occasions or on Sunday.

[Assistant] Fish?

[User] No, no fish. It's a mountain country. There were not a lot of, um, not a lot of fish there.

[Assistant] And if there was.

[User] Chicken. Chicken was the big thing for meat.

[Assistant] Uh huh. Did your host family ever invite you to come and sit with them and eat?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] No, no fish. It's a mountain country. There were not a lot of, um, not a lot of fish there.

[Assistant] And if there was.

[User] Chicken. Chicken was the big thing for meat.

[Assistant] Uh huh. Did your host family ever invite you to come and sit with them and eat?

[User] Yes. Yes, they did. They were lovely people. And yeah, they would lots of times. Or if they thought that I was having a hard day or anything, they would just welcome me inside. Or if I was just there talking with my host mom, who was great, and we would talk all the time.

[Assistant] So she was the, what did you say, she was the principal of the school?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Chicken. Chicken was the big thing for meat.

[Assistant] Uh huh. Did your host family ever invite you to come and sit with them and eat?

[User] Yes. Yes, they did. They were lovely people. And yeah, they would lots of times. Or if they thought that I was having a hard day or anything, they would just welcome me inside. Or if I was just there talking with my host mom, who was great, and we would talk all the time.

[Assistant] So she was the, what did you say, she was the principal of the school?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] The principal of the school that you were working in. So she was also your counterpart?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] She was not my counterpart. I worked at two schools. So I worked at the primary school in Tabola. And she definitely was my main reference for that school. But I guess the main school that I was supposed to be really working with was another school called Lepholisa. So my school into Tabola was called Mopeli. My host mother was called Matabo Mognani and she was the principal of Mopeli Primary School. Then my, my other school was Lepholisa Primary School, and my counterpart was a teacher there.

[Assistant] Ah.

[User] And my principal just was obviously a main resource for me at that school as well. And I think the reason I was put to work there as well and that was kind of my, um. The name of the school on the paper that I was assigned to was, because it was just less funded than the Mopeli that I worked. Mopeli was a government school. So they had all this, these resources from the government and the government provided the building, textbooks, things like that. Lepholisa, which was the village across the road, is a church school. So they only had funding through the church. It's considered a private school, and they just didn't have as many resources and as much funding. And the school building was just not very large and students had to share classes and all of that.

[Assistant] Mm hmm.

[User] So two very different schools. Mopeli had one classroom per grade. So it was, uh, yeah, better management of classes there.

[Assistant] Uh huh. An easier environment in which to teach.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] And my principal just was obviously a main resource for me at that school as well. And I think the reason I was put to work there as well and that was kind of my, um. The name of the school on the paper that I was assigned to was, because it was just less funded than the Mopeli that I worked. Mopeli was a government school. So they had all this, these resources from the government and the government provided the building, textbooks, things like that. Lepholisa, which was the village across the road, is a church school. So they only had funding through the church. It's considered a private school, and they just didn't have as many resources and as much funding. And the school building was just not very large and students had to share classes and all of that.

[Assistant] Mm hmm.

[User] So two very different schools. Mopeli had one classroom per grade. So it was, uh, yeah, better management of classes there.

[Assistant] Uh huh. An easier environment in which to teach.

[User] Exactly. Yes.

[Assistant] So let's, let's go to school.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] So two very different schools. Mopeli had one classroom per grade. So it was, uh, yeah, better management of classes there.

[Assistant] Uh huh. An easier environment in which to teach.

[User] Exactly. Yes.

[Assistant] So let's, let's go to school.

[User] Okay.

[Assistant] Let's, let's go to school at Mopeli first. What's that like?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Okay.

[Assistant] Let's, let's go to school at Mopeli first. What's that like?

[User] Well, Mopeli was really close to my house so I would just.

[Assistant] Walk over.

[User] In the morning, I would walk over in my little teacher's shoes and my colleagues would also probably be walking over at that time.

[Assistant] Well, wait a minute, your little teacher shoes?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] English in Lesotho is very important. It's an official language. The two official languages are Sesotho and English.

[Assistant] Okay.

[User] And the reason it was so important was because their final exams, students, when they reached 12th grade, their final exams were in English.

[Assistant] Oh, boy.

[User] Yes. Even the math portion, everything. The only part that was in Sesotho was the Sesotho part. Everything else was in English, at least at that time.

[Assistant] I suppose that would be true in South Africa as well.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] And the reason it was so important was because their final exams, students, when they reached 12th grade, their final exams were in English.

[Assistant] Oh, boy.

[User] Yes. Even the math portion, everything. The only part that was in Sesotho was the Sesotho part. Everything else was in English, at least at that time.

[Assistant] I suppose that would be true in South Africa as well.

[User] Yes. Also a lot of, I mean, there were a lot of job opportunities in South Africa and South Africa has a lot of languages. And so really English is kind of a primary connector between all the different communities there that speak different languages.

[Assistant] So of course, your host mother, who's the principal of the government school, would, would be a good English speaker.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yes. Even the math portion, everything. The only part that was in Sesotho was the Sesotho part. Everything else was in English, at least at that time.

[Assistant] I suppose that would be true in South Africa as well.

[User] Yes. Also a lot of, I mean, there were a lot of job opportunities in South Africa and South Africa has a lot of languages. And so really English is kind of a primary connector between all the different communities there that speak different languages.

[Assistant] So of course, your host mother, who's the principal of the government school, would, would be a good English speaker.

[User] Yes, she spoke English very well. Yes. And I, you know, I taught there and I had my own little office, which was the school library, which the volunteer before me had set up with the help of another volunteer. They worked on that, I think, together. So there were already books at this school and there was already a little library, and I suppose that's where she had her little office. And so that was my office, which was really nice. I inherited a nice little working space.

[Assistant] Does that mean you were also the librarian?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yes. Also a lot of, I mean, there were a lot of job opportunities in South Africa and South Africa has a lot of languages. And so really English is kind of a primary connector between all the different communities there that speak different languages.

[Assistant] So of course, your host mother, who's the principal of the government school, would, would be a good English speaker.

[User] Yes, she spoke English very well. Yes. And I, you know, I taught there and I had my own little office, which was the school library, which the volunteer before me had set up with the help of another volunteer. They worked on that, I think, together. So there were already books at this school and there was already a little library, and I suppose that's where she had her little office. And so that was my office, which was really nice. I inherited a nice little working space.

[Assistant] Does that mean you were also the librarian?

[User] It did. Of course, the volunteer before me had tried to set up a system that made the students accountable for taking care of the library. So she had a system where students would elect their classmates to be librarians. And so that would mean that, you know, once a week or something, you would come into the library and you would clean it and you would spend time in there to reorganize the books and all of that. You were kind of held accountable to pursue the students who were not returning the library books.

[Assistant] Oh, yes, yes.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yes, she spoke English very well. Yes. And I, you know, I taught there and I had my own little office, which was the school library, which the volunteer before me had set up with the help of another volunteer. They worked on that, I think, together. So there were already books at this school and there was already a little library, and I suppose that's where she had her little office. And so that was my office, which was really nice. I inherited a nice little working space.

[Assistant] Does that mean you were also the librarian?

[User] It did. Of course, the volunteer before me had tried to set up a system that made the students accountable for taking care of the library. So she had a system where students would elect their classmates to be librarians. And so that would mean that, you know, once a week or something, you would come into the library and you would clean it and you would spend time in there to reorganize the books and all of that. You were kind of held accountable to pursue the students who were not returning the library books.

[Assistant] Oh, yes, yes.

[User] Very important. People like that. So and I, of course, tried to maintain that tradition, and it worked pretty well, actually.

[Assistant] Did you ever meet that volunteer?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] It did. Of course, the volunteer before me had tried to set up a system that made the students accountable for taking care of the library. So she had a system where students would elect their classmates to be librarians. And so that would mean that, you know, once a week or something, you would come into the library and you would clean it and you would spend time in there to reorganize the books and all of that. You were kind of held accountable to pursue the students who were not returning the library books.

[Assistant] Oh, yes, yes.

[User] Very important. People like that. So and I, of course, tried to maintain that tradition, and it worked pretty well, actually.

[Assistant] Did you ever meet that volunteer?

[User] I did.

[Assistant] Oh, good, so you overlapped for a couple days or something?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I did.

[Assistant] Oh, good, so you overlapped for a couple days or something?

[User] We overlapped. Mm hmm. And she was such a great resource to me. I mean, she had a wonderful reputation, of course, in my village. And she, you know, if anything really also gave me a lot of things in her home, which was just so nice to, to really have a have a kind of one foot through the door already and, right, the little working space, all of these things that I just had inherited. It was just very easy to kind of step into that role.

[Assistant] That's great.

[User] And she was one of these teacher, teacher resources, so she wasn't necessarily teaching English, but she was a retired teacher from the United States who had come in as a resource for the school. And the library was a really big resource for the school. I would say that working in the library, being there, was probably I had my happiest moments in the Peace Corps in that library.

[Assistant] Ah. And did you, did you interact, when you were in the library you were working with students?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] We overlapped. Mm hmm. And she was such a great resource to me. I mean, she had a wonderful reputation, of course, in my village. And she, you know, if anything really also gave me a lot of things in her home, which was just so nice to, to really have a have a kind of one foot through the door already and, right, the little working space, all of these things that I just had inherited. It was just very easy to kind of step into that role.

[Assistant] That's great.

[User] And she was one of these teacher, teacher resources, so she wasn't necessarily teaching English, but she was a retired teacher from the United States who had come in as a resource for the school. And the library was a really big resource for the school. I would say that working in the library, being there, was probably I had my happiest moments in the Peace Corps in that library.

[Assistant] Ah. And did you, did you interact, when you were in the library you were working with students?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] Interacting with them?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] And she was one of these teacher, teacher resources, so she wasn't necessarily teaching English, but she was a retired teacher from the United States who had come in as a resource for the school. And the library was a really big resource for the school. I would say that working in the library, being there, was probably I had my happiest moments in the Peace Corps in that library.

[Assistant] Ah. And did you, did you interact, when you were in the library you were working with students?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] Interacting with them?

[User] So that would be my office space for when I was planning my lessons and all of that. And I would basically just walk into the class. When it was time for English, I would walk into the class and do my little 40 minutes of English. I loved it so much. It was just so fun.

[Assistant] And so a class was 40 minutes long?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] Interacting with them?

[User] So that would be my office space for when I was planning my lessons and all of that. And I would basically just walk into the class. When it was time for English, I would walk into the class and do my little 40 minutes of English. I loved it so much. It was just so fun.

[Assistant] And so a class was 40 minutes long?

[User] 40 minutes long. My school was small, so I had between. It was like around 20, 25 students per class.

[Assistant] Fifth, sixth and seventh grade.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] So that would be my office space for when I was planning my lessons and all of that. And I would basically just walk into the class. When it was time for English, I would walk into the class and do my little 40 minutes of English. I loved it so much. It was just so fun.

[Assistant] And so a class was 40 minutes long?

[User] 40 minutes long. My school was small, so I had between. It was like around 20, 25 students per class.

[Assistant] Fifth, sixth and seventh grade.

[User] Yep. Each class was around that size. So I would go into those classes at different points of the day, and I would help out with other things. Sometimes, you know, a teacher needed help with something. I was just also a resource for other things. And I, I maintained the library and all of that.

[Assistant] So let's walk into a classroom.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] 40 minutes long. My school was small, so I had between. It was like around 20, 25 students per class.

[Assistant] Fifth, sixth and seventh grade.

[User] Yep. Each class was around that size. So I would go into those classes at different points of the day, and I would help out with other things. Sometimes, you know, a teacher needed help with something. I was just also a resource for other things. And I, I maintained the library and all of that.

[Assistant] So let's walk into a classroom.

[User] Okay.

[Assistant] Fifth grade. You walk in. Do the students stand up to greet you?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yep. Each class was around that size. So I would go into those classes at different points of the day, and I would help out with other things. Sometimes, you know, a teacher needed help with something. I was just also a resource for other things. And I, I maintained the library and all of that.

[Assistant] So let's walk into a classroom.

[User] Okay.

[Assistant] Fifth grade. You walk in. Do the students stand up to greet you?

[User] No.

[Assistant] Do they? How do you begin the, the hour that, your 40 minutes?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Okay.

[Assistant] Fifth grade. You walk in. Do the students stand up to greet you?

[User] No.

[Assistant] Do they? How do you begin the, the hour that, your 40 minutes?

[User] I think maybe at the beginning, when I was new, they would stand up to greet me and it would be like. I would say, you know, in Sesotho I would say, good morning.

[Assistant] You would say it in Sesotho?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] No.

[Assistant] Do they? How do you begin the, the hour that, your 40 minutes?

[User] I think maybe at the beginning, when I was new, they would stand up to greet me and it would be like. I would say, you know, in Sesotho I would say, good morning.

[Assistant] You would say it in Sesotho?

[User] Mm hmm.

[Assistant] Oh, let's hear it.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Mm hmm.

[Assistant] Oh, let's hear it.

[User] I would say dumelang, which is just hello. And they'd say, dumelang, madam. They would call me madam. Yes. And I would say, le phela jwang, which means, how are you? How are you all? And they would say, [speaks Sesotho], or we're good, you know, [speaks Sesotho]. How are you? And I would say, [speaks Sesotho]. I'm good. Because, of course, greetings were very important.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] So or I would say it in English too, sometimes. But really at the beginning I did it in Sesotho. And I structured my classes so that I would have a warmup and we would go through the English curriculum that was already set up. So I would base my lessons on, on that information.

[Assistant] Students had textbooks for this English class?