There are many differences between Lesotho and Wales. Yet there are many things that we share in common. One of the things that we share are

                      NO UNIFORM DAYS.  

Recently in St James we had one such day. The purpose was to raise funds for the school choir to attend a local singing competition. If you did not want to wear your uniform you had to pay 2 Maluti ( which is about 20p).

Here are some of the children in their non uniform day clothes

4 weeks to go before the end of term, when school closes for the winter break here in Lesotho and I return home to Wales. So the time has come to talk about this very important topic. I have been putting it off for a number of weeks, thinking about when was the best time to include it in my blog.

You may be thinking what could be so important. It is a subject close to my heart and that of my friend Hywel. You may love them, you may hate them. So what am I talking about?   

                       SCHOOL DINNERS

Ok, it might not be that important. They are fine some days, if you don’t like what is being cooked that day you may take in sandwiches, have Tuc, or even have a baked potato with a choice of fillings. There is a pudding after your main meal or a choice of a piece fruit. The menu changes quite regularly. You eat inside on tables and chairs, have knives, forks and spoons. The food is served to you on plates and in bowls, which you leave for others to wash up.

Things are a little different here in Lesotho.

Where can I start?

A meal is provided for every child. Everything seems the same so far. But that is about it as far as the similarities are concerned.

The meal on a Monday is the same every Monday

The meal on a Tuesday is the same every Tuesday   

The meal on a Wednesday is the same every Wednesday   

The meal on a Thursday is the same every Thursday   

The meal on a Friday is the same every Friday. 

Every week, of every month, throughout the school year is the same. What is more there is no special Christmas Dinner.

Take a look, 

Monday:        Papa and moroho (Papa is ground maize - what we call corn on the cob- moroho is usually cabbage, but sometimes it can be spinach).

Tuesday:      Pea soup and 5 slices of brown bread.

Wednesday: Papa, moroho and a boiled egg. (sorry no picture of a boiled egg. I think you know what one looks like)

Thursday:   Samp ( again is maize, this time, the outside of each corn seed is removed to leave the softer inside- the lumpy bits in the picture. One can add dried beans or peas in the cooking. Spot the beans in the picture.   

Friday:       Papa in warm milk.

The food is served outside. If it is raining the ladies who make and serve the food may either go into a classroom or under one of the outdoor shelters.

You need to bring your own plastic container to put the food in.

No knives or forks, to eat the food you have to use your fingers.

Anything else? Oh yes, you are responsible for washing our own container.

Little different, what do you think?

Perhaps you would like to give these school dinners a try.

A Scary Week  

Whatever you do, do not go down a dark alley late at night you may meet up with some scary people just like the ones in this picture. They are the children from Standard 1(the youngest in the school at 6 and under.

Well they are not actually scary, what could have been scary is the fact that these children have little or no English and I have even less Sesotho(the language of Lesotho).

Imagine that one day you arrived in school in Wales to find that your teacher was ill and would not be in for 1 week. A replacement teacher had been found to teach you, the only problem is that this teacher can only speak Russian!! How would you feel, what would you do if you wanted a drink or go to the toilet?

I was fortunate that the Standard 1 teachers were also in the classroom. There was however an exception on one day when one of the Standard 1 teachers was unable to get into school for the first 3 hours of the school day. We still had a good time for the children now can sing twinkle, twinkle, little star and head, shoulders knees and toes with actions.

We also did a little work from some pictures can you see what subject we are working on?

On the plus + side this may help you.    

              

  

   

Khomelho, age 4 the youngest and smallest St James pupil

 sorry about the delay in this week's  blog, technology problems

End of term activities

End of term activities

What happened on the last day of term in your school? No lessons, perhaps you had a no uniform day and were able to take your Nintendo to school or do something on the internet. There may have been some fun activities organised by the teachers or you just played some games.  

The last day of term is somewhat different in St James.

 How would you like to clean your classroom?

 I don’t mean tidy up and put things back in their proper place to make the classroom neat and tidy.

 I actually mean, clean, using brushes to sweep the classroom, water to wash the floor and finally if available, polish, to make the floor shine. Almost forgot take all the desks out of the classroom first and when the floor is dry and polished take the desks back into the classroom.

 If you were not cleaning the classroom you might be washing the windows or sweeping the paths around the school.

 Take a look at the pictures that are coming up.