When I dream of worldwide travel, I think of Italy, France, Austria. I dream of touring such places with husband on the back of a motorcycle. (Well, technically, I'd be on the back...I wouldn't make him sit in the bitch seat. Europeans may not understand that set up.) I conjure up visions of Tuscany, the Eiffel Tower or the Alps.
Why on earth would someone dream of traveling to a third world country, and planting roots there for the next two years?
Well, I have such a friend, Kelly. She dreamt of changing the world, not just exotic travels. She dreamt of Africa...and she went. The Peace Corps was lucky to get such a wonderful person. Someone with such drive, and such determination to help.
Rainbow over gorge - Malealea, Lesotho, Southern Africa
Now I find myself stalking her electronically. Trying to find out more about where she lives, what she does all day. She has posted some beautiful photos of the small African country she has moved to. Lesotho is a small mountainous kingdom, surrounded by South Africa. Not at all like the visions of lions and elephants I had. Thanks to her, I am learning a new culture, even learning a new language to some extent. Her fellow Peace Corps Volunteers have become a part of my quest. These people are amazing, to leave everything they have, pack a life into a 50 lb. backpack and move off to a country, where everything is foreign, even the food.
Luckily, they do have Doritos in Lesotho. Still, I don't think that is enough to make up for having to use a pit latrine for the next two years. But thanks to people like her, they will make a difference in this world.
Kelly's blog is "A Study in Contrasts" at www.astudyincontrasts.blogspot.com. If you want to see some amazing sunsets, cave paintings, or just another world, take a look. If you want to read some amazing things about other worlds, take a look again. She is an amazing writer, and an amazing person.
1,100 year old cave painting - Malealea, Lesotho, Southern Africa
Photos by © Kelly Ferneding
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