In this interview, we hear from Alexandra Moldowan. Alexandra is a Peace Corps volunteer working as a Education volunteer in Lesotho. What Alexandra shares gives us a better understanding of the work volunteers do. We learn about the challenges, rewards, and personal growth that happens from volunteering in a new place. Alexandra talks about living in a different country, working with local people, and dealing with surprise situations. Join us as we learn about Alexandra’s journey and see how volunteering with Peace Corps can change lives.
Table of Contents
- Volunteer Experience and Motivation
- Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
- Surprises and Challenges
- Advice and Support
- Practical Tips and Language Learning
- Social Identity during Service
- Impact of Media and Final Thoughts
Volunteer Experience and Motivation
1. Tell us more about serving as an Education volunteer in Lesotho
In Lesotho, education volunteers are placed in primary schools to teach English, math, and life skills classes. We are all primarily in grade 4 with our co-teacher but I, as well as many other volunteers, bounce around between all the grades often!
On my typical day, I walk a quarter mile to my school, go to morning assembly, and then spend my morning in grade 4 teaching English and math to my 30 students. After this, I head over to grade 7 and work on English writing and reading. We have lunch at school (papa and peas or papa and beans… yum!), and then I spend the last couple hours working on projects.
While I’ve been here I’ve written and received a grant for a water pump project, worked on our greenhouse with an agricultural club, ran a GRS (Grassroots Soccer) club, painted some murals around the school, and am now working on organizing and putting together a library! As PCVs we have a lot of freedom in the school so while our primary project is teaching, many volunteers end up working on other clubs or projects if they choose to do so!
2. What motivated you to join the Peace Corps and choose Lesotho?
I actually applied to the Peace Corps as a ‘send me where most needed’ and was placed in Lesotho for Education. I knew that I wanted to move internationally and work in an environment where I could build relationships and do something that felt purposeful. Peace Corps checks all of those boxes! I started service in Lesotho right after graduating from CU Boulder and I’m really glad I did this straight out of college.
Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
3. Tell us more about your home situation
I live in a rondavel with no electricity (many volunteers here do have electricity. I was just a lucky one that gets to use my solar charger more often…) or running water in a beautiful and picturesque rural valley. My rondavel is right next to my host family’s house so I can interact with them as much/little as I’d like, which has been nice to have a good balance of being close neighbors and still maintaining some privacy!
Summers are hot and winters are cold – the weather often reminds me of Colorado where I’m from.
Being in a rural site has its challenges of being far out and dealing with isolation and boredom at times. Some volunteers have other members of their cohort in close proximity, but for the most part, it’s difficult to get to other volunteers’ sites so I really only see other PCVs when we meet up in town.
My village also has very low English speaking levels so deeply connecting with others can be a challenge when my Sesotho skills fail me. Even so, I’ve become close with my host sister, neighbor, and teachers at my school, and hang out with students or neighborhood kids when they pay me visits after school. I find joy and comfort in going on runs and hikes around my village or sitting down at the river and being in nature. It can be challenging to find produce in my village, but it is easy to get to town via a 2-hour taxi ride on the weekends and stock up on anything I may need. I often take town trips on Saturdays to go and visit with other volunteers as well.
The traditional meals here are typically papa (a stiff porridge made of corn meal), moroho (cooked leafy greens), and eggs, beans, or whatever meat is around. I enjoy cooking and have had fun introducing my neighbors to other dishes like pancakes, tacos, and fried rice 🙂
4. Any memorable experiences or interactions you’ve had?
My students are the funniest, best people ever and I am constantly having memorable interactions with them. These include working together to get a bat out of my classroom, coloring on my front stoop, having fun conversations at school, and swapping sunglasses. These kids constantly amaze and inspire me and I adore them to no end!
Culturally, there are traditional doctors and witches around the village who I rarely interact with, but came into conversation when my host sister told me she wouldn’t help me cut my hair. When I asked why, she was saying I shouldn’t trust anyone with white hair because the witches would take it to make potions for people to get rich (foreigners are rare to see here and anyone who is white is typically automatically viewed as wealthy). Shocked, I laughed with her about the whole thing.
But then a couple months later I found myself in a bus going to another town when a man plucked a hair from my head! After making him return my singular piece of hair to me, I couldn’t help laughing to myself at how different cultural beliefs can be and that I should always heed my host sister’s wisdom 🙂
There are also so many memorable experiences I’ve had traveling around the country and southern Africa with other volunteers and collecting new memories and stories with all my best friends!
Surprises and Challenges
5. What has surprised you most about challenges in Lesotho?
Honestly, things like hauling water on my head and washing clothes in the river have become very normal. I expected those life changes to be the most challenging. What has really been challenging is the brokenness of the education system and the difficulty of making a difference in it.
Many kids don’t speak any English and have to if they want to go to high school or any further education. There are often high dropout rates and child marriages. And, unfortunately, you run into a lot of teachers who don’t have the passion for teaching and won’t work as hard as my American self is used to seeing.
So it’s been challenging to find the attitude of finding purpose in work and knowing you are making a difference to at least a few kids, and hey, that’s enough! The education system is broken and obviously, it takes big cultural and systemic shifts to change that, so learning to operate the best you can with what you’re given is an important attitude to have!
For any volunteer, I would recommend talking to volunteers currently serving in your prospective country to see what challenges they face with working in international development and their staff and everything. Service is drastically different for everyone and the Peace Corps staff and policies in the country have a big effect on that!
6. What challenges did you face while working on Education projects?
Teaching is a hard job to have! The kids in the rural villages don’t speak nearly the amount of English they should (all schooling after grade 4 is supposed to be taught in English) so it can be discouraging to run into language barrier challenges. And, just in general, it’s tough to know that kids are so behind where they should be.
Having an attitude of doing your best and knowing it isn’t your responsibility to reach every single learner is a must! Learning enough language to communicate well with the kids and be able to explain little things in Sesotho is also wildly helpful in the classroom. Corporal punishment is also a thing here, unfortunately, so that has also been another tough thing to see and combat in my school.
Another tough challenge is that many projects unfold at a much slower pace than my American, fast-paced work culture self is used to! Slowing down and recognizing the cultural differences in time value has been tough for me but necessary if I don’t want to be frustrated by slow progress all the time 🙂
7. Could you share some of the secondary projects you have been involved?
At the time of writing this, I’ve been in Lesotho for over 1.5 years so have had ample time for all of these projects! I have worked with teachers to get a few clubs started – a spelling club, an English club, and a Grassroots Soccer club. These have all occurred at different times in the school year, so it’s been manageable doing one club at a time.
Borehole and Wanter Pump Grant
I wrote a grant for the school to have a consistent source of water via a borehole and water pump that was approved! However, due to the government freeze on funding, our grant was paused right before we could start on the work for this project. TBD if we will get to complete this grant project or not.
School Greenhouse
We have a greenhouse at the school built by a previous volunteer so have worked on agriculture projects with the students and community to keep some veggies growing for school lunch use!
Student Murals
I love art and painting so I have done a few murals at the school with the help of some of the older students and have had a blast with it! I also collaborated with another volunteer to paint a big mural at their clinic which was just a blast. Hoping to get a small art club going for one of the last school quarters as well.
Student-run Library
My current side project is organizing the books we have into a student-run library! So far, so good and I’m hoping that it will be a success.
Advice and Support
8. What advice would you give to someone considering serving as an Education volunteer in Lesotho?
Teaching is challenging, but the students are awesome and will love you so much – it is such a rewarding job! It took a few months for the kids to get used to my accent and teaching style, so if you’re feeling discouraged at first know that it does get better!
Lesotho can have some more rural sites as well which can be a challenge for some – I have been intentional about meeting up with volunteers and maintaining my relationships and I’d recommend the same! You’ll also have a LOT of free time for hobbies so I’d recommend getting creative with new ways to spend your downtime.
9. How has the Peace Corps training helped you during your service?
All the volunteers that have put in the effort with language training have not regretted it one bit! Especially in more rural villages, English levels can be low and you really need to know some Sesotho to connect with your students and community. So I would say definitely take language training seriously while you have the resources for it in PST! It really will help out with service a lot.
Also, have fun with your cohort and establish good relationships during PST. I have such good friends and our cohort all gets along so well that it’s fun to meet up for adventures or see each other during in-service training. I can’t imagine service without a support system here and my relationships with my cohort give me that!
Practical Tips and Language Learning
10. Anything that you packed or didn’t pack that you’d like to tell future Lesotho volunteers?
Since you’ll be washing clothes by hand, lightweight and quick dry materials are a Godsend! My quick dry towel and athletic material clothes are the MVPs of my suitcase. I don’t wear shorts in my village (most female volunteers don’t since it’s uncommon for women to wear them) so having some skirts and dresses has been nice for hot summer days when I don’t feel like roasting in jeans.
When traveling around, a good backpacking/travel backpack is really nice for weekend trips to sightseeing and visiting other volunteers. I’m also really glad I brought art supplies, my guitar, and a Kindle since there is a lot of downtime in the village, and filling it with hobbies has been lovely. My family has sent me packages with stickers and stamps to use in my classroom and the kids adore those, so bring them or add them to the list for care packages!
The best advice I got was to pack for PST and not for 2 years. Don’t get too stressed about it, you can always have family mail things to you or find anything you forgot in the capital (there are 2 malls there with lots of good stores!).
11. How has learning the language been?
We learn Sesotho primarily during PST. Some volunteers will run into Xhosa at their sites, but that is in the grand minority. I feel that you learn everything you need during PST and can continue language learning when you get to site via a tutor or your host family. As I said before, take language learning seriously during training.
In towns, enough people speak English that you can get by without it, but it’s helpful to have language skills in your village. I wouldn’t say you need to try and learn any before coming, use that time to spend with family and friends and eating all the yummy USA food!
Social Identity during Service
12. In what ways do you think a woman has shaped your service?
As a female volunteer, you have some different expectations culturally – I’m asked what I’m cooking a lot, get lots of attention in town with marriage proposals or people asking for my phone number, and just in general are pestered a bit more than the male volunteers. In my opinion, this extra attention is manageable albeit annoying, and gets old quickly.
Women don’t often drink or go to bars, so I follow that in my village and will only go for a beer or out to a bar if I’m with other volunteers. Socially, the male volunteers are able to integrate by going to the village bar to play pool and hang out while female volunteers may be judged if they are doing the same alone. All that said, I truly have never felt unsafe as a female here or that I’m particularly missing out by not partaking in certain “male” activities in my village.
13. What challenges have you faced, especially as woman, and how did you overcome them?
The biggest challenge for me as a female volunteer has just been dealing with unwanted attention. I usually will tell people in urban areas that I’m married if men are trying to approach me and that typically works to deter people. Most female volunteers run into this but we’ve all found our own way of dealing with it and for me, it has always been more of an annoyance than a safety concern.
As a white American, I am also often asked for money or food. This can also be frustrating that there is just an assumption that I’m extraordinarily wealthy (unfortunately this is simply not the case!) and can get old hearing the same plea for money over and over. You generally just have to say no and move on, even if it seems like that person may need help. This is a harsh reality and a tough thing to bear at times.
14. What advice would you give to other women considering joining the Peace Corps?
Females in other countries are viewed differently than in America. It’s unfortunate at times to not be treated with as much respect as the male volunteers and definitely frustrating. But you’re brave and strong and will persevere! Peace Corps comes with challenges for people of every identity and it’s part of service to recognize and overcome these issues. You got it 🙂
Foreigners in general get a lot of attention in Lesotho so just prepare yourself for that! You’ll develop strategies and ways that work for you to deal with it and this won’t be a huge deal, but has continued to be an annoyance throughout service for me.
Impact of Media and Final Thoughts
15. How do you think your blog contributes to your overall mission as a Peace Corps volunteer?
I have kept a blog really just to share updates with my friends and family back home. It’s much easier to write a blog post each month than to have the same conversation with everyone in the US! It has been a fun added bonus that future Lesotho PCVs have found my blog and reached out. I’ve gotten to have some fun conversations because of it and love that I can share my experience in this way and hopefully be of some help to other/future PCVs.
16. Any last comments or observations you’d like to pass on to future Lesotho volunteers?
Some random things I remember wanting to know before coming:
- Packages from the USA take about 1-3 months to get here and are delivered to your Camptown (the main town in your district).
- Every site is required to have cell service (some work better than others) so don’t worry about staying in touch with people. I call/text/Facetime my family and friends regularly! Some volunteers will even get wifi for their sites.
- Tattoos are no biggie here – most volunteers keep them covered for a little bit while getting to know their village and then are fine showing them once a little integrated.
- Education volunteers have 2 big breaks (June/July and December/January) and 2 week breaks (one in October and one over Easter) to take vacations out of the country. Health volunteers can take vacation whenever.
- On average volunteers are about an hour or two from the next closest volunteer.
- The capital of Maseru is off-limits and you can only go there with special permission or if you have medical/PC appointments. They will bring you to the malls there at the end of PST to get everything you need for site.
- Afriski, Semonkong, Malealea Lodge, Sani Pass, and national parks are all fun places to see in Lesotho! Have fun with in-country adventures. A lot of volunteers travel around southern Africa a lot so if you want to do more international travel, know that your stipend will not cover any
Lesotho is a gorgeous country and it has been so fun traveling around to different districts, seeing the sights, and experiencing the culture. There is something unique in each district and it’s been a joy to explore. I can’t wait for your journey with Peace Corps in the Mountain Kingdom!
What are you waiting for? Opportunities like this don’t come often. If you have a passion for service and an adventurous spirit like Alexandra’s, apply to the Peace Corps today. Expand your horizons, push your limits, and create positive impact as a volunteer. You never know how serving as a Peace Corps volunteer could change your life.
The content of this post does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or Lesotho Government.
