Farewell Lunch Maseru

The ride out of the Maloti Mountains was long, slow and beautiful.  Surprisingly, we didn't pick up any riders as no one was hitchhiking that day.  We saw large flocks of Merino Sheep and Angora Goats, which are very cute by the way.

We didn't know where we were going to stop for the night.  I was trying to plan to meet with a former student of mine.  Dr. Mokone 'Musi was my student for 2 years at the junior high school level.  I learned about his position as a professor of developmental studies at the National University of Lesotho from the Headmaster at my old school in Lesobeng.  He was such gentle and intelligent young man, I am not at all surprised at how well he has done.  He was so good at maths, that I was surprised that he had not pursued a technical career path, but the one he chose is probably more important to the future progress of Lesotho and I am very proud of him for that.  But, I'll came back to the story of our lunch after telling of the events that preceded our meeting.

Once we arrived in Mantsonyane, the rocky roads were behind us.  We were on nicely paved roads built by the Chinese government, who has invested heavily in Lesotho.  After passing the small village of Marakabei, we came to a police checkpoint.  We stopped and a uniformed officer asked me for the usual documents.  He inspected my rental car and told us that a permit on the windshield was past it's expiration date.  He then informed me that he would need to impound the vehicle and we would have to be detained until a local court went into session in about 5 days. He further explained, very politely, that the penalty for this offense was one year in prison and a fine of R10,000, about $500.  

I began to explain to him that this was a rental car, and they rental car company was surely the guilty party.  That fact was of little interest to him.  I began to tell him how bad this news was for me as I was having such a beautiful time in Lesotho.    At this time Frances joined into the Kabuki and began to weep and sniffle loudly enough so that he could hear.  He tried to comfort her and asked her not to cry.  

I explained that this development was very troubling to my wife.  I asked him if there was some way I could pay a fine for this offense and be allowed to continue my journey.  He suggested that I exit the vehicle and walk to the back of the car.  He had noticed a case of Maloti lager that I had in the truck bed.  He asked me if I liked that beer.  I said yes.  He told me that he prefered other beer and that he did not like that beer very much.  He asked me if I thought the rental car company would reimburse me for any fine.  I said that I thought they might I'd I had a receipt.  He said that unfortunately, the only way to get a receipt was to wait for a court hearing.  

So, we were now down to the opening bid.  I was not informed as to the typical fine that is expected in this situation, so I was at a disadvantage.  On the other hand, the Rand is very weak, so the dollar amount would likely be low.  One point of interest is the fact that these checkpoints are often situated near ATM machines.

I suggested that I could perhaps express great regret at my offense and pay a spot fine of R600, about $30.  Indicating that I had exceed the mean, he instantly found this very acceptable.  He wrote a note and gave it to me.  He said that it had his name, service number and cell phone number.  If I were to encounter another road block I was to offer this to that officer who would call him to confirm that I had paid my fine.

I entered the vehicle.  He once again asked Frances to please stop crying and we rolled away.  To my surprise, Frances revealed that she is a poker player when she said that she was contemplating exiting the vehicle and extending her arms demanding to be cuffed and taken to jail.  Gutsy, but I'm glad that this remained a thought experiment for her.

We drove a few more miles and came once again to the Molimo Ntuhse Lodge after passing the last major mountain pass to exit the highlands.  We pulled in for lunch, it was about 2PM.  And had a beautiful meal of Lesotho trout.  Fabulous.  After eating and resting from the hours of driving from Lesobeng, we decided to stay for the night.  They were running a Valentine's Day special and we got a beautiful room with a deck overlooking a stream and one of the densest stand of trees I have ever seen in Lesotho.

After a few back and forth messages, Dr 'Musi and I agreed to meet in Maseru at Lancer's Hotel for lunch.  We had several Peace Corps dinners at this hotel.  It is also conveniently located near the border.  We planned to cross over into South Africa after lunch.

We had exchanged photos after not having seen each other for so long, but upon meeting we had no trouble recognizing each other.  We waited a moment for his wife to arrive and then went into the dining room for dinner.

What do you talk about with someone you haven't seen for 40 years.  It turns out that there is a lot to talk about.  We talked about our time at the school, his educational path and career, his wife's job as a prison Warden, kids, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, the textile business in Lesotho (that's for you, pop), communal land in Lesotho, the career path of shepherds now that the mining jobs have vanished, the Lesotho football team, the election in Guatemala, my career, Frances' career, visiting the US, retirement planning and pension at the University, the quality of the peach crop this year, the role of the Chinese in developing Lesotho, solar power in highland villages, soap opera that don't depict village life, traffic Maseru, my neighbor Barbara and dyslexic instruction. I'm sure there was more.

This was a profound moment for me.  I was only a teacher for two years and this is the only time I have encountered a former student.  To have him say the following to me gives me indescribable satisfaction and happiness.

"Thanks ntate Edgar for having lunch with us today.  It was wonderful. Like I told you,  you shaped our lives so much. Much of what I am today I owe it from your inspiration.  It was like a dream meeting you after 40 years.  Thanks very much for the gesture and for your wife who has been on your side for all the years.  I can't stop reading your blog. You have inspired me, I will go to Lesobeng soon to see the likes of Ntate Lira, Ntate Mofihli and others."

This was a day I will never forget.