So I live on St. Leonard's mission in Semonkong. This means my landlord is the priest, Father Toloana. He's a soft spoken thin man no taller than maybe 5'3. His stature does not in anyway reflect his influence on the people he works with. Similarly, his soft spoken-ness contradicts his captain-of-this-ship mentality that demands a certain degree of authority.
Toloana and I share a cordial relationship. We greet each other and occasionally we chat. As a stubborn American I have done a couple things that bother this poor man and which do rattle his cage of control.
In my ever so American way I look for the quickest way to do things. How to get into town, off the compound or which ever direction is most direct are just thoughts that come natural. Anything otherwise seems a waste of time and energy. Even according to African time, I just can't 'waste time'.
My house is really back behind most of the compound; the “main entrance” where the church, the clinic, the parish offices, and the priest's house are all located. This proves to provide a bit of privacy when desired which is fine. A fence with a gate separates my house, at the end of the housing accommodations closest to the gate and the rest of Semonkong. Before, I would use this gate all the time. Most of that time it was open and passable but one day I came to find one of the farm hands wiring the gate shut not with one strand or two strands of wire but multiple strands wrapped to secure the gate. The farm hand turned to me and said “Ntate Toloana no want you to pass here. He want you go around” and he directed me to the main entrance. My counterpart later confirmed that he had said something to her. Since then he has also fixed weak spots in the fence where I was passing through just like I used to do when on the farm in VA.
In another situation, there is a dog which another volunteer from Skillshare International had adopted but left once she headed home. This dog is not like the other ten dogs on the compound or like dogs in Lesotho. This dog has some personality, does not approach people to bite them, and wags its tail when I come home. It reminds me most of American pets and the relationships that pets have with their human masters in the US. The dog came to me looking for attention when I first moved here in August. The priest, however, shakes his head every time he sees the dog come up to me, act out or jump. I know deep down he wishes all his dogs were that much fun. Really, dogs here are strictly utility and since local people know that, it scares them to see a dog act in such a way.
By the end of these two years I may either have to move or Toloana will have a heart attack because of my goings-ons around this compound. I still climb over the fence. If you were here you would do the same thing, I would think!! My dog is my new best friend here too so I'm not going to turn on her. She's is really nice, has a lot of energy, but no one works with her. I'll convence Basotho that dogs can have multiple uses; maybe!
At any rate, Toloana is still really nice to my face and he shares a great deal of the missions resources with me regularly. I still joke with my counterparts about him wanting to deport me but I think if he had his choice he would only send me to another town!