Clothing

It's taken me 4 months to write about the Basotho blankets. Maybe it's because it's now getting cold out so people are wearing them more now, or maybe it's because it's taken me 4 months to really appreciate them. But today, as I was driving home from Mapoteng, in the rain, cold, and wind, almost everyone I drove past was wearing a blanket. Here's a photo of a typical scene here in Lesotho.

So, usually, men where the blankets as you can see in the photo, while women wear them usually wrapped around their waists and pinned. Actually, the ones women wear are more like just regular blankets you'd have drapped across your couch. Women also wear the blankets around their shoulders, but probably only 50% of the time.

The traditional dress for women is called a Seshoeshoe. A lot of Westerns think the patterns and colors are really ugly and unflattering, but I'm really starting to appreciate the seshoeshoe, as well. We'll see if I show up wearing one when I get off the plane :) You can see in these photos that the models are fairly large women. It's not cliche, big is beautiful here. Actually, I was told yesterday that I should gain some weight here in Lesotho. I'm too thin, apparently, which is hilarious because I am the same size basically as when I arrived. And I'm not saying I'm big like these Basotho women, but I'm definitely not small by American standards. Perceptions are so different here, it's actually really refreshing. We need to get over the ultra-thin thing in the States. It's not that I think we should start clogging our arteries as a culture and growing into plumpies, but we certainly need to be more realistic about how we portray ourselves. This is nothing new, I know, but I guess the more people say it, the more it might become a reality that women shouldn't only be made out of skin and bones.

Now that I think about it, I may start having to wear a blanket because it's so cold here at night. I turned my heater on for the first time last night. I realize that for the past month, it's been like I've been camping because of the drafts coming through the walls. But last night was luxury!