And boy does it feel great to be back home in the WC house. Thanks to me losing my passport, I hadn’t really expected to get into Lilongwe until Thursday at the earliest. But luckily, despite quite a few hiccups, everything worked out.
So after my trip to the Embassy, I hung out at the program house for awhile. I really wanted to see my host mom, Tiny, in the hospital (she was planned to have a cesarean and have a baby girl!) but it didn’t look like it’d work out with the timing. I had a cab coming at 3:30 and it was already 1:30. I took a cab home and found my host dad and sister there. They’d met Atlha, the newest member of their family and were now letting mom and baby rest. They could go back and visit at 3. I didn’t think there’d be enough time to go to the hospital and back, but John convinced me there was. As we were waiting to leave, two of his constituents showed up at our house. He said they weren’t friends and that they’d just showed up to ask him for things. He was clearly annoyed and said that this is just what people did; they showed up to their representatives and asked for things. But isn’t that the point? Shouldn’t he be fighting for what his constituents want in parliament? It was weird to watch him dismiss these two men so easily when he was elected by them to serve them. I was impressed with the easy access these men had to their representative and upset with how easily John dismissed it.
So a few minutes after 3pm, we left the house for the hospital. We found Tiny and Atlha sleeping, although Tiny woke up when we walked in. Atlha had been born at 10am, so she was just five hours old. She was beautiful. Her little hands were all curled up and she was wearing one of those cute little hats the hospital gives to every new baby. I really wanted to hold her but also knew to never wake a sleeping baby.
At 3:20 we left for the house again. When we pulled up, Lala, my very trusted taxi driver was already waiting. He joked about me never being on time, because this was the second time he’d had to wait for me, although we pulled into the driveway at 3:29. I grabbed my bags, said goodbye to Ame, and hopped in the taxi. We drove the thirty minutes to the airport and I tried to check in. Tried being the key word in that sentence.
The lady at the desk told me I had to go to the special desk to get authorization to check in. So I did, and the man who helped me was a friend of Phono’s who I’d talked to on the phone when I was trying to move my tickets up. He printed out an authorization card and sent me back to the same lady. But when she tried to check me in again, she realized my ticket was booked for Dec. 27. So I went back to Phono’s friend and asked what he could do for me. He said although my ticket was for the 20th, my booking was for the 27th. WTF? He could change it for $200. I knew it was worth it but also asked if he could get that down at all. And he did! He got it to p200, which is approximate $64. So we changed my ticket to the right day and I checked in.
Then I went to security (after chugging my nalgene) where they didn’t notice the pocket knife I’d forgotten to take out of my backpack. They also didn’t care about the toothpaste or hand sanitizer I had with me. I got to the immigration desk and handed over my brand new passport. The immigration office was not happy I didn’t have an entry stamp. So I explained I’d lost my passport and therefore the stamp. She got on the phone with her supervisor for quite awhile and asked me a lot of questions. In addition to not having a stamp, I’d lost my visa extension paper that I’d paid for in Maun. So my original visa had expired as well. She asked why I’d stayed in Tlokweng, which is the address I’d given when I arrived. I was really confused until I realized the office had relocated to Gabs and I’d given the old address. So in addition to not having any of the correct paperwork, it seemed like I’d lied on my immigration form four months before.
She asked for a letter confirming I was a student but since I didn’t have one, really didn’t believe me. I told her that on my way into the country, I’d shown my program manual and that had been enough. She asked her supervisor to come over and told me to stand to the side and wait. So I waited a little less than ten minutes, until a woman on the biggest power trip ever walked over. She was strutting slowly and swinging her keychain back and forth. She came up to me, didn’t say hello, and asked for my passport. Since I didn’t have it, we walked over to the immigration both together and had a long conversation with the immigration officer. Again, I was asked for my visa extension papers and a letter proving I was a student. Since I didn’t have either, the supervisor and I went back out through security and called my bag off the plane. At first I thought she wouldn’t let me leave, but she just wanted to see my student manual. So I showed it to her, and she decided it was enough. We went back through security and I was given an exit stamp and allowed to run to my plane after they both told me independently that I should be much more careful the next time I came to Botswana and that they were doing me a huge favor. Aysh!
So I ran for my plane. It was pretty much empty so I had the row to myself. I spent the night in the Joburg airport, and since I’d planned on it this time, I brought lots of extra socks and jackets to stay warm with. I napped for a few hours and caught my 10am plane the next morning. Jaren picked me up at the airport and we started working right away. We rearranged the furniture in the annex, living room and office and got some office work done. Today, we ran a few errands in town, explored the new mall and took a Christmas card picture with John, Ngoni and Mr. Vitto!!! Check out World Camp’s blog (worldcampforkids@blogspot.com) or their facebook page to see it… And trust me, you don’t want to miss it!
Showing posts with label Gaborone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gaborone. Show all posts
Monday, December 27, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Passport Mathata
Aysh! Ke mathata. Somehow I managed to lose my passport in Botswana. Oops! I realized it Friday afternoon, the day before my flight out of Bots and after the US Embassy had closed for the weekend. I called their afterhours number and was told no one could help me until Monday. So I went online, researched all the forms I'd need and started to gather them all up, and believe me, it wasn't easy. I printed two forms from online and filled them out. I went to the police station and filed a claim. I made copies of my CA Driver's License with an incredibly temperamental copier. I had my mom scan and email me a copy of my birth certificate and passport (THANKS!). I collected copies of my health insurance and travel insurance. I even grabbed my immunization records. And of course, I made sure I had enough money to cover any charges they could throw at me. I moved my flights to Wednesday. I told my Gabs host family I'd be staying a few extra days and that I was sorry to take their extra room but that I was super excited to meet Atlha, their baby girl who was due Monday. They told me it wasn't a problem; that they were happy to have me stay!
Monday rolled around and I showed up to the embassy at 8am, even though it had opened at 7:30. Turns out they don't deal with citizens until 9:30. So Phono (my program director) and I went for a cup of coffee and returned to the huge embassy right at half nine. I was let in but Phono had to stay outside the gate. They made me leave my backpack, computer and cell phone in the security office. I went through the metal detector and was ushered through a door that had to be opened from the other side of bullet proof glass. The security guard who walked me through the beautiful gardens to the building walked behind me. I tried to talk to him but he kept saying "let's go" and pointing toward the door. I felt like I was being tried in court, being led to the podium.
He let me inside and told me to sit down. About fifteen minutes later, I saw the sign saying "please right bell for help." So I did and was helped immediately. I only had to hand over my Driver's License and the two forms I'd printed online. Then I had to pay the fee: $135. Ouch, no small chunk of change. I was told to wait twenty minutes for my passport. About forty minutes later, a man walked out and we went over my travel plans. Since I'd be returning to the States fairly soon, we decided a passport good for three months would work fine, and that I'd have to get a real passport as soon as possible. Fifteen minutes later, I was walking out with a brand new passport. All in all, the process took just over an hour inside the building. I was ushered back out to the gate by a female security guard this time, who was willing to chat but still walked behind me. I still felt like a criminal.
Phono and I drove back to the program house, where my mom and travel agent (THANK YOU BOTH!) woke up in the middle of the night to rebook my flights for tonight! So now the plan is to fly to Johannesburg on the 5:35pm flight out of Gaborone today (Monday), spend the night in the Joburg airport, and then connect to Lilongwe tomorrow (Tuesday) at 10am!
Because my life is never boring, I'm going to try to squeeze in a visit to the private hospital to visit my host mom, who is giving birth to their second child, Atlha. Atlha means to hug, ka Setswana. I'll only have about an hour at the hospital (assuming my family comes soon to pick me up!) before I have to head home to gather up my already packed bags (always be prepared!) to head to the airport!
I'm just so excited everything worked out as well as it did. I'll be in Malawi from tomorrow until Jan. 31, when I fly back to Maine to start spring semester! Although a break/chance to see my family in Cali would be great, I couldn't be happier that I'm heading back to Malawi so soon.
Monday rolled around and I showed up to the embassy at 8am, even though it had opened at 7:30. Turns out they don't deal with citizens until 9:30. So Phono (my program director) and I went for a cup of coffee and returned to the huge embassy right at half nine. I was let in but Phono had to stay outside the gate. They made me leave my backpack, computer and cell phone in the security office. I went through the metal detector and was ushered through a door that had to be opened from the other side of bullet proof glass. The security guard who walked me through the beautiful gardens to the building walked behind me. I tried to talk to him but he kept saying "let's go" and pointing toward the door. I felt like I was being tried in court, being led to the podium.
He let me inside and told me to sit down. About fifteen minutes later, I saw the sign saying "please right bell for help." So I did and was helped immediately. I only had to hand over my Driver's License and the two forms I'd printed online. Then I had to pay the fee: $135. Ouch, no small chunk of change. I was told to wait twenty minutes for my passport. About forty minutes later, a man walked out and we went over my travel plans. Since I'd be returning to the States fairly soon, we decided a passport good for three months would work fine, and that I'd have to get a real passport as soon as possible. Fifteen minutes later, I was walking out with a brand new passport. All in all, the process took just over an hour inside the building. I was ushered back out to the gate by a female security guard this time, who was willing to chat but still walked behind me. I still felt like a criminal.
Phono and I drove back to the program house, where my mom and travel agent (THANK YOU BOTH!) woke up in the middle of the night to rebook my flights for tonight! So now the plan is to fly to Johannesburg on the 5:35pm flight out of Gaborone today (Monday), spend the night in the Joburg airport, and then connect to Lilongwe tomorrow (Tuesday) at 10am!
Because my life is never boring, I'm going to try to squeeze in a visit to the private hospital to visit my host mom, who is giving birth to their second child, Atlha. Atlha means to hug, ka Setswana. I'll only have about an hour at the hospital (assuming my family comes soon to pick me up!) before I have to head home to gather up my already packed bags (always be prepared!) to head to the airport!
I'm just so excited everything worked out as well as it did. I'll be in Malawi from tomorrow until Jan. 31, when I fly back to Maine to start spring semester! Although a break/chance to see my family in Cali would be great, I couldn't be happier that I'm heading back to Malawi so soon.
Things I'll Miss about Botswana
Since I leave Botswana today, I figured I'd post a list of the things I will and won't miss mo Botswana. More stories to come about my last few days.... too many adventures and great insights into the workings of the US embassy!
Things I won't miss about Botswana:
Seeing donkeys with their front legs tied together so they can’t walk very fast or go very far
Being honked at by every taxi that passes
Silent TV dinners
Mosquitoes
Throwing my trash on the ground because there’s nowhere else to put it
People who assume I can’t speak Setswana
Foreigners watching the progress of their Batswana construction crew for hours from their air conditioned cars
Slow internet
Not really knowing how to cook anything I’ve eaten here
Kagisong
Food poisioning… Thanks program house leftovers
Being asked where my husband is by every taxi driver. Don’t have one? Then where’s your boyfriend?
Sticking out like a sore thumb
“Sori mma, ga ke je nama.”
Writing papers
Boys peeing everywhere
Passports
Prepaid phone units
Switches where off is up and on is down
Things I’ll miss about Botswana:
Boitumelo, Bonolo, Dimpho, Kabo, Kagiso, Katlhego, Lefika, Lesego, Leungo, Mpho, Naledi, Neo, Tabo
Long good byes outside Bull and Bush with flickering lights and massive audiences
The skies
Letsatsi
Mickey tags
April
Dirt roads
Riding in the back of pickups
Gabs, Kasane, Manyana, Maun, Mochudi
My host families
Maun Homeopathy Project
P10 lunches
Parks
Chibuku cartons everywhere
Dirt roads
Rain storms when the sky seems to rip right open
Rummy 500
Bush breakfasts/lunches/dinners
Brian
My hubby
Department of Wildlife and National Parks
Walking by the State House every morning and afternoon
Wild dogs
Wonderful conversations with strangers
Pap pap
The efficiency of the US embassy
Safari drives
Land Cruisers and Range Rovers
Sunset
Favors
Thunder that booms, crashes and rattles your ribs for thirty seconds
Ame
Diphologolo
Motogo
Sour fruit
Crunchy YumYum
The molapo
Having an MP dad
Random dance parties
Linga Langa
Forked lightening
Football
Thari Daycare Center
Kudu
Liver-looking banana-smelling fruits
Pula
Amarula
Walking by Embassies
LBRs
Weddings
BOFWA
Oranges and peaches right off the tree
Birds
The air-conditioned rock
Quiet picnics under a huge tree
Choppies
Webby
The cool side of Manyana’s river
The Botswana soundtrack
Mokoros
Throwing wine on Lesh
Free internet in the best places; Maun airport, Barcelos, Linga Langa, Equitorial
Trees everywhere
Elephants
My wonderful eating buddy
So many kids
Night time walks
Dinaledi
Mmadua
Monkey Gland Burgers
Backpackers’
Walking
Milky Lane
Being a tourist
Khombis
Bull and Bush
Ditonki, Dikgomo, Dipudi, Dikatsi, Dintsa, Dikoko
Comfy beds
Bucket baths
Booze cruise
Dula
History
Setswana
Backpackers
Beef juice
Amarula
My Birthswana
Namibian women wearing beautiful hats and dresses
Meeting Atlha
My four new families in a beautiful and wonderful country
BOITUMELO, BONOLO, DIMPHO, KABO, KAGISO, KATLEGO, LEFIKA, LESEGO, LEUNGO, MPHO, NALEDI, NEO, TABO
Things I won't miss about Botswana:
Seeing donkeys with their front legs tied together so they can’t walk very fast or go very far
Being honked at by every taxi that passes
Silent TV dinners
Mosquitoes
Throwing my trash on the ground because there’s nowhere else to put it
People who assume I can’t speak Setswana
Foreigners watching the progress of their Batswana construction crew for hours from their air conditioned cars
Slow internet
Not really knowing how to cook anything I’ve eaten here
Kagisong
Food poisioning… Thanks program house leftovers
Being asked where my husband is by every taxi driver. Don’t have one? Then where’s your boyfriend?
Sticking out like a sore thumb
“Sori mma, ga ke je nama.”
Writing papers
Boys peeing everywhere
Passports
Prepaid phone units
Switches where off is up and on is down
Things I’ll miss about Botswana:
Boitumelo, Bonolo, Dimpho, Kabo, Kagiso, Katlhego, Lefika, Lesego, Leungo, Mpho, Naledi, Neo, Tabo
Long good byes outside Bull and Bush with flickering lights and massive audiences
The skies
Letsatsi
Mickey tags
April
Dirt roads
Riding in the back of pickups
Gabs, Kasane, Manyana, Maun, Mochudi
My host families
Maun Homeopathy Project
P10 lunches
Parks
Chibuku cartons everywhere
Dirt roads
Rain storms when the sky seems to rip right open
Rummy 500
Bush breakfasts/lunches/dinners
Brian
My hubby
Department of Wildlife and National Parks
Walking by the State House every morning and afternoon
Wild dogs
Wonderful conversations with strangers
Pap pap
The efficiency of the US embassy
Safari drives
Land Cruisers and Range Rovers
Sunset
Favors
Thunder that booms, crashes and rattles your ribs for thirty seconds
Ame
Diphologolo
Motogo
Sour fruit
Crunchy YumYum
The molapo
Having an MP dad
Random dance parties
Linga Langa
Forked lightening
Football
Thari Daycare Center
Kudu
Liver-looking banana-smelling fruits
Pula
Amarula
Walking by Embassies
LBRs
Weddings
BOFWA
Oranges and peaches right off the tree
Birds
The air-conditioned rock
Quiet picnics under a huge tree
Choppies
Webby
The cool side of Manyana’s river
The Botswana soundtrack
Mokoros
Throwing wine on Lesh
Free internet in the best places; Maun airport, Barcelos, Linga Langa, Equitorial
Trees everywhere
Elephants
My wonderful eating buddy
So many kids
Night time walks
Dinaledi
Mmadua
Monkey Gland Burgers
Backpackers’
Walking
Milky Lane
Being a tourist
Khombis
Bull and Bush
Ditonki, Dikgomo, Dipudi, Dikatsi, Dintsa, Dikoko
Comfy beds
Bucket baths
Booze cruise
Dula
History
Setswana
Backpackers
Beef juice
Amarula
My Birthswana
Namibian women wearing beautiful hats and dresses
Meeting Atlha
My four new families in a beautiful and wonderful country
BOITUMELO, BONOLO, DIMPHO, KABO, KAGISO, KATLEGO, LEFIKA, LESEGO, LEUNGO, MPHO, NALEDI, NEO, TABO
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Quick Birthday Update
this is gonna be a quick post.... i have to finish my final paper by tomorrow but i just wanted to post real fast.... so here it is!
first of all, IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!! and i'm so exctied to spend it in Bots! Last night, we all slept at the program house because we had an early morning today. we left at 6.30 for the diamond mine. it's a two hours drive, we went on a tour for a few hours, had a quick buffet lunch and drove the 2 hours back. the mine was interesting, but we were all super tired and hungry. it's literally just a big hole in the ground, but a wonderful hole. there are dump trucks at least five times as tall as me. their tires alone are almost twice my size. we got to climb up the stairs (yes, there was an actual stair case on the front of this thing) to sit in the driver's seat. can you say power trip?
tonight we're all working on our papers, but a few of us are far enough along to go out to dinner to celebrate. so we're going to a portugese restaurant down the street. since most people are working tonight and can't go out, we're going to all get dinner together tomorrow night, our last night all together in Bots.
tomorrow's schedule is pretty insane. i have to leave my house at 6.30 to walk to the program house. then we're driving to somewhere to give our presentations until probably 5.30pm. then it's dinner time! on saturday i fly to joburg, where i'll spend the night in the airport. saturday i fly to malawi for some down time before january sesion starts!
in other news..... while i've been in gabs, i went back to visit Manayana, the village we did our first homestay in. it was beautiful because it's all green and fresh from the rain. i didn't get to see april because he was playing soccer and brian was with his mom, but it was great to see masa before leaving. it was fun to walk down the central street again and say hi to people i remembered from august and september say hi. i've also spent a lot of time working on papers and hanging out with ame, my host sister here in Gaborone.
that's just about it. more to come soon!!!
first of all, IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!! and i'm so exctied to spend it in Bots! Last night, we all slept at the program house because we had an early morning today. we left at 6.30 for the diamond mine. it's a two hours drive, we went on a tour for a few hours, had a quick buffet lunch and drove the 2 hours back. the mine was interesting, but we were all super tired and hungry. it's literally just a big hole in the ground, but a wonderful hole. there are dump trucks at least five times as tall as me. their tires alone are almost twice my size. we got to climb up the stairs (yes, there was an actual stair case on the front of this thing) to sit in the driver's seat. can you say power trip?
tonight we're all working on our papers, but a few of us are far enough along to go out to dinner to celebrate. so we're going to a portugese restaurant down the street. since most people are working tonight and can't go out, we're going to all get dinner together tomorrow night, our last night all together in Bots.
tomorrow's schedule is pretty insane. i have to leave my house at 6.30 to walk to the program house. then we're driving to somewhere to give our presentations until probably 5.30pm. then it's dinner time! on saturday i fly to joburg, where i'll spend the night in the airport. saturday i fly to malawi for some down time before january sesion starts!
in other news..... while i've been in gabs, i went back to visit Manayana, the village we did our first homestay in. it was beautiful because it's all green and fresh from the rain. i didn't get to see april because he was playing soccer and brian was with his mom, but it was great to see masa before leaving. it was fun to walk down the central street again and say hi to people i remembered from august and september say hi. i've also spent a lot of time working on papers and hanging out with ame, my host sister here in Gaborone.
that's just about it. more to come soon!!!
Friday, December 10, 2010
End of Maun
The end of Maun was really fun. I ended up finding the Maun Homeopathy Project and spent a few days with them. I learned a whole lot like what exactly homeopathy is and why it's so effective for Maun. And it really is, the MHP goes into rural villages where doctors don't go and does amazing work. They reach people who don't have access to hospitals or treatment. And after talking to the two volunteers from the UK, I think it's better for a lot of people than "modern" or "western" medicine.
So probably the most fun I had was when three of my friends from the program came from where they'd been working to spend a few days with us in Maun. I went back and visited the abandoned hospital with Jesse and we discovered a lot of the office doors were unlocked when they'd previously been shut and there was a wheelchair in the courtyard where there hadn't been one before.
I decided to stay at a wonderful hostel with Jesse called the Old Bridge Backpackers. Where, if anyone ever goes to Maun, they should think about staying there. There's permanent tents (wood floors, twin beds, canvas rooves) and amazing food. Seriously, the food was incredible. After our first night, the septic tank broke and flooded our yard, so we got upgraded at no cost to a tent with a porch and lounge chairs, a bigger room, and a personal outdoor shower and toilet. It was so much fun to live there!
We also did a horseback safari. It wasn't a real safari where you look for animals, but we rode around for about an hour. Sometimes we were next to an electric fence and other times on the road, but it was green and fun. Our guide let us canter which was wonderful. I forgot how much I missed horseback riding until I was back on a horse.
We also did an overnight mokoro trip that was great. The drive to the starting point was honestly magical. There must have been some sort of butterfly migration because there were hundreds flying from our left to right on the entire 40minute drive. We saw a lot of them over the next two days too. So we hopped into our mokoros and ran into Vince, Katie and Cuz (who were doing a separate trip) on our camping island. We set up our tents and hopped into the swimming pool where we spent a few hours. After a quick lunch and nap, we took a walk where we saw zebras, elephants and one of the most incredible sunsets I've seen yet. There were patches of rain that were colored the way clouds normally are.
The next morning we woke up early and did another 3hour walk. (it was also Murphy's 21st birthday! what a way to spend it!) We saw the same zebras and amazing landscapes. We went back to camp, ate breakfast and went back to the swimming hole. We met some great people from the Netherlands and Canada. We packed up camp and got back in our mokoros. We were running late and I think we took some shortcuts because the paths weren't well worked in and we got hit in the face by a whole lot of reeds. Jesse and I were in the same mokoro and our guide, KP, made us each a neckless out of a lily. I figured out how and made two more.
The next day we missed our 6am bus because there weren't any khombis or taxis and had to take the 7.30 bus. Luckily, I slept all but one hour of the ten hour ride! Got back to Gabs and took a long walk with my sister, Ame, which was wonderful. Tiny's still really preggers.... she'll have the baby on Dec. 20!
pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2069203&id=1036350539&l=1771ebeda9
So probably the most fun I had was when three of my friends from the program came from where they'd been working to spend a few days with us in Maun. I went back and visited the abandoned hospital with Jesse and we discovered a lot of the office doors were unlocked when they'd previously been shut and there was a wheelchair in the courtyard where there hadn't been one before.
I decided to stay at a wonderful hostel with Jesse called the Old Bridge Backpackers. Where, if anyone ever goes to Maun, they should think about staying there. There's permanent tents (wood floors, twin beds, canvas rooves) and amazing food. Seriously, the food was incredible. After our first night, the septic tank broke and flooded our yard, so we got upgraded at no cost to a tent with a porch and lounge chairs, a bigger room, and a personal outdoor shower and toilet. It was so much fun to live there!
We also did a horseback safari. It wasn't a real safari where you look for animals, but we rode around for about an hour. Sometimes we were next to an electric fence and other times on the road, but it was green and fun. Our guide let us canter which was wonderful. I forgot how much I missed horseback riding until I was back on a horse.
We also did an overnight mokoro trip that was great. The drive to the starting point was honestly magical. There must have been some sort of butterfly migration because there were hundreds flying from our left to right on the entire 40minute drive. We saw a lot of them over the next two days too. So we hopped into our mokoros and ran into Vince, Katie and Cuz (who were doing a separate trip) on our camping island. We set up our tents and hopped into the swimming pool where we spent a few hours. After a quick lunch and nap, we took a walk where we saw zebras, elephants and one of the most incredible sunsets I've seen yet. There were patches of rain that were colored the way clouds normally are.
The next morning we woke up early and did another 3hour walk. (it was also Murphy's 21st birthday! what a way to spend it!) We saw the same zebras and amazing landscapes. We went back to camp, ate breakfast and went back to the swimming hole. We met some great people from the Netherlands and Canada. We packed up camp and got back in our mokoros. We were running late and I think we took some shortcuts because the paths weren't well worked in and we got hit in the face by a whole lot of reeds. Jesse and I were in the same mokoro and our guide, KP, made us each a neckless out of a lily. I figured out how and made two more.
The next day we missed our 6am bus because there weren't any khombis or taxis and had to take the 7.30 bus. Luckily, I slept all but one hour of the ten hour ride! Got back to Gabs and took a long walk with my sister, Ame, which was wonderful. Tiny's still really preggers.... she'll have the baby on Dec. 20!
pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2069203&id=1036350539&l=1771ebeda9
Monday, November 15, 2010
Gaborone
After leaving Mochudi, we spent two weeks in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana. I moved in with my favorite family yet. My mom’s name is Tiny and she gave us a lecture on Youth Culture in Botswana a few weeks ago. She used to work for the Botswana Youth Council and now works for the military as a librarian. She’s also six months pregnant. The baby’s supposed to be due January 6, but since it’s her second child, her doctor told her it might come as early as December 15 (my birthday!) and a date when I’ll still be staying with her. She wants a Christmas baby and might wait to induce labor on Dec. 25. But her major dilemma is that her birthday, as well as her husband’s and daughter’s are all in January and it’d be fun to all celebrate the same month. She gets huge cravings for watermelons every day and will eat up to half a watermelon during any one sitting.
My dad’s name is John. He’s a newly elected MP (Member of Parliament) for the main opposition party, Botswana National Front. He brought home a paper for me every day and told me to read it so I’d know what was going on. He left both weekends I spent there to visit his constituents in Serowe, where he’s from and was elected.
My sister’s name is Ame (pronounced – ah-may). She’s 15years old and in Secondary School. She walked me to school the first day I had class and we talked the whole 45minute walk. She’s really fun. I think she feels a little over protected by her parents and wishes she could do more extracurricular activities but her parents really want her to focus on school work and not much else. When her dad was elected to office earlier this year, they moved into government housing and away from most of her friends. She says she doesn’t really see her friends outside of school anymore.
My house was really cute. It was an apartment in a gated and guarded area. I had to convince the guards that I was living there my first day because they hadn’t been warned my family had just acquired a new child. Once I talked to them a few minutes in Setswana, they were comfortable letting me through the gate. Our house was two stories! You walked in through the front door that was on a hinge so that it swiveled and didn’t open as ours do in the States, into the sitting room. There were modern black couches, a few huge mirrors, and lots of family pictures. Past there was the dining room with a table and display case. The kitchen was just the right size for the four of us to closely but comfortably cook breakfast each morning. Tiny had converted the garage into another room, where there were more couches and a TV. Upstairs were the bedrooms. I had my own bedroom with a balcony! There was even a shower!!, which I took full advantage of every morning.
Everyday I was in Gabs, we had class at our program house. Each morning, I walked the 45minutes to get there alone and had a great time. Each afternoon I walked back as well. I passed the State House two times a day, which is where the President lives. He had an enormous white house with beautiful landscaping, from what I could gather through the thickly barred fence I walked by. There were always four armed guards standing outside who I greeted and waved to. I passed a number of embassies during my walk since I lived in a government housing section of the city. My personal favorite was the Swedish embassy because they had a really cheesy sign out front that looked like one you’d find outside a burger joint in the States. It was a white sign with blue writing that read: Sweden House. The second ‘v’ in the w of Sweden was yellow, so you pretty much had to say Sveden when you read the sign out loud.
Class included a number of lectures and field trips, some of which were incredibly interesting and some seemed pretty pointless, the latter included topics like unions of Botswana and drawing in foreign investments, which are both incredibly interesting but were presenting in an amazingly dull way. Amazing and informative lectures included human rights in Botswana by representatives from an organization called Ditschwanelo (translates directly to rights) and HIV/AIDS in Botswana by an incredibly active Canadian who has been here for a number of years and currently works with the government. Great field trips included a few hours at the BMC, or Botswana Meat Commission. Beef is Botswana’s second biggest industry after diamond mining. We were given a tour of the facilities. It was fascinating to see the carcasses hanging from hooks and being sliced with such precision. In addition to being my first visit to a slaughter house, I realized I’d never seen a large scale factory line before. I was struck by the monotony of the workers’ jobs. They cut the same piece of meat from the bones of a cow 1600 times a day. After seeing the butchering, we saw the actual slaughter house. The cows were loaded into a small compartment where a man placed an air gun to its head very nonchalantly. The cow went into shock but didn’t die. It was hung up by a back leg and then died when its throat was slit by someone from the Muslim faith so that the meat was Hallele. It was tough to watch the cow continue to move after it had been shot, and then watch the blood gush out from the neck. I’ve never seen anything die in front of me before. But I think the most disgusting part of the entire production was watching the skin get peeled off. A man on a forklift grabbed the skin at the legs and lowered the forklift as he held on. It peeled off so easily and in one piece. We also took a field trip to the Gaborone Dam, although something had broken and we couldn’t get a tour.
We ended class before noon most days. We’d been given a lunch stipend for the two weeks, but I mostly stayed at the program house and ate peanut butter on bread as I used the free internet. I did check out a very sketchy Chinese restaurant on our first day and luckily didn’t get sick after trying the veggie chowmein. A few other times we ventured to a mall called River Walk to eat at Linga Langa, a great ex-pat restaurant with amazing burgers and pizza (and free wireless) or a yummy Indian restaurant called Embassy. On our last day we went to lunch at a wonderful restaurant with amazing food (paid for by Pitzer!). The main course was good, but the desserts were to die for. Jesse and I (excellent eating buddies, as always!) went halfsies on an order of Chocolate Waffles and Amaroula Ice Cream. Holy Cow.
On Sunday, I hopped on a 6am bus with Ian, Katie, Vince, and Vince’s cousin Francesca (aka. Cuz) to Maun to start my five week internship with the Wildlife Department.
pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2069203&id=1036350539&l=1771ebeda9
My dad’s name is John. He’s a newly elected MP (Member of Parliament) for the main opposition party, Botswana National Front. He brought home a paper for me every day and told me to read it so I’d know what was going on. He left both weekends I spent there to visit his constituents in Serowe, where he’s from and was elected.
My sister’s name is Ame (pronounced – ah-may). She’s 15years old and in Secondary School. She walked me to school the first day I had class and we talked the whole 45minute walk. She’s really fun. I think she feels a little over protected by her parents and wishes she could do more extracurricular activities but her parents really want her to focus on school work and not much else. When her dad was elected to office earlier this year, they moved into government housing and away from most of her friends. She says she doesn’t really see her friends outside of school anymore.
My house was really cute. It was an apartment in a gated and guarded area. I had to convince the guards that I was living there my first day because they hadn’t been warned my family had just acquired a new child. Once I talked to them a few minutes in Setswana, they were comfortable letting me through the gate. Our house was two stories! You walked in through the front door that was on a hinge so that it swiveled and didn’t open as ours do in the States, into the sitting room. There were modern black couches, a few huge mirrors, and lots of family pictures. Past there was the dining room with a table and display case. The kitchen was just the right size for the four of us to closely but comfortably cook breakfast each morning. Tiny had converted the garage into another room, where there were more couches and a TV. Upstairs were the bedrooms. I had my own bedroom with a balcony! There was even a shower!!, which I took full advantage of every morning.
Everyday I was in Gabs, we had class at our program house. Each morning, I walked the 45minutes to get there alone and had a great time. Each afternoon I walked back as well. I passed the State House two times a day, which is where the President lives. He had an enormous white house with beautiful landscaping, from what I could gather through the thickly barred fence I walked by. There were always four armed guards standing outside who I greeted and waved to. I passed a number of embassies during my walk since I lived in a government housing section of the city. My personal favorite was the Swedish embassy because they had a really cheesy sign out front that looked like one you’d find outside a burger joint in the States. It was a white sign with blue writing that read: Sweden House. The second ‘v’ in the w of Sweden was yellow, so you pretty much had to say Sveden when you read the sign out loud.
Class included a number of lectures and field trips, some of which were incredibly interesting and some seemed pretty pointless, the latter included topics like unions of Botswana and drawing in foreign investments, which are both incredibly interesting but were presenting in an amazingly dull way. Amazing and informative lectures included human rights in Botswana by representatives from an organization called Ditschwanelo (translates directly to rights) and HIV/AIDS in Botswana by an incredibly active Canadian who has been here for a number of years and currently works with the government. Great field trips included a few hours at the BMC, or Botswana Meat Commission. Beef is Botswana’s second biggest industry after diamond mining. We were given a tour of the facilities. It was fascinating to see the carcasses hanging from hooks and being sliced with such precision. In addition to being my first visit to a slaughter house, I realized I’d never seen a large scale factory line before. I was struck by the monotony of the workers’ jobs. They cut the same piece of meat from the bones of a cow 1600 times a day. After seeing the butchering, we saw the actual slaughter house. The cows were loaded into a small compartment where a man placed an air gun to its head very nonchalantly. The cow went into shock but didn’t die. It was hung up by a back leg and then died when its throat was slit by someone from the Muslim faith so that the meat was Hallele. It was tough to watch the cow continue to move after it had been shot, and then watch the blood gush out from the neck. I’ve never seen anything die in front of me before. But I think the most disgusting part of the entire production was watching the skin get peeled off. A man on a forklift grabbed the skin at the legs and lowered the forklift as he held on. It peeled off so easily and in one piece. We also took a field trip to the Gaborone Dam, although something had broken and we couldn’t get a tour.
We ended class before noon most days. We’d been given a lunch stipend for the two weeks, but I mostly stayed at the program house and ate peanut butter on bread as I used the free internet. I did check out a very sketchy Chinese restaurant on our first day and luckily didn’t get sick after trying the veggie chowmein. A few other times we ventured to a mall called River Walk to eat at Linga Langa, a great ex-pat restaurant with amazing burgers and pizza (and free wireless) or a yummy Indian restaurant called Embassy. On our last day we went to lunch at a wonderful restaurant with amazing food (paid for by Pitzer!). The main course was good, but the desserts were to die for. Jesse and I (excellent eating buddies, as always!) went halfsies on an order of Chocolate Waffles and Amaroula Ice Cream. Holy Cow.
On Sunday, I hopped on a 6am bus with Ian, Katie, Vince, and Vince’s cousin Francesca (aka. Cuz) to Maun to start my five week internship with the Wildlife Department.
pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2069203&id=1036350539&l=1771ebeda9
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