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
Showing posts with label Mokoro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mokoro. Show all posts
Monday, December 20, 2010
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
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