After a few hard days of work at the WC house, Jaren and I decided to take a few days off and celebrate Christmas at the lake. Instead of going to Senga Bay, where we take the volunteers every session, we wanted to check out Cape Maclear. We tried calling a few lodges with dorms but they were either full or didn’t answer – we decided to wing it. So we caught the 7am bus on Christmas Eve and got ready for the 5½ hour drive to Monkey Bay. We were some of the last ones on the bus so it was standing room only for us. About two hours in a seat opened up so I got to sit down and make friends with Johnny, the guy sitting next to me. Also on our bus: a chicken, tied up in a plastic bag and hung from the luggage rack.
We got to Monkey Bay (John’s home village) and were dumbstruck by the greenery and beauty. There were huge hills covered in trees and plants. We met some guys who drive between Monkey Bay and Cape Maclear and agreed to pay p300 for an 18km drive. So we hopped in the back of their truck along with three other Azungu, a lot Malawians and a few huge bags of maize. I sat on a paint can, which reminded me a whole lot of The Groover from rafting up in Idaho. We also saw a few troops of baboons on our drive.
Once we got to Cape Maclear, we tried to find some beds in dorms, but they were all booked. The only place we could find was a chalet at Tuckaway’s. It turned out to be really nice with a porch really close to the ocean. The beach was absolutely beautiful – we walked quite a ways down although the sand was some of the toughest I’ve ever seen. There was a huge island that looked remarkably like Lizard island in Senag Bay, just much closer. There was also a huge island to the right that was only separated from land by a narrow passage. While we were reading on the porch, a group of kids walked up and stood behind the 1foot tall gate they’re not allowed to pass. They had a drum set (two traditional drums held on a stand) and a makeshift guitar (strings tied to an empty gas can on one end and a stick on the other). They sang two songs for us and danced. The first went like this: “How are you? I’m fine! How are you? I’m fine! How are you? I’m fine! Muli bwa? Dili bwino! Muli bwa? Dili bwino! Muli bwa? Dili bwino!” and the second was “stronger” by Kenan. We had dinner that night at another small lodge, checked out the live music at the Gecko Lodge for about half an hour (a complete failure, it was 9pm and hardly anyone was there) and called it an early night.
On Christmas, we went for a swim first thing in the morning. There was a floating dock that we swam out to and both got really sunburned on. We had breakfast at the same small lodge and chippies at a nearby stand for lunch. We read on our porch and in hammocks, walked on the beach, played some Boa and swam again. I got to talk to my family, which was really nice, although I’m still jealous they had a snowy Christmas!
Once our Christmas phone calls were done, it was 7.30. We headed back to Geckos but their kitchen was closed for the night. We walked along the road and passed quite a few closed lodges. Finally we found one that was open. We sat down and ordered – although they didn’t have cold beer or Jaren's first two dishes of choice. After about an hour of waiting, we gave up our large table to a bigger group. We played some boa and tried not to think that we’d been waiting for our food for an hour and a half. Eventually we asked the waiter who said it’d be 10 minutes. Two minutes later, another guy brought out our dishes with steaming hot chips. My veggie burger was sliced tomato, onions, peppers and lettuce on a bun. Jaren’s fish was big but cold. So at 10 we paid our bill and headed home. It was another early night.
The next morning we were up at 5am to catch the 5.30 truck into Monkey Bay to catch the 6am bus. At 5:10 we got on the back of a truck going the wrong direction, although they told us you could still go that way. We drove all the way into town, turned around and drove all the way back. It was 6.05 by the time we left Cape Maclear. Luckily, even busses wait for small trucks. We drove the twenty minutes to Monkey Bay and hopped on the bus, which left right away. Apparently it had been waiting for our truck. This time I was lucky and got a seat. We made it back to Lilongwe without any major problems, although I was convinced the entire time our bus would break down – there were some pretty funky noises the whole drive. We showered and rehydrated after such a hot bus ride, watched a movie, cooked some baked Mac ‘n Cheese for dinner and had another early night. I don’t think I’ve stayed up past 9.30 in Malawi, apart from the one night we didn’t eat until 10.
Cape Maclear was a beautiful village that I’m really glad I got to see. The one sunset I saw was incredible. The people were really friendly but they also didn’t badger us once we said we didn’t want a boat to the island or to go to their Christmas BBQ at the Reggae Bar in town.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Arrived safe in Malawi!
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!
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!
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
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Maun Adventures
Adventure 1: Remember how I’d originally wanted to work with an organization called the Maun Homeopathy Project? Well after unsuccessfully looking for their sign for the past three weeks, I happened to see one on my drive from town to home. How I hadn’t noticed it before is kind of surprising and upsetting. The sign itself was for a clinic funded and built by the Project. The next day, Katie and I went on an adventure to find the clinic and ask if they’d still take me as an intern so I could write my final paper on something I’m actually interested in and don’t just enjoy doing. We found the sign again after walking about half an hour from our house. We turned off the main road onto a dirt path for cars in the direction of the arrow. We walked and walked but couldn’t find the building. We passed a huge Lutheran church though. We found a few abandoned, official looking buildings and guessed it must have been one of those. I was pretty troubled though, because the sign had looked so new.
We did see a sign for a hospital though, and went to investigate. Turns out we’d stumbled upon the old hospital that, it turns out, was abandoned in 2008. The only way we knew that was by the deserted memos still posted on the bulletin board. Katie and I spent over an hour looking around the grounds. There were at least twenty if not thirty buildings that had been part of this government hospital. We kept talking about how we expected a crazy old ghost doctor to jump out at us as we wandered in and out of the open rooms. We could have been on the set of a horror movie. We found an operating room that had an X-ray reader, a sink and a poster with instructions for how to make incisions still up on the wall. We found a storage room with a few pairs of shoes. The obviously beautiful landscaping was overgrown and taking over the paths we walked on between the buildings. We found the maternity and pediatrics wards, which were pretty creepy. An office was locked but pairs laid all over the desk and floor, I’m not sure why they were left. A number of rooms had lights on; the government must be losing money on electricity.
We eventually left and walked back to the Maun Homeopathy Project sign and I saved the number listed. We caught a cab into town and I tried calling the number. Somebody picked up! I was surprised, since phone numbers tend to change a lot here. The woman on the other side was incredibly helpful and willing to share information with me after I explained I was a student from the States hoping to do research on her organization. She told me they were going into the field this weekend but would be back in the clinic on Thursday. I tried to ask if I could come before Thursday, hoping she’d ask if I wanted to do outreach, but she didn’t. So Thursday at 8am it is! She asked if I knew where the Lutheran church was? They were located right next to it. So apparently Katie and I had walked right by the clinic and not seen it.
Adventure 2: When I was back in Gaborone, my host family had mentioned they had family in Maun. The husband owned Trekkers, the only night club in Maun and the wife owned a lodge. I should have thought to ask for the number then, but didn’t. So once I was in Maun, I called Tiny back in Gabs and asked for her aunt’s phone number. I called not even knowing her name. Turns out MmaDua is a wonderful lady who said she’d love to have me and friends over for dinner Friday night and then maybe the kids could take us to the club! She called on Friday and said “we’re having dinner at seven, how many friends are you bringing?” So I told her I’d bring one friend, and Katie and I left our house at 6:45, planning on getting there a few minutes after seven. She’d told me just to tell a cab driver to take us to MmaDua’s house and they’d know exactly where it was. We waited unusually long for a cab, and the first one we hailed said MaDua’s was 30kms away and he wouldn’t take us. He agreed to take us into town to find someone who would drive us the whole way. So we paid him the usual p3.50 each (about 40cents) and he helped us find another cab that agreed to take us to MmaDua’s for p20. A total deal. I called MmaDua and she said she was about 7kms outside town. It was already after 7 so I told her we were on our way and apologized for being late. So our taxi drove us to MmaDua’s Lodge. We told him we wanted the house and he agreed if we gave him another p10. We passed so many lodges on our drive – I didn’t realize they were all so far out of town. We drove another kilometer down the road to one of the biggest and most beautiful homes I’ve ever seen.
There was a wall ten feet tall with barbed wire all around the property. The gate was open. The first thing I noticed was the five cars in the driveway. Then I noticed the house itself. It was two stories, something I haven’t seen in awhile with a two car garage. There were three arched steps leading up to the double front door, which was behind a series of pillars. There were two or three balconies on the front of the house. We walked in to see a spiral metal staircase going up to the second floor and a beautifully decorated, modern sitting room on the right. We walked past a modern painting of shapes hanging in the hallway into the most beautiful kitchen. The cabinets were a deep red wood with black granite tops. The fridge was huge and there were a lot of appliances out. On the island was a dinner, complete with seven or eight different dishes… yum! CD, the oldest child and only daughter, had cooked for hours to prepare dinner.
MmaDua ushered us outside where Katie and I sat with her at a little table. Her youngest child, Lesego, a boy of about ten years old, brought us water. We chatted about what we were doing in Botswana and Maun specifically, as well as how she’s related to my host family in Gabs. We grabbed plates from inside and she insisted Katie and I each have a glass of wine. Since CD had finished the box of wine while cooking, we opened a bottle from South Africa (first bottle in awhile!)
We learned that CD had attended university in Cape Town and was back at school for accounting. She just wrote her exams last week and will hear in December how she did. It was interesting to listen to her talk because she spoke quickly and mumbled a lot. Plus she swore a ton, which has different meanings throughout Setswana culture. The middle child, a guy, is currently in university in Joburg and loves it there. Lesego raved about Six Flags in New Jersey when we asked him about it, after we learned that MmaDua travels to NY about four times every year (WHAT?!?!?). CD had two friends over who were also really interesting to talk to. One was named Chris and one was Shawn, although I never learned who was who. One was from Zimbabwe and was currently working as a lab doctor at the private hospital in Maun. He plans on moving to Australia next year to get his surgery degree and stay there to practice. The other man was from Jamaica and had moved to Botswana with his family about ten years ago. He comfortably used Setswana during our conversations, which were all in English.
We talked about random things while sitting outside. It was just like hanging out with friends back home and joking. Lesego, the youngest boy, was an easy part of the conversation. He loved to give his sister’s friends a hard time and initiated hilarious conversations about whether or not a cheetah was a cat.
At one point I went inside to use the bathroom and poked my head into a few rooms. First of all, to get to the bathroom, you had to go through the room with a bar. It was a fully stocked bar, with stools all around. There were also couches facing a big TV. The bathroom was really cute and clean. There was incense that smelled delicious – vanilla flavored, my favorite! Across from the bar room was another sitting room, this one had a Christmas tree decorated with lights and cards set out on the table.
After Katie and I had finished our glasses of wine, MmaDua said that was the last glass and that CD would take us out. We helped take in all the dishes and put the leftovers into the fridge. So we hopped into the car. We drove back into town so CD could get some money from her brother who had gone to the ATM. Then we drove back out of town, past CD’s house to the River Lodge, not Trekkers like we’d expected. It was absolutely packed, mostly with white people. There were two men on their cell phones standing far from the bar; obvious tourists. CD, Shawn and Chris tried to convince Katie and I that the rest of the people there were locals, but I wasn’t convinced. We ordered a round of beers and found a table a little ways away from the bar and sat down to chat and hang out. It was really nice to have such a low key night. After about an hour, we decided it was time to head home. Either Shawn or Chris (the Zimbabwean) gave us a ride home. That’s when I got to talk to him and hear about why he came to Botswana and his plans for the future.
Saturday, MmaDua texted me again to ask how we’d slept and if we’d had fun. I thanked her many times and told her what a great time we’d had. When I said we hoped to see her again before we left Maun, she responded “of course, my dear!”
We did see a sign for a hospital though, and went to investigate. Turns out we’d stumbled upon the old hospital that, it turns out, was abandoned in 2008. The only way we knew that was by the deserted memos still posted on the bulletin board. Katie and I spent over an hour looking around the grounds. There were at least twenty if not thirty buildings that had been part of this government hospital. We kept talking about how we expected a crazy old ghost doctor to jump out at us as we wandered in and out of the open rooms. We could have been on the set of a horror movie. We found an operating room that had an X-ray reader, a sink and a poster with instructions for how to make incisions still up on the wall. We found a storage room with a few pairs of shoes. The obviously beautiful landscaping was overgrown and taking over the paths we walked on between the buildings. We found the maternity and pediatrics wards, which were pretty creepy. An office was locked but pairs laid all over the desk and floor, I’m not sure why they were left. A number of rooms had lights on; the government must be losing money on electricity.
We eventually left and walked back to the Maun Homeopathy Project sign and I saved the number listed. We caught a cab into town and I tried calling the number. Somebody picked up! I was surprised, since phone numbers tend to change a lot here. The woman on the other side was incredibly helpful and willing to share information with me after I explained I was a student from the States hoping to do research on her organization. She told me they were going into the field this weekend but would be back in the clinic on Thursday. I tried to ask if I could come before Thursday, hoping she’d ask if I wanted to do outreach, but she didn’t. So Thursday at 8am it is! She asked if I knew where the Lutheran church was? They were located right next to it. So apparently Katie and I had walked right by the clinic and not seen it.
Adventure 2: When I was back in Gaborone, my host family had mentioned they had family in Maun. The husband owned Trekkers, the only night club in Maun and the wife owned a lodge. I should have thought to ask for the number then, but didn’t. So once I was in Maun, I called Tiny back in Gabs and asked for her aunt’s phone number. I called not even knowing her name. Turns out MmaDua is a wonderful lady who said she’d love to have me and friends over for dinner Friday night and then maybe the kids could take us to the club! She called on Friday and said “we’re having dinner at seven, how many friends are you bringing?” So I told her I’d bring one friend, and Katie and I left our house at 6:45, planning on getting there a few minutes after seven. She’d told me just to tell a cab driver to take us to MmaDua’s house and they’d know exactly where it was. We waited unusually long for a cab, and the first one we hailed said MaDua’s was 30kms away and he wouldn’t take us. He agreed to take us into town to find someone who would drive us the whole way. So we paid him the usual p3.50 each (about 40cents) and he helped us find another cab that agreed to take us to MmaDua’s for p20. A total deal. I called MmaDua and she said she was about 7kms outside town. It was already after 7 so I told her we were on our way and apologized for being late. So our taxi drove us to MmaDua’s Lodge. We told him we wanted the house and he agreed if we gave him another p10. We passed so many lodges on our drive – I didn’t realize they were all so far out of town. We drove another kilometer down the road to one of the biggest and most beautiful homes I’ve ever seen.
There was a wall ten feet tall with barbed wire all around the property. The gate was open. The first thing I noticed was the five cars in the driveway. Then I noticed the house itself. It was two stories, something I haven’t seen in awhile with a two car garage. There were three arched steps leading up to the double front door, which was behind a series of pillars. There were two or three balconies on the front of the house. We walked in to see a spiral metal staircase going up to the second floor and a beautifully decorated, modern sitting room on the right. We walked past a modern painting of shapes hanging in the hallway into the most beautiful kitchen. The cabinets were a deep red wood with black granite tops. The fridge was huge and there were a lot of appliances out. On the island was a dinner, complete with seven or eight different dishes… yum! CD, the oldest child and only daughter, had cooked for hours to prepare dinner.
MmaDua ushered us outside where Katie and I sat with her at a little table. Her youngest child, Lesego, a boy of about ten years old, brought us water. We chatted about what we were doing in Botswana and Maun specifically, as well as how she’s related to my host family in Gabs. We grabbed plates from inside and she insisted Katie and I each have a glass of wine. Since CD had finished the box of wine while cooking, we opened a bottle from South Africa (first bottle in awhile!)
We learned that CD had attended university in Cape Town and was back at school for accounting. She just wrote her exams last week and will hear in December how she did. It was interesting to listen to her talk because she spoke quickly and mumbled a lot. Plus she swore a ton, which has different meanings throughout Setswana culture. The middle child, a guy, is currently in university in Joburg and loves it there. Lesego raved about Six Flags in New Jersey when we asked him about it, after we learned that MmaDua travels to NY about four times every year (WHAT?!?!?). CD had two friends over who were also really interesting to talk to. One was named Chris and one was Shawn, although I never learned who was who. One was from Zimbabwe and was currently working as a lab doctor at the private hospital in Maun. He plans on moving to Australia next year to get his surgery degree and stay there to practice. The other man was from Jamaica and had moved to Botswana with his family about ten years ago. He comfortably used Setswana during our conversations, which were all in English.
We talked about random things while sitting outside. It was just like hanging out with friends back home and joking. Lesego, the youngest boy, was an easy part of the conversation. He loved to give his sister’s friends a hard time and initiated hilarious conversations about whether or not a cheetah was a cat.
At one point I went inside to use the bathroom and poked my head into a few rooms. First of all, to get to the bathroom, you had to go through the room with a bar. It was a fully stocked bar, with stools all around. There were also couches facing a big TV. The bathroom was really cute and clean. There was incense that smelled delicious – vanilla flavored, my favorite! Across from the bar room was another sitting room, this one had a Christmas tree decorated with lights and cards set out on the table.
After Katie and I had finished our glasses of wine, MmaDua said that was the last glass and that CD would take us out. We helped take in all the dishes and put the leftovers into the fridge. So we hopped into the car. We drove back into town so CD could get some money from her brother who had gone to the ATM. Then we drove back out of town, past CD’s house to the River Lodge, not Trekkers like we’d expected. It was absolutely packed, mostly with white people. There were two men on their cell phones standing far from the bar; obvious tourists. CD, Shawn and Chris tried to convince Katie and I that the rest of the people there were locals, but I wasn’t convinced. We ordered a round of beers and found a table a little ways away from the bar and sat down to chat and hang out. It was really nice to have such a low key night. After about an hour, we decided it was time to head home. Either Shawn or Chris (the Zimbabwean) gave us a ride home. That’s when I got to talk to him and hear about why he came to Botswana and his plans for the future.
Saturday, MmaDua texted me again to ask how we’d slept and if we’d had fun. I thanked her many times and told her what a great time we’d had. When I said we hoped to see her again before we left Maun, she responded “of course, my dear!”
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