Third Week in Botswana

 Climbing up Kgale Hill

 View from the top of Kgale Hill

Another week has gone by so it’s guess it’s time for another Botswana update. Not much has really happened this week that warrants a long blog post but I shall give you some of the highlights.

The week started out great with a Monday morning that was actually really productive. I was able to finalize my schedule meaning I was able to drop the classes I needed to. Usually this task would take hours and require me to find the secretary to get a form, fill out the form, drop it back off with the secretary hoping and praying she is still there and then return another time to pick up the print-out of my class schedule. But not this Monday. The man who is in charge of coordinating all the international students’ schedules was in the office, not too busy and was able to process my schedule and give me the print out right away!!! Then right away I was able to take the print out to the CIEE office (the program I’m traveling with) and scan a copy of it to email it back home. I accomplished all this within an hour which in Botswana in unheard of. So my final schedule consists of a CIEE Setswana Language Course, an internship, Nutrition and Sports Performance, Psychological Challenges of HIV/Aids, Novels in the Modern World and Media in Botswana. Plus it works out that I only have class Monday, Wednesday and Thursday allowing me to go to my internship all day Tuesday and Friday if I’d like.

Monday continued to be a fun day as after volleyball practice, some of the international students went to River Walk mall where there was half price ribs at one of the restaurants. They were pretty good-not as good as MiRancho but I did get a Savannah beer with dinner which is a beer from South Africa that tastes like hard apple cider.

Tuesday wasn’t anything major but on Wednesday I went with my program director and another student to Old Naledi where I will be doing my internship. Old Naledi is one of the most troubled areas in Gaborone and there I will be working with a community group that helps at-risk youth by providing them with free meals and keeping them away from trouble. I was only there for about an hour to check out the facilities and meet with the director there but the kids were swarming us as soon as we got out of the car. I mean they have their hands in your pockets, on your bodies, pulling on your hands…crazy. One kid spent like five minutes just looking at my hands pulling and pushing my wrist and fingers. I really don’t know exactly what he was doing but maybe seeing if my white hand worked the same as his black hand??? Other kids just wanted me to pick them up and swing them around in a circle. While another little girl tried teaching me a game similar to Ms. Mary Mack. Although it was a lot of fun it was also really overwhelming and an intense experience. However after seeing the kids and the site it looks as if I will be doing my internship there maybe designing a physical education or fitness program or something along those lines. As of right now it’s really all up in the air and up to me how I can help. Ideas are welcomed!!

Thursday and Friday were much of the same-gym, classes, volleyball and dinner. However, I did learn a new way to get home when it’s dark out. Usually to get home I take two combis: one from school to the station and then one from the station to the stop near my house. However, I learned that once I get to the station there is a combi at the bus rank that will get me even closer. Problem is the rank is on the other side of the mall. See here the station is located at RailPark Mall. On every side of the mall there are combis and taxis. Usually the two combis I have to take are located right next to each other but with this new combi route I found I have to walk to the other side which during the day isn’t a huge deal but at night can be a bit dangerous as I stand out. Luckily though when I come home from volleyball there are a couple of other kids who also walk through the mall so it isn’t too bad. Anyways, the whole point of this was that I found a new route home. I tried this route out for the first time on Wednesday night. So I get off the combi and still have about two blocks to walk in the dark when all of a sudden I hear someone shouting, “Hey, Hey.” I began to panic and picked up my speed hoping to get home soon. Just as I am picking up my speed I hear the person yell, “Hey Julie.” And then I realized it was my host brother yelling for me. But let me tell you before I realized it was Elt, my heart rate skyrocketed and I could have won an Olympic medal for my speed walking abilities. What a relief!!!

On Thursday I did finally start my Media In Botswana class where the professor was very keen on asking me about all the media in the US even though she lived there for 7 years. I guess I am now the resident expert on US communication which lucky enough for me I was in the CAP (Communication Arts Program) at Blair hopefully having taught me enough that I can at least pull off being an informed American citizen. On Friday I was able to secure an academic advisor for my internship, Professor Mitchell, my nutrition and sports performance professor. It was so cool because when I went to her office, I walked in as she was finishing her conversation with her family in South Africa and was speaking Afrikaans. I assumed since she is White that she only spoke English and Setswana after living in Bots for so many years. However after talking to her and Elt I learned that many white people in South Africa actually speak Afrikaans opening my eyes to a different culture. I’m learning so much not only about Batswana culture but about the cultures from the surrounding countries including South Africa, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Lesotho, etc. There are so many international students at UB that I’ve been able to learn and absorb so much more than I originally thought even about countries other than the ones in Africa. There are kids here from Sweden, Finland, Norway, Canada, Germany, Japan, Austria, etc…now we actually refer to people based on their nationality (“The Mexicans are here” or “the Swedes are coming too).

Also on Friday I worked with some friends to plan our mid-semester break plans in the end of September. We are planning on going to Windhoek in Namibia then up to Swakapmund off to Zambia for Victoria Falls and then Kasani in Botswana to see Chobe Park. Hoping to go skydiving in Namibia and then bungee jumping in Vic Falls. Then in November I am planning on going to Mozambique and in December go to Cape Town right after the semester ends. Bank account is going to take a huge beating but hey, when else can I travel all over Southern Africa.

After a fun volleyball practice Friday night where the girls have taken the time to teach me phrases such as “I will beat you” and “I will kick you” (their choice of phrases to teach us) I came home and spent the evening hanging out with Elt watching TV and the movie, Drumline.

Good thing I had a relaxing Friday because Saturday and Sunday were jam packed with activities. Saturday afternoon the CIEE kids traveled to Old Naledi to work with some of the kids that I will be working with during my internship. Every Saturday all the kids from the neighborhood are welcome to come and participate in prayer and games. They basically set up the kids in a square, each side is a team and they play games assigning each team points for winning or being the most spirited. During one of the games, one kid from each team has to run the perimeter of the square one time then race to the center of the square and grab a bottle filled with sand. During another instead of grabbing the bottle, they take balls made out of wads of paper and have to hit the bottle. I even participated in one round coming in second (slipped on the dirt that we were playing on). This afternoon was by far my most favorite for so many reasons. It was amazing to watch the kids come to life with just an old bottle and pieces of paper. The resourcefulness and imagination is so inspiring and I wish people at home could see how much fun a bottle could be instead of spending so much money on extravagant toys and playgrounds. It was also such a great afternoon because of the spirit and joy of these kids. They don’t really receive a lot of attention especially from a bunch of white kids. Simply smiling and saying hello to them made them smile and giggle. Watching us dance with them and speak Setswana ignited even more giggles. I had one girl, Winney, who just became attached to me, literally. She somehow would climb herself up my body and hang on. At one point I was sitting on the ground, had one two year old on one knee, Whinney (probably 6) on the other and then a 6 month old baby somewhere in the middle. Meanwhile I had another kid sitting next to me stroking my arm and legs, maybe trying to wash away the white, not really sure. Playing with the kids brought as much joy to me as it brought to them. When I was leaving the little 2 year old was walking behind me all the way to the car…it broke my heart. There aren’t really words to describe how great it is to play with kids who have gone through a lot and yet are so loving and joyful.

After leaving the kids we headed to RiverWalk for dinner at Spurs and then went out to Bull and Bush, a favorite ex-pat bar in Gaborone. It was really fun at the bar because of the great mix of people who were there. There were a lot of international students but I also ran into some fellow Americans, Boston and Texas. I then participated in a dance circle made up of all Batswana. Dancing with them was one of those moments where you are like, “Yeah I’m in Africa, in a bar, dancing with a bunch of locals, this is my life!”

Within a couple of hours it was Sunday and time for the next adventure: climbing Kgale Hill. This was another high, literally. It takes about an hour and a half to climb ot the top of the hill and it’s not that easy of a road either. Very rocky, very steep, very long but oh my was it worth it. Some of the pictures are from the view from the top. It was spectacular. You can see all of Gaborone and the surrounding districts. It is definitely something I want to do again and hopefully at sunset which is supposed to be spectacular. I don’t know how much more spectacular it could have been. It rivals the views at Denali in Alaska!

The night ended great by coming home and going for a walk with Tshego around the neighborhood. It was fun because I haven’t really explored my own neighborhood yet-Block 9. She pointed out some of the well-known thieves of the neighborhood, that was scary and couples park. Apparently that’s where the couples go to meet because here in Bots people who are dating don’t tell their parents. Every relationship is kept secret until the proposal in which cases sometimes the uncle of the groom talks to the parents of the groom and then talks to the family members of the bride. Very different system!  Anyways, am running on very little sleep but wanted to write one more post when I had the time. Thanks for reading!!!

I was going to post this last night (Sunday) but the internet was being iffy. So  here is a brief overview of Monday. You don’t really need to know everything every day but today the highlight was my first Setswana Language class. Luckily my grandma here has been saying Setswana greetings to me everyday and my host brother Elt has been so helpful with pronouncing everything. However, to give you all a flare of what I am trying to learn I’ll write out a song of greetings that we learned today. Now remember, the g sounds like h with the back of the throat/Jewish sounding, there is a lot of tsh and tl which has been the hardest. Here is the song:

Dumela (said 8 times)

O tsogile jang (~how did you sleep)

Ke Tsogile sentle (~I slept well)

Wena O tsogile Jeng ( ~how did you sleep)

Leina la gago ke mang (what is your name)

O tswan kae (where do you come from)

Wena o tswa kae (where do you come from)

Ke tswa kwa America (I am from America)

O tswa kae USA (where in the US are you from)

Trying to learn it and speak with Elt a lot because not only do I want to learn the language but am going to have two oral exams and the only way to do well is to practice all the time. I am so lucky to have a homestay and be exposed to the language so much here at my house. Anyways, that was the highlight of my Monday along with coming home with Elt after volleyball and helping him clean up the kitchen. I am really lucky that Elt and I get along so well and that he works at UB! Alright folks, Go siame (it’s okay but also a way to say good bye) and boroko (good night)!!!