Saturday, November 21, 2009

Maun

How can I describe what life is like these days?! For the first time this semester, in the last 3 weeks I have felt like I'm actually settled in one place. After shifting around every couple weeks, living in Maun on our own feels comfortable and stable. We got moved into a chalet after some luggage was stolen from our campsite (luckily the police actually caught the thief the next day with all the stuff intact!). The chalet enables us to continue our communal dinners without having to build a fire. The biggest perk may be that we can nap because we have beds and AC. It's been a crazy time, really. We take care of each other but we each do our own thing. Many mornings we will walk the 20 minute commute to Backpacker's Lodge for french press coffee and sit by the river under a huge fig tree. Those mornings are divine. At night we put candles outside and sit on our porch to eat dinner. It's truly adorable. The town gets to us all sometimes-- it's small and gossipy and being the new kids in town we stand out a bit. But overall we've had lots of good fun with expatriate and local community members alike.

My project is coming along. It's not going to be a masterpiece, but I have done a number of interviews and have learned a lot already. The people of Sexaxa have been extremely helpful, especially Ryan's old host brother Canaan, who has helped me translate. It always amazes me how many people in the world will do nice things with no expectations in return.

Well folks, I fly home one month exactly from today. It seems like such a long and a short amount of time all at once. I am happy here, but I'm excited to get home. So I'm going to focus on enjoying this time, but anticipating a joyous homecoming!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

I googled Sexaxa today, and my blog entry was one of the first 5 results! It took me aback. It just goes to show that anything you write on the internet can back to you. Anyway, I am now fully settled in Maun. I'm camping for now at a very nice hotel, which means there's a great pool, restuarant, message area (I'm planning on waiting until I get super stressed before I cave) and bar, but I go back and sleep in a tent every night. Kind of strange, really. We have been cooking as a group every night, which has led to such interesting creations as hallah, 13 kg of beef, grilled cheese, dumplings and stew, and hummus, all made over a campfire (except the hummus, no cooking needed). It's a great bonding experience. One of our 8 has already left for Kasane, and another is planning on leaving tomorrow. Soon there will only be 5 of us, though we are getting moved into a chalet on Sunday, which will make everything wonderful.
Maun is really easy to get around. I walk up to the road and hail a cab, who will take me to the old mall or new mall for P3.20, about 50 cents. Or if you are lucky, you catch a combi for only P2.70. Most combis get full, like 15-16 people in the van, but a few days ago I had the attendent sitting on my lap. That was a new level of full. The manager at my hotel has also given me two rides to town. It just goes to show the generosity of the people here and how being nice to managers pays off!
I am going to study the cultural village at Sexaxa for my Independent Study Project. I will stay in Maun though and commute. It's difficult to get the info I need so far, but it will undoubtably come together eventually. I mean, I have almost 4 weeks left to do it. And while I'm not working, I'll be enjoying walking around this town, where you run into the same people all the time and can buy sweet rasta earrings for P10.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Excursion

It is raining in Botswana! It is somewhat wonderful because it's gotten cold enough for pants and jackets, but it's also challenging while living in an old tent. I'll survive though as long as the hot, drying sun comes out soon before ALL my clothes are soaked. Yes, so it looks like I'll probably be living in a tent for the next 5 weeks and figuring out my own food. I'm thinking it will be a lot of peanut butter and jelly and cereal. This is all because the Independent Study Project is starting in one week, and this is the prep week.

But, this past week we were on excursion here in the northwest part of Botswana. We went to the panhandle of the Okavango Delta, the largest inland delta in the world. We took a couple boat rides to see sunsets, birds, and animals (crocs and hippos!) and went to Tsodilo Hills where there is rock paintings scattered on ancient hills done by the San people. At Tsodilo we climbed to the highest point in Botswana to watch the sunset. It was no Himalayan climb, but a challenge and a beautiful view nonetheless! We also went to a crocodile farm where we saw thousands of crocs. Most were young and in these rooms where they climb all over each other to get to the water. Crazyness!

Ok, my time is running out...more soon!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Sexaxa

Visit the Sexaxa Cultural Village website: http://sexaxa.weebly.com/
So for the past week (and the next week) I've been living in a small, rural village called Sexaxa (the x's are clicks). It's only a 20 minute commute to a busling town, but it's quiet out there without eletricity or running water! Sexaxa is a wonderful and frustrating experience so far. I'm living in a small tin-roofed hut where I sleep with Mosetsana (22) and her two kids (4 months and 5 years), and in the same compound is my Mme, Boshale (34 yrs) and her boyfriend, Olivere. None of them speak much english, which is tough, but I'm definitely learning a lot of setswana. We have to walk to the standpipe to get water, about 200 yards away or so. I tried carrying the bucket on my head and got myself kind of wet! I asked Mosetsana to teach me how to bathe from the basin thing, and so twice we bathed in the same basin at the same time! We didn't really fit, but I thought it was hilarious. The baby, Nunu, is adorable and I love holding him. However, he doesn't wear diapers, so I'm a little scared of him peeing on me at any moment (which has happened a few times...). It is very hot in Sexaxa and Maun, but there are more trees than in the south, which is nice. There are so many moments where I've felt serenly happy in the village-- walking around with Nunu strapped to my back (when people ask who's baby it is my Mme always says "it's her's!"), sitting around in the sand while everyone drinks the traditional beer or rasta wine, playing with my 5 yr old brother (that makes 2 five year olds that I've befriended in Botswana!), jalo jalo (that's etc. in setswana). Despite the language barrier we spend plenty of time at my house laughing and I'm getting really good at recognizing certain phrases (like the one for "wash this" or "bring me a spoon" or "let's go"). We spend a lot of time just sitting outside, mostly playing with the baby (or babies...others visit frequently and most young women seem to have one) or cooking and cleaning.

My Mme made me a wooden spoon and thing to cook sorghum with (it's like a t-shaped stick)...I'm excited about it.

I finished my 480 page book ("Dark Star Safari") and I'm really proud of how much I've been reading since school got out in May. The book was a pretty depressing look at Africa, and while I know that some places are better (like Botswana), it did impact my thinking on foreign aid. I will continue to process those ideas later. Anyway, I might re-read Catcher in the Rye next, since someone has it here and 10th grade was a long time ago.

Sunday we went to another community trust, this one with a cultural village and a game drive. The drive was seriously like 5 hours and there weren't many animals, but I've started to think of it as meditation and life planning time. Needless to say, I've spent lots of time thinking about how wonderfuly greatful I am for my life (and all the wonderful people in it!!!). The cultural village was surreall because they were showing the traditional Bayeii way of life, but so much of it is recognizable in Sexaxa today! I learned a lot though, one of the most interesting things to me was that when a woman gives birth she is put in isolation for 2 months. Mosetsana said they still do that in Sexaxa. I have many feelings on this: it's a time when the man is free to go "play around" and he misses those crucial frist months of his child's life. Plus the woman is alone! But maybe just seeing your mother or a few other women is nice when you are taking care of a newborn...I don't know. Anyway, the "village" has demonstrations of games, music, dancing, men setting traps, shooting arrows, traditional houses, food, and a traditional healer. Pretty cool! Camping out was nice...we had a fire and sat around talking until midnight (!!!) with our guide, Kabelo, from Gabs, who visited the US this spring and used to work for SIT. You meet such interesting people here.

That's all for now! Peace out.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Living in the Sasa

I wrote this as an update for my family, but it can be an update for you too! By the way, the Sasa is the immediate past, the present, and the immediate future. Aka, living in the moment!

I am in high spirits right now because it's Friday and we took our midterm this morning. It wasn't bad at all, for which I am greatful! Then most of us went and "snuck" into the Gaborone Sun, a luxury hotel, where we layed by the pool for the afternoon. I got the kids order of chicken nuggets-- delicious. Stewart actually gave us the idea by saying he didn't think it was wrong to use our "whiteness" to our advantage at times. Anyway, backtrackking, Tuesday we went back to Mokolodi. We drove around forever looking for the rhinos and then we got out where their footprints were, followed the chewed grass, and found them! I felt like we were very close, but I trust the guides. There were 3 of them, and after a while 2 lay down to take a nap. Then we headed back for a 1 1/2 lunch break (you have to not worry about time...) and then back into the "field" for a "community ecology" lesson. We staked out a 10 x 10 pace area and then recorded everything in that area and reflected on the implications. We found dung from wildebeest, hares, and impala, and recorded many plants and insects. For such a dry place, there are still a lot of living things! Tuesday night I went with my family back to Molepolole for a House warming/Independence Day celebration on Wednesday. The party was fun and I helped prepare food, entertain onlookers with my attempt at dancing, and meet lots of interesting people. We were there from like 1 pm to 12:30 pm! Then Thursday I did almost nothing, which was frustrating. I did learn how to sweep dust though. At first I thought it was just to make it look nice, but then I was told I was supposed to be cleaning the trash, haha!

You would be happy to know:
-I'm getting really good at ironing. Everyone in my family irons their outfits everyday, so I do the same
-I gave Hilda (the 5 yr old) a bouncy ball and we've been great friends ever since. I love her imagination and her accent ("twinkle twinkle" is ADORABLE with a little Botswana accent!), although at times she's like any annoy 5 yr old ("where are you going? what are you doing?")

-I tried to get a tan and ended up with a huge pink stripe accross my stomach. When I tried to get sympathy from my family I don't think they could relate :)
-You meet people here for just a few days and then it's so sad to say goodbye! Mpho, who's house we were warming, was so sweet to me. She would lead me by the hand and hug me and give me tea. She took a video on her phone of me singing the 3 setswana songs I know.
-My "Mme" here speaks to me in a very different way than I'm used to. Basically she TELLS me what I am going to do. It feels like I'm being commanded, whether it's to bath or to a plate. I know it's a cultural difference, so I try to forgive her!
-We never know when we will get out of class. Leatile, my 15 yr old brother, and I had made plans to go get me a Gaborone Unitedn shirt on Tuesday but it took me forever to get home (and I wasn't too pumped to go back to the village when everyone else was celebrating Independence in Gabs) so it was too late. My mme asked me how my day was and I just started tearing up. I'm sure she thought I was crazy! But if that's the only time I've really cried since being here, then it's not so bad. One month has come and gone already!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Things that are similar...but different

Here is a list of things that I've noticed are slightly different here in Botswana:
-"Coke Light" instead of Diet Coke
-Lots of Pineapple Fanta
-"Tomato Sauce" instead of ketchup, and it's spicy
-The norm is 3 1/2 spoons of sugar per cup of tea
-Different alcohol brands: "St. Louis", "Black Label", "Savannah Dry" are popular
-If you are living with other women, you'll probably see their chests a few times
-Bathing is called "Bath-ing"
-Driving on the left side of the road
-A very common sauce for rice is just ketchup&mayonnaise
-Along the street you can get a delicious buffet of food for about $2...normally rice/pasta/maize meal, fried chicken, sauce, beets, cole slaw, and/or grilled beef
-The ice cream man rides a bike and uses a hand horn to get attention
-Nice houses almost always have electric fences

That's all for now!

Monday, September 21, 2009

The Joys of Village Living

On Saturday we completed the first homestay. My family was almost 40 minutes late to the closing ceremony, but the academic director was even later so it didn't matter...oh African time! I said a prayer on behalf of the students, lead a setswana song, and had to do a speech because I'm the designated "kgosi" or chief, this week. Mogobane has about 2,400 people and most of them seem to be related or at least know each other. A bunch of children actually learned my Setswana name (Sebaga) and would yell it each day as I walked the 20 minutes from class. I was sad to say goodbye to my family. I lived with Francinah and Mokgolo, older folks who have 7 grown children and many grandchildren, and their granddaughter Ntabesing lived with us too. She's 19 and we clicked right away. She would translate for me, take me to visit her cousins and friends, and explain things to me about Botswana culture. One funny tibit: in Botswana when you have a visitor you are supposed to always walk them halfway home. However, in actuality whenever we would go to walk someone halfway it would mean that we would walk to their house and hang out for 20 minutes or so until they had to walk US halfway back! My house had electricity but not running water inside, but we visited her cousins who live in a 2 room, nonelectric, house. I loved sitting there in the dark letting them play with my head lamp and trying to learn how to dance like them as they played clips from their cell phones. Life can be so rich, no matter where you are.

Some stories:
-One day our Setswana class was interrupted by someone telling the teacher that some "justice was going to be administered at the kgotla" so we stopped class and watched a man get 2 lashes on his back. Apparently he highly insulted his parents and the elders somehow. It may seem barbaric, but instant justice has it's perks. He can go back to work now, humiliated, instead of leaving a family without any income for food by going to jail for however long.
-I got to go to a funeral. Someone joked with me like "are you going to cry?" and I was like "haha, no way, I didn't know this lady!" and then when we got there and the community was gathered outside with the sun setting, the old people with their beautiful wrinkled faces there, and they sang as they carried the casket into a church, I did almost cry. The harmonies were so rich and exotic to my ears. I had to cover my head and shoulders and I probably looked ridiculous-- the price you pay to be respectful!
-I visited my family's cattle post. Next to diamonds, cattle is the largest source of income for Botswana. My family owns 58 cows, which is a whole lot for that area. You traditionally have to give 8 cows for a bride price, in case you are interested. Anyway, we walked way out into the fields and saw where the cows graze and the kraals they use and the hut where the herdboy stays. I felt like I was in the Outback. It is interesting to think that some people spend a lot of their lives out in those quiet fields.

The Gabs homestay starts in 2 days. If it is as good as Mogobane, I'll be satisfied!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Go siame

So I've been here about 9 days! I dont even know where to begin-- I've already seen wildlife and gorgeous flowers, met a paramount chief and played in a drum circle. I've started to figure out the transportation system of "combis", minibuses that zoom around the city, but not without some accidental added walking. We drink the water and eat plently of meat here, which is completly different from traveling in India! Also, you should know when you picture Botswana that it is pretty modern. There are malls, KFCs, and lots of cars. I haven't seen much sign of poverty yet, even. When diamonds were discoverd here a year after independence, it helped the economy become stable and prosperous compared with elsewhere in Africa. Also, it's dusty and semi-arid here, so my feet get super dirty. Luckily it's not too hot yet, but it will be soon! The people here live up to their reputation for niceness-- they are helpful with directions and greeting is expected anytime you enter somewhere. My favorite thing is walking by someone who is looking at me expressionless and saying "Dumela Mma/Rra" and seeing their face light up into a smile.
Botswana was never a colony, only a British protectorate, so it doesn't have the same 'footprint of colonialism' that is left on many other african countries. There is very little racism, and the first president even married a white woman! I can't say we aren't treated a little differently because we are white (it's assumed we are wealthy, for sure), but it's not too bad.
Today we leave for our first homestay (there are 8 of us in the program) and I'll be living with an older couple and their son and grandchild in Mogobane. No internet in the village! It should be very interesting. I"ll update when I get back.

So I guess the point is Im doing very well and can't wait to learn/see/experience more!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Before the Fact

"Wait, there must be more to it than just deciding to go Botswana on a whim," she said. Well, the truth is, it was pretty random. I was all set to apply for a program in Europe when I had these couple days where I wrestled constantly with this pull toward Africa. I have this one chance I kept thinking, one chance to be anywhere in the world for a semester. And that was it, I had made up my mind to go to Africa. You see, I'm on this streak in life where I want to be anything but ordinary and jumping on a flight to a third world country seemed the way to do it. As far as Botswana itself, I basically chose it because the program looked practical, interesting, and Botswana is stable and known for friendly people. Why not?

Since these initial decisions, everything has become a lot more real. Now a country I know very little about is going to be my home for 3 1/2 months. Still, I have this theory that most of life is chance and random decisions anyway. Since there is no predicting anything, my random choice is probably just as good as any other country I could have chosen. So how do I feel as I get ready? What are my hopes?

My two biggest concerns are getting along with everyone (or maybe everyone getting along with each other) and the independent study project that takes up the last month of the program. I'm an extrovert and when I'm upset I feel better by talking to people. I need that release! And the ISP (independent study project) intimidates me because I've never done a project this big and not to mention in SCIENCE. I'll let you know in Nov-Dec if I'm surviving.

My hope for this trip is that I see another way of life and learn to thrive in another culture. I also hope I can continue the introspection about America that I began in India this summer. I pray that this experience will also shine light on God in new ways for me-- that I will learn from the people and the land and see God with fresh eyes. I hope that I will come back more confident, more wise, and more ready to change the world someday. Bring it on, Africa!

In less than 48 hours I will be on my way... maybe I should pack...