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!