Third Week

I can’t believe it is almost the end of January! Time has gone by so fast. Anyway, there is a not a lot that has happened in the last week. I have met some amazing people. There are a group of people that we usually hang out with every night. Classes have been fine although as I have said before everything here seems to go really slow so it doesn’t actually feel like we have started anything. Usually, at Lake Forest there is a set schedule of readings and assignments, etc. but here, there is nothing that is really asked of you other than showing up for class. It is really left up to the student to put in the effort they think is necessary to pass the class. The grading system here makes me a little nervous because they post the grades from tests and final grades and nowhere have a seen a single A for anyone. We’ll see how that turns out I guess.

My Setswana class is really fun and it is nice to be friends with locals who will speak Setswana to you and teach different things that you wouldn’t learn in a formal class setting. I am doing my independent study project on cultural preservation which I am really excited about but with the mentality around here it is really hard to be motivated or have people willing to help you with your research. Hopefully, I will get more done this week. My other class taught by a UB lecturer is really a struggle because it is at 3pm MWF and there is absolutely no fans, AC, or breeze that comes through that classroom and he lectures in a very slow manner which makes it difficult to pay attention or stay awake.

I am really excited to do a little more traveling around. Maybe then I will have more to say. But we are going to Soweto and Johannesburg this weekend which should be an experience. Although every one of my friends that I tell I am going, tell me that I need to be extremely careful because it is a really dangerous.

There are a few things that I can say about what I have noticed. First of all, people really know how to party in this country. There are people up at all hours of the night still enjoying themselves and a couple of weekends we have seen people at 8am that haven’t even gone to bed. For the most part, people are very willing to show you around and cook for you and teach about their culture, etc. It is crazy how many invitations we have had to go eat dinner at people’s houses or to be taken out to dinner and what not. For example, last weekend we went to the house this guy we met at the Yacht Club by Gaborone Dam. We had a BBQ or a Braai as it is referred to here. He let us cook and hang out and swim in his pool and then took us home. By US standards, this would seem very creepy but I can assure everyone reading this that if you are cautious and feel comfortable then it is perfectly normal.

There are few sayings here that are common among the students here or maybe the younger crowd in general When they are refuting what you say or joking around with you they say, “Ah naw”, all the time. They also, strangely enough, greet their peers by saying, “Hola” which is definitely not Setswana. Blah, Blah, Blah often turns into “what, what” or they will say it if they can’t think of the right word to say. When you are telling people something and they are saying something comparable to “are you serious?”, they say “Is it?” This one is used almost unbearably.

Let’s see, there is often no toilet paper, paper towels, or hand soap in the public restrooms around campus or even in the restrooms in the dorms so it has become a habit to carry around toilet paper and hand sanitizer wherever I go. I am sure that I have mentioned this before but it has been a really interesting experience being a minority. I guess that this is all I have to say for now but I will write more very soon.

New stuff

First of all Friday night was a lot of fun. A big group of us white people went to the yacht club, which is on the most beautiful dam I have ever seen, and watched the sunset. We had a few drinks, mingled with the local white people, and then we came back to campus to go the Hip Hop club’s show. The show was crazy. I had met most of the guys before hand and that is how I knew about it. They got us t-shirts of one of the local students who happens to have an album out. It is an awesome t-shirt. The guys name is Ostrich and the t-shirt is black with a big circle and an ostrich in the circle. Then the back says Ostrich. They are all really nice but they are the only people around here that I have seen who dress and act like ganstas. Most people are very clean cut around here it’s pretty crazy. The guys usually wear a nice pair of jeans and a nice button down shirt to classes and the girls well they all look phenomenal all the time. I don’t understand how they do it. Of course I only have a very limited selection of clothes so I am behind in that department.

Anyway, so that was my Friday night. I met a lot of new people and Emilie and I stayed out til about 3 am and we had to meet at the bus at 8 am. Which meant we had to be packed and everything by then. It was the worst day in terms of hangover, really long bus ride, vinyl seats, 100 degree weather, etc. But we got to see a lot of cool things. I took some great pictures. We went to all of these different villages and we’re able to learn a lot of things. We went to the Phuthadikobo Museum in Mochudi. It was built by a group of people called the Bakgatla and was basically artifacts and pictures and stuff that showed the different aspects of their cultural heritage. There was one specific display about the coming of age ritual which they don’t do anymore. But, they used to have young men live in the bush for two weeks and learn how to survive; they circumcised them, beat them, and did everything the believed would make you a “man”. The females were taught how to be wives and mothers, and they were also circumcised which is the reason that it is no longer happening in their culture but the said it wasn’t abolished until the 1990’s I think.

Then, we went to the Matsieng footprints, which weren’t really exciting at all and I don’t think I took a picture of them but it is a creation legend for the Batswana. There was this pool with a really deep part that they believe (d) that a giant man came out of and started roaming the earth and populating it, or something. I am not really clear on the story. But everyone told us that it was a giant footprint and when we got there it was maybe the size of a really tall basketball player’s foot and it didn’t even look real so it as kind of funny. But it was interesting to hear the story of what people believed. I guess they used to come take water out of the place where he came out, to keep. Anyway, that was our second stop.

Our third stop was the Manyana rock paintings which were pretty faded but also very cool. They were painted by the Bakgatla, I think. But you could really make them out as well as I had hoped. I did get one picture I think but I don’t know how well that is going to turn out. Oh by the way, Manyana is pronounced just the word for tomorrow in Spanish. (In case you were interested) J Then, we went to David Livingston’s tree which apparently he stayed for a couple weeks before moving on to a village. The tree was the most amazing tree ever. The trunk was sort of split in two and it was so thick and the branches were so thick and long and twisty they were sort of forming their own trunks. The shade from the tree completely covered you and it was markedly cooler under the tree than outside. It was a significant difference. It was beautiful. I didn’t get any pictures outside of the tree only on the inside which I am kind of upset about but oh well, I am sure someone has them.

The landscape here is unbelievable. I have never seen anything like it before. I was extremely impressed. It was the first time I really felt like I was in Africa. Before, I was just in a city with mostly everything I would have at home and with more malls that Logan, by far. It was an awesome experience. Anyway, our last stop was this cultural lodge which was fun. We were met at the gate by these older women doing crazy dances and seeing cool songs and very happy to see us. The head lady kept calling us her kids and she was our grandma. Then there was this really cool old guy just sitting in a chair, blowing a whistle and sniffing snuff, and then he did an awesome dance! I got video of it on my camera. He was really funny. They showed us how to grind sorghum the old way and how to play games, and do the traditional dances, etc. Then we ate. It was the best traditional food I have had since I have been here. Oh yeah and we got to try the traditional beer which doesn’t really have a whole lot of flavor. Well, I guess it tastes like a beer version of those drinkable yogurts.

Then Sunday, we went to the Mokolodi Nature Reserve which was the coolest experience. It is a game reserve so we went on a game drive but before we left they served us Champagne! Then we piled into these safari vehicles and just drove around this reserve and we got to see Impalas, and another like species (can’t remember the name), warthogs, lots of cool birds, ELEPHANTS really close to me! It was crazy. I could have touched it. And they were apparently still teenagers. We saw a giraffe, and some zebras, and the head of a leopard, but we didn’t get to see a rhino, or a hippo, or a crocodile, but it was still really awesome. Then they served us lunch in this clearing in the reserve by a beautiful lake. Then we drove back down and then went to a not so exciting water park. Finally, we ended up back here. Oh yeah, we saw the cutest little kids on our trip. There were a bunch of little boys that would follow us around and they chased our bus when we pulled in. They were so cute. I took lots of pictures of them. Also, this weekend I made some really nice local friends. They all said that I was really good at picking up the language and jokingly asked if I was sure I hadn’t been here before or learned the language which I was really happy about.


That's it for now!

Random

So, nothing has really happened since the last time I updated but I am going to add pictures this time. The girls and I did go to dinner at this nice Indian resturaunt with a guy we met at the grocery store which was an interesting experience. Apparently, if you are invited somewhere then the person who invited you pays for everything which he did for all four of us! It was really nice. He had recently started a microfinance company and is currently helping people start up businesses as well as having a project for orphaned youth. They live in a building that the company owns and they help pay for school fees, etc. as well as organizing trips for the kids during holiday seasons since that is what everyone else is doing. It sounded like a really cool business and the path that he has taken was really interesting to hear about. He wants to be our Botswana tour guide in a sense and has friends he wants to put us in touch with in case we decide to travel to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, etc. Then when we got back to the dorms there were protests going on and that was pretty crazy. The students that go to the university here actually get paid to go to school and when they are deprived a certain benefit or an ample amount of cash they protest I guess. Anyway, that is what was going on last night. It essentially means that very few people actually went to classes today which ironically enough also happens when they do get their allowances I have heard because they spend a week partying. :) My sociology professor actually showed up to class to day which was nice but he only stayed for like 10 minutes to tell us that he would give us the syllabus on Friday so we haven't actually done anything. It was the same for my Setswana class yesterday. That's about it for now.

First Week

FYI- This blog will not necessarily be well written or grammatically correct! :)

Well, it has already been quite the adventure for us. There has been a lot of miscommunication and sudden changes. Everyone always talks about how the Batswana are on “Botswana time” which basically means that it will get done when it gets done, or they will be there when they get there. It is a very relaxed country in terms of punctuality. Let’s see where should I start… the plane ride was ridiculously long. Every limb pretty much went numb and I was absolutely exhausted by the time we reached South Africa and then we still had to travel to Botswana. We were originally under the impression that we would be able to live in the graduate student housing because that’s where previous international students have stayed. Those dorms have single rooms, a shared kitchen, and internet access. Unfortunately, when we arrived in Botswana and came to the University around 11pm we were put in the undergraduate dorms. It was kind of an issue for us in the beginning but this dorm has quickly become home and sort of a sanctuary from the culture shock. Of course it does mean that we do have to spend more money on food and eating out which is not as healthy. Oh, most of our luggage was lost when we got to Botswana as well but luckily I had packed some clean clothes in my carry on so I wasn’t that bad off.

The school and the city are very beautiful. There is extremely dense and bright green vegetation everywhere. Kgale hill is absolutely breathtaking. The people are very friendly and they often greet you on the street saying hello, asking your name, and asking how you are. There are very willing to converse with you about anything. However, most of the program directors keep reiterating the fact that there is a great deal of theft and not to carry your camera around or let people in your room. It is hard to take pictures though if you don’t have your camera with you. I really hope I don’t experience that aspect of Botswana.

We have spent the first couple of days traveling around on foot and by combi (which is a bus system) which has been fun. We have gotten all of the essential shopping done that way. The combis are crazy; they pack so many people in them and they are just run down mini buses that yell at people on the street to see who needs a ride. There isn’t really much organization to the system at all. The taxi system here is interesting as well; there are often times just people in their personal cars that consider themselves cabs and will take you where you need to go for a flat rate. There are also people that set up stands, outside of the university that sell food all day long, which is pretty good.

The school took the international students on a bus tour of the city which was fun. We were able to see the national museum. It was pretty interesting; very small and not a whole lot of exhibits but very informative. Outside of it they also had traditional huts and meeting areas in the courtyard. We went to see two major malls as well; there are so many malls in Gaborone. We haven’t been able to see anything outside of the city yet but next weekend we are going on an overnight cultural excursion to the some of the neighboring villages which will be interesting.

It has been really hot!!!!!!!!! The heat doesn’t really let up until the sun goes down at like 6 or 7 pm. It also seems to get hotter every day we are here. At night sometimes there is a nice breeze so it helps to relieve the heat but even at night is stays about 90 degrees. All of the locals I have talked to have said that it doesn’t really let up that much and apparently the rainy season means about two soda cans full a year. I haven’t gotten sunburned yet though despite the fact that I haven’t really been wearing that much sunscreen. There are also a lot of bugs everywhere which was disconcerting at first but you get used to it quickly. (I guess you kind of have to!)

Last weekend, the international students went and had dinner at a woman's house who cooked traditional food for us. It was a pretty interesting meal. We had a lot of different starches that primarily all looked the same, then there was goat meat, goat intestine, and African shrimp or Mopane worms. I tried the worms but not the intestine. I haven’t really had a lot of time to spend with local students. Classes technically started on Monday however, neither the students nor the professors have showed up to class yet. I was told that I would be lucky to see a professor by Friday. I am pretty anxious to see what classes will be like once they do start. Anyway that is about all that has happened in the first week here. It has been rather hectic and a little unnerving but very interesting. Pictures will be coming soon.

To my family and friends I love you and I miss you very much!