CLOSING

I apologize for not having already ended my blog neatly. The end of the trip was of course busy and hectic. Blogging of course took a back seat.

I am very excited to be back in the states. Of course it was an amazing experience, but some things are hard to deal with here when they normally run so well at home. For example, service. No matter where you go, things are slow. Restaurants, stores, banks, everything. And most Motswana that we talk to say it's from laziness. I think I do see some of that. It's not uncommon to wait in line at an ice cream place and have literally 9 people behind the counter yet you wait 3-4 minutes before anyone notices or assists you. When everything is like that, it builds up and gets frustrating.

Going into the summer, I dabbled in thoughts of possibly teaching internationally down the road in situations similar to this summer. However, while I did enjoy it, I don't think it's something I will pursue. I just don't see myself as being able to move away from anyone for a longer period of time. I also don't think I could deal with actually live-living in a place like this for lengthy stays. It takes a much bigger person than I am!

I did have a GREAT experience teaching though. The first few weeks were very rough because I just sort of watched the teacher and saw her doing a horrible job. I felt like I was wasting my time and didn't know why they even had my here. But as luck would have it, the teacher went away for a few weeks and the class was then mine! I loved the teaching and it was great to be able to establish norms and rules in my own classroom. The kids caught on and I actually noticed some significant changes in them. When I started they were only able to say about half the alphabet in order from memory. They couldn't identify any letters or know what sounds they made. Somehow I have gotten them to start to read a little bit. Some of them are able to get that a 'b' and an 'a' make a 'ba' sound. I mention this accomplishment not as my own but as me being so proud of my kids.

While living here there has been a sort of constant uneasiness. The other girls have also felt it. Being out either alone or with other girls is almost always uncomfortable. The men here are obsessed with white (and Asian) girls. And they are also very forward, so we are constantly being hit on and called at. This was something we were warned at before, but it's so so so irritating. If I am out walking alone they always ask where I am going, or if they can take me, or if they can be my boyfriend, or if they can have my number, or if I will marry them. The men here often ask the boys in our program to set them up with white girlfrinds. I've never felt threatened or unsafe or anything like that, but as I said, it's just uncomfortable.

The trip had challenges, but overall it was great. At times I wished I was in Philly or New York, but I don't regret going at all. It was certainly once in a lifetime experience. There's so much more I could write about, but I frankly don't have time right now and I wouldn't know where to begin.

Thanks to all those that read. I'm glad you could follow along and see what I was up to!

sans title

Not much has been going on as of late. Simply enjoying my last little bit in Botswana. Today I went to Kamogelo. Tomorrow we have a lunch for the Penn interns and our various supervisors. Then I am going in Wednesday for my last day at Kamogelo, which will, of course, be upsetting.

I'm a little disappointed because they have finally figured out how to cash the $500 check. However, it takes awhile for it to show up. So I don't think I am going to get to buy the First Aid supplies and get the kits together before I leave. They are going to use the money for the kits, that's not a concern. But it's frustrating that I won't get to finish my project.

This past weekend I actually saw two movies: Wall-E and The Dark Knight. Wall-E was cute and hilarious while the Dark Knight freaked me out. I always get incredibly creeped out by those types of villians...

Last night we went to an Indian restaurant called Chutney. We've been twice and every dish has proved to be tasty-licious. And YES mom and dad, I have started eating Indian food. The world might as well come crashing down. I've even had it several times.

I started biting my nails again. UGH. I took off nail polish for three days and BAM it's like the last 2 months never happened. I am going to paint them again and hopefully that will help remedy the current situation.

A little bit ago we went to the Gaborone dam to watch the sunset:

cape tizzle

Saturday morning we rose early to taxi our way to the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport. Rajiv, Pratik, Julio and I made our way to the single gate and walked out to a charming plane awaiting us and 20 other passengers. We flew from Gabs to Joburg and then on to Cape Town, South Africa.

Cape Town was different than our last trips because we had to plan what we were going to do and what we wanted to see in our few days there. Taking into account that we did zero planning beforehand, we did very well.

Day 1: We arrived around lunch and spent the day on a "topless bus" (hehe). The bus was a city tour that had about 14 stops. At each stop you had the option of getting off and exploring for a bit, and then getting on the next bus that passed through. While it was painfully touristy, it gave you a really good idea of what the city had to offer, which was obviously important in our circumstances. We explored one of the waterfront/marina areas that had some shops and restaurants as well as went up partway on Table Mountain. From there one could see lovely views of the city along the water. The city is really beautiful and a lot more like Europe that I had anticipated. I didn't really know what to expect, but it's MUCH different than Gabs. If one were to think about the Africa stereotypes, Gabs falls in line with them, and Cape Town not so much.

Night 1: Following the afternoon of touring, we walked to an Italian restaurant not more than 7 minutes from our hotel. It was charming, the dining room would have made a great club, and it had a very attentive staff. We sat by the window that overlooked the water, but it was dark, so I don't remember seeing too much of it... Because we had such an early morning, we then decided to nap. We roused around 11:00pm to go out. We were told that if we went to Long Street there would be a lot going on. This proved to be accurate. We stopped into a cafe by day, bar by night (Mr. Pickwicks) and had a few drinks. Then we headed to a dive club of sorts called Joburg. That was crowded, but a lot of fun. The music was, of course, all big names and almost exclusively American. After that we went to a club called Chrome. It was an entertaining crowd that consisted of 75% Indian boys between the ages of 18-20. 4:30am bed.

Day 2: After brunch we went to Company's Gardens which as you can imagine, consisted of nice walkways, gardens, and fountains. Being a Sunday, a fair amount of families were strolling and picnicking. It was nice to see copious amounts of green. The landscape differed greatly from that of the rather dusty Gabs. We stumbled upon the National Art museum in the gardens and paid a whopping 15 Rand (2ish USD) to get in. They had a very neat room.5 on a Portugese artchitect named Pancho Guedes. He did some REALLY cool stuff. Following the gardens, we attempted to go the University of Cape Town to meet Julio's friend for a brai (BBQ) they were having. This brai was occuring at 11 Cecil Road. We flagged down a cab and found our driver did not know this address or even where UCT was. He was from Zimbabwe and hadn't been in Cape Town very long. We asked another cabbie and we headed off in the correct general direction. He handed us a map and asked us to find Cecil Road. We quickly found Cecil Road, but shortly after found it was the wrong Cecil Road. We arrived at number 11 and a friendly young man informed us we were not at the right place. We walked to the main road to find we weren't exactly in the nicest of neighborhoods and we definitely looked out of place. It was an adventure, but we miraculously found another taxi. The driver turned out to be amazing and took us right where we needed to go. I oddly enough met two girls also from NH at the brai. Small, small world.

Night 2: We split up for dinner because Julio and I were interested in seafood, while Rajiv and Pratik were not (being vegetarian and all). After dinner we fell asleep and called it a night.

Day 3: Out to the vineyards! We rented a car and Julio drove seeing as he was the only one that could drive stick. It was incredible! There are literally hundreds of vineyards located about 45 minutes outside of Cape Town. We stopped at a first called Villiera. We walked around the cellar on our own and then had a free wine tasting. None of us knew much about wine, but it was interesting to get a better idea of what I like v. what I don't. Then we drove down the road and stopped at Eagleviel. This was a newer vineyard, so it didn't seem as old and prestigious, but it had beautiful views and we sat outside with a charming mutt of a dog lapping up any spilled wine. Following that, we stopped at another place I forget the name of for lunch. Unfortunately, lunch was nothing special and it made us very late for our 2:15 tour at a winery called Laborie. They said the tour had started, but another winery called Nederberg down the road had one at 3. We dashed over there and had an AMAZING visit. Since it was a Monday, none of the wineries were crowded by any means. At Nederberg, a woman about our parents' age led us on a private tour of this massive winery. She knew an incredible amount and was not condescending at all considering we knew close to nothing. Following the tour, we had a tasting where she spent a lot of time telling us about the different kinds of wine. She gave us tips about serving and whatnot. She was great. It was great. Life's great.

Night 3: Back in Cape Town we went to the Waterfront for dinner. It unfortunately turned out to be a basic mall, but they had a fairly good selection of restaurants. Our group split again and Julio and I went to a Portugese restaurant. Julio and I then went to a gelateria for dessert and then we all headed back to the hotel. Again we found ourselves exhausted and settled in for the night.

Day 4: This is Tuesday and our last day. We had to leave at 1pm for the airport to get our flight back to Gabs. However, we didn't want to simply mope about. We still had our rental car and we decided to drive to Cape Point. It's a peninsula with pulchritudinous views (do you notice a trend of this in Cape Town?). Sorry to use that word, I have been obsessed with it since I learned it whilst studying for the GRE. The drive along the coast was a little scary simply because it's so windy. The timing was perfect and we made it back to Cape Town just in time to get lunch and meet our ride to the airport.

smarties

Before I even address my weekend in Cape Town, I would like to dedicate an ENTIRE post to Smarties. Please follow the link to find everything you will need to know about Smarties. These are not the weird, sour, sugary smarties back home, these ones are much, much better. I do hope this dedication shows the magnitude with which I love them. I have loved them my entire life and it's such a treat to have them available to me at every turn.

Also, I realized about a week ago how MUCH I love ice cream.

I dedicate this post to Smarties and ice cream. (Weird mood.)

kabelo & the vegetable party

I feel this blog post title could also be the title of a children's story.

Yesterday I had my "vegetable party." In an effort to increase vocab and nutrients, I decided to bring in various veggies for the kids to try. They sat at their tables with their single paper towel eagerly awaiting the food that doesn't often come their way. I then gave them all samples of the following: green beans, tomatoes, lettuce, green peppers, onion, mushrooms, and carrots. They practiced phrases such as, "I am eating green beans" and the like. Following each veggie they voted (kind of) whether they liked it or not. I thought the onion was going to be more entertaining, but 23 of the 25 raised their hand in approval. I suppose children who don't have much food variety (or food in general) available to them have wider palates. Overall, I was pleased. I was hoping to do more of a math lesson with the data we accumulated from the votes, but the numbers were a little high for them.

We have been working on addition with numbers up to about 10. They're getting there. However, amazingly, I only have two more days at Kamogelo, so I am hoping what I have started continues after I am gone. I have also started to get some of them to read. Sort of. Each morning I will write words on the board, but each letter one at a time. We sound it out as we go along. The brighter ones are able to get it while the others repeat what they say or play with the carpet. You win some, you lose some.

As I said, I only have 2 days left, which is rather shocking. I have tomorrow and then next week is supposed to be my last day of the internship. However, the kids have school vacation. So I am going to go one last day the following week to say goodbye. Some of the other Penn students are planning to come with Ilana and me. They want to meet the kids and play for a day, which is totally understandable and acceptable. I was really heartbroken when today Lesego kept asking if we could take another bus. I keep having to say, "No, no bus. No bus." He then asked if we could take one next year. It's incredibly hard to think about the fact that I will probably not see these kids ever again.

Oh yes, and I haven't gotten to our title boy, Kabelo. He gives me the most trouble of them all. He is one of the smallest ones and always fighting with the other kids. I have never had my patience tested like so with him. I have also never been tempted to physically punish a child until now. I hate saying it, but sometimes he looks at me with those devil eyes and angelic smile and I could literally scream with horror. The only reason I am ever tempted is because it's the only method of punishment he internalizes. Because I don't hit him or the other kids, he doesn't really care about what I say. He likes to make trouble entirely for attention. It's frustrating because I want to ignore it and show it won't receive my attention, but I can't. Unfortunately his disruptions disrupt everyone. It's hard to work with kids that don't have anything. When I was a camp counselor I could remind them that bad behavior led to missing out on pizza parties and field trips. However, that doesn't fly around here. What is to stop them from doing what they want? Beating only. Which, of course, I don't issue. Ah frustration!

This weekend we are going to Cape Town for 4 days and I am super excited. This trip will just be Julio, Rajiv, Pratik, and I. I've heard nothing but good things.

I leave 2 weeks from tomorrow. This has all flown by! Eek! I am getting to DC early August 2nd. Then I am flying from Philly to NH that night. After spending a week there, I will be back in Philly on the 9th. The rest of August I am planning to babysit and hopefully make up some of the money I lost while not working this summer and study for the GRE. (Which I have totally slacked on lately.) I also plan on making trips up to NYC often to visit friends! I have mixed feelings on leaving. One part of me wants to stay, but a LARGE part is so excited to go back! I miss everyone and am eager for life at a "normal" pace again.

A video of some of the older kids singing. You will notice Sisca distributing some light beatings with the stick of doom. (Oh and they LOVE singing about Jesus.)

to paradise and back (long!)

The weekend finally arrived when we flew up to Chobe National Park and Victoria Falls. I will preface this post by stating that it's going to be gushy. Everything was "amazingggg" and everything was "beauuutiful" and everything was "awesomeeeee." So just be prepared.

Friday morning I flew up with Ilana, Julio, Dave, Rajiv and Pratik. The hour and a half flight was painless and we shortly found ourselves being driven to the Kubu (meaning: hippopotamus) lodge. None of us knew what to expect and because of that we found ourselves blown away. This was one of the most amazing places I have ever been. I felt like I was on America's Next Top Model when they take the final 5 (or whatever) to some exotic location. There is always footage of the girls arriving and screaming at their mindblowing accomodations and throwing themselves on their short-term beds in fits of giggles and smiles. It was kind of like that. We had three "chalets" and dined each morning and night at the hotel restaurant (which considering the fixed menu, was rather scrumptious). The restaurant had a lovely deck that was perfect for breakfast and drinks before dinner. After 10pm we were told not to walk around outside because the hippos come out of the water and hang out on the property. We were hoping to spot one, but no such luck. You could only hear them grunting or whatever in the distance. Here are some photos of our weekend's oasis.

Rajiv and Ilana.

My room.

Good morning boys and girl. (Why so glum Pratik?)

I will note at this point that Thursday night I got very ill. I threw up a couple times and it was clear that my body wanted something OUT. However, I am not sure what. (Not from drinking! Poo poo to those of you thinking it.) For the first time in my life, I looked in the mirror and understood where the "looking green" expression came from. We had gone to a really incredible dinner in Gabs Thursday night, but I was the only one that got sick. So Friday I was not feeling so hot. I would feel fairly well most of the time, but I would get these INTENSE stomach pains every half hour or so. (Contractions?! Just kidding.) This weekend I was sick for much of it, but it was certainly overshadowed by the total awesomeness of everything else.

Back to Friday at Chobe. Around lunch I was very much under the weather, and not really looking forward to our three hour boat cruise in the Zambezi river. I felt faint, weak, sore muscles, and like I was going to vomit. The fresh air on the boat turned out to be just what I needed. I still wasn't that great, but still very much able to enjoy it. A guide took the six of us on a little boat and we darted around looking at animals. Hippos, elephants, crocodiles, water buffalo, giraffes (from afar), lots of birds (not my thing), large lizard thingies, and other creatures not as high on the food chain. We watched the sun set and took photos that easily would show up on google images.

Crocodile.

A pod of hippos.

Elephants bathing.

Giraffes. Not as impressive, but whatever.

AFRICA.

Back to lodge- spent our first glorious night. Woke up and were transported to Victoria Falls for the day. Vic Falls is on the border between Zimbabwe (!) and Zambia. Our trip was going to the Zim side, and everything went smoothly. We had to stop at a number of border control areas, but there were barely any lines and it was a painless process. It's so important to have a guide because he just led us around and told us what to do. There was an amazing disparity between Botswana and Zimbabwe even in the intensely brief time we were there. We stopped at a town in Zim to schedule the bungee jumping (that I did not partake in) and we were BOMBARDED with people desperately trying to sell us things. It was nuts. That sort of thing doesn't happen in Botswana, or Gabs rather, but where we were in Zim was ridiculous. It was really quite sad and heartbreaking. They are also incredibly persistent. We would say "No thank you" and get in the car. They would keep banging on the windows and holding up the art pieces and lowering the price. The currency used in Zim was actually USD (or Botswana pula). For one, it's a rather touristy area. Also, their money is worthless. (Thanks Mugabe.)

Exchange rates.

Watching the jumpers.

As for the bungee jumping, it took forever. That was rather annoying considering I wasn't doing it and I felt sick. It was something like a 111 meter jump over the river coming from the falls. They jumped from a bridge between Zim and Zambia. More power to the people that do it, but that's just not something I am down for. At first, Dave, Julio, and Rajiv did it. Dave actually got a package of three things: the slide, the bungee, and the swing. The slide was more of a zip line done while sitting. I would have done that had I not been sick. The bungee was the classic bungee and the swing is for the truly crazy people. In bungee you sort of fall/are pushed off. The swing you literally RUN off the platform. And it swings you back and forth as well as down. All variations of soaring/feeling like you're dying. We had been there a couple hours, and just when Dave was about to do his last, Pratik and Ilana decided to do it. So that was another hour or so. By the end I was banging my head against the wall because I was just waiting, feeling sick, burning in the sun. Oh well. I took pictures for people. Yay? [Dave was incredible with the jumps. He is a law student at Penn, went to West Point, and was in the Army for a while. He had flawless form and would LEAP from the platform. Most people needed a little push.]

Julio and Rajiv.

Dave leaping.

Dave's eyes are closed, but the shot shows the bridge's height.

Post jumping, we lunched in Zim and then headed to Vic Falls. I have been to Niagara Falls and so I sort of pictured a bar with lots of people posted up against it taking pictures. It was actually more of trail that you walked along. It wasn't crowded at all, and as you can imagine, it was incredible. I am not going to waste my words trying to describe seeing one of the 7 natural world wonders. Here are some photos.

For all you know, I googled it.

This reminded me of the Old Man in the Mountain, but with a flatter nose. I haven't been to see him since the fall, perhaps this is what he looks like now.

There were monkeys all over the path. Some were eating bananas. Be jealous, Nat.

Hehe.

The next morning, we woke up painfully [painfully] early for a game drive. At this point, I've been on a number of these, so it wasn't anything too crazy. Except the major highlight was that we finally saw lions. That was pretty exciting. Actually kind of terrifying since they would walk right by our vehicle. Really at any moment they might notice you and decide to snack.

This looks fake.

Lion Love. JPlay, they're sisters.

After the game drive we went back to Kubu for brunch and then to the airport. It was a great weekend that was overall, very relaxing. I felt like I was in paradise and it's certainly a place that I would love to one day come back to. I recommend it for honeymoons. I almost felt like I was on one. Ha.

This weekend we are heading to Cape Town!

kung fu panda: the aftermath

Overall, Thursday went very well. I was pleased because it was all free for us, I was totally at other people's mercy. I was nervous that something would fall apart and there wouldn't really be anything I could do about it!

I will start with the morning. I was eager to get to Kamogelo and within five minutes of my arrival the bus office called my cell phone to say the bus was on the road ready to meet me. Now, it was rather difficult for me to fax the directions to the office because a) I don't know the directions, b) I don't have a fax machine and c) it's not easy to tell someone to "take the 4th dirt road and the middle fork and turn left at the dead goat" etc. Since Kamogelo is out in the village, it's certainly not an easy location to get to if you are unacquainted with the area. I was able to get directions and so I was pretty confident where they would be located. I have drawn out a horrid map to help with my story. (Scroll down.)

K is Kamogelo and lies about 400 meters from the road it lies on (A to B). I ran out to that road and couldn't spot the large white, charter bus anywhere. I called the office and they said the bus was waiting at the taxi stand. To my left, at point A, I noticed a conglomeration of vehicles. I started jogging the approximate half mile out there. On the way I waved down a combie and asked if that was the taxi stand. They confirmed my hopes and I contined my jog. I couldn't help but laugh at my current situation of running down the road in a village to find a bus to take orphans to see a movie about a Kung Fu Panda. Sometimes life is stranger than fiction. Upon arrival at point A, I found no bus and no evidence of a taxi stand. It was a combie stand. I instantly found myself stressed and offered a driver 10 pula to take me to the taxi stand. One was out of gas and another wouldn't go for 10 pula (or 15 either). I was informed by the various drivers there that the taxi stand was at point B, which is a 7-10 minute drive from A (they drive slow, pick up people, drop them off, etc).

I got in a combie headed towards point B. As I approched point B I saw a white bus heading driving away in the direction of C (Gaborone). I frantically call the office to ask why the bus was driving away. (I don't have the driver's number. There is unfortunately a middle man.) They ask where I am and I desperately try to explain that I am in a combie behind the bus following it back to Gabs. They check with the bus driver... apparently that is NOT my bus.

So somewhere there is a taxi stand and there is a bus waiting for me, yet I have no idea where they are. I get out of the combie I thought was pursuing my bus and sprint towards the nearest person. He explains that there is a special combie that goes specifically to the taxi station. Being the good man that he is, he flags it down for me and sends me on my way. I get on and it drives all the way to point D. By the time I get there, an hour has passed since I started my journey and I am laughing at this rather typical Botswana start to the day.

I outline this because it was just too typical of Botswana and hilarious to me. As stressed as I was, it worked out fine and I found the bus. We drove to Kamogelo to pick up the kids and it was off to the theatre. The rest of the day was smooth sailing. The kids put on wonderful behavior. I think it came in large part because they rarely do anything like it. Perhaps the mall shellshocked them. They filed into the theatre clutching their gatorades (imitation actually) and baggies of popcorn. We watched the movie and drove back to Kamogelo with the kids sporting new panda masks.

kung fu panda

After a slew of phone calls, emails, and faxes the logistics are set and Thursday I have orchestrated that we will get to take 60 of the kiddos to see Kung Fu Panda at the Riverwalk Mall. We have a charter bus providing transport to the free movie. The kids will also be receiving free popcorn and soda. It's going to be great. I highly doubt that many of the kids have been to a movie theatre. I hope they send the teachers the kids listen to because it could be a mild disaster if not. Haha.

I will be bringing my stickers and firing through them rapidly. I bought a 700 pack of small gold circle stickers a couple weeks back. When I am trying to get them to do something, I will put a sticker somewhere on the face (nose, forehead, cheek) of a child that's doing what I want. From there, most follow suit or press into me begging for one. Either way, it's better than them rolling on the ground and shrieking. It's pretty much the only positive reinforcement they have for behavior. They simply have punishments for misbehaviors at Kamogelo.

Nat, I have forgotten to mention that I have seen monkeys on two separate occasions. Once at the Mokolodi Game Reserve and another time when I was walking to Riverwalk mall. They were on someone's roof. FYI.

On Saturday we went to an 4th of July BBQ hosted by the US Embassy. Mixture of boring and mild entertainment. While I waited in line for my burger, two middle-aged women were chatting about America v. Botswana and raising kids, blah blah blah. One woman stated that she wished she were closer to a Wal-Mart or Target. She looked the type too. We ate, then Julio, Rajiv and I waited for maybe an hour to get facepaint. Julio a tiger, Rajiv a kung fu fighter, and I a dragon on one cheek that was breathing fire across my nose and onto the other. I forgot how much face paint can itch! Fun experience to go to Riverwalk mall with it on post-BBQ.

As you may notice, we go to Riverwalk like every day. It's walking distance from UB and where restaurants, stores, and the all-important grocery store are located.

Nat, the hand turkeys.


You may recall that my friend Julio was the one working on building an airstrip in the Kalahari. He has been back and forth between Gabs and the desert the last couple weeks. He found out this week that the airstrip is being named after him. It will be called "Julio" and his name will be in 3 meter letters next to it. (Apparently visible from 2,000 feet.) Cool yeah? Side note, I think in rock paper scissors I am winning 27-19 or something. Victory smells so sweet.

This weekend we are going to Chobe and Vic Falls! Last weekend one of my roommates, Rebecca, went and said it was great. We've all been a little nervous about going on the Zim side, but she said there weren't any issues. Rebecca went separately because sadly, she is leaving us this Friday. She has to leave a couple weeks early because of another job she has lined up with a professor back at school. Wish she could stay, sniff sniff.

rando

For those that care, I have stopped biting my nails. This may seem insignificant to most, but I have continued this nasty habit since the womb. Let's not forget the time I ended up in the emergency room while on vacation because my finger got infected. Upon our Gabs arrival, Ilana (a fellow nailbiter) and I found ourselves terrified that we were going to have small, open wounds on our fingers around the kids. I guess it took the fear of HIV to get me to stop because I have completely stopped since arriving. I am just hoping, hoping, hoping that it's a trend I continue when I fly back stateside. We bought nailpolish and most days I am sporting flourescent pink.

Labello. It is by far the most incredible chapstick to ever exist. Ever. I remember my friend Ali fawning over it when we traveled for fencing in Europe. I never got into it, and I now bemoan the many years without Labello. I will be bringing Labello back in bulk. At this point, I favor the HydroCare. But from looking at their website I can see that they have a much greater variety than I could have ever dreamed.

A couple weeks back I received a phone call from a producer at MTV. They wanted me to come to NYC to do another MADE reunion. I declined.

Setswana, the main language of Botswana has a lot of rolling r's. When working the kids especially, I have started to adopt these r's also. I also catch myself speaking more like the kids so that they understand what I am saying better. Rooster has now become .... rrrrrooostah. 'Z' has now become zed. Teacher has become ... Teachaaaa.

One thing that the other students and I have talked about it the clothes. We were told by the Penn people at our April orientation that Batswana dress very conservatively. We shouldn't wear shorts, shorter skirts, tank tops, not even v-neck shirts. This is false. Absolutely false. Everyone here dresses exactly like in the US. Perhaps the older generations dress more conservatively? But everyone within 5 years of us dresses exactly like kids in the states. For example, girls all wear skinny jeans with ballet flats or heels and tank tops. They did tell us that they tend to dress up more, which is true. There isn't as much casual wear, but it's all very similar. Most of the clothes are all pretty westernized. When taking the combie, it's completely usual to see a woman in a business suit jump off and walk off down a dirt road into the bush. It's rather amusing. I'm always thinking, "honestly, WHERE are you going in heels and a blazer?" It's a little frustrating that we were misinformed like that because I didn't really bring clothes that I would like to wear. I didn't bring any shorts for example. And even though it's winter, it still does get HOT. Oh well, excuse to shop. That's how I rationalize it.

Bed.

jury, brai, check, holiday, Zim

1) Today I was finally removed from jury duty. I was scheduled for August 12th, but we know that's certainly not happening. I finally was able to contact a real human on the phone and explain the situation.

2) Last night Ilana, Julio and I attended a brai (BBQ) at our friend MK's house. [Note- the last couple days it's just been Julio, Ilana and I because the rest of the gang went to the Okavango Delta.] It was a lovely time. There were about 15 of us there eating by the pool and tennis court. After all, this is the "Switzerland of Africa." There were some highly entertaining characters there and I enjoyed their company thoroughly. When we were there, MK showed Ilana and I the latest issue of The Voice, one of the local newspapers. Fashion Lounge, one of the clubs here, has a small section devoted to parties from the weekend. Ilana, Jen, and I were gracing the pages. The caption beneath our photo read "the Queen and her princesses." It wasn't clear who was who in said tabloid photo.

3) Today was a holiday. Hence the brai and hence me not going to work.

4) I have some VERY exciting news also. As you may recall, I mentioned how I was corresponding with potential donors for First Aid kits. I was able to find one generous minister (Larry Benfield) who was willing to mail me a check. Well, I had no idea what to expect, but I was BLOWN away when I received it today. He sent a check from the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas for FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS. I was in such shock that I was shaking. I am so excited to give it to Sister Margaret tomorrow. She is going to cash it and then we are going to take the funds and put together First Aid kits.

5) In a week and a half we have our trip scheduled for Chobe National Park and Victoria Falls. As I am sure you all know, there have been a LOT of problems in Botswana's neighbor, Zimbabwe, with the election. Victoria Falls is located at the Zambia/Zimbabwe border. Our travel agent has arranged for us to see the falls from the Zim side. It's a little nerve-wracking, but we've talked to various people and most say if we stay with our guide and aren't running around, we should be fine. Around those parts it's not so much an issue of safety, but more an issue of getting robbed and ripped off. People often try to bribe whites and overcharge on everything. Speaking of that current crisis, when Ilana and I were in the parking lot at Riverwalk a few weeks ago an older woman approached us. She looked worn and tried to show us her passport. She stated that she was from Zimbabwe and needed help. It was really upsetting because we had no idea what to do...

Well I need to go email the press releases. Toodles noodles.