You Know You've Lived in Botswana 4 Months when...

1. It makes your day when you get the front seat on the combi

2. Ants consistently climb out of your bathtub

3. You've eaten more pap than your body weight

4. You've been asked to be married by random Batswana men on the street, sometimes more than once a day

5. You've had your phone and your wallet stolen on separate occasions at the Bus Rank without knowing it

6. You've gotten used to waiting 30-45 minutes for a cab

7. Your feet will forever be covered in dirt

8. You have "Wavin Flag," "Waka Waka Africa," and "Your Love" engrained in your head for the rest of eternity

9. You've spent more time on the internet in Linga Longa than on school work

10. You've seen more boobs around the house or in combis than you've ever seen in your life

11. You've gotten sick from vendor food at least once

12. You've succumbed to eating dirt fruit off the street

13. A 30 pula ($4.50) cab rid is a rip of and you would rather take a 3 pula combi, even if it means taking an hour longer

14. You find "tumble weaves," huge chunks of fake hair, lying on the street

15. You put Tomato Sauce on everything- eggs, veggies, pap, bread, etc.

16. You ned a dictionary to decipher a local Motswana's txt bc its so cnfsing

17. "Is it?" and "Serious?" have become parts of your everyday vocabulary

18. Savannah Dry is your new favorite alcoholic beverage

19. You pass a tuck shop on every corner

20. You've bought those 50 thebe sweets even though none of them taste good

21. You've perfected the art of denying men in Botswana

22. You "write" exams, even if they are multiple choice

23. It is no big deal when the combi nearly hits a little kid

24. People say "sori" for everything from hitting you in the face you dropping your phone

25. You've given up on hoping for toilet paper in public or private bathrooms

26. All your favorite food options at restaurants are consistently finished

27. You started off speeding past every pedestrian and now you find yourself walking just as slow as the locals!

28. You seat constantly wearing T-shirts and shorts though everyone around you is wearing turtlenecks, down jackets, and pants in 35 deg C heat

29. You forget what is weird here and accept cultural traditions as the norm

30. Your still scared about contracting TB on the combi

Okavango Photos

Our camping, safari experience was a whirlwind of passport stress, free chartered flights, quintessential safari game drives through the bush of Moremi Game Reserve, mokoro rides through the reeds, hippo chases, elephant crossings, nauseating scenic flights over the delta, and uncomfortable peeing experiences in order to avoid being eaten alive by rabid hyenas at the campsite. It was an amazing time, but Im geared up and ready to head up North to Accra and coastal Ghana. More to come about my delta trip, but for now, enjoy the photoes!

1.Elephants were everywhere as well! A family of three even walked right through our campsite. Luckily they didn't destroy our tents!!

2. A relaxing swim in the Okavango River after baking in the mokoro boats all morning! Hopefully we didn't get any parasites :)

3. Sunrise at the Delta

4. Hippos were everywhere- in and out of the water. Did you know that hippos kill more humans than any other animals? The highlight of the motor boat ride was chasing a hippo doing butterfly through the winding delta rivers!

5. Jackie and Rachel on the traditional Mokoro Ride through the Delta

6. Zebras galore! The national animal of Botswana is well represented in Moremi Game Reserve where we went on all of our safaris

7. Photograph of the clouds outside of Ranann, Alicia, and my free chartered flight from Gabs to Francistown. In a nutshell, we weren't able to get onto the flight to Maun, but were lucky enough to get a free mini flight to Ftown then take a cramped, sweaty, 6-hour bus ride to Maun (followed by a 4 hour safari drive through the puddles and cocobelles of the African bush!)

8. Rockin the zip-off safari pants. Yeah, thats right! Only in Botswana :D

9. Close up and personal with some elephants

Goose bumps

There are those special moments here in Botswana, I can never predict when its coming, when I all of a sudden get that goose bump sensation. It hits me and all of a sudden I feel how real my life is at the moment. Its a TIA (This is Africa) moment, only to the extreme. I absolutely love when it happens, but now that I have been here for 4 months..it is quite the rare occasion. However two special instances brought about the goose bumps this past week:

- Walking back from 5:15 am spinning through the dusty field, listening to Wavin' Flag as the sun rose. It was such a simple moment, but it felt so "Africa" to me.

- I went with Alicia to get her fourth rabies vaccine at Princess Marina Hospital today (Her puppy Russell bit her and oh, never got a rabies shot!) So we head into the emergency and accident department (basically Botswana's version of the ER) to get the vaccine. Its chaotic, as expected, and they hardly have the time to get a white girl her vaccine. As Alicia argues with the nurse about getting the vaccine here, I peak in the resuscitation room to see a white doctor bagging (for my non-emt friends, using a bag-valve mask to assist breathing) for a little child. It became all the more "Africa" with the tattered shower curtains dividing rooms, the cries of babies left and right, and the desk covered with records strewn all about. It made me think about how crazy it would be doing emergency medicine in a developing country like Botswana. Such limited supplies, manpower...yet the most dire medical problems. This moment most definitely gave me the goose bumps.

Out and About in Botswana

1. Cooking Stir fry at Ronnie's house in Phakalane
2. My thorn wounds at Lion's Park post- Kgale Hill Climb
3. Tourist Safari outfit at Halloween Bash at UB
4. Chickens getting their neck's slit at the chicken slaughterhouse in Gaborone
5. CIEE group at Jwaneng Diamond Mine. Too bad we didn't find any souvenirs :)

Wrapping Up My Time In Gabs

Seems like forever since I wrote on this blog just about Botswana. I feel like have been in Gaborone now for eons. With my African Traditional Religions final this upcoming Wednesday, the Botswana vs. Tunisia soccer match (biggest match of the year…supposedly a qualifying FIFA game) Alicia and my Setswana Food presentation on Thursday, a public health paper due Friday, and my parasitology exam the next Wednesday, i can see the bittersweet end to my stay here in Gabs! After finals I'm heading up to Maun and the Okavango Delta for some quality safaris, mokoro rides, and camping with the CIEE folk. Im getting super super excited about that...it will be nice to have everything planned out. We'll be livin the good life flying to Maun rather than suffering through 12+ hours of stuffy combi rides on buses that may or may not break down or run out of gas. December 4th I am officially headed off to GHANA!! After a lot of changes in my plans, this ended up making the most sense. I will be working in Accra at African Street Kids Orphanage Foundation (www.askof.org) for four days before meeting up with my gtown friend Ivy Higgins and a few other girls who have been working in middle-of-nowhere Navrongo doing public health research and travelling the coast. To say its going to be an adventure is quite the understatement. They seem to be much better experts at Western Africa so it will be interesting to see what they plan. I know there will be beaches, markets, slave castles, rainforests, and stories a plenty. Lets just hope I don't get malaria in the process! I’m stoked to work at the orphanage...it will be interesting to see the differences between poverty in small Gaborone and sprawling, dense Accra.

The last month or so have been pretty much same old, same old here in Gabs. Some highlights though include:

- working with the Kings Foundation: One day I was walking to Riverwalk when I saw a car with "Kings Foundation- Developing Kids through sports”. I was intrigued, so when I reached Linga Longa I decided to look the foundation up. Based in the UK, Kings Foundation also has a branch here In Botswana. I decided to shoot the Botswana contact an email, and within about five minutes, the guy responded! Since then I have been helping out with the Tsholofelo Outreach Program. Tsholofelo is one of the more impoverished areas in Gabs. One evening two drunk girls walked through the field our kids were playing in and shouted in Setswana in presumably much more violent/angry words: “Nothing is ever going to come of this program. This kids aren’t going to be anything!” It made me and the other leaders pretty upset, but there is not much you can do about that. Hopefully the kids didn’t make much out of it. Kings Foundation runs sports and games for kids of all ages every Friday from 4-6 pm. They have organized soccer, cricket, and parachute games for the little ones. After the first hour and a half, the leaders (who are students/young adults who used to be part of the program) sit the children down and teach them about the Holy Spirit and good Christian morals. Although my Setswana isn’t perfect, its so exciting to see how into the program the kids get. Oliver, a loud, gregarious sports coach, leaders King’s Foundation in Botswana. He’s been so helpful, actively trying to get me involved. This past Friday, Krisstina and I led a Frisbee station. The kids were super enthusiastic and loved the relay race competitions. At the end we played a little ultimate. Not quite like the Foyas, but the kids got really in to it! Hopefully we can try it out again this upcoming week. On Saturday, we are also going with the kids to BBS mall to help with garbage cleanup! Not the most glamorous of Saturday morning activities, but should be rewarding.

- Halloween Party at UB- In true American fashion, a few of the International students put together a Halloween Beer Olympics Bash. I was pretty stumped about what to wear..not exactly a lot Halloween stores much less fabric stores or Goodwills. Luckily someone suggested an American tourist—the perfect suggestion for me given the mounds of safari gear (read: sun hat, khaki button down shirt, zip off pants, tevas, money belt) I brought/inherited from my mom. I thought I looked pretty good, someone even asked me if I was South African. The evening was lots of fun—really got into the flip cup and cricket competitions.

- spinning with Ntati @ 5 am: After getting lost several times running in the dark in Block 6, I decided to search for alternatives. One day when my Setswana teacher Ntat was giving me a ride home she mentioned she was a spinning instructor. My mind flashed back 12:15 spinning class with Ron and I jumped with excitement. She mentioned how there was a new gym in Block 6..and sure enough..its only a 5 min walk from my house! I have religiously been going on every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. SOO much fun..I feel like im back into the swing of things—getting back into Frisbee shape will definitely be easier. The classes aren’t as demanding or as long and the bikes aren’t as nice, but its pretty impressive for Botswana. I just wish I had found this jem earlier!

- Maternal Health Clinic at Princess Marina Hospital- Towards the beginning of our stay in Gaborone, Kelsey, Alicia, and I met Dr. Nicola Zetola when he was starting research into multi-drug resistant TB and HIV at Old Naledi Clinic. He had mentioned we should contact him but we never did anything. I finally decide to shoot him an email to see if he could give us some insight into healthcare in Botswana, and boy, am I glad that I did! Dr. Zetola basically took us under his belt and we are now working at the Botswana-UPenn Partnership funded Maternal Health Clinic at Princess Marina Hospital. The clinic deals with mostly HIV-positive women with precancerous lesions. Women are Leeped (a surgical procedure in which the lesion is cut out of the cervix on the same day that they are examined. Women who get pap smears at local clinics or are seen for smaller procedures are often referred to this Leep Clinic. In exchange for help with data entering and cleaning, Kelsey, Alicia, and I are developing our own clinical research projects to hopefully be published in the future. Mine is looking at HIV-related factors and the progression of cervical cancer in Batswana women. Although I haven’t developed too much yet, I’m super excited to continue with my study when I get back to the US. Along with doing data collection and entering, we also get to observe in the clinic. In just one morning, the doctors performed 17 Leep procedures! Talk about efficiency. It was so awesome helping out in the surgery room and asking Doreen questions as she performed each procedure. Our experience at the clinic has been all the more rewarding because of the amazing staff. Ronnie, a South African born in Zambia, is like a mother to the three of us. She is basically the source of all answers. Ronnie took us out to Fresh Café and even let us stay at her gorgeous house in Phakalane for a night! Between the refrigerator exclusively for drinks and chocolate, relaxing by the pool side, doing all my laundry in her WASHER AND DRYER, and watching Slumdog Millionaire, we had an amazing time! The doctors and nurses at the clinic are also great. Dr. Zetola isn’t around much, but I have grown to love Mimi and Doreen. Doreen is the gynaecologist and basically wonder woman. I seriously don’t know how she does it. She basically runs the entire Botswana-UPenn partnership and performs almost every Leep procedure! Doreen is training Mimi to eventually take over her job. Mimi is an absolute joy to be around as well—always has something cheery to say. Lastly, there is Ma Minare, the nurse and “mother goose” of the clinic. Her compassionate and caring nature make the clinic all the more enjoyable.

- climbing Kgale Hill, twice- One Saturday, my international friend Nick and I decided to climb Kgale Hill when we were bored. After forging our way up to the top (batsi style) and enjoying the views of Gaborone, we decided to head down before the sunset. We also thought it would be prudent to take the path down so that we would for SURE get down before it was dark…..well…..we got to the bottom and there was a tattered sign that said “Turn around” and a huge locked gate. Just fabulous. We ended up trekking up the entire hill all over again. However, by the time we reached the top it was dark. We couldn’t find the path and were forced to scale the hill down, step by step, with only our cell phone flashlights to guide us. Luckily we only have a few scars to show for the horrific 2 hour journey down. Definitely not easy climbing down the rocks/through very thorny bushes in the pitch dark. At one point Nick fell and we had to stop because he got dizzy (he told me later that he was incredibly squeamish about blood and almost passed out!). All I can say is, I don’t think we will be going back there any time soon.

Lions Park- In an attempt to make the most of the scorching Botswana sun, Kelsey, Krisstina, Christina, and I headed out to Lions Park Resort for some splish splashing, quality fun in the sun! It was no Noah’s Ark (shout out to Wisconsin Dells!) but it was fun nonetheless. We took some great pictures, went down the slides more times than I can count, and got some all-to-obvious suntans/burns. I nearly threw up on the spinny rides (teacups, swings, etc) but that's just because my stomach is weak. Headed back to gabs when the Pula started to come..but it was an awesome morning nonetheless!

next time I post probably won't be until after the Delta, and possibly Ghana! Here's to the final month of exams, souveneir shopping, good-byes, traveling and adventure :)

Welcome to Botswana!

Well...what i thought would never happen to careful, on-guard me in fact HAPPENED. Yesterday I had my wallet stolen at Bus Rank. I have grown to love the walk between bus rank and UB every morning as the sun is starting to rise and I can reflect and listen to my music. I am always SUPER careful though on the bridge crossing-- a haven and regular hangout for thief gangs. I speed walk across the bridge holding my backpack tightly, keep my phone and key in my pockets, and don't take my ipod out until I successfully cross. Well-- apparently thats not good enough because some how these tricky thieves managed to locate my hidden zippers, open my bag, and sneak the wallet out of my backpack pocket without me or any of the people around me noticing. SOOSOOO frustrating. Its not that I care about the 100 pula i lost...more the credit cards, debit cards, IDs etc. At least my passport wasn't in there... I'd be in Botswana for ETERNITY :) These thieves here are crazy..they work together, distract you because literally its their job. Its sad that it happened but I guess now i've truly "experienced" Gaborone

On a separate note the last few weeks I have stayed in Gaborone. Life has become pretty rhythmic and consistent but I've definitely had some exciting highlights:

- going to a tomb stone unveiling in Mochudi at 5 am with Alicia and our host moms and then proceeding to feed dinner food to hundreds of Batswana (read: MEAT, PORRIDGE, SAMP, etc.) at 9 am

-crazy awesome thunderstorms. About a week ago I experienced the loudest thunder i have ever heard in my life. Pretty unreal.

- its starting to get dark a little later so i have finally started working out. I've gotten past the initial unable-to-breath-the-air-is-so-bad stage and have really started enjoying running around my block. Only really got lost once when it started getting a bit too dark! I'm going spinning tomorrow at 5:15 am with my Setswana teacher, Ntati. Should be a fun time!

- started working at the Women's Health clinic at Princess Marina Hospital which is part of the UPenn-Botswana partnership. Much more to come about this incredible opportunity, but I am starting a clinical research project relating HIV and the progression of cervical cancer which probably last me far into when i get back stateside

thats about it for now..More to come in the future. Hopefully I will have more travels to write about after finals Only two weeks of school left :)

SHORT VAC 2010: South Africa

So I have come to the conclusion that my blog posts tend to drag on a bit too much. While Krisstina and I were hiking the Drakensburg Mountains, we came up with the concept of the 20 second clip—the most telling, exciting or interesting 20 seconds of our day—as a way to tell the story of our trip. It may not include everything, but it gets the major points across.

Synopsis: Krisstina and I decided to take an adventure from mountains to coast for our mid semester break. Its interesting how everyone broke up and did there own thing—though a lot of us CIEE folk actually did end up in South Africa. Anyways, Krisstina and I first three days (4 nights) at Amphitheater Backpackers in the Northern Drakensburg Mountains of Kwazulu Natal, South Africa. We were about a 3 1/2 hour drive (read: cramped combi-style minibus with our luggage on our laps and hitch hike) Southeast from Johannesburg and about 30 minutes from Ladysmith (a bit more lively than its Midwestern counterpart…haha) Amphitheater Backpackers, is truly a gem of the Drakensburg. Situated basically in the middle of nowhere, the unbeatable scenery of Cathedral peak and the vast Amphitheater, the crazy/hospitable backpacker staff, and the very spacious and comfortable accommodation made for an unforgettable experience. We hiked the Crack and Little Berg alone in Royal Natal National Park the first day and we conquered the 3121 m. high amphitheater and Tugela Falls (the second highest waterfall in the world! ) on the second day. I went to Lesotho to visit a school, take a small hike, and learn about the tallest country in Africa’s fascinating culture. We were sad to leave our new friends and home, but Krisstina and I headed down to Durbin’s Indian coast the next day. Durbin was a bit disappointing, but at least we stayed in the mountains an extra day. We enjoyed the warm yet far too windy beach and dined on delectable Indian cuisine that night. Krisstina headed home to Gabs the next day and I flew out to Cape Town to see my friend Zach from Georgetown and the sites there. Cape Town was quite a taste of western luxury with all the food and amenities. I got to meet all of Zach’s friends, watch the sunset at Camp’s Bay, learned about Apartheid at the District 6 museum, saw the penguins at Simon’s Town, climbed Table Mountain and had some of the BEST FOOD I’ve had in months. Overall, an unforgettable journey with lots of action and variety. If this little synopsis didn’t bore you to death, I hope you will enjoy my “20 second clips” from each day!! Some days I couldn't decide on one so I wrote down multiple…hope it gives justice to the variety of experiences I had.

25/9/2010 (day/month/year…it actually makes much more sense this way anyways!!!)

A. While I guard our bags in a stuffy combi to Pietermartzberg, Krisstina runs around frantically trying to find a combi that will get us closer to our Ampitheater backpackers destination. She fights through crowds of people forcing soda cans, nail clippers, and chips down her throat, being proposed to by creepy guys the entire way. Fortunately, we were able to leave the Johannesburg bus rank without being mugged!

B. The clock strikes 6 pm, and entirety of Kwazulu-Natal shuts down. No cabs, public transportation to be found. Krisstina and I stand wearily at the Shell Station in Harrismith, praying that we will be able to hitch a ride with a sober soul. Two very racist Afrikaaners are our saviors and offer to give us a ride in their pickup truck to Amphitheater Backpackers

C. After an arduous journey, we arrive at Amphitheater Backpackers to be greeted by our very inebriated hostel manager Adrian, a wild party, and chili-infused tequila shots on the house. The journey continues when we find our dorm room filled with snoring middle aged Afrikaaners headed on a 5 day hike in the morning.

26/9/2010

A. After trailblazing up the “NO ENTRY: MUDSLIDE” path through thorny bush and slippery paths, Krisstina and I find a beautiful cove overlooking the Drakensburg mountain landscape and the rolling valleys dotted by cattle and homes.

B. Summiting Little Berg some 1000 m. in the air to enjoy the spectacular views and our much deserve Clif Bars in the practically unbearable wind. We sang R. Kelly’s Sign of Victory and Ain’t No Mountain High Enough the whole way down.

27/9/2010

A. Trudging through the cold mist in ponchos, hats and gloves along the side of the cliff with only our guide Sim as an indication we were going the right way. We were unable to even see 10 meters in front of us.

B. After a grueling practically vertical 250 meter rock climb up to the top, we reached our destination—the Summit of Eastern Buttress (3121 m.) at around lunch time. We relished in the challenge we had just accomplished and the unbeatable views from the top of the Amphitheater of the surrounding Drakensburg ranges. Clouds crashed into the mountains like waves on a rocky beach.

28/9/2010

A. Playing football with a ball made from wrapped up plastic balls with smiley Basotho boys at Matikadisu Primary School, our first destination in the mystical country above the clouds, Lesotho. Matikadisu Primary school is a community-run school for preschool to eighth grade. The school is funded almost entirely by Amp and the money we pay to go on the Lesotho excursion!

B. Hanging out at the bar with our Adrian and his daughter, Devon the bartender, and Jonah. Devon entertained us with crazy cocktail concoctions, magic tricks while Adrian “wooed” us with his politically incorrect, sexual jokes. Man do I miss these crazies!!

29/9/2010

A. Three-hour combi ride from hell from Ladysmith to Durban, with the only thing carrying me through the discomfort (heat, crowded, smelly) was the thought of going to the beach.

B. Singing at the top of my lungs as I took a walk along Durban’s beautifully crystal cerulean blue Indian Ocean as the wind whipped sand around my feet. Krisstina bathed in the sun, but I couldn’t bear the sand blowing uncontrollably over my body so I took a walk to reflect over the awesomeness that had been the last few days.

30/9/2010

A. Just a few hours after arriving in the westernized getaway of Cape Town, Zach, my friend from Georgetown who is studying at Univ. of Cape Town, was robbed on Long Street! I kept walking since I was annoyed by how “naïve” Zach was to the art of street begging. Little did I know that the man was forcing him to give up his possessions at knifepoint. Luckily Zach didn’t show the man his iPhone or huge wad of Rand he had just taken out from the ATM—he ended up only losing his local cell phone

B. Eating SCRUMPIOUS, CREAMY, FLAVORFUL, CHUNKY Italian Gelato while watching the sunset over the bay at Camp’s Bay—an affluent, almost exclusively white part of the greater Cape Town area . It was awesome just relaxing and catching up on good ‘ol times and the latest gossip from Georgetown and sharing our craziest stories from Africa.

01/10/2010

A. With a few months in Africa under my belt, I took to the minibus/combi system and explored a little bit of Cape Town on my own when Zach went to class at UCT. Went to the District 6 Museum in downtown Cape Town and learned about Apartheid and forced evacuations of places like District 6. Its crazy how recent Apartheid was, you can definitely see remnants of it in the segregation and subtle racism in everyday life.

B. After a slightly anticlimactic penguin-viewing in Simon’s Town, Zach and I had to RUSH back to Mowbray so he could attend the Liesbeeck Gardens formal at 5:30 pm. The train was unbearably slow and wasn’t running from Simon’s Town, so in a desperate effort when almost all hope was lost, we basically rented out an entire combi/minibus to take us straight to Liesbeeck Gardens for a whopping 250 Rand! Money in Cape Town is sure not like what it is in Bots. We made it just in the knick of time, despite our fears!

02/10/2010

A. Went with Zach + friends for a taste of home (probably even better) at Old Biscuit Market. It was literally a culinary heaven on earth. Crepes, artisan French pizzas, make your own organic sandwiches, cheeses spreads, vegan lentil/falafel/hummus station, thai, paellas, fresh fruit smoothies, delectable pastries—you name it, it was there! Just thinking about it again makes my mouth water. Got to try tons of samples before getting a breakfast sandwich with eggs, chicken, avo, cheese, tomatoes, lettce, and TO-DIE-FOR rich garlic sauce and a fresh mixed berry smoothie. Also had a sandwich made for lunch(which I ended up eating on the bus on the way home the next day) and got some stuff to bring back to pap and tough-meat infested Gabs!

B. Taking pictures and gaping at the incredible views of Cape Town, the ocean, Lions Head, and the surrounding mountains after successfully climbing Capet Town’s infamous Table Mountain with Zach and his friends.

03/10/2010

A. Reuniting with my Gabs CIEE friends and hearing about everyone’s crazy spring breaks at the Joburg Airport before an ungodly long journey back to Gabs. People were right when they say you can’t trust Intercape—our bus broke down 3 or 4 times and we didn’t get back home to 10 pm.

It was an amazing trip, and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone who loves adventure. I’m super sad I am not traveling anymore…it has undoubtedly been one of the highlights of my study abroad experience!