Yet another vibrant week in Botswana! I don’t think that I will be able to blog next week because I will be heading north to the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans (for information to follow) either Thursday evening or at the crack of dawn Friday morning, so hopefully this will suffice for a few weeks! I’ve been a bit lax when its come to writing in my journal every night…I’m always just so exhausted by the time I get home, do a bit of homework, and have dinner!
Friday night Alicia and I decided to go out to dinner with our host sisters, Aty and Tumie. Although they wanted to hit up the clubs on Friday, Alicia and I wanted a more modest night given the fact we needed to be back at UB to go on our cultural excursion at 8 am on Saturday morning (meaning a 6:00 am wake up call)! Tumie suggested Linga Longa at Riverwalk Mall so we agreed to meet at 6:30 pm and see where the night took us. Alicia and I got to Linga Longa much earlier because they supposedly have free Wi-Fi—mine wasn’t working but others had great connectivity! So frustrating, but someday, maybe I too will be able to skype from there! We sorted out a lot of the details for the Salt Pans excursion…a bit more drama than my liking. Aty arrived at Riverwalk a half hour late (oh Botswana time!) and told me her mom didn’t want her at a bar (I guess I shouldn’t have told her we were going to Linga Longa?!) even though it is also a restaurant and café. She was pretty adamant that we go somewhere else, even though a) Alicia and I had been sitting there for at least 2 hours and had yet to order food and b) Tumie had recommended the restaurant in the first place! Once Tumie arrived (now it was like 7:30 pm) she agreed with Aty that we should leave since it was “too loud in their anyways.” At this point I was pretty frustrated and embarrassed we would have to walk out after waiting in the restaurant for 2+ hours, but we complied anyways. We ended up going to Spur, just upstairs for pretty good food (and for the record, an equally loud experience). Despite the rigamarole, I think we all had a good time.
The cultural weekend was, without question, the highlight of the past week. We ended up leaving 2 hours behind schedule as per Botswana time—thank God I got up at 6 am ;) The bus was cramped but it was exciting to be going on a trip with all the international folk (~70 of us!) We stopped in Kanye first (yes, that is in fact West of Gaborone) and learned about the kgotla (traditional house of government) and met with a traditional healer. We did a little role playing to understand how marriage is handled in traditional Batswana culture as well.
After exploring Kanye for a bit, we headed to a traditional buffet lunch on the edge of a serene lake. Spectacular scenery and spectacular food! All the usual—chicken, pap, rice, kale, squash, salad, and trifle for dessert—but much higher quality than anything you would get at the vendors outside UB! Given time restraints, the OIP leader decided we should head straight to the cultural village/lodge where we would be spending the night. We were greeted by two very boisterous grandmothers clad in traditional Botswana prints who were drumming away and making obnoxiously loud sounds by vibrating their tongues. Later they showed us this powder that they snuffed—a combination of tobacco and a
“special herb.” No wonder these ladies were all so crazy and jovial—they were high half the time! They led us to our tents we would be staying in for the night—I was with Alicia and Krisstina (known to all of the CIEE girls as “krisstina with a k”). Unfortunately my camera ran out of batteries but Krisstina offered to give me all her pictures on a flash drive when we returned to UB. Never again will I leave for a weekend without 2 fully charged camera batteries!! We were given time to explore the surrounding village before dinner.
Alicia, Krisstina, and I decided to test out our knowledge of Setswana and ended up meeting a lot of awesome people. We had a nice conversation with some ladies who own and run an orphanage in Mogodisthane (right outside of Gaborone) that would like our help cooking and playing with the kids. Hopefully they will contact us (we gave them our numbers) because that would be such a rewarding experience. The highlight of the afternoon though was when we decided to just “follow the music” and ended up at a wedding rehearsal! Everyone there was soo excited to see us, so we joined in dancing to the music outside until the sun began to set. The energy and happiness at the wedding rehearsal was so genuine—a very rewarding and refreshing experience. The father of the bride was pretty adamant that we stay and enjoy some Shake-Shake (traditional beer), but we needed to head back to meet up with everyone else. Krisstina and Alicia got some great photos and even a video of dancing—hopefully I can put them up at some point. Dinner back at the village was even more delicious as the lunch. A bit more variety and even some warm, home cooked bread!! Dinner was followed by campfire songs and stories and then bed. It was pretty chilly—luckily I brought my sleeping bag for extra warmth! After a delicious breakfast (eggs, toast, sorghum porridge which was kind of like grits and even fat cakes!) we headed over to the San Rock Paintings and the tree where David Livingstone did a lot of his “pondering”. Took some requisite “Lion King-esk” photos on the rock formations at the San Rock Paintings and then headed off to Mokolodi Game Reserve. Although we had just been to Gaborone Game Reserve, I was excited to see a much bigger/legit game reserve! We rode around in your stereotypical safari 4 wheel drive and saw animals a plenty! When the guide drove fast and we bounced up and down, nearly falling out of the vehicle it kind felt like I was on one of those “Disney:African Safari Adventure rides minus the safety bar on your lap! Highlights include the zebras, giraffes (though they were sitting down for most of the time), warthogs, rhino, two cheetahs (though they were caged in because they were raised by the park rangers), and ostriches. Since we were a little bit late returning, we were driving back pretty fast and nearly hit an ostrich that was running across the road! Quite an exciting time, but it will be cool to go to see the Big 5 once we get farther North at the Okavango and Kalahari. Most mimosas and the most delicious lunch yet (such a variety of salads!!) and then we were headed back to UB.
Since Saturday was my host mother’s birthday and I wasn’t around, I told her I would cook a meal and dessert for Monday night. I decided on vegetarian burritos and brownies, since I have yet to see either in Gaborone. When I returned on Sunday evening, we went shopping at OK Foods but I was pretty discouraged when I couldn’t find half of the ingredients I needed. It was a tad frustrating picking out ingredients because every time I picked something up, my host mother would comment on how expensive it was. (side note: I’d really like to go grocery shopping with her though in the future to buy food for breakfast and dinner. Batsi said we should do this to ensure we are getting the healthy food that we want.) My mom told me we could get the rest at Woolworth’s (an international grocery store on Monday evening). While I couldn’t find EVERYTHING at Woolworths (no black beans or chocolate chips) I made due with what I could find. My mom told me that Alicia, Tumie, and her mom would be joining. I was a little stressed because I hadn’t planned on making twice as much food (and didn’t really want to pay for everyones meals…) but I stayed calm. My mom told me she would just make some extra meat.
Alicia came and helped me cook, which was a ton of fun. Aty and Tumie played songs on my itunes while we prepared the food. The burritos (peppers, onions, baby corn, tomatoes, zucchini in a taco sauce with guacamole, semi-black beans, and salsa) and brownies were delicious but I don’t think my mother was a big fan. She tried a burrito but filled most of her plate with the chicken and sausage she had Aty prepare. Oh well..getting her to eat healthy vegetables was going to be a more difficult task than I thought!
Clinic work has been good, nothing too dramatic or out of the ordinary. We spent most of Monday in the TB room and in the doctor’s consultation room. Tuesday was spent primarily in the H1N1 clinic because of the high demand for vaccinations. When we arrived on Tuesday morning, the clinic was much more chaotic than usual. There was a line of at least 150 waiting to get the vaccine since the campaign was about to end. Unfortunately, the nurse who was supposed to be vaccinating everyone wasn't there yet, and the rest of the nurses were too lazy to help out in a different ward. So once the nurse arrived, Kelsey, Alicia and I got to work signing patients records and drawing vaccinations. Unfortunately, there was only about enough for 70 people so a riot nearly started when we told them we were all out. I would be mad too if I had waited around all morning to find out that there wasn’t going to be anymore left! On Wednesday, instead of going to the clinic we went with our environmental health professor and some of his students to visit the Ministry of Health. We were briefed a few hours on the roles of the 6 different units in the Division of Environmental and Occupational Health. I asked the man in charge of Healthcare Waste Management what he saw as the biggest challenges to his unit and he started rambling off the countless problems he faces. Although much more complicated, it seems like lack of resources and manpower is the greatest challenge the division as a whole faces. After the visit, I think Botswana is boding exceedingly well for the lack of organization and resources they face. Its kind of like Botswana is 50 years behind where the US is today in terms of technology, infrastructure, etc. Going to the Ministry of Health was definitely a unique and worthwhile experience.
Classes are well, still classes in the 3rd world country. We are starting to get into more of the material in Parasitology and traditional religions but at snail pace. My Parasitology professor teaches as if we Americans are the only ones in the class and exclusively asks us questions. He also explains to root of every word or defines hard concepts like “worldwide” (around the world) and “nausea” (when your stomach doesn’t feel well). Lab is frustrating because the professor and TAs assumed we knew how they went about drawing parasites from the slides and organizing questions. I have wasted a lot of time redoing work because I didn’t format things properly and typing/printing is too big of a hassle. There is a local girl named Kelly (or so she calls herself) that is a little too excited to be sitting next to me in parasitology. She tells me she wants to go to America and study since she doesn’t like it here. It will be interesting to see how our relationship develops.
It will be nice to have a quiet weekend this weekend. The only plans I really have a graduation party on Saturday for a cousin in the family, and birthday festivities later on Saturday for Krisstina! We were talking about perhaps doing dinner and a movie or clubbing—I guess we will have to wait and see! Six of us will be going to Planet Baobab at the Salt Pans for quadbiking, a visit to the historic Baobab Tree, a Meerkat walk, and gorgeous sunsets, sunrises, and starry nights. We will be staying in domed tents and eating many a PB&J. I’m excited to be going on our first adventure organized by ourselves. Hopefully there will be many more to come. In a few weeks things at school are going to start getting busier with papers—so I will probably get started on that this weekend! No need to procrastinate, even in Botswana. The CIEE gang is also starting up traditional dance lessons once a week for the semester next Thursday. Hopefully I will come back with some routines to show everyone!
I am also working on putting on Mt. Kilimanjaro adventure together with Ivy. We have been researching routes and rental equipment so hopefully that will be sorted out in the next few days. I am trying to find a time to meet up with Zach but his spring break clashes with when I am at my rural homestay in Mochudi. We definitely need to find time to see each other though—perhaps in Jo’burg or Swaziland some weekend!
I hope all is well for everyone at home and abroad. I had a dream last night that I was back in the US—pretty strange to wake up in my room in Gaborone. I’m loving every minute here but miss you all. After the initial honeymoon phase of culture shock, I’ve come to realize just how much all of you mean to me!!
Go siame!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
“I’d rather not spend Christmas alone because I’m being quarantined for TB…”
What a week it is has been since I last blogged! I’ve definitely started to get the hang of Gaborone. I can ride the combi confidently, joking with the sketchy guys rather than looking at them like a deer in headlights and I’m pretty confident that my class schedule has been finalized! Not quite home yet, but definitely much more comfortable. And it was nice to start working at the clinic.
Highlights of the week:
- SOS orphanage: After a late night of ribs, sketchy Asians, and dancing at the Bull and Bush the CIEE gang rallied and all went to play with the kids at SOS orphanage. There are about 400 kids who permanently live there ages 0-18. They all loved having us around, especially the little ones. Good thing I brought my Frisbee along…quite a few athletes in the making!! The girls all loved my jewelry and called “teacher, teacher” whenever they wanted something. Next time I will have to take plenty of pictures!
- UB Rhinos vs. Gabs Hogs Final Rugby match: big crowd in support of the UB Rhinos! Luckily one of my friends plays rugby because she explained all the rules...sorry Kelly. I don’t remember a thing from my one day at rugby practice freshmen year.
- Gaborone Game Reserve: Got to see a lot more animals than I expected in a seemingly very urban environment. Got up close and personal with a few zebras, ostriches, two kimodo dragons, and many warthogs, impalas, and monkeys. We had a picnic lunch and 1 monkey stole my friend Alicia’s banana…what are the odds!
- Old Naledi Clinic: I started working at Old Naledi clinic this week and what an experience it has been! Old Naledi, as I mentioned earlier, is one of the no-go places that Batsi pointed out during orientation. Kelsey, Alicia and I keep our guard pretty high when we walk from the combi stop to the clinic. Our days start bright and early at 7:30 am since the clinic sees the most traffic between 7:30 am and 11 am. Our professor changed our assignment so that we are all observing/working together and focus our clinical logs on the same thing every two weeks. Our first assignment is TB. Tuberculosis is an under-acknowledged disease in the US but a significant public health concern in Sub-Saharan Africa. Old Naledi really is the dilapidated “shanty town” that Batsi made it out to be. Alicia, Kelsey, and I got plenty of stares walking from the combi stop to the clinic. Lots of people making fires to warm up, brushing their teeth outside, pit toilets, and piles of garbage.
The clinic vaguely reminds me of the insane asylum that One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was filmed in. White-washed walls, freezing cold, and very outdated technology. Everything seems pretty unsanitary too. There is no soap, toilet paper, or hand sanitizer to be found. I’ve found many needles lying around and privacy (much less HIPAA) doesn’t really exist. The one doctor in the consultation room sees upwards of 70 patients a day—listening to their problems, doing a quick physical exam, and prescribing some sort of medication without any explanation of what is wrong. Nurses are pretty nice but rather unmotivated. The hour long lunch break turns into an hour and a half on any given day.
The TB room is a small consultation room where the nurses dispense pills to TB patients every day. 109 TB patients have been registered at the Old Naledi clinic since January 2010. The government requires that patients come to the clinic daily to get the medications to ensure that patients are adhering to the regimen and getting proper support. It's a little frightening to think that the only thing preventing me from getting airborne, pretty contagious TB is my probably slightly compromised immune system and a N95 mask. As Kelsey said—the last thing we want is to be quarantined in the US when we get back because we have TB! Dispensing gets pretty boring but a technician from Princess Marina Hospital (one of the public hospitals in Gaborone) came to conduct a survey about TB patients in Gaborone. The survey is incredibly interesting—detailing everything from perceptions of TB in the community, socioeconomic status, alcohol use, HIV status, reasons for defaulting, interactions with the healthcare system, use of traditional medicines, side effects of the drugs, etc. The only problem is that it takes him more than 30 minutes to do the survey. The patients started to get pretty disgruntled when they learned they had to wait to get their pills—some even left! I think the surveyors need to provide an incentive to the patients if they want them to take the time to do it. When the TB room slows down (usually around 11 am) we headed over to the H1N1 vaccination room to help with filling syringes and tallying or the doctor consultation room. We had some pretty interesting experiences on Wednesday…
We went with the flabotomist to the injection room where they do bandaging (looks basically like what we do in EMS) and blood drawing. As the flabotomist started drawing blood from this very emaciated man’s arm right into a vial, my ears started ringing and my vision got blurry, and I nearly passed out! I don’t know if I hadn’t eaten enough but the experience became very real for me. Luckily I had some water and snacks in my bag and I was fine after that! We headed over to the consultation room afterwards, which was very interesting. The doctor was from Ethiopia, so he suffered from a language barrier similar to the one we were experiencing. He was very inviting to us though— asking us what we thought the problem was before he did a physical exam during every consultation. We saw everything from a lady who had an abortion (illegal in Botswana) to a man with pneumonia, to plenty of people who simply had the flu. A nurse from the maternity ward called the doctor to come, apparently because there was a “complicated delivery” in process. He told us to come, and we were pretty stoked. However, when we arrived—our hopes were swiftly crushed. Instead, we found a lady curled up in a bed weeping with a placenta just chillin in a metal bowl at the end of the bed. We were pretty confused until the nurse opened up a pile of green sheets in a bassinette and showed us a bloody stillborn baby. The experience was shocking to say the least, but what was more horrific was how the nurse and doctor handled the situation. The nurse was insensitive to the patient (note: she was HIV positive) and made it seem like this was commonplace. The doctor didn’t even ask any questions about the delivery and whether it was a fresh stillborn or whether the baby had died during pregnancy. Negligence seems to be a pretty significant problem at clinics around Gaborone.
I’m looking forward to the upcoming weeks. I feel like I have learned so much already about the healthcare system in Botswana and even medicine in general. It has definitely been a huge learning experience. More to come next week about the clinic and this weekend’s festivities!
Plans for the upcoming weeks:
- Dinner tonight with my sister Aty, my friend Alicia, and her sister Tumisan (she is my cousin actually) at Linga Langa at Riverwalk Mall
- Cultural weekend including dinner, dancing and camping at a rural cultural village (name to be disclosed afterwards/once I know where it is!), safari in Mokoldi Game Reserve north of Gaborone, and swimming fun at Lion Water Park
- Healthy dinner (vegetarian fajitas….yumm avocado!!) and brownies on Monday for my host mother’s birthday
- Makagaldi Salt pans next weekend
- Mochudi Village Homestay and Mochudi Clinic work
- Setswana Food culture project for my Setswana language and culture practicum: my friend Alicia and I are going to be researching traditional foods and learning how to make a few dishes. Perhaps when I come back to the US I'll cook some for ya’ll!
- Walking more! I walked from the university to BBS one night (about a 40 min walk) all by myself and felt very accomplished. Its nice to get some semblance of a workout and get away from the stuffy combis! Its been unusually cold here lately (5 degrees celcius this morning!) but hopefully it will get better by the end of next week ;)
PS- check out my pictures on facebook. I wasn’t able to add them all because of poor internet connectivity, but slowly but surely hopefully I will make it work! Love and miss you all. To all my college friends, good luck with fall semester—I wish I could be there for the craziness that is NSO and the first week of classes!
Highlights of the week:
- SOS orphanage: After a late night of ribs, sketchy Asians, and dancing at the Bull and Bush the CIEE gang rallied and all went to play with the kids at SOS orphanage. There are about 400 kids who permanently live there ages 0-18. They all loved having us around, especially the little ones. Good thing I brought my Frisbee along…quite a few athletes in the making!! The girls all loved my jewelry and called “teacher, teacher” whenever they wanted something. Next time I will have to take plenty of pictures!
- UB Rhinos vs. Gabs Hogs Final Rugby match: big crowd in support of the UB Rhinos! Luckily one of my friends plays rugby because she explained all the rules...sorry Kelly. I don’t remember a thing from my one day at rugby practice freshmen year.
- Gaborone Game Reserve: Got to see a lot more animals than I expected in a seemingly very urban environment. Got up close and personal with a few zebras, ostriches, two kimodo dragons, and many warthogs, impalas, and monkeys. We had a picnic lunch and 1 monkey stole my friend Alicia’s banana…what are the odds!
- Old Naledi Clinic: I started working at Old Naledi clinic this week and what an experience it has been! Old Naledi, as I mentioned earlier, is one of the no-go places that Batsi pointed out during orientation. Kelsey, Alicia and I keep our guard pretty high when we walk from the combi stop to the clinic. Our days start bright and early at 7:30 am since the clinic sees the most traffic between 7:30 am and 11 am. Our professor changed our assignment so that we are all observing/working together and focus our clinical logs on the same thing every two weeks. Our first assignment is TB. Tuberculosis is an under-acknowledged disease in the US but a significant public health concern in Sub-Saharan Africa. Old Naledi really is the dilapidated “shanty town” that Batsi made it out to be. Alicia, Kelsey, and I got plenty of stares walking from the combi stop to the clinic. Lots of people making fires to warm up, brushing their teeth outside, pit toilets, and piles of garbage.
The clinic vaguely reminds me of the insane asylum that One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was filmed in. White-washed walls, freezing cold, and very outdated technology. Everything seems pretty unsanitary too. There is no soap, toilet paper, or hand sanitizer to be found. I’ve found many needles lying around and privacy (much less HIPAA) doesn’t really exist. The one doctor in the consultation room sees upwards of 70 patients a day—listening to their problems, doing a quick physical exam, and prescribing some sort of medication without any explanation of what is wrong. Nurses are pretty nice but rather unmotivated. The hour long lunch break turns into an hour and a half on any given day.
The TB room is a small consultation room where the nurses dispense pills to TB patients every day. 109 TB patients have been registered at the Old Naledi clinic since January 2010. The government requires that patients come to the clinic daily to get the medications to ensure that patients are adhering to the regimen and getting proper support. It's a little frightening to think that the only thing preventing me from getting airborne, pretty contagious TB is my probably slightly compromised immune system and a N95 mask. As Kelsey said—the last thing we want is to be quarantined in the US when we get back because we have TB! Dispensing gets pretty boring but a technician from Princess Marina Hospital (one of the public hospitals in Gaborone) came to conduct a survey about TB patients in Gaborone. The survey is incredibly interesting—detailing everything from perceptions of TB in the community, socioeconomic status, alcohol use, HIV status, reasons for defaulting, interactions with the healthcare system, use of traditional medicines, side effects of the drugs, etc. The only problem is that it takes him more than 30 minutes to do the survey. The patients started to get pretty disgruntled when they learned they had to wait to get their pills—some even left! I think the surveyors need to provide an incentive to the patients if they want them to take the time to do it. When the TB room slows down (usually around 11 am) we headed over to the H1N1 vaccination room to help with filling syringes and tallying or the doctor consultation room. We had some pretty interesting experiences on Wednesday…
We went with the flabotomist to the injection room where they do bandaging (looks basically like what we do in EMS) and blood drawing. As the flabotomist started drawing blood from this very emaciated man’s arm right into a vial, my ears started ringing and my vision got blurry, and I nearly passed out! I don’t know if I hadn’t eaten enough but the experience became very real for me. Luckily I had some water and snacks in my bag and I was fine after that! We headed over to the consultation room afterwards, which was very interesting. The doctor was from Ethiopia, so he suffered from a language barrier similar to the one we were experiencing. He was very inviting to us though— asking us what we thought the problem was before he did a physical exam during every consultation. We saw everything from a lady who had an abortion (illegal in Botswana) to a man with pneumonia, to plenty of people who simply had the flu. A nurse from the maternity ward called the doctor to come, apparently because there was a “complicated delivery” in process. He told us to come, and we were pretty stoked. However, when we arrived—our hopes were swiftly crushed. Instead, we found a lady curled up in a bed weeping with a placenta just chillin in a metal bowl at the end of the bed. We were pretty confused until the nurse opened up a pile of green sheets in a bassinette and showed us a bloody stillborn baby. The experience was shocking to say the least, but what was more horrific was how the nurse and doctor handled the situation. The nurse was insensitive to the patient (note: she was HIV positive) and made it seem like this was commonplace. The doctor didn’t even ask any questions about the delivery and whether it was a fresh stillborn or whether the baby had died during pregnancy. Negligence seems to be a pretty significant problem at clinics around Gaborone.
I’m looking forward to the upcoming weeks. I feel like I have learned so much already about the healthcare system in Botswana and even medicine in general. It has definitely been a huge learning experience. More to come next week about the clinic and this weekend’s festivities!
Plans for the upcoming weeks:
- Dinner tonight with my sister Aty, my friend Alicia, and her sister Tumisan (she is my cousin actually) at Linga Langa at Riverwalk Mall
- Cultural weekend including dinner, dancing and camping at a rural cultural village (name to be disclosed afterwards/once I know where it is!), safari in Mokoldi Game Reserve north of Gaborone, and swimming fun at Lion Water Park
- Healthy dinner (vegetarian fajitas….yumm avocado!!) and brownies on Monday for my host mother’s birthday
- Makagaldi Salt pans next weekend
- Mochudi Village Homestay and Mochudi Clinic work
- Setswana Food culture project for my Setswana language and culture practicum: my friend Alicia and I are going to be researching traditional foods and learning how to make a few dishes. Perhaps when I come back to the US I'll cook some for ya’ll!
- Walking more! I walked from the university to BBS one night (about a 40 min walk) all by myself and felt very accomplished. Its nice to get some semblance of a workout and get away from the stuffy combis! Its been unusually cold here lately (5 degrees celcius this morning!) but hopefully it will get better by the end of next week ;)
PS- check out my pictures on facebook. I wasn’t able to add them all because of poor internet connectivity, but slowly but surely hopefully I will make it work! Love and miss you all. To all my college friends, good luck with fall semester—I wish I could be there for the craziness that is NSO and the first week of classes!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
PHONE NUMBER
So I got a phone here in Gaborone for p149 (6.5 pula = $1). Its pretty expensive for me to call but free if you call me from the US (if you have a good international calling plan that'd be idea!)
I don't think too many creepy Batswana guys will be looking at this so i'm ok putting my number up.
267-7530-7487
I'd love to here from anyone and everyone!
I don't think too many creepy Batswana guys will be looking at this so i'm ok putting my number up.
267-7530-7487
I'd love to here from anyone and everyone!
Dumela mma/rra. Le Kai?
Wow! I don't even know where to begin. First, perhaps an apology? I have been in Gaborone, Botswana now for 9 days but have minimal internet. As classes start and I get into a routine, hopefully I will be able to post more. I haven't tried uploading pictures yet but I have many to share from all of my adventures thus far!
Gaborone (pronounced Ha-bo-ro-nay) is a SPRAWLING city in the heart of Botswana. People (singular: Motswana, plural: Batswana) come from villages all over the country to make a living here. Though I have yet to travel to other urban landscapes in Africa, I feel like Gaborone is a good example of city life in Africa. My cab driver, Moraps, always tells me how boring Gaborone is. When I ask him what is exciting around Gaborone he always replies, "There is nothing to do. It is so boring. All any one does here is drink." Yes, alcohol abuse and drugs are a huge problem here. Yes, HIV effects the lives of every person in this city (infection rate at the University of Botswana is slightly higher than the national average- roughly 45%). Despite this, I have kept myself quite busy and have already learned so much about Botswana culture.
The first week we stayed at a pretty nice hotel called the Windsor Inn during orientation. They served us breakfast and dinner, which was pretty ordinary. There are 11 girls (the one boy dropped out. Perhaps he was intimidated by the notion of being surrounded by 11 girls for 4 months?) in my CIEE program that I have all come to know and love. 3 are in the public health program that I am in and the rest are just taking classes at the University of Botswana. Batsi is our program director, and really like a second father to me. He treats us like we are his daughters and basically makes our lives 100x more simple, less confusing, and safe than they would be without him. There are 70 international students total at UB from the US, all around Europe, Asia, and even some other countries in Africa..and those not in CIEE had a much more frustrating registration/orientation expereince. I can't thank Batsi enough for all the work he did and guidance he gives us!
Some of the highlights of orientation include:
- traditional dinner in a village right outside of Gaborone. Batswana delicacies we ate include ginger tea, mopane worms (read: crutchy catepillars...not the most appetizing, but supposedly very healthy), pap (cormeal that looks kind of like mashed potatoes that people eat here like we eat bread or noodles), various lentil dishes, stomped beef, spinach like vegetable that tastes kinda fishy/seaweedy and tons of chicken. We also learned traditional Batswana dances and spent lots of time talking and relaxing around the campfire. (Note: Africa is not always hot..it is the middle of winter here and the mornings and evenings it is as cold as 40-50 F! I definitely should have brought more pants!!)
- forged our own path and climbed Kgale Hill, the highest point in Gaborone. Spectacular views from the top.
- going to the various Malls for shopping and food. Found an ice cream place here which seems to be quite a rarity. People don't really eat dessert like I do back in the US so its taken some getting used to. Malls aren't like what they are in the US but they are basically where people hang out. Shops, grocery stores, fast food, restaurants, etc. Riverwalk is within 15 min. walk from UB but not that exciting. Game City is the biggest but closer to Kgale Hill. Main Mall has a lot of street vendors selling various African trinkets, jewlery, CDs, clothing. I'll definitely be stopping there before I leave!
- starting my home stay. I decided to live in a homestay rather than UB and after a week or so here, I'm pretty happy with my decision. I have a mom named Spinky and a 17 yr. old sister named Aty (short of Atang). We have a pretty modest house in Block 6 of Gaborone. Although I'm probably only a few kilometers from school, dut to traffic and the inefficiency of the combi system, it takes about an hour to get to school! Aty is very friendly, Spinky is more reserved. Aty tells me all her secrets/the dirt on the family. The TV is on almost 24/7. TV is the go-to entertainment. We don't have a dining room so we eat in the living room while watchin TV. There is only a bath, but unlike at the university, I have hot water so I am very thankful. They make pretty unhealthy food (lots of greasy meat and carbs) so eventually I'd like to make them healthier. In a landlocked country like Botswana veggies and fruit are a hot comodity and are much more expensive. Luckily, Batsi gives them money to pay for our food so when i work up the courage I can go shopping for them!
- learning the combi system. Combis (minibuses) are the main form of transportation that have a few designated stops but basically take you anywhere. They basically cram 4 in a row, 4 rows total and shuttle you from one place to a next. Its pretty difficult to know where you are going. Maps don't truly exist. There are street names but no one uses them. My first time riding on the combi alone I had to call my sister and have her tell the driver where to drop me off. Everyone laughed and joked in Setswana, but at least I wasn't going to be lost in Gaborone alone in the pitch dark!
- oh and classes! I'm taking two classes through the University- Parasitology and either African Religion in Botswana or African Philosophy. I also am in Setswana Language and Culture Practicum with just CIEE students, and my Public Health practicum and Public and Environmental Health in Botswana with 3 other CIEE girls. We start working at the clinic basically 7:30 am - 3 or 4 pm on Monday through Wednesday next week. We are working in Old Naledi, one of the "no go" places Batsi advised us against going to. He said however, we would be introduced to the community and thus we would be safe. We drove through Old Naledi on our tour our Gaborone and it really was how I expected most of Africa to be like. Delapitated shacks, people doing their hair on the street, everyone congregating outside. I'll give a much more thorough impression of Old Naledi later when I've actually been there longer. Although classes officially started on Monday I've had Parasitology once (the professor made an analogy of parasites being like American guests in Botswana homes...what a welcome!), Setswana once, and African Philosophy once. Professors don't show up or show up late. The classes are pretty rudimentary, but hey, its a nice break from second semester orgo at Georgetown. Perhaps it will get harder as the weeks go on.
Observations I have made thus far
- People don't really care about time. To me, efficiency is one of Botswana's biggest weaknesses. The transportation system is incredibly inefficient, professors don't come to class or arrive anywhere from 5-25 minutes late. If a cab driver says he will be there in 15 minutes, allot 30 minutes. Food takes forever to prepare. Time just isn't as important to people here. It drives me crazy at times but I'm slowly getting used to it.
- People don't really exercise here. Its pretty frustrating going from working out everyday to basically never. I went to the UB track and tried to run but got winded fairly quickly (we are also at a higher elevation here). Its not that safe to run around without id/phone and with an ipod especially farther from the university. Hopefully once i get into the swing of things I'll work out more.
- All the food here is the same. People here love their white carbs and meat. All the meat is on the bone. My vegetarian friends here are struggling, but finding their way. The cuisine is based more on survival that flavor and variety.
- Most people are either very genuinely friendly or want to sleep with you (especially if you are a white girl). Ive definitely honed my skills of warding off guys looking for numbers or trying to get you to go back their room with you. Guys here are so forward about what they want and its pretty acceptable in the culture. Thus its pretty hard to make friends with Batswana guys.
I have so much more to say, but not much time. I guess i will write more in the following days. I miss everyone back home. My family and friends in NJ, all my friends traveling the globe like me, my friends in Washington DC, and my family back in Wisconsin. Hopefully next time there will be pictures to accompany my post. For now know I am doing very well and am enjoying my experience immensely. Its a huge change of pace from the US but I'm loving it. Still can't believe I'm in Africa but I've met so many great people through my program as well as locals. Go Siame for now!
Gaborone (pronounced Ha-bo-ro-nay) is a SPRAWLING city in the heart of Botswana. People (singular: Motswana, plural: Batswana) come from villages all over the country to make a living here. Though I have yet to travel to other urban landscapes in Africa, I feel like Gaborone is a good example of city life in Africa. My cab driver, Moraps, always tells me how boring Gaborone is. When I ask him what is exciting around Gaborone he always replies, "There is nothing to do. It is so boring. All any one does here is drink." Yes, alcohol abuse and drugs are a huge problem here. Yes, HIV effects the lives of every person in this city (infection rate at the University of Botswana is slightly higher than the national average- roughly 45%). Despite this, I have kept myself quite busy and have already learned so much about Botswana culture.
The first week we stayed at a pretty nice hotel called the Windsor Inn during orientation. They served us breakfast and dinner, which was pretty ordinary. There are 11 girls (the one boy dropped out. Perhaps he was intimidated by the notion of being surrounded by 11 girls for 4 months?) in my CIEE program that I have all come to know and love. 3 are in the public health program that I am in and the rest are just taking classes at the University of Botswana. Batsi is our program director, and really like a second father to me. He treats us like we are his daughters and basically makes our lives 100x more simple, less confusing, and safe than they would be without him. There are 70 international students total at UB from the US, all around Europe, Asia, and even some other countries in Africa..and those not in CIEE had a much more frustrating registration/orientation expereince. I can't thank Batsi enough for all the work he did and guidance he gives us!
Some of the highlights of orientation include:
- traditional dinner in a village right outside of Gaborone. Batswana delicacies we ate include ginger tea, mopane worms (read: crutchy catepillars...not the most appetizing, but supposedly very healthy), pap (cormeal that looks kind of like mashed potatoes that people eat here like we eat bread or noodles), various lentil dishes, stomped beef, spinach like vegetable that tastes kinda fishy/seaweedy and tons of chicken. We also learned traditional Batswana dances and spent lots of time talking and relaxing around the campfire. (Note: Africa is not always hot..it is the middle of winter here and the mornings and evenings it is as cold as 40-50 F! I definitely should have brought more pants!!)
- forged our own path and climbed Kgale Hill, the highest point in Gaborone. Spectacular views from the top.
- going to the various Malls for shopping and food. Found an ice cream place here which seems to be quite a rarity. People don't really eat dessert like I do back in the US so its taken some getting used to. Malls aren't like what they are in the US but they are basically where people hang out. Shops, grocery stores, fast food, restaurants, etc. Riverwalk is within 15 min. walk from UB but not that exciting. Game City is the biggest but closer to Kgale Hill. Main Mall has a lot of street vendors selling various African trinkets, jewlery, CDs, clothing. I'll definitely be stopping there before I leave!
- starting my home stay. I decided to live in a homestay rather than UB and after a week or so here, I'm pretty happy with my decision. I have a mom named Spinky and a 17 yr. old sister named Aty (short of Atang). We have a pretty modest house in Block 6 of Gaborone. Although I'm probably only a few kilometers from school, dut to traffic and the inefficiency of the combi system, it takes about an hour to get to school! Aty is very friendly, Spinky is more reserved. Aty tells me all her secrets/the dirt on the family. The TV is on almost 24/7. TV is the go-to entertainment. We don't have a dining room so we eat in the living room while watchin TV. There is only a bath, but unlike at the university, I have hot water so I am very thankful. They make pretty unhealthy food (lots of greasy meat and carbs) so eventually I'd like to make them healthier. In a landlocked country like Botswana veggies and fruit are a hot comodity and are much more expensive. Luckily, Batsi gives them money to pay for our food so when i work up the courage I can go shopping for them!
- learning the combi system. Combis (minibuses) are the main form of transportation that have a few designated stops but basically take you anywhere. They basically cram 4 in a row, 4 rows total and shuttle you from one place to a next. Its pretty difficult to know where you are going. Maps don't truly exist. There are street names but no one uses them. My first time riding on the combi alone I had to call my sister and have her tell the driver where to drop me off. Everyone laughed and joked in Setswana, but at least I wasn't going to be lost in Gaborone alone in the pitch dark!
- oh and classes! I'm taking two classes through the University- Parasitology and either African Religion in Botswana or African Philosophy. I also am in Setswana Language and Culture Practicum with just CIEE students, and my Public Health practicum and Public and Environmental Health in Botswana with 3 other CIEE girls. We start working at the clinic basically 7:30 am - 3 or 4 pm on Monday through Wednesday next week. We are working in Old Naledi, one of the "no go" places Batsi advised us against going to. He said however, we would be introduced to the community and thus we would be safe. We drove through Old Naledi on our tour our Gaborone and it really was how I expected most of Africa to be like. Delapitated shacks, people doing their hair on the street, everyone congregating outside. I'll give a much more thorough impression of Old Naledi later when I've actually been there longer. Although classes officially started on Monday I've had Parasitology once (the professor made an analogy of parasites being like American guests in Botswana homes...what a welcome!), Setswana once, and African Philosophy once. Professors don't show up or show up late. The classes are pretty rudimentary, but hey, its a nice break from second semester orgo at Georgetown. Perhaps it will get harder as the weeks go on.
Observations I have made thus far
- People don't really care about time. To me, efficiency is one of Botswana's biggest weaknesses. The transportation system is incredibly inefficient, professors don't come to class or arrive anywhere from 5-25 minutes late. If a cab driver says he will be there in 15 minutes, allot 30 minutes. Food takes forever to prepare. Time just isn't as important to people here. It drives me crazy at times but I'm slowly getting used to it.
- People don't really exercise here. Its pretty frustrating going from working out everyday to basically never. I went to the UB track and tried to run but got winded fairly quickly (we are also at a higher elevation here). Its not that safe to run around without id/phone and with an ipod especially farther from the university. Hopefully once i get into the swing of things I'll work out more.
- All the food here is the same. People here love their white carbs and meat. All the meat is on the bone. My vegetarian friends here are struggling, but finding their way. The cuisine is based more on survival that flavor and variety.
- Most people are either very genuinely friendly or want to sleep with you (especially if you are a white girl). Ive definitely honed my skills of warding off guys looking for numbers or trying to get you to go back their room with you. Guys here are so forward about what they want and its pretty acceptable in the culture. Thus its pretty hard to make friends with Batswana guys.
I have so much more to say, but not much time. I guess i will write more in the following days. I miss everyone back home. My family and friends in NJ, all my friends traveling the globe like me, my friends in Washington DC, and my family back in Wisconsin. Hopefully next time there will be pictures to accompany my post. For now know I am doing very well and am enjoying my experience immensely. Its a huge change of pace from the US but I'm loving it. Still can't believe I'm in Africa but I've met so many great people through my program as well as locals. Go Siame for now!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)