I can't sleep...

I leave Botswana in less than 20 hours and I can't believe it.  I literally feel like I just stepped off the plane into this new place and having no clue where I was.  It is hard to think that I actually learned how to navigate the city in a combi, without a map, and on my own.

This has been one of the hardest and most rewarding experiences I have ever been able to do.  I have not only learned so much about the culture, but I have learned so much about myself.  I found out that I can handle so much more than I thought I had in me; I learned to hold my tongue in certain situations and to speak up in others; I learned how to live basically.  Although this was nothing like what I expected, I would never trade any of it.

As I lay here trying to fall asleep before the day before I fly away from this beautiful place, I can't stop my mind from reeling.  There are so many things I wish I would have done, things I wish I would have embraces, but I also think of all the amazing things I was able to see and do.  I can't believe I lived in Botswana for 4 months.  I obviously need to take a bit more time to decompress everything I have done here, but these are just my first-last thoughts.

Go siame Botswana.  You will be missed.

Gotta love research!

Hello all! I wanted to share a little something that I have been working on this semester.  With my program, each student does an independent research project that is finished up right around this time.  We ended our research with a little presentation that was hosted in the library!  Rather than posting my 8000+ word paper, I figured I would just direct you to the ACM website, where you cannot only read about my research (which I hope you all do), but also some of my peers' work as well on our fabulous posters we all made.  There is an article about our presentation and then if you scroll on down, you will find some linked pdfs.  Take a gander and enjoy!

Click here to expand your knowledge on all sorts of things!

Expect some more reflective posts coming soon! I only have 10 more days in Botswana.  I can't believe this time has flown by so quickly! 

DURBAN DURBAN DURBAN

Rather than spending the Easter holiday stuck in Gabs, I decided to venture back into South Africa and head to the beach.  Myself, along with 3 friends hopped in a taxi, then a bus, then another taxi, then a plane, and finally an airport shuttle to make our way Durban South Africa.  We stayed in a fantastic hostel, Happy Hippo.  If you ever find yourself in Durban, stay here, it was great!

Durban Skyline

We did not get in until late at night, so we didn't actually see the city until the next morning.  We all really wanted to go see the botanical garden, so we woke up pretty early so we would have time after the gardens to visit the aquarium.  To our surprise, the owner of our hostel not only offered to drop us off there, but also so us a really cool flea market! We of course jumped at the idea of going shopping and spent an hour and half doing that.  We saw some really cool things.  We then ate at a delicious bistro and walked on over the the botanical garden.

Botanical Garden

The garden was pretty.  There were so many people there just eating lunch and hanging out, oh and getting married.  Between the four of us, we probably saw at least 5 brides.  They were all quite beautiful and chose an ideal setting to get married.  Once we finished up there, we headed to the aquarium, UShaka! This was conveniently located 2 minutes away from our hostel and also had a bunch of nice stores and restaurants.  The aquarium was huge and so neat.  I was also able to get my first glimpse of the Indian Ocean! There were a lot of cool fish and SHARKS! It was great.  We at dinner at a great restaurant, and made sure I had some sort of seafood!

Prime picture spot at UShaka Aquarium

Another great photo opportunity

The next day we hopped on a city bus and we made our way to the Indian market.  For those of you who don't know, Durban has the largest population of Indian people outside of India.   The market was quite fragrant and not as crowded as I would have expected, but it was Easter and a Sunday, so maybe that was why.  From there We finally made our way to the beach.  Before we found the perfect spot on the sand, we went to lunch at a place called JoeCools.  It was a really funky restaurant with a dj and just a great atmosphere.  I ordered a huge drink (it came it a little bucket) and it was only 5 US dollars.  I was very excited.  The beach was great.  I went swimming in the Indian Ocean and had a blast.  We ended out night at a delicious Japanese restaurant!  The next day we dreadfully headed back to Gabs.  This was an amazing trip and I loved mostly every minute of it. 

My first look at the Indian Ocean!

My drink from JoeCools

The beach!

Now it is crunch time here at school.  I have so much work, but it has been nice to be busy.  I can’t believe this experience is winding down.  I have a lot to reflect on and a lot more souvenirs to buy.  Wish me luck!

My second family.

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to stay with the Sebako family for three days and nights.  During my stay I was exposed to cultural differences between the United States and Botswana.  At the lunch when I met mother it was a little awkward because she told me I was fat.  I was unsure whether to take this as a compliment because she called herself fat too, but in my head I was kind of appalled that this woman was so rude so quickly.

            Once I was taken to her home, I was introduced to everyone there.  I met her husband, who I was told to call Sebako, her housemaid, an aunt, and one of her sons, Thunder.  They were all very nice and happy to see me.  Mrs. Sebako and I then walked to a near by shop to buy food for my stay.  She bought 200-pula worth of beef!  It was quite a bit of meat that we had to carry back the house.  Once we got home the husband showed me the cow hooves and head that he bought from a different butcher.  I expected to see more meat, but instead I saw a cow head that still had the hair and eyeballs and the hooves that looked like they were just chopped off.  I almost threw up I was so disgusted by it, but I was able to keep it down.  He told me that he was going to skin it and then cook it to eat.  In more traditional days, only men were able to eat this part of the cow and women could not have any unless men gave it to them.  I did not try this meat, but everyone else seemed to really enjoy it.

            For dinner that night, I helped cook some mogobe, soft porridge, and some leafy green relish looking thing.  When they served me my plate I was stunned at the huge portions of food.  There was not way that I would be able to eat the entire plate, and I did not finish it.  It was strange to me that the family did not sit at the dinner table together and eat their meals; they instead were spread out throughout the entire house.  After eating, I collected everyone’s dirty dishes and did all of the dishes in the very specific way that Mrs. Sebako showed me.  The rest of the night consisted of us watching television and chatting about their family.  I learned that Mrs. Sebako works in the parliament and that Mr. Sebako was the first person to teach blind students in the country.  It was interesting to learn so much about their jobs and where these jobs have taken them.  Mr. Sebako has traveled around Europe and Africa while attending conferences for the country.  He was very knowledgeable about the world around him.

            The next morning I slept until seven, and although I thought that was early, everyone in the family asked why I slept so late.  I ate some breakfast, had tea, and then went to help with chores around the house.  I learned how to use a traditional broom and helped start a fire that they used to heat up water throughout the day.  Mr. Sebako was hard at work on the cow hooves (yuck!) and Mrs. Sebako milled about all morning around the house.  I was able to sit and watch some interesting soap operas with the younger daughter, Fatima.  She is in her last year of high school and is planning on going to the University of Botswana next year.  We watched television until the eldest daughter, Thato, came to pick up Mrs. Sebako and I to take us to dinner.  We went to Thato’s home where I met her husband and her two children.  I helped grill some steak and we ate a very large and delicious dinner.  After the women finished the dishes, we went to a lodge where the kids could play on the playground and us adults could relax.  They shared drinks with me and we had a great time.  We later dropped off Mrs. Sebako and the children and went out to some more bars and I was able to see Mochudi nightlife.  It was nice being at these places because I was not stared at as much as I am in Gaborone. 

            The next day I woke up early because I thought I was going to the cattle post, but we ended up leaving two hours after they had said.  We drove about an hour away to the lands and I was able to see the family’s goats and cattle.  After four hours there, we came back to lunch that Mrs. Sebako prepared and I was then able to rest for an hour.  The Younger son Thunder showed me how he makes sand art and I got to make my own.  At first I was like “how hard could it be?” but it ended up being a bit more difficult than expected. I now have more souvenirs though!  The rest of the day was very calm abd relaxing.  The family wanted to take a lot of pictures with me and we spent the rest of the night chatting and getting to know more about one another.

            Overall, this was a very educational experience.  Although my home was very comfortable I was put into challenging cultural situations that I had to just deal with.  I am not used to being bossed around by men and having to do everything for the men of the house.  It was a bit frustrating that women were doing almost everything in terms of chores around the home while the men just did their own thing.  The eldest brother looked me at as inferior and almost stupid and that was very difficult to handle.  Even though there were some rough patches, I was able to really enjoy myself and create wonderful relationships within this family. 

Here are some pictures:

I just really wanted to see a lion!

         After a week and a half of processing, I finally have the time to sit down and share one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had.

         For spring break (mid-semester break here since it is summer) the ACM students, our professor, and his family, all traveled up to the northern part of the country.  We were lucky enough to get to fly up there, so rather than a 7-8 hour bus ride, we had the luxury of an hour plane ride!  Our first stop was in Maun.  We arrived at our lodge/campsite and were quickly divided into tents.  Now these were no ordinary tents, they were big enough to stand up in and we slept on cots with bedding and everything!

         That night we were fed a very good dinner and prepared to go to an island in the Okavango Delta for the next couple of days. 

To get to this island, we took mokoros.  These were boats that were like a mix between canoes and gondolas.  My tent and mokoro buddy was Elise Beckman, a fellow Forester studying abroad.  Our poler, the person who basically rowed but used a big pole and pushed us along, was Paul.  He was a young man from the village we took off from.  Paul was very nice and I really think he enjoyed being with Elise and I because to pass the time away we sang any song that came into our heads.  Paul sang along a bit too!

            After arriving to our island, we had hours of siesta time before we went on a walking safari around the island.  This first walking safari was a little uneventful, but I saw a beautiful sunset, some elephant dung, and hippo tracks.  We returned to our campsite to eat dinner and go to bed.  The next morning we woke up very early to venture off to another island for another walking safari.  Now for this walk, I was with a guide name Best, and he really was the best.  We saw herds of zebras, giraffes, wildebeests, and warthogs.  I could not believe that I was walking around with these animals.  I think it finally hit me that I was in Africa!

         We returned to our island had lunch and more siesta time.  We took a lovely boat mokoro ride before dinner and then enjoyed everyone’s company during dinner and for a little entertainment afterwards.  The next morning we ventured back to the lodge.

Elise and I with giraffes!

         Once at the lodge we were greeted with one of the best surprises in the entire world.  Apparently they double booked our campsite, so we were upgraded to chalets and suites with bathrooms, big beds, and tvs FOR FREE! We were all very excited! After a long shower that was full of scrubbing off all the dirt I acquired in the past two days, we had a lovely meal and went to bed.

Our upgrade

         Our next adventure was traveling to Moremi Game Reserve.  This was a long drive and the sun was brutal in our safari cars.  My left arms felt like it was on fire, but it never looked sun burnt.  The pain was indescribable!  Even though I was in pain, I saw so many incredible animals.  We saw elephants, giraffes, a crocodile, and wild dogs (which are quite rare to see).  We finally reached our campsite right before it was getting dark.  We all immediately put on our bug repellent and long pants so we didn’t get eaten alive. We ate dinner and went to bed.

Wild dog sighting

         The next morning we woke up and headed out on another game drive and saw some more animals like storks, cranes, jackals, and impalas.  We then ventured off to Savuti.  Now I was expecting this be a normal safari drive, but boy was I wrong.  We ran into some issues along the way.  The first being a huge puddle that my safari truck go stuck in.  Now this wouldn’t have been that bad if we didn’t get stuck at a 45-degree angle with water being a foot away from my face.  We were all ok and we got our truck out, but the other truck definitely had some fun taking pictures of us.  The next issue was another puddle (more like a pond/lake).  The other truck was going through and the truck stalled.  We had to pull it out.  We were running extremely late and our game drive within Savuti was more like a lion hunt because it was getting dark.  I really wanted to see a lion, but unfortunately we did not.  We arrived at our campsite, we ate, we heard hippos calling, and we went to bed.

         On our final full day all together, we traveled to Chobe National Park.  This park was huge and amazing.  We ended up driving up to 55 elephants playing in the water.  I saw Namibia and so many more elephants.  There were breath taking views and huge trees.  It was all unbelievable.  After getting to our campsite, we went on one last game drive/search for lions.  We saw a lot of animals, but no lions.  I gave up on them and we went back to camp, ate dinner, had an elephant come into our campsite and hang out, and then went to bed. 

Mama and her baby

         On our way out of the campsite we saw something amazing…LIONS! FINALLLY!  There were 3 lions just hanging out on the side of the trail.  They were beautiful and calm.  I loved them.  We left the park on a great note and ventured into Kasane where we were all dropped off at our lodges.

 Finally! A lion!

         Elise, Emily, Kayla and I planned to stay at Thebe River Lodge and go to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe the next day.  Our rooms were so nice and comfy!  We got to take long showers, well mine was long because I had to get all the dirt off again.  We ate dinner in the lodge restaurant and had drinks that night.  We sat down and wanted to try the spring rolls for an appetizer.  We thought these were normal small spring rolls, but to our surprise, these were spring burritos, like Chipotle size!  They were good, but we each had one to ourselves.  Then we ate our main course, which was ok and then we had milkshakes.  We ordered everything before we had our spring rolls, so we just made ourselves look like big fatties. 

          The next day we went to Zombabwe.  We were all very excited to be going to this country and seeing a wonder of the world, Victoria Falls.  It was incredible! None of my pictures do it justice! We ended up getting soaked but it was so worth it.  After seeing the falls, we were driven to te bridge that most people bungee jump off, don’t worry mom and dad, I kept both feet on the ground.  But I did get to go into Zambia (without a passport stamp).  I was able to hit 3 countries on the trip and I was very excited about that.  From there we went and had lunch at Victoria Falls Hotel.  This place was gorgeous! It was very old and gave off a little creepy colonial vibe, but the food was delicious and the view was spectacular.  From there we went to a market where we were bombarded with sellers.  It was a little to much for us, so we did not stay very long.

Me at the falls

         We returned to Botswana and had a fun night in store for us.  We were too lazy to try to go out for dinner so we went back to the lodge restaurant.  On our way there we met some guys from Maun that were here for a cricket tournament.  They were very nice and invited us to join them.  They bought us drinks all night and we had a great time just chatting with them.  They were all married or in serious relationships with girls back home so they weren’t hitting on us, a nice change!  We ended up eating dinner with them, which consisted of pizza and KFC, and it was so good!  We then had to get to bed to catch our 5:30am bus back to Gabs the next day.

         We woke up at 4:00am so start the terrible day.  The bus ride sucked! It was the worst 12 hours of my life! I don’t even want to talk about it.

         Now I am back at University of Botswana starting my independent research project and writing papers.  I am looking forward to my next trip to Durban, South Africa.

I have made my facebook album public so you can enjoy all my pictures! 

My mid-semester break photos  <---- click here to unleash the beauty!

There just isn't enough time.

I got back from my mid semester break only to realize that I don't have enough time to blog and give this experience the time it deserves.  I can't wait to share all the amazing things I saw, but until I find time, here is a teaser...

It has been too long.

I realize it have been 2 weeks since my last post, but not that much has been going on.
I celebrated my 21st birthday on the twelfth with some great friends.  I began the celebration on Thursday night and it continued into Sunday afternoon.  Saturday was the big day of celebrating.  I had a pizza party with some close girls with cake and great conversation.  We continued on to this nice place called News Cafe and had some drinks.  Now, the drinking age here is 18, so I was ordering drinks while I was still 20, but I still made a big deal out of it. From this café, I went out to a club.  I danced the night away with a bunch of other international students and had a great time!  The next day, on my official birthday, I went to brunch (more like dinner-lunch) with some girls and went to a terrible restaurant, but they had good juice, so it was ok. 

 Me with my cake!

 My pina colada and I!

 While we were enjoying our drinks, these drunk guys came up and found out it was my birthday and started singing to me.  They got a little close for comfort, but it is definitely one of my most memorable moments here!

Club goers!

Two days later was Valentine’s Day and they go all out here! There were pink, red, and white things everywhere! Elise and I were bored, so we decided to go out to dinner and movie and have a little date.  We were elated when we went to buy our movie tickets and it was 2 for the price of 1 (it was like $6 for the both of us).  This made our decision to get popcorn much easier.  The movie was so nice.  It was air conditioned and dark and so relaxing.  It was a nice little escape for us.  We then went to this diner place called Wimpy’s, and people were feeling the love there.  This place is like a mixture of McDonalds and Johnny Rockets, just so you know.  They had candles on the table, choices of wine, and 2 for 1 milkshakes.  There were so many couples in there, young and old.  It was crazy but funny.

Since Valentine’s Day, things have been pretty laid back.  I have homework due this next week, so that is a little annoying.  I also have an internship at the Botswana Society for the Deaf and I work there 2 days a week for about 8 hours each day.  I am starting to learn sign language and it is so cool!  I am definitely getting busy again!  I am looking forward to my spring break trip coming up next weekend.  We will be going to the Okavango Delta on a safari basically.  From there I am planning on traveling into Zimbabwe to Victoria Falls.  I can’t wait!!!

Cycling and sickness in Soweto

Last weekend my study abroad program went to Johannesburg (Joburg for short) and Soweto, South Africa.  I was so excited to get off campus and away from possible riots.  We left Friday morning and arrived in Joburg at the Origins Museum and took a quick tour.  This museum focused on the beginnings of humans, which they said began in Africa.  We watched some really interesting clips and saw some pretty cool things.

After the tour, we went to the lodge we were staying in for the weekend.  This place was so cool! It was very laid back and had reggae music playing.  We settled in, ate a delicious dinner, and stayed up for some bonding time (of course it included a couple beers and some good laughs).
The next day was the highlight of our trip!  We went on a bike tour of Soweto, home of Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu.  I was a little nervous because I have not ridden a bike in like 10 years and I had a pretty bad cold.  I went for it though, unfortunately at the first stop I felt faint and sick.  I refused to let this stop me from seeing things, so I chose to ride a tandem bike with one of our guides. It was great, we called it my limo!

My "driver's" name was Timothy.  He was really funny, and insisted on calling me Missy.  He sang like the entire ride and it was great!

We tried this beer that they drink there.  The boxes were really funny and apparently it can make your knees give out.  It tasted a little weird, but not too bad.  I didn't try much because I didn't want to make myself feel even more sick.

Our next stop was to try a Joburg delicacy, cow cheek.  It wasn't as bad as it sounds, but I prefer other parts of the cow over this.

We ended the tour four hours later and went back to the lodge.  From their we went to the Apartheid Museum.  I really wish I had more time in here because there was so much to see! It was a beautiful museum and it was really intense and just great.

We had another great dinner the next night, and then some of us girls did some crafting.  

We left the next day and made our way back to Botswana.  We attended all our classes this week and it was pretty low key.  This weekend I am going out on the town and I am going to try Ethiopian food! I am a little nervous, but hey how bad can it be!

If you were wondering...

Here is just a little snip-it of the riots and protests that occurred last week.  I was not around this mob, but as you can see things got a little crazy!

Classes seem to be back to normal this week and it doesn't look like there will be any more disruptions.

I will be writing about my trip to Johannesburg and Soweto, South Africa in the very near future, so get excited!

No class

The riots apparently got worse last night, so that means no class for the rest of the week.

Paper, Protest, Party... OH MY!

A lot has happened in this past week!

A have finally attended all of my classes.  My semester is a mix of some pretty easy courses and a little more demanding ones, but hopefully nothing hold me back from experiencing the continent!

Monday through Wednesday seemed pretty normal.  I had my first paper due on Thursday.  It was a pretty cool assignment.  We were able to interview some informal vendors in a mall close by and hear all of their stories.  The paper was just a write up, but I dreaded every minute of writing in it because I am in complete summer mode.  The weather is at least 80 degrees everyday, so rather than feeling January, I think it is July.  Not good for a student who just started her semester.  I got through it though, so that was just one thing I was able to check off my to-do list.

My next item to complete was to attend a student meeting lead by the student government about some grievances the study body was having.  From what it sounds like they are not happy with the possible closing of the on campus bar, 411, the cancelation on inter-varsity sports, which I think is like inter-murals, the cancellation of supplementary exams, tests students get to take if they failed a class before officially failing, and I believe they wanted their vice-chancellor to resign.

The student meeting (Courtesy of Elise Beckman)

I was very excited to see a student meeting and hear all they had to say, but unfortunately when it began they only spoke in Setswana.  I am learning this language, but I am as far as I am 20 years old, so it did not get me far.  I stayed listening and hoping that they would eventually speak in english, but they did not.  After about an hour and half I decided it was better to just leave and go hang out by my dorm with some friends.
We were sitting and chatting when we heard yelling and chanting headed our way.  Then hundreds of people came flooding through a gate! They were chanting and singing and holding what looked like branched from trees.  It was amazing.  I had never witnessed a protest and this one was just intense.

The protest (courtesy of Elise Beckman, I was looking from a closer point)

The next day, the entire campus was talking about the previous night's events.  Then there was another meeting.  The Vice-Chancellor, the man the students hold accountable for all the issues) was going to address the student body.  He was not accepted very well and was booed and yelled at.  He did not give any answers or solutions to the issues, but was ready to have meetings to talk about them.  I was a little worried that the students would riot and get violent, but they didn't so all is good.  I am interested in seeing what happens in this next week.

Finally, I went out for the first time and had so much fun! With some other international students I went to a house party in a near by village, Tlokweng.  It was great to get out and hang out with some locals off campus.  I tried a new kind of beer and got know some more people. 

Now it is back to classes, but something to look forward to is this next weekend I will be traveling to Johannesburg, South Africa! 

There might not be snow, but there was rain in Africa

This past weekend I went on a mini excursion with other international students that included seeing some historical sights and an hour long game drive.

The first day, we visited a kgotla.  These are meeting places where a tribes handles court cases, weddings, and other proceedings that concern the tribe.  We learned the traditions that go along with a wedding and the different punishments given out during trials.  We were able to see the old houses of the chiefs and the other buildings they use.

From there we hiked up to this gorge.  I wouldn't say it was a hard hike, but it involved some rock climbing.  Now, they did not warn us for this, so most of the girls were in skirts and flip-flops, and we went rock climbing.  There were no injuries, but it did take awhile to get up there.  It was beautiful! Apparently, way back when, a tribe used this gorge as a way of disposing of people who used witchcraft.  It was very interesting and pretty.

After the gorge, we went to see how traditional pottery is made.  We same people use the spinning wheel and were able to buy things if we wanted.  After this we traveled to the cultural village we were staying at for the night.  We were greeted with dancing and shown the huts we were sleeping in for the night!

 From there, we went to go hang out for a bit, and the rains came! It was a monsoon.  Tents were getting flooded and everyone was soaking wet.  It is a very dry country, so for there to be rain, its a big deal.

We had some more traditional food, it was much better this time! We ate and talked and then we all went to the bar and just hung out there.  This was one of the first nights I went out for a drink and it was great.  Everyone was laughing and having fun!
We left the village the next morning and went to see some rocking paintings. They were very old and kind of hard to see, but still very interesting.  From there we went to see a very old and very large tree, the Livingstone Tree.  It was beautiful and shady.

Finally, we were off to the game drive! On arrivial we were greeted with mimosas and a waiver form to sign.  We hoped in the safari jeep things and we were off. This was my favorite part of the weekend.  I saw zebras, a cheetah, a wildebeest, impalas, and warthogs! We had lunch in the middle of the reserve park and then... it began to rain again.  We all ran for cover in our jeeps (that were all open except for the roof) and still got soaking wet.  We bonded in the cars and I probably the laughed the hardest since I have been here.  When it died down we basically four-wheeled back to our bus (through a small river) and had the time of our lives!

I can't wait to see more wildlife and experience more of the culture here, but for now, I have a paper to write.

Learn something new everyday

As classes begin here at UB, more and more structure is being added to my day.  This is weird, but I am so glad to have homework!  Today I traveled by Combi (almost like a mini bus that has a route, but will stop anywhere on that route) to the oldest mall in Gaborone, Main Mall.  While there I had to interview 3 street vendors about various things.  People were mostly friendly and willing to talk to me!  I got to hear about there personal stories and ideas about the market in Botswana.
I am slowly starting to learn the language of Setswana.  I am in an introductory class and we are as far as "I am from..."  It is somethings that I have never heard before, but in its own way, very beautiful.  I can't wait to be able to understand local students so I can start ease dropping more.
I have been living with my roommate for almost a week now and she is very nice! She lives in the more northern part of the country and travels 2+ hours to come and attend UB.
On Monday, I had the opportunity to hand wash my clothes.  Now if you know me, I do my laundry at least once a week and use washing machines and dryers, but not here.  It took me around an hour to wash maybe 10-13 things and then like 2 days for them to dry!  It was an experience.  I should have some pretty buff arms by the end of this from ringing out all my clothes.

I have been walking almost everywhere here, different malls, a hut to make copies, you name it, I probably walked there.  Now in theory, I would probably be losing weight, but if you add the amount of dirt I attain throughout the day and the delicious fat cakes I eat, it is probably a wash.  I also like to think I am getting tan, but it is actually just a dirt line from my shoes.  It will happen though, just give it time.
I am starting to get more adjusted as time goes on.  I still miss certain things like air conditioning, ice cubes, fresh produce, but I am sure I can fins those somewhere.  

Some initial thoughts

So as I was just wasting time on the internet, I cam across this picture and I thought it very fitting for me at this time.  I have been pulled out of the comfort I experienced at Lake Forest College and in the US and put somewhere very different.  I was in complete and utter shock the first couple of days and then slipped into terrible homesickness.  All of these feelings are normal for someone traveling this far away, but I do not want to be hindered by them.

I had a rough start to my journey.  I cried, I wanted to come home, I was frustrated, and just in a bad mood.  Things are getting better now as classes are starting and I am getting some sort of structure to my day and I know it will only get better.  I am out of my comfort zone, and at first that is scary, but I need to remember that although things are different, they are not necessarily bad.  I am going to have days where I cry or miss the US, but I am also going to have days where I will be lucky enough to experience some incredible things.  My life is beginning and I am so excited to start to take in everything this place has to offer.

Thus far

I arrived in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, on Wednesday January 4th after 3 exhausting days of traveling.  This first thing I noticed was how incredibly hot it was.  We aren't talking the humid summers of Chicago or the dry heat of New Mexico, but rather a mixture of both.  I can't tell if it is dry or humid, only that I feel like I am in an oven.  Luckily, both of my bags arrived! I was a bit worried they were going to get lost somewhere between Albuquerque, Phoenix, New York, Johannesburg, and Gaborone.

Once I arrived at the university,  I met with my fellow international students and we bonded over the fact that we are all experiencing intense culture shock.  We had orientation and visited a near by mall (where I immediately purchased a fan), and we are beginning to get the layout of the land.  Tonight I was able to try an authentic Botswana meal.  It was interesting.  The most exotic part was the worm that I ate, it was definitely different, and definitely not for me.

Here is a link more about the worms: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonimbrasia_belina

I live in the Las Vegas dorms.  These are made up of double and singles and they are filled with both international students and locals.  My roommate will be a local, but she has not arrived yet.  Hopefully she won't mind the millions of questions I am going to ask her.

The culture here is much more laid back than I am use to and it is taking some time to adjust.  People here are quite more relaxed compared to the United States where if there is a task, it gets done immediately.  It is going to take some patience to get used to it, but I am definitely keeping an open mind.