Under African Skies (Thanks for That, Paul Simon)
I apologize for the delay of this update. Somehow time always manages to slip through my fingers, even in relaxed Botswana. Things are going well in good ol’ Gabs, with the exception of some minor drama (let’s just say college boys here are no less dim-witted than they are in the States) and some stress involved in figuring out my summer plans and my living situation for next year. Oh, and then there’s that whole bit about next year being my senior year, a period for figuring out what I want to do with my life - but let’s not go there just yet. I’m trying to soak up my last couple of months in Bots as much as I can. There’s been lots of hanging out, with both fellow Americans and some fantastic local friends, which makes motivation for studying difficult a lot of times, but when the time comes to turn something in, I just have to buckle down and do it. Today and tomorrow I’ll be working on a research paper for my Politics of Southern Africa course, writing about Botswana’s foreign policy with South Africa. It’s an interesting one.
Schoolwork aside, I got the chance to go to my friend Stephen’s village this past Saturday, which is called Ramotswa. It’s about a 30 minute bus ride from Gaborone. It was a nice, relaxing day. We went to several of his siblings’ houses (all of them with the exception of Stephen are married and live in the same general area) and chatted about our respective cultures. Stephen’s father’s elderly aunt, who lives with them, got a kick out of my greeting her in Setswana. I’ve noticed that happening a lot here — locals are amazed when internationals actually show them that they can speak Setswana correctly, even if it’s just a few words. I really liked Ramotswa. It’s definitely a community, where everyone knows everyone and takes care of each other. That’s something I think we lack so much in the States; we are so often confined to our cookie cutter suburban homes that must keep outsiders away.
I’m also continuing to volunteer at SOS Children’s Villages, which I enjoy. The kids are precious, even the ones (and there are always those ones…) that are a handful.
But that’s not my focus of this blog entry. I want to share with you about my midsemester vacation two weeks ago. I traveled with two of my American friends who I’ve mentioned many times in my previous entries: Dominique, a sophomore biology major from Tennessee, and Nicole, a senior political science/sociology major from Delaware (though she’s a student in North Carolina). We flew to Kasane, a town in the very northernmost tip of Botswana, took a ferry to Zambia(that was an experience that produced a lot of culture shock… we were bombarded by Zambian men wanting to carry our stuff, exchange our money for less value than it was worth, and give us a ride to our hostel), got a ride from a friend of the immigration officer to Livingstone, where we stayed at Jollyboys Backpackers. We went on a game drive and saw lots of animals including breathtaking giraffes, buffalo, and waterbuck; went on a river cruise down the beautiful Zambezi River, which included drinks and a delicious dinner; saw the amazing Victoria Falls and got a glimpse of my own finitude compared to something so grand and majestic; ate traditional Zambian food and listened to some good local jams at a non-profit called the Arts Cafe; and learned a little bit about Zambia’s archaeological, political and natural history and David Livingstone’s role in southern Africa at the Livingstone Museum. After leaving Jollyboys, we embarked on a looong day of travel to Maun, in northern Botswana (but south of Kasane). We stayed at Old Bridge Backpackers, met some cool people, went horseback riding one evening, made some delicious Korean food, and took a day boat trip with three friends we made at the hostel into Botswana’s magical Okavango Delta. It was one of the best trips of my life. If I were to write every detail, it would take far too much of your time to read it all. However, I did keep a daily log of experiences and reflections and thought I would type up a couple of them here.
Day 5, March 1: From Livingstone to Maun
Well, here we are, back in Kasane after departing Livingstone and Zambia early. I am sitting here at a bus stop, watching everyone’s belongings while Dom, Nicole and our new friend Jay get money to go to Nata, on the way to Maun. The buses have already departed for the day, so we are paying a gentleman by the name of Matenga 1,000 Pula to take us to Nata so we can get to Maun. What a day of transportation. I am happy to be in good company, though…
[interruption]
Later that day…
Well, our transportation changed a bit. We were able to get a ride from the “hiking post” in Kasane to Nata for 670 Pula (about 165 each) and we are on a bus bound for Maun. Our drive to Nata was bumpy and a bit uncomfortable, seeing as how the roads are rough in that part of the country, BUT we got to see ELEPHANTS! A couple of times we had to slow down to allow herds to pass. SO COOL—seeing them up close and personal. “TIA,” I just kept thinking. THIS IS AFRICA. It was interesting crossing back into Botswana (I believe Kazangula is the name of the place where the ferry is) and then entering Nata—we were asked if we had a spare set of shoes (Nicole said she was told it was for some sort of traditional medicine), because we had to step on a mat that had some sort of liquid on it once we crossed back over from Zambia. We also had some apples taken from us, because of alleged “diseases” on fruits from Zambia. Anyhow, I’m glad we’re underway to Maun—I will sure be glad when we get to Old Bridge.
The three of us managed to pick up a travel buddy at Jollyboys who was with us for the rest of the trip, and stayed a night in Gabarone once we got back. Here’s my journal about it:
On a different note, it’s been a really neat experience making a friend to travel with. As I mentioned previously, Jay is a young man (I’d say late 20s/early 30s) from South Korea, who we met at Jollyboys. He began his travels around the world last February, after getting a degree and working for a few years. He started in Singapore, then went to Malaysia, India, west to Turkey, parts of Europe, and then Eastern Africa. He’s a great guy; very kind and easy to be around. This morning before we left Jollyboys we were sitting and watching the news and began conversing about North Korea, and how its people are kept under absolute control. “It’s really sad,” Jay said, “Those are my brothers and sisters.” It really touched me when he said this. After Maun his next big destination is Johannesburg, so he’s going to travel with us back to Gabs on Friday and see UB and hang out with us that evening. It’s just really cool, becoming comfortable enough with someone in such a short period of time to share the joy and challenge of traveling with them, especially in a continent that is unfamiliar to all of us.
Here’s an excerpt about our boat trip into the Delta:
It was a wonderful day. I just kept thinking how lucky I am to be able to see such an amazing part of creation. The reeds in the water, whipping the boat as it steered around corners; the elephants and birds and hippos in their natural habitat, revealed a kind of mysterious and beautiful natural order from which human being are outsiders, but are allowed to take a peek in. Our guide, Obi, was fantastic—kind and knowledgeable, and I couldn’t have asked for a more fun group of people to be with.
Here’s one more general reflection about the trip:
Day 9 (March 5)
This whole being abroad experience has taught and shown me just how much I enjoy meeting new people. Even though I’m an introvert, I love exchanging stories with people from all different backgrounds. It’s so beneficial to just put yourself out there—to express how you feel about things and make space for the other to do the same. I’ve had some of the most open and honest conversations with people since coming to Africa, whether with a fellow American, European or someone from Botswana (or the Zambian men at the border on Tuesday – it was quite interesting clarifying misconceptions about the U.S., and on Jay’s behalf, explaining that Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese people are NOT “one in the same.”)
I could go on and on about this trip, but I hope you enjoyed these few excerpts. It will NOT be a month before I post again.
Some more photos from the trip:
Dancing at the Arts Cafe:
View from Old Bridge Backpackers
Sunset over the Zambezi
Victoria Falls
Schoolwork aside, I got the chance to go to my friend Stephen’s village this past Saturday, which is called Ramotswa. It’s about a 30 minute bus ride from Gaborone. It was a nice, relaxing day. We went to several of his siblings’ houses (all of them with the exception of Stephen are married and live in the same general area) and chatted about our respective cultures. Stephen’s father’s elderly aunt, who lives with them, got a kick out of my greeting her in Setswana. I’ve noticed that happening a lot here — locals are amazed when internationals actually show them that they can speak Setswana correctly, even if it’s just a few words. I really liked Ramotswa. It’s definitely a community, where everyone knows everyone and takes care of each other. That’s something I think we lack so much in the States; we are so often confined to our cookie cutter suburban homes that must keep outsiders away.
I’m also continuing to volunteer at SOS Children’s Villages, which I enjoy. The kids are precious, even the ones (and there are always those ones…) that are a handful.
But that’s not my focus of this blog entry. I want to share with you about my midsemester vacation two weeks ago. I traveled with two of my American friends who I’ve mentioned many times in my previous entries: Dominique, a sophomore biology major from Tennessee, and Nicole, a senior political science/sociology major from Delaware (though she’s a student in North Carolina). We flew to Kasane, a town in the very northernmost tip of Botswana, took a ferry to Zambia(that was an experience that produced a lot of culture shock… we were bombarded by Zambian men wanting to carry our stuff, exchange our money for less value than it was worth, and give us a ride to our hostel), got a ride from a friend of the immigration officer to Livingstone, where we stayed at Jollyboys Backpackers. We went on a game drive and saw lots of animals including breathtaking giraffes, buffalo, and waterbuck; went on a river cruise down the beautiful Zambezi River, which included drinks and a delicious dinner; saw the amazing Victoria Falls and got a glimpse of my own finitude compared to something so grand and majestic; ate traditional Zambian food and listened to some good local jams at a non-profit called the Arts Cafe; and learned a little bit about Zambia’s archaeological, political and natural history and David Livingstone’s role in southern Africa at the Livingstone Museum. After leaving Jollyboys, we embarked on a looong day of travel to Maun, in northern Botswana (but south of Kasane). We stayed at Old Bridge Backpackers, met some cool people, went horseback riding one evening, made some delicious Korean food, and took a day boat trip with three friends we made at the hostel into Botswana’s magical Okavango Delta. It was one of the best trips of my life. If I were to write every detail, it would take far too much of your time to read it all. However, I did keep a daily log of experiences and reflections and thought I would type up a couple of them here.
Day 5, March 1: From Livingstone to Maun
Well, here we are, back in Kasane after departing Livingstone and Zambia early. I am sitting here at a bus stop, watching everyone’s belongings while Dom, Nicole and our new friend Jay get money to go to Nata, on the way to Maun. The buses have already departed for the day, so we are paying a gentleman by the name of Matenga 1,000 Pula to take us to Nata so we can get to Maun. What a day of transportation. I am happy to be in good company, though…
[interruption]
Later that day…
Well, our transportation changed a bit. We were able to get a ride from the “hiking post” in Kasane to Nata for 670 Pula (about 165 each) and we are on a bus bound for Maun. Our drive to Nata was bumpy and a bit uncomfortable, seeing as how the roads are rough in that part of the country, BUT we got to see ELEPHANTS! A couple of times we had to slow down to allow herds to pass. SO COOL—seeing them up close and personal. “TIA,” I just kept thinking. THIS IS AFRICA. It was interesting crossing back into Botswana (I believe Kazangula is the name of the place where the ferry is) and then entering Nata—we were asked if we had a spare set of shoes (Nicole said she was told it was for some sort of traditional medicine), because we had to step on a mat that had some sort of liquid on it once we crossed back over from Zambia. We also had some apples taken from us, because of alleged “diseases” on fruits from Zambia. Anyhow, I’m glad we’re underway to Maun—I will sure be glad when we get to Old Bridge.
The three of us managed to pick up a travel buddy at Jollyboys who was with us for the rest of the trip, and stayed a night in Gabarone once we got back. Here’s my journal about it:
On a different note, it’s been a really neat experience making a friend to travel with. As I mentioned previously, Jay is a young man (I’d say late 20s/early 30s) from South Korea, who we met at Jollyboys. He began his travels around the world last February, after getting a degree and working for a few years. He started in Singapore, then went to Malaysia, India, west to Turkey, parts of Europe, and then Eastern Africa. He’s a great guy; very kind and easy to be around. This morning before we left Jollyboys we were sitting and watching the news and began conversing about North Korea, and how its people are kept under absolute control. “It’s really sad,” Jay said, “Those are my brothers and sisters.” It really touched me when he said this. After Maun his next big destination is Johannesburg, so he’s going to travel with us back to Gabs on Friday and see UB and hang out with us that evening. It’s just really cool, becoming comfortable enough with someone in such a short period of time to share the joy and challenge of traveling with them, especially in a continent that is unfamiliar to all of us.
Here’s an excerpt about our boat trip into the Delta:
It was a wonderful day. I just kept thinking how lucky I am to be able to see such an amazing part of creation. The reeds in the water, whipping the boat as it steered around corners; the elephants and birds and hippos in their natural habitat, revealed a kind of mysterious and beautiful natural order from which human being are outsiders, but are allowed to take a peek in. Our guide, Obi, was fantastic—kind and knowledgeable, and I couldn’t have asked for a more fun group of people to be with.
Here’s one more general reflection about the trip:
Day 9 (March 5)
This whole being abroad experience has taught and shown me just how much I enjoy meeting new people. Even though I’m an introvert, I love exchanging stories with people from all different backgrounds. It’s so beneficial to just put yourself out there—to express how you feel about things and make space for the other to do the same. I’ve had some of the most open and honest conversations with people since coming to Africa, whether with a fellow American, European or someone from Botswana (or the Zambian men at the border on Tuesday – it was quite interesting clarifying misconceptions about the U.S., and on Jay’s behalf, explaining that Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese people are NOT “one in the same.”)
I could go on and on about this trip, but I hope you enjoyed these few excerpts. It will NOT be a month before I post again.
Some more photos from the trip:
Dancing at the Arts Cafe:
View from Old Bridge Backpackers
Sunset over the Zambezi
Victoria Falls
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