It's been a very busy last 10 days, what with moving into our new house, packing, unpacking, arranging furniture and getting settled. I would say that we are are 85% completed and it is beginning to feel like home. All the rooms except the second bedroom are now set up and functional. Our next task is to track down some furniture for that room and put some pictures and decorations on the walls. I'll post a video tour when it looks finished. It has been 90-95 degrees every day, and we each sweat through our clothes at least twice a day. The end-of-the-day bath is a treat to look forward to..... as is the mid-day bath when you are too hot to think!
The day before yesterday, we got the DSL internet line installed in the house at last--a real boon for us to stay connected to you all through Skype and email. It also allows us to upload some videos and pictures from the comfort of our own living room.
Last Thursday our Professor friend Susan invited us up for a Thanksgiving dinner in Gaborone,which made it feel like a holiday after all. She is returning to Charleston SC in 12 days, and we will really miss her. We stayed over in Gaborone with her on Thursday night and left Friday for World AIDS Day. The Gaborone airport is undergoing a major renovation, both because it has outgrown its current building and it is anticipating a big crowd for the Soccer World Cup in June. The government has made tourism a big part of its long-range economic diversification plan and a first class airport is necessary.
The National AIDS Day commemoration was in Kasane, at the Northern tip of the country on the Chobe River where the four countries of Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia meet. It is one of the big jumping off points for international travelers arriving for game drives and river trips. From Ramotswa, it would have been a 15 hour bus ride to go by land. After our 13 hour bus ride to Maun last month, we decided to bite the financial bullet and fly. Not particularly the Peace Corps way, but a lot more comfortable. Air Botswana is the national airline--modern, clean and safe. An 80-seat turbo prop made the one hour and 45 minute flight without a hitch and served complimentary beer, wine and soda, as well as beef jerky and a peanut/raisin mix for snacks. It reminded us both of our "previous life" when we flew 50-60,000 miles a year.
We spent 5 days in Kasane, 4 of which were hosted by our Peace Corps colleague, Joan Dever. We had her place to ourselves as she was house sitting for a local Motswana resident. As World AIDS Day neared on Tuesday, several more PC's arrived and it was a big house party. We spent the last night at the Chobe Game Lodge which is the only lodge situated upriver, about 8 miles from town and inside the Chobe Game Reserve. The whole trip felt very much like a well deserved mini-vacation. The following movies will give you a flavor.
A Little Bit of Luxury--Chobe Game Lodge
Elephants Everywhere and they can swim (I am not sure I knew that.)
On a game drive inside the park, we saw giraffes, elephants, hippos, crocs, warthogs, many birds, and lions. We even saw two lionesses stalking an unsuspecting Cape buffalo. We waited to see if they would go in for the attack, but our guide said they would wait upwind for hours for just the right moment when the buffalo was isolated from the herd. The Cape buffaloes are huge and it takes at least two lions to bring one down with a ferocious struggle. The buffalo run in herds and are protective of their own. When lions attack, they run the risk of being trampled or gored by the rest of the herd. The tension in the air was palpable.
I have some good still pictures of the various animals which I will post at another time. For now, watch "Elephants on Parade" from the river trip and the game drive.
In the evening, the Lodge guests often gather at the bar for a pre-dinner cocktail. We befriended a German couple and a Canadian couple (the husband, Grant, was on the hockey team for the University of North Dakota and played in the NCAA championships in 1963 beating BC in the semi-final played at McHugh Forum on the BC campus. The Germans spoke good English and we had a very enjoyable international dinner.
World AIDS Day itself was a 3-4 hour celebration and commemoration with an early morning group walk to the site, a band, a parade of HIV/AIDS organizations, singing and dancing, educational booths and highlighted by a visit from Botswana President Lt. General Khama Ian Khama. It is a very big day here and most all the important dignitaries from the country were in attendance. A catered lunch at an in-town lodge followed the formal events, and we departed to the airport in the afternoon. This movie will provide a flavor of the festivities:
The next month or so dramatically slows down at every office and workplace. Over the holidays, many Batswana take vacation, return to their home villages and families, and business virtually stops. We will take some time to relax ourselves and will be thinking of all of you.
Kasane Kgosi
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