Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’

Things in Ramotswa had been rolling along at a relatively feverish pace. It hardly seems possible that May is already here, and with it, the advent of winter. Hopefully, we still have several more weeks of warm days and cool nights, but you never know. The space heater is out and ready!

The Police

I had the opportunity of doing some interesting training talks in the last couple of weeks including two presentations on "Stress and Stress Management for Law Enforcement Officers" at the Ramotswa Police Department. Twenty five to thirty officers participated each week and seemed really appreciative for the information. Although most do not carry guns, they are involved in all the confrontations, arrests, and physical altercations that make up the daily life of a police officer. The police chief here, Sarah Gabathusi, runs a tight ship. Several times during the talks, several of the officers came in late and upon seeing her, offered clicking heels and a smart salute. Most of the walking beat patrol officers are young men and women around the age of 20. They are high school graduates with a high grade point average and excellent English skills. They enter the Police Academy where all courses are taught in English. Overall I think the talks went very successfully and I’m pleased to have been able to offer some mental health related material.


The New Group Visitors

Beginning on Wednesday, we had "shadowees” from the new BOTS 9 group here with us in Ramotswa. We hosted a couple our age, Mary and Chuck McGee from Alaska. Lucie Kuhlmann, a 22-year-old from Fort Collins Colorado, was hosted by our fellow Peace Corps volunteer here in Ramotswa. They "shadowed" us at our work assignments during the week and had a chance to sleep in, rest and relax on the weekend. All three were delightful to meet and get to know. As expected for being in country for four weeks, they had many questions about being a volunteer, site placement, work assignments, interacting with the Batswana, shopping, money, and lots of other things. Hard to believe it was a year ago that we were in their positions!

An Interesting Book

For those of you who are interested in learning more about Botswana and the culture, we might recommend a book called "20 Chickens for a Saddle” written by Robyn Scott and published by Penguin Press. It describes her upbringing in Botswana from the late 1980s to the present and we believe represents well a Westerner’s experience with the Batswana. Her family is somewhat "eccentric" but in love with Botswana and all it has to offer. It is a good read and will give an accurate picture of life in many parts of this country.

Medical School Teaching

Maureen and I begin our teaching at the Medical School this week. We have been feverishly completing lectures, handouts, self- learning assignments and test questions. There are 36 students in the first year class, mostly from Botswana, but a few from neighboring African countries as well. It already has been a lot of work, although it is a labor of love and right up our alley. This week we will be giving presentations on an Overview of the Psychological Aspects of the Brain and the Mind, How to Do a Mental Status Exam, and Alcohol and Substance Abuse. The last of these three lectures will be presented by our Peace Corps colleague, Shannon Commers, who is a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor. All three of us will participate in the two-hour workshop that follows her didactic material.

The Kalahari Khronicle Volume 1 Number 9

Public Notice from the Botswana Examiner May 8, 2010

"Currently trained Botswana Defense Force snake handlers are ONLY based at the Khama army barracks in the town of Mogoditsane. As a result, services of that nature will not be offered from other camps or from locations far from the barracks as handlers usually arrive only to find the snake has long disappeared.
As a cost recovery measure, each call shall attract a P100.00 fee, irrespective of whether the snake has been found or not. In case of snake attacks, please contact 366-2208"

Kgosi’s Komment-- Now that it has emerged that most of these calls do not actually confront a snake, Kgosi has found his new post-Peace Corps career as a trained snake handler. His only challenge now will be to figure out how to call in sick if it appears that there actually IS a snake to be found when the team arrives.

New Driving challenge in South Korea

The Associated Press reports the triumph of a 69-year-old South Korean woman over adversity to obtain her driver's license in Jeenju province.
Cha Sa-Soon has passed her road driving test on her 10th try. She had been finally granted a road test after she had taken the written exam virtually every day since April 2005. She eventually passed that test on her 960th attempt. She is now attempting to buy a small second hand car to utilize her newly granted license.

Kgosi’s Komment--Kgosi is wondering if the South Korean Motor Vehicle Bureau grants “Mercy Passes” for those who take the exam more than 950 times. Kgosi is also hoping that it takes Ms Sa-Soon many, many tries to correctly fill out the paperwork for an auto purchase. When news of a successful purchase is announced however, Kgosi will cancel any planned travel to the Korean Peninsula, or demand 24 hours advance notice of where Ms Sa-soon will be on the road.

An Embalming Advance?

Primera Hora, the Puerto Rican news service reports that the Marin Funeral Home in San Juan's Halo Rey district has begun a new trend by embalming the body of David Mireles Colón, who is a 22-year-old Puerto Rican native who died last week. He has been presented, not formally in a casket as is usual, but in casual clothes and sunglasses posed riding his Honda CBR 600 motorcycle. After having the vehicle delivered to the funeral home, those attending the wake will see Mr. Colón’s body riding atop the motorcycle. This presentation also depicts Mr. Colón's lifestyle in that he is not wearing a helmet while aboard the cycle.

Kgosi’s Komment-- Having now learned that this procedure is a possibility, Kgosi has expressed his last wishes should he expire in Africa-- to be positioned in his favorite pose -- riding an ostrich bareback and being followed by a trail of adoring admirers waving large fans constructed of palm fronds and feathers.

New Job Requirement

Reuters News Service reports that the police chief in Papua, Indonesia has now declared that each police applicant "will be asked whether or not, his vital organ has been enlarged.” If it has, he will be “considered unfit to join the police or the military," because, according to the chief, the unnatural size causes "a hindrance during the training." According to the Jakarta Globe’s expert sexologist’s response to this announcement, local males wrap the penis “with leaves from a gatal-gatal (itchy) tree” so that it swells up "like it has been stung by a bee."

Kgosi’s Komment--Kgosi does not have much fondness for the Itchy tree and during his lectures, he did not ask Chief Gabathusi whether this ban was in effect in the Ramotswa community.

Happy Mother's Day to all who qualify.

Kgosi