The Nitty Gritty of Life in Botswana

Hello, Hello Everyone!

I got out of class early in the day yesterday so I used this opportunity to check my e-mail and was delighted to find that I had so many! So thank you all for the love, believe me it is appreciated more than you know! For those few moments, Botswana doesn't feel like it's 8,000 + miles away and I'm right back in the loop. I love hearing about everyone's summer plans and must say that I'm a little jealous that I'll be missing out on the beach, seafood, concerts and all those wonderful things that make up a Baltimore summer (I won't be missing that humidity though!). Yesterday I was able to walk through my village and take in a lot more of my surroundings since my mind wasn't consumed with Setswana or where I need to be next for training (always a fun guessing game!) or getting home before dark. I got to enjoy the wonderful African sun and meander through the village while the community was at the peak of activity. I met so many people along the path that I got to stop and converse with (trying my best to get out a few sentences in Setswana before reverting back to English). The kids were all getting out of school and were full of excitement and energy as they headed to the football (soccer) field and surrounded me with 20 smiling faces asking questions and giggling and being kids- it was great! I think that walk put a smile on my face for the rest of the day and made me really excited to get to my own village and make those connections within my community.

So I've noticed some common questions in my e-mails so I thought I'd address some of them here:

First of all, you all must know how picky of an eater I am because you are all very concerned about my food situation here. Some of the typical foods that you will find in Botswana are maize and maizy meal which looks like mashed potatoes but don't be confused because it will not taste like them; or much of anything actually, sorghum porridge, beans, cabbage, tomato, carrots, eggs, chicken (we have a bunch running around the yard and my mother informed me that she would like to slaughter a chicken (koko) for me before I leave- hopefully I won't have to help), meat (this can mean anything really goat, sheep, beef parts that I have not seen before, etc.), rice, potatoes, beets, pumpkin (this is my favorite; it tastes like sweet potatoes). My family is super accommodating and have altered my dinner based on observations so this has been great because I am able to eat things I like and not worry about offending them. Some things I like to change into a "teachable moment" it's like that nursing thing never really leaves. For example, the prepare a lot of foods in oil here and they cook veggies until they are very soft. I tell them that in America I do not cook with that much oil because it isn't "good for my heart" (I don't know if they really understand cholesterol) and I also told them that I like my vegetables crispy or raw and"then they retain more nutrients". They also boil a lot of eggs but they do not cook them all the way like we do so I got to talk about e.coli in eggs and chicken and how it can make me sick, etc. So now they boil or steam most of my food or give me some raw veggies, which is great. They also serve huge portions here. Most dinners will consist of meat, potatoes, rice with a veggie sauce (they call it soup and it's made from seasoning packets that contain a lot of Msg), some cooked cabbage and maize meal all heaped up on the plate. Dishes are generally rather bland unless they have those spice packets or salt on them. Everyone cleans their plates too! I told them that in America I do not eat that much, that usually we have meat or fish and salad or steamed veggies and one rice/pasta/potato dish. I joke with my mom that she is trying to make me fat- she thinks I'm funny; although she did call me fat the first day I was here, but I think it's seen as a good thing from the older people because it means that you can afford to eat well. So now they give me smaller portions so I can try some of everything and not feel bad about wasting food. As far as what's available in the stores, I think I will be able to do fairly well once I'm on my own. I'm really excited to start cooking for myself. Most of the large villages have a descent supply of fruits and veggies and unlike Ghana, they love meat in this culture and also have milk. Some things they don't have: of course seafood doesn't exist in a land-locked country so you know being a Baltimore girl- I'm gonna miss that the most and the Old Bay! Cereal and granola bars are few or non-existent. And my deep love for Italian food: They do have garlic but I have not found the other delicious essentials like pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, and parm cheese- whatever shall I do?! Christmas without Italian food! Oh NO! haha well, that's kind of extensive in the food department but since there was so much concern I wanted to let you all know that I am not starving in Africa.

Food is a large part of the culture here and since I've tried touched on that, let me know try to paint a picture of the landscape that surrounds me. I can only speak so far of the south east corner since that's where Gabarone, Molepolole, and Mahalapye are all located. The earth is mostly sandy dirt with small shrubs and tall grasses. When you are traveling outside of the villages you can look out over the savannah and take in the vastness of this space. The sky is huge! And some amazing sunsets can be seen going down along the horizon with the low- lying trees against the colorful backdrop. This is my favorite part of the day as I take my evening jog. The sky is also fantastic at night. There is hardly any light pollution in comparison to the states so even outside of your own door you can look up and see some of the most bright and brilliant stars and the Milky Way is beautiful! I can't wait to get out on some camping trips to really take it in. I have been told that there's great camping in the game reserves and rhino sanctuaries where you can also go on game drives and see all the wonderful animals that inhabit this part of the globe. In Molepolole, the only "wildlife" I see is donkeys and goats and occasional cattle along the road. I also really want to get to the northern part of the country, the Delta region, and see some water and greeness to make my heart content. Being in a land-locked country is going to be a challenge for a girl who loves the beach more than anything and taking her kayak out anywhere she finds water and climbing mountains that have trees on them, but I'm going to enjoy the beauty of this country while I can before I return to my water and trees.

Mail. Oh mail . . . this is a big to- do here. About one day a week, our PC staff comes from Gabs with letters and packages that have arrived from home and there's all kinds of excitement like Christmas morning! I am still waiting for my first piece of mail. I have learned that the Botswana- Vanuatu mail transit leaves much to be desired. My mom and sisters have all received letters from Tim saying that he is doing well living with his Mom, Dad, and 3 brothers. They love that he plays the guitar and sings for them- I wouldn't expect anything less! He assures us that he really is in Peace Corps and that it's not all a tropical paradise . . . he has to fight off the bugs and humidity when he can't escape to the beach haha. But really this is the best I can do for an update as my letter is still "en route" so I will wait patiently. I think in general, "waiting patiently" is going to become a favorite past time of mine here in Botswana! Meanwhile people please send pictures and stories about life and all the fun summer events that will be coming up. I have a whole empty album that needs to get filled! I have found that picture uploading takes a really long time so I think I will wait until I have more and send them home on a CD so hopefully someone (please val, shell, mom) can put them up here on this website. I promise they will come!

That's about it for now. . . I'm about half way through training at this point and all is well. Tomorrow I am going to an International AIDS Memorial Candlelight Service in a neighboring town and then it's another week of training. More to come later. Keep sending the messages, I love it! Take care of yourselves!

Lorato le kagiso (peace and love),
Jac

Life in Moleps

Hey Everyone!

I apologize for the rather brief, uninteresting update but a lot has happened in the past 2 weeks and I'm not quite able to bring it all together in a comprehensive way yet. But since I have the rare opportunity to use the internet I want to take advantage and bring you up to date.

The past few weeks have been very full and interesting. I am now in my second week of my homestay. I am living with the Makwati family in Moleplole. My Setswana name is Gorata (to love). My Setswana is coming along at a very slow pace- but I have 2 years (If I don't give up first). So a typical day of training starts with a morning of Langauge with my teacher and 3 other trainees. Then by afternoon we meet with the rest of the CCB's (Community Capacity Building) to learn about the Batswana culture, how to immerse ourselves in our community, statistics and facts out HIV/ AIDS in Botswana, and a bit of reality input from current volunteers.

The days are usually very long and tiring, but interesting as we figure out how to adapt to our new environment, create relationships with our Peace Corps family, and try to get a grasps on what the next 2 years will be like.

My family includes my mother, 2 sisters (28 and 22) and a brother (18?). There are also 2 nieces (14 and 11) who visit from Gabarone and a younger boy(11) who stays at the house sometimes. My house is a living room, small kitchen and 2 bedrooms. I have a very spacious room and am quite comfortable with my double bed. My house has electricity but no running water- so I have still had the opportunity to perfect the art of a "bucket bath", use the outhouse before it gets dark, hand wash my laundry, and boil my drinking water. I am fortunant that my family gives me plenty of personal time and independence, at the same time, making me feel comfortable and at home. Usually I try to take a jog right after training and then bathe before the sun sets and it gets cold. It's winter now so it's still 70s or 80s duringt he day but around 35-40 degrees by night. The sun also sets by around 6 or 6:30 so the days are rather short. I try to help my family make dinner (or treat them to an American meal) and then settle around the TV in the living room for supper, tea (a huge tradition!), Setswana news on TV, and a variety of American and Botswana and South African/ British music videos, sit-coms, soaps, etc. Sometimes I can interest my family in playing cards or helping me with my Setswana lessons. If not, I usually get overwhelmed with the TV by about 8 and head tro my room to read, journal, do Peace Corps homework, and write letters. I am actually reading a great book right now that I recommend to all of you for a really great perspective on the AIDS pandemic from all angles and part of why I am here doing this kind of work. It's called "28 stories of AIDS in Africa" by Stephanie Nolan (I think).

Molepolole is a large village with grocery stores, internet cafe, etc. On the weekends we get to explore the town and meet up with volunteers who are staying in different wards within Moleps. I have had the opportunity to go to a wedding. Everyone is invited- just show up! It's very westernized with white gown and tux, wedding party, food, dance, and drink (a little later). I have some pics that I will try to get up soon. They have the wedding celebration in the Bride's hometown one weekend and than at the Groom's family's house the next weekend. It was very fun!

Right now, I am in a town called Mahalapye shadowing a current volunteer. I will be here until Sunday. We live with and go to work with a volunteer to get a better feel for the next 2 years of service once we get to site. My host has organized a soccer tournament for teams of women over the age of 30 along with an HIV testing event which is happening tomorrow. So I will be helping with that event this weekend and a lot of other volunteers and trainees will be coming into town to help as well, so it should be a fun weekend!

We were able to spend Monday and Yesterday in Gabarone, which is a very westernized city. Botswana is much more developed than Ghana (my only source for comparison) and this is especially apparent in Gabs. It's almost alittle surreal sometimes until I remind my fact that I'm not here for infrastructure development but instead to educate and counter this spread of HIV/ AIDS and try to curb its negative effects on the advancements Botswana has been able to make in the past to get it where it is today.

Like I said, it's not terribly detailed but a brief summary is better than nothing so this is what I have to share so far . . . please continue to send e-mails and letters (I haven't gotten any yet) I want to hear about everything going on back home! Stay well!

Love and Peace,
Gorata