Friday, May 14, 2010

FAMILY VISIT


Here I am with a pineapple on my head at C's farewell party. She left Botswana today.

My parents, my aunt, and my cousin are all coming to visit me. They arrive tomorrow, and we're spending 2 weeks together. As such, I'll be out of touch for awhile... But when I get back, I'll have new adventures to relate!

In other news, I've booked my ticket home: I'm leaving Botswana on the 28th of July.

Monday, May 10, 2010

handwritten

From my personal, handwritten journal, sometime earlier this year...

We had a welcoming party at L's last night, for the new volunteer, S. I made borscht, which didn't turn out as delicious as I had hoped, but was still good, and well-received. Ziggy [L's cat] and Shaka [L's dog] also enjoyed the borscht, even though it was vegan. Then we drank, and drank. S wanted to see the local lifestyle, so around midnight we drove to the bar. The bar was closing up but we hung around in the dark outside the defunct filling station for awhile, talking.

The night was mildly humid and overcast, the stars indistinct under a veil of cloud but the arch of the Milky Way was still discernible. You could hear and smell the penned-up sheep next to the bar. K's Hilux was idling on the road, playing - of all things! - Australian Aboriginal music. The eerie thrum of the didgeridoo wound out into the night, punctuated by the shrieks and chirrs of the musician barking into his instrument, that termite-hollowed cylinder of wood. As the didgeridoo faded away, low chanting and drumming rose to take its place. K's half-dozen passengers got in, got out again, went to pee, wandered drunkenly around, and generally prevented him from driving away.

C [my boss] was there and we talked, happy and tipsy, telling each other how much we like to know WHY things are the way they are. "I like you," he said, "because you are always telling me the whole explanation - like when we were in Swakopmund and I asked why the ocean waves move like that, you told me the whole reason, with the moon and the tides and everything. Most people won't tell you."

"Wow! Well, I like you," I replied, "because most people are not interested in knowing how things work and why they do the things they do!"

"I know!" he said, laughing.

We both laughed, and clapped each other on the shoulder. A drunken exchange of sentiment, perhaps, but so important to me. I will miss C a lot. He's one resident of D'kar that I really want to return to in the future.

Friday, May 07, 2010

Donkey Cart Bachelorette


A couple of weeks ago, I went to K's bachelorette party. She's a Peace Corps volunteer who's getting married in August, as soon as she returns home (to a very happy fiance!). However, since her Botswana friends are so dear to her, she decided to double up on the bachelorette parties. It occurs to me that this is a brilliant idea - more than one bachelorette party?! In fact I had never attended one of these infamous excuses for debauchery before, but it was loads of fun and I think that any excuse to have more than one is a good idea.

One of K's best friends, L, decided that the party needed an authentic Botswana twist. Her brainwave? A donkey cart to pick her up at her house and take her to the party. (In lieu of a limousine, I suppose.)

I ended up with the task of riding the donkey cart from the farm into Ghanzi, along with another Peace Corps. We rode for about 8km, first on the rutted farm road, and then on the thankfully smooth paved road. Cars that passed us slowed down to gawk at the two giggling white girls on the donkey cart - occasionally whole families would pass with their heads turned sideways to stare at us. As we rode, a light rain began to fall, and the light slowly faded from the sky. By the time we entered Ghanzi proper, we were shivering and the rain was falling in earnest, and by the time we reached K's house, it was dark. Nevertheless, she was delighted to see the donkey cart and happily rode it all the way to the Kahalari Arms with an umbrella to keep her dry.