busy as a bumble bee

This week has been very busy with Ethelene's presence, full of meetings and outings and discussions concerning the internship and the libraries here.

Yesterday we headed into Gaborone to try to plan our trip up north at the end of our stay. Angelina had recommended a travel agent that we went to see, and it looks as if we've got most of the important details ironed out. Now we're just waiting for some confirmation emails and then we can go purchase our flight tickets and pay for our accommodations, yay! On account of our financial situations we've decided to skip the Okavango Delta and instead just visit the Chobe district and do a day trip to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. I think it will make for a much more affordable and relaxing trip. Going to the Okavango would have been very expensive and would have required a lot of additional travel.

Then we met up with Ethelene, Angelina and her husband at Botswana Craft for lunch and souvenir shopping. Always very pleasant at the outdoor courtyard at Botswana Craft, and I had a delicious chicken and vegetable wrap. Cara is the adventurous eater and tried an Impala stew that I had a bite of, very good! (although I think it gave her an upset stomach that was not pleasant, so I'm glad I only had a bite) Also dining at Botswana Craft was the former President of Botswana! That's what happens in a small country, I guess.
The rest of the afternoon was spent in hot, crowded combis getting from Botswana Craft over to Riverwalk Mall in order to meet Ethelene and Angelina after a meeting they thought they had, but was canceled. (Funny because we actually saw the man they were supposed to be meeting with at lunch and his wife came over and said hello to us...but then there was supposedly a "family emergency"). Teehee!

We picked up some ingredients at the grocery store for a stir-fry and made that for dinner. Another successful meal. We spent the night at Angelina's because we had an early morning meeting this morning with the director of BNLS.

We didn't know exactly what was expected to happen at this meeting, but I think we did a decent job overall of explaining what we have been up to the past 9 weeks and also presenting some of the challenges we've encountered at home and at the libraries. I made sure to mention that it's really important they keep on pushing for the new building to be finished, and also that Internet and computer training will be available in the new building. We found from our user survey that something like 93% of patrons wanted free Internet and training, so it's crucial if the library is retain their users. We also mentioned the lack of relevant materials in the collection and the adverse affect of the current lack of periodical subscriptions.

Tomorrow is our last day with Ethelene and we're going to a small game reserve right outside of Gaborone. I'm hoping that we'll get to see some wild animals.

Day with Ethelene

Today our professor from the UW came - Ethelene! She and Angelina first came to our house to meet and visit with the Kgosi and MmaKgosi. The Kgosi got to air some grievances regarding the expectations of the host families in regards to food and housing and the monetary support (or lack of) that they receive from the program, and the general lack of explanation and understanding that they had concerning us. Fair enough, everyone is learning.

Then we took them to the library, where they got to meet Max, some of the other staff members, and a quick overview of what we've been working on the past 8 weeks. Then we went to the new library, which is always quite impressive - if only they could speed the process of moving in!

We went back to Gaborone with them and had lunch with Ethelene. It was great to hear some of the news going on around Madison and SLIS. Unfortunately, it seems like Ethelene is going to be tied up during the middle of the week with other responsibilities, so we will only see her one more time on Friday.

Over the weekend I caught a bit of a head cold, so that hasn't been fun. But, we did finally go grocery shopping with Malebogo and stocked up the groceries for the family. Rachel and Cara had bought me some airtime for my birthday, so I was able to call my parents and speak with them for about 10 minutes, which was very nice. It's so comforting to hear their voices! Also, today I was at the library when the mail came and I received a card from my parents and a package from one of my aunts and cousins. It's so exciting to get mail here! It's miraculous every time.

Grandma Love in Botswana

Today at tea time I got two birthday cards from my grandmothers! So sweet. It was such a pleasant surprise. My grandma Bieber included a nice letter detailing the usual goings-on in Omro, and I was happy to hear that the crops are growing nicely. My grandma Hubing sent a nice picture of all of my aunts and uncles and it was wonderful to see a current photo of their smiling faces.

Professor Mnjama came to visit us, finally, after not seeing or hearing from him after the first week we were here! He went home to Kenya for a couple of weeks, and then I guess he went to Zimbabwe and South Africa, too. We told him what we had been working on, but the whole meeting was pretty short. He was pretty matter-of-fact and straight to the point about things. He asked a question about children taking out materials, which they don't really. Children need to have a parent come in a sign for them which I think deters a lot of kids from getting library cards. Mnjama thought that parents really need to be encouraged to promote reading with their child, which is true. So I sort of half started putting together an idea for a pamphlet on the benefits of reading to and encouraging your child to read. I didn't get very far, though, because it got me to thinking about way too big of ideas surrounding how different cultures think about childhood and how they relate to their children. I was reading this book we have at the library "Culture Shock: USA," and it had a section on how we treat our children, how we give them a lot of say about what they do and how they think. It gave a scenario of a parent sitting in a park with a tired and crabby child, and asking them "Should we go home now?" and the child replying "No," so they just continue to sit there. The book was saying that some parents from different culture just don't understand an exchange like that...they think that children so young can't possibly know what's good for them, and can't be trusted with all decisions. Anyways, that's too big a thought to tackle in the remainder of the time I have left here, but I think I might go ahead with the pamphlet just in case it might be useful. We'll see, I might get wrapped up in something else.

Last night while Ray and I were fixing dinner for the family, I heard the Kgosi say "Ashley!" so I went into the living room to find that the coverage from the Sesigo launch 2 weeks ago finally made it onto the nightly news! There I was in a shot of the audience! This morning when I got to the library Lebogang immediately said "I saw you on the news!" So, I actually made it onto Btv, oh yeah.

This weekend we don't have any major plans. Next week Ethelene from the UW is coming for her site visit, so we're meeting with her on Monday morning at our house. We're going to spend time with the Kgosi and Mma first, then onto the library to meet with Max. I'm looking forward to seeing a friendly Madisonian face and getting to share our experiences so far with her in person!

ahh...that was a nice weekend to turn 26.

I am very well rested and mostly content after our weekend getaway. After lunch at Linga Longa, I finally succeeded in finding a decent pair jeans, yay!
Then we picked up some fancy snacks at Woolworth's, including my beloved dried mango rolls, Brie cheese, and some chocolate-caramel-peppermints cupcakes. Mmmmm...
We snuck Cara into the hotel no-prob, and we got a discount on our room because they made a mistake with our reservation. We watched The Incredibles and Finding Nemo on TV, and then I took at hot shower! Rachel and Cara treated me to an international buffet, at which I had four plates of food and then desert! It was amazing.

Sunday Ray and I hung out a Riverwalk again and I picked up a few souvenirs while Cara attended church. Angelina came to pick us up during the afternoon and we went to her house for a relaxing afternoon. I did my laundry in a washing machine which was extremely nice, my clothes never felt so clean. I'm afraid my patience for hand-washing clothes is little, so they never feel completely unsoiled.

Monday we made it back to Molepolole easily on the bus and even got real seats. How luxurious life has been. Yesterday was very relaxed, we didn't go grocery shopping again, so now we've made tentative plans to go with Malebogo on Friday. Hopefully that works out-it's stressful doing so much worrying about the family situation. But, we bought some cake at the store and I got a phone call from by best friend, so I'm considering my birthday a huge success!

Back to the library today. The kids are on vacation so we don't have WordWorks this week, but the place was hopping with students! Ray and I compiled the data from our user surveys which was interesting, and I put up a poster about the stars from a new book we got. I think I'm officially done decorating the children's section, and I think it looks a lot better. That's all for now.

Long weekend after a long week, yay!

I've only got 11 minutes left on this computer so I'm gonna try to type fast!

The rest of the week was alright. We didn't have any electricity on Thursday night, so Rachel and I went over to the house to eat by candlelight and then came back to our apartment to eat chocolate and sit in the dark. Surprisingly, it was enjoyable and relaxing in a way.

We were supposed to go grocery shopping with Malebogo yesterday evening, to finally resolve the food/money issue, but when we went over there we found that the family had went to the farm and Malebogo suggested we go on Tuesday. Ugh. Figures.

Friday I put up my "Children Celebrate Botswana" display and the staff seemed to like it. It definately looks better than the blank wall that there before.

Today we are in Gaborone! We got on the bus at 7am, and sat for an hour before we left. It was very cold! There was also a lady a couple of seats up that got on the bus with a real live chicken in her coat! It's didn't really make a fuss the whole way into town - amazing. So we're giving ourselves a break and staying at a hotel tonight. First hot shower in six weeks, I'm so excited. There's supposed to be a cinema in the hotel complex so I'm crossing my fingers we can catch a flick. Then tomorrow we're going to stay at Angelina's.

We were hoping to be able to meet with a travel agent about planning our trip up north, but I'm not sure what's going to be open on Monday because of the holiday.

Now we're going to get some fancy foodstuffs at Woolworths, and I'm going to continue my hunt for a pair of jeans. Then lunch now at Linga Longa before we head to the hotel. It's a beautiful day here in Botswana.

It's been an interesting week. On Wednesday Angelina came for a site visit and we had a meeting with the Kgosi, Mma Kgosi and Max about how things are going, specifically things at home. I was thinking that everything was fine, so I was a little shocked when Mma Kgosi aired some of her grievances about groceries. I was under the impression that we tried to resolve that situation about 4 weeks ago, but it seems that entire attempt to sort things out and offer our financial assistance in regards to our meals was lost in translation. So it was a frustrating meeting because it felt like we were being seen as these greedy, ungrateful Americans, when in fact we tried several ways and times to offer money and/or food. I guess it's resolved now though, so hopefully things will continue to go smoothly on the home front.

The WordWorks club didn't show today, so that was sad. I finished creating all the letters for my newest children's display, so I think I'll try to get that up tomorrow.

I am very much looking forward to our four-day weekend. Monday is President's Day and Tuesday is a Public Service Holiday, so yay for a short next week!

Another Tuesday for this Water Soul in the Desert

Dumela, good people!

It is very cold again here! For the past couple of weeks it was a bit warmer, and now it's back to the cold that we found here in the beginning.

This morning I finally finished shelving all the new books in the children's section. Now I'm just going to pull a couple of more titles that are either old, outdated, or duplicates to fill up this last box and then get them out to the trailer. I've also started a project to fill up on the last open walls in the children's section. It's going to be "Children Celebrate Botswana" to contribute to the cultural month events. I can't but want to keep trying to brighten up the children's area and make it look and feel more welcoming. I'm a visual person, so it makes sense for me to focus on that. Especially since they will be in this building at least until December, maybe longer!

We had WordWorks today but it ran short. Now that we're having the classes come twice a week we have to have another lesson. We were planning on doing verbs on Wednesday and Thursday, and Thabo suggested we also add adjectives, so hopefully she comes up with an activity. Teaching is hard and it makes me pretty nervous. I'm sure it will be a rewarding experience in the end, though.

So much dust here! Have I mentioned that there is nothing but dust here? Dust gets everywhere - every time I hand wash my clothes nothing but sand comes out in the water. My nose is constantly inflamed and red from all the particles, it's crazy. For a water lover, this sure is difficult.

Also, did I mention that next weekend we're staying a night in a hotel to treat ourselves, and to celebrate my birthday on the 20th? We are! I am already very excited and it's only Monday! Unfortunately, there is no pool, so it's beginning to look like I may go this summer without a swim, very sad. It's really freaking me out that it's July, but also winter and cold and windy.

Today was exhausting! The WordWorks Club can be draining, even though it's only an hour. It's hard to tell what the kids are really learning or getting out of our lessons, and it's hard to collaborate with the other staff members about the club. During the day when we are working they don't really talk to us about it, but then they show up and watch the class, participating only when they have a criticism about something we or one of the students is doing. I really wish that Max could have forced collaboration between us in the beginning, instead of leaving Rachel and I to do it alone, because now I'm concerned about the sustainability of the club and the differences in how Rachel and I are doing things and how they staff members may have envisioned and executed the project.

The weekend was good, Cara came and we had a nice time eating and chatting. On Sunday Rachel and I went on a 3 hour walk to what we think was the ancient aloe forest and had a nice picnic. Last night we went to the main house with some 'crisps' and watched the game with the family.

Today was a super long day! Our trip to Kanye for the Sesigo Launch was really great, even though it was a two hour long ceremony in the cold, in Setswana! There was a choir, and seeing song and dance always makes me happy. Also, Btv was there filming, so I'm thinking we might make the news tonight! Everyone there was really excited and so thankful for the project. The choir even sang a song in English saying how thankful they were for the Internet and Bill and Melinda Gates. We also stopped and toured the libraries in Thamaga and Moshupa. They both have benefited from the Sesigo Project, and sure enough the people we saw in the library appeared to be enjoying the Internet greatly. I wish Moleps had it, but there probably waiting until the new building is ready. Someone at the event today told Max that it wouldn't be finished until December! Yikes, that's too far away!

Our WordWorks club came today, but there were several people that had already been this week, so we had to come up with an activity on the fly. We had them write a composition like before but on their family instead of themselves. It was a group of all girls today, and we ended up walking home with them. They were chatting with us the whole way in English! I asked them how they can be so chatty with us then, but during class they are silent! I think they are freaked out because it is a "class," but hopefully they will get more comfortable as time goes on, especially now that they've talked with us outside the library. They told me my skirt was too high, and insisted on touching both Rachel and I's hair. They also remembered from my composition that I liked to dance, even though I'm not good at it, so they had me dance a bit which was pretty embarrassing.

Tomorrow Cara is coming and we're gonna try to find this ancient aloe forest that we've been hearing about. Supposedly, back in the day, a group was coming to attack the Batswana but saw the aloe trees from afar, thought they were a huge army, and retreated!

After today I am very, very ready for the weekend. Max is picking us up on Sunday for the World Cup finale, yay!

No show today!

Well, after 3 successful days of the WordWorks Program, the Orange Team pulled a no-show today. Bummer. But it gave us some time to work out our plan for next week. I was talking to Max about the tentative schedule for the club for the remainder of the time that Rachel and I will be here, and it seems that the week after next is a holiday, and then they may have to be practicing for their exams, so it's unclear when the club will be meeting past next week. Hmpf.

Tomorrow we are getting up bright and early to visit Kanye, a village where the Sesigo Project is kicking off. The Sesigo Project is funded through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in partnership with the government of Botswana to get Internet available throughout the country. I'm excited to see more Botswana countryside and be present for this ceremony. Should be positive and hopeful, and I'm all about that!

I got on the Internet late today, and I want to go home and enjoy my sparkling water with lemon (complements of the Kgosi) before dinner.

Today we visited a Primary School in the morning and I just can't help but think that all the little kids in their uniforms are just about the most adorable sight one could ever see. They are very well behaved (although I think that it unfortunately has something to do with a practice they employ here called "caning") and interested in what we have to tell them. As they were younger, Max had to do a lot of the speaking in Setswana, but I tried to read them a story about an elephant riding a skateboard. I used a lot of hand motions, and they appeared interested, so hopefully they were. Then we had tea, which is a tradition in Botswana I am really getting used to. I'm going to come back to the states and be demanding tea times at work!

I also started to have the littler kids color some pictures from a Botswana coloring book that I made copies of. I'm hoping I can get a bunch together and put up a little "Children Celebrate Cultural Month Display." July is cultural appreciation month, so we had a display right now of traditional foods and baskets.

Rachel and I also created a display about the US for the 4th of July! I don't think anyone has checked a book out yet, though:( We made a sign that says "Learn about Rachel and Ashley's Home Country!" Drawing a hamburger on our display made me very very hungry and really miss an American barbecue, though!

WordWorks

Well, yesterday marked the beginning of our WordWorks Program with the Bakwena Primary school, Standard 7s. We will be getting a group of twelve 13 year olds every afternoon for an hour to do some English Language activities. Yesterday was alright, I think, considering it was the first day. The kids were a little shy and nervous, and so was I! I was happy that Max was there because he really lightened the mood and got the kids to relax a bit. We made name tags (it's going to be really difficult to keep all their names straight!) and had everyone do a short composition about themselves. They talked about their favorite foods, a lot of rice, porridge, and meat; what subjects they like in school, mostly English, Math, and Setswana; and what their place in the is - first born, second born, etc. Then they paired up with a partner, read their compositions and then we all introduced our partners to the group. It was a good way to see what level most of them are at with their English language skills and a little bit about who they are.

I'm a little nervous about all of a sudden basically being an ESL teacher for the rest of the summer, and also about the sustainability of the program. Right now Rachel and I seem to be the main people in charge of the programming, and I'm hoping that we can start to switch some of the responsibility of the planning and execution of activities over to library staff so that when we leave they can easily continue on. One of the library workers is actually trained as a teacher, so I'm hoping that perhaps we can get some of her input and/or advice.

Yesterday I had the littler kids finish with the alphabet so I will put the rest of the letters on the wall today and then I'll have to think of another project they might be able to work on for a bit. The other thing about the WordWorks club is that is takes up the time that I was using to do activities with the younger school children, so I'll am going to concentrate on WordWorks for a bit but then maybe find a way to still spend time with the other children.

Tonight we are making dinner for our family, which makes me a little nervous, but hopefully we can prepare something that they will like. The communication with our host mother is rather difficult. We can often tell that she is unhappy with something and that we are not doing something right, but she refuses to tell us what it is exactly we are doing wrong or what we should be doing instead. The woman we met at Tayla's dinner party said something interesting that was "In my culture I cannot tell you what you are doing wrong." So, it seems to be a cultural thing not to criticize, but it makes it hard to know what you should be doing differently.

Oh, cultural exchange, how interesting you are.

dinner party splendor

Last night's dinner party at Tayla's was quite enjoyable. There were a variety of people there, including: another Peace Corps volunteer, Aaron, stationed about six hours away in a place with no electricity and no grocery store (yikes), Yes (sp?, a former German Peace Corps volunteer) and his wife, Kelone, a Motswana and their daughter Siamo, who currently goes to graduate school in South Africa for Applied Theatre. Siamo had some great recommendations for theatre in Joburg when I go in August. Great family! Also in attendance were Peter, a Peace Corps volunteer that came here in the 1970's, left for a bit and lived a bunch of places before settling down back here in Botswana and had a son, John Promise.

The food was amazing and we even managed to keep a small fire going and roasted marshmallows! I was so happy to have some resemblance of an American summer with a fire and s'mores, so yay! Also, Peter pointed out some stars to me, which I had been wondering about since I got here. I'm confirmed the location of the Southern Cross and he also showed me Scorpio, which has it's tail wrapped around the Milky Way. I was very happy.

We got home at about 11pm, the latest we've stayed up the entire time we've been here! The evening made me very happy to be in such good company and happy to be here in Botswana. It's always a learning experience, too, to be able to talk to others about their experiences and the knowledge they have accumulated while being here.

crazy cattle post

Yesterday was exhausting! But good, very good. We awoke before dawn to make the trek into the bush (about 40 minutes at the end of driving on sand "roads") stopping along the way so that the Kgosi could shoot out the window at guinea fowl, but he didn't get one this time. Once we got to the post, which was merely 4 tin shacks that the workers sleep, eat and store everything for the farm in, we check out the cattle. We went right in the kraal amidst many mooing cows. There was one cow laying down, and was starting to go into labor, so we got to witness the birth of a calf, which was pretty amazing. I also got to try the traditional brew, which sort of tasted like lite beer and milk - not terrible but not exactly tasty. We had a nice breakfast of bread and "coffee" (milk with a touch a coffee taste) and bread, and then we this porridge that they eat a lot of here, called bogobe, I think, that is made with milk. They also slaughtered a chicken there in the morning for us and we ate that for lunch! Lots of eating - I was very full! I'm glad I got to experience the "bush," and see jackals and bushboks and some kitties, too! It's strange here because no one really likes cats, because they can be used by witches!
I was so tired by the time we got home that I went to bed at 7:30 and slept until 6:30 when I got up to go to work.

Max called the school today and they reported that they will a group of students ready for us next week, so Ray and I wrote a lesson plan to do with the students for the first week. I am excited that this is happening, because it will surely keep us busy.

Tonight we are headed to a dinner party at the house of a Peace Corps volunteer we have made friends with. It will be nice to relax and socialize!