One month in Botswana!

It’s been four weeks since I arrived in Botswana, can you believe it? The past month has passed both very quickly and very slowly. Some days seem to take forever, and I wonder if my work will ever get done. Other days, I am lucky to go out for a delicious meal with friends and do a day of sightseeing.

Despite the seemingly luxurious lifestyle in Botswana with shopping malls, fine restaurants, movie theaters and tasty wine, I have been attempting to adopt some more modest habits. For instance, I have been eating local food from the ladies selling outside the office and riding local transport to work every day.

Rhino family at Mokolodi!

 

The local transport is called a “combi,” a 15-seat minivan, and every day I walk to the “Bus Rank” to pick up my bus. Unlike the bush taxis in Togo, which seemed much more disorganized, the combis have route numbers and assigned stops. I ride my bus all the way to the end of the route, by the Game City Mall. The combi is full of commuters also on their way to work, and the morning ride is typically silent as people mentally prepare for work. Yesterday, I could hear the woman next to me listening to Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” on her iPod. I asked if she was a Justin Bieber fan, and she smiled in agreement. Amazingly, a ride in the combi costs only 3.50 pula (.35 cents). In comparison, a taxi ride costs 30 pula.

I work in a very traditional looking office park. There are a lot of international NGOs located here. One unusual thing is the baboons sometimes sitting on top of the cars, waiting to harass you for food.

I made someone take this picture to prove that I’ve been working. We’re doing data verification at the district hospital.

I really like one of the local dishes called “samp,” a combination of corn mush and beans. You get your pick of stew meat, boiled beef, fried chicken, and “mystery” meat… haven’t tried that one. The best part is that lunch comes with unlimited sides: you can pick from butternut squash, coleslaw, creamed spinach, chili and beetroot. My first week at the office, I learned the best food stand is just across the street. Now the woman knows to look out for me and even told me that she made sure to save some samp for me!

Finally, a new housemate arrived from the UK this week, and of course we had to go back to Mokolodi Nature Reserve for lunch and an afternoon game drive. We were lucky enough to see a family of white rhinos and some giraffes. Not a bad way to spend the weekend!

As a bonus! Some useful phrases in Gabs:

• Sharp – an informal way of agreeing or saying okay, sometimes accompanied by a thumbs up. You can use it instead of saying bye… or any other time at all.
• Knocking off – leaving work at the end of the day. Implies you are sneaking off early.
• “That side” – somewhere else than Botswana. Such as, “Do you eat beans that side?” (In the US)
• Braai – a barbecue or grilled meat. You could invite someone over for a braai and serve lots of grilled meat.