Monkeys are fun…until they try to hurt you.

The Friday before Christmas, Chase and I spent our first night away from Findley since he was born. We needed the break, quite frankly, and Patience agreed to stay at our house and watch him so we knew he was in good hands. Our destination was a lodge called Tau situated in Madikwe game reserve on the far northern border of South Africa and Botswana. Madikwe is the 4th largest game reserve in South Africa and is home to all five of the “Big 5”: lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino and leopard. You always hear people talk about the Big 5 here, a label coined by big-game hunters long ago in reference to the five most difficult animals to hunt on foot. So it is with equal measure of respect and awe, and perhaps a sprinkle of fear, that people trudge out to game reserves all over in the region in hopes of spotting them all. I am not sure what we were looking forward to more, the chance to see as many animals in the wild as possible, or the prospect of sleeping past 5AM on Saturday, but the pang of guilt we felt at leaving our little guy slipped away as we arrived at the beautiful lodge tucked away deep into Madikwe.

After lunch and a nap, we woke to the sound of a herd of elephants playing in the water hole just outside our chalet. We went on a game drive in the early evening and saw lots of animals, including 4 of the Big 5 (no leopards unfortunately), warthogs, giraffe, impala, springbock, kudu and wildebeest. The guide gave us lots of good dinner party trivia (Did you know giraffes copulate for 3 seconds, then sleep for half an hour? Or that Hippos cause more human deaths here every year than any other animal—not from eating people but from charging and knocking over boats and then people drowning as a result because most locals here don’t know how to swim.) After a brief stop on the drive for sundowners (cocktails) at sunset, we went back to the lodge for a big dinner. We did sleep in the next morning, and words can’t describe how good it felt. Lodges like Tau are not cheap, but we definitely left feeling like we got our full money’s worth. Aside from one unfortunate incident where I was chased by a monkey outside our chalet (unfortunate for me, funny for Chase), the entire stay was great.

We decided after checking out to drive an hour south to visit a place we heard about recently from a friend. There are many, many game parks and lodges in South Africa. As you drive down the main road leading to Johannesburg, passing cars with peril on the two lane highway that dissects flat bush terrain reminiscent of west Texas, you see sign after sign for turnoffs to different B&B/lodges. There are too many for the guide books to cover them all, so you run the risk of missing some hidden gems. One such place is Tala Manzi. There is no website for Tala Manzi and they do not do any advertising. It is run by a young Africaaner husband and wife who raise lions, and for the equivalent of about $10 you can go and hang out with lion cubs ranging from 5 weeks to one year old. We went from one group to the next, holding the smallest ones only slightly bigger than a house cat, to playing with the larger ones who definitely could have had us for dinner but were tame enough to permit our rolling on the ground with them. It was very strange going from the lodge we stayed at the night before, where we had to keep careful distance from the animals (see earlier comment about the monkey), to a place where domesticated wart hogs and kudu are chilling out next to dogs and lions. The whole drive home we kept saying “Did we really just play with lions?”

By the time we got back to the house Saturday evening we could not wait to see Findley. The smile he greeted us with dismissed silly concerns we had about whether or not he missed us or would be glad to see us. Hugs, kisses and then we gave him a colorful hand-made rattle purchased from the game lodge. He promptly banged it on the ground so hard that it shattered, tiny pebbles scattering all over the floor as our dog Kima started to eat them. (No doubt his way of saying “welcome home but time to get back to reality.”)

Happy 1st Birthday Finn!

It's hard to believe our little guy celebrated his first birthday. Time sure does fly! I've decided to copy this slide show idea from my good friend (thank you Rives!)

Finn enjoyed his party. His friend Ella presented him with this birthday crown:

After he figured out what to do with his cupcake, he seemed to like (playing with) it.

Finally, he was really excited about new toys!

November Highlights

Dumela!

Dumela mma. O mang? (Hello Mam, what is your name?)

Dumela rra. Ke bediwa Chase, weno o mang? (Hello sir, my name is chase, and you, what is your name?)

Ke Tumelo. (I'm Tumelo) O tswa kae? (Where are you from?)

Ke tswa America. Ke itumelela gogoitse. (I'm from America. It's nice to meet you)

Learning Setswana is one of the many benefits of my new gig at the Baylor Clinic. Actually, it's necessary. Many of the kids come from rural villages and don't speak any English. While I've only learned a few of the basics, it's made a pleasant difference in my interaction with the children. If anything, my attempt at speaking their language with them gives them a good laugh and the ice is already broken.

I've now been with the Baylor Clinic for a solid month, and I couldn't be happier. I'm in my element! While my primary foucs is to help develop the Teen Club program, Finn and I have enjoyed starting a morning play group. If an HIV positive child is healthy, he/she comes to the clinic once a month. They come from near and far, and arrive early in the morning. The clinic sees 30 children a day. When they arrive, they receive a number and wait to be called. At this appointment they will see the pediatrician, get blood taken, receive refills on their meds, and some see the psychologist. Needless to say, this takes the entire morning...with lots of time in between to wait. Lindsay, the psychologist (and our new favorite friend), started working at the clinic in July. She has a vision that no child sits in the waiting room, but rather they be playing or learning. Since the only thing that depresses me about the Baylor Clinic is walking through that waiting room, I've decided to make her vision become a reality. So Finn in bjorn, we head to the clinic for a few hours most mornings. For now, our "play" is a mixture of games and arts and crafts. However, the ultimate goal is to put a structure in place that combines these activities with some nutrition education. Most importantly, I'm on a mission to recruit more volunteers so we can establish some sustainability.


Mochudi Teen Club Member


Mochudi Teen Club Member


Francistown Teen Club Members


Morning Play Group at Baylor Clinic

Finn and Faith

If You're Happy and You Know It...

Finn meets Kima....our new dog!

As many of you know, we weren't able to bring our dog, Yana, with us to Africa. However, she is living quite the life with my aunt Margaret and Uncle Barry. We are forever grateful that they offered to keep her while we are away.

We didn't plan on getting a dog here. However, knowing how difficult / stressful / emotional it was leaving Yana behind, I couldn't say no to our friend. Iris and her family have been here for 3 years already. She has a two year old with #2 on the way. She also has 3 dogs, Kima being one of them. Needless to say, with a new baby about to arrive, she needed to find a new home for one of her dogs. So....here we are! I must say, I really wasn't thrilled by the idea. But now that we've had Kima for a few weeks, I am very pleased (Ian and Finn were ecstatic on day 1!). She is super sweet, mellow and extremely friendly with children.

Mr. Curious

We apologize for not keeping up with the blog lately. I think these pictures will help you understand why.

Turning of the Tide

We woke up early, turned on the television and were greeted with the election results. What a great day to be an American. We finally got it right. Regardless of political affiliation it is impossible to deny that something historic has unfolded. Finn clapped and Chase teared up as images filled the screen of people around the world celebrated a barrier being broken and optimism emerging from a long slumber. President Elect Obama even took time out of his busy schedule to personally email me a note of thanks for making it happen. (You’re welcome. I’m still waiting for my t-shirt.) It’s hard to really understand the magnitude of his victory and even harder to describe the feeling I have without avoiding the tired clichés that have been thrown around. Our friend Jessica told Chase today she was now trying to figure out what she can do to help Obama and the country now that he had won. It seems to me that this is the essence of transformational leadership. For the first time in a long time, the majority of the people are engaged and interested in wanting to contribute to a cause greater than their own self-interest. “Ask not what your country can do for you…” He has inspired that in us. The locals in my office don’t really share much with me on a personal level. Few talked to me about the election before today, and to be fair I have not really offered up my views. But it was clear that most knew what outcome I was hoping for when I came into the office today. People I rarely talk to congratulated me, and their pride for Obama’s victory was on full display. So many people were downloading videos of his acceptance speech that our internet was temporarily stalled. I hoped Obama would win, but did not anticipate the overwhelming reaction. When was the last time there were feelings this strong? Much has been made about the fact that he will be the first African American president. Ok, crossing that line is huge. But I honestly believe the feeling of hope (overly used word but what else do you call it?) has more to do with the man than it does with his color. How else to explain the excitement from so many corners of the U.S. and the world? This was more than a black-white thing. I will tell you, and Chase will probably agree, that I am a much more cynical person than I was when I started down my international development career path. For all my posturing of being an idealist, I certainly question our government’s motives and what we can really accomplish more than I did when I graduated from college. This is sad, and I can’t really blame one person or one administration for this. But for the first time in a long time, I feel like things can get better and people are looking to our country to lead the way again and might actually follow. Chase asked me when Obama declared his intention to run if I thought he could win. I said I didn’t think so, the country wasn’t ready. I have never been happier to be proven wrong.

YES WE CAN!

Several summers ago, the high school students at SEED were required to read, Dreams from My Father. Even though I taught in the middle school, I couldn't pass up a free book. I remember my exact words in my response to Ian's question as to what I thought of the book: "We need someone like him to be the President!"

Needless to say, a year or so later when Obama announced that he was running for President, I was elated! I don't even have the words to describe how I feel right now!

The last time we lived abroad coincided with the beginning of the Iraq war. I told people that I was Swiss. It was rare to hear anything positive about our country, especially the President. Today is a new day. I want everyone to know that I am American. This morning I put on my Obama t-shirt and made sure that I was out and about town. I wasn't really expecting any type of response....but let me tell you, I got one! I think the locals were pleasantly surprised that I voted for Obama. I can't tell you how many "congratulations" I received.

For many reasons, I wish that we were in DC today for this historic moment. The main one being that I would give anything to be with my students. I would give anything to be their teacher today - to greet them as they entered my classroom knowing that Barack Obama will be our next President. I have these incredible images of some of my former students, particularly, the young men. I imagine them walking with their heads up, and their eyes wide open - so much that you can actually see them begin to realize a new sense of hope. Not just a glimpse of it, but a tangible hope, one that they can reach out and grab.

As we watched Obama deliver his speech (it was already Weds. morning here), I cheered and I cried. I'm still overwhelmed with emotion and I am finding it difficult to articulate my thougts. For lack of a better phrase...it feels good to be an American.

October Highlights

"More" & Old MacDonald

Finn is finally starting to use the signs we taught him. In this video we captured the first time he used the sign for "more."
Check out Finn, Faith and Patience singing "Old MacDonald"

Baby Einstein and a Heavy Dose of Reality

It rained. This was remarkable for the fact that it was the first significant rain I have seen in my almost six months here. The winds came in Thursday night, followed by lots of thunder and lightening that gave Findley a fright and mom and dad an excuse to have him sleep with us. Friday morning arrived with grey skies and a steady drizzle that lasted most of the day. I felt the same way I do in Washington DC when the temperatures rise and the sun comes through after a long winter. I resisted the urge to run outside, jump in the puddles and belt out the chorus to Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Have you Ever Seen the Rain?”

Our good friend Kate Maloney recently mailed us about the lack of new blog entries. (Thank you for noticing Kate.) Truth be told, the blog exists, and survives, largely because of the efforts of Chase. If Findley will start doing more chores around the house and sleeping another six or hours so during the day, we will write more postings. I’ve spoken with him about this and he says he will try to start pulling his own weight. Speaking of Findley, it turns out we have the smartest and cutest kid in the world. He isn’t walking yet, but he crawls with the speed and tenacity of the Road Runner, and he is into everything now. I now know what it is like to be a doting parent whose child can do no wrong. He can clap on command, wave hello and goodbye, make the sign for fan, and signal “more” when he is eating something he likes. Judging from the way mom and dad exalt in each new thing he does, you would think his accomplishments are on the level of him finding a cure for cancer or bringing about world peace. (Give him time.) We are obsessed and it's verging on pathetic.

My other news is that Chase has encountered an exciting new opportunity. Through a friend of a friend, she connected with a Peace Corps volunteer heading up a teen club for Botswana HIV-positive teens. There is an amazing clinic here in Gaborone called the Botswana-Baylor Clinical Center of Excellence. It was created through a public private partnership between the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, Botswana’s Princess Marina Hospital and the Government of Botswana. The facility is state-of-the-art and the first of its kind on the continent. More than 1800 children and adolescents are treated there, serving a huge need in a country ravaged by AIDS. The teen club is basically a support group for adolescents being treated at the clinic. Chase approached them about volunteering time, and it turns out to be a perfect fit in terms of her background in youth development (previously with Red Cross/Red Crescent)and the plans they have to build and expand the teen club into regions outside of Gaborone.

She started last week, and will be building a curriculum and traveling to different villages in Botswana to start new clubs. Her experience will be a huge contribution to the clinic’s outreach efforts, and it gives us a chance to travel to some places outside of Gaborone. On Saturday we went to the monthly gathering of the teen club in Gaborone. Every meeting offers a different experience for the kids. Last month they were treated to a day with the national soccer team in Botswana. This month, the clinic brought in people from different professions to talk about their jobs. Sort of a “career” day where the teens heard from a doctor, police man, nutritionist, model (kind of an odd addition to the speaker panel but one that was appreciated, especially by the boys) and others talk about what they do and what it took to get to where they are. The message: don’t let anyone tell you that can’t do something; anything is possible.

It’s a daunting prospect in many ways working with this population. You see these kids, all of them HIV-positive (most born with HIV and carrying it into their teen years) and they are poor and some of them obviously suffering physically. But for a day at least they are carefree and allowed to just be themselves. We met some amazing kids during the meeting, and I am really proud of Chase for taking this on. The whole day also gave me pause to realize how lucky we are to have a healthy boy. Anyway, for all the crap that exists in this world, there is reason for optimism and it exists in places like the Baylor clinic. So take heart.

A Sense of Purpose

A new friend of mine teaches at one of the International Schools in Gaborone. She told me that one of her colleagues was going on maternity leave and that I could apply for the position. I met with the Head of School and learned that it was a 3 month position for Standard 4 (equivalent of 4th grade). I explained that both my qualifications and experience are for secondary education and wasn't sure if the job would be a good fit. He then invited me to come and shadow the class for a day. After my observation, I was very excited and wanted the job. A few days later, I called the Head of School to tell him I was interested and wanted to know the next steps. I left this message with the receptionist. After relaying my message to him, the receptionist called back to tell me the job was mine. To make a long story short, I didn't get the job. The receptionist made a mistake. Apparently a former teacher of the school returned to the area and she will be covering the maternity leave. Makes perfect sense, as she is much more qualified and familiar with the school. But how embarrassing / disappointing!!!

Coincidentally, the very next day I had an appointment with Ed, a Peace Corps volunteer. He is working at the Botswana-Baylor Clinic, the largest university-based program worldwide dedicated to improving the health and lives of HIV-positive children. Because of this clinic, which opened in 2003, fewer children are being hospitilized because of HIV/AIDS realted illnesses and even fewer are dying. The number of adolescents in Botswana under the clinc's care is increasing rapidly - primarily a result of children who were born with HIV are surviving into their teenage years. As a result, the Botswana-Baylor Clinic has already spearheaded a number of medical and psychosocial interventions for its teen patients, including a comprehensive Adolescent Clinic and Teen Club. Ed runs the Teen Club. Since he started working here in May, the club has increased at a rate of 20% a month. There are now almost 100 teen participants. Therefore, my meeting with him came at the perfect time. He needs help!

The mission of the Teen Club is "to provide a safe, welcoming and nurturing environment for HIV-positive adolescents to build positive relationships, increase their self-esteem, and reinforce positive habits that will ensure a healthy transition into adulthood." So far, the Club Meetings have been mostly recreational. Ed has a vision to implement a life-skills component and this is where I come in...while so many "life-skill" programs exist, there are not any that are catered to HIV positive teens. So my task is to create a curriculum that fits their need. I will also help Ed run the current Teen Club in Gabs while also starting others in satellite locations.

This opportunity is perfect for so many reasons including:
#1. I finally have a window into the Botswana culture. So far, we've experienced the "expat" life and have found it difficult to truly experience the Botswana culture.
#2. I get to learn Setswana (the local language)
#3. While I feel incredibly lucky and grateful to have spent Finn's first 10 and 1/2 months with him all day, every day, we both need some independence!
#4. The opportunity gives me a purpose, something I feel has been missing, and also a chance to give back.

Hashing Again

Since our first hash experience, we've only done two others. They were two entirely different experiences, both giving us the opportunity to enjoy two different flavors of Botswana. One was out in the bush (similar to the first experience), however, it had an unexpected surprise. For the first half, I carried Finn in the bjorn while Ian ran. After walking through the desert for a good 45 minutes, we turned a corner, and suddenly right in front of us, we were pleasantly surprised by water. Yep, Gaborone has a damn. I see a sign for it on the side of the road every day, but I had no idea that this damn was so big and so beautiful. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera so you will have to trust me. At the half way point, Finn got to go with his dad, while I went with the runners. I sure did get tricked. The run suddenly became a "rock climb." A photograph is the only way I can explain. We went back the next day so I could take a picture of what I climbed over. Even though I returned with plenty of cuts and bruises, the view was worth it. Keep in mind, as you run in the hash, you have no idea where you are supposed to be going. You just follow this powdered trail. The following week, the hash was in the city. It was actually hosted by an American couple who live on our street. I was thrilled to know that it was a "stroller friendly" hash. I'm so glad we went because it gave us a more realistic flavor...a local flavor of Gaborone. For example, our beer stop was the place where the locals buy their alcoholic beverages (illegally), but other basic/legal commodities as well. It was an old run down bus converted into a shop. Finn made a handful of botswana boys who were fascinated by his stroller. Hopefully this video will give you the idea:
These boys ended up following us all the way back. Fortunately the host gave each of them a soda.

Jacaranda

We have a new favorite tree: the jacaranda. Now that it is spring here, they have bloomed all over Gaborone. They are absolutely beautiful!

Respect Your Peeps

We continue to make progress during our Kalahari adventure. I have now burned out a DVD player, computer and flat screen monitor, and magic bullet (blender) because of different voltage requirements here. The good news is that I have no other electronic gadgets to break. There is something to be said for taking a minimalist approach and we are actually adjusting nicely to the slower pace of Gaborone. We have our good days and our bad days. But even on the bad days, Chase reminds me that we all get to spend much more time together here than we did in DC when I would leave for the office at 6:30-7:00 and not return until after 7pm most days because of the commute and longer hours. Here, Chase and Finn and I have breakfast together, they take me into work, then pick me up at 5 so we are home by 5:20 and I get another hour and half with Findley before putting him down. And lots of free time on the weekends. It’s fantastic.

Some of the cultural differences between Botswana and the U.S. jump out and slap you in the face, and some creep in silently and settle in without you even noticing them until someone points them out or you step back and think about it.

Botswana is populated by 20 different tribes. As an outsider it is easy to overlook the fact that there are lots of subtle differences among the different groups, and these differences drive the political dynamics at the national and local levels and everything in between. But there are some social norms that cross over the socio-economic classes.

Botswana (people from Botswana are called Botswana; an individual is referred to as Motswana) place a high premium on respect. There are many gestures to convey respect, and I can say that I have gotten most of them wrong at one time or another. When shaking hands you are supposed to support your right hand with your left; the nearer you place your hand to your wrist the more respectful you are being. It is seen as dishonest if you do not look someone in the eye, unless you are a child speaking to an elder in which case you are supposed to look down as a sign of respect. If you pass someone in the street, it is considered rude not to offer up a “Dumela Ma” to a woman or a “Dumela Ra” if you are addressing a man. It is also rude to accept any object with your left hand. These social norms cross over classes, so everyone for the most part follows them.

I love this whole notion of showing respect and wish we had more of a penchant for it in the U.S. As the presidential election unfolds, and the financial crisis deepens, it angers me to no end how bad things have gotten over the last 8 years. In my limited experience traveling to different places overseas, I can say that we have forfeited a great deal of goodwill and respect that other nations had for us, largely because of the arrogance and failed leadership and policies of the current administration. There’s not a whole lot of sympathy for us to be found right now, and people can say “who cares what other countries think about us” but I’m telling you it matters and will come back to bite us in the arse. I’ll step off my soapbox now and just say that I hope things get better.

Finn on the Go!

Finn is now 9 months + and he is on the go! From crawling to moving around in his little car, it's hard to keep up with him. Even though our shipment arrived (with plenty of books and toys), he much rather play with all the things he shouldn't; chords, outlets, laptop, drawers, doors, bugs, etc. At least he is becoming more independent!

3 Stolen Phones = 4 Lashes

Last month I was in the right place at the right time with my camera. I even thought to myself, "this will be perfect for the blog!"

One Sunday afternoon, Finn and I were hanging out in the car while Ian ran into "Choppies," the supermarket. As Ian would say, "we had rock star parking!" - a space right in front of the store. Suddenly, people started running out of the store, some of whom stood right in front of our car. Even though I had no idea what was going on, I grabbed the camera. Then all sorts of people, young and old, started running for the petrol station. As I looked above the petrol station, I saw a man standing on the roof pointing toward the street. Turns out, this mob of people was chasing a shop-lifter. It didn't take too long for them to catch the guy. As he was escorted back to the store carrying his stolen bag of frozen chicken, there was cheering on the side followed by looks of shame. I was just so excited to have my camera - if only I had thought quick enough to put it on video-mode!

As they approached our car, and I got a closer view of the guy, I started to feel sorry for him. What would happen to him? Who was he steeling the chicken for? Anyhow, Finn and I watched the security guy escort him back to the store. We waited and watched, trying to figure out his punishment. But we saw nothing else. I was hoping Ian could fill us in on what happened next. Unfortunately, when Ian came to the car, he had no idea anything haappened at all. This is the reason I never posted my blog on this matter. It was too anti-climatic!!

Well, now I can tell you what happened! We recently started hanging out with this really nice couple, Kat and Howard, from South Africa. They have two children; Maya (6 months) and Ella (3 yrs.) They were shopping at Game (Botswana version of Target). Kat put her phone down on the counter so she could get her wallet out of her purse. Just as she set her phone down, a guy behind her snatched it and took off running. Fortunately, Howard was right there and watched it happen. With Ella in his arms, he took off running after the guy. Soon after, the security guys and other spectators joined him (I imagine similar to what Finn and I witnessed at Choppies). Fortunately, they caught the guy. Not only did he have Kat's phone, but two others. Apparently the security guys really gave it to him (verbally). The next day, he had to appear in court (Howard too). Can you guess his punishment?
FOUR LASHES (on his bare bottom).

Our 1st trip to South Africa

For many years I've dreamed about going to South Africa. On Saturday, August 24th, my dream became a reality. Those of you who know me, know that I spent many summers at Camp Seafarer. Fortunately, camp does a great job of recruiting international staff. It was at Seafarer that I met several South Africans and began dreaming about visiting their country.

Soon after arriving here, I was able to find contact information for one of my South African camp friends, Michelle Van der Walt. She was kind enough to invite us to visit and stay with her family. So on Labor Day Weekend (Ian's office observes both American and Botswana Holidays:-)) we crossed the border into South Africa and made our way to Krugersdorp (town bordering Johannesburg).

Fortunately there is only one main road, so it would have been difficult to get lost. We stopped in a village soon after the border to feed Finn, get soeme Rand (South African Currency) and eat lunch. It didn't take long to realize a major difference in this country: there are a lot more white people. Funniest thing about this is that everyone just assumed we were South African. How do I know? Because in both the supermarket and Whimpy's, we were spoken to in Africans. I was actually feeling really good about this...it's sometimes nice not to stick out as a foreigner!

We arrived late afternoon to Michelle's house. Her family and friends gave us a warm welcome. We spent the rest of the day just talking and enjoying the company....and a delicious braai (South African Barbeque).

Michelle and her parents were wonderful hosts! Sunday Michelle took us to the Nelson Mandela Apartheid Museum....absolutely incredible!! We could have spent the entire day there. In the afternoon we headed out to the Rhino and Lion Park. Unfortunately there were fires spreading throughout the park so we could not enter. However, just across the road they have plenty of animals to enjoy so we were extremely happy:-) We saw white lions, lion cubs, zebra, tigers, and a hippo in the water. Finn really enjoyed the animals.

It was a quick trip and we certainly look forward to returning!

Like Father, Like Son

Finn can't even walk yet - but somehow he already loves soccer (his own little version)!

Culture Shock?

When I recently emailed Mike, a college friend, that I was living in Africa, he wrote, "I remember in grad school we studied the process of culture shock and adaptation. They say that when you first arrive in a new culture you experience a period of euphoria where everything feels exotic and exciting, then you swing towards the other extreme where you reject everything as foreign and you feel out of place, and finally you adapt and are able to enjoy the good things and accept the bad. So, if you keep that in mind and know that it is going to happen then you can hopefully deal with it better."

I'd say we are now swinging toward "the other extreme" at the moment! On Monday, when we returned from our long weekend in South Africa, our house alarm was going off and we couldn't get it to stop. To make a long story short - we learned from our neighbor that it started going off Saturday afternoon and NEVER stopped. I won't even go into the details with our dealings with the security company - I'll just say that it makes NO SENSE! And now I am sure the entire street is not so fond of us.

What else...Each night this week we have been awakened by rats running around on the ceiling.

On Friday, we had to speak to the gardners' supervisor because they are doing a whole lot of nothing...except for taking naps on our veranda, washing their clothes in our swimming pool and hanging them dry on our trees over the weekend. If looks could kill, I would be dead as of Friday!

Driving gets more comfortable as time goes on but we still have to adjust to people, lots of people, and animals crossing the road anywhere they want. Good brakes are essential.

On top of all that, Ian's work has been crazy lately.

And while we've met great people here, I miss our friends and family. Chad and Nancy welcomed their second son, Jack, into the world last Friday. We are soooo excited - but just wish we could be there with them right now.

Fortunately, after living in Central Asia, I believe there is validity to what Mike said. I remember feeling a lot more out of place in Kazakhstan than I do here - with similar types of episodes. And we did adapt, and had a wonderful experience. I figured if the purpose of this blog is to share our African experience with you, I should share both the good and bad, right?!

Nothing like good ole laughter

The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency

There should be a statue of Author Alexander McCall Smith in the center of Gaborone. Or he should get a key to the city. Or perhaps an action figure in his likeness could be placed in the kiddie meals at Wimpy's (the local answer to McDonalds). His book series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency has arguably done more than anything else to figuratively put Botswana on the map and literally into the minds of millions. The books are an entertaining read and full of insight about the city we now live in and the culture of the people here. I've only read the first one, Chase is on #3. While not on par with Harry Potter mania, the books are popular enough to have generated enough buzz that there is currently a movie being made here based on the series and there are tours of the places mentioned in the books.



There is also a No. 1 Ladies' Opera house which recently opened. Chase, Finn and I went to it recently for brunch and we had a chance to meet the proprietor. The story goes that the idea for the place came about when he and Alexander McCall Smith, a friend, met over coffee last year and came up with the idea of Botswana's first Opera House. The site is beautiful, and they intend to stage full operas there twice a year. (Botswana has a rich history of traditional music.) The menu includes gems such as "Mma Makutsi's sweet pancakes" and "Malawian Mbatata Sim-sim balls."



For every frustration that we encounter here, there are opportunities like visiting The No. 1 Ladies Opera House that make us smile.

Meet Pwchisango

I am happy to finally introduce you to Pwschisango (English translation = Patience), our housekeeper/Nanny who I now consider my friend. Patience is 25 years old and immigrated from Zimbabwe almost four years ago. She and her husband Joseph and their three-year-old daughter, Faith, live in Mocholodi with Brett and Zoe.

Since the day I met Patience, I've been very fond of her. Although very soft spoken, she is wonderful with children. She is extremely kind and her English is crystal clear:-) Thursday afternoon as Patience and I baked some carrot muffins, we engaged in wonderful conversation. I learned so much more about her and gained a lot of respect and admiration for her.

Patience went through all of the training in Zimbabwe to be a Safari guide. However, with the turmoil in her country, life suddenly became very difficult. When Ian asked her what brought her to Botswana, she looked at the ground and quietly responded, "poverty." She explained that she thought she would have better luck getting a job in Gaborone at one of the national parks. Unfortunately, working as a Safari guide here requires different qualifications, etc. With only 10 pula (6.2 pula to the dollar) when she arrived in Botswana, she wasn't sure what to do. Turns out she found a church to sponsor her. She said they raised enough money for her to buy some food, etc. Then they sent her back to Zimbabwe to get her husband, Joseph. When they returned here, she found work as a maid (which means she also found living accomodations).

While Patience has dreams of being a Safari guide, or even going to law school some day, she said that she feels extremely blessed with her current situation. She says, "it's a miracle and I am so very blessed." Patience is the oldest of six (three sisters and two brothers). While her parents are also in Gaborone, the rest of her family lives in Zimbabwe. She explained to me that one of her sister's failed school and was left with two options: sell herself to prostitution or find a husband. Fortunately, she found a husband. Patience would like to return to her country, but isn't sure if it will ever be safe again. In the meantime, she wants to continue working as a maid so that she can save money to buy her own home. We are lucky to have Patience come to our house every Tuesday, half of Weds, and Thursdays. Finn absolutely LOVES Patience - he lights up every time he sees her. And I am truly grateful that she has come into our lives.

Book Club

I attended my very fist book club last night. I was invited by a friend who is now out of town. I must say it took a lot for me to muster up the courage to show up not knowing the hostess or the other members. I felt like I was in Middle School all over again. What would I wear? Did my friend who invited me, remember to tell them I was coming? Even though she said I didn't need to bring anything, what should I bring? the list goes on... And finally, to add to these other silly fears, I would have to attempt driving at night. Of course Ian offered to take me, but I just felt like this was a fear I needed to face or I would never overcome it.

I think it will take me a while to not be scared of driving in Gaborone at night. It is extremely dark! As my mom would say, I was driving "white-knuckle-gripped" the entire way. There was so much to focus on - I'm not even sure I took a breath. First, I was constantly telling myself "stay-to-the-left." (It's harder to remember when there aren't other cars on the road to follow). Second, people are still walking along the streets in the dark, so I was being super vigilant about that while remembering other advise given to me by several women; #1 Never drive with your purse in the seat (make sure it is hidden) otherwise it is quite possible for someone to bash in your window and steal your bag. #2 If driving at night, and there is a red light (with no other cars) don't stop - to avoid #1 from happeing. Third, those darn pot holes. As I've mentioned before - not only are they everywhere, they are serious holes! They are really difficult to avoid when you can't see. Needless to say, I was praying for NO FLAT TIRES! Finally, the baboons. The house happened to be out in the bush and I knew I would be taking the road where the baboons are always playing. I really didn't want to kill any monkeys! Oh, and to make things just a little bit more frightening...there is no radio in our car. The positive side of this driving experience is that I forgot about being nervous for my first book club.

Book club was GREAT and well worth the scary drive. This group of expat women meet once a month. Not that I've ever been to one, but I am sure this is a bit different than your traditional book club. The hostess prepares dinner, wine, and the books. But here's the cool part. You read any book of your choice. There is a large crate that travels to each meeting. When you are hosting, it's your turn to add to the collection. You can either buy new books, or if you don't mind giving up books from your personal collection, you can do that as well. So after some wine drinking and eating, the hostess shares the books that she is adding to the collection. Our hostess last night, Marianna, is from Denmark. She added a book written by her favorite Danish author (that was translated to English) and about 6 other books. Then everyone has the opportunity to recommend a book. If you are returning a book to the collection that you've just finished - you can share your thoughts to the group etc.

Although it was my first meeting of most of the women (there were a few from playgroup), conversation was rich and meaningful. I could probably write a different blog for each conversation. There were nine of us - two from South Africa, one from Denmark, one from Sweden, one from Australia, two from the UK, one other American and me.

I brought two books home with me (to share with Ian, of course); The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad and House of Stone by Christina Lamb. I can't wait to get started - let's hope Finn takes some long naps!

Our First Hash

Last weekend we did the hash. The Hash House Harriers is a running club that has chapters all over the world, even in some of the most remote places. I remember the group in Almaty , Kazakhstan was quite popular. They meet once a week (Sunday mornings here) at a different place each week. A different person hosts it each time and they are responsible for setting the trail. I’ll throw out a description from the group’s official web site so you can get an idea of how the runs are structured:

The template for a hash run is loosely based on hare hunting. One or more hashers (the "hares") lay out a running trail, that the rest of the club (pack or 'hounds') follows. The trail may include false trails (check-backs or CB), short cuts (or splits), breaks, and checks (a marking on the trail that requires the pack to search the area to discover the correct direction of the trail. These features are designed to keep the pack together regardless of fitness levels or running speed.

The unofficial motto of hashing groups is “a drinking club with a running problem.” With some groups, there are copious amounts of drinking involved before, during, and after the run. Other hash groups are more focused on the running aspect and less on the social. There are also lots of silly rituals involved--singing, chanting--that always kind of dissuaded me from participating. (I’m not really a “silly ritual” kind of guy.) So I stayed clear from the hashing, until last week.

New country, new continent, clean slate. Eager to meet new people. Haven’t exercised in, well, a very long time. All of these reasons compelled us to try it out and I’m glad we did. In the first place, the group here is mostly comprised of mommies and daddies and little kids, so it is the extreme opposite of hard core. Second, the run we went on was through the bush of the Mocholodi game reserve—very cool. Third, we did get to meet some new people and they struck me as far less dorky than many of the other hashers I have met. (Any hashers reading this are probably reserving a special place for me in hasher hell right about now.) We met at the house of a colleague who lives in Mocholodi and headed out from there. Some people walked, some people ran. Findley seemed to enjoy it. There was one beer stop during the run, and the post-run rituals were thankfully kept to a minimum. We topped it off with a brai (barbeque) and some play time with the kiddies. I’m not sure if we’ll make hashing a regular part of our weekly routine, but I can see us maybe doing it again at some point. I know I could use the exercise.

One Happy Baby!

Many of you have asked how Finn is doing. He is one happy little guy! He is not only smiling all the time, but also making all sorts of new sounds (bah-bah-bah and dah-dah-dah are the current favorites). Our days of leaving him in one spot are over. He loves his little car (in video) and travels all over the house in it. Last week he starting sitting up without any support. Five days later, and he is just about crawling! He's gone from rolling to scooting. I give him two more weeks before he's doing the real thing.Finn has met many new friends - as we have become regulars at play group. We go Weds. mornings and Friday afternoons. Finn is also very happy with his newest friend, Patience. Patience is our new nanny/housekeeper. Rather than hiring someone full-time, we've decided to do a "nanny share." For many reasons, this is GREAT! First and foremost, Patience is wonderful with children. I first met her at our very first play-group. She is the nanny for Zoe - the one who organizes all the playgroups. Zoe is WONDERFUL and has really gone out of her way to reach out to us. Anyhow, Patience and her husband and their 3-yr.old live with Zoe and family in Mocholodi. I remember thinking 'I hope we find someone as great as this woman!' Fortunately, like us, Zoe doesn't really need someone full-time. So....here we are!!! Findley LOVES her. When he's in his little car, he will go wherever she goes. If he's on the floor, as soon as he sees her, he smiles, squeals or just starts laughing. Ian loves her too - they are of the same mold - NEAT FREAKS! I didn't think our house needed much cleaning. Well, let me tell you - it looks like a different place when Patience comes. I've decided that rather than feeling guilty about having someone clean my house for me, I am just going to appreciate every minute of it. Sure will be a rude awakening when we go back to the states![Photo]Finn's favorite part of the day is bath-time. He goes wild in the tub - we couldn't resist sharing this with you!

Driving in Gaborone

All I have to say is, "Watch out Gaborone!" Ian and I are now driving. I will begin by telling you why it is so great that we now have a car. First of all, no more taxis! You never know what kind of driver you will get when you call for a cab. I will give two examples. For a while we were using Strongman (English translation to his African name which I will not even try to type). He wasn't the friendliest most outgoing guy, but he was fairly reliable.....until last week. I called and asked if he could take me to the Sanitas Tea Garden (for play group) at 10:15. He said, "no problem." At 10:30 he still wasn't here so I called him. "Hi Strongman, just wanted to make sure that you are coming!"



"Yes Mme. I am coming now."



"Okay, great - see you in a minute." 25 minutes later he still hasn't arrived. I don't want to seem rude, but what the heck? I wait 10 more minutes. I call again at 11:00. "Strongman, are you okay? I thought you were coming!"



"I am on the other side of town with another customer. I will be there in 20 minutes."



Why didn't he just tell me this in the first place. I was so frustrated and angry so I told him to forget it. It wasn't even worth going at this point since playgroup ended at noon.



My second example: last weekend we went to the grocery store to buy food for the week. Ian has Finn in the bjorn and I have the cart full of groceries. Ian walks around to the other side of the mall to get a taxi. The taxi driver parks in an illegal spot (we weren't really paying attention to that) so that we can quickly load the bags into his trunk. Suddenly, the parking patrol guys come and tell him that he needs to move. He says this will only take a minute. After this....I have no idea what was said (but I can certainly imagine) because they start speaking in Setswana. One of the patrol guy begins to put a boot on his wheel. They start exchanging words. To make a long story short - this exchange turns into a fist fight. Why didn't we get the heck outta there, you ask? Because half of our bags were already in his trunk. I look around and notice that everyone has come out of the stores to watch this fight. (I'm talking rolling on the ground kind of fighting!) At one point, a woman approaches me, "why don't you take your baby and leave - you don't need to watch."



"Yes, but our bags are in that guy's car!"



"Oh - well then you stay here and I will go tell these guys." She walks toward them and then walks back to me. "Maybe you will have to wait. They are very aggressive right now."



Ian decides we need to get out. So he walks right up to our taxi driver who is handcuffed at this point but still arguing. Ian interrupts, "Excuse me, can I please get my bags?"



It was like a movie scene. Everyone sort of paused - the arguing stopped, taxi driver reaches for his pockets, gives Ian the keys. Ian opens the trunk, grabbs our bags and walks away. Then the fighting resumes. Glad we can laugh about it now!



Anyhow, now we don't have to worry about cab drivers and other nuisances of not having a car in the city.



We bought a used car from an American couple who work in the Foreign Services. Their posting here just ended and they needed to sell their car. It's Ian's dream car....one of those little people cars (fitting for us I suppose). It's a Japanese car (they aren't sold in the US).



They dropped off the car Thursday evening. Ian got it registered Friday and Saturday we had our first driving lesson (we have to learn how to drive on the other side of the road). Ian went first and of course, did great. Then it was my turn. Ughhhhhh. I don't even really like driving in general. It wasn't that bad (driving on the other side). But I was so focused on staying on the left, that I managed to ignore other important things....such as....pot holes. Yep! Managed to run right over a massive pot hole. It not only flattened one tire, but two! I am just really sorry that I didn't have my camera! Thank goodness Ibrahim was with us (driving instructor/Ian's colleague). He knew of a nearby gas station. We put the spare on the front tire and filled the other with air so we could get to a tire shop (they don't change tires at gas stations here). This is when I really wanted to take a picture (maybe I will go back and take one). Ibrahim found just a couple of guys on the side of the road with a heap of tires. 20 minutes later and only 15 pula (6.5 pula to the dollar) our tire was fixed. Ibrahim drove us home, and that was the end of me driving for the weekend!



This morning, I had no choice. Ian had to get to work, and so once again I had to put all my fears aside and drive the car. This time I tried to pay attention to everything. At one point I almost gave Ian a heart attack. Let me put you in this situation. The sides of the road are full of pot holes (basically if you go too far to the left, you risk hurting your tires). In the middle of the road, there are lots of pedestrians (cross walks are completely ignored). So if you were driving (lots of cars in front of and behind you) with pot holes to the left and people start walking into you from the right....what would you do? Keep driving and hit the people or veer to the left and risk a flat tire? These are the new challenges that I get to tackle:) Anyhow, we made it to his office - I didn't hit anyone and the tires aren't flat. But just as I was headed home, Ian called to tell me that he had the house keys. I just took a deep breath (told myself no problem) and tried to find a place to turn around. I saw an entry to a bank and decided it would be the perfect place to make the turn. As soon as I make it into the bank parking lot, the gate closed me in....just my luck! Well, a group of guys certainly got a good chuckle early in the morning. After a few minutes of staring, pointing and laughing, they opened the gate for me to leave.



All I have to say is....please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we try and get used to driving here!

Mocholodi

Agust 2, Mokolodi:On our way to Mokolodi Nature Reserve, just outside Gaborone. Good name for a game reserve--it just rolls off the tongue. We spot baboons on the side of the road playing frogger with the passing traffic. Findley guffaws, and then yawns. He is only mildly impressed. We arrive, buy our tickets, chit chat with a World Bank consultant from Canada who is waiting with us for our ranger and vehicle that will take us through the park for our first game reserve experience. We settle in the open air truck, having no idea what animals we'll see, but hope for high numbers. Findley rides bjorned to his papa, facing forward and beside Chase and in front of five other equally excited tourists. The truck bounces along and for the next two hours we are treated to sightings of (in order):kuduswarts hogs,elephants,impalas,gazelles,antelopes,baboons (again)ostriches, spotted hyenas, water bucks. Findley stays awake until the antelopes, then succombs to sleep. As the drive winds down, the sun settles under and the skyline amazes. The temperature drops rapidly and dramatically. (Desert my arse.) Our driver is waiting for us when the ranger drops us off, and we leave with lots of photos, a few of them actually in focus, a hungry baby, and a taste of Africa that leaves us wanting more. Chase and I agree, we've had worse days.

Thank goodness for Theresa!

It's been a while since I've posted. Finn got a cold/flu and then I got it. Normally not such a big deal, but it seemed like one. It sure made me realize how far we are from family and friends. We haven't really had time yet to get to know anyone really well. So I wasn't sure what to do once I got sick. It's not like I can just pick up the phone and call someone to take care of Finn for me. Fortunately he is such a good baby that I survived. And just when I started feeling really bad, Theresa saved the day! She called to invite me for tea. I told her I wasn't feeling well. She not only provided me with the phone number for a doctor, she also came and got me the next day to take me to this doctor. And when she brought me home, she assured me I would be feeling better the next day and most certainly needed to get out of the house. "I'll be by at 10:00 tomorrow to pick up you and Findley."

Theresa is the woman who takes care of the pool. I have only seen her twice before this. But right away, I knew she was going to be an incredible resource! She's originally from South Africa. She moved here 12 years ago with her husband and two children. He is a diplomat and was hired for a 3 year posting. At the end of the three years they realized they had fallen in love with Botswana and decided to make this their home. She knows everything and everyone! The first day she came to clean the pool, happened to be the first day of play group. She was kind enough to give us a ride. On the way there, she suddenly became "Theresa the Tour Guide." I don't think she stopped to take a breath while giving a tid-bit about every building, shop, neighborhood, etc.

Anyhow, sure enough, yesterday morning at 10:00 she was here to pick us up. And she was right, after taking the antibiotics, I was feeling a lot better. I had no idea where we were going or what we were doing but I was so happy to get out of the house. It turned out to be a great morning. She took me to a nursery school that she thinks we would be a great place for Finn. I will say, I was very impressed. It is the end of the school term so the school was having a concert / craft fair. I would say the school was about 70% locals and 30% expats. Finn particularly likes the fact that the school has its own petting zoo and swimming pool!

After that, she drove us around to see more of Gaborone. Then we stopped at a nice little cafe for tea. Everywhere we went, Theresa knew atleast two people. I loved our tea, because I finally got a chance to ask her questions (sometimes she talks so much and fast that it is hard to get a word in edge wise). She is fascinating. In addition to taking care of pools, she makes and sells crafts, and she runs a dog parlor out of her maid's quarters. (Her children attend a boarding school in South Africa). I'm beginning to think that I am her little project. She has all sorts of ideas for me. Right now, I am just so grateful that she has reached out to us. I'm not sure how this past week would have played out had she not stepped in!

Holy Avocado!

Today I got to meet our gardeners. Apparently they come every Friday. I was eager for them to come because I was very curious as to what exactly they would do. The two girls (forgive me, I couldn't make out there names even though I asked them to repeat themselves several times) started by sweeping the leaves out of the landscaped areas. Then Opi, a very nice gentleman, begn the long process of watering all of the plants and trees. The girls decided they wanted to play with Finn (fine by me!). I decided I could actually get some housework done.

Suddenly, Opi came knocking on the window and asked me to come outside. He was holding what I thought was a small coconut. He wanted a knife to cut it open. We do have trees that look like palm trees - but I sure haven't seen any coconuts. When I brought him the knife I got a much closer look and realized that it definitely wasn't a coconut. It looked like a HUGE avocado. Indeed it was. I ran inside to get our camera - I wanted to take a picture for our godson, Will, who LOVES avocado. Of course I couldn't find the camera - it was in Ian's bag at work. When I came out they had cut it and each person was eating a slice (like the size of canelope slices). Will would have been in his element! Anyhow, I was trying to explain that we have avocadoes in America, but they are much smaller. Before I could finish, one of the girls went to their truck and returned with another one for me. While it was super sweet, I kindly declined. We all know Ian isn't a fan of veggies, and Finn doesn't eat table food yet, there's no way I could eat it all for myself and I couldn't stand the thought of wasting their food. I did, however, ask them to bring one next week so I could take a picture!

Mocholodi Game Reserve

After spending our first full week in Gaborone we decided it was time to check out some animals. We made our first trip to one of Gaborone's Game Reserves. I'm embarrassed to say that we saw more animals (monkeys and cows) on the way there than we did at the actual park. Unfortunately, we came at the wrong time for viewing any animals. We just missed the game drive for the afternoon by about 15 minutes. However, we did get to see the finish of the "Kalahari Challenge," a two day mountain bike race. We immediately thought of my brother, Skiles. How about it Skiles - Botswana next year this time? I think you could win the race!

Anyhow, we did enjoy a nice picnic lunch and picked up all the brochures so we come at the right time in the future.