Go Botswana!!!

Today we all slept in because last night we got the Internet back (thus why all my blog posts have the same date) so we were all up late. Once we woke up we went and bought tickets to the Football game (soccer). It was a qualifier game between Botswana against Madagascar for the 2010 World Cup. It ended in a tie between the two at 0/0. So they will play another game in Madagascar. It was a great cultural experience though. We sat next to some really nice Motswana. Everyone was really interested in us, they all wanted pics with us. The crowd was crazy too, they really love their football.

Monday we have two appointments set up to meet with possible service projects. One is with the Mokolodi Game Reserve - and we will get a tour of it too when we visit. Here we would be working outside - possibly clearing brush or something similar. Our other appointment is with a Feeding project for kids who where orphaned by AIDS. This one could be a lot of fun and very full filling because we will get to see kids daily and work with them. More appointments are to be made as well. It is getting very exciting!

Crazy Combi Ride! 5/30/08

Today we experienced our first Combi (sp) ride. Combis are part of the public transportation here and they are very confusing. They are like skinny vans that hold around 18 people packed tightly. We were trying to get out to the Botswana Craft to buy tickets to a cultural festival tomorrow. We took a combi to the combi station and then we were lost. We had no idea which combi to get on. They are all linked to different routes. And the routes don't tell you where they are going just the direction, and some don't even tell you that. Some just say Route 1, or 2, or 3... and some are in Setswana and we don't understand. Others just say Gaborone West... and we have no clue where that would take us. After getting very confused we just figured out which combi took us back to where we came from - RiverWalk Mall - and took a taxi. In the end the tickets were sold out, so all of that just added us to a crazy adventure.
Tonight was also our first black out. It was quite interesting, we just played cards by candlelight and talked.

5/29/08

Today was a big orientation day. We went to orientations and through a security training for living at UB (University of Botswana). In the afternoon we went and had lunch at the RiverWalk Mall – It was great! Then we went shopping for all the essentials that we didn’t bring. Like a bath towel, dishes, Ethernet cord, and food. It is amazing how the Pula looks so expensive and then every time I convert it to Dollars I am shocked that I didn’t spend as much as I thought! Although I should watch that... that could get dangerous.
We haven’t started our service work quite yet. UB is setting up appointments with organizations that we can volunteer for so we can figure out is the best place for us based on needs and our abilities. Which is very nice because we will have the legitimacy of UB as a reference.
Our rooms are great! We all have our own room and we share the common room (living room, dining, and kitchen). I wish the internet was a little bit more stable. We have internet hook ups and a phone in each room, but the internet is down right now and is not in all of the rooms (I have been writing my blog in a word document and posting when possible). We have had one room get internet so far, but lately it hasn’t been stable. We also have frequent black outs in Botswana. I guess the energy is through South Africa and when ever a region is using too much energy they cut it. But lately that has not happened in Gaborone / UB, but we still are in an energy crisis. So to help conserve energy it is cut every Friday for two hours starting at 6pm. Thus we had to buy candles and flashlights because it gets dark right before 6pm.

We have Arrived!!

We are in Gaborone, Botswana and all is well! The trip getting her was long and we already have some great experiences and stories! We have only seen Gaborone at night so tomorrow we are going out to learn our way around. The University of Botswana is nice and our room are great. More to come later! I need to get to bed!

20 Days!!!

May 6th 2008... today means that I am only 20 days away from leaving to Africa!!!