It seemed like a few of you guys wanted to know what was going on over here. Thank you for caring and being curious. I decided that a blog might be easier and more fun to share my joys, tears, and pictures, so here it is!
DAY 1 AND SOME...
We left LAX at 7pm on Monday and arrived Botswana at 6 am Wednesday (in california time) ....35 hrs of no showering, aimless wandering, and sleeping upright. We were on 3 different continents and 4 different countries within those 35 hours. Luckily, we got to explore Frankfurt, Germany during our 8 hr layover. It was so refreshing to see the cobble stones and unique architecture of Europe again :) :) -- I bought a German pretzel + Haribo (my favorites) and then there were train tickets and baggage storage fees =/ Sooo expensive...
The South African Airport is a super shady place. First of all, the clerks told us that we had to pay 25 Ren for every kg over 20kg of luggage... However, when I went up, my luggage was 24kg and they didn't charge me for the extra weight while a couple of my classmates paid over $50 for the extra weight of their luggage. I couldn't believe it.
Also, people called "Porters" were really helpful with our luggage and guided us through the airport so that we could make our next flight. At the end of our security/check-in/gate-finding escapade, the Porters skillfully confused us and asked for tip. I knew already not to tip them (from my experience in Haiti -- these men get paid by the airport but demand tip- and some porters are not even employees of the airport). Some of my classmates were conned into paying FORTY DOLLARS in tip -- I couldn't believe it. They said that the Porters demanded $15 for tip per person, but my classmate only had a $20, and of course, the Porters saw the bills. The Porters even managed to convince some of my classmates that they were actually saving them money! The things people do/have to do for money...
Thanks to my experience in Haiti and mom's skepticism towards extra fees, I didn't pay an extra dime... :)
There is hot water, warm food, cold food, and nice and clean bathrooms with flushing toilets ... it's a hostel -- not really that bad. not really a mission trip. The men here are really forward. One man pointed at one of my classmates and said, "I like that one!". Another man said, "You want to get married in Botswana". Yet another man still said, "Give me white babies."
THE NEXT DAY
The hostel that I am staying at is part of the Kanye SDA School of Nursing. The village is called Kanye. I am still very jetlagged. My professor, Dr. Wright, was talking, I fell completely asleep... next to all 5 other students. I felt terrible. I guess I didn't sleep too well on the plane.
There is limited hot water, which means we must tactfully shower on some kind of schedule. Not going to lie, on the first night, we were all so nasty from the 35 hours of traveling that there was some competition. But, no drama after that, I think.
The food served at the School of Nursing cafeteria is so goood. I love that the food tastes so simple and organic. For lunch, we had mashed butternut squash (mashed potatoes - except that it was incomparably more delicious), a collard green salad, and other stuff... but the mashed butternut squash was amazing!!! And it's so healthy! I want to try making it at home. Even their fried eggs taste amazing.
There was a non-violent strike here in Botswana that ended a week before we arrived. Apparently, health care workers are not happy with not getting a raise. I think all health care workers work for the government. The government stated that any employees that strike will be fired and lose all benefits that accumulated with seniority. Having heard that, I expected few to strike, but some clinics lost nearly half of their staff due to the strike. Many clinics closed because of the strike, and now- due to the loss of workers, there is a decline in patient care. That means we may have a less supported clinical experience as student nurses, but it is also going to be interesting to be working in the midst of their financial crisis and social unrest. I hope that we can be of good use to them.
At night and early morning, it gets pretty cold, but I haven't had to use my red ski jacket yet.
THE NEXT FEW DAYS AFTER THAT
The mornings are freeezing!!!
I learned that Botswanaians speak Setswana. Their speaking voices are very musical. When they speak English, they have a rhythmic and tonic quality to their sentences. I love it when they actually sing. Their harmonies, tones, and rhythm are amazing. I love morning worship because of their singing. I don't really understand their messages, but their singing, I understand. Absolutely pacifying.
We found out that we don't have to do hand laundry this week. Yay for machine laundry!
Yesterday, I worker thought I was a boy. She said, "It looks like there are two boys here in this group" and all of us were confused because we only had one male. Sensing our confusion, she pointed at the other male, Andrew, and then at me!!! Hahaha. I immediately took my hat off and let my hair down to show that I was a girl.
For the most part, Botswana seems like a very peaceful country. A woman named Alice said that Botswana is one of the most peaceful African countries. People are truly poor here, though. I saw many old women walking in house slippers as shoes. Children run around without shoes at all and there are broken bottles of beer and trash everywhere. So many people asked me for food and money as I walk around the town
For the school part, we have projects and papers to do. Our project has to do with educating or planning an activity with the Botswanian community regarding health. We also have to write a group paper (25 pages) about our project. I don't think it'll be that hard.
In the last two days of our trip, we are going to a Safari adventure. I'm not sure what that means, but I think it involves looking at a land reservation and petting cheetahs??? :)
The exciting cheap delicacy is FAT CAKES. They are exactly what they sound like. Fried dough. It's kind of like a doughnut but it's not clothed with a blanket of sugar. It's a little sweet on it's own, but so soft and chewy at the same time. It costs 1-1.5 Pula and ~6.5 Pula = $1.
:) Until next time!!! ;)
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