Some Interesting Vital Facts

I thought it would be interesting to give all of you some fascinating vital facts about Botswana this time of year and in general.

The sun usually rises about 6:30am and sets at around 5:45
It is winter time here
It gets down to around 35-40 at night but it is in the mid 80's during the day (all temps in Fahrenheit)
Cars drive on the left side of the road
The water at UB is TOTALLY safe to drink
There is NEVER a cloud in the sky
Guns are very rare in Botswana, the police don't have guns
A friend of mine who works for a bank earns 2,005 Pula a month and says that rent is around 2,500 Pula a month (around $380)
River Walk in Gabarone Could be compared to Fountain Walk in Novi and Game City is similar to A normal American Mall except a bit smaller
Botswana has 1.7 million citizens
There are 3 million Zimbabwe in Botswana
One person from Botswana is a Motswana
A group is called Batswana
The official languages are English and Setswana and in reality a combination of the two is the vernacular
University of Botswana has about fifteen thousand students
Homosexuality is a crime punishable in some instances with hanging
Public transportation is cheap and broken down into three categories.
Combies-Mini bus with a route (like a normal bus) flat rate fare of 3P
Taxi- Drive around you can flag them down and they go wherever you want
Cab-you must call them and they are the most expensive but also the most convenient

If you have any questions about the country or the area or things like that, ask and I will answer hopefully for all of my readers' benefit (lol I am only assuming I have readers).
Good thoughts,
Tommy

Here safe and sound and physically in one piece.

So the journey here while long was uneventful, fortunately. I flew from Detroit to Chicago where I met my traveling companion. His name is Dylan and I had only ever met him before once. Turns out he is a really nice guy. The flight to London was good, the 777 we were on provided every passenger with there own screen that allowed you to choose what movie, TV show or news show you wanted to watch. It made the flight go quickly but I should have slepted a place to sit. We had a twelve hour lay over, the single longest I have ever had. We would have ventured into the city but with our overloaded carryons and our lack of sleep we didn't feel it was a great idea. So instead we sat. It was a painfully long wait but we survived. I even managed to get a traditional english breakfast (although it was at dinner time) beans on toast!!!
After having been up for more than 26 hours as soon as I got on the flight to Johannesburg I fell right to sleep for almost the whole flight, all 12 hours of it. Upon awaking I found myself in South Africa but we didn't have much time to cherish the location.
We had to scurry through customs (impossible in Africa) get our bags and recheck in. We got through got our bags and headed to the check in counter at 8:15am South Africa time. The only problem was that the flight left the ground at 8:15. I panicked inwardly but kept my cool on the outside I explained that the mix up was the airlines fault and not our own. She agreed and gave us new tickets for the next flight only one hour later. This was excellent news because technically she did not have to do this.
Anyway the short flight to Gabarone was uneventful as well and I say that as good thing. We landed in the SMALLEST airport I have even seen. We were the only plane on the ground and none came in the whole time we were there. We got through customs (again) and proceeded 3 feet to the baggage claim. My bags had both arrived but neither of Dylan's had. I would learn later that this is very common and there was nothing to worry about but we didn't know that at the time.
We left the baggage claim and entered the lobby (it is impossible to fathom how small this airport is without seeing it). There was no one there to meet us. Again we were in a bind. We changed some cash to the local currenc on the flight in hindsight. We arrived at London Heathrow and without any incident proceeded to the terminal we needed to be in and fouy "Pulas" (According to google 1 Pula=$0.1525)
We found a man who offered to take us to the University and we agreed. We arrived at the administration building and it was like a ghost town. It was a Sunday in the middle of a school break after all. The security found us and escorted us to their office where we were seated until they could figure out who we were and where we should be.
*side bar* communication and efficiency are not strong suits of the Botswana people.
An American women walked in who was supposed to be with some foreign students from UPenn. We didn't know her and she didn't know us but security simply told her to deal with us. Her name was Judy Stark. Fortunately she was very very friendly and helped us out. She was looking for her students who were MIA. She had two extra keys and she gave them to Dylan and I. We decided that nothing would be resolved on Sunday so we would figure things out on monday.
We had the evening free so we decided to go to the local mall and check it out as well as grabbing something to eat. It took us an hour to complete a 25 minute walk because we were lost but we got there and ate anyway. On the way home we got lost again and this time it took us 2.5 hours. It was exhausting and frustrating but we survived.
The next day (Monday) we went into the international office and met the women we were to have met Sunday. She said she waited for us but left we were so late. They also told us we were in the wrong rooms and would have to move. This was a nuisance as I had begun unpacking and had to repack. Dylan and I were put in different buildings which upset us a little but they informed us nothing could be done, which we are coming to learn is a typical response but never true. We found it very difficult to deal with the "it will get done in time attitude."
Tuesday and Wednesday were full of painfully long and boring orientation. Including being told over and over again to secure our property because there are thieves around. We were also informed that international students were not well liked by Grad students (we are living in the graduate village) and that we had better be very careful. This is not the emotion expressed by the grad students themselves but none the less it was a sobering message.
On Tuesday night we (the international students, there are about 25 of us) were invited to a traditional dinner. We sat around a camp fire singing and dancing and we got to eat traditiona Setswana food. The food was...disappointing. I didn't care for about half of it the other half was grilled beef and chicken. But the dancing and singing was fun (although my rhytm is bad, big surprise)
I also got to know many of the other international students including some from UPenn, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, and America.

So far the trip has been exhausting, stressful and far from fun or exciting. There is certainly some culture shock but I am sure everything will get better. I think once classes start I will be much happier in general. I feel today I may have made a turn though. The stress and uneasiness are lessening and my comfort level is increasing. I think soon I will be enjoying myself a lot.
It took a while to get internet working well in my room but it is now. So far skype doesn't work but email does.

I apologize for such a long entry but I hope it is interesting none-the-less!
Love to all,
Tommy

Well Here It Is...

Welcome to my BLOG!! This is my first real post.
I suppose tonight is the last night in my own bed. Today has been a difficult day. Most of the evening I was just sitting around trying to stay calm. I am little nervous about the other guy who will be going with me. I have only ever talked to him once. I was also tired and stressed. Now I am mostly packed and everyone else is asleep so time to chill out.
This has definitely been a build up and everyone around me is a little on edge too, I can't say that that has helped a whole lot. I guess it is to be expected though, people are going to miss me and they are worried for me.
Tomorrow I will wake up, finish the loose ends and be to the airport by 1pm in Detroit, then to Chicago then London, all the way to Johannesberg and finally I will complete the journey in Gaborone, Botswana.
But for now, time to enjoy my last night in America, in an American bed.
Goodnight.

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