Some recent poetry

My departure marked an apex in my life; it was a departure on a plane but also from a life I was leaving behind, a life I would gaze upon fondly through the glass of nostalgia, a life that was over forever. It was time to become an adult, I had no choice; no one would be there to shelter my eyes from what I may not want to see; no one would be there to hold my hand and guard me from the dangers of a massive, intimidating world. This was my time to face the world alone; confident and brave. I dived into an experience that can not be translated from my eyes, ears, and heart onto paper. No words could describe the experience of it all, being outside of one’s comfortable sphere so profoundly--unable to communicate, navigate, or escape--forced instead to push forward unafraid and undaunted. The images I have seen are of love and hate; true, unadulterated joy, and despair; and wealth seemingly mocking the poverty that it served to highlight. Africa is not a continent of darkness; Botswana is a place, a family’s home, not like my own home, no better, no worse, only different. These images, thoughts, feelings, like treasures discovered in my own mind long buried and forgotten, are things that should be shared. Words, and images, and new understanding that should not, that cannot be kept silent. I hope now that my words from my heart will engage others. I hope my words will begin to thaw the icy walls of assumption, prejudice, fear, and misunderstanding that have, for too long, torn two worlds, full of people just the same, apart unnecessarily.

Some Closure, Finally

This will be the last post in this blog, the end cap. I returned from Botswana 42 days ago and since then I have spent 10 days in Guatemala and 12 days skiing in Reno/Lake Tahoe. It would seem that I haven't had much time to reflect, but that isn't true.
I have found that in EVERY free moment my mind drifts to Botswana, I find myself saying, "In Botswana," more often than I would have thought. I find myself talking about the experience and learning from my own words, as if I didn't know the things I was saying. That feeling is surreal and vindicating. As if, my experience was more valuable than even I know,as if I haven't stopped learning yet, which is exciting.
I don't miss anything except the people. I don't regret anything at this point, either.
I suppose that to this point my experience as ended in the best way I ever could have hoped. As I head back to school I find I am apprehensive as if while I was away everything changed and now I feel a little out of place. I presume that will wear off quickly but it will be a major process of adjustment in the coming days.
From here I suppose only time will tell but I remain hopeful.
Signing off,
Love,
Tommy

The Last Days

It's funny how cyclical our lives can be. My last days in Botswana mirrored my first almost perfectly. My last dinner in Botswana was the same as my first: Apache Spur (pronounced:Ah-Pock-Kay). The company was different, Onky, instead of Dylan but the meal was the same. I slept my last night in Botswana without sheets like my first. This time it was because I had to return them whereas the first days I hadn't picked them up yet. Campus was also empty, in the last days it was because protests had closed campus, and in the first days it was still winter break.
Then it seems the only differences between the first, and last days, is the intervening six months. Those six months though represent a veritable transition to adulthood. In those months I discarded my safety net by way of putting an ocean between it and myself, I learned to cook, I cleaned for myself and I soved my own problems, many of which were of my own creation. I guess the parallels are nothing less than superficial.
Questions of course have arisen in my last days in Botswana. Some are answered already, and some will take years to fully resolve.
How lasting will the lessons I learned in Botswana be? Some, I'm sure, will be fleeting. Others, I hope, will last a lifetime. But the majority, I guess, will gradually fade leaving only impression on my psyche that will continue to influence my life far into the future.
What of Botswana will I miss? There are those obvious things: People; like Onky, Puso and Biki; Iron Brew; Energade; and Jungle Bars; but beyond those it is hard to say. I doubt I'll miss the weather, I won't miss the campus or the academics, or even the atmosphere but who can say for sure.
And finally, the million dollar question. What of my experience? The answer now is only fractional,but the foundations have been laid. Was it everything I expected?No, but then again, who wants everything you expect. Is there anything I regret? Sure, I wish I would have gottenout more, made more friends, gotten to a family family dinner or a cattle post, and travelled more but these are all minor and don't discount all the wonderful things I did in Botswana. Would I do it all over again? I can't be sure. I might have tried another program, like Israel or India, but those might have been worse, instead of better. Overall, am I pleased, on my last days in Botswana? Overwhelmingly, the answer is yes. The experience taught me things I could have learned in no other way. Will I be back to Botswana? Probably not. After all, there are so many places I can barely be returning to places before I see everywhere else but maybe I'll bring my kids and family back when I'm older but that remains to be seen.
Right now I am just excited to be home, but as time continue to go forward I may gain insight and knowledge that will increase the value of my experience.
Love to all,
Tommy

Lessons in South African

South Africa has 11 Official Languages. This fact absolutely blows my mind! I can't imagine living in a country with that many languages. It seems to me that there may not be any continuity in their communication however that is not true. There are a few words that are universal that I managed to learn as they are used widely in Botswana as well and I like to call, "South African," despite that not being a real language. If you inquire as to what any of these words mean in English they will look at you funny and tell you, they are English, not because they are, but because they are universal.

• Howzit- This is a greeting meaning "Hello, how are you?"and is appropriate in ever language.

• Braai- This means "grill" and refers to a barbeque or a grill to cook on. Can also mean a big traditional South African cook out.
• Curio- Simply means souveneir
• Billtong- A south african style beef jerky.
• Combi- A large mini bus that is used as public transport. Generally packed with about 20 people.
• Isn't it/Iz it?- Both are used as confirmations much like "right?"
  

Hope you enjoyed the light hearted lesson in culture.
Love to All,
Tommy

Safari Superbowl

Safari, I have learned, is a Swahili word simply meaning "journey" so I suppose I could call my whole time abroad a "safari" in the literal sense but in the modern vernacular the word has taken on a meaning quite different, that being: tourist, almost exclusively white, non-africans, traveling through the African Bush with big expensive cameras taking pictures of animals that they could only otherwise see in zoos in their own countries. By this definition my parents trip to visit me in January and February conforms exactly. Too often, in my opinion, these trip exclude wholly any experience that would truly inform them of more normal day to day life in "Africa." All too often limiting their "cultural experience" to neatly packaged traditional dancers and expensive game dinners that conform nicely to stereotypes held widely in the west about africa. In this respect though, I must say from the outset that my parents are to be admired for bravely defying common practice and spending days of their time seeing Gabarone, Johannesburg and Soweto (albeit the later two being packaged in tours) and changing drastically, I believe, some of their images of "Africa" and expanding their minds without prejudice. But I have probably editorialized too much already so I will now move to the trip.
The days prior to trip, occupying the time after Whitney left and before my parents arrived, could be counted as the least productive of my entire life with no real direction I slept too much and spent the days on the computer so the end of this time was a welcome relief but their arrival was also met with some anxiety. The main issue was a visa concern, that being my student's temporary residence permit had technically expired on 31 December 2008. I had made several trips to the immigration office each time being told different information and that lacked different requirements to extend it. At my wit's end I gave up and decided I would go to jail in the worst scenario and that would make an interesting blog entry (yes this is occasionally how I think.) Alas my anxiety did not stop the hours from passing and eventually I was met with the day of parents arrival. They were flying into to Johannesburg and I was to take the bus from Gaborone to Jo'burg to meet them. Unfortunately only one Intercape bus (Intercape is the best bus company around here and I use them almost exclusively) leaves Gabs per day enroute to Jo'burg at 6am arriving around 1pm, my parents weren't slated to get off the plane until 11:45pm. What I would do in the interim in a city I honestly fear was another point of anxiety. The final point of anxiety for me was that inclement weather in both Detroit and Paris threatened to interrupt my parent's flights so I was unsure as I boarded my bus if my parents would arrive in Jo'burg, if I would be arrested at the border, and if I did make it to South Africa what I would do for the better part of the day. As it turned out the border crossing was smooth, I caught a taxi at the bus station in Jo'burg to the hotel, checked in and took a nap and when my parents were scheduled to arrive at the airport they did and I was there to meet them. The biggest flub of the day was taking a taxi who didn't know where he was going. I think that that event was so little trouble for me demonstrates how much I have learned to manage my situation where I could and, and not loose control emotionally when things didn't go as they were supposed to. Sometimes life throws a curve and we just have to roll with it.

The next day saw us back at the airport to catch a flight to Maun, Botswana the tourism capital of the country. From their we caught a bush plane (A maximum 6 seater plane meant to hop from camp to camp in remote areas) to our first lodge, the Nxamseri Fish Camp in the pan-handle region of the Okavango Delta.
(Nxameseri Fish Camp's sign)

When we arrived we landed on an airstrip with waist deep grass, it was quite an experience.
(These airports were SMALL!)

We were picked up and loaded onto a speed boat and sped to our camp.
(Loading up in our delta transport)

I immediately knew this was not going to be the same type of trip as Whitney and I took. This place was dripping with luxury.
(The front of the Nxameseri Lodge)

We decided to go on a river tour that afternoon. We drove down the river on a small motor boat looking at some of the most incredible birds I have ever seen.

(European Roller)

I said on the first day "I am not exactly an ornithologist" but the birds on this trip in general certainly captured my attention and interest. As we journeyed down the river we saw African Jaccana's, Brown Throated Weavers, Lilac breasted rollers, king fishers, fish eagles, and many more that I couldn't possibly keep track of.

(African Jacana)

My favorites were the Jaccannas that could be seen walking on the lily pads because the females move from partner to partner leaving the male bird to raise and care for the young. As we were returning we crossed the territory of a hippo, this made him very angry and he made his feelings known to us by jumping from the water and showing his teeth, cool but a little scary. The meals and rooms at this place were very nice as was every place in fact. The two managers, Tess and Lisa were interesting people. Tess was the first white Batswana I had met and Lisa was a white zimbabwean currently living in the Maun area.

The next day was our day a Tsodilo hills.
(The Museum at Tsodilo)

One of the running jokes of the trip was Mom's inability to pronounce the name Tsodilo (tSW-oh-Dilo). She went through every possible mangling my favorite being Toledo hills. Mom and dad also could also never pronounce Nxamseri because the "Nx" makes a clicking sound but Mom never stopped trying and, as a result, never stopped making me laugh. But I digress. Todilo Hills is four hills in the middle of the very flat northern botswana that show case one of the biggest collections of San(often called Bushmen) rock paintings in the world (that includes San and other people's paintings). The site is a Unesco world heritage site but in typical Botswana fashion it is under publicized and under funded. Recently the San people still living at the site were told that they could no longer use the hills and had to move to a new location, a very controversial and upsetting move by the often insensitive government. A fence and gate was put up but when we got there there was no one guarding it so our driver pushed open the gate and let us in without permission. This semester my Archaeology professor decided to focus mainly on rock paintings and as a result I knew a significant amount about the paintings we saw at Tsodilo hills.
(The most famous painting at Tsodilo)

(The hills were naturally very beautiful as well)

(Dancing Penises)

Our guide showed us the paintings but I did all the talking in telling Mom and Dad what they meant and they significance of each. There are over 4,000 paintings so we only saw a tiny fraction in a couple hour hike but the experience was so vindicating for me. As a historian after my visit to the great Zimbabwe I have been constantly questioning where the history is in Africa. Zimbabwe is an impressive stone walled city in Zimbabwe that is about 800 years old but when compared to things of the same period in China or Europe it is primitive. Since I saw it I have been asking why, since the first humans evolved in Africa, there isn't so much history. A book called Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Jared Diamond began to Explain it but I still wondered what the people were doing. Tsodilo gave me at least the clear understanding. Those painitngs, to me, are as impressive as any Roman ruin or European Castle or Cathedral. Those paintings that are as much as 7,000 years old tell the story of human history.
The next day before we boarded the bush plane to our next camp we had our first Mokoro Trip. A Mokoro is a dug-out canoe, used in the Okavango for transportation. It was the first time I had seen the paddlers sit in a Mokoro. Standing is more typical. After our shirt paddle we packed and boarded our plane saying goodbye to Nxamseri en route to Chobe National Park, particularly the Savute region. We arrived in time for a light lunch, to settle in and still catch the afternoon/evening game drive. Dad had worried prior to the trip that moving so much would mean losing lots of time but we learned time and again that the planes ran so smoothly that we rarely lost any activity at all. After having taken the trip to Kruger with Whitney I honestly expected to seem TONS of game and I suppose in that was Savute was a little disappointing. We saw lots of Elephants; Botswana has the largest population of them in Africa. but otherwise we didn't see any of the other "Big 5." Fortunately my parents are great sports and were excited to see everything we saw. They especially enjoyed the tracking bits even though generally we didn't find whatever we were tracking. Savute had a schedule that included a morning wake up of 5am followed by tea, a game drive, breakfast, a siesta, high tea, a evening game drive, dinner, and generally collapsing of exhaustion. Most lodges used a similar pattern but each lodge had an earlier wake up. Our four game drives at Savute all only resulted in Elephant sitings and then other antelope and things.

(An elephant watering hole at Savute)

(One of our tea breaks with Elephants in the Background)

(Fighting over the water)

Dad was always thrilled to see giraffes and mom even loved seeing the foot prints and dung, in short, they were easy to please. During our Sietsa's there was a beautiful pool that looked over a man made waterhole that allowed us to swim with elephants drinking in the background it was surreal.

(The amazing pool at Savute)

When our time at Savute ended we boarded yet another bush plane to Delta camp just across a small channel from Chief's Island and Moremi Game reserve in the Okavango Delta. This was the nicest accommodation we stayed in my opinion. I got to stay in a tree house that had a full bath and an incredible view it was amazing.

(My incredible tree house)

For some reason Dad's travel agent always arranged a private room for me even though often I would have been able to fit in the same room as my parents, but I'm not complaining. Delta camp was also where i began to be surprised to see that so much of the staff, even the management of the lodges was black. As bad as it sounds it surprised me to see black Batswana in positions of management and I began to learn that this was more typical in Botswana than South Africa. Delta camp and Mapula Camp had no White staff at all. I had suggested to Dad that our Safari would be more interesting if we did different sort of safaris. He took the advice. We did game drives at Savute, Mokoro Trips and Game walks at Delta Camp, Bush plane trips over the delta and even a segway safari in Livingstone at Victoria Falls.
(Mokoros)

When we woke up at Delta camp we had tea and boarded a mokoro across the channel.
(Us in one of our Mokoros)

We unloaded and walked through the african Bush of Moremi game reserve. On a walking safari we learned you pay a lot more attention to trees, birds, foot prints and dung. We learned a lot this way such as what a sausage tree is, about elephants eating palm nuts but only digesting the outer few centimeters and all about different animal foot prints. These walks got us close to zebras and giraffes. Our guide, Matudi, had a very scientific brain. He gave us more information than we could handle generally. On our last game walk at Delta camp our guides tracked a lion for some time. As they thought they were getting close they made us be quiet and guided us in. The two guides were communicating with hand signals that the three of us did not understand. All of a sudden we heard a roar and saw a lions face about 20 feet from us.
(The lion on the walking tour)

As we walked around the thicket we learned he had just killed a warthog. At first Mom, Dad, and I feared that there maybe more lions nearby sneaking up on us, but fortunately this guy was a young male all on his own. It was an amazing experience. At another time we took a long Mokoro trip to a nearby island where much of the staff at the Delta Camp lives. It was cool for mom and dad to see a very traditional village but I tried to stress to them that this is not "typical." (The Batswana use cans to reinforce their houses)

(A traditional village near Delta Camp)

We saw some women weaving baskets and Mom and Dad bought some. As it turns out they are incredible souvenir buyers (they bought a lot of stuff!). Eventually we had to pack up and move to our last Okavango Delta Camp: Mapula Camp. Yet again the lodging was bordering on excessive with a huge bathroom, deck, and outdoor shower (complete with scorpion) all for myself. Mapula offered game drives but unfortunately they were not terribly exciting. They were quite long and on one we saw nothing of real interest. We saw a large herd of elephants and got too close, resulting in the whole herd charging us aggressively. At one point the matriarch charged us and with no way out, we were forced to drive straight at her, fortunately she backed down at our bluff. On the last day we managed to see a single female lion and because we were in a private concession (that is a privately owned game reserve as opposed to a state owned park) we followed it off road for quite a long time. The manager at Mapula Camp, Bonte, was very interesting and shared some some tidbits with me that explained some of things I had learned or noticed since I had been here. For example, she said that the Batswana tend to be indifferent in that they will not neccesarily open their arms, homes and hearts to every passing tourists and that helped to explain why I had never been invited to anyone's home. After Mapula camp we flew to Kasane and from their were bused to the border where we had to cross a river into Zambia. We learned that at that junction four countries meet: Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana. All went as planned and we arrived at our hotel in Livingstone with ease. Over the next few days we explored the falls. It was amazing how different the experience was only one month later.

(The beautiful falls)

Walking around the falls in December there was no mist, in January it was like walking through a perpetual torrential down pour it was crazy, but beautiful. We were also quite pleased to learn that in Livingstone, it being "civilization" as compared to our previous camps that did not have electricity, we were able to watch the inauguration of President Obama. It was nice to watch the figurative sun rise over our nation while the sun set in Zambia. The following day mom and I hiked to the bottom of Vic Falls to a place called the boiling pot. When we came back to the top Dad had arranged for the three of us to take a tour of the area around the falls on segways. Most of the animals we saw were pretty much tame. We walked within about two feet of a live zebra.

The next day we boarded a plane headed back to our initial launching point, Jo'burg. We spent one night at the Metcourt, the same hotel we had stayed at upon my parents arrival in South Africa, and had dinner at a place called "Tribes." That night Dad and I had Warthog, Impala, Kudu, and Ostrich and Mom had simply Ostrich. An interesting, although not all together "traditional" or typical, taste of the continent. The next day we rented our car and were headed toward Blyde River Canyon. The drive through the mountains is beautiful. Neither Mom or Dad had expected South Africa to be so Mountainous or richly vegetated, I hadn't known myself until my trip with Whitney. We arrived that evening but I was beginning to feel the earliest signs of sickness. I assumed it was hunger pains so we went to a nearby fast food place, Wimpy, to grab a snack to tide us over until dinner. The meal didn't help. That night I was as sick as I have been in a very long time. Mom had had some stomach issues earlier in the week but according to her nothing as bad as what I had. By the next morning I had begun to recover but was still not feeling myself. Our lodge in Blyde River Canyon was actually a full cottage for the three of us that was beautiful but unfortunately all I could do was complain about the strong smell of wood in the place. The lodge also had a tame Impala that hung around the place named Marla. We went over to the Blyde River Dam and took a boat tour. We saw hippos and a crocodile but the real star of the trip was the amazing natural scenery surrounding the dam. After that we headed to lunch at a nice little local sunday brunch place and then off to the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Center. The center began as a cheetah project but presently serves many endangered species including cheetahs, wild dogs, black maned lions (not actually a species but are quite rare), carical and servals. It was an awesome experience as we never saw any of these animals in the wild. After our time at the nature center we went to a nice pizza place for dinner.
(Cheetahs and the Wild Dogs at the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Center)

The following day we got up, packed, loaded the car, and headed to our next lodge, Africa on Foot. We met our guides at a pub near the private reserve and they took us from there to the lodge. Africa on Foot, or Ross Camp, was a quaint little camp but it was very hot, and our rooms had no air conditioning. The inescapable heat contributed to Mom and I both feeling ill yet again but both of us recovered quickly. Africa on Foot understandably organizes there days around game walks in contrast to the game drives at most other game parks. We had done walking safaris before though at Delta camp but we did learn even more such as that special hornets inject acacia thorns with steroid so they grow to huge size before laying eggs inside. Overall Africa on foot animal-wise was not our best lodge but the people; our two guides Courtney and Daniel and the manager Cecilia; were incredibly interesting and shed a lot of insight on the thinking of white Africans including on their thoughts about Zimbabwe, Courtney and Daniel’s home country. They also talked a lot about Rugby and Cricket and explained the color divide even in sport in South Africa, saying that soccer tends to be a black sport where as cricket and rugby are whiter sports.
Following our time at Africa on Foot we loaded up the car and moved to our final safari lodge, Arathusa in the Sabi sands, another private reserve on the border with Kruger like Africa on the Foot. This meant mainly that we could drive off road to get closer to the animals than would have been possible in the Kruger Park. Like allof the lodges Arathusa’s staff, meals, and lodges were remarkable. The large watering hole in front of the dining room was nice, just like Savute. Arathusa was unique in their emphasis on guest interaction, the fact that there were other guests influenced this but also they encouraged us to interact by putting us all together at meals and introducing everyone in the game drive vehicles. As a result we met some nice people but it was not my favorite because sometimes after a long day, wake up was at 4:45 am, I just didn’t want to be sociable. The more important thing about Arathusa was the animals. Arathusa finally completed our big five seeing a Rhino and Leopard on our first day, and then we saw the whole big five in one game drive including a herd of buffalo, tiny baby elephants, four male lions together in a near confrontation with a male leopard, and two leopards mating. Arathusa was amazing!

(Animals at Arathusa)

After Arathusa we drove for twelve hours to Gaborone, Botswana. I was excited to show my parents around my stomping grounds, so to speak, for the last six months. I had organized a room in a nearby bed and breakfast. The Lolwappa lodge was not on par with the previous accomdation, they didn’t serve breakfast and didn’t even manage to provide Mom and Dad with two towels. Fortunately, Mom and Dad are humble people and did not mind down grading a little. While in Gaborone I enjoyed showing Mom and Dad around my favorite places like Embassy; my favorite restaurant in Gaborone, an Indian place, mom confirmed she does not enjoy Indian food; Linga Longa; Main Mall and Riverwalk. On Sunday it was slightly rainy but it did not dampen us. We went to Main Mall to see if the souvenir sellers were open, they weren’t, and then headed to the Museum. We had a good time looking at the archaeology, history, and wildlife of Botswana for a while. That evening was the Superbowl but because it started at 1am we didn't stay up to watch it, thank goodness for Tivo. On Monday we went to Mokolodi Game Reserve where I had been on a cultural weekend back in August. We went specifically for the cheetah experience, where we petted cheetahs, but also took a game drive.
(Leopard Tortoise at Mokolodi)

It was not the most impressive game drive but the cheetahs were awesome. Petting them was surreal. (Petting a cheetah at Mokolodi)

It struck me that, while I knew cheetahs could purr, that petting them made them purr, and when a cheetah purrs….it’s obvious. After the cheetahs we headed back to town and were glad to find the souvenir sellers present. We also found downtown in a relative uproar, the city center was surrounded by armed riot police and security personnel kept us from getting too close to parliament. We learned, by asking a news person, that the students were protesting an issue about their allowances. Later we actually saw students marching around and singing. There was no incident but the Botswana Police Force was prepared, just in case. I learned later that there had been massive demonstrations on campus that had turned violent resulting in damages to facilities that led to closure of campus. Allowances, to me, have always been baffling. The United States is a nation obsessed with capitalism and being raised in that culture left me constantly baffled at why, student’s who did not pay for university would protest their government “allowance” being too low. In my mind student’s are not paid, but these student’s felt entitled to this money enough to protest it being insufficient. It also seemed to me that paying students and providing them with free education removes some of the incentive to perform well in school, creating a “why try” mentality. After all, in school everything is free and you get paid on top of it, why graduate? However, some of my European friends, especially those from the Nordic countries, which tend to be more socially socialistic, disagreed with this assertion. After our time in Gaborone we headed back to Jo’burg.

After a shorter six hour drive we arrived in Jo’burg. On my parent’s final day in Africa we were picked up by a tour guide named Vivian and transported to the Apartheid museum. Vivian had been an academic before moving into tourism. He brought interesting contrast to the views and opinions of different white Africans. Vivian was a typical academic, meaning he tended to be very liberal and willing to speak his mind on every issue. It was really nice especially as he had direct experience in apartheid era South Africa. He gave a thorough tour through the apartheid museum giving unique insight. The museum blew my mind honestly. As it turns out, I knew nearly nothing about apartheid. The things in the museum were remarkable. The apartheid was horrible and disgusting and recent. It did not end until 1994, in my lifetime! And to think of the progress in only fifteen years the country has reinvented itself, amazing. After the museum we headed to Soweto. The city really looked, to me, like a pretty typical African city. Many stands selling fruit, and curios but to see the place where the demonstration hit its climax really brought it home. I continuously had flash backs to the American civil rights movement, which didn’t surprise me, and to bloody Sunday in Ireland, which did surprise, but the video footage of the violent demonstrations we saw reminded me of news footage of Bosnia or Somalia or Israel, which surprised me even more.
(Twin towers of Soweto)

(Soweto Monument)

That evening my parents caught their flight home and the next day I returned to Botswana to await my own departure, days later.
Love to all,
Tommy

A Sense of Accomplishment

I don't make beautiful things, I'm not exceptionally skilled at any athletic endeavor, and I am not gifted with unbelievable artistic ability .
The one thing that I feel that I am quite good at is writing intellectual papers and projects. Nothing terribly impressive or that earns me laud but it is a skill that brings me pleasure and it does have its rewards.
As such, I get a great deal of pleasure from completing a well-written essay. The pride I feel as I hold it and look at its clever font and proper construction is nice.
Since I have been in Botswana I have completed two projects that gave me such a feeling. The added benefit being that these two pieces of work taught me something about Botswana while I researched and wrote them.
The first was a group project in my economics class. We were told to make groups the first day of class and as there were three international students in the class we joined up and asked two of the only Batswana we knew to join us. It wasn't until about four weeks later that we were given our assignment. Each group had a different topic. We were assigned: “Review Vision 2016, the long term plan for Botswana. Suggest twelve pillars for Vision 2016, and justify the five additional pillars that you have suggested.” Of course three fifths of our group didn't have a clue what Vision 2016 (V2016) even was. A couple of weeks later we finally got around to asking and found out KT had a copy that he let us have. V2106 is simply a long term strategy for the future of Botswana that sets goals and general strategies for the betterment and development of Botswana. With very little background we set out. I volunteered to make myself the compiler and editor of the project for a very simple reason, I wanted control. The paper was worth 60% of our grade and I only trusted myself to handle such a major issue. We each decided to take a portion one existing pillar to review and one new pillar to recommend. The math didn't work out perfectly so Matt did a few short ones. Each of us chose issue we thought should be added and ended up with the five requested: a growing, longevenous, and attractive nation (my suggestion based on things I had learned in my population policies class), a gender equal nation (we made our titles match the titles in V2016 thus the ".... nation" pattern), a well housed and well lit nation, a sustainable and enviromentally friendly nation (again my idea, I was to write two suggestions and Matt wrote three reviews), and an economically independent and vibrant nation. We were each to write our section and submit them to me for compiling and editing. Inevitably there were some problems and I ended up writing one of the Batswana's sections ("An Educated and Informed Nation") due to his refusal to do so. Once I had it all in my hands I will admit I did some serious editing. I reshaped some sections and reformatted all of the sections including cutting useless information and adding important pieces. To be fair I probably did more than I was entitled to simply because, in my unconcious arrogance, I thought I knew better. I did submit the final work to my groupmates for final review and Matt and Arnhild were very pleased with the final product and the two Batswana never really responded. The three of us internationals thought it was quite good work and I was very proud taking more ownership than perhaps I was entitled to simply because I spent a lot of time in the compiling and editing stages working without the assistance of my groupmates. I was dissatisfied with the grading because there were no comments and no remarks, I couldn't even tell you the grade we got, but to me that was immaterial. What was important was that together we had created a piece of work that taught me about Botswana and of which I could be proud.
Download and read it here:
http://www.dump.ro/download.php?id=66857&act=KxB95wDqr6iqEUTl

The second piece of work that made me proud while I have been here has been my independent study. Near the beginning of my time here the most valuable thing Ross ever did for me was to tell me the name of his advisor. Dr. Mulinge. I met with him in that first week and asked him about my project, he agreed and we discussed a topic. I said I wanted to do something about how AIDS relates to the economy. He said that that topic was totally unrealistic and suggested we narrow it down. He knew of an organization called Tebelopele that he thought I might be interested in. I agreed that I would look into it and set about setting up an internship. As it turned out several weeks later, they had no available positions but Dr. Mulinge told me that an internship wasn't neccesary, just an interview. I set about setting up an interview but things weren't easy. I called several times to set up appointments and got them, arrived and had no one there to meet, or the person in question not even working where I was told to meet them. I finally got Onky to help me and he made a few calls but even he had no more luck. Finally I did get an interview set up. I met with the regional manager named Setswhano Aerwa. She gave me a good interview and additional literature on the organization. This whole process took a very long time. I only got the interview about two weeks before Whitney arrived and I completed the rough draft of the project the day before she arrived. I submitted to my advisor at that time. In early January I got the revision back and finally submitted the final draft. By the time I had finished I had learned a huge amount about the AIDS Situation in all of Southern Africa and Tebelopele a specific attemtpt to address the issue through the service of Voluntary Testing and Counseling. I really enjoyed the project and upon completion was really proud of my final product.
Download and read it here:
http://www.dump.ro/download.php?id=66863&act=yCVIT0eZU0N9wBbb

Happy New Year...

More like melancholy New Year for me. This year New Years was different. There was no countdown, no party, no friends, no fake champagne, no fireworks no revelry. Just me sitting in my dorm room, watching the clock on my computer roll from 11:59 to 12:00. Nothing exciting, no cheering, no singing and it kind of makes me think, this night it is not that special really, it is the people, the moments, and the hope this night give us that are special. While I had no people and no moments this night, I have no shortage of hope. 2009 will be a good year, I have no doubt.
The whole holiday season was that way, I suppose. While I worked my tail off to make Thanksgiving a taste of home it wasn't the same. Christmas in Swaziland with Whitney was awesome, but not the same, and New Years was a shell of its normal revelry. These moments, these gaping holes in my normal routines and traditions serve as glaring reminders that "I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore." (Ok, so I mean Michigan but that just didn't work.)
The people here acknowledge the season, how could they not with their unrequited love affair with America, but it is nothing compared to home. The malls have decorations with Santas, trees (all fake of course) and tinsel but these are only a consumer ploy. The people don't buy into the spirit in the same way. No one's house is decorated, most people don't go to church on Christmas. The biggest celebrations are usually casual meals which may be just a a little nicer than normal, in many houses this means that the children get to eat meat, a right offered reserved for the adults, and in poor households only the man. The first Christmas song I heard was at a very nice, and of course overwhelmingly white, mall in South Africa on the 23rd of December. Ironically enough it was "Feed the World." The song sports the lyrics, "Do they [Africans] know it's christmas time at all." The irony of hearing that song in Africa absolutely cracked me up. They do know. In fact, a taxi-man in Maseru said to me, "May I ask you a question? Is Christmas on the same day everywhere, like in America?" I told him it was and his eyes filled with a little wonder. I told him that where I'm from there was snow on the ground (yes they know what snow is, actually Lesotho even have a ski slope.) I missed the snow. A once in a lifetime experience to see a different side of things, and a wonderful reminder of where I come from, and where home is.

If you're interested in more of my thoughts on the New Year check out this link.

All the best in the New Year.
Love,
Tommy

Milly and Mildew's Adventures in Africa

This post is about Whitney's trip to Botswana, and our travels through the region. The title will be clarified later in the Post.

Whitney Arrived at the Gaborone airport on December 8th, and as I promised I was there to meet her. I was a little late in arriving because I was attempting to clear up some visa concerns (I didn't succeed in the visa thing, so that part of my life remains in flux). After picking her up at the airport I got a taxi and took her back to UB after treating her to an iron brew, one of my favorite African treats.
On the second day Whitney spent in Botswana I took her to Main Mall to see the craft stalls that sell touristy type stuffs. we also visited the Botswana National museum which was small, but free, and quite nice. Whitney struggled to adjust to the heat. I can't blame her Michigan December and Botswana December are two different worlds. She survived and was quite a trooper through her tour of Gaborone. After that we met Onkabetse at Riverwalk and had some food at linga longa.
The tenth of December was the official beginning of our trip. We got up super early to walk to the bus station to catch our bus to Johannesburg. The bus ride was typical. The bus rides throughout the trip were hard for Whitney. She battled with road-sickness but hung in there. Once we arrived in Johannesburg we found a taxi and headed to our first hostel. The cab driver had no idea where it was but once we got there, we just relaxed.

(Our room at Jolly Boy's, the Rhino Room)

The next day we woke up caught the hostels shuttle to the airport and got on a plane to Zambia. The flight was unremarkable except that the flight was not direct. It flew first into Victoria Falls Zimbabwe, and then into Livingstone Zambia, this is interesting because the flight between Victoria Falls and Livingstone is 8 minutes airtime, the shortest flight I have ever been on. When we arrived in Livingstone we were picked up at the airport by our hostel and taken there. We spent the rest of the day settling in and looking around the little, dingy town of Livingstone Zambia.

(Livingstone)

The next morning we woke up early and caught a taxi to the Zambia Zimbabwe bridge to do bungi jumping. On the way we saw some baboons in dumpsters leading me to believe that Baboons are like the raccoons of Africa, but that would be exaggeration. We were accosted a little by two young men trying to sell us bracelets that were way too expensive but after a little haggling we did buy one, I know its bad to reward bad behavior but they were nice bracelets. When we checked in to the bungi jumping place we had to be weighed and were about 2kg overweight to do the tandem. That made us incredibly sad. We could have taken off our shoes and things to get us under the weight limit but that would have been too scary. I insisted that we both had to do individuals anyways, even though Whitney was really scared. We walked halfway across the stunning bridge to get to where we were going to jump from. Whitney asked (demanded) that I go first. I got strapped in with leg straps and a harness and the whole thing felt very professional and frankly safe, which I suppose is a good thing when I was about to jump off a bridge that is 421 feet above the water of the Zambezi River.

(The bridge we jumped from)

Once I was all strapped in I stepped up and the countdown began. The feeling of excitement mixed with apprehension was similar to sky diving but because I was alone I was even more nervous. 3...2...1... and I jumped.

(And I was away)

Whitney claims I had a push but I think I bungi jumped, as opposed to "Bungi-falling" as some Zambian we met called it. After they pulled me up I stood on a small platform beneath the bridge to watch Whitney jumped. I could tell she was crazy nervous but she did awesome too.
After our jumping experience we went back to Jolly Boy's Backpackers and just hung out. We were tired and got a chance to use the pool.
The following day we woke up even earlier and were picked up at 6:30 from our Hostel to go on an Elephant Safari. We got on a bus to Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park along the Zambezi river. When we arrived we met our fellow riders, three Australians and a couple form New York. We each loaded up on an elephant and were off. Whitney and I shared an Elephant. It was named Mashumbi and our guide's name was Eliah. Fortunately at the beginning they provided a poncho for each person because as soon as we mounted up the sky opened. It rained in varying degrees throughout our trek but that didn't dampen our spirits (ah, I kill myself haha).

(Nandi, Mashumbi, Me, Whitney, and Eliah)

The ride was wonderful, the only wildlife we saw was a Hippo (only it's ears) as it swam towards our Elephant train as we were crossing the Zambezi River. It was such a cool way to experience the Zambian Bush. Once we dismounted the Elephants we were served a full English breakfast and watched the video of the ride.
After breakfast and the short movie we returned to our hostel again exhausted and this time soaked. We were so wet in fact that by the time we went to leave the next day our clothes weren't dry and we had to pack them wet. When we reopened our bags back in South Africa they smelled awful. As a result Whitney nicknamed me Mildew and I nicknamed her Milly. Eventually the smell went away, although it took a while, but the nicknames stuck.
We took a quick nap before catching a minibus to the falls. We hiked around and saw some great views of the falls themselves.

(Some of the falls)

(Whitney put her feet in the headwaters at the top of the falls.)

They are a beautiful thing. We took a path down to a place called the boiling pot that turned out to be an incredibly difficult hike to a place, that wasn't worth the view, but it was interesting nonetheless.
The following day it was time to leave. We flew to Johannesburg, then took a bus to Cape town, a 20 hour bus ride! But it went quite fast. I slept better than I expected to. By mid-afternoon of December 15th we were in Cape town South Africa. That afternoon we hiked down to a place called the V&A Waterfront.

(V&A Waterfront with Table Mountain in the Background)

We ate a nice lunch, I ate fresh seafood (non-existent in landlocked Botswana) and visited the two ocean aquarium. It was a pretty nice aquarium with reef sharks, penguins, and fish, kinda what you expect from an aquarium. We also found the Peace Prize square where South Africa proudly displays its four Nobel Peace Prize Winners. I wonder if the U.S. does that?

(Myself and Archbishop Desmond Tutu)

(Whitney and Nelson Mandella)

On the 16th we got up early to go back to the waterfront to try to catch a ferry to Robben Island, South Africa's Alcatraz were Nelson Mandella was housed for 20+ years. Unfortunately there was absolutely no room on the ferry. Instead we caught a taxi down to Boulder's beach to see the African Penguins. This is the only place where there are Penguins in Africa and Boulder's Beach has a colony of 2,000+ penguins. It was quite fun and the Penguins were adorable.

(African Penguins)

After that our taxi took us to Table mountain. I don't know why but Table Mountain is a world heritage site. It is a very distinctive looking hill that overlooks the city and is apparently a "must-do" in Cape town, so we did it. It was quite nice and the views of Cape town were breathtaking.

(Cape Town From Table Mountain)

The following day we visited the Castle of Good Hope. As Whitney pointed out the Castle wasn't exactly what you expect. We could visit the dungeon and the torture chamber, the Governor’s quarters and other places but they were just empty with the exception of the Blacksmith's Shop which was recreated. It would have been nice if more of the areas had given more information and perhaps visuals about there intended purposes. There was also a military museum which told the history of the Anglo-Boer war (the War between the Dutch and the British) as well as the history of the South African army. That was really interesting and very well done. While we were there we saw the changing of the guards and the firing of the signal cannon. Not quite as impressive as the English version, but still quite cool.

(Changing of the Guard at the Castle of Good Hope)

We learned that the Castle is still used to date for some Military activity and figure that has some impact on why the castle is not more museumish. After the castle it was time to board a bus to Bloemfontein, this time it was only a 16 hour bus ride, but again I slept quite well and when I woke up we were in Bloemfontein.
From Bloemfontein we rented a car and headed to Moolmanshoek which is a private game reserve. The man at the rental place gave us bad directions and we ended up driving through Ladybrand and Ficksburg even though we didn't need to. Once we arrived we were immediately struck by two things, first how well our little VW (Speedy) did in getting over the roads, and second how beautiful the place was.

(Speedy)

The reason for being there was the meerkat experience, which was, in Whitney's own words, "Basically the reason for coming." (I think she was joking, at least mostly.) The night we arrived we had a wonderful dinner that reminded us we were way out of our league at this place, that is to say that backpackers don't stay at Moolsmanhoek, any place even nearly as nice, but it was an excellent change of pace for us.
The next day we woke up early (seeing a pattern?) around 5:00 to get to the meerkats before they came out in the morning. The meerkat experience exceeded even the grandest expectations. I honestly expected it to be hard to find them and then only be able to see them from some great distance.

(Us with the Meerkats)

That wasn't the case at all. We got very close, Whitney even fed and petted the Meerkats, which the guide said is very rare, after all they are wild meerkats. Then we just sat with them for a long time before finally we decided we should let the Meerkats go back to doing what they do.
Moolsmanhoek has an incredible number of horses and a significant amount of other animals such as zebras and wildebeests.

(Moolsmanhoek was made very beautiful by its horses and mountains)

We spent the rest of the day just enjoying the animals including a short, private game drive. Unfortunately we had to leave quite soon as the lodge was expecting a wedding party and had no vacancy.
We drove back to Bloemfontein in the afternoon. Once we got to the city we used the tourist center to find a small inexpensive lodging which was basically a furnished garage. I suggested that we should find the taxi station that we would be using the next day to get to Lesotho. That turned out to be an awful idea. That part of town, and in fact all towns, was terrible. People all over, cars all over, and none of either looked friendly. We finally got out after a very tense hour. Once we got to our accommodation we asked the nice lady, whose house we were in, where we could find a McDonalds in Bloemfontein. We ate dinner and lunch the next day at that McDonalds. I think that the preceding four months had been the longest period in my conscious life without McDonalds, and the food was worth the wait. I love McDonalds more than is good for me.

(Mmm, Mmm, Good)

The 21st we boarded a mini bus (Khombi) to Lesotho from Bloemfontein. We decided to put the suti-case under our seat and as a result the drive was very, very cramped. Fortunately the ride was only two hours to the Maseru Border. We then caught another Minibus to Malealea, where we would be staying. By the time we arrived in Malealea we were exhausted.

(Our Rondavel in Lesotho)

The next day we took a pony trek to the Botsholeo waterfall. The trek was 2 hours both ways and served as my first, ever, horse riding experience. I think i did quite well.

(The two of us with our horses)

(The Waterfall)

My horse's name was Brown Sugar. We learned later, from our soreness and sunburns, that a 4 hour trek was too long and the next day we only took a 2 hour trek around the 'gorge'. Both treks were really fun and unique way to see what has got to be one of the most beautiful countries in the world, Lesotho.

(Sunset in Lesotho)

On the bus ride back to Malealea I spent the time looking out the window and compiling some of the idea and thoughts I have had since I have been in Botswana.

(Our Khombi from Malealea to Maseru)

Looking out at what Americans would call shacks made me think about the process of development. As an American I can not imagine living in a shack in the hills with no electricity no indoor plumbing and no supermarkets. Living off the land is unfathomable to me. I think too often though, we assume that those who do live that way don't want, and would prefer to live like us. I have learned that that is not the case. The people I have met know how things are in other parts of the world and don't want that. That makes me think that this aid and development paradigm is seriously flawed, after all I have come to believe very strongly that you can't help those who don't want to be helped. Americans, and in fact every one in the First world, need to stop assuming that everyone would like to live like we do, because it just isn't true. I think any aid should be in the form of education so people can understand their options, and healthcare so people can live out their dreams but beyond that I think meddling is useless.
The 24th we caught a minibus to Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, and a plane to Johannesburg before picking up our rental car and driving all the way to Hlane National Park in Swaziland. We got into Hlane with ample time in the evening and were able to drive our car (Ellie) around on the dirt roads in the Park.

(Ellie in Kruger)




(Hlane's Hippo Pool had rhino's and hippos that you could get close to)

For dinner I had a "Hunter's Pot" which was Impala stew. That night we settled in by lamp light and found a scorpion on our wall. Whitney freaked out, but did kill it herself. I thought it was so cool, she disagreed.
The next morning we got up at 4am to do a sunrise drive. The drive was wonderful, we saw our first giraffes, rhinos, and elephants while driving around Hlane. We were quite pleased, and then the driver told us it was time to go see Lions. We drove into the Lion area (they are secluded for preservation reasons but still are very much wild) and searched for a while. We eventually came around a corner and bang there they were!

(The Lions)

The guide drove up right behind them until we were just feet from them. The group had a big male, three females, and two cubs. The guide said that the, "Male must be lazy, that’s why there are only two cubs." That was a wonderful experience. What a christmas morning. We went back to our room, opened our two presents, my parents had sent them from home with Whitney and packed our things and headed out.
Christmas day we spent at a nice little hostel in Swaziland outside of the capital Mbabane. When we got there the lady working informed us that they had been waiting for us for lunch, even though Whitney told them not to via email. It turned out that these three English people were grilling kebabs and chicken. We joined in chatted with them. They were really cool. Two of them were teachers in Qatar on Christmas holiday and one was a volunteer between high school and college. After our barbecue lunch we played sardines and other games and listened to a little Christmas music. It was a wonderful Christmas in Swaziland. During the evening I decided I really wanted to go to Mozambique. Whitney suggested that since we had a car we could go there after our time in Kruger as we had one day free, we agreed and the plan was hatched.
Following our stint in Swaziland we headed North, to Kruger National Park in South Africa. We intentionally entered the park at a far southern gate and took the opportunity drive through the park to get to our camp site. On that drive alone we saw elephants, giraffe, and tons of antelope.

(Us in Kruger)
(A defiant little Rock Antelope)

We got to our camp in time to check in and hop on our sunset game drive. This drive yielded 4 of the big five: Lion, Elephant, Rhino, and Buffalo.

(An African Buffalo)

The drive got very cold, very quickly as the sun went down and neither Whitney or I were prepared unfortunately. Fortunately a very friendly couple gave us their blanket or the whole ride would have been unbearable. The coolest thing we saw on this drive though was a hyena eating a dead buffalo and then tearing off a piece and taking it back to her cubs. After the drive we ate a meal of venison, but I couldn't figure out where it must have come from. The next morning we got up at 3am for another game drive. At this point we had seen four of the big five and were beginning to lose hope of ever seeing a leopard. I should mention that the Big Five got there name from big game hunters because they are the five hardest animals in Africa to hunt and today are often used as a metric for success in a safari. However just as I began to lose hope our game vehicle rounded a corner and a leopard was walking right down the road in front of us we pulled up along side and ended up about 2 feet from it before it cooly walked around us and into the bush a minute later another leopard, this time a female walked down the road.

(Our lucky Leopard)

It is very rare to see two so close together since they are solitary creatures. We were thrilled and were basically walking on air for the rest of the game drive. After we took a short nap we visited the gift shop and headed out. We took a direct path through Kruger towards the Mozambique border allowing for lots of turn offs to see more of the park. We got within 10 feet of a huge Bull Elephant and saw a lone, injured, female lion as well as zebras and hippos very close.

(The Bull Elephant)
(Zebras were some of my favorites)

We drove for about five hours and when we left, we agreed, Kruger is amazing.
Next we headed due west for Mozambique. We planned only to spend a very short time in Mozambique, but we wanted to put our feet in the Indian ocean. We got to the gate at customs like we had done before and got out of South Africa, then as we entered Mozambique they took our gate pass and waved us through without ever making us stop. I immediately knew something was wrong, we needed at least a stamp but I also knew going back wasn't going to fix the problem, not easily at least. Instead we hoped for the best and headed west. We navigated very successfully right through the Capital of Maputo and saw a sign with a boat on it. We learned that English is not an official language of Mozambique so the illustration was useful. We got off the highway and all of a sudden the ocean was upon us. It was beautiful.

(The Indian Ocean!)

We only got out long enough to take a few pictures, then got back in the car and headed back toward the border.

(We put our feet in.)

When we got to the border we crossed our fingers and handed over our passports. It is fair to say our finger crossing didn't work. The guy flipped through them a few times and saw no visa, because no one gave us one. He took our passports in the back and no one said anything to us for a couple minutes. Then someone came out and told us we were in trouble. They said "you entered Mozambique without permission and now you have to pay the penalty." I told him that it was there fault for even allowing it and we argued for a while then they disappeared again with our passports. They told we owed them 400 Rand per person as a fine, unfortunately we didn't have that much but we did have $80 which is equivalent. We handed it over and they informed us in US dollars it would $120, one third again as much as in Rand, well we didn't have that much either and we informed them of such. The border gate didn't have either an ATM or a bureau of exchange so they told us that the police would come and take us back to Maputo until we could sort out the problem. Being arrested in Mozambique, was NOT what we had in mind. I asked if there was anywhere I could exchange money and was directed to the duty free. Unfortunately the duty free had only Mozambiquan currency. I came back to ask how much that would be but no one was there to answer we stood around for what felt like forever before a woman walked over to us and asked us if we had been helped. We told her our passports had been taken. She went to the back and a minute later came back with our passports. She said that they would give us a visa and then stamp it out, because it was their fault. She asked that we please be careful in the future and be safe on our way. She took care of the whole thing with some of her colleagues fighting her, presumably angry that there extortion money was being taken away from them. Earlier we had borrowed the same ladies pen and she said "make sure to give it back." We did, boy were we ever glad we gave her her pen back. The whole ordeal took just over an hour and a half and through out the whole thing Whitney and I hung tough. I really learned a lot about myself in pressure situations and learned that Whitney can be counted on even in the scariest moments. After that we scooted back to Johannesburg and headed back to Gaborone.
On the 28th, Whitney's Last day in Africa we went down to Main Mall and Whitney got all Kinds of Souvenirs for her family and friends before heading to the airport.
I was very sad to see her get on the plane and head back to the US.

The approximate total cost of the trip including Whitney's plane ticket was $6100

That’s all for now,
Love to all,
Tommy

More pictures: (You don't need facebook to see these)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2023725&l=a6acc&id=40901950