Wrapping it Up

So that’s it, then. Yesterday I took my last final exam, next Wednesday is our re-entry workshop and farewell dinner, and on Thursday we’ll fly out to Chobe for our final 5-day excursion with the program. It all seems surreal. I finally have an easy excuse to refuse people who shamelessly hit on me—“Oh, by the way, I’ll be leaving town in less than a week.”
“When are you coming back?”
“I don’t know, maybe never.”

Because why wouldn't I take a picture of a family of monkeys?

But life goes on. Yesterday, I planned and cooked an entire Thanksgiving meal for my host family and their guests, a total of 10 people. With three friends helping (s/o to Isaiah, Keante, and Aziza!) we cooked:two roast chickens, stuffing, gravy, glazed carrots, green beans, mashed potatoes, dinner rolls, and two butternut squash pies. So minus a few substitutions (chicken for turkey, butternut for pumpkin), it was a pretty classic Thanksgiving meal. In classic Amanda fashion, I took no pictures, but several of the others did, so I’ll post those in a few days.

Today, I said goodbye to the adorable preschoolers at BORNUS, who are going on their Christmas vacation. After I told them (in Setswana) that I would be going back to America, they all started waving and saying, “See you tomorrow!” I’m glad they’re remembering the English phrases I’ve taught them, but I don’t think they fully grasped the meaning of that one. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The preschool graduates, at the ceremony a few weeks ago.

After wrapping up at BORNUS, I headed over to the Condom Use Campaign organized by Nkaikela Youth Group. We had local entertainers perform, and we distributed hundreds of condoms, but my role was more mundane. I was the snack girl, and my job was simple—not. I had to make sure that everyone who was staying for the condom demonstrations received snacks, that interlopers did not receive snacks, and that those who had already received snacks did not receive more snacks. Meanwhile, there were dozens of people yelling at me for food at all times. I stopped for a moment to take a drink of water, and a man asked me, “How many bottles of water have you had?” “This is my first,” I responded. “Well, you’re letting us die of thirst over here, while you just keep drinking and drinking the water that’s supposed to be for us.” Right.
For comic relief, we had a ridiculously drunken man attempt to grope various members of the crowd (including me). One of said crowd members happened to be a police officer, and she cuffed him, much to the humor of everyone else. He attempted to run, fell flat on his face, and was taken away by some other officers a few minutes later.

In the next few days, I’m trying to visit all the places I’ve been eyeing during my combi drives through Greater Gaborone. I went to a beautiful tuck shop I’d only seen from the road (yes, I actually took a picture of this one), and I’ve planned to visit a traditional healer next week with one of my weightlifting buddies. According to the sign, he offers a variety of services, including resolving property disputes and solving “all love and sexual problems.” We’ve decided to ask for luck, because who knows when we might need it? I also hope to check out the Obama All-American Restaurant and the Alliance Française, so we’ll see how that goes. Only 11 days until I leave this beautiful country! Until then, sala sentle!
 

Just Keep Swimming…

In honor of the Finding Nemo sequel coming out soon, I couldn’t resist. I only have three weeks left in Botswana, and I’m a presentation, a paper, and two finals away from being finished with all of my schoolwork for this semester. This weekend, instead of travelling, I decided to stay in Gabs and just appreciate some of what this city has to offer. On Friday night we went out to eat at Jalapeno’s, a Mexican restaurant, followed by heading out on the town. We went to Absolut, a local club we had been to earlier in the semester, on the roof of a local hotel. For those of you who know me, I’m not exactly the master of spontaneity. But it was really hot out, and I had just checked my gym bag, which had a towel and a change of clothes in it, so I decided to jump in the hotel pool next to the club. Best part—I was wearing black, it was dark, and I got in and out pretty fast, so none of the bouncers or security officials ever saw. But I got a round of applause from a few of the locals, which felt pretty good. Hurrah for finally breaking out of my comfort zone! (Perhaps this post will mark the day when I turned from a law-abiding citizen into a dauntless trespasser. Or maybe not.)

The next day we had a farewell braii (barbeque) at a farm just outside of town. I helped make spicy chakalaka, a local vegetable stew. I’ve attached a stock photo below to show you what the dish looks like, since I forgot to take a photo. (Characteristically, I took no pictures of the event either, but I have attached a couple taken by friends from the program.)

That night, we camped out under the stars, with massive herds of chickens stalking our every move. I slept in a hammock, which was wonderfully cozy, although I almost fell out when a rooster crowed from directly underneath me at around 2 am. Whoever said that roosters only crow at dawn has clearly never lived in a place with chickens.

  

Now that classes have ended, I’m looking for something else to fill my time. My public health program requires 100 hours of clinic work and 20 hours at an NGO, so I have decided to continue working at my assigned NGO full-time, even though I will have already met the requirements. The organization is called Nkaikela Youth Group (http://www.nyg.org.bw/), and it works to provide education, HIV/STI testing, and job skills training to current and former sex workers. I’ve been helping with their current campaigns: a Condom Festival that they had about two weeks ago, a Young Mothers conference that they had this week, and their upcoming 16 Days of Activism. It’s heavy stuff, and after hearing some of the sex workers’ stories, it’s nice to go back to the preschool at BORNUS for a little while. But I’m glad that the work is meaningful, and I am definitely learning a lot by being here.

In just over two weeks, I will set out on my final excursion before leaving southern Africa, heading out to Chobe National Park in the north of Bots and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe (Zim). Until then, I’ll try to make the most of my time left here! Sala sentle!

The Oldest Woman in the World

…Potentially. The weekend before last, I was able to visit Homo naledi in person at the Cradle of Humankind in Greater Johannesburg, South Africa! To sound like a total tour guide for a moment: Potentially a primitive version of Homo erectus, Homo naledi was first discovered in 2013 and was fully excavated as of September 10, 2015. It has not yet been dated, but the cave in which it was discovered is approximately 3 million years old! It’s not every day that an incredible archeological discovery is made only 400 km away, so a couple friends and I packed up and headed out to Jo-burg to catch the last weekend of the exhibit. While there, we stayed with some lovely friends I had met at Yom Kippur services in Cape Town, and the whole experience was incredible!

Besides gawking at Homo naledi in Maropeng, the museum of human history, we also explored the caves in which the fossils were found! The Sterkfontein Caves contain an abundance of breccia, which is an especially good material in which to find fossils. Plus, the natural architecture was beautiful.

This past weekend, I did something I never thought I would do—I cut class to look go star-seeking. We found out that A United Kingdom, a movie about the love affair between Sir Seretse Khama (first president of Botswana) and Ruth Wilson, was filming in Mahalapye, a $5 bus ride from Gabs. So at 8 am we headed out, walked to the hotel where the stars were staying, and chatted with Rosamund Pike, AKA Amy in Gone Girl and Jane in Pride and Prejudice. Because when in Bots, right? And then we asked someone for the casting director’s number and offered ourselves as extras. Turns out they were pretty desperate for white people, so it ended up working out in our favor. We made about $60, got two free nights in a hotel, and had the chance to be in a movie! You can see me walking with my two children (!) in the background of one scene, and in other scene, I am sitting in a lawn chair while my children play tag. So those are my barely 10 seconds of screen time, but I assure you, they will be the highlight of the movie! Here’s me with some of my fellow extras, circa 1947.

Now I’m back, and school is finally picking up. All of my final projects are due in the next few weeks, so I don’t have any more exciting plans for a little while. Before I know it, though, classes will be over! Finals start the week after next, and then in December I’m off to northern Botswana and Zimbabwe! Until then, sala sentle!