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!
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