R.I.P. El Mestizo

Dear Mestizos,

I just heard the news today all the way across the world and in a different time zone, months out from living in Seattle. But the news of your closing still shook me to my core. How did this happen? Where do the people of First Hill go to find reprieve during their work days and to enjoy delicious Mexican dishes?

I remember the first time I noticed you -- you replaced that sketchy pizza place whose name I never remember. You were like a beacon of light and we thought, for a while, that First Hill might be "up and coming". It wasn't. But nonetheless, you remained for a long time and I enjoyed so many memories in the restaurant. I remember May 5, 2010 camping out for hours after work and listening to the deafening sounds of the mariachi band playing whilst I ate my carne asada burrito laden with guacomole. Many times I've dreamed of that food here in Botswana, dreamed of having it again one day when I come home to visit. And now with this news my dream dies.

¡Descanse en paz, El Mestizo!

Holidays

Being away from home during the holidays can be difficult so it's a huge blessing to be able to gather with fellow volunteers to celebrate in familiar ways. Now having more time and knowledge of Botswana, friends and I adeptly traveled all over the country, sometimes enduring long, hot bus rides to visit each other. I've gained so many great memories in just the past 6 weeks or so celebrating Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah, and New Years. Here's where I spent the occasions...

Thanksgiving in Shakawe, on the Okovango Delta

We were accommodated by a person with a farm in Shakawe. This is the cabin we stayed in.

This was the view from that farm, right on the water!

We were also right next to a Crocodile Farm with a catchy name.

Our group of Americans and 1 Canadian hosted a big Thanksgiving dinner for locals at the Croc Farm.

Everyone waiting patiently to eat the food we'd cooked all day.

Happily dining together!

Thanksgiving plate before...

And AFTER.

We had to get a funny photo right before we left...

Christmas in Mochudi
 

We got photos with Santa in Gaborone on our way to Mochudi

We spent several days just playing games, watching movies, and visiting.

Our hosts were very sweet and hung up "stockings" for everyone coming.

We even had a little Charlie Brown tree! We forgot about the voltage difference and accidentally plugged this in -- it didn't light up after that :0(

My volunteer friend Britt near the table where dinner settings were being prepared

Here's our Christmas feast!

The group shot (and a great group I must say!)

Later we enjoyed lighting sparklers and a few enjoyed cigars. 
And one managed to enjoy both at the same time.

Some sort of 'Saved by the Bell' moment I captured after sparklers all went out - 
"Gooooo CHRISTMAS!"

Stay tuned for my New Year's photos!

World AIDS Day

On December 1st the world commemorated World AIDS Day. But ceremonies have been held even throughout this week in some areas in Botswana, for instance villages in my sub-district. The devastation of the HIV and AIDS epidemic is a significant part of Botswana's past (particularly in the 90's and early 2000's), and sadly, it will continue to be a large part of its future. With still the 2nd highest prevalence rate of HIV in the world, the people of Botswana have serious issues to address, like gender-based violence/stigma, low male testing turnout, and multiple concurrent partnerships. At the same time, they've accomplished a lot working together; Botswana has the best ARV (antiretrovirals) and PMTCT (prevention of mother-to-child transmission) programs in Africa - things I might not know at all unless I were here. Botswana has much potential and I'm grateful for my Peace Corps placement because of that.

I just want to post links to a couple articles written around World AIDS Day:

1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-blumenthal/world-aids-day-2011_b_1122377.html

2. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ross-szabo/what-overeating-americans_b_1120055.html

The first is written by an expert discussing the roadmap for ending the AIDS epidemic, and I found it very inspiring. The second is an article written by a current Peace Corps volunteer in Botswana with an interesting take on behavior change. Hope you have the chance to read both!

Go nna sentle mo LTK (Living well in LTK)

You ask: "What's DLA in the LTK"?

DLA are my initials, and "LTK" is the shorthand name for my village, Letlhakeng. I'm located in the Kweneng District which is just below the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (see map below - I actually found one with my town listed!).

The LTK has a population of somewhere around 7,000 (we just had a 2011 census but I haven't been able to find the updated results). Some would say that for American standards this is the size of some secluded cult town. But you have to keep in mind that the entire population of Botswana is just over 2 million, and many volunteers are staying in areas with much lower population size (starting from around population 500). So for Botswana standards my site is not incredibly small.

Let's lay out what is here. It's not a lot, but what we have includes the following:

• 2 primary schools, 1 middle school
• 1 small library
• 2.5 paved roads.... (1 isn't paved very far)
• 3 small shopping complexes (4-8 shops each)

Other than that...there are lots of small 'Mom & Pop' type businesses and a plethora of churches scattered about town. Last but not least, we have 4 bars, and at each you can buy a cold beer for about 1 USD and a game of pool for about 20 cents (!)

Although it has a small population the LTK could probably support more businesses. However, businesses rarely open here because of a much larger town, Molepolole, located 60 km away. This bustling place has several large supermarkets, as well as a variety of many other stores, so it's where I do the bulk of my shopping.When I first arrived, the thought of taking public transport 1 hour both ways to get most of my groceries in Molepolole seemed nuts. Now that thought doesn't even cross my mind. It's amazing how our perceptions can change...

Dunes, wena o fentse (Dunes, you are the winner... aka Dunes FTW)

One of the perks of Peace Corps service is the potential travel. 2 weeks ago I returned from about 5 days in Namibia, and it was a great vacation. Since living in the southern part of land-locked Botswana the largest body of water I'd seen was in my laundry bucket, so I was looking forward to meeting with an oceanic coast. We drove all the way out to Swakopmund, Namibia and got some great R&R on the beach. But really, even more fun than seeing salt water again was getting to see some dunes. They were ridiculously fun to play around on, like a big sand box for big kids. And they were beautiful! Posted some of my photos below (shout out to my Dad for telling me how to compress!)

Me, attempting the jumping shot in sand.

My Volunteer friend, Britt. (REI called, they want their photo back)

Awkward jumping shot at sunset.

The little kid at the bottom right was one of many sliding down the dunes on pieces of cardboard.

Ke nale dikgwedi di le thataro (I have 6 months)

So it's about time I begin this blog, right?

The end of September is a time for celebration for both Botswana and me. For Botswana, September 30th is Independence Day (happy 45th birthday Bots!). For me, it will mark 6 months of being in Botswana (about 4 months of official Peace Corps service). And what do I have to say 6 months in? Well, I dunno. I can't describe this experience, or Botswana. But my hope is that through blogging I can share stories, photos, etc. with friends and family back home and that over time they can gain some sort of understanding of life here.

Additional reasons for creating this blog:

1. Provide my sister with something entertaining to read.

2. Help me understand my own experience. (You know when you buy that moleskin notebook right before travel and you think to yourself "I'm gonna write down ALL my thoughts and feelings and it will be brilliant documentation of my experience to reflect on later in life (!)" - you know that? I did and thought that (OK no moleskin notebook here but I got another trendy journal with me). And yet so far I have no brilliant documentation... I think the blog will help.

3. Creative outlet. People who know me well know that I love to create ridiculous drawings illustrating moments out of my life. I kinda wanna do that and post them here!

Jaanong, ke ya kwa Namibia (now, I'm going to Namibia)!