Everyday Life

It is hard to think of things to write. Not that I haven't done anything just nothing has been that exciting or extrodanary. I went to the Botswana Consumer Fair on Friday where they sold everything from tractors to plastic toys made in China. They also sold some local good and I went with the intention of getting gifts for people but instead I ended up buying a handmade dress made in the traditional style. It is beautiful and brown and when I wore it the other day I had many people stopping me to offer compliments. I talked to a local about this and he said that white people don't normally dress in traditional clothing so it is a refreshing sight to see someone dabbling in Setswana culture. Later that same day I went to the Gaborone Dam at sunset. The dam is the only standing water in the country adn while beautiful holds not fish as it is not a natural body of water. We watched the sunset and there truely is a giant red African sun. It was beautiful and the sky was filled with every color imaginable. Life is starting to get a rhythym. I wake up, go to class, listen to lectures and generally the professors always say something I disagree, cook and eat, run, read, see people, sleep. It is a simple life and I enjoy it. I think I am going to Francistown next weekend for a day, just to see what there is up there. The is free museum we want to visit and a few other national landmarks we want to see. And lastly it will be something to do over the weekend as they weekends tend to be rather slow. I am starting to like it here more and more, I think Gaborone is a place that simply grows on you, you just have to give it time.

Sex and Climate Change

This is what I learned today in my Environmental Geology class.

The Earths climate is rapidly changing predominately due to human influences. Meaning if you increase the global population you increase the rate of such change. So one method of reducing this ever accelerating rate is to reduce the rate of population growth, and the best way to do this? CONDOMIZING.

So finally sex has been mention in each of my classes from, Theology to Geology, Setswana to HIV/AIDS prevention and control, and Sociology. However the geology references were the most humorous, as somehow, plate tectonics and sex are synonymous. With this said I am not sure if my day can get any better.

Running

Today was a good day. I went running. It marked the second week of my training and I still feel motivated to continue. I enjoy running here as miserable as it is. It gives me time to reflect and take in all that I have experienced in this country. On my first day running in this country I saw a full sized wathog trotting along the road about ten feet from where I was jogging. At first I didn't believe it was real, it looked large and strong, something I would not want to be alone with in a dark room. After noticing my presense it stopped and stared at me only to quickly turn and run away. This morning as I ran down a long straight road, on the far side of campus I saw something I first thought to be a dog. The road is newly paved and painted yet it sits untouched and bush hangs out into the roadway. Carefully laid brick side walks have been lost to the grass and the prickly weeds so I run down the center of the road way following the white line. Generally I focus on the line because I have timed myself on this stretch of road, and while running at a 8:30 mile pace, I can go straight on the line for 12 min. As I gazed down this long runway esque blacktop the animal I thought was a dog sat up like a child and stared in my direction, it was at that moment I finally realized it was a baboon. As a grew closer it hooted at me standing up on its hindlegs I presume so it could look bigger and more intimidating. Running here is more a mental game than a physical one. The land is flat, the sun draining, and the air dusty. I have yet to see another runner while I jog across campus. I get nervous on the outskirts because I am often alone and can never tell who or what will be around the corner. Sometimes on my longer days I run with my i-pod. I am ashamed that I always grip it tighter when I run by another person, worries for its safety. I would never do that in the US, but here, it is a different matter. It is not that I think I am unsafe, I just feel uncomfortable at times in this foreign land. Construction and road workers yell at me as I pass, but it is easy for me to ignore them with my sunglasses and headphones. Even with the sometimes unnerving feelings running alone is the best. The land is so quiet, peaceful, you have to remember that bad things sometimes do happen, but normally they do not. In the end, despite everything, I like running here, it gives me something to make me feel tired and complete.

On a side note. The other night we went out to a Resturaunt/Bar called Bull and Bush. Its a fun place with good food, a nice outdoor bar and patio, and dancing. While we were there we met several people who work on the "Number One Ladies Detective Agency" TV show which supposedly airs on BBC however they do all of the filming in Botswana to make it more authentic. This has been my closest brush with fame since I have been in the country, then again I am not sure how much closer you can get here.

Greetings from Botswana, I miss you and love you all. I am also trying to get a few more postcards so I can send another round of them home. Love always,

Celene

A New Week

It is a new week in Botswana. The cockroach kill count is up to 4 and I have started carrying a heaving book with me into the kitchen so it is easy to squash them. Classes actually begin because professors show up and I scrible ambiguous notes that really mean nothing to me until I go back and reorganize them because Professors do not lecture in a way that facilitates learning. The weekend was nice and relaxing after last weeks hell. I went to the Game City mall for the first time and bought myself a cheese grater. Even just thinking of it now makes me smile because now I have six ways for grating and have only lost a few large flakes of skin trying to figure out how to do it most efficiently. On Sunday I went climbing at this place near the airport. It was great fun, however I do not believe I have ever had more burrs, thorns, and seeds stuck to my body at any given time. When I showered at the end of the day I counted over one hundred little scratchs, scrapes, and punctures from the number flora I encountered on the small walk up the hill. However it was all worth it because the view was spectactular and I was able to sit and enjoy the silence so hard to find on campus. Monday was exciting, I learned nothing in my classes and they changed the Geology timetable again (Go UB!). I did however cook myself three delicious meals and go for an enjoyable run that did not involve a track (I discovered that you can run for over 30min on campus and not pass the same place). Yesterday I went to a movie with my two Deutch roomates. They are wonderful people and it was nice to sit in the cinema because number 1, it was an excuse to by candy, number 2 the candy there cost the same as the candy at the grocery store, number 3 i like listening to people speak in English I can understand. It has been a little chilly here the last few days and overcast. If we were in Oregon I would think it was about to rain, just due to how the air smelled. But I am not in Oregon, I am in Botswana and we will be luck if it rains by the end of September. I didn't think I would miss it but I do, the rain that is. Botswana is starting to become familiar and it is hard to believe I have already been here for three weeks. It feels like more, and sometimes less time. I am sorry I have nothing too exciting to say, but I thought everyone would like an update. I love you all and miss you. Feel free to send me an email or if you love me a lot, a letter or package. My mailing address is now posted on the sidebar of my blog. Love always,
Celene

McDonald's Has Not Yet Taken Over the World

I know I have been mostly talking about myself but for once I will step back tell eveyone a bit about Gaborone. First, let me quote my guide book, "It is unlikely Gaborone will ever be a destination." This is a statement I believe to be true. The city is a desert, not a booming metropolis and while some building and the malls appear to be straight out of the US the majority of things are somewhat more rustic. Small shacks with colorful roofs provide the majority of city residences. Khombi's offer transportation to the public, and while the wealthy own nice (BMW's, Lexus, Jaguars, etc) cars, the average person cannot afford such luxuries. Dust is everywhere even though it is not windy. Each time I wash my clothes, I am amazed as to how much dirt settles into the bottom of the washbasin (bathtub) even though my clothes hardly look dirty, they just smell bed. The landscape is flat and open area contains small squat trees covered in thorns. I want to go out to the salt pans because I hear there are no trees, there is nothing. Just flat grounds covered with red and brown sand, and the largest blue sky you have ever seen. Cattle is life, and rain is more important than the diamonds and platinum that rest under our feet. The University of Botswana was built because every family in Botswana donated a cow to the government. For most people there is little to do when you are not at work. People cherish their families and take care of elderly and sickly relatives. Health care is free, provided by the government. Motswana can attend UB for free as well, sponsered by the government. Young people dress as they would in the US however many people wear heavy sweaters and coats because it is winter here, I have yet to be cold, and only occasionally wear a sweater in the morning. However summer will be here in less than a month, then it will be hot, and the sun fierce. Life appears simple and uncomplicated and it is easy to tell how Batswana have forever lived in peace. But what I find most remarkable about this country is that the Golden Arches have failed to find their way here. There is no McDonalds, no Taco Bell, no Starbucks. It is wonderful. That is not to say that Botswana lacks it chains because they do exsist. There is Wimpy, Hungry Lion, Chickin Lickin, Something Fishy, and Debonair's. I have yet to enjoy the delicacies of most of these places and am somewhat scared to based upon their names alone. I think I will go for the street vendors first. :)

Questions and Answers

Most of the people here are wonderful, it is simply that the differences in culture, education systems, etc. can be challenging and frustrating. It makes me appriciate all of the work people in the US have done to make things easier, faster and more efficient. Even speaking English here is completely different, today I found myself lost in translation while trying to drop the conflicting class that has been giving me hell this last week. Somehow due to one misunderstanding after another I ended up in the wrong office and had an elderly african man yelling at me as to whether or not I knew where I registered, what I was registered as, etc. I had no idea as to the answers of any of these questions and subsequently burst into tears in his office, with a long queue waiting at the door. He yelled at me more inquiring as to why I was crying and telling me to stop crying right then and there. That was when I discovered how to get help at the University of Botswana. First look lost, confused, hopeless, and foreign. Second start bawling and blubbering in some high up University Professors office. At this point the Professor will want to get rid of you so he passes you off to someone who can drop your class even if they are not supposed to. So after two and a half hours of waiting, walking, and inquiring, I was finally able to drop one class in the office of a man who was not supposed to do it, without all of the proper stamps and signatures, and without having to drop off the form in another office as the kind gentleman said he would forward it in the internal mail system, allowing for me to not tromp across campus yet again to only end up in the wrong office. I am hoping after this week life will be less stressful. I think because I like to consider myself an efficient person the total lack of efficiency on the UB campus makes me feel more stress than I should. This week has been rough, but I would like to think the first few weeks in any new place should be confusing and challenging, otherwise you are probably doing something wrong.

In addition today we went to immigration so that we could extend our visas and legally stay in the country for longer than 90 days. It is also now the weekend, so no classes, no worries, and a wine and cheese shindig tonight. Ga Gona Matatha. :)

Stretched

I am emotionally and physically drained. The departments keep changing the timetable so I started the term with every class during its allotted time, nothing overlapped and all was well. Now, I have three classes at the same time and one of which is a lab and the other two are lecture I can't miss. They say they are changing it again but I think no matter what I will have a clash. I asked my professor if I should drop the class and try and find something different and he said the class will discuss it on Monday. The only problem is this Friday is that last day to drop the class and unless I drop it I am stuck with it and I could end up doing quite terribly because I will be missing the first 2/3's of every single lab.

Last night all of the international undergraduate students were called to a meeting by the Graduate Student Association (GSA) for them to voice complaints about having undergrads in their residences. First they went on and on about how loud, disrespectful, and awful we were. How they knew we would be this way and that they never wanted us there and they we had no right to be living there and that to sum it all up they hate us without knowing us. After these rants I was almost to the point of tears. I was angry, upset, and now understood why I could not call my residence my home. That is because we as undergrads are simply guests, we have no place on the campus. The woman who made the majority of the accusations is a white and from Canada. She is probably in her mid 20s and has already made blatant accusations about members of my program that were not true as the girl she said she saw smoking pot was off campus at resturaunt at the time she was supposedly toaking up. After she finished I did something I do not and will never regret. I told her how I felt about her and the GSA and their discrimination against undergrad who were placed in the Grad Village by the University of Botswana due to our safety as foreigners. We did not ask to be put there but we were, and we were not prepared to be hated before we even arrived. She set a double standard asking for respect when she offers none. I have stood by and watched her ignore a simple question that would have only required a two word answer, walking by and refusing to make eye contact with the undergrad who asked it. She is a woman I house no respect for. She complains about noise yet grad students in my suite play their TV's and Gospel music at full volume during all hours of the day where as the myself and the undergrads I live with tiptoe around and try to be invisible because there are some roommates who have yet to share a pleasant word with us. They GSA said they want to welcome us to the university they just want us to play by the rules, and the undergrads reply unanimous, then why not stop the discrimination and the double standards. Be courteous and respectful because that is how you gain both.

Ga Gona Mathata

I went running again today. It was hot and the sweat dried against my skin before I even perspired.

I also saw my first roach in the kitchen. I killed it with a can of tuna. I hope there isn't anymore.

UB and Gabs and Climbing on Real Rocks

Dumela!

Botswana has been different from home yet wonderful. The first two weeks have been challenging and I was feeling both the culture shock and home sickness I was somehow naive enough to think would not affect me. There is so much I have not yet explained so I will do my best to talk about my living situation, classes, and the extracurricular activities I have been participating in.

Where I live:
I live on campus at UB in the graduate student housing because as we were told by both the UB security office and our advisor, we as Americans are "targets" for theft, mugging, etc. so it is safer for us to live with the grad students. Taking this into account the graduate student housing is about as nice as the worst housing at Oregon State. Power goes out about every other day for 2-12 hours. With power goes the internet, which sometimes is gone for multiple days at a time only to reappear. The water went out for one day and we heard that while losing power and internet is common, water only goes out several times a term, and never for more than three days. The grad students live in Block 417, this makes me feel rather like I am in a prison where everything is divided into blocks and it doesn't help that the UB campus is completely fenced and the gates are manned by security guards limiting who can go in and out at night. I would say we as students our well protected as there are anywhere from 6 to 12 security guards manning block 417 at all hours of the day. I think they are armed but it is hard to tell and Botswana has a strict gun policy so I am not sure. Within Block 417 are eight building A thru H. I live in building C. Each building has 3 floors and each floor with the exception of the third, has 2 suites. Each suite contains six individual bedrooms with a communal kitchen, bathroom, and shower as well as a common area that houses a table and couch. My room is small, very small, about a third of the size of a double at OSU. I have a closet with shelves and a clothing rack, a desk and chair, two shelves built into the wall, and a pseudo twin bed. Other than that there is just about enough room to open the door, I do however have a nice large window which offers a view out to some of the clotheslines so that I do not have to sit outside to watch my clothes dry. I like the size however because it is all that I need and I enjoy some space in this country to myself.

My roommates:
I live with two German girls who are from a university in southwestern Germany. They are nice people; both studying English and teaching. Last night we tried to make apple pancakes however they do not have wheat flour in Botswana only Maize meal so we used that and all I can say is that it makes very very gritty apple pancakes. My other three roommates are African, one is from Zim and I am not sure where the others are from.

Classes:
As of now all of my classes seem interesting, especially those my professors have started to lecture in. I am not sure which class will be most informative, all I know is that so far every class with the exception of my Geology classes have mentioned HIV/AIDS and that in order to not die you must condomize.

Outside of School:
Other than school I spend lots of time walking to Riverwalk mall buying all of those little things I always seemed to have at home, i.e. food, dishes, school supplies, etc. I also spent three days sick in my room The natives call every little cold here flu so I suppose I had a flu, which was not fun and day in bed feeling awI spent one entire ful, I am still congested and have itchy dry eyes which leads me to believe I am allergic to something here and have used up all of the small amount of allergy medicine I brought with me. So mommy to your delight I can let you say I told you so when you told me to bring allergy medicine and I refused so now I have to go about finding allergy meds in Africa. Over the weekend I had the opportunity to explore Gaborone. On Saturday several of the girls in my program and myself took khombi's (14 passenger vans that will stop anywhere if you ask them and cost about 50 cents a ride whether you are going 500 feet or 15 miles) to Botswanacraft, a store that sells natively created crafts. I wanted to buy a basket but they are expensive and I did not have enough money to buy one and decorations for my room. I bought a painted wall hanging with beautiful elephant to cover part of my four stark white walls. I also got a small carved statue of a woman for my desk, a carved boar tusk wine/bottle opener since I forgot to bring one and when buying groceries earlier in the week bought a bottle of South African wine because it had a teal giraffe on the label that looked pretty (it was also the third cheapest bottle in the store, just over $3 rather than the cheapest which was almost $2). The last item I purchased was a picture of a Motswana woman carrying a bundle on her head, however the picture is made of butterfly wings. I think I may go back and buy another for a gift for someone because it is beautiful. Sunday was much more relaxing. I cleaned my room in the morning and read a novel. In the afternoon I went rock climbing at Kgale Hill. It was wonderful; the most fun I have had in Botswana so far. They have about ten bolted routes and rest is trad. On my very first African climb I ripped of a hold and the flake of rock fell down almost hitting my belayer. It was a nice introduction to climbing abroad. (For James and anyone who else cares about climbing read the section at the bottom to find out more about climbing, everyone else continue on) All of the climbers were nice and welcoming and I got to climb several challenging routes and watch a baboon in a white robe it had stolen (from a local church that practices at another portion of Kgale hill) climb the rocks like a professional. It was also the first primate I have seen thus far in Africa. Today which is monday, I went running for the first time since arriving in the country, it was hard but felt nice. I ran around campus and then went to the UB stadium. I ran about a mile on the track and was about to leave and run home when an Motswana woman called out to me saying, "I want to be friends with an exchange student." It turns out Khumo is kind, very intelligent, and currently more up to date on American politics than myself. I think I have made on of my first Motswana friends. I get to run with her tomorrow at 5. As of this moment all I can think is that I am happy to be in Botswana.

Sending my thoughts and love to everyone,
Celene

Climbing continued....
The routes we climbed were about the length of the tallest gym routes at OSU. The generally start out someone slabby with decent edges ranging anywhere from the best jugs I have ever felt outside to crappy, slopey, slimey rails. No one uses chalk and since we climb in the afternoon the rock is warm and slick. Some of the ledges are greased over with baboon urine and not even stealth rubber sticks to it. The easiest climb I did was maybe a 5.10a/B because of a tricky roof you have to pull though at the end on awful slopey side pulls. However with saying that I tried what I think is the coolest route I have ever done. You start by carefully working up a near vertical face on little edges, with little hands, and little feet, until you get the largest and best jug/ledge/rail you could ever imagine. The only problem is the next good hold is quite a reach over a bulge and as many of you can attest my reach is somewhat limited so after working this section for a while the only beta I could think might work someday is matching a heel next to my hands, turning one hand in mantle while the other pulls as hard as it can on the most miserable greasy, slopey, sidepull I have ever felt however it has a teeny tiny thumb catch (maybe half a pad) and then roll up on my heel and pull until i can stand up and fling for the next hold which I am hoping is no worse than a 5.9/10a rail. However this single move is so cool I have made it my goal before I leave Africa, to figure out how to do it, do it, and then lead it because it would be the most challenging route I have ever climbed on lead. There is also another problem I want to lead, i think it is maybe 10d/11aish, maybe harder because I didn't send it on TR and you have to pull over one tricky bulge and a roof that somehow lacks any holds with the exception of an under cling that really is not that helpful. My last and final climb however was undoubtedly my favorite. You start by following a large slopey crack until you reach the first roof, where you get to play on a jug and several side pulls, reaching up until you can barely touch a good hold only to realize you have no feet. I was a beautiful, mid 1o climb and I felt solid on it the entire way. I only wish I had lead it just to lead something hard, beautiful and most importantly, incredibly well bolted. Okay climbing friends, i know many of you are out and about because it is summer but if you ever are bored in the in the middle of day and are at a computer and have skype, PLEASE, feel free to call me, my user name is CeleneLouise because I am somewhat bored at night since we are not supposed to go outside due to common mugging and rape. Thank you and Happy Climbing.

P.S. I have a week off at the end of September (first week of school for OSU) and am going climbing in South Africa so if anyone has a few extra thousand dollars or a ton of frequent flyer miles I am extending the invitation to join me, either bouldering or sport climbing, I even know of several excellent (i.e. world class) locations.

Are Professors Supposed to Attend Class?

After the last three days of attending school at UB I have developed several answers to the question stated in the title.
1. Only if they remember
2. Only if they feel like teaching on that day.
3. Only if there is power
4. Only if there isn't power
5. Only if they do not have anything better to do
6. Only if it is for 5 minute
7. Only if it is to tell students that they are not allowed to have cell phones and that if you care about learning their name they have to go find their office and look on the door
8. Only if it is not a 400 level class
9. Only if its cold outside
10. Only if its hot outside
11. Only if it is not for exchange students
12. Only if you make the students wait for 45 min in a 50 min class

Dumela from Gaborone City

Dumela!
If you are wondering that is a word that roughly translates to Hello, is a greeting a probably use one hundred times a day. Motswana are friendly and polite people and it is rude to not greet someone even if they are a stranger. So where to begin with my travels? It is hard to say. The plane ride was long and grueling as I maybe got 4 hours of sleep over 2 days. I also managed to get throughly lost (over 1 hour communting time) in the London airport and almost missed my planes in Seattle and Johannesburg due to delays and queues. However I arrived in one piece excited to begin my journey, except my luggage decided to follow its own path arriving several days later. Almost immediately we began our orientation. We stayed in a place called Kagisang Center one the outskirts of Gaborone. The reason you have not heard from me is because while at the center we had no internet so to help us focus on becoming comfortable in Gaborone rather than relaying on home for support.

Day 1:
I arrived in Gaborone and met my advisor, a Zimbabwean named Basti, and another Zim named Sharon who is helping with the program. The group consists of seven students and two helpers. Of the students six are women and one is a man. Of the group only one other person is from the west coast with the others arriving from Massachuesetts, Georgia, North Dakota, North Carolina, New York, and Seattle. It is interesting to compare backgrounds as we are all diverse and unique individuals and it became quickly apparent that many of the others were not used to a life outside of the city and while Gaborone may be a city it has dirt sidewalks, sandy streets, pot hole and various livestock lining the roads. As a group Sharon led us on a walk around the gated center. Childern were scared of us and Sharon said it is because they do not see very many white people. Also many referred to us as "White" or "English" in Setswana. It almost seems like every fifty feet lies a "Tuck Shop" a small stand generally mad of old signs, sheet metal, and tarps constructed into a booth which sells airtime for cell phones and candy. After the walk we had dinner and then bed. I fell asleep quickly and do not believe I have ever slept so well.

Days 2 and 3:
The sky is the largest I have ever seen it here. I think that is because the landscape is so flat. We registered for class, I was disappointed because I class I believed to be available was not so I will have to stay at Oregon State an additional year in order to finish my major. However the classes I am taking are:

Environmental Geology
Introduction to Hydrogeology
Setswana Language 1
The rise of Christianity and New Religions in Southern Africa
Social Problems in Southern Africa
HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control

As well as an additional Setswana language course through CIEE (my study abroad program). It took two days to register which I found to be miserable. The University of Botswana does all onsite registration so there are long queues which everyone must wait in and a series of signatures that need to be gathered so to sign up for each class. Also for registration you have to look in the Course Calendar to see what classes are offered and then compare that to the timetable to see if the courses you want to take are offered at a time where you can take them and then after that the couse may be full or not exist even though it is listed in both the time table and the course catelog. The continued on and on cumulating into a two day even that felt like etc, etc, etc. In the end I found the method highly inefficient and frustrating. I think some of that may be the American culture and its ability to instantly gratify every need. We also began our Setswana lessons, the language is beautiful but it is challenging to roll the r's and make tl sount like a k with a click.

Day 4:
More Setswana lessons. The more I learn the more I want to be able to speak the language fluently. I will however have an opportunity to do so because in approximately one months time I will be spending nine days living with a host family in the village Mochudi communiting an hour and a half to school everyday, speaking Setswana constantly. I am most nervous for that right now. We visited San/Bushmen rock art painted approximately two thousand years ago on a beautiful red sandstone outcrop. Also near by is a giant fig tree called Livingstone's tree because he supposedly taught there and lived in the area. Long day, we visted the local Kgotla, a sort of court that focuses on domestic disbutes from cheating spouses to neighborly disagreements. The minimum punishment is a fine while the maximum is lashes on the bare buttocks. With that I decided not a break any laws in the country. Inbetween all of the trips to UB we have had several guest speakers on Bawtswana culture and lifestyles. I have enjoyed them throughouly. We also visted a Secondary school and had the opportunity to speak to students which I found to be interesting as they gave us their view of American culture. We let them take pictures with out cameras and they loved how incredible digital cameras worked instantly showing the photos.

Day 5:
We climbed Kgale Hill today and were blessed with beautiful views of Gaborones City. Kghale Hill is a moderate climb through tall grass, prickly trees, and pink granite outcrops. While I found the hike fairly easy many people in my group would beg to differ. Climbing the hill reminded me of Namibia. In fact I think I may return to Namibia during my week long midsemester break, either that or Mozambique, or South Africa, or Lesothe, or anywhere other than Zim, because I think that would be a poor choice. If anyone has any ideas please let me know, I have enough malaria medication to go anywhere so that should not limit my adventures. We had dinner after a photo safari at a game preserve. We didn't see anything too interesting some Kudu, waterbuck, antelope, elephants and hyenas. Dinner was excellent with Kudu steaks and maize.

Day 6:
School started with a tramatic bang. No one told me but they changed the time table so that I did not know when my classes were or where they were making my life somewhat confusing. And to make everything easier I managed to get lost for over an hour on a campus smaller than OSU. Uggg.... However eventually after tears and pain I managed to figure out when my classes were, where they were, and most importantly I met a few nice people. I also managed to go grocery shopping and have a nice young Motswana carry my shopping bags home for me because he thought I looked pathetic with four heavy grocery bags and my backpack. It is interesting how many people stare. I think coming from the northwest and not experiencing too much racial diversity has left me oblivious to the fact that people stare when someone looks different. I also got my student ID and it looks like a mug shot.

So this has been my life thus far in Botswana, the weather is beautiful with sun everyday. I am not looking forward to when it gets hot. I send my love from Botswana and hope everyone at home is happy and healthy.

Celene

P.S. my cell phone number here is 267-7509-5538 (yes there are 11 digits in the phone number) Also it is free for me to recieve calls for feel free to call anytime, just remember I am 9 hours ahead of you!