Another Week Under the African Sun

Okay, I apologize; I have been lazy about getting a post written to recap the last week, but truth be told it is mainly because nothing that spectacular has occurred leaving me with limited material.  After this week I only have two weeks of classes left before finals but in no way are things winding down at UB.  I still have three tests (equivalent to midterms at OSU yet they are occurring in the last two weeks of the term) and a project to complete but I should have more than enough time as I seem to have countless hours of free time, something I rarely have in the states.  Classes have been UB classes, not too mentally stimulating and with unmotivated students.  Over the last week I’ve communicated back and forth with OSU as to how my grades will transfer as there is one class where I don’t think the letter grade will meet my standards so I am S/Uing it.  I wish I didn’t have to do that but due to a large misunderstanding about what I thought the professor wanted for answers on a test and what he wanted my grade reflected that I did not understand how Batswana professors grade exams.  In the end I do not want to stress out more than I already do, especially if it is a class which is literally a joke when it comes to critical thinking I would have done better if I hadn’t thought at all while filling in the blanks.  At least I learned something from the test and that was a great appreciation of exams in the US, because professors generally do not repeat questions, and if they do they generally do not have two different answers, meaning professors at home know how to test learning and critical thinking rather than subjective memorization.  I will never again have the right to complain about an exam in the states after taking tests here.  I can only imagine my thoughts come finals time, just because they are so ridiculous, not necessarily because they are hard.      

As of now I have officially passed the three month mark of living in Botswana.  It feels like a much larger chunk time than it actually is.  I only have six weeks left and I know they will fly by.  I still have a list of things I want to do but limited time so we will see if they all happen.  In two weekends I will be heading up to Victoria Falls with five of the people in my exchange program to see one of the Seven Wonders of the World and go bungee jumping.  That should be nice icing on the cake before finals.  After finals my entire exchange program is heading up to Maun and the Okavango Delta, so I know I will have at least two more big trips before I take off back to the USA.  It amazes me how far I have come, with learning Setswana, adjusting to the culture, readjusting my norms and what I find acceptable, communicating with others, opening my eyes to different perspectives and sharing experiences with people I hope to see again, despite the large geographic distances between us.        

Last weekend I had a lovely trip to South Africa where we visited the Pilanesberg National Park.  It is a fully stocked game reserve with cheap camping nearby.  I along with another American, two Germans, and Mexican exchange students drove down from Gabs only adding several hours to each direction of the trip because we kept getting lost.  It even took us nearly two hours to get out of Gabs because we went in the opposite direction of the border by mistake.  However the car ride was still fun and half of the adventure.  We decided as a collaborative group that Afrikaans is the most horrendous language ever spoken and it sounds even worse over the radio and that maybe two of the people in the car should have started studying for the GRE a bit earlier than the car ride considering they are taking it in less than 2 weeks. 

We arrived in our campsite after seven hours of driving and passing the South African equivalent of Las Vegas, Sun City.  We borrowed these heavy duty tents from the geology department to cut down the costs and set them up in the dark, with the exception of my one headlight.  For dinner we had a braai complete with sweet corn on the cob, bread, beer, and wine.  Everything was running a bit late and we stayed up later crawling into bed well after midnight only to wake up at 5am for our first game drive.  Over the next two days I was so tired but it was wonderful.  All in all we went on three separate game drives and saw numerous animals, with some standing or walking within a meter of our car. Here is a brief and not all inclusive list of what we saw: Zebra, kudu, impala, giraffe, lion, hippo, warthog, jackal, leopard tortoise, wildebeest, buffalo, elephant, duiker, hartebeest, rhino, rock hyrax, grey go-away bird, and a bush rat.  We had rhinos, giraffes, zebra, and elephants cross right in front of us and were able to see lions stalking wildebeest.  I took about 150 pictures over two days and am excited to show everyone once I am back in the states.  It is just unbelievable how beautiful these animals are in the wild.  I remember seeing some of the above while in Namibia, but it was nice to see them again. It was a well spent weekend especially since it was cheap.   

Other than that I am just riding out the wave until I go to Vic Falls.  I get to go to a traditional healer and the Gaborone game reserve with my exchange program this weekend and that should only accelerate my time in Botswana.  Next week will be a busy one with the election, tests, and the long drive to Zimbabwe.  I can’t wait. J Go siame Bo-rra le Bo-mma!