Final Day in Gaborone

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Today is our last full day in Gaborone, Botswana before we fly down to Cape Town, South Africa. We started the morning around 8:00 and tried to send a few more emails and finish catching up with the Blog. At 10:00 we were picked up from our hotel/apartment by Victoria O'Connell, the Regional Health Officer for the US Embassy. We had met her last week when she joined the Malaria Campaign to help pass out nets and be a guest speaker. She is American and is based here in Gaborone with her husband, Chistopher, and 3-year old son, Wesley. The three of them picked us up and took us to brunch at a local place, Fresh Cafe. Doug and I both ordered omelets and they had various egg dishes and french toast.

We talked about her background in the Peace Corps. and traveling around the world for her job. We also told her more about us and our backgrounds as teachers and members of the Burbank Sister City Committee. It was nice to sit and chat with some fellow Americans over a basic American-style breakfast. It was very nice of them to take us out.

After getting back, we walked down the street to the Gaborone Museum that we have been wanting to visit since arriving 2 weeks ago. We finally had the time to take a nice stroll and look around for about an hour. Across the street, a church was having a multi-cultural festival featuring foods from different African countries as well as India and the Philippines. We walked around and had some Filipino food.

We decided to do one last shopping stop at the Main Mall, which is really an outdoor area with a few shops and some street vendors selling African crafts. We did some bargaining and got a few gifts before coming to our favorite Internet Cafe for our final email session in Botswana.

From here we went back to our apartment and started the challenge of packing, hoping that everything would fit in our suitcases. Somehow we managed to get all of our clothes, souvenirs, and other items into the suitcases we brought. We're taking a bit of a gamble on the weight restrictions and carry-on requirements, but it will have to work. It felt good to have that monumental task out of the way so that we could try to enjoy our last night in town.

After relaxing a bit, we started to take a walk to get a taxi to Nando's for dinner. On our way there, we also stopped at our old hotel, the Cresta President, to see if we could get their help arranging a taxi to the airport tomorrow morning. We had the number for a reliable driver, but he wasn't answering his phone. Maybe he's not as reliable as we thought. The hotel find us another drive who offered to take us for a decent price, and he drove us back to our apartment so he would know where to pick us up.

We were hoping to go to Tommie's house this evening and say a final goodbye to his wife and daughters. While we were arranging the taxi, Moono (Tommie's wife) sent us a text message to say that they were home from church. After the taxi dropped us at the hotel, we walked over to their house for one last visit.

Saying goodbye to Moono and Chubota

Twins Chubota and Kubota

Moono cooked us a simple dinner of beef, vegetables, pap, and macaroni noodles. While she cooked, we played with the twins and showed them how to write our names. When dinner was ready, we all ate together and it felt good to have another home-cooked meal before leaving Botswana. We finally said our goodbyes, and Bobby (Tommie's brother) drove us back to the apartment.

Our flight to Cape Town leaves tomorrow morning at 8:30. We will be there until heading back to the USA on Thursday. We hope to find another great Internet Cafe while there to continue to keep you all posted. If not, then we will update when we get home!!

Our Last Friday in Botswana

Friday, July 30, 2010

In the morning, we went to our new hangout, the Internet cafe, to check email, Facebook, and put more updates on the blog. Around 10:00, Tommie came to visit us and say goodbye because he is leaving to go to a conference in South Africa for the weekend. We thanked him for everything he has done to accommodate us and make us feel comfortable while we are here. He also told us that the students at GSS would be expecting to see us during their lunch break at 1:00.

Sadly, Doug received another email today from his sister and from his grandfather. Doug's grandmother, Jeanne Grimshaw, passed away peacefully at 11:30 Thursday morning. Grandpa and Doug's aunt were by her side when it happened, and Doug's parents had the opportunity to say goodbye to her earlier in the morning. It has been a difficult time, but the family is happy that she is finally at peace.

After working on the computers for nearly 3 hours, we walked over to the school and went to find the students at the cafeteria. It felt nice to be able to just walk on campus, to be recognized by the people there, and to know exactly where we were going. We're starting to feel more and more at home in this city. Unfortunately we'll be leaving in a few days, but we hope to return before too long.

In the cafeteria, the students from the Malaria Campaign greeted us and gave us some gifts that they bought and made. We also got to see some of the other students from the ICT club who didn't get to go on the Campaign, and we met some new students. We took a few pictures and said our last goodbyes. We have all exchanged our email addresses and Facebook info, so we're sure to be hearing from them again soon. We told all of them to visit Burbank anytime they want and we'll make sure they are taken care of.

We also took this opportunity to donate some of our older clothes and travel items we didn't use. The ICT club will find a good home for our old t-shirts, jeans, towels, travel toothpaste and bug spray. We didn't really do this to be charitable, we really just wanted to free up some space in our suitcases for the massive amounts of souvenirs we've bought.

Three of the boys from the ICT club escorted us to the headmaster's office so we could say goodbye to him. He was having lunch with the deputy headmaster, so we spend a little time talking to both of them and thanking them for their wonderful hospitality. We complimented them on the wonderful and well-mannered students we have met at GSS and also told them they are welcome to come to Burbank any time so that we can return the favors.

After visiting the school, we went back to our apartment and ordered some pizza to be delivered. We found a good pizza restaurant yesterday called Debonair's and grabbed a menu from them. We chose their soccer fan special with two pizzas, mainly because we wanted the free vuvuzela that came with the meal. The food came 30 minutes later, but the driver forgot our free vuvuzela. We held onto our money until he returned with the plastic horn 45 minutes later.

We went back to the Internet cafe to do more work on the computers. We are going cross-eyed from all the time we've spent in front of the monitors. We were also hoping to hear from Tommie's wife, Moono, because we wanted to say goodbye to her and their daughters. Eventually we called them and arranged to see them tomorrow evening. At 6:00, we went back to the apartment to get ready to go out for the evening with Tommie's co-worker, Peter, who had taken us out to a few different bars two weeks earlier.

Peter picked us up at 7:45 and took us to O'Hagan's, the Irish Pub we had visited last time we went out with him. We ordered the same drinks, 2 beers and a Psycho Jack, and tried their "Mega Platter." This huge platter included onion rings, fries, a sausage, pork ribs, chicken wings, chicken fingers, spicy chicken mini-wraps, beef strips, beef samoosas, fried mushrooms and salad. Everything was delicious, but we would have needed another person or two in order to finish it all. The DJ's dance music was starting to get a little loud and the crowd was coming in, so we decided to try another bar.

Our next stop was News Cafe, where we had been two other nights earlier in the week. We had not been there with Peter yet, and we heard it was much more lively on the weekend. It wasn't much different from our earlier visits; the crowd was relatively small compared to all the dancers and loud music back at O'Hagan's. We still enjoyed the quieter atmosphere and had one drink before the bar closed at 11:00. We were also visited by another of Tommie's and Peter's co-workers, Albert, who stopped by on his way to an all-night party. Albert was young and fun, and he wanted to take us to the party, but we told him we had a lot to do on Saturday and couldn't afford to be up all night. He said he might try to call us tomorrow afternoon to do something. Everyone here has been so friendly and willing to take care of us. Many people that we barely know have offered to arrange rides to the airport or take us out for the day or evening. It's great!

On our way home from News Cafe, a truck came up behind Peter's vehicle and started flashing it's headlights. Peter pulled to the side of the road and let the truck come up beside him. Two police officers inside told him to drive up one block to the police headquarters and park the car. All three of us were nervous, but we knew Peter hadn't done anything wrong. When we parked the car, the police told Peter that one of his tail lights was burned out. He turned his lights off and then on again, and all lights were working properly. The police were making a big deal out of nothing, and we felt like we were in Burbank again. We went on our way, laughed it off, and got dropped off back at home.

Another Day of Relaxing and Shopping

Thursday, July 29, 2010

In the morning we walked to AT&T Travel Agency to meet with Evelyn, Tommie's travel agent. She was able to set us up with a good flight to Cape Town on Sunday morning, flying through Johannesburg, and arriving in the early afternoon. This was better than any of the flights we found because it allowed us to enjoy the city a bit when we arrive. All the flights we looked at landed late in the evening.

After doing more work in the Internet cafe, our second home in Gaborone, we were picked up by Bobby to do some souvenir shopping. He took us to a place called Botswana Craft, where we hoped to find a lot of small gifts for our friends back home. Bobby dropped us off and told us to call when we were ready to be picked up. It was a good thing he dropped us off because once we got inside and saw how large the store was, we knew we could be there awhile.

We decided to eat in there restaurant first, and then shop on full stomachs. Dena had lasagna and Doug had a toasted chicken salad sandwich. While we ate, we tried to brainstorm to figure out what types of items we wanted to buy and for whom. We went back into the different rooms of the store and proceeded to fill up our shopping baskets with all sorts of goodies. We can't say what we bought because we want it to be a surprise for our friends back home. In total, we spent over 2000 pula--you do the conversion--and filled 5 plastic shopping bags. We went a little crazy, but everything we bought was great.

Bobby picked us up and took us to the apartment so we could unload. Then we went back to the Internet Cafe, of course, to work on the blog and send emails. Doug was hoping to hear some news about his grandmother, but nobody had sent anything. After doing a little work, we headed back to the apartment to get ready for dinner.

Max Mophuting, the GSS headmaster, took us out to dinner at a nice Portuguese restaurant called Caravelo's. Dena had a steak with mushroom sauce, and Doug had steak kebab. The kebab came with the skewer hanging vertically from a rack that was attached to the plate. None of us had seen a kebab presented this way, and we had to take a picture. All of the food was very delicious.

We spent the evening talking with Max about wild animals (his favorite subject), the Malaria Campaign, and how impressed we have been by the GSS students. At the end, we thanked him for everything he has done for us, and we gave him a Burbank Coffee Cup as a gift from the city.

Max took us home after dinner, and we attempted to organize all of our souvenirs from the whole trip. We have a lot of stuff, and we're praying it will all fit into our suitcases. We'll find a way.

A Relaxing Day in Gaborone

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

We were supposed to be given a tour of a diamond sorting facility today, but those plans ended up falling through. We had been hoping to see this because the diamond industry is the country's greatest source of wealth, but nothing could be arranged. It was probably better this way because we really needed a day to relax, do laundry, and catch up on emails.

At lunchtime, we took a taxi to a shopping center called The African Mall to eat at Nando's, a Portuguese restaurant franchise we discovered in Johannesburg. We've been craving Nando's ever since we had it 2 weeks ago. While we were there, Dena was able to exchange her leftover kwacha from Zambia into Botswana pula. This exchange bureau is the only one in town that will exchange kwacha. Our lunch was just as delicious as it was in Jo-burg, and we felt happy that our craving was satisfied. We walked around the mall, but there weren't many interesting stores.

We got another taxi back to the Main Mall, where our Internet cafe is located. We are starting to feel like we spend more time here than anywhere else in Gaborone. We searched for flights to Cape Town, which we still had not arranged. We couldn't find anything good, so we called Tommie's travel agent and made an appointment to meet her tomorrow morning.

Also, Doug received a rather sad email from his grandfather this afternoon. After four and a half years of battling Alzheimer's, Doug's grandmother is getting very close to the end. She has stopped swallowing food and liquids, and it will only be a matter of days before her body completely shuts down. It's hard to be on the other side of world when all of this is going on back home, but there is nothing that can be done from here. Doug is praying that she can hold on long enough for him to return home.

That night for dinner, we decided to return to News Cafe, where we had been last night with the people from Foreign Affairs. We had a good time and wanted to try more of their menu, so we didn't mind going back to the same place. This time, Doug ordered lamb chops and Dena got eggs benedict, her favorite breakfast dish. It was a little different than she is used to--flat bread and bacon instead of English muffin and ham--but she still enjoyed it.

After our dinner, we folded our laundry and watched some TV. Then it was time for bed.

Busy Day Back in Gaborone

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

We got up this morning and walked two blocks from our apartment to Gaborone Secondary School where we met Tommie and had some tea and bread for breakfast. From there the three of us were picked up by two women from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and taken to the Ramotswa School for the Deaf. This was a 45 minute drive outside of Gaborone. Dena had requested to visit a Deaf school while we were in town and was very excited that Foreign Affairs was able to arrange a visit.

When we arrived at the school, we met with the school's headmaster and deputy headmaster, who are both hearing. We explained the purpose of our visit to Gaborone, which was to help Tommie and GSS with the Malaria Campaign and also to explore the possibility future exchanges between our sister cities. Tommie explained what his ICT club does at his school and offered to help the Ramotswa school with any needs that can be met by the ICT club, such as donating toys or educational resources. We also offered to involve the Burbank High School Deaf and Hard of Hearing students, as well as the rest of the Burbank community.

After our brief meeting, we were shown around some of the campus. We got to see their woodshop and leatherworking shop. It was nice to see these programs exist on a campus like this, offering the students a chance to learn a valuable trade. Most of these programs have been phased out in the California school systems. In the leather shop, Dena bought a few items that had been produced by the students.

Before meeting any of the students, we discussed some of the differences between American Sign Language and Botswana Sign Language. Every country has its own unique sign language; even the different English-speaking countries use different signs. America's and Botswana's signs aren't very different other than a few signs, some numbers, and 2 or 3 letters. The difference that amused us the most was the sign for the letter "T". In America, it is done by making a fist with your thumb sticking up between your index and middle fingers. In Botswana they use a different sign because our version is a universal insult used by all people in Botswana, hearing and Deaf--it means "vagina." We all had a good laugh when we discovered this.

 signing "T" in ASL

At 10:30, the entire campus takes a short tea break, so we had a chance to interact with some students. We went into a classroom with students from age 4 to 7. We handed out some Burbank High School pencils to the students and teachers, and we each went around and introduced ourselves to the students and asked them their names and ages. They were all very cute and friendly. After we met them all, they performed a song for us using sign language. It was very nice to see them singing with their hands with big smiles on their faces.

We went into another classroom where we met some teachers and left behind some more pencils for the students who were outside on their break. Soon, the students were all looking into the room through the windows and waving to us. As soon as we took out our cameras, they all went crazy and started posing for pictures with their hands in the "I love you" sign. After a few pictures, we left the rest of our gifts with the headmaster so she could distribute them, and then we got in the car to head back to Gaborone.

We went back to GSS and had a bit of time to visit with some of the students during their lunch break. We didn't want to say goodbye to them, and we weren't sure if there would be another opportunity to see them all again before we leave town. Then we had a nice lunch with Tommie and the deputy headmaster in her office.

Later in the afternoon, we were picked up by two more people from Foreign Affairs and taken to the Office of the President. Don't get too excited--we weren't there to meet THE President. But we were meeting with John Moreti, the deputy clerk of the Cabinet, which is also an important and highly respected job. Mr. Moreti has done a lot of work with the Botswana government and their embassy in the United States. He also has a close connection to our Sister City relationship as he worked with William Ruddell, a former mayor of Burbank and the person responsible for establishing the Sister City relationship in the 1970s. We talked with Mr. Moreti about the Malaria Campaign and our future hopes for exchanges between our two cities. He was just as supportive of our ideas as the Gaborone mayor and the members of the Foreign Affairs office were when we met with them. We also presented him with a few gifts from the city of Burbank. After our meeting, we all posed for a picture outside the building, and then we were taken back to our apartment.

 Dena, Mr. Moreti, Tommie, Lebo, Doug

We quickly got ready to be picked up again by two more people from Foreign Affairs, but this time it was for a much more casual event. Mr. Nkoloi, the Director of Foreign Affairs for Europe and the Americas (we had met him before leaving for the Campaign), had offered to take us out for dinner and drinks with the rest of his staff. He picked us up with one of their interns, a young man named Pimelo, and took us to a restaurant called News Cafe. When we got there we ordered drinks and a sampler platter with pork ribs, sausages, chicken strips, chicken wings, and potato wedges. After awhile, the women from Mr. Nkoloi's office joined us--Thsidi (she had taken us to Ramotswa this morning), Lebo (she took us to Mr. Moreti's office), and a new girl that everyone called "Twiggy." The 7 of us had a great time talking about our weekend in Zambia/Zimbabwe, cultural differences, and American TV shows. It was fun to see this people in a casual setting rather than the formal business meetings where we have always seen them before tonight.

At 8:30, we left and Mr. Nkoloi took us home. It felt like midnight to us since we had such a long day, and we still weren't fully rested after our long busride yesterday. We went to bed very soon after getting home.

Busride From Livingstone to Gaborone

Monday, July 26, 2010

We woke up at 4 AM and got ready for our long bus ride back to Gaborone, Botswana. We had already packed our suitcase the night before, so we only needed to brush our teeth and get dressed before leaving (no shower again). We walked to the bus station, only 10 minutes away, and bought our bus tickets to get to the Zambia/Botswana border. Bobby also traveled with us to Gaborone because he had a 3 week holiday from work, and he hasn't been back there in 4 years. When we got on the bus, we found that it was very crowded and the seats were quite small. There are five seats across each row on the bus, with two on the left and three on the right. The two of us had to share a row of 3 seats with a woman who was already on the bus, and she wasn't doing a very good job of sharing the space. The one-hour ride to the border at Kazungula was extemely uncomfortable. It was impossible to rest at all due to the cramped seating arrangements and the driver's awfully loud music. Also, it smelled like we weren't the only ones who decided not to bathe today.

We reached the border at around 6 AM and got off the bus to get in line for our passport exit stamps. It took awhile for all the bus passengers to get through, maybe 30 minutes, and then we waited by the riverside for the ferry. It took another 30 minutes before the ferries started running, but eventually the bus got loaded onto the ferry, followed by a large truck, and then all the people. Dena decided to ride inside the bus while the ferry crossed, this way she could get to the Botswana border station before the rest of us reached it on foot. She wanted to be the first in line to ensure we had more comfortable seats on our next bus. This plan proved to be very successful--Dena was the first one to get her passport entry stamp and managed to get two seats alone in the second row of the bus. We were still cramped, but at least we were getting elbowed by each other rather than complete strangers.

Resting on the next bus was still very difficult. For some reason, bus drivers in Africa like to listen to very loud and annoying music, and they don't seem to car about the comfort of their passengers. The ride was also very bumpy, but at least the driver went fast in order to cut down our travel time. There were a few checkpoints on the road where all the passengers had to get off and show their passports. We weren't sure why we had to do this, but it was a bit of a hassle. We eventually stopped for lunch, but the driver only gave us 10 minutes to get food. We had the choice of a fast food restaurant or a convenience store--imagine 50 bus passengers trying to get food with only 10 minutes to spare. We had to wait a while for our fast food to be ready, and we were nervous the bus might leave. Eventually, everyone got their food and made it back on the bus, and we did our best to eat on the road without making a huge mess.

When we reached Francistown, about halfway between the border and Gaborone, half of the passengers got off the bus. This meant that the remaining passengers could spread out and have their own seats. Before we could do this, many people came on the bus trying to sell food, drinks, and air time for cell phones (everyone uses pre-paid phone cards here). It was crazy to see twenty people crowding the aisles, pushing past each other, shouting "Chicken and chips! Chicken and chips!" Eventually, these people left the bus and we found a better seat where we could spread out. It was only slightly more comfortable than before, and the driver continued the same loud, annoying music he had played all morning.

We finally made it to Gaborone around 7:30 PM after 1000 kilometers (620 miles) and 14 hours on the road, and we were greeted by Tommie and his daughter, Chipo. It felt great to see them and to be "home." Earlier in the week, we had asked Tommie if he could arrange a place for us to shower, since his house doesn't have one, and he assured us when we arrived that he had taken care of it. We went back to Tommie's house and dinner was ready for us. We had Bream fish, beef, cabbage and pap. After dinner, we gave the family as many Burbank/Hollywood/California gifts as we could in order to make more room in our luggage. We also listened to the 8 o'clock news on the radio because they had a great piece about the Malaria Campaign, mentioning the participation of the high schools in Burbank, and specifically the two of us joining the campaign.

After the news, Tommie informed us that we would be checking into a motel for the rest of the week so that we would have a shower. We weren't expecting this--we just thought Tommie would find a neighbor or friend who was willing to let us use their shower. He promised us that this was a better option, and we loaded our suitcases into the car so he and Bobby could take us to our new living quarters. We were a little disappointed because we had been hoping to spend more time with Tommie's wife and daughters, but we were also happy to have access to a shower and hot water at our own convenience.

We reached the motel, and after walking past the outdoor swimming pool, we found out that our room was actually an apartment. There was a separate bedroom; a bathroom with the shower; a kitchen with dining table, refridgerator, oven/stove, sink, microwave, and washing machine for laundry; and a living room with couch, table, chairs and TV. There is also an outdoor patio was table and chairs, and a clothes line for drying the laundry. This was much more than we expected or needed, and we insisted that it was not necessary. But deep down inside, we were very satisfied.

We spent some time reorganizing our luggage and getting some laundry ready for tomorrow. Doug took a shower, which was the best shower he has had since arriving in Africa, and shaved his beard, which has been growing for over 8 days. We relaxed and watched some TV, wrote in our journals, and then went to bed.

The Rest of Our Time in Zambia

Sunday, July 25, 2010

After our big adrenaline rushes in the morning and early afternoon, we decided to try some calmer activities for the rest of the day. Bobby took us to the Livingstone Museum, named after David Livingstone, the British explorer who discovered Victoria Falls. The museum has exhibits ranging from ancient history and archeology of Zambian people, animal and plant life in Zambia, and recent history of the country's colonization by the British and its independence. Some parts of the museum were more interesting than others, and we were both a little too exhausted to give the exhibits our full attention. Either way, it was still very educational.

After the museum, we took a drive through Mokoni Village, just outside of Livingstone. Apart from being a very traditional village, this is also the home of the Chief of Livingstone, who is even more powerful than Zambia's president. Bobby drove us through the village, giving us an up-close view of village life, the people, and their homes. At one point, a few children spotted our car and started to run alongside and behind us. More and more children started to appear, and eventually we were surrounded. Some kids started banging on the car, and a few even tried to jump on it while it was moving. Bobby stopped the car and told the children, in Tonga, that they needed to stop or they would get hurt.

We continued to drive around and look at the different parts of the village, and the children continued to follow alongside and behind us. It was interesting to see this lifestyle, but at the same time, a little sad to see the poor conditions that these people live in for their entire lives. What's even sadder is that the chief makes a monthly income 50,000 US dollars, simply for being the chief and owning all the land around Livingstone.

We pulled up to the chief's palace, next to the village market. We considered either going into the market or paying a few dollars for a tour of the palace. However, after a few tourists emerged from the market, they were followed out by around 20 men from the village who just stood in front of our car and stared at us like we were safari animals. This was a little too intimidating for us, and we were too tired to deal with people (even if they were friendly), so we just asked Bobby to take us home.

We got back to Bobby's house and spent some time relaxing and hanging out with his sister, niece and nephews. We showed everyone our DVDs from the elephant ride, zip line and bungee jump, and they were amazed by all of it--especially Dena's crazy bungee jump. Afterwards, Nancy went into the kitchen with the baby to help prepare dinner, and the boys watched the "High School Musical" movies. We had a great time watching them recite all the lines, sing all the words, and dance along with the characters. Dena told them about her friend Chucky, who is one of the main choreographers and dancers in the movie. Even Doug, who usually despises these teen movies, had a good time.

For dinner, Nancy made a traditional Zambian dish just for us. We had carpenta fish (sardines) in a ground nut sauce, chicken, pap, rice, and spinach. Everything tasted very good, and we thanked Nancy for making it especially for us. It was very late when we finished dinner, and we had to wake up very early the next morning for our bus to Gaborone, so we went to bed immediately.

Adrenaline Adventures at Victoria Falls

Sunday, July 25, 2010

We woke up and got ourselves ready to ride the zip line at the Victoria Falls bridge. We washed our faces and brushed our teeth, but no shower. Nancy prepared us a nice breakfast of sweet potatoes, ground nuts, samp (a pounded corn dish), and bread with butter. Most Africans add sour milk to their samp, but we knew our bodies would not agree with that mixture, especially with the adrenaline rush we were expecting later. We've tried a lot of new foods here, but this one wasn't worth the risk.

At 9:30, we arrived at the bridge, and we were the first customers there. We paid for our rides, signed the indemnity forms, weighed in, and got into our harnesses. We also told them that we would want their professional video. They have the option of buying a package of three activities: bungee jump, bungee swing, and the slide (zip line). We had no interest in jumping off the bridge, so we only bought the zip line ride.

As we walked up to the launch area, the view was much more intimidating than it was when we watched from the bridge. Seeing the cable sag as it spanned 240 meters (787 feet) across the gorge made us feel a bit uneasy. Doug got strapped in first, and once he sat in the harness and took his feet off the ground, reality set in. He knew that in a few seconds he would be sliding over the gorge, 111 meters (364 feet) above the rushing water below. Our zip line helper-guy counted down from three and then shoved Doug out over the gorge. He screamed loudly in anticipation as he left the platform, but the view was amazing. As he got out over the gorge, Doug slowly rotated, giving him a full 360 degree view of the bridge, Victoria Falls, the gorge, and the Boiling Pot below. Dena went next and was all alone with Doug already on the other side of the gorge. She wasn't sure why she was so nervous, but the adrenaline rush was already setting in. She ws strapped in and ready to go. As the helper-guy told her to lift her feet and sit into the harness, she was already starting to scream and then she was flying over the gorge. It is so beautiful to view Victoria Falls from that height and to see the full 360 degree picture. The complete slide is maybe only 30 seconds long, and we both wanted it to go on forever.

We both felt completely pumped after we arrived safely on the Zimbabwe side of the bridge. We gave our harnesses back and walked back to the station where we had paid. While we waited for our videos to come up on the TV, we each had a Mosi beer in celebration of our ride. We didn't care that it was 10:15 in the morning, we felt amazing. More customers were arriving at this time, mostly for the bungee jump. Doug felt completely satisfied with his adrenaline levels, but Dena was starting to get the feeling that she needed more than just a ride on the zip line. Dena has always wanted to try bungee jumping, but she has never had the opportunity or the guts to do it. This is probably one of the best locations in the world for bungee jumping, and she didn't want to regret missing the opportunity.

WARNING: Frances and Mike, read with caution!!!
 
After seeing a few people jump and being assured it was safe, Dena decided she wanted to jump. The deciding factor was when a few 17 year-old girls from Birmingham, England signed up for the bungee. There were also 50 year-old men getting ready to jump. Now she was convinced that she had to do it. Unfortunately we didn't have enough cash with us to pay for the bungee, and they weren't accepting credit cards. So we had Bobby drive us back into Livingstone to go to the ATM. Dena took out one million kwacha in order to have plenty of cash available. Don't worry, that's only 200 US dollars. We got back to the bridge, Dena paid the $115 for the jump, and she was ready to go--or at least she thought she was ready.

We walked on the bridge to the bungee jump platform, watched one person jump, and then they called Dena's name. First, she had to make sure her shoes were tied as tightly as possible. Then they strapped her tightly into her harness. 

 Dena getting prepared for her bungee jump

Next, she had to actually walk out onto the platform, 5 feet from the edge. Words can't describe the adrenaline and nerves that she was feeling, but she knew there was no turning back at this point. Several people were watching from the bridge and giving her encouragement. Her bungee helper assured her that her life was in his hands and that "there is life after bungee." Dena hopped towards the edge, since her feet were bound by the bungee cables, and tried not to look down. She put her toes over the edge and held onto the rail for dear life. The bungee helper pried her hands off the rail and lifted her arms, and Dena told her that she would need to be pushed--she couldn't jump on her own will. "Five, four, three, two, one...BUNGEE!" 

Dena's strapped in and ready to Jump (With a little push)

Dena was given a shove, and then she began her free fall 100 meters down towards the gorge. On the way down, she forgot that she was attached to anything; it just felt like she was falling towards the rocks and water below. She attempted to flap her arms as if that would have any effect, and after what seemed like minutes (less than 5 seconds in reality), the bungee tightened and stopped the fall. She could feel it tighten around her feet and was afraid of slipping out. After 2 or 3 bounces, a lot of spinning, and all the blood rushing to her head, she could feel herself being pulled back up towards the bridge. At that point, she had a permanent smile on her face and a great feeling of pride that she had actually done it. She was also ready to get herself back onto solid ground. She was greated a few meters below the bridge by another helper descending on his own rope. He attached himself to Dena and turned her right-side-up, bringing her back up to the bridge. It was the scariest thing she has ever done, but also the most amazing thing. She was very happy that she actually did it.

happy to be back on solid ground

Doug videotaped the jump, while Bobby took photographs. The company's videographers also filmed from two different angles, which we ended up combining on the DVD of our zip line rides. Even Doug and Bobby felt an adrenaline rush as they watched Dena leave the platform and free fall towards the water. We were all very relieved when she was finally pulled back up to safety on the bridge.

We had to wait along time for Dena's bungee video to load before we could watch it on the TV. In the meantime, we had "Bungee Burgers" for lunch. After finally seeing the video, we paid for our DVD with all three segments, and then headed back to Livingstone.

Starting the Weekend in Zambia and Zimbabwe

Saturday, July 24, 2010

When we woke up Saturday morning, we were the only two people left at the campsite.  Tommie and the students left very early to go back to Gaborone.  The owner of the camp came to pick us up and took us to the border at Kazungula to catch the ferry to Zambia.  We crossed the Chobe River again (in Zambia they call it the Zambezi River), and took a taxi to Livingstone.  It was a good thing we had done this once before, because we would have been completely lost otherwise.  Tommie's brother, Bobby, who we met last Tuesday when we went to Victoria Falls, picked us up at the Livingstone Post Office, and we dropped off our suitcase at his house, where we will be staying the next two nights.  Bobby would also be our personal driver and guide throughout both days in Zambia/Zimbabwe.

From there, we grabbed some lunch at a fast food restaurant called Hungry Lion, and then drove to the Zambia/Zimbabwe border.  Our first stop was going to be the Zimbabwe side of Victoria Falls, but we decided it wasn't worth paying $30 to see something we had seen a few days earlier, even though many people recommended seeing it from both sides.  Instead, we walked into Victoria Falls town to look for some of the activities we had heard about from other people we've met in Africa--elephant rides, the zip line across Victoria Falls, and a traditional dinner with dancing and drums called "Boma."

After checking out a few different tour companies, we found a good one called Elephant Experience that offered all 3 activities.  We booked the "Boma" dinner and paid for the zip line and the elephant walk in US dollars, which is the accepted currency in Zimbabwe.  The Zimbabwean Dollar was phased out long ago due to very high inflation--one US dollar is equal to one trillion Zimbabwean dollars, so they don't even use their own currency now.  After paying, we were told that the zip line was too busy today and we wouldn't be able to do that and be back in time for our elephant ride.  We were refunded that part of the payment, and then we walked back to the bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe, which spans the gorge at the bottom of Victoria Falls.  After taking a few good pictures of the falls, we found an even cheaper zip line on the Zambia side of the gorge.  They also offer bungee jumping and a swing--similar to bungee.   We decided we would come back there tomorrow morning to do our zip line.

 view from the Zambia/Zimbabwe border bridge

We took a taxi back into Victoria Falls town, and met our group for the elephant ride.  Besides the two of us, we were joined by a family of four Texans.  When we reached the elephant ride facility, we were greated with fruit juice and given a brief orientation about the experience.  They explained that two guides would follow us on foot with rifles, in case we encountered any wild animals.  There was also a videographer who would be following us in case we wanted to buy his video.  Next, 6 elephants and their handlers approached the building and came up to an elephant parking area.  We were introduced to all of the elephants and their handlers, and then we all walked over to the boarding area--a tall platform 15 feet high.  We each chose the two largest elephants to ride.  Dena's elephant was named "Dombo," which means Silent (he was the biggest in the group), and Doug's elephant was named "Apongo," which means Mother-in-Law.

The 6 elephants walked in a straight line along a trail through an area that borders the national park.  On the other side of the property is a crocodile farm, so we got to see quite a few crocs up close.  During the walk, we also saw other animals, like warthogs, baboons, impala, and many different birds.  Riding an elephant was much smoother than we expected.  We sat in large saddles behind the handlers, and it was easy to stay balanced without using our hands.  This allowed us to take a lot of pictures and video on our own.  Doug's elephant stopped at almost every tree to eat the leaves and the bark, and the handler had to keep yelling, "Apongo, move up!"  Dena's elephant, because it was so big, kept slapping Dena's legs when it fanned it's ears.  The view from the top of our elephants was amazing, especially for Dena who has never been the tallest person in a group.  We walked for around 1 hour, and then got back to the main building.  We had the opportunity to feed our elephants, either by putting the small pellets in their trunk, or directly into their mouths.  We did both, and putting our hands right on an elephants tongue was slimy, but cool.  The elephants all saluted us by lifting their trunks and picking up their front left foot, then they went back to their stables to be fed.

We immediately scrubbed our hands, and came back to watch a rough cut of the video that was made.  While we watched, we snacked on beef samoosas, an African treat that we have been trying to find, but every restaurant is always out of them.  We decided the video was really cool on top of our own footage, so we purchased one copy.  We told them we would be at the Boma dinner later, so they promised to deliver it to us there.

We got a ride back into Vic Falls town, and we had one hour to kill before our Boma dinner.  We did some quick souvenir shopping and had some coffee, then we were picked up again for dinner.  When the three of us arrived at the Boma, we were greeted at the door by drummers, then we were eached wrapped in a traditional African dress.  Then we each had a small amount of paint applied to our cheeks and went inside to check in.  We were given a table at the very front and center, next to the stage where the performance would be.  We started our dinner with a quick appetizer of sweet potatoes and roasted nuts, and we were given a small taste of traditional sorghum beer.  Dena doesn't like beer, and Bobby doesn't drink alcohol, so Doug drank all the beer.  It was much sweeter than regular beer.  Next we went to the buffet for a few more appetizers, including avocado and olives, green beans, salad, impala meat, and crocodile tail!  We each also ate a Mopani Worm, which is a type of caterpiller.  It was cooked, in fact, very burnt, and tasted like charcoal.  Each of us was given a certificate for successfully eating the worm.  Then it was time for the main course--MEAT.  They had several choices of meat for us.  They had marinated chicken and also sirloin, but we skipped these boring dishes that we can easily find in America.  Instead we chose Boewors (sausage), kudu steak, warthog, pork ribs, and eland.  We also took some stir-fried vegetables and butternut squash soup to balance the meal.

While we ate, the traditional dancers and drummers came out to give us a show.  The dancing and drumming was very wild and exciting, and at one point, Dena even went out on stage to dance with them.  We couldn't eat our food because we were enjoying the show and trying to capture it on film.  We managed to get a few bites in between each dance.  When the dancing finished, we tried a little dessert, and then every person in the audience was given a small drum.  The sound was deafening for a few minutes as each person played his or her own rhythm, but soon a group of real drummers came out to play for us.  They also taught the crowd a few techniques and beats so that we could play along.  Just as we were getting warmed up, our driver flagged us down and said it was time to leave.  If we waited too long, the border would close and we would be stuck in Zimbabwe all night.

We made it back to the border with enough time to spare, and Bobby drove us back into Livingstone.  We stopped at an outdoor nightclub attached to a restaurant in a strip mall.  Doug had a chance to try Mosi, the local beer which is named after the Tonga word for Vic Falls--Mosi-Oa-Tunya.  The music at this club was extremely loud, so we left after one drink and went back to Bobby's house.  When we arrived, we got to meet the rest of his family who live there--his sister, Nancy, and her two sons, Choolwe (11 yrs. old) and Lushomo (7 yrs. old), and the baby daughter, Chiyabi (1 year, 4 months).  They also have a live-in housekeeper, but we weren't properly introduced.  Our sleeping arrangements were a little strange in this crowded household.  Dena shared a room with the housekeeper, while Doug shared a room with Bobby and Choolwe.  The others slept with Nancy in her bedroom.  Also, the bathing situation here was a little difficult.  They only have running water during certain times of the day, and never when we would actually need to have it.  We had to use buckets of water in order to wash our hands and faces, and to fill up the toilet tank when we needed to flush.  So again, we would not be getting to shower for a few days.

Campaign Day 2--Delivering the Nets

Friday, July 23, 2010

We woke up at 6 AM to get dressed and load the bus, that way we could leave immediately after delivering the nets. Today, we wore red shirts that Tommie had designed and printed specifically for the Campaign. We started the day with another "kgotla" meeting, but this one was much more official because the Chief of Parakarungu was there, as well as other dignitaries.

Nets purchased for the Campaing

We arrived at the meeting at 8:00, and were scheduled to begin at 9:00, but we had to wait because Victoria O'Connell, the representative from the Regional Health Office of the US Embassy, was running very late. One of the students, Rebaone, stalled by singing a few songs on the microphone, and some of the villagers even sang along. Eventually the meeting started, and several people spoke about village issues. Another student, Tshenolo, translated for us because they were mostly speaking in Tsetswana. After awhile, we told her only to translate if they were talking about malaria and the Campaign, because we didn't care about any of the other business.

At one point in the meeting, all of the villagers sang Botswana's National Anthem. We had been given the lyrics two days earlier and taught the melody and pronunciation, and we had been practicing for this moment. Luckily, there was no microphone on us. Later in the meeting, we were both introduced to the villagers as high school teachers and the donors of the mosquito nets. They made a point of saying that this shows that "America really does care about Africa, not just Iraq and Afghanistan."

By 11:00, Victoria O'Connell finally arrived and gave her speech, and soon after the meeting concluded. We had a chance to meet her, as well as the Member of Parliament for the Chobe District, Gordon Nshimwe. Mr. Nshimwe is the equivalent of a member of the House of Representatives in the US Congress.

Member of Parliament, Gordon Nshimwe

Regional Health Officer for US Embassy, Victoria O'Connell

We divided up into teams, and we were each matched up with a representative from the Chobe District Council to help us translate and deliver the nets. These government representatives had the responsibility of keeping track of where and how many nets were delivered. They had GPS tracking devices to locate the households because there are no street addresses. This was a lot of bureaucratic paperwork, and we weren't interested in anything except delivering nets. We only had a little more than one hour to deliver the nets because the kgotla ran so long, and our bus needed to leave by one o'clock in order to get back to Kasane and get fuel before 4:30.

All the teams split up, and the two of us and our partners were able to visit four households. At each house, we had to ask how many people, including children, lived there. Then we needed to see how many sleeping spaces there were. We were trying to give one net for every two people, or one for each sleeping space. We also checked to see if they already owned any nets, and if so, how old and in what condition they were. Then we would decide how many nets to give them. We opened each new net to check for holes, and we explained how to properly care for the net. In total, we gave out around 11 nets. Some teams gave more, and some gave fewer, and we didn't have time to give out all 500 nets before we had to leave. However, the workers from the Chobe District Council would be staying in the village, and they assured us that the rest of the nets would be given out.

Doug and Dena with 2 mosquito nets


Doug helping to explain proper care for the net

When we finished the work and had to leave, each of the Burbank/Gaborone representatives traded their red t-shirts with their team partners in exchange for their white t-shirts. It reminded us of the end of a World Cup soccer match, when the players exchange jerseys with the other team.

We got back on the bus and said goodbye to Parakarungu. It was a bitter sweet goodbye--the conditions were rough, but it was a great experience. The ride out of the village was just as rough as the ride in, and there was no chance of resting on the bus over this bumpy road. Eventually, we made it back to Kasane, got fuel for the bus, and bought some snacks and drinks at a local grocery store. Then we went back to the campsite's main lodge where we had a delicious dinner of beef and chicken with other side dishes. We also exchanged email addresses with all the students and took several pictures because they would be leaving early in the morning, while we would be staying behind to spend the weekend in Zambia and Zimbabwe. We started to get a little sad because we weren't sure when we would all see each other again.

pictures with the group before leaving them

Back at the campsite, we finally had a chance to shower in our chalet--they fixed our shower while we were away. We've noticed that throughout our stay in Botswana, our living conditions have been quite a roller coaster ride. We started in a very nice hotel, then downgraded a little when we moved into Tommie's house for one night. Then we were at the campsite, which in some respects may have been an improvement (shower), but also a step down (food). The low point was definitely Parakarungu, sleeping on the floor on a very old mattress, constantly breathing through the dust, and being forced to "catch" a chicken for our lunch. We were very happy to be back at the campsite, which felt like a palace after "The Curse of Parakarungu," as we started to call it.

We repacked one of our suitcases with things we wouldn't need over the weekend, that way Tommie could take it back to Gaborone for us. Then we spent some time with the students so we could say goodbye. During the week, I had been wearing my Burbank Golf hat to cover my unshowered head. This hat became the envy of all the students, so I decided to give it away to Onalenna, one of the boys, because I had bonded with him more than the others. Also, Tshenolo, the girl who translated for us at the kgotla, had named her stuffed bear "Dena," so she could always have Dena with her. We were sad to be saying goodbye, but we all hoped there would be time to visit their school again next week.

Campaign Day 1

Thursday, July 22, 2010

For our first day in the village, we were scheduled to give out toys, which were donated by a sister school in Finland. We started the morning with no breakfast--thank God for Cheerios! Then we attended a village meeting called a "kgotla," where the leaders of the village announced our presence and our purpose for the day. The villagers were also gathered, along with government officials for the Chobe District, to pick up litter throughout the village. Earlier last week, we had given the students each their own "Burbank Blue Crew" shirt, which is what the Burbank High School students where to all the sporting events. We all wore the shirts while we did our work today, and it was great to see everyone dressed uniformly and representing our home city.

Our Group in their Blue Crew shirts

Villagers cleaning up litter

As we began the day's work, we started to give out the toys to the children who were there. This created mass chaos, as everyone mobbed us, trying to get a toy. Even the adults were trying to take the toys, but we insisted that we could only give the toys to children. We decided to hold off until we reached each individual household, and then only give the toys to the children we saw there. At first, most of the children were scared of us as we approached (we may have been the first white people they had seen in person), but once they realized we had gifts, they warmed up to us. It was amazing to see the delight on these kids' faces as they received the first toy they had ever owned. Even something as simple as a tennis ball made all the difference in the world for these people.

Kids with their new toys

At one of the houses we visited, we met a very old man who is the deputy chief of the village. We asked him his age, but he didn't know it. His wife had to reach into his pocket to find his identification, and the year of birth was 1924--he is 86 years old. We think he had been sitting in the same chair for the last 5 years. This was a very old man, considering the life expectancy in some of these villages. At this same house, we purchased a live chicken that we intended to use as our lunch. The students and our bus driver had to chase the chicken around the house before finally catching it, and the chicken was definitely not happy. We gave the chicken to some women from the village who said they would "prepare" it for us. Later, we bought a second chicken from a different household, as well as some Bream fish from the village store. The chicken was very tough and hard to pull off the bone, but the fish was very good despite the bones and head that we had to avoid. We also filled our stomachs with more pap, not knowing when our next full meal would be.

Village women prparing to cook our chicken

Almost everybody took a long nap in the afternoon, due to the heat and our full lunch. After waking up, the two of us searched for some long, thin sticks that we could use to roast marshmallows in the evening. We had brought supplies with us to make S'mores for the students.

That night for dinner, we had a simple meal consisting of macaroni noodles with a soup-based sauce, and chakalaka. We sat by the campfire while we ate, and we met a young man from the village who we talked to for awhile. We talked a little about politics because everyone on this continent is a huge Obama fan. We also had to explain to him, and many others throughout the trip, that not every person in America is rich with a big house and a fancy car. Just like in Africa, we also have poverty, and people need to work very hard if they want to be successful and wealthy.

After dinner, we gathered all the students for dessert. We needed to explain what S'mores are, because they have never heard of them. We told them that it is one of the few truly American traditions, and that anytime you have a campfire, you must have S'mores. We showed them how to properly roast a marshmallow, and how to construct a S'more, and then we turned them loose. We only had two sticks, so they had to share, but they managed to keep things moving very quickly. Each student had at least two S'mores; some had as many as five. Even Tommie and the bus driver enjoyed them. After running out of crackers for the S'mores, we went to bed.

Enjoying the S'mores