Mango Revolution in Gaborone

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Life happens too fast here for us to tell you about everything. So, here is the Colesnotes version of life in Gaborone.

FOREWORD
The following observations have been made by two Canadian born women, hovering between not-grownupness and grown-upness, with moderate knowledge about the world they live in, and an increasing awareness of their wealth of ignorance about the same as well.

CHAPTERS 1-5: The Way Things Are
Summary: Upon their arrival in Gaborone, the girls set out to find a map of the city, and are confused and alarmed at the reaction of people when they ask where they might procure such a useful tool, as it is invariably met with laughter. The girls then happily discover a fairly recent map in their copy of The Lonely Planet Guide to Southern Africa, only to further discover, that, despite being a large-ish city with definite street names, streets in Gaborone are rarely labelled in any way...which leads to a discussion of the possible usefulness of naming a street wich in not recorded anywhere.
The girls also notice that all Batswana women possess the amazing talent of walking, with complete confidence and poise, through a crowded market with a baby tied to their backs with a bath towel and a bag of flour balanced perfectly on their heads. Lindsay's attempt to do the same with our stuff (food wise, not baby), proves to be moderately successful.
Most importantly, the girls manage to consume a staggering 17 mangoes in their first week in Africa, usually attired in their mango suits* and crouched in a bathtub, over a pool, or on the grass.

CHAPTERS 5-10: Inter-City Travel
Summary: the girls discover that the best way to learn the city (unnamed streets and all), is to manage to turn a 5 minute shortcut into a 45 minute scenic detour. Kimberly, in partcular, is adept at strecthing impossibly short trips into impossibly long ones. Lindsay is good-humoured enough about it, and claims to appreciate the extra DPA.** The ensuing sunburns are sure to fade in time.
Girls manage to hail, board, ride, and successfully disembark a Combi*** within their first 12 hours in Gabs. They use this reliable method of transport from here on out, much to the amusement (and consternation) of other riders. While quite proud of their resourcefulness, the girls have yet to learn how to ask the driver to let them off, and so often wind up walking a considerable distance to their destination.

CHAPTERS 10-15: Rosy Cheeks and Runny Noses
Summary: The girls commence work at their day-care centre and pre-school. which is staffed by 3 teachers and 2 assistants for ninety small children. the children, who either do not or refuse to speak English to the bewildered girls, make a fun game of sneaking up and smacking Kimberly on her posterior, to their amusement.
The girls are forced to compromise their vegetarian priciples when it becomes apparent that eating at school is non-negotiable. The girsl risk offending all others if they continue to bag lunches, and as a result eat sausage for the first time in years. The cook likes them and ensures they get extra helpings.
The girls also spend some time sorting out donations of toys, and write home politely requesting that no one ever decide to send any of the following to Africa again, despite how 'needy' Westerners might consider the residents to be: yoyos (with no string), headless dolls or doll appendageswith no corresponding body, used toothbrushes, journals (with no blank pages), Gameboy cartridges, already opened Christmas crackers, or any issue of Cosmo magazine, among other highly useful items.

CONCLUSION:
(As the work in Question is as of yet unfinished, there is no conclusion.)




* Mango suit (maen-GO soot): Of African origin. Known in N. America as a bathing suit. Worn for the consumption of mangoes, as the juice of said fruit invariably winds up running down faces, arms, legs and bodies of consumers.
** DPA (dee-PEE-ay): Common abbr. for Daily Physical Activity, as implemented in many Ontario school boards for an increasingly obese youth population.
***Combi (KOM-bee): Of S. African origin. A small mini-van which seats 6 comfortably but has an actual capacity of 20. It is the main means of transportation by locals, and Canadian girls are oft-gawked at and likely talked about (in another language, and so unbeknownst to them) when they use it as their main means of commute to and from work.

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