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Published: August 10th 2007
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Mokolodi Elder
This male giraffe was the largest and darkest we have seen to date. The spots get darker with age and the horns get thicker. Plus it was constantly saying "oy" whenever it walked. Hi Friends,
Sorry for the space between my blogs, but though there has been lots going on, sometimes it's just difficult to come up with ways of describing things.
So, for the last month, you could say we have reached phase two of our adventure. Phase one, or the settling phase, took quite a while. Getting everything organized, the house, the car, the utilities marched along at African time. Phase two we will call the getting comfortable stage. Anj is in full swing at her work as her last blog showed. She has completed a marketing plan for the charger and presented her findings to the board. Now she is busy setting up plans and appointments to sell the product worldwide. A trip to Kenya is in the works for July and she may even be forced to go all the way to Salt Lake City (yikes) in June for a conference. Not a trip she is hoping to make. If it were New York or San Fran, maybe, but what kind of shopping is there in Utah? We already have a healthy stock of sea salt in our cupboards and I am perfectly comfortable having just one
Dust Bath
One of the first elephants we have seen in BW. Part of a herd giving themselves a dust bath - keeps them cool and the flies away. wife.
So how is life here and why is it comfortable you may ask? Well, we are starting to get into the groove of things here. Realizing that life works at a turtle's pace and that there is very little to do here when it comes down to it. Good thing we like each other's company so much as we have been spending most of our time together. I have become a pro at the Braai (BBQ) and have finally sorted out the system of combis (giant minivans filled with 16 people, thoroughly unsafe, but cheap and the only system of transportation around the system apart from your feet). I really feel like I am in Africa when i am taking a combi. Drivers all like to name their combis and Anj and I for entertainment's sake have begun making a list of all the great names we have seen for them - these include " Spice", "The coming days" and the inevitable "bulldog". In order to get to the other side of the city though, one is forced to take a combi to the main bus terminal and then walk about 1-2 kilometres through markets, over the railway
This close
Just before the attack, Bryan had a nervous grin on his face - he had had a run in at a pub with the elephant on the right. tracks to the back of some shopping plaza just to find the next combi. Along the way, come the customary stares and the poor attempts at direction giving such as "take the bridge to the sign, then go up to another sign and past this bush that is green and look for Tlokweng Route number 3" needless to say there are about 500 combis parked anywhere and in any order so finding your connection is impossible. The best experience though is the mad driving and music blasting while you speed along. I especially enjoyed listening to "Ghostbusters" in my white combi the other day.
Socially, Anj and I have started meeting some good people. Each Sunday we go for a 20km walk with friends out in the bush and it is keeping us fit. Anj said that she spotted a calf muscle on me, but it must have been a shadow.
Last week, a group of Canadian university delegates, including professors, university presidents and the like came to visit Botswana through WUSC, looking to set up partnerships with universities and organizations here. We joined them at a dinner as representatives of WUSC and it was really quite nice
Sole herd at Mokolodi
The only elephants at the park. Not due to poaching, but kept low to preserve a reasonable amount of space for habitat. Too many elephants in too small a space means environmental destruction and terretorial fights. to meet smart and friendly Canadians. Some of the pictures in this blog are of their visit to Otse, which was partially hosted by Anj. They did a tour of the grounds and when they visited Godisa, Anj translated in sign language for some of the workers who were explaining how the products are made and work. Anj's grasp of sign language has been amazingly quick and she has mentioned that it is one of her favourite aspects of the job. My grasp has been slow. Must be because i am left handed.
We were treated to a game drive at Mokolodi with the representatives that day and saw some new birds including my favourite, kingfishers. They hover like hummingbirds about 15 feet above the water and then dive headlong into the water to catch fish. We also saw our first elephants in BW and had some more time to schmooze the representatives.
A highlight of the event was the connection that I made that may go a long way towards finding some more work for me. The dean of the University of Botswana business school was there and we set up a meeting to discuss work opportunities.
Soulful
As one of the smartest mammals apart from humans and politicians, the elephant is a beast that is really full of expression and life. At the meeting this week, he was quite positive about the chance for me to help conduct research, write case studies and such for the school and especially their new travel and tourism program, which starts in August. They even asked me to apply for a lecturer position in the department, but i am not sure how suited I am to teach tourism courses - perhaps just a few classes.
But I am still keeping busy in the meantime. I have started working for WUSC as well here - I am conducting some research on their partner organizations to see how effective their programs are and whether or not they have the need for more volunteers. Today I leave for Seliwe-Phikwe with the Reverend Simane from the Botswana Council of Churches to see their vocational training program for youths around 5 hours from here. In a few weeks, they are flying me to Maun and I will get to tour the northwest of the country and visit the 9 projects of KURU, a partner organization that runs community development and ecotourism projects. From this work may stem some opportunities to help these organizations further develop their business and marketing
Signing away
Anj translating for her deaf co-worker D'Williane, how the hearing aids are made, for the group of Canadian university delegates visiting her office on Saturday. activities. Plus, I intend to extend that trip and swing into Namibia and Zambia, and visit Victoria Falls. So the work is finally there for me....nothing full time but enough to keep me engaged and busy.
Otherwise, things are going great as well. Next week Anj and I are driving to Pretoria and then taking a bus to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. It's supposed to be an amazing city, with a long history of being colonial Portuguese. From there, we are heading up the coast to the beaches of Tofu and Barra for some swimming, scuba diving and to celebrate my birthday and Anj's coming important birthday, as well as our anniversary. I can't believe i am turning 24!
Other important news; Anj brought home a little kitten named Charlie the other day, who we have decided to foster for our time here. One of her co-workers had kittens (well, their cat had kittens, her co-worker did not) and offered us one to keep while we are here, but to give back when we leave. It is nice having someone else to talk to and he is quite the Scrabble player.
So all is well with
D'Williane
One of the deaf workers at Anj's office, D'Williane assembles the rechargers for the hearing aids and is a big Manchester United fan as well. us. There will be lots more to write after our coming trip(s) and many more little anecdotes from Gaborone, the city that never wakes, as we go along.
Missing you all and keep up the emails and comments. We love to hear from you all.
Much love,
Bry and Anj.
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Jen
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Love those elephants!!
Wow, those elephants are really fantastic animals! It's amazing that you can get so close to them! I love reading both your blogs, it's so great to be able to follow you adventure! Thanks for keeping us updated! Can't wait to read the next one! Jen :)