A little thing that I like to call "The Mothership"

It may not look like much…but this is what a little slice of heaven looks like. Now, we all know that I have been a complete wimp when it comes to the heat…honestly, when I wake up in the morning at 6am and it's already really hot outside, I am immediately in a bad mood. When I am stuck in a car or a combi with the sun literally cooking me…It's best just to steer clear of me. So, when some ceiling fans went on sale at a local store…and I talked my buildings department to install them for me…let's just say that life was looking pretty good! I'm not going to pretend that it's like having air conditioning, but the ceiling fans have certainly been a lovely change. I now have one in the living room and one in the bedroom – which are now the only two rooms that I even think about entering!

Mardi Gras (More than just a Fat Tuesday…Pay Day!!!)

Two of my good girlfriends joined Dereje and I this weekend to celebrate Mardi Gras! Mostly, we were just celebrating the fact that we finally got paid (our pay has to last three months…so you can imagine the "budgeting" nightmare). We were hoping to celebrate by seeing Dreamgirls in Gabs, but it still hasn't arrived here. So, instead, we drank a lot of iced coffee at a local coffee spot and did some fun shopping. We don't really have open markets here in Botswana – which is such a shame – but there are some vendors that set up shop outside of a local mall that provide some fun shopping. Most is the stuff is from Zim, Uganda, and Kenya…but at least it still African stuff…even if it's not from Botswana.
One thing I got excited about were these tapestries that are put together with tree bark – they come from Uganda and are just beautiful.

After a day of shopping (which consisted mostly of shopping for foods that we don't always readily have – i.e. I now have jalapeño peppers, olive oil and balsamic vinegar…which is really exciting) we went to and Ethiopian Braai (Braai = BBQ= grilling outside = eating with mosquitoes). I always enjoy hanging out with Dereje's friends because they are so welcoming and warm…and the food is fantastic! It turns out that and Ethiopian Braai is very similar to an Ethiopian dinner – the thing that makes it a braai is that we eat with our hands OUTSIDE…and drink beer…which is good enough for my braai standards.

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

Wow! Today I got a huge surprise. A big thank you goes out to Anna Guerra who sent me the most amazing package today! Anna works for Westlaw (a legal research company that I worked for in Law School) – and she reminded me again how generous she is by sending a wonderful box filled with all sorts of goodies. I am now completely ready to celebrate Mardi gras in style! The only difficulty that I see ahead of me is that now I have to explain things like lifting your shirt for beads and drinking your weight in Hurricanes…and I thought Macy's Day Parade was hard to describe!

Thanks again Anna! The package was fantastic!

Passion for Love, Not for Killing

My Men Sector Committee decided that they wanted to do a passion killing event. "Passion killing" is a term that is used by Motswana when some one (usually the man) kills his partner and then kills himself. Passion killings have become more and more of a problem here in Botswana, and it's something that a lot of the Men Sector's are trying to get out there and speak about.

I was really excited when my Men Sector came up with the idea of and event for Valentine's Day. First, we started with a march down the street with a local boy scout group leading us.

After that we convened in front of a shopping complex and had some speakers. One of our speakers from the local police even came up with a little drama that he had the kids do.
The event was really well attended and community seemed to get a lot out of it! This is definitely part of my job that I love.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

My Valentine's Day was absolutely lovely! Dereje and I decided that we should spend our evening at BOFWA (Botswana Family Welfare Association) – BOFWA is center for youth where they can get tested for STDs and HIV along with getting any other counseling related to reproductive health. BOFWA decided to hold a dinner for Valentine's Day so we went along with some friends to celebrate the evening!

It was such a lovely event. The kids had taken a hall and decorated it with streamers and candles…they even had a DJ playing romantic music – it was really nice. I especially loved the fact that Dereje and I got to spend the evening together with our Motswana friends- we had such a nice night – although it did last a bit later than any of us expected. In true Botswana fashion the ticket said that dinner would start at 7pm – so that translates to a beginning at 9pm!

We were very tired by the end of the night…along with also being very hot because it is still a very hot summer for us- but most of all we were happy to have spent Valentine's Day with loved ones!

Hope everyone had a fantastic Valentine's Day!

Botswana is Beautiful

The thing about Botswana is that it is incredibly beautiful…in areas. One of the hardest things about our tourism is that we only have high-end tourism. A huge complaint from many of us here is that we don't have any backpackers or hostels that we can stay in when we move around this country. As peace corps volunteers, we have remedied that by assuming that wherever we are in the country we can stay at another volunteer's house, but that's not really an option for the Motswana. It's kind of amazing to meet so many natives here who have never seen an elephant or any other wildlife for that matter.

This is Nbali, she has never seen an elephant, but I'm pretty sure her mom will take her to see some wildlife as soon as she gets a little bit older.

I think that something I have come to realize is that the beauty of Botswana isn't necessarily in the animals or the landscape (cause not everybody gets to see those), but the beauty that is accessible to everyone is in the people. I'm not saying that everyone here is beautiful…in fact, some people become downright ugly to me as soon as they open their mouths…but there are a few who really touch my heart and make me feel like I am home

This is what makes Botswana beautiful to me.

AIDS Propaganda…

After HIV Infection there is no bail, no appeal, no re-trial

This is one of my favorite posters that I have found around our district. I love seeing different posters about AIDS…and it's always amazing to me to see the different ways that people try to get the message across.

HIV Employment Law Now

What I also love about fighting HIV/AIDS in a developing country is the complex issues that you see arise. I think it's great that not only do we fight to keep people alive, and to keep people from contracting HIV…but there are also so many other issues that are tackled such as employment law and proper will writing to ensure that orphans are cared for. These issues certainly aren't for everyone…but for those who are being discriminated against, it can change their world.

Why are automatic weapons needed to check driving registration papers?

Dereje and I have been very lucky in that we have never been stopped by a police check point while driving….On Friday night, our luck ran out. The really tough thing is that our luck ran out at 12:30am. So, here's how a check point works: A police officer with an automatic weapon strapped on his shoulder (some might call it "flare") stops cars in a line and then one by one waves the car to his side. He then says absolutely nothing as he walks around the car. His next step is to do one of two things: One, he waves you on. Two, he tells you to pull over to the side of the road and "wait for him." Dereje and I received the later treatment (which is really confusing to two foreigners that can't get any of the officers to explain what is happening). Apparently, the vehicle registration was expired. What are the solutions to this issue? Pay a fine you might say? Sure, that sounds reasonable…but no. The solution in Botswana is that you have to get out of your car and leave it on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere and find your own way home, and then collect your car from a compound (described as a field of cars that you have to just walk through to find your own car) after you get a new registration. Did I mention that it is midnight at this point?

Luckily for me, Dereje was as unwilling as I was to accept this as a solution. In fact, I didn't even know that's what was being required of us because I stayed in the car the entire forty minutes that he was arguing with the officers (but I had kind of guessed by the actions of everyone else). So, the solution that Dereje came up with was that he would take me home and then come back to the checkpoint at six in the morning to reclaim his drivers license and give a promise that he would re-register the car before driving it again. Apparently, we were given special allowances for which Dereje expresses a lot of gratitude about…but I still can't help getting angry at all of the security issues it raises to stop people at that time of night, tell them to leave their car, and find their own way home. The one thing that Dereje did tell me he was amazed at, was that nobody was arguing with the officers…they just handed over their keys and went on their way…I guess that's what you do when an officer is talking to you about your registration with an automatic weapon strapped to their shoulder…it just doesn't seem right to me.

Wildlife Health Fair

Often when we hold some sort of event in Mochudi we try to incorporate some things that are traditional or things that help to depict Botswana Culture. Not too long ago the wildlife unit in my district decided to hold a health fair. Health fairs are pretty common for different government sectors, so I thought it might be nice to show some pictures of what a typical health fair looks like.

It's pretty amazing to me that so many of the youth are very willing to put on the traditional skins and furs and dance the traditional dances.

Each dance depicts something different in the history of the Botswana culture. Many times dances are about a marriage ceremony, or some other big event in a Motswana's life, such as a rain or a hunting season. Wrapped around the legs of the youth are seeds…this seed will make a lot of noise when they start dancing which shows the amazing sense of rhythm that all of this requires.

Our health fair also included condom demonstrations from my Men Sector Committee. It's always so fantastic for me to see how far they have come along…before I came to Mochudi there wasn't a men sector formed…so I just happened to come in right at the time the executive committee was being formed. Because of that I take a lot of pride when I see all of their capabilities when it comes to AIDS education now.
At the end of the day the wildlife health fair was very successful…it was hot, which lends itself to lots of education about hydration…but it was also really well attended which is one of the most important things…it's a small step in the fight against AIDS, but I have found that it makes all the difference.