Living in the lap of luxury

We came…We saw…
We goofed around…
We wondered whether maybe we were the ones being observed…
We drank…
AND we ate…
Definitely one of the best vacations ever!

All of the other animals (basically our safari was like Noah's Ark)

It all started when Darren, our safari guide, asked me what I wanted to see. We had seen lion, so I was pretty set – but, I decided that I would really like to see a baby elephant. About five minutes into our drive – there they were
And, even better, there were at least three little babies around
Shortly after we left our elephants we came across this "little" guy munching on the treesAnd this rhino baby and his momma rolling around in the mud
We ended our drive with sundowners (i.e. alcohol) out in the middle of nowhere looking at a gorgeous sunset After that, we thought we were done – until we got a call from the lodge saying that there were two lion heading our way. We were so privileged and excited to meet up with two really big lions that were then joined by two younger males. It was amazing to see how lovingly they met one another!
Kind of makes you want to run up and give them a big hug right?

Did we see anything on Safari?

I know that a lot of my talk about our trip to South Africa has been focused on all of the good news – but, in addition to all of the excitement about our engagement – Dereje and I were also really excited about all of the animals that we saw.This guy greeted us early in the morning the day after our engagement! We were so excited to see him, we forgot that the car we were in has some limitations! We were right in front of this big guy when Darren, our guide, thought maybe we could get an even better view. As soon as he started to move the car we heard a little sound that came whooshing out of our tire…yep, we had a flat. I could tell that Darren wasn't thrilled with what his job required of him at that point – but, he did change the tire – in record time, I might add!
Our big lion did get up a couple of times to see what was going on – at which time Darren would jump back into the car – but he did manage to get the tire changed with nobody getting mauled, and everybody was kind of amused at the whole situation.

We did, however, stop 10 minutes later for morning coffee which "calmed Darren's nerves" – personally, I think whisky would have done the trick better than coffee…but to each his own!

About an hour later we met up with three cubs who had wandered away from their mother.
We were able to watch them head to a water hole to get some water.
Just as we turned the car around we saw a their mother stalking some Zebra…she was so close to getting one, but, unfortunately, it looked like the cubs might go hungry that day.

Thank you Mom and Dad!!!

A while ago Dereje had contacted my Mother and Father to ask for their blessing before he proposed to me. When we told them that were going on vacation to Madikwe game reserve, I think they got an idea as to what Dereje was up to.

So…when Dereje and I returned from a game drive the afternoon after we were engaged we were pretty surprised to have them tell us that we would not be dining with the guests tonight…instead we would be dining in our room alone. We weren't quite sure why we were being banished until we got to our room.

Our room was once again filled with candles and flowers.
A beautiful table was set for us our on our private deck
And a fantastic bottle of champagne was sitting on our dresser with a beautiful note from my Mom and Dad! Thank you guys for making our time in Madikwe even more special!

What a vacation!

Our vacation in South Africa was absolutely amazing. Not only did we see lots of animals (pictures to come…I promise) – but we also experienced an amazing event in our life.

On our vacation… Dereje proposed!!!
Dereje proposed in front of 9 strangers that we became very close to– very fast! It was such a beautiful, amazing moment...the women were crying, the men were cheering, and we were just really happy!
After everyone at the lodge toasted us with fantastic champagne, Dereje and I made our way back to our room only to find it filled with candles and flowers laid beautifully all over the room just for us. I hope that everyone, at some point in their life, gets to experience the happiness that we have been filled with since the moment we were engaged!

Tau Lodge

Dereje and I are heading out for a short vacation. We are so excited to be going to Madikwe...a game reserve just near to where we live. Madikwe is in the northern part of South Africa - just about 50 minutes away from us. There have been lots of sitings of lion and elephants this month, so we are keeping our fingers crossed!

Here are some pictures and some info:

The jumbled hillocks of Tshwene-Tshwene and the dramatic ridge of the Dwarsberg Mountains expose rocks of up to 2630 million years old and artifacts of the Stone and Iron Ages are still found in the Great Marico dust.

Privately owned Tau Game Lodge South Africa was built in 1995 and overlooks a vast natural waterhole, which attracts a variety of game, as does the diverse vegetation that thrives in the fertile topsoil.

Situated at an easy 4 hours driving distance from Johannesburg or 50 minutes daily scheduled flight from Johannesburg International airport, Tau "The Place of the Lion" can host and accommodate up to 60 people.

A spectacular diversity of South African wildlife is conserved at Madikwe Game Reserve and you can enjoy the South African wildlife and the tranquility of nature right on your doorstep while on your South African safari holiday at Tau Game Lodge.
Thirty rustic thatched chalets are spread out in U-formation on either side of the lodge, offering excellent views of animals approaching the water from the opposite bank.

Each chalet has its own wooden game viewing deck, which allows one to experience the bush in privacy and is equipped with an en-suite bathroom and open-air shower.

Can't wait to tell you all about it!

Feeding Motswana Friends Ethiopian Food

On Friday night Dereje and I had some Motswana friends over to taste some Ethiopian cuisine. Dereje cooked for hours and hours on thursday night and then again some more on Friday and produced a huge, wonderful Ethiopian feast. Our Motswana friends seemed to like it (except for the injara - traditional Ethiopian pancake like thing that is kind of like their bread). They said it was sour and that they don't like sour things...this coming from people that like to sit milk out and wait until it gets sour and then they call it a delicacy. All in all it was a fantastic night of fun and laughter and a bonus that we got to introduce some friends to a new culture!

This campaign is crazy…I love it!

The Ministry of Health has a drug and alcohol abuse campaign that they have started here in Botswana. One of the ways they publicize this campaign is by rolling out a big truck with a bunch of beer bottles drawn all over it…it's only until you really look at these beer bottles that you can see what the campaign is all about. The bottles say things like: Accidental Lager: Drinking and Driving Kills,

Suicide Lager: 1,903 people committed suicide in Botswana between the year 2000 and 2006. And, my personal favorite:

Rape Spirit: Wild flavor- gives you 80% chance to rape- no means no

The whole campaign is geared towards talking about risky behavior-specifically related to alcohol and what can happen when you get drunk. Some of these slogans may seem a bit harsh but I think to understand them you have to understand the way the youth of Botswana drink. Certainly it's not everyone, but a lot of the youth here tend to drink until they are absolutely blitzed…there's not really a culture of catching a glass of wine after work with your friends or going to a local bar to have some margaritas and then dance the night away…here, it's all about heavy drinking-which leads to risky behavior-which leads to the chance of contracting HIV.

Ever wonder what I do when I'm bored???

Well…actually there are many things that I do when I'm bored. Admittedly, I used to have a lot more "boring" moments…now I find that I'm often too busy to be bored (or rather, too tired to be bored). However, when I do find myself stuck with a moment of boredom there's a number of things that I do: sometimes I play yatzee, sometimes I count the donkeys that pass my gate, sometimes I make bread out of everything in my fridge just to see if Dereje will eat it (the other day I made Zucchini, carrot, banana, honey bread….and he loves it)! BUT, last Sunday my boredom went to a whole new level…I all of the sudden became determined to make this:And then I tried it on:
Wow…totally productive Sunday…now, if only I can figure out how to make bread with left over chicken and green peas.

MYAA (Month of Youth Against AIDS)

March is the month of youth. This means that all over the district there are events that talk to the youth about preventing HIV/AIDS and the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. This past weekend was the launch of all of our events in the district – we did our launch in a little village named Malolwane. Malolwane is about 40 minutes from Mochudi and is, what I would call, quiet. So, we tried to liven it up a bit.
We started by setting up a truck with a DJ and playing music to try and get kids to come. We also had a drama group up on the stage doing dances and acting out scenarios. It was really cool however as it was in Setswana, I could only kind of follow along with their actions and dance! I didn’t realize it but Dereje had one of the counselors sitting next to him telling him about what was going on in the play while I was running around taking pictures. So, when I came back he told me what the play was all about in great detail. I started laughing and asked him how he knew what was going on? He replied, “honey, I’m African…in a way we all speak the same language." I quickly started looking around him to see who had been telling him what was going on and found the culprit sitting next to him who wasn’t quick enough to claim her innocence. She started laughing at him too. The youth coordinator that I work closely with also got a big laugh at me, he’s constantly translating stuff for me in meetings and really anywhere else that we are- it turns out our guest speaker decided to speak English at our event. Just after she started talking I quickly went to the side of my friend and asked him what she was saying. He immediately, as he always does, tried to describe to me what was going on…once he did, I smiled at him and told him, “I know, she’s speaking English”….I think it took him a good five minutes to stop laughing.
Our guest speaker was a woman who wrote a book at the age of 15 about the horrors of HIV and then went on to write other four books that are waiting to be published. And all of this at the age of nineteen.
The kids seemed to enjoy what she had to say, but mostly I think they enjoyed the music and the snacks (anything to get the message across).

Even the little ones seemed to enjoy the day (even though it was about 97 degrees Fahrenheit…and minimal shade)!