Day 17

July 11
Very little happened today. Very little. Well, I guess that's not entirely true, because I'm in Botswana. Things are always happening. I guess what I mean is nothing very different happened today. We spent all day today at the secondary school, building our benches and tables.

Louie and Anahi working to finish the ditches

We've laid the bricks for almost every bench, and we've begun laying for the tables. We were there from 9 AM to 5 PM. It was fun, but it wasn't very exciting. I did a lot of brick laying. The benches have to be perfectly straight, so the people we are working with use a level for each and every brick. They make sure that the tops are completely even, but they neglect to check the sides of the bench, so the benches end up looking like trapezoids. Apparently, I have a good eye for judging whether the bricks are straight or not. Not sure when else this will come in handy, but it sure is helpful when there are two levels and three groups! Our group didn't need the level very often. :)

Me wheeling some rocks to the sites (it really is an upper body workout)

Amelia and Rheame, hard at work.....

We had tea and lunch at the school, and I only went home for dinner. When I got in, Masego asked me to go to the store with her. I figured why not, so I went with her to the store. Oh my goodness, am I happy I went. The stars here are absolutely incredible. I wish that I had a better camera to try and capture the beauty of the sky here. I could not have been more aptly named. My Setswana name is Naledi, which means star. Dinaledi are bontle here. The stars are beautiful here. You can see the Milky Way as clearly as the stars around it. And there is no shortage of stars either. If I could spend all night staring up at the sky here, I would.

Just look at that moon. Amazing.

Day 16

July 10
Today was quite the unassuming day. Instead of a Setswana lesson today, Banki came and spoke to us about Setswana culture, including the way in which marriages, dating, and sexual education classes work. Marriages are long, extended affairs, involving the bringing together of two extended families into one joyous union. Dating doesn't happen until at least 18 years of age. Sexual education is a new phenomenon in Botswana, and it is slowly yet steadily making its way into the secondary school curriculum.
After our Banki lesson, we visited the tliliniki, the clinic. While there, we learned about the healthcare system in Botswana. It's actually amazing. All services offered at the clinic are free. How amazing is that. It blew my mind how accessible healthcare is here. Especially for HIV/AIDS patients, there was an amazing support system. The ARVs necessary for HIV treatment are free to citizens of Botswana at any clinic. Free! For a country with the second highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in the world, second only to Swaziland, this system is especially mind-boggling. Despite the huge rate (almost a quarter of the population), Botswana has one of Africa's most progressive and comprehensive programs for dealing with the disease. All of this is thanks to money from the diamond mines. The discovery of diamonds really was the best thing to happen to Botswana. This is an amazing system in place.

The public education area at the clinic

After we finished with the clinic, we went home for lunch. After lunch, we went to the secondary school to start laying bricks for the benches. We have two sets of bricks laid. That's one site down, four to go!
We watched the sun set again, and then went home. Hopefully, I'll get to cook dipapata (bread) tomorrow!! I was supposed to help today, but there wasn't enough time. After Generations, I helped my mom mop the kitchen. I enjoyed it, and I think she was happy that I offered to help. Her being happy made me happy. :)

Me and my mommy (with little Litso's head sticking out lol)

Palesa and Litso fell asleep on my lap today. They are actually too cute. I love these kids. :)

Palesa. Isn't she just too cute??

Day 15

July 9
We did it! Two weeks have come and gone. It doesn't feel like two weeks have passed. It feels like a lifetime and, at the same time, it feels like no time at all. It's funny, how time can pass like that. I'm sure that, before I know it, it will have been three weeks, then four weeks, then home. It's amazing how time flies when you're having fun! And today was definitely a fun day.

Flashback to Day 1, in the airport at JFK!!!

We woke up extra early this morning to go into Gabs (Gaborone). I was so happy that we went. I love Mogobane, but the change of scenery was definitely needed. We went to GameCity, one of the biggest malls in Gabs. It was scary, how closely it resembled some malls in America. It was beautiful though, and very easy to find what I wanted. We were able to spend quite a bit of time there, and we ate lunch there as well. I was very happy about that, because having the same lunches day after day was starting to get to me.
After the trip to Gabs, we returned to Mogobane for community service. We were laying cement today and my oh my was that interesting! The fail of the day? Well, while trying to pickaxe the ditches for the cement, Amelia put a hole in her leg with the pickaxe. Yup. A hole. In her leg. With a pickaxe. Klutzy much? I felt bad for her, but I must say, it took a little of the pressure off of me, as I'm usually the one injuring myself with dangerous equipment. Last year, in Belize, we worked with machetes, and mine was taken away from me. Three times. Hahaha!! Today, we were spilling cement everywhere as we tried to fill the holes, but we were laughing the entire time. I always have a good time with this group.

Rheame and Carson, hard at work

After I got back home, I heard that Mom had called! A quick text, and before I know it, I'm talking to Mom!! It was great, being able to talk to home. I hadn't had a phone conversation with home since arriving in Botswana. After a couple of disconnections, the conversation ended without flair, but after Generations, I was able to talk to Dad. I'm really sad that I haven't spoken to Cailin, my sister, yet. I should get to speak to her on Friday though, so I'm looking forward to that.
I'm beginning to feel the pangs of monotony. I guess that's the problem with being a city kid. I always need something new to spice up my day. Thankfully, Carson and Louie have been working tirelessly to keep things exciting, but I can feel it beginning to drag. Only 10 more days in the homestay. Let's see what tomorrow brings!

Day 14

July 8
Today was pancake day! I made sure that I woke up extra early today (yes, I sacrificed my sleep-in day for the greater good of pancakes) just so that I would have enough time to make, serve, and eat the pancakes before it was time to go to kereke, or church. I had to wake up at 7 to make sure that everything was done on time.
The first few pancakes were a complete disaster. I made a few key mistakes when making these first pancakes. Mistake #1: I tried to recreate a situation similar to that of home, where we cook 4 pancakes at a time on a griddle. Well, there was no griddle, but there was a large pan that covered all 4 burners. Great idea in theory, not so great empirically. The pan was uneven, so only one part of the pan was touching the stove. This meant that one pancake burnt, while the others didn't cook at all!
Mistake #2: I again tried to recreate my home cooking environment by using butter to grease the pan. By doing so, I disregarded the label which read "for spreading only," because there is no such thing as butter that only spreads and doesn't also cook. Well, apparently, there is such a thing as butter that will only spread and not cook, so the whole pancake-not-sticking-to-the-pan thing I was hoping for didn't quite work out.
Mistake #3: Normally, at home, I can watch the flame and adjust it to my preferred pancake-cooking level. This is generally around the mid-range of the flame strength. Refilwe, who actually loves pancakes dearly, was helping me cook, and she turned on the stove. What I didn't realize was that she turned it on to the highest possible setting. The hottest the stove could get. For pancakes. It took me two burnt pancakes to realize that the burner was set to that level. I turned it down, but it was continually turned up again by the mysterious stove burner bandit. After explaining to Refilwe why I set the burner to not full strength, she let me keep the temperature down. But that didn't stop her from making comments about the temperature the whole way through! Hahaha!!
To combat these problems, I switched to a smaller pan on one burner and I used cooking oil instead of butter. This was much better. I felt like Paula Deen, deep-frying pancakes, but it worked! The end result was delicious, even if most of the pancakes were broken and in pieces. Everyone loved them! :)
After pancakes, it was time for kereke! Today, Rheame, Ian, and Thomas were all there. It was a good service. We were anointed the last time we went, so I guess I was a little disappointed when that didn't happen again. The more time in church means the more time with Rheame, Ian, and Thomas!
I came back with my family, ate lunch, and took a glorious nap. I have been so tired lately, it's probably not healthy hahaha!
After my nap, I met up with the rest of the group for some quality time together. We didn't do very much, but that was all I needed. Just some time with my friends.
We're going as a group to Gaborone tomorrow! I'm so excited. I get to go on the internet again! :D Hahahaha!!

Day 13

July 7
Today was a really fun day! Quite possibly one of my favorites to this point. The group met up early today, at 7. We watched the sun rise as we walked. It actually got visibly higher as we watched it. Within seconds, there was a visible position change. When the sun was low, it was a deep red color, and we could still see the moon sinking on the other side of the sky. It was beautiful.

The sunrise this morning. Amazing.

Today, as a group, we climbed Mount Otse, the tallest mountain in Botswana. Yes, you read that correctly. The tallest mountain. In Botswana. Up to the highest peak. All 4,892 feet.

The amazing, awe-inspiring, intimidating Mount Otse

We reached the peak before 11. We were back at Louie's house before 3. The tallest mountain in Botswana, and the round trip was only 7 hours, including time getting to and from the mountain. Don't let the time deceive you, as that mountain was no walk in the park. The acacia trees, which are known for their long, sharp thorns, grow plentiful on the mountain side. The rocks which make up the mountain are not too happy to be there, and they frequently sought to release themselves. Now, separately, these two things would not be so bad, but together, it can be a nightmare. When a rock slips from under your feet, you'd best be careful not too reach out to grab the nearest tree branch, because you will send a 4-inch spike through your hand. But if you pay too much attention to the ground to keep your footing sure, there is no question that you will walk right into an acacia branch, and that isn't too fun either. With all of those thorns, and all of my lack of coordination, I was poked a lot, and I scratched up my arm. That isn't too bad, seeing as Ian impaled his ear.

Check out the thorns on this guy!

Taking a breather

Ian's impaled ear (sorry for the visual, but it was needed)

Despite all the danger, it was so much fun. Actually, thanks to the danger, it was even more fun! There is nothing funnier than hearing the silent shuffle of feet followed by the sound of shifting rocks and a short shriek followed by a mumbled "Watch the loose rocks over here." I think that a majority of us spent both the ascent and descent on something not quite two feet. We took as many pictures as humanly possible going up, going down, and at the top. We passed an abandoned mine on the way up, we assume it was a salt mine, and we took pictures there as well. I always have fun when I'm with my group. Always.

About half-way up

Yay, salt mine!!

The view from the top

Me at the top!

Going down...

After staying at Louie's house for an hour, I went home and took a much needed nap. I ate dinner when I woke up, planned tomorrow's breakfast (I'm making pancakes!), and called it a night. The pancakes will be interesting. I have to improvise a lot. We'll see how it works out! :)

Day 12

July 6
I can't believe it's only day 12. It feels like I've been here forever! I've seen and done so much, it's crazy. I also learned an important life lesson today. If you put trash in your bag, like a food wrapper, make sure you throw it out first thing, or make sure it is deep inside your bag. Otherwise, if you leave food in one of the outside mesh pockets, you might find that a nice family of ants has decided to take residence in that mesh pocket. I only hope that's the only place they found, because there's no way I'd be able to find them all myself if they found their way into other parts of my bag. I quickly removed that wrapper from my bag and my room and stomped on anything that may have moved. I stood there for about 10 minutes, just to make sure they were all dead. I'm pretty sure that I did a good job, but my bag is hanging up outside of my room, just to be sure.

Imagine this guy, times a billion million, and that's about how many ants there were.....

Other than that little adventure, today was a pretty good day. Setswana lessons in the morning, lunch, community service (which was where my bag must have met the acquaintance of those ants). After service, we played the best game of pickup soccer ever. I was goalie for most of the game, and I only let in one goal! I was especially proud because I think we may have played the world's best 10 year-olds. They were definitely giving us a run for our money, but we did win 5-1. Great fun, and many new local friends!

Walking back with our new soccer buddies

I came back for dinner, and I played cards with Rorisang and Refilwe while the younger kids watched on and tried to interfere. We watched Generations before I called it a night, and this brings us back to the discovery of the day: the relocation of an ant hill into my backpack. I am so tired. I think that tonight's time of 9:30pm might set a new record for how late I've stayed up since I've arrived.

Rorisang picking his next move carefully

Tomorrow, we were told that we have a special, weekend surprise. I heard some whispers about Mount Otse (the tallest mountain in Botswana), but we'll see tomorrow! :)

Day 11

July 5
Today was a nice day, but it was not very eventful. I had eggs for breakfast. They were very good. I made them myself. :) Setswana lessons this morning went as they normally do. We reviewed verbs and positive/negative sentences. We also started talking about different tenses. Too confusing. I'd rather stick with the present. :)

A page from my Setswana notebook

Lunch was good, and then it was community service time. We've been making very good progress. We have dug ditches at three sites with pickaxes and shovels and created piles of sand, river sand, and rocks at each site. We have started piling bricks as well. Not quite sure what we'll be doing tomorrow, but it will most likely involve concrete. We're moving faster than expected.

A long day of pickaxing and shoveling

At the site, we met a group of local kids who go to the secondary school, and we had a great time showing them American dances while they showed us Batswana (the word for the people of Botswana) dances.
We tried to catch the sunset again, but we missed it by about a minute. It sets fast here. Oh well. We can catch it tomorrow. It sets every day. :)
Tonight was a good dinner. I had some bonding time with my family before it was time for Generations. Lots of fun and games. So so so tired. I used the pickaxe a lot today, and I did some heavy lifting. I'll feel it tomorrow, I'm sure. At this rate, I'll be buff when I get back to New York! Hahaha!! Good night. I'm excited to see what tomorrow brings.