From lemurs to zebras in 24 hours!

I have arrived in Botswana safe and sound! (after quite a long journey)

Matt and I left yesterday from Fort Dauphin, and flew into Johannesburg. Because we were traveling on a chartered flight, we had an small issue with baggage...I was only allowed 20 kilos of weight, total. Because I was actually carrying 30, I was told that I was going to have to leave some of my things behind. But after about 10 minutes of freaking out, we eventually worked it out, and all luggage made it on to the plane. Woof.

When we had finally made it to the huge airport of Johannesburg, our connecting flight to Gaborone had already departed. Yet, amidst all of the craziness, Matt and I were able to secure another flight with Air Botswana (after an hour and a half of running back and forth across the airport like two chickens with our heads cut off). At least everyone there spoke English...

We arrived in Gaborone late last night, and the gentleman who was supposed to take us to our hotel had already left. Eventually, we found someone who had been waiting with the gentleman who understood our situation, and long story short, we made it to our hotel. We ate dinner at a crazy huge restaurant down the street from our own place of lodging. And there is only one way to explain my feelings at that point in time. Culture shock. I drank a ginger ale with lime juice along side a glistening pool, while eating an Asian chicken noodle salad. The bathrooms had granite counter tops and foamy soap. I didn't know where the hell I was. Just the day before, I was using the bathroom in an old broken down outhouse. It was, indeed, an intense situation that I did not expect to experience.

This morning we arrived in Maun, where we were greeted by our new academic director (who goes by the name Simba!!). We drove to a little hotel and talked about our new home. He described the structure of the delta, the megafauna, and the economics of the region. Botswana is actually a remarkable country, in terms of economics. All of its wealth has been obtained since 1966.

As Matt and I were eating lunch, we were bombarded with a ton of new faces, just out of class. It was a little overwhelming, but the dynamics of the group seem great...full of sarcastic individuals :). There is another girl here from UNC, and a couple of them took us out to show us around a little bit before class. And that is where I am now. In an internet cafe in Botswana!

It will be interesting to see how everything plays out here, and I can't wait to see what crazy things happen! I learned today that in a week or two, I will get to follow zebra migrations across the delta. Yes, be jealous ;)

erin elizabeth