Mud Huts and Soft Porridge

I can't believe that I have already been in this country for a week! I have been staying in my new village stay in Sexaxa, and I am having the most lovely time. I live in a compound with my mother (who is 25), her mother, and her two children (ages 4 and 1). My mother, Keroling, can speak a little bit of English, and we can usually communicate between ourselves. And she is also helping me to learn a little bit of Setswana along the way. Our compound consists of one house (which my mother made out of sticks and mud all by herself), an outdoor kitchen area surrounded by a wooden fence, and a little "bathroom" where I bathe twice a day.

**Side note: One huge difference about this country is bathing. During my homestay in Faux Cap, I wasn't able to bathe once (and neither did my homestay family). Here, we must bathe twice a day--In the morning and at night before I go to bed. This just goes to show how a slight change in access to water can affect the families which reside around the same longitudinal coordinates.

My family here also seems much more excited about and interested in my presence. I am constantly helping my mother cook, clean, fetch water, etc., and I feel much more integrated into the family's daily life. I'm am sure this has a lot to do with the fact that communication comes much easier here than it did in Faux Cap, but nonetheless, I am enjoying myself much more.

I share a double bed with my mother in the mud hut, which has actually not been a nuisance thus far. I am happy to be sleeping in a bed in general. Meals so far have consisted primarily of soft porridge (a mixture of cornmeal and milk) and hot tea. Sometimes, my homestay mother will prepare pumpkin or beans for me that she harvested in the fields. The meals are not extravagant, but I am happy with what is available...it is a good change from eating rice 24/7!

During the day, all of the students travel into the city for classes. We have our lectures in a small hotel, and we are on our own for lunch. I have started buying peanut butter and bread, apples, and yogurt from the grocery store for my lunches. I am really enjoying the availability of food items in this country, especially the Cadbury chocolate bars! It is nice to have a break from the village during the day as well. I find that division of time between the city and the village has made the experience a little more pleasurable due to the fact that I am not getting burned out with either setting. The days are a nice melange.

Last Sunday, I went on my first game drive! We spent a couple of hours in the morning driving through the wilderness of Africa, looking at all of the mega-fauna!! While riding in our crazy safari trucks, we saw so many elephants, giraffes, zebras, and a plethora of antelope. I am hoping to post pictures some time this week!!

And I have discovered my new mailing address. Hopefully, this address will be a bit more reliable, since Botswana is not experiencing any political stress at the moment. I am told that the mail takes about 10 days, but I will let you all know when I receive my first letters!

C/O Stewart Chirova
P. BAG TO 10 Suite 91
POSTNET TLOKWENG
BOTSWANA

"What I found appealing in life abroad was the inevitable sense of helplessness it would inspire. Equally exciting would be the work involved in overcoming that helplessness. There would be a goal involved, and I liked having goals." --DavidSedaris

When reading Me Talk Pretty One Day on the plane ride from Madagascar to Botswana, I came across this quote. Throughout this past week, and the following weeks ahead, I am trying to keep these thoughts in the back of my mind. I am still adjusting to this new place, and I am not expecting everything to be easy for me. But, if I understand that fact, I can confront my new obstacles with a sense of power rather than helplessness--a personality trait that I admire and hope to acquire.

<3 and miss you all!!

erin elizabeth