Puppy Love

Hello there ladies and gentlemen!
 
Sitting outdoors, cool breeze, full moon, babbling water fountain, delicious Indian food, and conversation about the vet clinic... If that isn't close to a perfect night I don't know what is!   The Indian restaurant was in African Mall, which I hadn't been to before.  Someone told me it about it and Norah and I decided we needed to investigate.  After leaving the clinic we took a taxi for 20 pula because it was too late to walk.  We also took a cab back to UB for 20 pula.    In all I spent 83 pula tonight ($12), but I'm using it as a birthday celebration!  Plus, that food was amazinggggg! 

Today was a typical Friday.  I had class at 8am, rested in the library for an hour and then went to lab at 10am.  We loaded up on a little bus and headed for Kgale hill.  Once there we made 10x10 meter squares and counted the number of trees/stumps present. We were looking to see the impact of humans on the area, mainly tree's cut for firewood.   It wasn't difficult and it was nice to get out and enjoy the afternoon.  I do not think I'm cut out to be an ecologist.  All that data collection and such seems too boring to me.  When we were counting trees, I was just like "yeah... there looks to be about 20... does that sound good?  sure let's go with that!"  This philosophy will definitely not help any research project!  I'm glad I'm taking this class because it is opening my eyes to a whole other field of knowledge! 

The traffic getting back to UB was horrible so we ran a little late.  I got back to my dorm around 1:30, ate lunch, and crashed for a bit before heading to the vet clinic. Today, at the vet clinic I saw three, 5 day old, puppies get their tail docked.  I do not agree with tail docking or ear cropping but I had never seen it done.  They clipped the hair around the tail, cut the tail off, cauterized the wound, and then added a few sutures. There was no anesthesia used.  They do not use anesthesia if the puppies eyes are closed.  If the eyes are opened, they wait for 3 months of age and then use some anesthesia.  I can't say I agree with this....  I feel like they deserve some kind of pain relief.  In the other arguments defense,  the puppies did not scream any louder or differently when the tail was cut or skin cauterized.  It yelled from the moment it was picked up until it was placed back in it's box.  I do not wish to see that process again anytime soon.  I hope that I don't have to perform tail docs and ear crops in the future.  If it is needed for some medical reason, I want to provide pain relief.  Still, I think this was an educational experience.  Today, I also got to administer vaccines and deworm five Rottweiler puppies.  SO CUTE!  It's hard to beat puppies.  Do you think anyone would notice a puppy in my dorm??? Surely not....

Side note:  Students from Botswana who qualify are sponsored to attend vet school abroad.  They then have to work at leave five years in Botswana.  Plus, each student here at UB is sponsored by the government.  They do not pay to come to school.  They get a stipend for books and food.  I think they eventually are supposed to pay some money back when they start working but I'm not really sure how that works.  Also, in Australia, going to university and vet school is sponsored by the government.  Then when you begin working, you start paying them back.   This mean that there aren't any student loans.  If a student from Australia wanted to go to vet school abroad, they would have to pay for it upfront because they can't get student loans.  Different right?

Last night, I decided I was tired of the usual room things and went to the dining hall.  I was actually craving pap!  While waiting in line and started talking to two girls behind me.  First, they asked me if I could hook them up with any of the white boys here.  Then they asked if I saw famous people all the time in America.  This isn't the first time I've been asked this question.  I always try to explain how big the US is and how famous people aren't actually that prominent.  It's interesting to hear the stereotypes about the US. 

Yesterday, I had my first Intro to mammalian physiology lab.  They had many different skeletons laid out on the table and you had to go around and write down observations about each one.  At the end of the lab, your group turned in one paper.  The lab itself was a bit boring to me, but I did meet some pretty cool people in my group.   I now have to write a lab report describing around 12 mammals, including details about their teeth, bones, adaptive traits and such and how it helps them fit their niche.  Oh boy.

The days are getting to be quite toasty here.  But, we aren't even to hot yet!  People are still walking around in sweatshirts and such and I'm running around in jeans and a t-shirt and feeling warm!   I'm going to be one hot, sweaty mess by the time that summer rolls around.  Thank goodness for deodorant!   I think that investing in a fan will be mandatory for sleeping at night. 

Well cool peeps,  That's it for now.  I'm going to go read more blogs and try and plan my trip for when school gets out and Emma comes to visit! woot woot! 

Laboraro (Wednesday)

Hello beautiful people,I guess it's about time I checked in!

I'm in a list-making kind of mood so here we go:

• I turned in all the stuff needed to apply for my resident waiver.  That way I can stay in Botswana FOREVER!  (haha just kidding mom)  The residency waiver gives my 6 months or something like that.  
• I ventured around campus until I found building 239.  I looked around 240, but it wasn't close to it.  he he.  Finally, I found a girl who was looking for the same building.  We then ran into one of her friends who knew where the building was.  She took hold of our hands and led us to the building.  They were both super nice.  The girls exact words  "don't worry, this was me a couple weeks ago!" It was awesome to be embraced by strangers!
• I visited the laundry facilities for the first time.  I had several pairs of pants and a few shirts to wash and I was just too lazy to hand wash them.  Lucky for me, I walked right in and got a machine.  I popped my token in and waited 40 minutes for the machine to work it's magic.  I will never again take a washing machine for granted!  I was to cheap to pay for the dryer, so I took my clothes back to my dorm area and hung them in the sun.  Things dry here quickly.  
• I did hand wash my rank tennis shoes yesterday.  They are taking a beating.  I made them promise to make it to the end of my trip!
• Last night I went out to eat with a large group of people to celebrate Jillian's birthday.  We ate at this yummy Italian restaurant in Riverwalk.  The service was actually very quick but then it took forever to get our check.  You defiantly can not rush through eating out!  After dinner we came back and had cake!  
• Today, I volunteered at Mokolodi.  I was dragging butt for most of the day.  I'm not sure if it's because I didn't get as much sleep as I've been getting last night or if it's because I'm exercising more than usual or if my diet is just wacky and I'm missing some important nutrient.  I stopped by the mall tonight and grabbed a multi vitamin, just in case I'm deficient in something. 
• At Mokolodi, we created these plastic tube carrying things for snakes.  I got to use a hack saw and a drill.  Woo Power tools!  We then attacked an old enclosure and removed all the rocks to make it ready for tortoises.  Let me tell you people,  there were a lot of rocks!  After lunch, we were supposed to fill the enclosure with fresh dirt but didn't quite accomplish that.  The mound of dirt was rock hard and we had to attack it with shovels for a long while to make the dirt movable.  Next time, we will actually move the dirt to the enclosure.  There is a lot of standing around, waiting on people, finding things, asking questions, and so on that comes with being new and following the pace of the batswana.  I feel like we should be getting more accomplished in a day, but I'm not going to worry about it!  We did more than if we had our butts back at the dorm!
• Tonight, I spent a good hour socializing with neighbors.  I am super lucky to have some really great girls sharing the common area.  I even got to practice my Setswana! :)

Happy Birthday Race Hall!

Happy Birthday dude!

    This is my brother from another mother the same granny!
Ok I guess we are technically cousins, but he and his brother are the closest things I have to brothers and I love them both soooo much!

We spent our summers together tearing around Tipton, Iowa.  Good times include driving the old golf cart, days at the pool, 4H calves, the tree house, running around the sale barn, riding bikes, and awesome road trips.

How lucky I am to have grown up with this kid who now isn't so much of a kid and makes me feel kind of shrimpy. Congrats again on your graduation!  I can't wait to see what the future holds.

I love you Race.  Have an awesome day!

Mail Call

Happy Monday!

The weekend is again officially over and it's Monday!  Sometimes Mondays can be a bit of a bore but today has been GREAT!  Are you ready to hear why..... I GOT A PACKAGE!!!! YIPP YIPP HORRAY.   There is of course a story that goes along with the package and it's a good one.  I went to the international office and picked up my package slip.  I then went to the post office and got in line.  I had to stand in line for 30 minutes.  (No worries, I read.  I've learned to bring a book everywhere.)  There were two people working and about 5 or 6 people in front of me, yet the process was incredibly slow.  Plus, you have people who randomly just walk up, skip the line and get helped.  I really don't understand that process or why nobody seems to care, but it happens.  I managed to keep one guy from cutting me by simply explaining "all I had to do was pick up a package and it would only take a second."  How wrong I was.  I made it up to the counter, handed over my receipt and watched her pick up my box from the stack.   You know the moment you are soo excited and if you were on a tv show you would have your arms outstretched, music would be playing in the background, and a spotlight would be on you?  Yeah, that was me.  I was all but jumping up and down.  I went to the door expecting her to walk to me and hand it over but instead she went into a back room.  As I watched her, I saw her start to open my package.  At this point, I had my eyes glued to her.  I know my granny sends good stuff and I wasn't about to see any of it disappear, glass separating me or not.   I guess she saw that I was looking a little antsy and came back to a window.  The side of the box had split open and she wanted to check to see if anything was missing.  I told her I wouldn't know because I wasn't aware of what was in the box.  She then proceeded to pull each item out of the box and write it down.  I stood in the post office as she slowly unpacked my package for me.  I couldn't help laughing a bit.  I mean come on, of course this would happen.  I tried to keep my excitement and drool to a minimal as I saw her pull out shirts, smell good stuff, lotion,  nutter butters, twizzlers, chocolate, and all kinds of yummy tea/coffee.  Finally, she had written everything down and gave me the box.  I guess if I find there was something missing then I go back to her.

 

 Here's what my box included!  All that's missing from the picture is a yankee candle reed diffuser!

Now tell me all that stuff doesn't look awesome! 

(Please note the craisens!  That's how well my grandma knows me!)

 

This is pretty much how I felt about the box

This made my day!  Again, she knows me too well!

Here's my board with the addition of the pictures! 

SO THANK YOU IOWA GANG FOR MY WONDERFUL BOX!  

I LOVE YOU ALL VERY MUCH!!!!!!

This morning, after french, I headed to the vet clinic.  I made it just in time to see a dog get neutered  (they use castrated, not neutered).  I was super excited.  They put the dog under with a shot of something (deu....?) , sprayed the area with spirit (alcohol), washed their hands, and started cutting.  There were no gloves and no scrubbing the area.  Also, they did not hook the dog up to anesthesia.  They just administered another shot of stuff half way through the surgery.  The surgery itself was routine.  It's been a while since I've been in surgery so they smell and the heat got to me a bit.  I kept trying to fight it off.  It's not like the process grosses me out, so I'm not sure why my body reacts.  It's pretty normal for newbies and it's happened to me before.  I just got all hot and sweaty and then eventually light headed.  I stepped out as they were suturing the dog up to get some water.  After they sutured the dog up, they put it in a back cage to wake up.  All done!  I did ask how much the castration was and she said 600 pula.  (700 pula = 100 dollars.)  This is more than I expected it to be. At the clinic, I also assisted with a few consultations, shots, deworming, flea treatment, and a skin scrape to check for mites.   It was a very productive day!  They speak in Setswana a lot so I really try to listen and see if I can recognize any words.  I wish so badly that I understood!

My weekend was nothing to complain about!  A little adventure, relaxing, and a celebration.  What more could you want?

Saturday didn't go quite as expected.  The "all day" music festival was in fact not all day.  Although advertisement said it started at 10, music did not start until 5.  We made the mistake of getting there at 1pm, so we had a lot of time to kill.  Luckily for us, a few nice hammocks made this a little easier.  We listened to music from 5 to 7 but by 7 we were ready to head back.  I know that we missed the best part of the music since music went on late into the night but oh well.  You win some and you loose some.  The most amusing part of the whole day was our bus ride home from the festival.  The bus driver put in a Celine Dion dvd.  We watched her music videos and cracked up.  I wasn't aware she was such a star but then again we all knew most of her songs.   " I'm everything I am becauseeeee you loved me"  oh come on, I know you know the song! 

 Sunday, I was super productive!   Huge check.  I washed my socks and underwear, scrubbed down my desk and swept the floor.  I've also did things for my future.  I'm looked into applying for graduation, worked on stuff for vet school, and looked up things to do next semester. I then read this pre-veterinary school forum where people who are applying to vet school post all their concerns, rants, and questions.  After a run, a HOT shower, and a "mandatory emergency dorm meeting" where we discussed who would be on the debate team, we celebrated.  Paige, my roommate, has been out of the US for 100 days because she studied abroad in Costa Rica before she came here.  Along with the girls across the hall, we had cake and ice cream.  Delicious!  

 Paige celebrating 100 days out of the US!

 

 Here are some more random facts:

• The aluminum cans (soda cans) are heavier than in the US.  The bottom weights more.  So you'll be drinking something and think that it still has a lot in it because the can is heavier.   
• One door is left propped open in buildings.  Everyone proceeds to enter and exit through that one door.  Usually the other door is unlocked but no one uses it.  Coming out of big lecture halls is the worst because everyone is trying to get out and the next class wants to enter so they are crowded around the outside of the door.  The lecture halls' other door is always locked.   It takes patience as you wind out the door and through a crowd of people in a single file line.
• If you are getting on a combi (the small buses that take you around the city)  in a busy area or at a busy time you just have to crowd on.  People will cut you off, step in front of you, and do whatever is necessary to get on that combi.  I've learned that if you just get behind someone and follow really close you can usually make it on the combi.  It's even better if you can get a leg up into it and stop other people from getting on before you can.  I know it sounds funny and maybe a bit rude.  But I've had too many combi's fill up on me before I got on because I would just stand there.
• Combi's use honking as a form of communication.  Mostly, it's to ask,  "Hey you!  Do you want to get on?"  Or it could be "get out of my way" or  "hey other combi, how's it going?"  At first I was confused by all the honking but now I challenge myself to figure out what the honk means.  When walking down the road, I'm in the habit of shaking my head no when a combi passes by and honks, asking me if I need a ride. 
• We have wonderful cleaning ladies that clean the bathrooms and common areas in our dorm everyday.  The lady that cleans our is super nice.  Around one or two, when things are cleaned, they lay in the shade outside of the dorms.  You'll walk out of your dorm and there will be a line of people snoozing against the side of the building.  At first, it would throw me off but now I hardly notice it. 
• Grocery stores charge you 35 thebe for each plastic bag.  (100 thebe = 1 pula) Even though that is only pocket change in comparison ot dollars I bring bags with me to save money.  I feel that if places in the us charged for bags we would become more environmentally friendly.
•  For fruits and veggies at the grocery store that are priced by pound (oops not pound, that's a US thing.  They are priced by kg), you must bag them and then find someone to weigh them.  The bag must have a sticker on it before you go to the cash register.  Not a big deal, but it took me several awkward moments at the register before I remembered to get them weighed before hand!
• There are quite a few albino people here.  I've had to have seen at least four different people since I've been here.  Maybe that isn't a lot, but it has surprised me. 

Alrighty
Time for dinner.  I think I'm having an avocado and some soup which I'm definitely following up with some of my new chai tea!  Yum.

Until next time!

Saturday morning

Good morning!

I'm sitting in bed with a cup of hot tea.  The sun peaking in through my window and attempting to grab my feet.  I've been up for a good hour and haven't managed to do much at all.  I'd say it's a good morning!  My plans today are to run, shower, and meet people at 11:30 to go to a music festival.  It is an all day event hosting local artist.  I'm pretty excited.

This week flew by for me!  Thursday I attended classes and spent time completing my first lab report.  It was on plants of the savanna and their adaptations to the climate.  I had to do a bit of reading because my plant knowledge is pretty limited. I successfully printed my lab report by putting money on my account and following the instructions at the library. Check! I also discovered that to check out books at the library you must register with he library.  I had to take them my class schedule and fill out paperwork.   I checked out a book called "The No. 1 ladies' Detective Agency."  It is based in Gaborone.  It's pretty popular and one of my professors at Clemson first told me about it.  I'm only sixty pages in but already it's pretty descriptive of Botswana.  Yall may enjoy reading it!  I'll let you know.

Yesterday, after class and lab I headed to main mall.  There I got a copy of my passport notarized and passport photos in order to finish my residency waiver.  (This allows me to stay in the country over 90 days but under six months.)  My friend and I were walking down main mall checking out all the little stalls looking for "the guy who does passport photos."  We finally found him and he sat us down by a brick building, put a sheet behind us, and snapped our picture.  I got four passport photos for 35 pula ($5).  When we finished that mission, I headed into Spar and bought a juice and pear.  The pear was delicious but the juice was soo sweet.  I've found most juices here are too sweet to drink.

I arrived at the vet clinic at 1pm and they told me they were on lunch until three.  (They are open from 8am to 6:30 but usually take lunch between 12ish-3.)  I sat in the back and read Ireland veterinary magazines. I felt like a nerd, but I really enjoyed them!  At three the lady vet started working on a dog.  The dog was extremely anemic. It had a few external tumors and they were thinking maybe it had internal tumors which were causing some bleeding.  They wanted to open her up and see what the issue was.  They first decided to give it a blood transfusion, using the blood of her son.  They don't have the tools to check if the blood types matched.  Instead, she mixed the two bloods together and then looked to see if there was a lot of coagulation, indicating a reaction.  The bloods didn't seem to react poorly so she went ahead with transfusion hoping for the best.  The dog was so anemic and its blood pressure was so low, it was very difficult to find a vein.  Finally we had her hooked up to the blood and I sat with her while she got the transfusion. I was also able to assist with an euthanasia (the dog had a bone stuck in it's throat and it tore it's trachea), a puppy checkup, and yearly vaccinations for two dogs.   As we were wrapping up to leave an emergency case came in.  A little Maltese had apparently received too much flea and tick medication and was showing signs of poisoning.   She was given fluids, a bit of activated charcoal, and some other injection.  I'm so lucky to have the opportunity to help out there!   The people are so nice.  Although they do talk in Setswana most of the time, they take the time to explain to Norah and I whats going on. There are three vets there and they all studied at different places.   It will be interesting to see what cases come in and how each is treated.

I arrive back on campus around 8:30, grabbed some beans and coleslaw at the dining hall and then called it a night.  I know it isn't too exciting for a Friday night but I was exhausted! 

Well folks, I guess I better get out of bed and start my day.

Enjoy your weekend! 
Peace and Love

"Imagine there is a rhino charging you...

WHAT A GREAT DAY!!!  Did I happen to mention I’m in Africa??  I’m in Africa and meeting awesome people and working with animals!  Gah.  As I was riding back in the Combi tonight it just hit me.  (It does that occasionally.)  I’ve wanted so long to be here and do this and I’m here!  I’m actually freaking in Africa following my dreams.  WOW!   I encourage people to do things.  Really, Just do things.  If you want something go for it.  

Okay, I’m done babaling.  Now I’ll tell you what I did today.

I woke up early this morning before my alarm clock like usually and fixed myself some oatmeal and hot tea.  I read until I had to get ready and then went off to French class.  (I know, I know, I’ve got it so rough!)   I met my cab man, James, and practiced my Setswana on the way out to Mokolodi.  There I joined the others in cleaning out the marshall eagle’s cage.  

It was pretty dirty.  We raked out the leaves, scrubbed mass amounts of poop, cleaned the pool, pulled weeks, and tackled small thorn bushes.  First of all, gardening is not my strong suit.  Second, battling the super hard, dry dirt which is mostly rocks was quite a challenge.  In the end, we won most of the battles with small plants and the pen looked a lot better!  Our next stop was the monkey cage where we restored their ladder and hung it back up.  There were two monkeys in the cage,  both had been found abandon.  Blue, the smallest one, is still very sweet and loves attention.  Gah.  He’ll melt your heart.  

Next stop was Hershy’s cage, a small owl.  We swept everywhere, moved rocks around, scrubbed poop, and cleaned his water bowl.  After cleaning , we decided it was time to relax.  We took their two boa’s out that they use for education and sat with them in sun. They usually live in a small aquarium with no lights so I’m sure they were glad to warm up.   I got to work on my snake handling skills with the one that was a bit frisky.  I hate that a fear of snakes in ground into everyone at a young age.  It's not fair!  They are such neat animals.  Yes, it is probably smarter that you leave them alone but that doesn't mean they are horrible animals!

After lunch we headed out into the bush with the park manager to attend the “weaponry training" where we spent the whole afternoon. I learned quite a bit and gained some handy knowledge about guns!  The ride out there was the closest I’ve had to an amusement ride since Harry Potter World.  Rebecca and I bounced around the back seat of the truck and watched for animals.  We saw two giraffes and a duiker for the first time! 

In the bush we met two guys who worked at the park.  The manager gave us what I call a “death and destruction” speech about safety of weapons. Not only did I learn important points but it instilled a healthy amount of fear into me.  (It reminded me of the death and destruction speech at crow about tube feeding baby raccoons and opossums.)  We started out with a pellet gun, and then shot a 22 gauge,   2…. hundredish something gauge, and then a 375 gauge rifle.    The 375 was a powerful gun and it was so loud!  Guns are scary things! 

 We had a target set up and shot at it from a 15 meter distance.  After shooting each gun once (kneeling and then standing) we shot a gun lying down and then the guys did other exercises. In one they had to start at 20 meters and shoot, move forward to 15 meters and shoot, and end at 10 meters  within 15seconds.    So there I was sitting in a dried up river bed watching guys practice their gun skills with sayings like “imagine a rhino is charging you” or “this is a distance where you would be forced to shoot if something was charging you.”

 

My aim is horrible!!!  It’s a bit embarrassing.  I was told several times I’d be the one buying everyone a round of beer that night, but thankfully one guy had a shot worse than I did.  He he.  The guys were very nice.   Here they are checking out the target.

I’m really enjoying meeting people and hearing their stories. While riding back to game city with the park manager, we used our time to ask him about good travel destinations! I’ve done so many random awesome things at Mokolodi and it’s still only my second week!

I just finished a bowl of ramen noodles with some veggies cut up in it.  I need to take a shower, finish my book, and then start on a lab report.  Time to warm up the tea....

Until next time...

Weekend in Joburg

Hey guys! 

This last weekend I traveled to Joannessburg, South Africa with three other girls and had an amazing time. 

 The little girl in this picture and her father helped us find our way across the border! 

Friday, we caught the TJ Motoloto bus at railpark mall at 3:30.  The bus was a large charter but and pretty darn nice. We piled on and made ourselves comfortable.  We drove out of town and about 10 minutes down the road we were at the border.  (It surprised us all how close we were to the border.) Thankfully we met this really nice girl from Botswana who helped guide us through the border because there were no directions or signs.  We first entered a building on the Botswana side, filled out a piece of paper, and then walked across the border, through some random field and into the south African office.  There they stamped our passports, sent us on our way and we loaded on to the bus.  We made one stop before joburg at a gas station where people got of and grabbed food.  I ate my packed pbj, banana, apple, peanuts and raisins.   We arrived at our stop at 9:00.  We got off at Clear water mall instead of the final bus station because it was closer to the house we were staying at and it was safer than the bus stop.  

Pam, the lady we were staying with, was waiting for us when we arrived.  Elle, one of the girls on the trip, knew of Pam through a teacher at home.  She was nice enough to invite us to stay at her house without ever have met us.   Pam and her family spoiled us rotten all weekend.  I adopted them as my family way from home.   

Their house was really awesome. It had a front porch area with a braii area and pool, a living room, kitchen and three bedrooms. I should have grabbed pictures of it but I forgot.  When we got to her house we found our rooms, made tea, and ate popcorn.  Her saying was “Make yourself at home, if you are hungry, thirsty, cold help yourself and if you don’t it’s your own fault!”  I loved it.  She made us feel so welcome and at home.  

The next morning we got up at 4:20am, grabbed a HOT shower, and headed to the Pretoria zoo.  Pretoria is a city about 15 minutes from Joburg.  Pam was helping cook sausages for a 5k run.  We were able to walk around the zoo and see all the animals while everyone else did the 5k.  Then we ate a scrumptious meal and socialized.  The language that Pam, her family, and her friends speak is Afrikaans. It was really neat to hear.   We learned a few pharses like thank you and nice.  

 Grilling out at the zoo

After the zoo we went back home and had more tea!  Yum!  (I’m telling you I’m getting addicted to warm tea.)  She had Joko tea and I think I like it better than five roses.   Next stop was a mall.  We walked around and then went shopping at Woolworths.  Woolworths is a clothing store but also has a food sections.  Its food is high quality, top notch, and expensive but it has a lot of variety. We really enjoyed looking at all the options and finding things like Nutella!  

After the mall we went back home and had one of the best sandwiches I’ve had a in a long time.  It was on cheese bread with a bunch of veggies, cheese, and a piece of turkey.  Oh my goodness.  We were all in heaven.  I mean look at this sandwich!

Pam is married to Jan (who is a riot and super nice!!!)  and they have six children.   We went to see one of their sons play club rugby with Jan and a second son.   Before the rugby game we got drinks at the sports pub across the field.  We then spent forty minutes watching one of the roughest sports I’ve seen and cheering like crazy.  It was such a neat experience.  South Africans love themselves some rugby.   

 

At the pub

 

Rugby match

After the game, we went home and started preparing for the night.  Pam and Jan had a big braii, invited friends and family, and we all watched the South African rugby team play Venezuela.  It was an entertaining night with great food.  We started off with delicious appetizers, drinks, and the ruby game.   In this picture you can see the fireplace they are working on.  Houses here don't have heat, so we had several fires!

We then moved out to the porch and they started cooking the meat.  Along with the meat we had a salad, potatoes, and bread.  It was delicious.   We were able to meet many of their children and their children’s partners.  The family is a riot.  I was laughing all night..   At about 11 or 11:30, we all had to call it a night because the 4:30 morning was kicking our butt!  

 Braii pit 

(They are really big about their Braii's here!)

Family, friends, and neighbors! :)

The next morning we rose bright and early again (7am this time) and had tea and rusks on the front porch.  Rusks are these delicious bread type things that are hard and you dip in your tea.  (I’ve already bought some for my room.)   We then headed to the lion and rhino park which is only 20 minutes form their house.  You were able to drive through the park and see many safari type animals, like rhino, zebra, buffalo, and several different types of bucks.   Most of the animals were congregated around feeding stations so they were very easy to see.  They had an education center where there were many different animals you could look at and even a place where you could pet baby cubs. ( They have a big cat breeding center on site.)  (It was neat to look at but I’m always very torn in these places because I can’t help question the quality of life, the morals, behind it, what’s right and wrong… I’m torn in many aspects… I’m still trying to develop where I stand.)  Never less, I enjoyed seeing animals I’d never seen before like mongoose and pygmy hippos.   We meandered over to a picnic area and had another wonderful sandwich, chips, and sparkling ruby red juice.  Delicious!   We continued driving around and saw even more animals.  We entered the lion, cheetah, and wild dog area where were able to literally just drive around the animals as they snoozed and played.  When entering the area were giving a warning sheet with such things as do not get out of the car, be ready to drive away quickly, do not leave your window down more than 33%.  All good ideas, I would think. 

 

 

We made it back home around 1pm.  Jan continued to spoil us and made us a delicious lunch of leftover meat, rice, fried potatoes and some type of cabbage vegetable mix.  I jumped in the shower one last time to enjoy the warm water!  Then we had to pack up our stuff and say goodbye with promises to return.   It was sad to leave!  Jan took us to the bus stop and we headed back to Bots. 

 

The thing that was so great about this weekend is that we were part of a family.  We weren’t just regular tourist running around a city but actually a unit doing normal things and experiencing the city. The time away from the dorm was much welcomed.  It’s great to be in a house and just go grab something from the kitchen or plop yourself on the couch to watch tv.    I can’t go enough about how well we were treated.  All her family welcomed us and demanded we come back.  Many of her children also said the next time we must stay with them a night.  I hope that I can become even half as good of a host as they were!  We all owe them a huge thank you!!!! 

We are planning on going back to Joburg to visit again.  Next time, we want to tour the historical parts like the apartheid museum and a township. Joburg and Pretoria were much more developed than Gaborone.  In many places I felt I could have been back in the US.  The different part was you would randomly pass a shanty town.  For instance,  right outside of town there was this huge shanti town with all these shacks placed together.  It was very odd to see the extreme poverty right outside the city. There are definitely two sides to Joburg.

Monday morning, I rolled out of bed, had a delicious bowl of oatmeal, and headed to French.  After French class I walked to the vet clinic.  The vet showed me around and introduced me to everyone.   It’s going to take me a bit to learn everyone’s name.  It’s so much harder to memorize Setswana names because I am so unfamiliar with the language.   The clinic was very dead.  We didn’t have one patient come in so I had a lot of downtime.  I talked to a vet student who is going to school in Scotland but is originally from Botswana.  She is working at the clinic for two weeks.  We talked a lot, reviewed the website, and read a few magazines.  At about 12 we decided to head out. We walked across the street to main mall and went to the grocery store (where I bought rusks!)  She is staying close to UB so we took the same combi back.  I’m so happy to be able to volunteer at the vet clinic.  I think I will be able to learn a lot.  Hopefully next time we will have some action!  

After attending Setswana at 2pm, I walked to riverwalk mall with a few people and had a wonderful smoothie/milkshake at linga langa.  (You can’t really find smoothies around here, they all taste like milkshakes.)   After relaxing at the restaurant for awhile (you don’t go to a restaurant expecting to get out of there quickly) we headed back to campus.  On the way back I stopped at Choppies, another grocery store, and stocked up on milk, yogurt, veggies, and cereal.   I think my food supply is set for awhile! 

After a quick run, a bowl of cereal, and a coldish shower, I curled up in bed and read until I went to sleep.  I probably need to become serious soon and finish my vet school application and do some school work but I’m enjoying this easy going life style! 

New kid on the block!

Coming to a new campus is once again becoming the new kid on the block.  I feel like a freshman all over again.   You have to figure out how things work, where classes are, how to use the printers, etc.

Thursday, I ventured into the library to look for a school book.  I tried to log on to the computer but it wouldn't let me.  Finally after several attempts with multiple computers I went to the front desk for help.  The man led me back to a computer and asked me to log on.  I did as he said expecting it not to work.  And just my luck,  it did work.  I quickly explained I had definitely tried the exact password.  Then he realized that I knew nothing about the domain.  You apparently have to make sure you are logging on to the right domain.  Confusing.  But now I know!  I also tried and failed to log on to Blackboard which is a school program teachers use to post things for their students.  The first time you log on you are supposed to use your student number and "password."  I tried this several times but could not log on.  I again went to the front desk and was told I needed to go to IT.  I guess I will do this next week.

Yesterday, I went to the book store, located in the student center, for the first time.  To enter you must wait in line to check your bag.  Once in, I spent quite a while searching for my french book until I realized that there was an upstairs... fail.   Once I found my french book I got in line to get a lab coat.  I'm not sure why, but you must bring a print out of your class schedule and they have to look at it to make sure you need a lab coat.  Who would buy a lab coat if they didn't need one and why would it matter so much if they did???  The lab coat was expensive!!  210 pula!  So I stood in line and waited and waited and waited.  I was only the 6th or 7th person in line but the man behind the counter was taking his sweet time.  Now, I've been trying really hard and I believe exceeding at being patient for African time.  But at that instance I was pretty annoyed.  I could see the lab coats and I really just wanted to go pick one up.  Finally I got to the counter, received a lab coat that was too big because that was all that was left, and was escorted downstairs in order to pay cash at the registers.  (The students here receive stipends to pay for books, so they all use their student id card.) The security guard bypassed the line to pay.  I felt guilty because I knew people had been waiting forever.  They were probably all thinking... what's so special that this white girl just jumps the line...  I hate drawing attention to myself, but it was indeed nice to save an hour of standing in line. 

Another first that occurred yesterday, was changing my sheets.  Every Thursday you can take your sheets to the side of the laundry building and trade them in for new ones.  To be honest, I did not change my sheets frequently at home, but here I think I will!  I'm thankful that I don't have to battle with the ordeal of doing laundry in order the wash my sheets.

Along with "freshman" comes the "freshman 15."  Now I don't know if it exist here but I could see where it would be easy to gain weight.  Each meal is mostly starch, fries (chips) are always available, and fat cakes are EVERYWHERE.  Walking past the equivalent of  funnel cakes/elephant ears on your way to class each day is very tempting.  I've been doing good and have only had one fat cake.  I'm continuing to be aware of what I eat.  Eating in my room, is helping me a lot.  I mean how ironic would it be if I went to Africa and gained weight!

And finally, being the new kid on the block means finding classes.  I never received a campus map so I'm always just guessing where things are.  The buildings are numbered but that doesn't mean that 238 sits anywhere near 239.  Numerical order can not be trusted.  This morning I went out in search of my Dynamics of Savanna Ecosystems lab in building 234.  I knew where 235 was so I ventured that way.  After asking five people and still not having any luck I ran into two of the exchange students in my class and they luckily knew where it was.   Instead of being upset, I was finding it amusing.  I knew I would make it there eventually and since being on time isn't a huge deal here there was nothing to stress about. 

Now I am sitting in my room, eating a bowl of oatmeal, and packing for my trip this weekend.  We are off to Johannesburg, South Africa where we will be staying with a lady in her home.  It will be great to escape from dorm life for a couple of days.  I am very excited!  The bus leaves at 3:30 and arrives around 9:30pm.  Six hours in a bus will be interesting! I finished a book last night, so I will be starting on a new one today.  Please feel free to leave me suggestions on stuff to read!

I hope you all have an amazing weekend!  Mom, kick butt in Montana!

First day at Mokolodi

Hey yall  (I've got to be true to my southern roots sometimes!)

Today was my first day volunteering at Mokolodi and wow what a day!  My camera was dead so I couldn't get any pictures, but more opportunities will come! 

After french class, I met my cab at the north entrance of UB and headed to Mokolodi.  It cost me 70 pula. (About 10 dollars)  I arrived around 9:30 and read a bit while waiting for someone to come grab me from the office.  The other two exchange students who are volunteering there arrived at 8am because they do not have classes.  They were out tracking rhinos!  There are only 7 rhinos in the park and conservation of these animals are very important.  Poaching is a problem.  At one point almost all of the rhinos in Botswana had been killed.  Rhinos had to be brought in from other countries in order to rebuild the population.

Anywho,  since they were already out in the Bush, I headed down to the kitchen and helped to prepare monkey diets.   These consisted of fruits, veggies, bread with peanut butter, and some sort of pellet which I assume has some nutritional importance.  The women working in the kitchen/sanctuary area were super nice.  Yet, as usual the Batswana speak Setswana 99.9% of the time so you never know what they are talking about.  Only if they address me (or another English speaking person) do they speak in English.  I just wish I knew how to speak Setwana because I could better interact.  They told me I should learn Setswana and I promised I was working on it!

 As I was walking with staff to the upper sanctuary, I was grabbed by the intern on his way out into the bush.  The rhino trackers had found a dead zebra that had passed very recently.  We went out with the truck so that the zebra could be brought back to the sanctuary.  They use the meat to feed their two hyenas who are in a caged area on site. The two hyenas had once been pets before someone decided that wasn't a good idea and wanted to get rid of them. Now the hyenas serve mostly a tourism purpose so that safari goers can get a glimpse of these amazing creatures if they are lucky. Going into the bush gave me another mini safari.  Throughout the day I saw impala, kudu, warthogs, zebras, giraffes, and all types of birds. 

We arrived at the Zebra and loaded it into the back of the truck.  Now when I say load it, I don't simply mean causally tossed it in.  It took a group of men plus the three of us to lift it into the truck.  What an experience!  Not only was I seeing a zebra for the first time, I was touching it, studying it, and investigating it.  We could not find a definite reason for death.  Some guesses included disease, snake bite, or some internal injury.  After riding back through the bush, the zebra was deposited at the work station where it was supposed to be skinned and cut up for meat.  The three of us (all international exchange students) sat around waiting for the skinning to start.  Thirty minutes later there was no progress and we headed for lunch.  "African time" is a real thing here.  People travel at their own pace and things just happen when they happen.  After an hour break we headed back the the zebra and we watched them start skinning it.  I was able to watch with interest at the technique and did not have any qualms about it.  Let me tell you,  I have come  LONGGGGGGGG way.  There was a time when I would have been so disgusted I couldn't have been anywhere near there.   I hate that this zebra died, but she did so of natural causes and her meat was able to help the reserve, which in turn helps with conservation. 

Next we loaded into the back of a pickup truck with workers and headed  out into the bush.  We dropped them at the fence line where they were left to walk the fence, checking it for damage and cutting brush and such.  I learned that they worked for minimum wage which was 3.75 pula.  One dollar = 7 pula so they did even make a dollar an hour.  Wow!  That puts things into perspective.  Our next stop was picking up a porcupine from the clinic.  It had been captured in the city and brought out to Mokolodi.  We took it into the bush and released it.  Now, when I was told porcupine I pictured this cute little thing, but this guy was large!  I encourage you to google a picture of one.  It was so cool looking.  We took him out into the bush and let him go.  Awesome!  On the way back to the sanctuary, we stopped at the hyena cage and tossed in two chickens.  I've seen pictures of hyena's but it was still quite a site to take in.  They are a lot larger then I thought they would be, much larger that dogs.  Let's just say, I would hate to meet one in the wild.

After adventuring through the bush, we were dropped back at the sanctuary clinic.  The three of us walked with a staff member up to the main sanctuary and helped feed the animals.  Here I must insert how grateful I am to have worked at CROW (The Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife) in Florida.  Crow taught me the basics of rehabilitation and prepared me for the diets.  As I tossed dead chicks into cages with monitor lizards, owls, and heroins I was not phased.  Even as I picked up massive chucks of meat and threw them in with vultures I didn't flinch.   If you don't already know,  I have this weird aversion to raw meat.  I do not cook it and I hate to touch it.  But today I was such a champ.  "You want me to reach my hand in that bucket and pull out that huge chuck of meat dripping with yummyness?  Well sure why not! Here you go cute little vulture!"   Oh what I will do for the things I love. 

On a side note here, I would like to mention how epically awesome CROW was.  My experience there, under two of my all time favorite vets and several amazing rehabilitators, gave me a top not education about rehabilitating wildlife.  After Crow, I am comfortable enough to say I have a strong foundation in wildlife medicine.   I hope that with some of my knowledge gained at CROW, I can bring a new prospective to Mokolodi and maybe even help enhance a few things! I sometimes find myself saying, well at Crow we did this or we thought this way, etc etc etc.  I try to avoid these snobby thoughts.  I understand that each experience will be a bit different and if I am not open minded I will be unable to learn anything.  I only spent 4 months at Crow, and there is still a lifetime of learning to be accomplished.   At the end of my time here, I feel I will have gained a lot more from Mokolodi than I can give to them.    The older I get the more I realize how important educating yourself is!

After we got done spreading around dinner, we were finished for the day.  Bryanna has a neighbor who works at Mokolodi and that is how she is getting to the reserve and back.  This wonderful little woman agreed to drop me at Game city on her way home each week for free!  From game city, I catch two combi's back to UB.  This cost my only 6.60 pula, a little less than a dollar. WOO HOO! 

I arrived back at the dorm tired, dehydrated, and a bit smelly!  I ate a bowl of porridge with banana, granola, and peanut butter.  I took a very fast, cold shower and then curled up in bed with a cup of hot tea and my laptop.  It's been a great day and now a very relaxing night.  I think I will end this blog and start reading my book.  I'm so close to the end!  I read for a total of four hours yesterday and still managed to go to class, study french, get groceries, and go for a run!  I'm getting spoiled here in Africa! 

I hope you all have a great day! 
Maybe you should curl up with a good book and a warm cup of tea! 
It's the simply things in life! :)

First Excursion

Okay!  More about the adventures of Kaylee… I feel there is so much here to explain and comment on and I never feel as if I’m saying enough.  But I also want my blogs to be semi short (something I haven’t been achieving) so that it isn’t such a burden to read them.  I’m probably going to fail a bit on this one since I want to tell you all about my excursion. 

Saturday morning I rolled out of bed at 7am, grabbed what clothes were dry, my toothbrush and some deodorant and called myself packed.  Sixty(ish) students loaded onto a large charter bus and headed for the Bahurutshe Cultural Village.  It only took 30 or 40 minutes to get there.  We were greeted by bagolo (grandmothers) with the usual greeting call.  It is hard to describe but you wiggle your tongue back and forth in your mouth and let out a high pitched noise.  

  

We were served breakfast consisting of tea, juice, eggs, minced meat, fat cakes, and flat bread.  It was good and the first time I’ve had eggs in a while. Many people drink soured milk here.  I accidentally put soured milk instead of regular milk into my tea and it was quite an interesting taste.  And by interesting I mean rancid.  Ick.  (I’m not sure which was worse,  trying the milk or the bug!) I bet I'll be more careful next time!

 The day consisted of riding in the bus from one tourist destination to another. We could not have screamed tourist any louder if we tried.

We visited a large rock outcropping and saw several rock paintings. You can see giraffes in this picture.

Then we went to a very large fig tree named the David Livingston tree.  David Livingston was a missionary who first brought Christianity to Botswana.  Apparently he used to teach under the tree.  The tree itself was very peaceful and you could almost feel it had an old soul.  (yes, yes you may roll your eyes at this but I'm serious.  You could see and feel it's age.)

Next we went to the location of the first church and David Livingston's house (also the first hospital.)  The buildings themselves were torn down a long time ago so there wasn’t much to look at.  A guide took us to a field and told us some history.  The history was important and fun to learn but the lack of something to look at and the very thick accent of our guide made the experience seem long. 

After lunch at the cultural village we headed to a cave.  It is known locally as a cave that if entered you never return.  Needless to say, they would not let us go into it.  I guess that back in the day they had put David Livingston there and he had lived, thus helping prove Christianity was a legit thing.  The picture is the view from the top.  It was very pretty! Several of us were climbing well more like bouldering or scrambling or really just clinging to rock and talking about how much we want to climb it.  I really miss rock climbing.  I'm telling you the sport is addicting.

 I enjoyed learning about some of the history of Botswana and seeing sights outside of Gaborone (Haboron-A) but there was a lot of getting on the bus, getting off the bus, collecting people, waiting on people, etc.  Traveling with a large group has it's downfalls and benefits.   I did escape the bus a few times in order to ride in the back of the pickup truck that was leading the bus around.  It was exhilarating flying down African roads, with your hair beating around, and being able to see all kinds of things.   Donkeys, goats, and cows just roam around.  There are many just grazing by the side of the road.  Drivers have to be really careful not to him them.  It was odd to see because a lot of the land near the road was fenced in by the animals were not in the fence.  They stayed on the strip of grass between the fence and the road. 

The night at the cultural village was awesome!!  It was a small little touristy place.  The village the people actually belonged to was down the road.  The cultural village had a a place to eat, bathrooms, several huts, and then tents set up.  The elders (the small chief and  several older ladies) told us about their culture.  They split the boys and girls.  The girls learned about chores while the boys drank beer and played the drums. We learned how to mash mealie (corn), spread cow dung on the hut floors to clean them, and how sickness or child birth is usually dealt with.   Their culture was very much about taking care of the men, protecting the men, and respecting the men.  Men were to eat first.  Women were to stand at the back of the line (or really any line at that)  because  “if a lion came, it would get to the women first and the men would be safe."  Coming from a culture where men are to hold a door for ladies, my first instinct was "WHAT"?  He he interesting right.  But I really enjoyed learning about everything.  They ladies were so nice and irresistible.  Later that night a group of traditional dancers ranging from age 17 to 27 came and preformed for us.  It was so neat to watch as they danced around the fire.   What rhythm!  That night we slept in huts or tents and got up early the next day for breakfast. 

 

Sunday we headed for Mokolodi nature reserve.  (The place I will be volunteering at.)  When we arrived they served us mamosas.  We were all a bit shocked, but it was a fun addition!  The group loaded on three different vehicles and we had an hour game drive.  I was lucky enough to get on the smaller vehicle.  Our guide was able to get out and tell us fun facts about the animals.  I saw lots of impala, warthogs, a wildebeest, ostriches, kudu (the biggest antelope in Africa),  and a giraffe!  (WOO HOO  First game drive, but surely not the last!) We had a bush brai where we ate lunch at a small picnic table out in the reserve.  The food was delicious! There were many veggies, a wonderful piece of bread, and dessert!

 After lunch, we walked through the reptile park and a guy told us facts about the animals and passed around a snake to hold.  It was great to see all the animals I would be working with again.  I think this place is going to be a great eye opener for me.  It is definitely different than anything I've done. 

We got back to the dorms around 4 on Sunday. The Internet was not working so I just put away my laundry which was kind of hard. I'm not sure if I used too much soap or if that's just how they will usually come out......???   I organized my room and made space for our new refrigerator!  Yes that's right ladies and gentleman we now have a brand new, black, working refrigerator! It cost 150 pula a month to rent it but we are splitting it between four girls so it is pretty cheap!  I studied French, Setswana, read, and then went to bed. 

 This morning, after French class, I headed with Nora to the vets office  I will now be volunteering Monday mornings and Friday afternoons!  Woo Hoo!  We met one of the two vets at the practice and he was extremely nice.  He went to vet school in Australia!  I can't wait to get hands on experience.  The few dogs I ran into this weekend made me even more excited for the vets office. Here are a few pictures... aren't they cute!!!??

The vet's clinic is only a block from main mall, so we stocked up on groceries and I bought an adapter for the fridge.  I bought MILK AND YOGURT!  (I made sure to buy regular milk (only full cream offered) and not soured milk!!! Woo Hoo!  For lunch I had a bowl of cereal!  SO GOOD! After Setswana I had milk and cookies!Yum!

The most fun part of the day was checking the mail box at the international office!  I had two letters, one from my mom (mma) and one from my aunt (mmangwane)!  What a lucky girl I am to have such an amazing family!

On a side note,  Friday night someone broke into one of my friends rooms and stole their two laptops and cell phones.  They had a padlock on the door but someone cut it.  It has scared and infuriated all the international kids.  Theft here is a very big problem. (Which is why we must check our bags when we enter the library and grocery stores.)  We have been warned of it quite a lot.  Paige and I have a lock on our outer door but we also lock our stuff in our closet when we leave.  (Although realistically, if they can cut the outside lock then they can probably cut the closet lock….)   I believe someone specifically targeted the international kids because they knew they would have laptops.  Many people believe that being white means being wealthy.  I feel very sorry for these two girls and I’m fearful that it could easily happen again to any of us.  I will not live in paranoia but I will take extra precautions to be safe.  I was afraid to write this because I can see my mom having a small heart attack, but I think it’s important to understand the full experience.   There are up’s and down’s to each foreign place but you must roll with the punches or you won’t find happiness traveling!

Well folks, I'd say that's good for now.  

Onward and Upward!