Friday!

Hi guys.   The power went out in my dorm Wednesday night any so I’ve been without lights and internet.  Luckily it came back on this afternoon! Yay internet! 

Wednesday was pretty awesome.  After learning numbers in French class, and collecting some stuff in my dorm, I set out to find a way to Mokolodi Nature reserve.  I heard there was a bus that would take me there.  I went to rail park mall to try and find a bus but got all confused and had differing advice.  Someone then told me to go to game city where I was hoping to find a combi that passed by mokolodi.  Unfortunately that didn’t work either, so I finally said oh well and took a cab out there which cost 70 pula. (Ten dollars)  The place is about 10 km from game city and game city is a several kilometers from UB.  Since I had taken the cab I arrived about an hour early.  I sat outside on the picnic tables and read.  It was so relaxing.  There was a rustling sound that continued so I looked up from my book and three warthogs were walking by!  I just stared at them dumbfounded and tried to keep from bursting with excitement.  I think that was the moment I fell in love with the place.  The picnic tables sit in a shady area between the reception building and the restaurant which overlooks an area where wildlife often visit. Behind reception is a reptile and mammal park.  Both are very small. The reserve mostly does game drives to bring in money. One group came back from a drive and another group headed out as I was reading.  Mokolodi focus on the conservation of rhinos and cheetahs.  There is an education center and dorms that hosts school groups.  

I met with two staff directors and another exchange student, Bryanna, who is going to volunteer on Wednesdays.  They underlined the importance of showing up when you say you will.  We signed our life away on a couple of papers and boom we were in!  We had a small tour and then Bryanna and I went to the restaurant.  She had a shake and I had a cappuccino.  Yum!  From the restaurant we saw monkeys and a few impala. It sounds like we will mostly be helping with animal husbandry but they are going to try and rotate us around to different areas and allow us to see a variety of things.  They are short staffed right now and I think they could really use the help.   

The main issue is transportation there and back.   There is a bus that runs on the main road past Mokolodi.  You can jump off the bus and walk the 1.5km to the main gate and it’s only 3 pula!  Unfortunately, the walk to the main gate is dangerous and several people have been mugged recently… soooo that doesn’t look like it’s going to work.  Bryanna and I talked to a cab driver who said he would take us there and back for 110 every Wednesday.  I think this is a bit high.  It comes out to $14 each week.  Currently, we are looking into buying a used moped or motorcycle or something in order to get out there.    Another option would be to bike out there, although I’m not sure how long it would take.  

Wednesday night I went to a meet a group of exchange students who wanted to practice Spanish.  Several people are very good.  I was just stumbling along.  It was great to be able to practice it again.  That indeed makes three languages I’m now practicing.  It would be amazing to know all the languages but for now I’m just having fun and enjoying learning different things. 

Oh and another great thing from Wednesday!  I bought a hot water kettle.  I can now make soup, ramen noodles, oatmeal, and tea.  It has been great and added variety to my dorm room selection!  I just can’t explain how great it is to eat delicious hot porridge before heading out into the morning cold.  My roommate and the girls across the hall split the price with me so it was dirt cheap.   (Since the power has been out on my side of the dorm, I’ve been running around the dorm complex trying to find outlets that work in order to plug in my kettle.  I may have been a slight creeper but it was so worth it!)

On Thursday, between two classes, I went to the library for the first time. They make you check your bag before you go into the library to prevent theft.  It’s kind of annoying though because you have to carry anything you want to take with you.    I meandered through the textbooks for an hour and came upon a tourism section.  I found some great books on Botswana with pictures of wildlife.  The library is very nice and I really enjoyed just walking around it.  (he he I’m a nerd I know…)   After my third class, I returned to the library to figure out how to connect to wi-fi.  I touched based with the world, came back to my dorm, and then my computer died.  Boo!    

Thursday night, I hung out in the dining hall and socialized. I also attended the Wildlife Conservation Society’s club meeting.  It was an interesting experience.  They tried to hold most of the meeting in English for the few exchange students there but there was also a lot of Setswana being spoken so I was in the loop only sometimes.  I’m still not sure what the club actually does but they take a few trips somewhere.  I think the club will be a good way to interact with Batswana students since I seem to be segregated to other exchange students.  I just want to make sure the club does stuff I want to participate in before paying the dues. 

Today I had French and lab for Dynamics of Savannah Ecosystems.  Our lab took a bus out to Kgale hill and observed the different plants.  We took samples of shrubs and trees and looked for adaptive changes to the climate.  It was a fun hands on activity.  This afternoon I walked with another girl to the local vet clinic.  It is right by main ball and not a bad walk at all!  The vet wasn’t in but I think we will be able to volunteer.  I am super excited about this.  Fingers crossed.  We have plans to go back Monday.  When I got back I started laundry.  What a process!!!  I washed socks and underwear in the common sink and hung them in my room.   There are sinks and clotheslines outside my dorm so I took a bag of clothes there.  I filled a couple of sinks with soap and water and started switching the stuff around.  I added too much soap and rinsing the clothes out was a pain!  It took an hour for me to wash and rinse everything.  I hung them up and sat with them for hour so nobody would steal them.  I took them back inside and hung them around an empty room in my common area.  They still aren’t dry.  I’m hoping at least some things are dry before morning!   There are laundry machines available but they are super busy and they close at four. I think next time I will try getting a machine!!

Tonight, I ate at the dining hall and then headed to riverwalk with some girls to get some ice cream.  It was delicious.  Now we are sitting in my room drinking hot tea and relaxing.  The bus for the excursion this weekend leaves at 8am.  Oh boy!  

I will update you more when I get back from the excursion!