Okavango Delta Trip

This past week six of my team members went on a mini vacation to the Okavango Delta. The Delta was a perfect change of pace for us and turned out to be a really relaxing stay at Audi Camp. We did a little wining and dining as well as a horseback trip through the bush and a day-long Mokoro trip. The campgrounds were beautiful and peaceful, we each stayed two to a tent and enjoyed strange animals noises during the nights. The night sky is a sight to be seen in the Delta – I don’t think I’ve seen that many stars in my lifetime.

We left on an overnight Gabs train to Francistown and then boarded a bus for another 7 hour drive. We arrived at Audi Camp a day and half later.
This is the tent I shared with Jayne at Audi Camp Me on my horse 'Shotgun'

Zebra we saw on the Mokoro trip Morkoro boat day trip - the highlight of this boat ride was when we heard a hippo's footsteps from behind the bush...we never did spot the hippo but did get the chance to see several zebra's and a huge giraffe. The second higlight was when our Motswana 'poler' began to sing the theme song to Lion King as he poled us down the delta.

Video of our relaxing Mokoro trip

We are now back in Gabs and will continue to volunteer in Old Naledi and Mokolodi until our next trip to Zambia/Zimbabwe to visit Victoria Falls in about two weeks. Happy to be at home at the university :)

a few videos and such..

This is a picture my little cousin Zach drew for me :)

Tsaone and Jack playing and rapping
(I'm working on rotating this video..can't figure it out for now)

Video of the toddler and preschool classes that I help teach - morning assembly songs

A few of the older girls playing in the school yard

you have the right to have..

This was Billy our goat that was given to us by Teacher Shirley's man friend..she refers to him as the 'old man'...receiving a goat is a very big honor in the village!

two by two..

"I try to believe like I believed when I was five... when your heart tells you everything you need to know"

My favorite part of each day in Botswana is seeing the kids first thing in the mornings...there is always about 30 of the children that run straight into our arms for hugs and kisses. I can't tell who's more excited to play, the kids or the seven of us. Entering our fourth week in Old Naledi, I feel it is quickly becoming our second home.

'Hiking' is an understatement

above: the view from the top of Kgale hill

below: group pic after we finished the climb

Summary of the past week:
- Started teaching in Preschool, it has its ups and downs but I think I will really enjoy the class of about 40 crazy 5 and 6 year olds.

- Took a tour of Old Naledi – by far the worst slums I have ever seen, we visited with a few different families and I am amazed by how positive their attitudes remain despite their living conditions. Champs tour of the village really opened our eyes to how the children live on a day to day basis.

- The second day that I was suppose to teach the teacher said she wasn’t going to be at school (fairly common for teachers to just randomly not be in class) so I made the boys and Meeka come with me to help out – a very fun day with the toddlers and preschoolers.

- Saturday Jack and I went to another soccer game, Botswana vs Ivory Coast (1-1) we had a good time cheering for the Zebra’s tied game. That night Meeka, Jack and I went to out to a club called the ‘Fashion Lounge’ and met up with a few friends from Penn University and had a blast dancing the night away.

- Sunday the seven of us met up with Luke and Graham (2 guys we met through Tlamelo) and they took us on a hike up Kgale Hill. Kgale hill is the highest point in Gaborone and took about an hour and half of hardcore rock climbing to the top – the view was breathtaking, it overlooked the entire city and Gaborone Dam. We stayed on top of the hill and took in the view until sunset and headed back down into town for a dinner with Graham.

This is Tsaone a little boy from Naledi - the teachers have started calling him my son. I have basically fallen in love with him.

power outage fridays

It's been a crazy week of ups and downs. I'm thinking about everyone at home after the tornado that struck Manhattan this past Wednesday. More updates coming this weekend...

A different kind of day...the happy and sad

Today was a different kind of day. It was my first full day teaching preschool in Old Naledi – I’m not exactly sure how to explain the feeling I had leaving the village today, but it was a first feeling for me being here, an uneasy feeling that I’m still trying to process.

I can’t pinpoint the change because most of my day was spent watching these 5 and 6 year olds sing and play, however, these kids that we laugh and play with day in day out are often sick, hungry and struggling.

On the bright side...they are learning and growing everyday and for that little time we are able to spend with them they are happy and loved - if that’s what we can provide while we are here it is worth every second of our time.

Danielle..are you going to get off the combi?

"There are no strangers here, just friends you have yet to meet"

Meeting at 9am – no address, no one knows where it is…find the place and our contact person was gone, need a phone, no electricity, find a phone, calling card doesn’t work, wander around to find a taxi, no taxi’s so we find a combi, I say ‘station’ they say ‘get in’, we end up at the bus station NOT the combi station, wander around again until we find the actual combi station and head to Old Naledi. That's basically a normal morning when nothing works out and we don’t even really care because we always end up somewhere worthwhile.
Arrive at Tlamelo…it’s impossible to care about being lost all morning when you’re playing with the kids. Les and I are trying to learn our way around the kitchen – I think we almost butchered a whole cow for the kid’s lunch on Friday.

After Tlamelo we stayed in Old Naledi and helped clean up a few yards and made a hole where we put trash in to burn – so basically I kinda fell in the trash hole and lost my shoe…some nice guy from Tlamelo frantically dug for my shoe while everyone else laughed at me. My shoe was safely returned. Then the boys tried to rip out some electrical thing from the ground and it started sparking everywhere, after a few more pulls and sparks they finally left it alone. Then we headed across the street where we saw the nearest electrical pole on fire. OOPS, guess we started an electrical fire in the middle of the village. For some reason no one seemed too concerned and it went out soon after. Just a typical day starting fires and falling in trash holes.

Loved being at Tlamelo again, I think we all look forward to days spent in Old Naledi and have started to look forward to the week much more than weekend…although we do still enjoy our weekend excursions.

Oodi weavers on Saturday afternoon – a women’s village that hand weaves beautiful wall hangings and such. Several of us ordered custom made designs. Went to Bull & Bush Pub on Saturday night – very cute little restaurant and bar hangout. Really enjoyed the night. I’m sure we will be back soon.
Bull and Bush Pub

Aunties and Uncle Jack

I can hardly believe this is my life. This morning I woke up at 6:30 and headed out to Mokolodi game reserve. Leslie, Jack, Marinda, Meeka and I were the five that decided to return to Mokolodi. We had coffee and biscuits with their wonderful staff and then took 40 pre-school aged kids on a safari. A SAFARI. Seriously, I would be perfectly happy staying in Bots forever... The weather is beautiful, the people are welcoming and most importantly we all feel so comfortable here.

We are still in the midst of site visits and determining where and when we are going to volunteer – tomorrow we have a 9am appointment at a local women’s shelter and then we are headed back to the Tlamelo project in the afternoon. I haven’t decided exactly where I will be and when, but I know that I will spend a great deal of time at the Tlamelo project and most likely a day or two a week at Mokolodi.

The Tlamelo project just gives you that feeling the instant you walk in - you never want to leave. Champ is the director we work with and is just an all around amazing guy. His dedication and passion for the project is really inspiring. Tlamelo is in the heart of Old Naledi (which is a very very poor area of Bots where HIV/AIDS rate is incredibly high) and provides approx. 150 orphaned children with a meal in the afternoon, there is also a lesson circle time and plenty of time set aside to simply pay attention and love on the kids.

Lessie and I riding in the back of Peter's truck through town from Mokolodi back to UB

From the World's View

Mokolodi Safari

An amazing day.

Today was everything we had imagined and then some. We began the day with our first site visit to Mokolodi Game Reserve where we were greeted by a wonderful man named Peter. He said that he had something we would appreciate and that he would change his clothes and return. He came back minutes later sporting a shirt that said “Bro’s before Ho’s” with Barack and Hillary’s pictures below…it made for a pretty good laugh.

Peter sat with us and discussed what we could add to the ongoing programs at Mokolodi. Mokolodi is an absolutely beautiful stretch of land that gives tours, provides camp sites, has a nature/animal education program for children, teaches sustainability etc.

After our introduction we had the opportunity to hop in a safari vehicle and ride all around the reserve. Incredible. Our first stop was called “World’s View”, from the top all you can see is miles of endless clear blue sky and the entire game reserve. Warthogs, ostriches, monkeys, horses, cheetahs, impalas, snakes, crocodiles were some of the animals we had the opportunity to see on the safari.

Tlamelo Project

You would think Mokoldi would have been the highlight of our day…but then we arrived at Old Naledi Tlamelo Food Project.

There were only a handful of kids left in the afternoon but the second we were surrounded by the children I could tell that we were all a little in love. It's an amazing sight to see these beautiful children laugh and play.

In Old Naledi at the Tlamelo Food Project

More about what goes on at Thamelo after we spend the day there on Wednesday. Can't wait to go back and be with the kids :)

They will tell you they love you...

Day 6: Stayed up way too late excited about internet finally working in our flats. Slept in a little and got ready for the game. The seven of us went to the Botswana versus Madagascar soccer game. It was a qualifying game for the World Cup, South Africa 2010. It was so much fun! We met two guys there – Lucas and Hope who were super friendly and funny. Game ended 0-0 and the Botswana Zebras will have to travel to Madagascar for a rematch. I think we will attend another game in two weeks.

Below: group pick (minus Jack) with some guys we met at National Stadium

Day 5: Friday. Woke up early due to cheerful students and others wandering around outside my window. It was a really relaxing morning – unpacked the rest of my things and made breakfast before my flat mates woke up. Went over to get the boys around noon. Walked to Riverwalk and hung out at a really cute little coffee shop.

Trying to become more familiar with campus – slowly but surely. Visited with Charity who is contacting our service sites – appointments on Moday at 9am at Mokolodi game reserve and at 2pm with the Thalemo feeding project and education centre in a nearby village. I think we will be more than ready to visit the sites and start volunteering by Monday.

Attending a national qualifying soccer game tomorrow at National Stadium just across the street from the UB. Should be an exciting afternoon. Meeka cooked the seven of us a homemade dinner and Jack and I met a few new friends.