Reflection

Alrighty, alright! Last blog post ever for The BIBB  which is actually bitter sweet. I’m going to love not writing them yet at the same time am going to miss the reflection period that writing the posts offered me. At first I wasn’t even going to write a blog and instead just write in my journal but after talking to my friend Camille about it she highly suggested I write one so my family and friends back home could have some idea of what I was doing and learn more about Botswana. It was probably one of the greatest things I did because not only did it alleviate my grandmas fears as they knew what I was doing and help my mom from going crazy from missing me but it allowed me to give a glimpse into what life is like living in Botswana. Now I say Botswana because there were a couple messages that my Batswana friends really wanted me to bring back to the states: 1) I can say I know what Botswana is like but not Africa. They feel that a lot of time Americans clump all 53 countries of Africa together into one big country instead of looking at all the different cultures. And I can attest to the differences in culture because Mozambique was a world away from Botswana even though they are literally right next to each other. They want people to stop having broad generalizations about every African and realize that the continent is huge, the countries are different and each place has a unique culture. 2) They wanted me to make the distinction between the country of Botswana and the people who are Batswana (many people) or Matswana (one person). Therefore, the country name is really pronounced “Boat-swana” and the people are “Botswana” if that makes any sense (sorry Julie, I didn’t take speech phonetics in college). One day, Elt and I were watching the news and they had a story about Americans in Botswana and he got so angry because they kept saying the Botswana incorrectly. He couldn’t believe that someone would come to the country and not even say the name correctly. 3) The final message/misconception that people in Bots wanted me to bring back was that they do not live in mud huts and walk around barefoot and have no roads. It is not like The Lion King and is a developed city with highways, buses, tall buildings, electricity, etc. My response to this is that it is like someone watching Jersey Shore  or The Hills and believing that what is seen on the show is what America is like. Yes, there are some aspects to Jersey Shore that show American life ie the ocean and boardwalk but most of that show is a terrible, exaggerated and false representation of American life. So in terms of what we see on TV about some African countries and think about it, some aspects are true; there are some areas that are so impoverished people have no food or shoes or water, there are people who live in traditional huts without electricity, there are a lot of animals that wander around but these generalizations cannot be applied to every country in Africa.

Okay, now time to get off my soapbox and reflect more on my time there. Since being back people have constantly asked me, “So, how was your trip?” I appreciate them asking me about it but how do I sum up the craziest, most challenging, most interesting five months of my life? I didn’t really go on a trip but I moved and assimilated into another culture. Plus so many things that happened to me changed me in a way that I can’t verbalize and explain with one question. I grew and became stronger than I ever thought I would. I was out of my comfort zone everyday and although it was difficult and I love being back in that zone, it made me realize I can grow, survive and live in a new environment making me open to new experiences and situations. On the same token, I understand that for my friends it can be difficult to know what to ask and how to relate to my experiences. My only advice for anyone who’s friends have come back is to continually have them talk about it and not just the first time you see them but to continuously ask them questions over the following months. I mean when you go out to eat, ask them about the food. When you are on the bus, ask them about the transportation system in the country. I always want to share things about my time abroad but am afraid and nervous that people will get bored with it and think that’s all I can talk about. And because of this I’ve had a difficult time caught between wanting to share my stories with not wanting to sound like I’m bragging and only focus on my time away.

Along with not knowing when to speak about Botswana and when to keep quiet, I’ve had a hard time adjusting back to the American lifestyle and experienced dramatic culture shock which although has been difficult I think has been a wonderful measure for how much I’ve changed. Studying abroad changed how I see the world. I know appreciate my opportunities more than ever before and whenever I start to complain about something realize how lucky I am that I get to complain about it. I started school this week and was stressing about the amount of reading I have to do for my classes. However, after taking a step back and thinking about Old Naledi and those kids there it made me value that I am in an educational institution that is challenging me and I am so lucky to have the opportunity to attend the university, read the articles.  Little things that I use to take for granted like pushing the stop button on the bus, I know appreciate. The way classes start on time in school and people are in trouble for being late I appreciate. These little things I used to complain about are so minor in the realm of real life and compared to the problems faced by people in other countries. I am so grateful that the experience opened my eyes to this yet at the same token has made me resent American culture in some ways. I’m finding it harder to relate to my college peers in schools because priorities are different, harder to relate to some friends and I had a very difficult time enjoying Disney World. I even broke down in tears because I was so overwhelmed by Disney. When I was there and saw just the stupid things people were complaining about, the amount of stuffed animals and, for lack of a better world, meaningless crap people bought and the huge amount of wasted food and resources there, it made me sick. I just rejected American culture and the consumerism and materialistic element we have because what child needs ten stuffed animals when some kids in other countries have never even seen a stuffed animal and instead play with bottle caps and litter. What 200 pound man needs an overflowing plate of chicken and then doesn’t even eat all of it when people around the world and in our own country go hungry every night? Looking at all this just made me sick and think of how many other ways the money spent in Disney could be spent to make the world better for a lot more people. I called my dad crying about how overwhelmed and upset I was and we talked about how I am a changed person but also how lucky I am that I get to realize how materialistic and consumption-based American society is. I mean complaining about the culture is a #firstworldproblem (a little saying we use when some problem is so stupid that only people in developed countries complain about it. For example, the remote not working is a #firstworldproblem). Him making me see that I am lucky I get to complain also put things back into perspective and make me realize how fortunate I am and value my life.

Beyond changing my perspectives of the world, I’ve become inspired by the people I met abroad and they have made me want to be a better person. I was always so touched by Kylee who would come back after volunteering at the clinic or hospice center. She would come back so upset and emotionally drained because of the things she saw and instead of moping around, she would say how she wants to do something to improve the quality of life for these people. She was sad for how hopeless many people were and she wanted to do something to inspire them. This attitude of wanting to make a change inspired me too. I feel like if I was in her position I would feel bad about what I would see but that was it instead of feeling a burning desire to change the system. This was just one situation and one person. At another time I asked Anthony what he would do with unlimited money and he said instead of donating all of it to a good cause he wanted to find a way to make a permanent change in people’s lives to improve their quality of life and healthcare. Good people!

I made such strong bonds and friendships with people who in the states I don’t think I ever would have been friends with simply because we run in different circles and have different interests. Yet it takes a certain person to move to Botswana for five months and because of this we were all so similar. We all wanted to learn about the culture, assimilate into it, stretch ourselves moving out of our comfort zone and help in any way we can without believing ourselves to be superior and without the typical “savior” complex that many Americans have when going to an African nation. We weren’t there to spread God’s will or spread American ideology, but to learn more about a culture that is so misunderstood in the states and then use that knowledge to break down misconceptions and foster relationships between Americans and Batswana. 

Overall, I love being home: seeing my house and dog, hanging out with my family, teaching classes at UMD. However, life is back to normal which is great but also kind of boring. Unlike in Botswana where on the weekends I’d be volunteering at a game reserve or getting lost in Botswana, at home I sit around, watch TV, maybe go for a run. Things that used to be really fun and exciting here at home, no longer hold much interest for me.  A lot of my friends from UMD have moved away for jobs or to go home so I have less friends around to do fun things with whereas in Botswana I had everyone in my program geared up and ready to explore at any moment. It’s funny how things work. I needed to be away from home to realize how much I love home and the states but I needed to be away from Botswana to realize just how much the experience meant to me. It meant so much that it has confused me to no end as to what I want to do with my life. I know that I want to make a difference in someone’s life and therefore after graduation am hoping to apply and work with an international aid organization. But only time will tell.

I wanted to end with some profound, life-altering quote and I found this one the other day. I just started reading The Great Gatsby and on the first page is the quote, “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one, just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.” It’s probably one of the only quotes that has stuck with me because it has made me rethink about every judgment and criticism I made or make, appreciating every privilege I have been granted. The second quote and final sentence of The Bibb is a quote from T.S. Elliot that we read at our final dinner in Botswana about studying abroad and our experience traversing Southern Africa:

 “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring, will be to arrive where we started, and know the place for the first time."

Thank you all one more time for reading my blog, listening to my stories and supporting me throughout this adventure. 

LONDON, 12/13

 The Eye of London

 London at 6:30am 

 The Tower of London

 London Bridge

 Big Ben and the House of Parliament

 Westminster Abbey

 Buckingham Palace

 The doors outside Westminster Abbey

 The Household Cavalry Museum

 Buckingham Palace

MY MOMMA

So this is it. I am finally on my way home after 5 months of being away from the states and my family, the longest I have ever gone without seeing them (I didn’t even get a chance to skype with them). The flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg was pretty uneventful.

After getting off the plane and eating lunch (at Nando’s one last time) Ashley and I headed to our locker storage to gather all our bags, reorganize and repack. This basically entailed us sprawling out in the Johannesburg Airport, suitcases opened, piles of souvenirs and clothes spread out around us as we tried to squash everything into our bags. Finally got that all sorted and we still had some time so Ashley wanted to straighten her hair. There were no plugs in the bathroom so instead we just sat right outside the luggage storage center, right next to the escalators as she straightened her hair. We were having such a fun time that we didn’t realize it was getting so late and hurried to check our bags. But of course, it’s still Africa so this process took much longer than in was supposed to as I had to first check in with British Airways, then go to another office to pay for my overweight fee, then back to the counter and then through passport control and security. We were rushing through all of this and luckily made it with about 15 minutes until Ashley’s flight was supposed to depart to Dubai. I said good bye to her, walked around the airport one last time and boarded my flight to London.

The flight was pretty uneventful except that I was super bummed as my video player wasn’t working! I had to ask the flight attendants three times to reset the system. Eventually, I was able to watch some good movies and eat some pretty good airplane food before we landed in London in the wee early morning. It was such a fun landing because I had Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Christmas” playing on my headphones as we landed and I saw snow for the first time in a year! Plus the captain said it was about 0 degrees. It finally was beginning to feel a bit like Christmas.

I easily managed to get out of customs and immigration before buying a ticket for the underground and catching a train into the city at 5:30am. It was freezing and I didn’t have any winter clothes with me so had to wear layer upon layer of clothing and wool socks with chacos, not that attractive of a look. The underground was really interesting and so different from the trains in Stellenbosch. Here they had maps up and a voice telling you the next stop, not to mention comfy, padded seats. However it was weird because the seats face each other and there isn’t a lot of room for people to stand in between the seats so you are looking directly into the eyes of the person seated across from you. I had no idea what the protocol was so I pretended to read a book. I did see a couple people reading the newspaper and when they were done they would just throw it behind them which was something I rarely see. After one guy threw his copy, I did grab it so I could catch up on all the world news.

After about a 45 minute ride I came to Picadilly Circus Station where I had planned on getting off as I knew there was a double Decker tour bus stand right there. However when I emerged from the underground it was only 6:15am and the stand didn’t open until 8 plus it was completely dark out. But this didn’t bother me one bit and instead I was in awe of the city. They had lights strung up across buildings and garland everywhere for the Christmas holiday and what a sight it was. It was gorgeous! The lights, the architecture, the double decker buses, the taxis, it was all so English! It reminded me a bit of Boston in how there can be a historical landmark right next to a spanking new modern skyscraper.

I walked around taking in the sights for a bit before finding an open coffee shop, Café Nero, and getting myself a hot chocolate as a I took some time reading the newspaper. I still had some time to kill so decided to walk around a bit more now that the sun had come up. I did see one of the double decker buses out so thought it was time to head back to the tour bus store. Even though I got there at 8 it was still closed and closed still at 8:15 when I came back. I began to get a little panicked and decided to go back to where I had seen that bus driving around. Luckily there was a bus tour employee there who helped me buy a ticket and got me on the bus. Even though it was bloody freezing I decided to head up to the open top where I could see everything. There were multiple smaller parks throughout the city that are both private (locked and used by only those in the neighborhood) and public parks. I found it so interesting that there are both types of parks all throughout the city. Throughout the tour I was able to see Nelson’s Column and Trafalgar Square, St. James Palace, the Wellington/Marble Arch (an archway that was originally placed at Buckingham Palace but the queen hated it so specifically had a carriage built larger than the width of the arch and could therefore not pass through it leading to the replacement of the arch), the Dorcester Hotel (where Elizabeth Taylor spent all of her honeymoons when in London and it has revolving doors some say because of Elizabeth Taylor’s revolving bed???), Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, St. James’s Park, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and Parliament, Feel Street, St. Pauls’ Cathedral (which was absolutely gorgeous!), the Royal Court, the London Dungeons and so much more. Seeing Big Ben was so amazing since I have seen it in movies and on TV but in person was so awesome, not to mention as soon as I saw Big Ben to my left I saw the London Bridge as we crossed over the River Thames. It was really cool to see the bridge because that is one sight I remember seeing when I was on the plane landing in London on my way to Botswana so it was kind of a bookend, surreal moment to see it again. Before I knew it we had looped around and were actually crossing the London Bridge was interesting because it had blue support beams.

The next stop was the Tower of London which I had no idea what it looked like but it resembles a castle and in the middle is the famous tower. It became infamous because royalty would send people there when it was used as a prison and hence the phrase, “send him to the tower” came to existence. However, in actuality it was used for a lot more besides a tower such as a castle of residence, armory, menagerie, etc. Once I got off the bus I realized how cold it really was as I was freezing and had to use the restroom. I spent a good ten minutes trying to find a restroom but every one required pounds and I only had a credit card so I went down to the ice rink, yes ice rink right in front of the tower, to go to their coffee shop and use the ATM but of course the ATM was not working. So I left and desperately looked around for another one before I saw a little trailer with restrooms right outside the rink. I sprinted towards the bathrooms not only did I have to use it but because the bathroom was warm. I spent a good 5 minutes in the bathroom just trying to warm up! After finally thawing out I walked around the outside of the tower and was able to find someone to take my picture in front of the both the Tower and the London Bridge itself. There is a great view of the bridge from the tower located along the river. With my city tour bus ticket I go a free ride on a river ferry along the River Thames so hopped on the next ferry. It was a nice ride along the river allowing me to see the Victoria Embankment Gardens, the Eye of London, the Sea Life Aquarium and the River Thames itself. The ferry shepherded me to the stop right by Big Ben and the House of Parliament where I had multiple, multiple strangers take photos of me with the iconic tower. Since Westminster Abbey is so close to Parliament I wandered over there and was able to buy a student ticket to actually go into the Abbey. After witnessing Kate and William’s wedding on TV a couple of years ago, how could I not go take a look inside, not to mention I thought it would be warm inside. They had so many volunteers inside who were passing out maps with audio guides so I learned and saw a lot inside the abbey. I was also there right around noon when they have a short prayer and I was lucky enough to witness that as well. I was able to see the tombs of Henry III, Henry IV, Edward I, Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I and Geoffrey Chaucer. However the highlight for me was being able to walk down the same walkway that Kate took in that iconic dress and historic moment. I walked straight along the checkered-floored tiling, right past the quire where the choir sits and up to the altar where she wed William. I wasn’t allowed to take pictures inside the abbey so instead took a picture underneath the doors that Kate and William walked through!

By this time it was getting close to leaving time so I walked over to Buckingham Palace which is not as gorgeous or large as I expected it to be. There was some event going on though as many beautifully dressed men and women were leaving through the side gates including some women with the most interesting, coolest hats. Man I wish it was cool to wear hats in the states! Spent some time admiring the palace and the fountain that stands right in front of it before walking down The Mall past Green Park and St. James’ park Lake towards the admirality arch, Trafalgar Square the national Gallery. I was blown away by the architecture and history of the city plus all the Christmas decorations. They had a huge tree right in front of the National Gallery.

I spent a little more time shopping and walking around before grabbing a quick sandwich and getting back on the underground to get back to the airport.  Now that the sun was out I was able to see the suburbs of London which were just as exciting to see as the city itself. I felt like I was in Bend in Like Beckham as all the houses resembled those from the movie. Plus there was snow all around and people were all speaking with their cool British accents which for me sealed the deal, I fell madly in love with the city.

Finally arrived at Heathrow which was packed and after removing the layers of layers of clothes, including the dumb socks I wore with my chacos, got in line to get through passport control. I finally get up to the counter after about ten minutes and am told I have to go back to British Airways counter. Luckily I did because as I am getting my ticket reprinted the woman tells me I was upgraded to business class! YAY!  Get back in line and make it through security but when I look on the boards there is still no gate number listed for my flight back to DC so I spent some time just wandering around the airport. Keep checking back for my gate number and eventually just take a seat in front of the boards. It soon became obvious that my flight was going to be majorly delayed because within a half hour of departure, the gate number was still not posted. It turns out that there was terrible fog a couple days earlier which had actually delayed a lot of my friends flights by 6 hours and they had rescheduled the flights for today. I wandered around the airport for a while, got yelled at electronic store when I was checking email and facebook on their iPads, played cards by the beautiful Swarovski Christmas tree and finally my gate is posted. Well it was of course at a different terminal so have to take a train over to the gate. Get there and finally get my ticket scanned only to get on a bus to take us back to the plane at the other terminal where I was originally. Unfortunately for me though I only had chacos on and had to wait in the freezing cold for other passengers to climb up into the plane. Finally I get on and super excited about the business class which was pretty nice. I got a nice big seat, comfier and softer blankets and pillows, a foot rest, a sleeping kit that included socks, earplugs, a mask, toothbrush and toothpaste plus I got a menu of what would be served. However good thing I had all this because we were stuck on the ground. The pilot came on and told us that the fuel truck was literally stuck to our plane! The truck had stopped working and they couldn’t disconnect it so we had to wait for a technician to come and fix the truck. Eish!!!

Well by 8:30pm, a 3 ½ hour delay I am on my way home!! Watched some movies, slept some, spilled wine all over my bag and blanket, talked to the older gentleman next to me and then finally I was HOME!!

I got off the plane and couldn’t get through customs fast enough. Waiting around the carousel for my luggage was excruciating because not only was I nervous that my bags were not going to make it but I was so excited to see my parents after five months.

Then the time was there when I walked out of customs pushing my trolley and there they are-two of the most important people in the world wearing green bibs. Since the blog is called “the bibb” they literally made bibs and wore them along with signs and a welcome home balloon. That hug between the three of us was one of pure joy and happiness. I hadn’t felt that loved and cared for the whole time I was gone; unconditional happiness all through a hug (and I hate hugs).

The walk out of the airport and ride home was filled with chatter about my trip and excitement at being back at a place I love and know. My poor parents had to put up with my jabber until 2am when it was finally time for us to call it quits and for me to sleep in my bed, MY BED, MY ROOM, MY STUFF!!! How I love being home!!!

Cape Town

 Stellenbosch Train Station 

 One of the wineries in Stellenbosch

 Stellenbosch

 Lions Head in Cape Town

 Long Street 

 Long Street

 On the train ride out to Simon's Town

 Table Mountain

 Simon's Town and the African Penguins

 Train ride to Simon's Town

 Shark Cage Diving

 Example of the cage we were in for shark cage diving

Map showing where Cape Town is in South Africa and where Simon's Town is as well

Well in my last blog I had just taken off on Air Botswana on my way to Johannesburg. I forgot to mention that of course on my last morning sleeping in my homestay house, I get woken up by a knock on my door by my uncle who says someone is on the phone and wants to talk to me. It turned out to be my host mother who wanted to say good bye one more time which was strange as we never talked during my 4 months living in her house and she didn’t even give me a hug good bye the night before. Oh well.

Anyways, arrived in Joburg airport, got through immigration rather quickly and then I had to find Ashley who had taken an earlier flight from Gaborone to Joburg. I was lucky enough to find her and my bags right away. I did some rearranging and repacking then Ash and I found the Joburg lockers to lock up our larger bags that we did not want to lug with us all the way to Cape Town.  The whole process turned out to be a lot easier than expected. Next step was to eat lunch (at Nandos of course), check in for our Cape Town flight and then board the plane.

We flew Kulula Air which I only mention because it was the brightest lime green plane!! And the flight attendants wore the weirdest office; blue striped shirts, lime green ties, dark skirts..crazy. Arrived in Cape Town to a Christmas decorated Cape Town airport before finding the pre-arranged shuttle we had to take us to our hostel on Long Street. Now Long Street is crazy! It is known for all of its late night partying and noise which Ashley and I aren’t really into but it is also in a superb location in the city, close to the train station, table mountain, etc. When we arrived on Long Street and to our hostel, which was actually on the 6^th floor of this really old, cool building, we could see what all the fuss over Long Street was about. People on the sidewalk were stumbling around, yelling, the bass from the building next to our hostels was pounding, people in the hostel were running around getting ready to go out. Eish! What did Ashley and I get ourselves into??? We were staying in the 22 person dorm room and there were only two beds available separated way apart from each other but what else were we to do. Went to bed right away and had one of the worst nights’ sleep just because it was so loud and people came into the room at all times of night.

Day ONE:

Anyways, we woke up way before the others and got ready to start exploring Cape Town. Our idea was to buy tickets for the red double decker bus that drives you around the city allowing you to hop on and off as you see fit. First stop we hopped off at was St. George’s Cathedral which is where Desmond Tutu once preached and was known was accepting people of all races during the apartheid. We then hopped back on the bus and traveled through some more of Cape Town’s historic areas such as District 6 and Good Hope Castle built in the 1800s. District 6 was really cool because it was an area where blacks and whites lived together during apartheid and refused to move. The government responded by bulldozing all the houses in the district besides churches so to this day a lot of area (80%) remains empty fields. There was another strip of brightly colored houses which is where freed slaves settled and painted the houses so brightly because while enslaved they had to always wear gray or black. Very interesting facts here and there.

We got off at Table Mountain and decided to climb all the way up. Although it was a beautiful climb, beautiful day and wonderful weather it was a pretty intense hike. It took about 2 hours and was basically a stair master for 2 hours. Ash and I didn’t realize how steep it was going to be and after not working out that much over the past four months, it for sure caught up with us. Needless to say we did reach the top and the view was beautiful and completely worth it! Table Mountain became one of the new 7 Wonders of the World and we could see why. You can look over all of Cape Town and the surrounding neighborhoods as well as see far into the Atlantic Ocean.  After walking around the top of the mountain for a bit and eating lunch up there we took the cable car back down the mountain which only took about 5 minutes but was really cool. The inside of the cable car turns in a circle allowing everyone inside to see the entire 360 view from the car.

After returning down from the mountain we got back on the red bus and continued our tour of the city. The tour was gorgeous as the road borders the coast on one side and the back of table mountain on the other. We passed the Clifton Beaches and Camp Bay which is where a lot of South African celebrities like to stay as well as some American celebrities before getting off at the Waterfront. I loved the Waterfront so much. It reminds me of Baltimore’s inner harbor a little bit. There are shops all over, street performers, a larger mall, ships, an outdoor stage and a great food market where of course Ash and I went and sampled everything from pie to pizza.  

We decided to hop back on the bus and go around the city one more time just stopping at Good Hope Castle to take pictures and look around. However once back on the bus Ashley began to feel terrible so that night we just went back to the hostel so she could rest. While she slept I wrote in my journal, ordered a pizza and played on the internet for a bit.

Day Two:

Luckily Ashley was feeling better today because it was Wine Tour Day in Stellenbosch! We woke up early in order to catch the train for our hour long train ride to wine country. The train ride was great because it allowed us to see even more of South Africa and the changing scenery from the coast of Cape Town to the mountains of Stellenbosch.  We got off at the Stellenbosch station, which was a bit tricky as there is no conductor telling you the stations nor are there really any indications of what stop you are at, and Ashley had forgot to write down the address of where we were supposed to meet for the wine tour. So we walked around for a bit and finally found a gorgeous hotel and went inside to ask for their help. They were nice enough to look up the company on the internet and call them to have them pick us up at the hotel. The only downside was that Ashley and I had planned on eating breakfast in Stellenbosch but because of the mix up were unable to do so, not exactly what you want right before a day of drinking wine.

Our driver picked us up from the hotel and by 10:20 we were on our way to tour the wineries of Stellenbosch. The first place we went to was Tokara which ended up being my favorite of the four we visited that day. They allowed us to pick which ones we wanted to try and both Ash and I lean towards white wines or rosés so tried some of those. Then tried the most amazing dessert wine ever. It tasted like honey and was so delicious. We also got a crash course in wine making and the differences between white and red.

We hopped in and went to another winery where the wine was good, not amazing but the scenery was gorgeous. After trying about 5 or 6 wines here and looking around at the beautiful grounds we went to a little town called Franschoek for lunch. Franschoek is Afrikaans and relates to how the French first inhabited this area and taught the South Africans how to make wine.

After lunch headed to our third winery which had the  most beautiful scenery allowing us to overlook vineyards and vineyards as we sipped their wine. Then our last winery was Fairview where we had a great time talking with the server and learning more about the wine making process. Not to mention we had a cheese tasting at this one which was a lot of fun. We ended up buying wine here; I bought a very sweet dessert wine for me and my mom and a nice Pignotage for my dad. Pignotage is actually a wine that was developed in Stellenbosch! This was our last winery before heading back to the train station to catch the train back to Cape Town. However we got to the station way before our train was supposed to leave and spent some time walking around the town. It’s a cute town but it was really empty with not much to see or do so we just decided to wait at the train station.

But nothing in Africa is easy so halfway back to Cape Town the train comes to a stop at some random station and we are just sitting there for ten minutes. We decide to exit the train like all the other passengers and soon learn that our train was going out of service and we would have to wait for the next train. We are waiting and waiting and then an announcement is made that we have to move platforms. We look around us and everyone starts jumping into the tracks to move to the platform. Imagine the metro and jumping down into the tracks to get to the other side and you can understand how weird Ashley and I thought it was but what else to do? Even older women and men were jumping into the tracks and having people pull them up on the opposing platform. Well, when in Rome….

Got back to the hostel and Cape Town without much more craziness and decided to head out to this nicer Italian restaurant to end our exciting wine touring day.

Day Three:

Today we were going to get out of Cape Town one more time and decided to take the train to Simon’s Town, about 45 minutes away from Cape Town where they have African Penguins on the beach. On the way towards the train station we are walking along Long Street and look up to a patio off one of the hostels and on it see three other UB international students. They weren’t in our program, CIEE, but since they had lived on campus and saw them around we knew them. What was funnier is they were the same kids we ran into when we were in Zambia a couple months earlier. Small world!

The train ride out there was beautiful, right along the coast the entire way with beaches and mountains popping up here and there. As we neared Simon’s Town we saw that they have built these really cool tide pools which were underneath the water during high tide and filled with ocean water during low tide. It was one of the coolest things.

We arrived in Simon’s Town and walked from the station to the park with the penguins which was a bit of a walk but with beautiful scenery. Simon’s Town is very cute with quaint architecture that has some German influence and a little of American colonialism. We got to the national park, paid our entrance fee and before we knew it were laughing at the “awkward on land” penguins (direct quote from the park signs).  These were African Penguins that are found just on the southern coast of Africa. What’s cool about Simons’ Town is that unlike Cape Town, it borders the Indian Ocean so the penguins were swimming in a completely different ocean than the one we saw in Cape Town (see the map I posted).  They were such funny animals as they wobbled around. Once in a while would fall down on land especially when they were near the tide and would get dragged into the water.

After watching them struggle and sleep for a bit, Ashley and I headed back to Simon’s Town for a great lunch and then caught the train back to Cape Town. Once back in Cape Town we had originally planned to go to the Water Front again but had spent so much time in Simons Town that instead bought some souvenirs (and doughnuts) and ate our some of our goodies on the roof of our hostel watching the sun go down over the city of Cape Town and reminiscing and reflecting on our travels the past four months. Once we gained our appetite again, we walked around Long Street some more and the surrounding areas taking in the architecture and Christmas Lights before heading to a café right next to our hostel for our dinner.

Had to get to bed early today because we were getting up early the next day for shark cage diving with the Great White Sharks in Gainsbai.

Day Four:

Up and early we awoke, changed into our bathing suits and were picked up to make the drive out to Gainsbai, about a two hour drive from Cape Town. The drive was great as it took us around Cape Town as we picked up other divers, showed us the shanty towns that I feel are overlooked when people talk about Cape Town, and showed us even more scenery of South Africa. It was interesting because there was  a Pine Tree Forest even. The pines were imported and they grow much much quicker in South Africa because of the warm climate. But since they grow so quickly they are not as sturdy and strong as American pine. At some points it felt as if I was driving through New England but then I would see a baboon and remember I am still in Africa.

Arrived in Gainsbai to a delicious lunch and briefing from our master diver before heading out on the boat for the 15min boat ride out to the middle of the bay.  The way it works is that the sharks come into the bay for 3 or 4 days before they leave and move on. Therefore it is not always the same sharks that they see. Once out in the middle of the bay, the dive team throws fish juice into the water to attract the sharks and before long we had attracted a big guy, about 3 meters.  We had gone up to the top of the boat to see them and it wasn’t as scary as I expected but you do see that long, dark shadow right at the surface of the water swimming around. As we were looking at the shark our dive master gave us the deal with the diving. The cage would be put in the water right at the side of the boat. Five people would go in and basically just float in the cage. Once a shark was near the crew would yell and we were to use the cage bars to pull ourselves down into the water to see the shark. They attract the shark by throwing chum into the water attached to rope. Once the shark approaches, they pull the chum towards the cage so the shark swims right towards us in the cage without ever getting the chum (they don’t want to provide the shark with a continual food source and make the sharks dependent on them). At times the sharks could bump the cage but they would never bite at it. Sharks send out vibrations and can feel the vibrations from the metal of the cage and do not actually see us within in instead believing it to be a big solid mass.

Before long we were getting into our wetsuits complete with footies, hoods and goggles and we were lowering ourselves into the cage. I wasn’t afraid of the sharks but was freezing. The water was so cold that I started hyperventilating and could not catch my breath. However before I could register how cold I was I heard the crew yell, “Down, Down” so I ducked down and saw my first great white. They were huge and another beautiful creature. We were in the cage for about 15 minutes before it was another groups’ turn.

I went back in a second time and overall got to see some amazing things. At one point we saw the shark get the chum and write back and forth as it tried to free it from the rope. We also saw a shark breach where it comes up out of the water, two sharks going after the chum at the same time, one shark hit my cage, one breach with his mouth open and just be amazed at the grandiose of these creatures.

Headed back to shore, which was the coldest ride of my life and tried to warm up as we had snack back on land. While we were eating we got to hear some facts about the sharks we saw; they were Great Whites,  females are bigger than males, females tend to have scars on the back from where males bite them and hold on during mating, they also have scars from seals that swim behind them and bite them and the ones we saw ranged from about 2-3.5 meters but they can get as large as 6 meters.

On the ride back to Cape Town we stopped and tried to see if there were still some whales in the area but we weren’t that lucky. We got back to the hostel pretty late, around 7pm and had just enough time to shower and change before meeting up with one of my mom’s coworkers, Hilary. While waiting for Hilary to pick us up from the hostel who do we run into but the other UB students, again! Crazy.

Hilary is from South Africa and just so happen to be in Cape Town the same time we were so all of us went out to dinner just a couple of blocks from the hostel. It was a wonderful restaurant and really interesting to hear about what is was like growing up in Cape Town during apartheid. What a great night to end our Cape Town travels.

Day Five:

Last day on the continent! Although Ash and I had loved Cape Town we were so ready to go home and the day was finally here!! We ate a lovely breakfast at a coffee shop on Long Street before making our way to the bus that for only 50 rand would take us straight to the airport.  We had some time at the airport to kill but before we knew it we were boarding that lime green plane once more to take us back to Johannesburg. GOOD BYE CAPE TOWN!! Baie dankie (thank you very much in Afrikaans-the only thing I really learned). 

The Okavanga Delta

 Our last night in Botswana with CIEE. Dinner at Thamalakane River Lodge

 Sunset in the delta during one of our game drives

 Swimming in a watering hole

 Hilary and I dug for tubers in the roots of the lilypads and then cooked them for a snack

 Sunset in the delta

 Boat ride in Maun

 Giraffe!

 African Wild Dog with the head of a baby impala

 Elephant reaching for the highest branch

 African Wild Dog

 Hippo-rare to see them out of the water

 Lioness

 Baboons

 Leopards

Leopard in the foreground and water buck in the background

Hello once again. It’s time I worked on my blog and this post should be one of the most exciting (and longest) as I will recount my time traveling around northern Botswana and the Okavanga Delta!!! However, I can’t leave out my last full day in Gaborone.  

So I got home from Mozambique late on the 29^th thanks to Intercape and their ridiculously bad planning. Anyways I woke up later than expected on the 30^th but as soon as I got up, I ate breakfast and got dressed as I had a shopping date with Tshego. Since her exams had finally ended and I was done with school we wanted to try to spend some time together before I left for the states and decided that a great way would be shopping. Luckily Tshego decided on going to Game City which we could walk to, although walking with Tshego is a pretty slow process. Anyways, the walk, although very long and slow, was really nice. I got to talk with Tshego and she showed me her old primary school and some different parts of the surrounding neighborhoods that I had never seen before. We finally get to the mall and basically wandered around a bit. The hard part was that I needed to head to the ATM as I had no cash left but since it was right at the end of the month, so did everyone else in Gabs. Basically every student gets their stipend at the end of the month and every employee gets paid which means that the ATM lines are ridiculously long as people either try to deposit or withdraw money.

Anyways, Tshego and I walked into and out of stores just looking around. She kept expecting me to buy things and want to try them on but I kept expecting her to buy things and try to them on as I was leaving in a few days and was trying to give away clothes, not accumulate them. We had a good time anyways and I was able to borrow money from Tshego to buy a gift for one of my Matswana friends and she ended up buying a lot of clothes from Mr. Price. Although just like walking, this took a long time and I was really late for lunch plans I had with some friends at the White House near the University of Botswana.

I made it to lunch just as everyone was finishing up eating, perfect timing. At least I got to eat at the White House one last time which has the best traditional Batswana food in Gaborone. At lunch I also learned that I would be having a much busier afternoon than expected. Originally our flight back from the delta was supposed to land early on December 6^th which would give me all day on the 6^th to pack and do some last minute errands around the city as I would be leaving Gabs forever on the 7^th. But at lunch I learned that our flight back on the 6^th would be much later and we wouldn’t get back until around 6pm! Eish!

So after lunch we all hurried back to campus. I went to the library to return some books and get to the internet one last time, then walked around campus taking pictures of the buildings, went to the ATM (which also had a huge line), took pictures of the dorm rooms and then got a call that I was needed in the CIEE office. And then this took much longer than it was supposed to as well because Tanya, the CIEE assistant who needed me wasn’t there so I had to wait for a half hour. She finally showed up and I was able to work with her on some last minute transcript/course description materials that were needed for Tanya and the states to transfer my credits. Then I wanted to borrow the external hardrive from the office since it had a lot of movies I wanted to transfer to my computer but there were a lot of people using it so had to wait some more time for it. There goes my idea of getting home early. On the other hand since I spent so much time at the office, Charlotte and I were able to go to RailPark together (she was busy earlier in the day) and do some souvenirs shopping before heading to our homestays to pack for our safari trip to the delta. Went to railpark and hit up Food Lovers one last time to stock up on stampa (hominy-like carb we wanted to bring home) and some other grocery stores to buy last minutes goodies. Then I had to walk a couple of blocks outside of the mall to the money exchange service to see if they would exchange my Meticash (money from Mozambique) but of course they didn’t. It was one of those hectic, crazy days where I didn’t really accomplish much but was busy the entire day!

The rest of the night was spent packing for the delta and trying to pack up my souvenirs and clothes to go home which proved to be much more confusing than expected. See I had this delta trip coming up, was in Gabs for one night, then left Gabs for Cape Town for four days and then was flying home via London where I had a 12 hour layover meaning that I needed to prepare for the delta which was going to be extremely hot, then for Cape Town which was mild and then for London which was cold==Too much planning! Finally got some stuff packed and my bag ready for the delta and headed to sleep as I had to get up early the next morning to go on the safari trip!!!

Saturday, December 1^st came by and I awoke early to get to campus to say good bye to Moleti, one of my good Matswana friends, before meeting up at the CIEE office to head to the airport. Said good bye to Mo and in true Batswana style, the combis taking us from the CIEE office to the airport were going to be late so I walked around campus with Kya, another CIEE student, and went to Shoppers at the student center one last time. Finally the combis arrived, we get to the Seretse Khama International Airport and board our Air Botswana flight to Maun which is a town in the northern part of Botswana. The flight was pretty uneventful except that I was the only one without a seat buddy because Connor who was supposed to sit next to me ended up leaving Botswana early. Anyways once we got over the really shaky and quite scary landing we had landed in Maun. At the airport we were met by Kyle, the CIEE program director who was there already, and shuttles that were taking us to the Audi Camp in Maun where we would stay one night before heading to the Okavanga Delta just north Maun. The camp was gorgeous nestled right on the Thamalakane river with cute little tents with beds inside, a pool, a bar, a restaurant.  We spent a couple of hours just exploring the camp site and sitting by the pool before getting into boats to take a river boat “cruise” down the river.  We didn’t see too much on the river except for some fish eagles, a huge termite mound that we were able to get out and climb on, and some elephants in the far distance. However, our driver did teach us how to make necklaces out of lilies by peeling some of the stem down. After a couple of hours on the boat, we got back to camp and had one of the best meals. I for sure overstuffed myself on butternut squash soup, warm bread, pap, chicken, beef and mouse for dessert. We were all so stuffed that we just went to bed to prepare for tomorrow and the beginning of our safari.

I woke up really early on the 2^nd so walked around the camp, wrote in my journal and then finally found someone else who was up and ready to eat breakfast with me. Kim and I headed over to the outdoor picnic area where we were served another amazing meal. After having a very satisfying breakfast, the safari trucks rolled in that were going to be transporting us from the campsite in Maun to our campsite in the Okavanga Delta, about a 3 hr drive. Initially I was super stoked to see the trucks/jeeps roll in that, in a very brief description, are like pick-up trucks with 9 raised seats in the back. However, after driving just about 10 minutes I realized that it was going to be a long ride. The wind was whipping our faces so we couldn’t talk and every now and then a bug or beetle would fly back and hit us in the face.

As soon as we entered into the Okavanga Delta, the wildlife was everywhere and we were truly in the bush. Right along the side of the road ( I mean a dirt pathway) a giraffe was on the side just looking at us. At one point during the ride we had to stop because a chameleon was crossing the road that our guide, Clinton, picked up and put it on Anthony’s shirt to see the colors change. While we were examining the chameleon, that giraffe we saw earlier just started walking straight across the road in front of us!! During the rest we also had our change to use the restroom which was the first of countless times of all the girls running in opposite directions trying to find a bush that was thick enough to hide us from each other. This in itself was a difficult feat as the bush is comprised of a lot of short, stick-like bushes so you can see for miles and miles, not to mention that amount of thorns and brush that is on the floor making squatting a dangerous feat.

Back in the truck and before we knew it we had arrived at camp, which was gorgeous. There were over 12 small tents all lined up in a row where we would sleep for the next 3 nights, a larger tent under which there was long table with chairs, another tent in the back where the support staff would cook our meals, two bathrooms that were set up (basically a whole in a ground with a seat over it) and two outdoor showers all next to a nice hippo-infested watering hole. We were literally in the middle of bush and Clinton had even told us that yesterday when they were setting up camp a leopard had walked through. The only advice we got though was to not stray too far and at night use a torch aka a flashlight if we needed to use the restroom. Okay!

We had a great lunch and then a siesta period before our afternoon game drive. During the afternoons since it is so hot the animals really do not come out and do anything and therefore all game drives are either done early in the morning or later in the afternoon around dusk. Since we had so much time to kill our guides decided to take us to a watering hole where we could go swimming and cool off even though the weather wasn’t as bad as it was supposed to be during this year. In December, Botswana’s summer, the delta can reach up to 110/115 F but we were lucky in that it was really only around 90 and bearable. The watering hole was great and really refreshing even though it was only about a foot deep so we basically just laid in it and had a mud fight with the clay on the bottom of it. We had to go in shallower water because deeper water is where the crocodiles and hippos like to live. In fact there was a hippo about 100 meters away swimming around. Came back from a great swim and still had time to kill so played a lot of card games before it was time for our first real game drive.

The drive was exciting within minutes as our truck, with the awesome Scotty as our guide, saw elephants within seconds trying to rip down a branch. The branch was so high that the elephant had to extend his trunk fully and reach his back legs as far as possible before ripping the branch down and chewing it up right in front of us. Elephants actually can get so frustrated with trees and not being able to get a branch that they will push the whole tree down which has led to a lot of problems in northern Botswana. Botswana has the largest population of African Elephants in the world and they are causing a lot of problems even though they are highly protected by the government.

We also got to see a pack of zebras, baboons, a water monitor, hippos, kudu, impala and a lot of different birds. Impala and kudu are basically antelopes while a water monitor is like a huge lizard. And we learned a lot of really cool facts like each print on a zebra is unique, similar to fingerprints on humans. A lot of looks like Lion King in that all the animals are just chilling with each other, all surrounding the watering hole. After a couple of hours into the drive we took our break at sunset by a watering hole, which again, was amazing. Ever sunset in Africa (at least the countries I have been to) has been ridiculously beautiful and breathtaking. By this time it was getting dark so we headed back to camp, of course using a high-powered spotlight in the hopes of finding some animals. We did get lucky and actually spotted a hyena right off the path just a few feet from our truck!! WOOT!!

Back at camp we got to sit around a campfire listening to cheesy stories before a mouth-watering, delicious dinner was served. Headed to bed early as we had to get up at 4:30 am for the game drive in the morning.

4:30am rolled around and we were woken up, ate a simple breakfast of cereal and toast before heading off for our first morning game drive. Boy was this a game drive and completely worth waking up at 4:30. We had been driving around for about 15 minutes when Scotty got a call on the radio that another guide had a pack of African Wild Dogs which happen to be one of the most rare animals in Botswana with only 10,000 left in the world. They are actually the second most endangered predator in the world. There is a guy who has been coming for 10 years staying for about 10 days in a row and never sees the wild dogs. They are gorgeous and look like a mix between a hyena and a wolf. Not only did we see the pack of about 20 but we saw them kill. Within minutes of pulling up we see a baby impala running, one dog sees it, chases after it, catches it and then all the other dogs come, pounce on it and rip it apart. We were so close we even heard the crunching of the bones and saw each dog come away with a different body part. My heart was pounding and I could feel the energy within the pack. There is nothing like witnessing pure nature. We followed the dogs for a bit longer before trying to find some other animals. We were lucky and did get to see a lot more elephants, hippos, kudu, baboons, just crazy, crazy things. It was actually pretty funny because at one point someone asked if the foreskin hanging from the elephant “were its balls” and Scotty told her the testicles and penis are actually inside the elephant. Then ten minutes we saw an elephant urinating and saw how large the penis really is. It kept extending and extending to the point where it touched the ground and swung as it walked. The elephant I think knew we were shocked by it because after it finished it walked straight towards us and got within a couple feet before Scotty moved the truck. The rest of the game drive was filled with more sightings of the beautiful animals of Botswana.

After our morning game drive it was time for lunch and a siesta back at camp. However, Hilary and I were not in the mood for a nap and instead decided to play in the water and dig for tubers. Apparently the beautiful lily pads have tubers on their roots that can be dug for and then cleaned and eaten. So we trudged into the water and dug and dug until we found the tuber, we pulled it out and it looked like a big pile of mud. However, the support staff showed us how to clean them and cooked it for us by charring it on the grill. It was actually pretty gross and really, really bitter but that’s just my opinion.

Our afternoon game drive was again filled with excitement as we once again found the wild dog pack. They were on the hunt and so we ran with them in the bush and saw their hunting tactics. They had chased something all the way to the watering hold but stopped abruptly and would not go in. Apparently the crocodiles eat the dogs and therefore the dogs usually do not go in the water. However we did get to see the crocodile eat whatever the dogs chased into the water. It’s amazing to see how the animals work together and the relationships between all of the species. After the dogs gave up by the water they turned and started hunting something else so we went with them. They found a wart-hog burrow and began scratching at it hoping the wart hog would emerge. We asked Scotty why they don’t just go down there but apparently the wart hog will emerge with their tusks pointed up and could slice through the dogs’ throats. Eish!

We soon lost the dogs though as they are so fast. Scotty gave up by listening to the sounds of the bush. He listened to the birds and watched the movement of the impala. A lot of birds will make alarm calls when they see the dogs warning the other animals while the impala will make abrupt movements when they hear the dogs. Since we heard and saw nothing we headed off for other animals before stopping at a watering hole for a nighttime break, sunset break. There were roughly 4 or 5 hippos in the water that we had fun playing with. Hippos are extremely dangerous and actually can run faster than Usain Bolt so we did make sure to stay pretty far away from them but if we took a step closer they would open their mouths showing us their teeth as a warning sign! Too cool!!!

We didn’t see much the rest of the game drive, had another great dinner and camp fire before heading off to bed for another early start.

Up at 5 and out of camp by 5:30, we wanted to see something good. We really hadn’t seen much then Scotty got a call on the radio that the other trucks had spotted lions. We were in a bit of a pickle because we all wanted to see the lions but also had to get to the local river as we were supposed to go on mocoros (little boats). We wanted to do both so Scotty put the pedal to the metal and rushed over the see the lions. They were gorgeous and the whole scene was completely worth it! There were elephants, hyenas, zebras and the king/queens of the jungle, the lions! No male lions but two females with about 6 or 7 cubs. Cub being very relative as they were older and huge! All they were doing though was just sleeping. Every once in a while one would get up, stretch, change positions, then go back to sleep. Although they weren’t doing anything I was still amazed by their beauty! We saw them for a bit before heading down to the river for our boat ride. On the way to the river though we got to see a pack of baboons running around, with a lot of cute babies, and came across two Cape Buffalo which were huge. Cape Buffalo look similar to water buffalo but are very dangerous and as Scotty said is not an animal you’d want to see as you walk around in the bush.

The mocoro is a type of boat that is traditionally used in northern Botswana. It kind of looks like a long kayak where a man will stand on the back and use a long pole to push the boat forward. Again we were in rather shallow water to avoid the hippos and crocodiles and were told that if we see a hippo we would calmly exit the river, carry our boats down a ways and then reenter. The mocoro boat trip was a great experience in that we got to see traditional transportation in the delta but it was very slow and very hot. Relaxing!

We returned for lunch, siesta, more swimming in the watering hole and then another afternoon game drive. We were just driving along and all of a sudden Scotty gets a call on the radio and quickly turns the car and zooms away. We all knew it had to be a leopard because usually Scotty would ask us if we wanted to go see an animal and then tell us to hold on but not now. We were flying through the brush!!!! And sure enough, a leopard we saw. Leopards are extremely rare and only seen when they want to be seen. I talked to the guide on the mocoro trip who said he only sees a leopard maybe once a month! The leopard itself was really hard to see as it was buried within a bush but I was lucky enough to be in the front row of the jeep which allowed me to lean forward enough and see the leopard through the cracks within the tree branches. It was gorgeous! A leopard wasn’t high on my list to see but it should have been. The coat was amazing, the pattern of his spots was so intricate and majestic. However, our glimpse at the leopard was quick because within a few minutes another safari truck revved its engine to get closer to the leopard and in return the leopard got spooked and darted out from the tree running right in front of our truck. I was disappointed that the leopard was gone but felt so lucky that we got to see him run right in front of us.

We spent some more time trying to look for the leopard and eventually gave up and returned back to the lions. It was approaching dusk and we were hoping to see a kill. The other two guides from our group went for a sunset break but my truck really wanted to see the lions so we skipped it, which was well worth it. We were able to see how the lions would set up for a kill. The two lionesses would leave the cubs and move towards the prey from the back, in our case some impala and water buck. By approaching the prey from the back the lionesses could cause the prey to move in a certain direction. In their case, the lionesses would cause the prey to run towards the stalking cubs. This was theoretically what was supposed to happen and we had great hunting conditions as a huge thunderstorm was rolling in so it was getting darker, windier with loud thundering claps, all of which helped for the hunt. What didn’t help with the hunt though were the cubs. As Scotty said, “They are quite stupid!” because the cubs would get bored of stalking and stand up, walk around and stretch which would allow the prey or warning birds to see them and give away their position. We waited as long as we could in the hopes that the waterbuck would be chased towards the cubs but the cubs kept moving and the storm was getting closer. We got out of there just before the storm really picked up.

We made it back to camp right as it started to pour which postponed our last night dinner braii but the wait was completely worth it complete with different kinds of meat, pap, potatoes and veggies (and some great adventure stories from Clinton about how a hippo once chomped through his kayak and his arm once swelled up putting him in the Joburg ICU because of a snake bite).

The next morning was our last game drive and it was another exciting one!  At first we spent a good hour or so hunting some male lions. Scotty saw the footprints in the sand and we followed them but the path kept crossing back and forth. As we were driving around all of a sudden Kylee goes, “Hey there are two leopards!” and sure enough right in front of us were two leopards out in the open just walking around-a very rare sight! We followed and watched the leopards for a good long time mainly learning about them from Scotty and watching their interactions. One was the mom and the other an older cub who the mom was actually trying to get rid of because he was too old to still be with her. She was even making mating calls hoping a male leopard would show up and shoo the cub away and would become irritated with the cub very quickly. Just like the lion cubs he ruined her hunt as well. The mother was moving towards a pack of impala and while she was starting her stalk the cub was playing with some waterbuck by pretending he was stalking them. In reality leopards wouldn’t take down a water buck as it is just too big but what did happen was the water buck would make a low growling, barking noise which in turn alerted the impala ruining the mother’s hunt. Eish!

After an exciting game drive we said good bye to our guides and went to a landing strip (basically a long stretch of road in the middle of the bush) where we got to take a ½ hour bush plane ride back to the city of Maun. But even on the landing strip there was an impala so Clinton had to race his truck over there to scare it away. They are especially careful about the animals because a couple of years ago they hit a wart-hog on the strip. The plane ride itself was great because it was in one of those smaller planes and allowed us to see the delta from above and see some giraffes and more elephants!

We arrived back in Maun and got settled in at the Okavanga River Lodge before some of us decided to walk down the road to a store that sells baskets. We weren’t sure how long the walk would be so were going to take a combi but we waited and waited and it never came so we just walked. Along the way we get honked at and low and behold Clinton was driving by and offer to give us a ride to the basket store. What great luck!! We all bought some baskets and began walking back when we see a combi looking van so we hail it. It turns out not to be a combi but instead is the same company and same driver who drove us from the airport to the river lodge a couple of hours earlier. So we hop in and then in the car are two Americans whose son is a friend of some of the kids from my program. What a small world????

The rest of the afternoon was spent sleeping and playing cards before we all got dressed up for our last dinner together as a CIEE program. We went to this fancier restaurant Thamalakane River Lodge which is actually where President Ian Khama eats when he comes to Maun. The food was alright, the atmosphere was lovely and the company was spectacular. We even had a mini-presentation where each person got a superlative. Overall it was a fantastic night!

We awoke early in the morning and headed to the airport to fly back to Gaborone but that flight was eventful. As a group we decided to do an activity where everyone would write something nice about each other person in the group. So on the plane ride home we had a conveyer belt of papers being handed from one person to the next. It took up most of the plane ride until we learned that the weather in Gaborone was too bad to land and we might be flying up to Francistown. Luckily that was not the case and instead we just experienced the worst turbulence ever.

The rest of the day was spent packing up my room at my homestay and preparing for a braii my family was having for me. My host mom had invited pastors from her church over for dinner to bless my travels and had invited a couple of my friends over as well. The family went all out and we had a great time playing cards and having my last Setswana food. It was the first time in months that my family had all sit down together and I was so appreciative to have one last dinner with them.

Woke early the next morning as Elt and Tshego were driving me to the airport. Said a nice good bye to them and a lot of the other CIEE kids as each person was leaving on a different flight out of Gaborone. Before I knew it, my flight was boarding and I had to say good bye to some of the best people and friends one could ask for. The only thing keeping me from breaking down was knowing that I was spending the next five days in Cape Town with Ashley and would soon be seeing my family that I missed so badly.

So, thank you Gaborone for teaching me more about myself and the people of Botswana than I ever thought possible! Go Siame!