Tid Bits

I just sat in a classroom with 56 students taking a test. The room was like 30X45’, then the teacher leaves. What else is there to do but look at each others papers.

Batswana advertise their campaign for government or whatever by driving around in a pick up with a Public Announcement system, talking about who know what, all in Setswana to the we hours of the night an early in the morning.

‘China Shops’ all over, originally run by Chinese or everything in them is made in China or whatever but a lot of them are run by other nationalities Arab, Indian, what what. A Motswan man walks in and asks the teller Bin Laden O Kae? (Where is Bin Laden?) With out a witty answer the teller says, ‘Not Here’.

In some village with out police or good justice, a girl was raped and they didn’t know what to do or how to handle it so they made the girl marry the man? WTF

Men holding hands or just hooking pinkies is seen often here. I still haven’t gotten used to that one. Homosexuality is illegal by law and this is done by good friends, I myself have walked hand in hand with a guy here, it’s just culturally ok… Theories: the lack of affection for men is replaced by this. There is a demographic of men who have sex with men here in Botswana even though it’s illegal. Also, there are many many mother run house holds that leads men to seek other male affection.

Wearing one glove in the winter is also normal hear. The explanation I got when I asked was, ‘Well I lost one’. And they fight to keep it too. I’m so surprised at how cold it gets here, my down jacket is my favorite piece of luggage.

Lakgoa (lekhoa)= white foam washed up from the sea. This is what they call white people.

Makgoa is many whites and sekgoa= English (the language)

Some neighbor girl put her mouth on Katies breast when she was trying to explain that she was hungry.

My bath water drained out the side of the house into a drain hole and PACO was playing near it. A white thing washed out (suds maybe?). Paco looked at Katie, looked at the white thing then picked it up and it when right into his mouth.

Today as a good day. I broke out my hacky sac made from a bicycle tube at both the primary and the secondary school. They loved it. It would be better if I wasn’t the worst in a circle of 5th graders.

More than one Motswana man has had his pinky nail grown out long. Coke nail? I doubt it but maybe, I think it’s for picking their noses. Still in search of the answer.

I was told by a local that the Mercedes here are made in China and the real ones are way more expensive. Don’t know what to think of that one.

Every day I walk to or from work I’m always scanning the ground for things I might be able to use. Some call it litter, I call it my personal junk drawer. Yesterday I found a bit of tanned leather to fix the thong of my sling shot.

A cow and her calf walked past our back fence then another cow and calf. I said “It must be take your child to work day.” We were cracking up for a while.

3 of us just ate 2 helpings of rice and a loaf of bread at an orphanage with all these orphans running around. They weren’t even fazed.

I looked at my phone and said, ‘The towers are down.’ Katie said, ‘It’s been down" I followed that up with, "It’s Benjamin Button down.” Get it?.. I laugh at the stupidest things.

Botswana Myth: Women that are pregnant make people around them sleepy.

My counter part and a friend told me they are afraid of escaladers.

Words like ‘lying’ or ‘You are lying’ is offensive especially to older people. ‘Crazy,’ is another word thrown around in the states and here. “My friends back home are crazy” or “This project is crazy” are simply things you don’t say here.

Botswana Proverb: If you point at someone, three fingers are pointing back at you.

One woman said she would rather get HIV than get pregnant because in 9 months you have something to show for it where HIV you can still live 15-20 years on ARV’s and no one needs to know.

Chew on that.