There are things that I expected to find and also had no idea of what to expect here in Botswana. Disclaimer: I may make some wild generalizations, as one tends to do when taking in a new environment for the first time.
No surprises: the meat is fresh and mostly regional single source…Fresh produce is hit or miss, but if caught at the right time, most anything can be found for a price. That can be said of most items, but I find it difficult to pay three to four times the price of something just because it is an American brand and there is usually a comparable counterpart…It is incredibly dusty and like Mariental, the red sand can enter the tiniest crevices of our house. Even the rain is dusty…Cricket is as boring as I remember but seemingly more popular than I remember in Namibia…Speaking of, the British influence is also found in certain foods – marmite on toast (an acquired taste and not mine), meat or curry veggie pies (more to my liking), and the ketchup is not what we Americans know and love (somehow sweeter if that is possible. I may lose my addiction to it here)…Teatime happens religiously at 10:00 and I appreciate that along with a biscuit in the morning…I was right to ship my frying pan, vegetable peeler and can opener but the electric kettle and iron are great...There is something spectacular about an African sunset which I have found not to be replicated anywhere else in the world (it probably has something to do with the dust).
On the other hand:There seem to be several Indian and Pakistani shopkeepers than we remember in Namibia. There are Chinese shopowners too in a particular area of town referred to as Oriental Plaza. A Batswana told me that the Chinese come here because starting a business is so easy and they can have more than one child, and there is probably some truth to that…I hear more Afrikaans spoken than I expected to; I’ve been told that Gab is a bit of a South African outpost – it’s only a few kilometers from the border anyway…Coke is no longer generally found in a glass bottle, sadly. It always tasted so much better that way. There is zero recycling and as a result there is a lot of trash and broken glass in the streets. When people have to return bottles (beer) and cans, the mess is practically nonexistent. And at the same time, food containers are reused often…Money seems to be going out very quickly but I guess that happens when one sets up shop. But things in general are more expensive…There are more vegetarian options in the stores than I ever remember and that suits us fine (one can only have so much boerewors).
I have been to Westwood International School for the past week and it’s been an eye opener. First, it is not as international as one might think. Half the faculty is Botswanan as is half of the student body.This is a positive. It’s a lovely shaded campus (shade is a premium here) and there are 400 students from Kindergarten through Grade 13.I was in a Grade One classroom the other day to observe, and the teacher had an aide with only 12 children in the room! The administration had wanted me to substitute for the other Grade One teacher, but then found something else for me to do, in typical private school style. I think I will be subbing for middle school English next week and also running some psychosocial groups. The teachers are very friendly and conversations are thoughtfully stimulating. Being at the school also gives me time on the internet, but not access to Facebook and the blog. Getting internet at home will be a bit of a wait. Everything is a bit of a wait, and that does not even count standing in queue for hours on end which will happen eventually.
It is so good being back with Russ and our routine has changed dramatically. We are starting to slow down. I am looking forward to when we have a car and can move about a bit easier (that may be soon). Taxi’s are expensive and not so frequent; there is no close busline and the only place within walking distance is the mall.
Looking forward to the weekend as we hope to get out of town for a daytrip!
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