What an awesome weekend. This weekend wasn't just one of those weekends that are “good” under the circumstances; in fact, it was probably the most fun and exciting weekend I’ve had in since this summer.
It was action packed starting bright and early at 8 AM Saturday morning. We all met up outside the hostels to take a UB bus to our various excursions. Our first stop of the day was a village about an hour from Gaborone called Mochudi. We went to the Phuthadikobo Museum, a fascinating display of local crafts, community artifacts, and an archaeological display of Modipe, an Iron Age settlement.
Next, we went to the “Big Foot” of Africa, the Matsieng foot prints. Legend tells the story of how Matsieng, a giant and ancestor of the Twana, led his people and animals from the center of the earth to inhabit the world. This supposedly happened long ago when the rocks were still soft and so the footprints of Matsieng, his people, and their animals are outlined in the ancient sandstone rock. The hole, from which Matsieng allegedly emerged, is over 12 feet deep and filled with water.
We then took a bus for about an hour and a half until we reached the Manyana Rock Paintings. Located near the village of Manyana, this was a large group of rock overhangs at the base of Kolobeng Hill. This is where the bush men would hold ceremonies with the witch doctors. After proceeding with their rituals, the witch doctors would have a vision and then transcribe their visions onto the rocks using a mixture or animal blood and urine. They are estimated to be about 2000 years old but you can still see the pictures, including animals, people, and geometric shapes.
Saturday night we stayed in the Bahurutshe Cultural Village in Mmankgodi. We had a traditional Twana dinner and got to learn some about the deep rooted culture and traditions of Botswana. The man, in traditional culture, is esteemed higher than a woman. We learned a couple dances and then hung out around the fire until the wee hours of the night.
On Sunday, we went to Mokolodi Nature Reserve. We went on a game drive for a couple hours and saw some cool animals. The elephants were in arms length from our land rover. We saw giraffes, leopards, baboons, impalas, and a ton of other cools wild animals. We had a braai, which is like a cookout, in the bush (which was awesome) with some great food and views.
To close out the weekend, we went to Lion’s Park. Think Emerald Point meets the Zoo meets the Dixie Classic Fair…yeah, it was that good. We swam and listened to music and just relaxed after a hectic two days.
Classes are now in full swing. I have 5 research papers to do and a 50 minute presentation on Monday about Idealism and Constructivism. I have 20 hours of lectures each week and quite a bit of reading, but I think I will be able to bear the load comfortably. My final schedule is as follows:
POL 305: Politics of Southern Africa
POL 309: Politics of Poverty
ECO 412: Development Problems and Policy
POL 409: Security Studies
POP 303: Migration, Urbanization, and Development
ALL 132: Introduction to Setswana
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