First two weeks

This journey has proven quite adventurous in just these first few days. My time with Tebatso, my UNCG friend from South Africa, and his family was really great. Having a local who knows the city to explain and show me around was invaluable.

We went places many tourists never go. We went through Hillbrow, the roughest ghetto in all of South Africa and walked the streets of Johannesburg as if we were the city’s main attraction. While in downtown, we went to the “Top of Africa,” the highest building in the entire continent and saw the amazing landscape of Jo’burg and its surrounding suburbs. A more educationally rich experience was a visit to the Apartheid Museum. I purchased Nelson Mandela’s autobiography “A Long Walk to Freedom” and so far it is outstanding.

On the noon of January 5 Tebatso took me to the main bus terminal of Jo’burg. It was utter chaos, but I managed to find what I needed and was able to check in with minimal hassle.
The bus looked quite nice. It was an Intercape Mainliner; one of the coach lines operating in Southern Africa. We loaded the coach with everyone’s luggage and then boarded for our departure. This was when things got interesting.

After sitting on a stifling hot bus (about 100 degrees) for nearly an hour with no A/C or ventilation, I alighted and inquired with the driver as to the problem. The hydraulics that balance and lift the bus had no pressure, and thus, the bus was basically resting on top of the tires unable to move. A mechanic was called and arrived about 30 minutes later. After working on the bus for about an hour, the bus company decided to call for a replacement bus. However, before it could arrive from Pretoria, the mechanic fixed the issue and called off the other bus. So, finally our 1 PM departure for Gaborone rolls out at 4:15 PM.

The A/C was hardly functioning so I was sweating profusely. About 150 km beyond Jo’burg en route to Gaborone, the hydraulics broke once again and we became stranded on the side of the road in the middle on nowhere. Many passengers, including myself, disembarked from the coach to escape the heat. Suddenly, in almost an instant, a treacherous storm began to rise from the northwest. The lightning was stark and frequent, the winds gusty and relentless, and the rain torrential and tumultuous. Thus, we had to reboard the broken bus no A/C, wet and muggy, until the storm passed.

After nearly two hours a new bus arrived. The shoulder where our original bus had pulled off was now a mud whole in which we had to tread to remove and transfer our luggage. We finally got back on the road with a mechanically sound bus that lacked A/C had stationary windows. Needless to say, a deluge of perspiration began almost immediately.

Once reaching the border (at around 11:45 PM) we had to walk across and complete our departure immigration of South Africa and entry into Botswana. There were no signs, no lights, no one to ask for directions. It was essentially and open field with unlabeled buildings dotted across the land. No sidewalks one to another; just thigh high brush with shoulder width mud pathways.

After clearing immigration, the final leg of the journey was worry free and we arrived in Gaborone around 12:45.

Luckily, my ride had waited for me over 5 hours to take me to the university. I was thirsty and hungry, not having eaten since breakfast the morning. Unfortunately, nothing was open and I had no Pula (currency of Botswana). Charity, the director of the International Office, said to find my way in the morning to the ATM on campus to get money for breakfast because our meal cards weren’t ready.

After getting to bed around 2 AM, I woke up at around 6:30 AM, took a shower, and went in search of the ATM. Starving, I wasted no time in my quest for cash. After asking directions 3 times and walking 30 minutes, I found the ATM, which was by Murphy’s Law, out of order.
I wandered a bit more and found a convenience store on campus, my saving grace, only to find out they don’t accept debit/visa cards. Now, having gone 24 hours with no food and having no cash to get a taxi I began to walk. One hour had passed and there was no sign of an ATM, only 95 degree temperatures and dehydration. At the end of the second hour (and come to find out about 5 km away) I saw a shopping center and found an ATM. I withdrew some money and bought some food and drink immediately. Within 20 minutes, I had drunk 2 liters of water, 2 diet cokes, and a huge glass of mango juice.

After being revitalized, I began the grueling journey back to UB. I was beat and had to take care of some registration issues so I walked to the administration building and got my schedule finalized.

At 2 PM, I met up with the other exchange student and chilled for an hour or so in the shade. The dorm rooms are extremely hot with little to no ventilation.

To my (dis)pleasure, the afternoon activity was walking to that shopping center. However, I kept good spirits and made the long haul once again. We bought drinks and mangos and watched people pass for a while. By this time, my feet were aching and I was exhausted so I and another student shared a taxi pack to the school.

After that first day, things have only gotten better. We had orientation on Thursday and Friday to go over policies, protocol, and safety. We went an on bus tour of Gaborone and walked though the Main Mall and saw the embassies. We saw the 3 Chiefs statue which is a memorial to the three men you went to England to petition Queen Elizabeth to give Botswana their democratic independence.

For our orientation dinner, we took a bus to a village outside of Gaborone called Mepololole. It was in the middle of the bush and we had to walk because the roads were impassable. All the food was cooked in large cast iron pots over an open fire. The meal was quite an unexpected surprise. We had goat intestines and stewed caterpillars with homemade ginger beer.

After the meal, played some traditional Tswana games. We danced and had a great time. I learned some new moves and showed the locals how to swing dance. Later, we went around the circle and everyone told the group about themselves and we all became acquainted. I sang George Strait’s “Carrying Your Love with Me” and everyone seemed to like it though few people knew who he was.

Mangos and Mineral water have become the main staples of my diet. Food is not as easy to get as it is in the USA. In fact, every meal is an expedition. The heat has forced me to succumb to the temptation of buying a fan. I won’t be able to carry it home but I’m going to get my $20 worth of use out of it.

Time here passes quite slowly. The city winds down around 9 PM with the exception of the nightclubs which are really my scene anyways so it’s early to bed and early to rise for most.
Mosquitoes are the enemy. I have about 10 bites as of today but they are massive ones and in the worst places like my wrist, toe, and behind my ear. I killed a beetle the size of a Twinkie and its guts splashed about 18 inches on impact from my shoe. I’ve also encountered wild warthogs and hyena-like beast with the occasional cow and goat crossing through campus.

So far, every thing is great. My roommate, Jon, is from Wheaton College and is super friendly. There are only 4 male exchange students; myself, Jon, Cameron (who is also from UNCG), and Rupert from Germany. The campus is vast, the weather is hot, the people are friendly, and the food is…well, edible.

Classes “started” this week. No one, including the professors, show up the first week. I did have one lecturer come on the first day of class and he seems really interesting. He is the highest ranking general in Botswana’s army and is teaching POL 409; a course on Security Studies where we discuss terrorism, nuclear warfare and proliferation, and the war(s) in the Middle East, notably in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

There is a strike/protest on campus by the students because the government reduced the amount of refund they will receive. The student protesters skip class and march throughout campus and to the Minister of Education. I was in a class today and the protesters raided it. As we were running away, the protesters threw rocks at me, handfuls of rocks. Luckily, I wasn’t hurt but it was pretty intense and not something I want to experience again.

We had a speaker on campus today from the UN to discuss if Botswana can eradicate poverty by 2015 and their progress in reach the 8 Millinium Development Goals. It was really interesting and right on target with my academic interests.

I have no regrets about coming here. The anticipation of what lies ahead keeps me excited and looking forward to everyday. This weekend I will be going to another village and spending the night then going to game reserve to do a game drive! Rhinos, leopards, and giraffes anyone?