On Thursday, I had hospital visiting at 2:15 and tennis at 4 o'clock. We went to the public hospital in Gaborone, Princess Marina. Health care here at the public hospital is practically free. But the private hospitals are frequented by the better-off sector of the population. I'm not sure if the "better treatment" is real or imagined; the children we visited seemed happy and pretty healthy. Of course we didn't visit any children with infectious diseases, just those with broken bones or burns or something else non-contagious. We colored and did puzzles for about 45 minutes. I had an okay time - kids aren't my cup of tea, but the time went quickly.
Tennis was very fun. I was moved from the beginners' group to advanced, which was exciting. I may drop badminton and go to tennis for two days each week instead.
On Friday after school, the girl at whose house I stayed over last weekend took me to the No. 1 Ladies' Opera House - a bizarre name for a little cafe owned by Alexander McCall Smith (author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series) and his friend who lives here in Botswana. The service was slow (typical of Batswana restaurants) but the food was wonderful, and a good price: my meal, a creamy spinach crepe, was P25, or about US$4. We also had bush tea - which is marketed in the United States as rooibos tea - and cinnamon sugar crepes with lemon (P10 for both). I returned to the girl's mother the three books I'd borrowed from her, and borrowed two more. My friend's mother also gave me a small gift: a compact book about Batswana culture and a brief history. The chair of the MaP board is the author, and apparently it is very well-written and very true!
On our way home from the No. 1 Ladies' cafe, we decided to drive past the set where the No. 1 Ladies' film was shot. (More info: http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/no1ladiesdetectiveagency/) On the way to the set at the base of Kgale Hill, we saw a couple dozen baboons, just crossing and eating on the side of the road! Quite a few of the females had babies, which were adorable. We sat - in the car, for an adult baboon can easily kill a human - and watched them for about 10 minutes. I had never seen a baboon in the wild before, maybe only once or twice in a zoo, and was very impressed; however, my company had seen them many times before, as they often descend from Kgale Hill and relax beside the road.
On Friday evening, all of the exchange students, teachers' aides, new teachers, teachers who had helped welcome us, and our student hosts were invited to the headmaster's house (on-campus) for a braai - an Africaans word for a barbecue. I had a good time, and really enjoyed talking with the people who have helped me settle in.
Saturday morning - today - I went to a sponsored walk for a new day care/community center, yet to be built. Many of the people who were at the party last night came as well, so we were able to continue our great conversation. And since the event was run partly by Indians, great vegetarian Indian food awaited us at the end!
As if I hadn't eaten enough samosas at the walk, around mid-morning I went over to a Pakistani friend's house and met four of my Indian friends there. We ate, and ate, and ate. One girl's father owns a pizza shop, so we had great pizza; someone made a cake, and someone else apple crisp; vegetarian tea sandwiches were present; and one girl made these great bruschetta-ish hor de'voures. We spent a few great hours together, and then I came back to campus.
I'm looking forward very much to a few travel opportunities. Next weekend, I'm going to Ghanzi, a town to the northwest of Gaborone, where the girl-who-I-stayed-with's uncle owns a cattle post/game reserve, with giraffes, zebras, hippopotamuses, and a few other animals. I'm very excited. We will leave on Saturday morning at 6 o'clock, take an 8-hour bus ride to get to Ghanzi, and then leave on Sunday morning in order to get back for school on Monday. It will be a quick trip, but I'll bring a few books and sleep on the bus, and I'm sure the farm in Ghanzi will be worth the trip.
Also, in a few weeks, I'll be going to Grahamstown, South Africa with the drama program here at school. The Grahamstown Art and Drama festival is the last week of June, and involves hundreds of performances and exhibitions. (More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Arts_Festival) I am very excited!!I just got invited to travel to visit the friend of the new librarian in a town 45 minutes outside of Gaborone, so I'll have to cut this short (although it is already very long!).
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