Happy March

Last week, I had another full week of classes so it was good to get back into a real routine. Also, A little over a week ago I adopted a stray kitten. We had found it outside my dorm looking very small and very hungry. You could feel almost, if not all, bones inside her. The poor thing was also covered in green paint which it seemed to have gotten into somewhere. So we decided to take it to my room, which is now half empty because my roommate when back to the USA, and gave it a bath and bought her some food. She (or at least so we think so far) was also very sick it seemed and both eyes were swollen. Last Wednesday when I woke up, her eye had gotten really bad so Kelly and I brought her to the Vet Clinic in Gaborone. The Vet said she basically just had the flu, but other than that he said she looked in great health, just needed to eat more. He gave her some shots to help rid the sickness and gave us some eyedrops and pills for any worms she may have and we were on our way. One good thing is vets are very inexpensive here when compared to the United States. After almost a week of giving her eyedrops and feeding her real kitten food and water, she is looking amazing and finally acting like a kitten. When I first brought her to my room, she was very shy and would sleep in a box everynight, basically hiding, because she was sick and obviously didn't trust where she was. Now she runs around like a chicken with her head cut off playing, chewing, and "attacking" anything she can find from chair legs to water bottles to especially human feet. The vet said last week she was no more than 3 weeks old, so I estimate her age to be almost a month now. It sure is fun to have her around when I am doing work, etc.

As for the rest of life in Gaborone, not much else has changed. I finally got a refrigerator so I can buy some proper groceries from the supermarket and help supplement my meals from the refectory. I have taken to walking more around the city, which is very hot, but also enjoyable. You get to see more of it (while also saving tons of money) and interact more with the people. Last week I went to KFC for the first time in Gaborone (I had gone to one in Swaziland) and it was a million times better than the ones in the United States. It was quite surprising, and much cheaper, if that's believable. KFC is the only major food franchise in Botswana. Right now, McDonald's is too expensive of a franchise to be brought here, but I am sure one will show up in the distant future. There are a ton of McDonald's in South Africa, and it seems the trend that what starts in South Africa slowly moves to here. Pretty much everything you buy in Botswana at the supermarket or elsewhere is shipped from South Africa.

Some more interesting things I have noted...

Since most Batswana pretty much never use credit cards (or just don't have them) they must pay cash for pretty much everything. there are still many places where you cannot use credit cards at all. However, this makes for very long lines at ATM machines as I have noticed. On a Saturday afternoon at the closest mall, the line for the ATM machine for FNB (First National Bank -- a South African Bank, I believe, and most popular here) was at least a 30 minute wait. I am really glad I don't have to use the ATMs often, or else I would have to plan far in advance.

Also, ordering tap water with ice at a restaurant will sometimes get you dirty looks. Many times when I order just tap water I get a dirty look as if saying "You're white, why would you drink this" or "Spend more money." It's quite interesting actually. Many times at one place where I eat often, I have noticed they will not bring you the water until your food comes, but if you order a soda, or coffee, they will bring it immediately. Very peculiar.

Well, another week seems to be underway. I wish I had more interesting things to write about. If someone has anything, or any topic ideas that I should write on, please let me know and I will hopefully acquiesce. I am off to buy some airtime for my cellphone hopefully. The idea of airtime is also a great concept. Instead of locking into a 2 year agreement with a cell phone company, you just buy a cell phone (cheap ones are around $30), buy a sim card from one of the mobile providers (around $3) and then you can just buy airtime whenever you need it to make calls. It's also great for travelling because you can just buy a new sim card for whichever country you go to very cheap (as little as 50 cents in South Africa) and make local calls there without having y our phone locked as it is in the US. Pretty cool. Luckily, they sell airtime almost everywhere you look, so you never have to worry about not having enough to place a call or send a message.