Sea Vomit? Hakuna Matata.

Alright alright, let's get a post going about Botswana. How the heck is this crazy place?

Well, like I've said, it's a middle income country. So it's like a suburb. A suburb of where? Of nowhere. It's a suburb of the desert, but that's fine. If you like strip malls and KFC.

My village is in the Kalahari Desert, and I get to walk through deep sand in heels to get to work. (Mamou had me mountain climbing in heels ... I will never have a problem in shoes after Africa.) Shoshong (my village) is surrounded by beautiful rocky hills, apparently inhabited by baboons and ancestoral spirits. I've yet to encounter either. My house is nice, with water, electricity and an oven stove AND fridge, although there's no kitchen so I wash my dishes in my bathtub. After making a nice dinner it's quite efficient to hop into the bathtub, wash my dishes, then my clothes, and then myself ... all without taking a single step. Efficiency at its finest!

In my yard there's another house for my "mom" who's the nicest lady I've met in this country. I have a "brother" who's a lawschool-dropout turned witch-doctor. He's really smart, and he's starting to warm up to me. He doesn't usually work with white people, but I'm trying to get on his good side. I think putting "Witch Doctor Experience" on med-school applications would really give me an edge!

So people here are ... nothing like Guineans. They don't really like white people. In fact, their Setswana word for us translates to "Vomit of the Sea." It's cute, I know. It really makes me love walking to work in the mornings. It's not malicious, especially because the kids screaming it don't have any idea what it implies, but it does give some insight as to how white people are viewed. Apartheid feelings have spilled over from South Africa. Batswana are proud and whites being around is insulting. They're terrified of me. Those are all some excuses I've heard, take your pick.

That said, I have defied the odds and made a few friends! People were freaking us out, saying we'd never get a dinner invitation (a hilarious logistical nightmare in Guinea because there were so many invites- I had nights where I'd eat dinner at 3 different homes!) - but I've had dinner at 4 different places so far! Not bad for 3 weeks in the village :) However everyone keeps warning me not to hang out with other people or trust them- but they're all saying "Don't trust anyone except me!" Do they want me to hide inside my house all weekend? Because I've done that, and it got old, real fast.

I'm working at a clinic, dealing with HIV+ mothers having babies. One out of three pregnant women here are HIV+ ... it's crazy. But, they can have babies with almost zero risk of transmitting the virus IF they follow a set procedure. However, that's my job in paper. In real life, my boss doesn't talk to me, so I've started working with some NGO workers, doing home visits and visiting bars to teach people how to use condoms.

Bars, that's another thing. These people DRINK. Like, it puts whatever esteem the Irish had in my eyes to SHAME! I go to work at 7am and people are already stumbling around everywhere. The ground is littered with broken bottles, and people are in drunk driving accidents on a regular basis. And the sad thing is that it's everyone, not just young people. Old, children, men, women ... everyone. My village has no cafes, but bars are EVERYWHERE. It's just sad. And the unwanted attention a white girl gets in an African village is just multiplied by creepy drunk men.

So, sea-vomit, drunks, and AIDS. That has been my experience so far, and although it is a huge adjustment, I'm doing okay. Like I've said, I'm making friends and building relationships that I'm praying will turn into good work opportunities.

I still talk to Guinea almost every day. Those guys over there are some of my best friends, and it's been hard coping with that loss- I don't know if realistically I'll ever see them again. I've been spending a fortune on phone calls, and I've got to cut that out or I won't have ANY money left. Someone shot their president in the head Dec. 3rd and he fled to Morocco for medical treatment. He didn't die, but no one knows if he'll go into exile, come back, if there will be another coup d'etat ... it's a mystery. And a nightmare. I just want those people to have a chance to lead normal lives.

On the bright side- that organization I started? My last night in Guinea I sat around a candle and explained to them how to launch their first project- painting a mural of a World Map. I had a book explaining how to do it, step-by-step ... only the books in English. So I translated some colors English to French, threw them some money, and left Guinea laughing at how ridiculous that how-to session went, and at how impossible it would be for them to paint this map. And then one of my best friends, Ama Sara, called me recently and said they've started the map!!!! They got permission, bought paint, and have started drawing. I couldn't believe it ... I actually still can't. They are awesome, and it's so hard knowing that I'll never have a group like that again.

Anyways, that is the latest here in Botswana. Tomorrow I'm running in a 10k race to raise awareness about AIDS. This weekend some PCVs nearby organized a welcome pool party for Sacha Jake and I, then they'll come back to Shoshong with me to go hiking and picnicing- we want to find baboons!! (or spirits.) Christmas will be spent at Jake's village, and New Years we're headed to the Okavango Delta to go camping with hippos and crocodiles!!!! We'll also be renting a plane and flying over the interlinking waterways to scout out some elephants, zebras, lions ... you know. (The Delta is in the Lion King ... and "Hakuna Matata" is true- and the language I speak!)

Alright well I love you all and hope everyone is doing well back home. The support you guys have lent me through this rocky time has been great and know that it's much appreciated!! Take care and have some happy holidays and a great new years!!!!!!!!!!!