Otse, Here I Come!

Crazy to think that this time tomorrow, I will be in Otse with my new, for-two-weeks family. I feel so unprepared!

• I can still only introduce myself and answer/ask some very basic questions in Setswana. O bidiwa mang? O kae? O robetse jang? Ke bua Setswana go le gonnye.
• I tried to do laundry this morning and concluded that I am bad at it. Maybe my homestay mother can teach me how to wash.
• I have been warned that taking a bath out of a bucket in your bedroom without spilling on the floor is nearly impossible.

Also, talk about feeling unprepared: next weekend we will be meeting the President of Botswana at his resignation celebration in Ramotswa. And we're expected to sing for him. Eek!

And for those of you who think I'm only hanging out with lions and hippos this semester, guess what I did last night? We all (yep, all 16 of us) invaded the local nightclub Lizard Lounge. (Botswana drinking/clubbing age is 18.) I say invaded because we were so clearly out of place: still wearing sandals and carrying raincoats and obviously white and most of us not drinking. If you think it's embarrassing to see white kids dance in America, imagine us surrounded by the Batswana. I think we were the night's entertainment!

I am, however, starting to feel really at home in Botswana. Ke rata Botswana thata. The music and signs are mostly in English here (it's the same music playing on the radio at home...), and I'm slowly figuring out the combi system. It's different being in a completely cash-based economy, but most things are cheap. I just ate a chicken breast with fries (chips) for 2 US dollars. It is interesting to find that you can't buy typical Botswana cuisine in a restaurant anywhere. So far, I've had Portugese chicken, an American veggie wrap, and lots of PB and J for breakfast. The most "native" food I've had so far is mealie meal (sorghum) with a tomato gravy and...

a caterpillar!!

Yes, I ate a caterpillar. Or rather, half a caterpillar. They're a snack food here, dried and salted and crispy and with all the insides squished out. We bought a bag from a vendor at the bus station and a few of us brave folks decided to try one. I did, however, opt to eat the tail end. I shared with Peter and let him eat the head.

Playing cards is big here, too. I'm glad I brought mine! Our group has played almost every night and often the staff of wherever we happen to be staying joins us. One night at Mokolodi, we played Spoons with two of our game drive/nature walk guides, Dennis and Naledi. Unfortunately, we had no clean spoons so we played with knives. Believe me, the game takes on a careful new sense of competition when you're grabbing for a blade (albeit a not-too-sharp one)!

I think that's about it for important updates... I will probably not have internet access for the next two weeks, but then I'll be back in Gabs to share all my stories with all of you. Salang sentle!