A busy 2 weeks...

Sorry I haven't updated lately, its been a pretty relaxed week. Last week a girl who won a competition through CIEE (the study abroad program) came and visited Gabs. In a little less than 3 months she is visiting all of CIEE's summer programs in Africa and South America. On the way she takes pictures, blogs, and interviews students so CIEE can make a short clip on each program.

So on Thursday night a few of us took her out to Moghul...an amazing indian food place. Who would have thought that I'd find my love for Indian food in Botswana? Friday she visited our class in the morning, then went with my friend Sierra and I to our clinic we work in. She got to see the clinic and take a few pictures of what we do. She then interviewed both of us...so apparently I might be in a few different documentaries?! Although I hate being interviewed so I will probably never watch the clips I am in. We then went to the Sanitas Tea Garden for lunch and had an amazing meal and dessert.The rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful, just enjoyed my last weekend with my family and worked on some final papers.

Monday and Tuesday we had class all day, the usual lectures, then 2 different ones. A man who is president of one of the opposition parties came and talked to us about Botswana politices. He really emphasized how the Botswana Democracy Party (BDP) has been in power since independence even though Botswana is a multi-party democracy. Recently the BDP has split and some of the party has gone to the Botswana movement for Democracy party (BMD). Meanwhile the opposition parties have formed a new confederation. In past elections the opposition parties have split important votes so they have decided to join forces. This means that the upcoming election could be very interesting...I'll have to keep tabs on in when I come home!

I was also very surprised to hear that the president isn't chosen directly. As a citizen, you vote for a local area counsel and member of parliament. Before election, candidates for president have to contest at the high court and need 1000 voters to support them. If 2 candidates are in the race, then the first candidate to gain 31 MPs (out of 60), is declared president. If there are 3 candidates and no one gets to 31, then the parliament votes by majority. The President then has executive power and gets to choose members of cabinet, judge of the high court, etc...

Our second new lecture was our Setswana Teacher, but this time she taught in english and told us about weddings (lenyalos). Weddings use to be arranged by the parents, which meant a lot of bargaining. Eventually the male's family would pay a bogadi, or what we think of as a bride wealth. This would usually be in cattle, and always had to be in an even number. It is also considered not as a payment, but as an investment in the marriage. the uncle, or Malome, plays a big role in the wedding and the negotiations. The lenyalo takes place early in the morning then there is a big festivity. The wife is then taken to the man's family by a line of married women, carrying all of her belongings. That night they send you and your husband into a hut for the night. Old women sit outside the hut and listen throughout the night to see if anything happens. If not, the new couple has to stay a second night. If nothing happens after the second night (because the couple doesn't know how to do it), they send the brother-in-law into the hut to have sex with the wife while the husband watches. This way he will know how to do it next time. If she gets pregnant by the brother it doesn't matter because it is still the same bloodline. (at this point in the lecture we were all a little stunned). the next morning the new wife must make tea and coffee for all the men in the kgotla (traditional meeting place) to make sure she is a woman.

*mind you this is the way of the old weddings, called bogologolo. Now they are called gompieno and are more more similar to American weddings. Kids now have much more independence when it comes to choosing their husband or wife. And now there is no need to have the old ladies sitting outside the hut/house because of media and the education that has brought to all the youth.

Another interesting story...Setswana is a very indirect language. A man once came to a chief and said that his wife was "refusing blankets". the chief told him to go get some more blankets. The chief didn't realize that the man was telling him that his wife was refusing to have sex with him. People also refer to condoms as the setswana word for sock (only heard it so im not sure how to spell it, sorry!)

Wednesday was just another day at clinic. I spent most of the morning in the CWC (child welfare clinic)weighing babies. after a little while the nurse that I was suppose to be working with would take longer and longer breaks, so I pretty much just ended up doing the work myself. We recorded their birth certificate number, their birthdate, their sex, what their mother was feeding them, their weight, their health, if they needed rations, and if they had been tested for HIV. In less than 3 hours, we saw about 50 kids all under the age of 4. You hang the babies in a bag that the mothers bring from a scale. They swing there and most of them cry, but as they get older they get use to the bag and behave a little better. Saw lots of healthy babies, although it was hard to tell if they were truly health because we were not recording height. I then spent the rest of the morning sorting pills. Since we weren't being of much help we decided to knock off early.

Tomorrow I leave for Zambia/Vic Falls. We leave from the bus rank at 6pm and ride overnight, getting into Kasane about 6am. Should be a long trip with few bathroom breaks. No liquids for me. Once we get to Kasane, we have to catch a combi/taxi to the border, then take a ferry across and then a bus/taxi to Livingstone where the backpackers lodge is we will be staying at. Just 2 days of clinic once I return, a trip to a diamond mine, and a farewell party before I head to the delta for a week...where has time gone?

Ke Botshelo (This is life)