Manyana and others

We're trying to hit all the sites in and around Gabs in our last few weeks here. A couple of weekends ago, we headed to Manyana, a nearby village, to see some 2,000-year-old San cave paintings.

In case you were wondering, "manyana" means "playful" or "childlike" in Setswana, not "tomorrow."

It was a beautiful day as we drove out of Gabs--sun shining, blue sky, pretty hills and trees. We got to Manyana and asked for directions (even Lonely Planet thinks "ask for directions" is an acceptable form of directions). Luckily everyone had a vague idea that they were "that side" and eventually we found them. They were closed.

We contemplated hopping the fence, but some neighborhood kids informed us that the man who worked the site was on his lunch break and would be right back. After 15 minutes or so, Justice showed up. "This is my place," he said.

Justice led us all around the rocks and caves, and pointed out all the faint and hidden cave paintings. We never would have been able to find them on our own, but jumping the fence might have been a good story.

Justice said before the fence was built, local kids used to come draw their own cave paintings on the rock. Some of those drawings are still there, so it's important not to get confused.

He told us about how this rock was a holy place for the San, who would hold religious rituals in front of and under it.

The views of the village as we climbed through the rocks were really pretty.

This is a plant called a strangler. It kills trees, but looks awesome while doing so.

Here are some giraffes, which were my favorite paintings we saw. Mostly because it's cool to think giraffes were wandering these parts not too long ago. But also because cave paintings of giraffes, like actual giraffes, are way sweeter than antelope or people.

All in all, our visit to Manyana was a success.

*

On Sunday, we headed to the Gaborone Game Reserve, a modest game reserve inside the city limits. While there wasn't all that much game to speak of (plenty of monkeys and warthogs, one zebra from afar), we did see some lovely trees.

I didn't mind that there wasn't more exciting game at the Gabs Game Reserve because the fences weren't all that good.

*

Lately, A and I have been working on taking photos of things we see in our everyday lives. This is the termite mound across the street from his office.

And here he is working at a clinic!

He's almost done collecting data, which means we might get to sleep in past 6am sometimes. Hooray!

I don't have a computer anymore.

One of the big themes of this year is that Botswana is not America, even though it looks and tastes like America. Even though the Indian food here is better than anywhere in Manhattan. The electricity goes out a lot, and with it (and sometimes without it), the internet.

Now my computer broke and I can't get it fixed. I took it to a computer-fixing place and they held onto it for a week and then were sheepishly like, yeah we dunno.

When you're trying to experience the world, it's OK if the internet goes out. Hey, it's even okay if I don't have a computer for a week or two. I actually sort of enjoy reading and baking and going to the orphanage, none of which require a computer except for baking and sometimes reading.

But when you're trying to work for people in the U.S., not having a computer or internet or electricity can be a real handicap. You end up being a bit unreliable, a bit of a disappointer. It's hard to just embrace the experience when you are frustrated that your real life self doesn't look good. You can't enjoy, for example, being stranded for five days in the Namibian desert (I still haven't written about that??!)

Again, I wonder if it would be a very different disappointment if we lived somewhere where our expectations were a lot lower. Like a village in Mali.

*

The traffic here is also killing us. It took an hour this morning to drive A to work (we've finally hooked up an iPod to our tape player so we can listen to This American Life). It should take 10 minutes. Once I drop him off, I drive another 20 minutes to the orphanage. That's an hour and a half in traffic before my day even starts. Is it any wonder that I don't have patience left to help 30 five-year-olds learn to cut?

Also, where'd all these people get all these cars?

*

I forgot to take my travel mug home over the weekend and on Monday it stank of rotten milk. Cannot get the effing smell out. Damn it all to hell.

*

The orphanage preschool continues to be, for lack of a better word, a shitshow. There's this overwhelming contrast between the fact that these kids are laughing and having fun and clean and well-fed and the fact that the classrooms are absurdly understaffed, there's no nurse, there's a million safety violations, and sometimes a teacher will beat a kid with a ruler. Undoubtedly it's a sign of my skewed perspective that I totally understand the hitting. 60 kids and ONE teacher? As long as it's not too hard.

However, in calmer moments, kindergarten is a lovely place. We cut and paste. We color. We sing. We read aloud. We learn to write our names. If my comedy career doesn't work out, and my back-up academic career doesn't work out, and my back-up food blogger/cafe owner career doesn't work out, and nobody ever publishes my books, and I can't think of a good enough reason to become a lawyer, then I think I'd love to be a kindergarten teacher.

Actually, I think as long as I'm not doing anything tremendously interesting, I might as well become a dentist because then I'd make a lot of money.

*

We're experiencing a record rainy season. Towns are flooding. A's office's roof fell in. The other day, my roommate S and I walked past a bus shelter full of goats hiding from the rain. Half of them were perched up on the bench. It was cute.

Rain means bugs. The government has issued some new malaria warnings, including for towns not far from here. As a result, Penn has told students here to start taking prophylaxis even in Gabs. I started taking pills yesterday, so hopefully they're giving me some protection against the millions of mosquitoes currently biting me.

Just kidding, the risk is very low, Mom.

Recovery

You really don't need to see this, but just to offer by way of explanation for my lack of blogging over the past two weeks--in addition to traveling, not having internet, and being generally exhausted from traveling and not having internet, I got one of the worst sunburns of my life while canoeing on the Wild Coast of South Africa. My legs went from bright red to purple, and after a day of driving and a day of flying, my ankles had swollen up from a combination of travel stagnancy/sunburn inflammation/


Yeah, like I said. You really don't need to see this. Sometimes I think I post this stuff just to prevent A from ever having a chance at a political career. ("My opponent's wife posted obscene photographs of her swollen ankles on a public blog--not to mention her views on Israel...")

I really should post photos of our trip to Kaudwane, a remote village of forcefully relocated San people (they are the "Bushmen" who live as hunter-gatherers in the Kalahari Desert), our day in Sani Pass and Lesotho and then our trip to Bulungula on the Wild Coast. I have so many things to complain about and also photographs of mountains! But the internet is too slow at this cafe to post photos and who wants to READ? At least my ankles are back to normal. I willl post photos and descriptions when we get back from Namibia.

Speaking of which, it's time to get packed for our trip to Namibia tomorrow--we're driving to Windhoek at 6am.

One week to departure

Slept like a baby last night. Slept so soundly I don't even remember my dreams. I want to blame A for my bad sleep (we slept at different friends' apartments last night), but I had a lot of crazy dreams when I was at home in California without him, too. I think it's me.

After my four shots on Friday, I discovered I still need one more shot--yellow fever, for if we go to Rwanda or Tanzania. It's at least $125. (editor's note: it ended up costing $250.) The health budget grows and grows.

A started packing today, which made me nervous because I prefer to be the prepared one.

I cooked a bag of split peas for dinner that have been sitting in our cupboard for six months or so. As usual, was more excited by the prospect of making them than actually consuming the final product. Maybe it needs cream or something? They always just taste kind of bland to me. A didn't even try any, the bastard.

Finally, a not anxious dream!

Last night I dreamt that I was smitten kitchen's apprentice, and we were meeting with one of our students and her parents while I ate a bowl of frosting. I don't think that counts as an anxiety dream. Just an awesome one.

Maybe it helped that A, a medical student, gave me four shots last night--two in each arm. That was a distraction.

Two weeks to departure

(An elephant. Probably in Africa. Photo via Peo Pea on Flickr because I started my Botswana blog before I got there.)

Done taking my typhoid pills! And, remarkably, I have developed neither typhoid nor a life-threatening allergic reaction (yet). Congratulate me!

Still have hep A and tetanus shots to go (keep putting them off), and need to pick up malaria pills, cipro...the list never ends. Medical expenses have been by far the most difficult thing to plan for this trip. I have no health insurance right now (since I have no full-time job), so I had to buy short-term insurance to cover emergencies for the summer. Then I had to buy separate international health insurance (also only covers emergencies).

I called my bank, which offers health insurance, and is also a good bank full of nice people. They transferred me to the third party that sells their health insurance. Then the health insurance company transferred me to the third party that sells their international health insurance. Then the international health insurance company sold me health insurance via a third party marketer. By the end of the conversation, I wasn't talking to someone nice from my bank. I was talking to Chris from Ohio who was brusque and didn't care if I'd always maintained a healthy balance in my savings account.

On top of that, you have to read through the company's policies, and they want you to think about things like the repatriation of your remains, which I assume is a small ceremony involving a flag and a justice of the peace. I really do not like to think about my remains. It gives me the heebie-jeebies to even type that I don't like to think about them. I don't mind thinking about being horribly injured, but dying is another thing, because if it's too late for me then why did I spend so much money on health insurance?