First Weeks

We’ve been in Botswana for a little over two weeks now and it’s great! We’ve had a ton of language training and I honestly think it’s some of the best language training in the world. In just a few days we are able to greet people, ask simple questions, talk about what we are doing in Botswana, talk about friends, and of course talk about food. Other than language training, we’ve had cross-cultural training, learned about PC’s approach to development and a little bit about HIV/AIDS in Botswana. 

On Saturdays, we spend half the day in training then we head to the mall in Kanye. The mall is more like a collection of shops in strip-mall fashion. There are 3 grocery stores where you can get anything you want or need except real coffee, real cheese or butter. There are several internet cafes, a hardware store, PEP (a home store), furniture store, etc. We go out for lunch and have a cold soda or beer, which is nice.

Sundays are a bit more relaxed. We do our laundry by hand, learn to make different Batswana foods and relax around the house. Sundays are much needed because we have so much information given to us every single day, we need time to decompress.

Botswana is a great country. It is safe, the people are friendly, the food is delicious, the water is safe to drink and the government invests in its people. Really, we have no complaints. I know that some people are having a hard time, but we have just had a blast! Matt had his interview with PC staff and we are definitely going to be doing gardening/agricultural work.  This week, food security came up and PC said that they have worked hard to bring the few of us who have agriculture experience to Botswana. That was nice to hear!