Independence Day Bungee Jump

This past weekend we took a road trip to Zambia. It was so much fun. The first day we went white water rafting and went on a Sunset/Booze cruise. Rafting on the Zambezi River was so intense. We flipped the raft once, but I ended up falling out twice. Then on the 4th of July, I bungee jumped by Victoria Falls. I jumped from a bridge spanning the gorge between Zambia and Zimbabwe and free fell 111 meters. I still cannot believe I did it. It was really scary, but definitely the most fun I have ever had. I also did a gorge swing with Jane, one of the girls from the exchange group and a fellow Texan. More pictures soon, but I have to go to class now.

Here are the photos I promised. This was my kitchen in Mochudi. Everything was cooked in the large iron kettle.

My host mom in Mochudi; she was super nice and made the best food I have had in Botswana.

Robin, Sean, and me in front of a round house with a real thatched roof. These are two of the other people in the group.

These are some kids in the village of Mochudi. They all really wanted their picture taken.

The village of Mochudi from the top of a hill.

The kgotla in Mochudi. The women were being initiated into womanhood after spending a couple of weeks in the bush.

Take note of the passport bag, Teresa and Florisa. It is being put to good use. This is from my week at the clinic in the village of Mochudi.

My host brother, Khumo, and my host sister, Katlo, in Mochudi.

I still can't put the photos up, but they will be coming soon. Everything has been going pretty well here. I spent the last week in Mochudi, a village. I was working in a clinic. It is amazing how different healthcare is in Botswana. The people at the clinic thought we were way more qualified than we actually are. I was taking vitals most of the time, but I also got to give an injection (which didn't go so well) and I did a consultation for a woman who was depressed because her goats were stolen. Now I am back in Gaborone. It is nice to be back because my house in Mochudi had a pit latrine that was infested with cockroaches. I am liking most everything about Botswana, but I am getting annoyed by the way many of the people treat me. I have received several proposals and lots of people ask me to buy them plane tickets to America. I wish I could blend in better. :)

Dumelang! (that is Setswana for hello)
I have survivied my first week in Gaborone, Botswana. I have not gone to the rural village yet; that will be next week. This past week I moved in with my host family. My host mom works for a private newspaper, and she has a 10 year old son named Azeli (I am not sure of the spelling). There is also a lady we call Auntie, who lives with us. She has a 15 month year old daughter named Julia, and she does all of the cooking and cleaning in the house. The house is quite different from what I am used to. There is no hot running water, so we have to warm water to bathe. I have almost gotten used to bathing from a bucket. :) They also don't have appliances like a dish washer or washing machine, so we do everything by hand. The food is pretty good, but it has taken a while to get used to some things. The staples are sorghum, millet, and porriage made with sour milk. They also eat alot of canned fish. The other day I had cow stomach, which I would gladly eat over the fish.
Classes started this week, and don't seem like they will be difficult. It mostly seems to be busy work, which might be hard to do because of my limited internet access. I only have internet at school right now, but I am trying to find close internet cafes. Everyday I take a combi, which is a 15 passenger van, to the University of Botswana, and I have to leave UB by 4 pm to get home before dark (it is very dangerous to walk after dark). I have an internship at the Baylor Clinic (set up by the Baylor College of Medicine), which supplies HIV/AIDS treatment. I will be working on a project to allow rural clinics to accurately measure the medication given to children, and a project where I will get to photograph patients and doctors.
I promise to post pictures as soon as I can get internet on my own computer.

This is my second day in Botswana. I am staying in a village outside of Gaborone in a hotel. We are having orientation for the next couple of days. It is so much fun here. I love it! Tonight I went to a bar with some people from the group. I am really excited about being able to legally order drinks. I will be uploading pictures as soon as I have internet on my own computer. Right now everyone is sharing a single computer. I will probably not have interent access in the comng week because we are going to a rural village to work in the clinics. However, the remainder of the time I should be spending at the university. Everything here is super exciting. The currency is called pula and the exchange is about 6.5 pula per 1 US dollar. I feel very rich carrying around several hundred pula. The Batswana are very nice and love seeing white people in the village. Tomorrow I will be going to watch the Botswana national team play New Zealand in soccer. I can't wait. Until later, bye.

Pre-departure

Thanks to Kyle for setting up this blog. As usual, I waited to the last minute to prepare everything for my trip to Botswana. I spent most of today getting the things I need with my dad, and I will probably be up most of the night packing. I am not too worried, though because I have a two day trip to Botswana. I hope to catch up on sleep then. I must pack now, or I won't be bringing anything :(