First days in Botswana.

     So, three nights in Gaborone and it still hasn’t fully hit me that I’m in Africa.  It is unusually surprising how similar it is to being back at home.  Riverwalk, the mall near UB (University of Botswana) is like any other mall you would find in the US.  There are plenty of grocery stores, clothing stores, banks, phone stores, etc.  It is a little hard getting used to paying in Pulas instead of US dollars, but it is fun.  We have eaten at Italian, Indian, and steak/rib restaurants, all of which were amazing.  The Indian restaurant, Embassy, has the best garlic naan.  Squash and beef are staples here, and pap, which is similar to mushy rice, is also very popular.  They eat a lot of fruit and vegetables as well, and everything is good. 

     The transportation is a little difficult to get used to, especially when I’m so used to Minneapolis transit systems which are on a set schedule.  Here, there ‘buses’ are called combi’s, which are vans that fit about 15 people.  They pick you up on the side of the road and you jump in as fast as you can and pack as tightly as you can.  It was somewhat terrifying our first time riding one on our own because we had no idea what we were doing and the locals were laughing at us, but so were we.  It is normally 3 pulas to ride, and you just yell at them when you need to stop.  Hopefully I’ll get used to it; it’s a great way to meet people.

     The locals are incredibly nice too.  It is still odd getting used to being a ‘minority’, especially when you are walking around with 21 other white people who are confused and overwhelmed. 

     The weather is extremely similar to Minnesota’s spring.  The mornings are crisp and cold, probably about 40 F.  It gets warm and sunny pretty quick, around 8 am, and the days are in the 70’s.  It gets dark and cold very quick however because it is winter, so it is about pitch black at 6pm and a comfortable 40-50 (however this could all be off by 10 degrees because I’m terrible at judging temperature).  No sunburns yet!  Hopefully I’ll come home with a little sun, it’s odd being probably one of the palest people in Africa!