Botswana Travels- part 1

The first two weeks of my semester abroad in Botswana have been full of things that remind me of home. They started in the Johannesburg airport, on the tarmac to our flight to Gaborone, sitting next to an Asian Muslim family as their two-year old sang “The Wheels on the Bus.” We attended a traditional dinner as an introduction to Tswana culture, where we, among other things, played an African game that was basically “Duck Duck Grayduck” along with “London Bridge is Falling Down.” At another traditional dancing performance, one of the dancers slipped on her pair of Crocs as soon as she was finished dancing.

The more time I spend in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana and the largest city, the less these reminders of home begin to seem out of place in an African country, and more like normal occurrences. Coming to this place, I had no preconceptions of the area, and I could not have been more surprised at what I would find. The main thing to do in Gaborone is go to malls. I have never been to so many different malls, so many times in my life. I think I average about one trip to the mall a day, sometimes two trips. Some of these malls are combination strip malls with open-air markets, but most are typical shopping centers you would find back home. The most interesting site so far is the road-side vendors underneath large umbrellas selling candy and food right in the shadow of these massive malls. I have also seen a few cardboard shacks advertising “Hair Cut,” “Car Wash” and even “Defensive Driving School.”

Although there are many things to remind me of home, I have seen things that I would never see in America. We had a traditional dinner the second night we were here, were I tried caterpillar and goat meat. After the dinner, the native women in attendance started to dance and attempted to teach us their songs and dances. Some of the students were more successful than others. We also spent a day at a game reserve not to far from the city, were I saw four elephants, an ostrich, some antelope-like impala, and a whole bunch of giraffes. I have been eating a lot of traditional food from the roadside vendors, which includes a giant bread dumpling, rice, chicken or beef, pumpkin, and a bunch of other stuff I can’t really describe—all for only 12 pula, about two dollars American.

One thing I have not seen a lot of here is poverty. It exists, but it is not as apparent in Gaborone. Botswana is one of the most unequal countries in the world, and with a population of around 1.6 million, most of the wealth in concentrated in the city. I have seen two very very bad shantytowns within city limits, but other than that, most people here seem pretty wealthy. The students on campus dress nicer than any other student body I have ever seen. In the coming weeks, I hope to get out and see more of the country, so I can get a better picture of what it actually means to live in Botswana.

Another thing I haven’t seen is the effects of HIV/AIDS on this country. For those of you who don’t know, Botswana has the highest rate of AIDS prevalence in the whole world, the UN has estimated that around 40% of the population is HIV positive. If I hadn’t known this statistic going into this semester, I probably would not have been able to tell. There are the occasional advertisements on billboards and in newspapers promoting safe sex, as well as free condom dispensers everywhere, although most of the time they are empty. Other than that, and the occasional side comment in conversations, you wouldn’t know the epidemic had spiraled out of control.

I do not know why the AIDS crisis is not so visible here, even though it is a huge problem, and I have been heard conflicting viewpoints about the epidemic in general. My Setswana (the other national language, besides English) teacher told us yesterday that the AIDS epidemic is really not that bad—she actually referred to the crisis in the past tense. Anti-retroviral drugs have been distributed free here since the late 90s, curbing the problem and making it less visibly apparent. She said that the 40% rate is much too high of an estimate, and that it is actually only around 30%. Even if that were true, that would mean about one in three people would have AIDS, better than two in five, but still a huge problem. On the other hand, I’ve also heard that the University of Botswana has the highest AIDS rate in the country, making it the “AIDS capital of the world.” I don’t know which viewpoint is true, but either way, it still is a huge problem.

I have been spending a lot of time with the people on my program, as well as the other Americans here. The University of Botswana has around 40 Americans currently on campus, the most they have ever had. The other 18 students on my program (organized by the Associated Colleges of the Mid-West) are amazing and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to spend four months with. I can’t remember the last time I laughed as frequently and as hard as I have been in the last two weeks. Some of us went to an Applebee’s-like restaurant in one of Gaborone’s most popular shopping malls a few weeks ago, and it could have been the three dollar mixed drink, but sitting in that restaurant talking with all of my new friends, I forgot I was in Botswana and thought I was back in the States.

The thing that amazes me the most about my first two weeks here in Gaborone is not the American influence, the giant shopping centers, or even the public transportation, which is basically made up of fifteen person, semi-broken down vans called “combis” that stops whenever and wherever you want, and holds as many people as can be stuffed in. What I find most surprising is the way I fit in here, the way I feel perfectly at home. This could be due to the prevalence of American culture, and if I was European, Asian, or from another African country, I might not feel as comfortable as I do now. I don’t know. But for better or for worse, maybe that’s what globalization is really about; feeling at home wherever you go, even halfway across the world.

It’s also hotter than hell.