June 25

ERIN:

Day 2 in Gabs. Let me just say that it’s really nice to be in one place for a few days and not have to pack our ridiculous amounts of luggage into Tau every morning. The Mennonite Guest House here is a nice place—cheap internet access, fresh mango muffins in the morning, and even a real bed for Roger and Jolene. In the morning, we all piled into Tau and headed to the Gaborone Airport, where Travis talked to some of the Flying Mission people he’ll be working with, and Roger and Jolene got to reconnect with a few people they knew from years ago, and I got to meet the people who are taking Travis away from me. I’m trying not to be too bitter, with varying amounts of success, as long as they don’t convince him to stay forever. We got to hear a lot about how Flying Mission has developed and changed since Roger flew for them and got a little tour of the hangar, including a chance to climb up into the plane they use as an ambulance to fly patients around for the Botswana Ministry of Health. They tell Travis they’ll put him in the right seat as soon as they can, so it sounds pretty likely that he will in fact be able to do some flying while he’s here for the next year or so—exciting stuff! After the visit to the Flying Mission hangar, we dropped Jolene off back at the guest house for a bed and easy access to the bathroom (she gets the highly-sought-after prize for being the first one sick on this trip), and the rest of us walked to the mall for our first traditional Tswana meal and some souvenir-browsing. Lots of people had told me not to get my hopes up for the local food, but I was pleasantly surprised. There are lots of women with little tables set up along the sidewalks in the main mall, and I very much enjoyed my meal of liver, corn/bean mush, carrot salad, rice, noodles, beet salad, and boiled dough ball. I’m not sure if all the food was traditionally from Botswana, since many of the women selling things are from other African countries and have come to Botswana, a much more stable country in political and economic terms, to look for work. Wherever the food was from, it was faster than the fast-food joints, cheaper, and much tastier. The rest of the day we spent visiting Thornhill School, where Nicole and Travis both found their old classrooms, and then going out for the Monday night rib special at an old favorite restaurant. It’s been an adventure and a half just trying to get back to all these places that Roger and Jolene remember but don’t know how to find since the city has changed so drastically in the past 15 years since they were here. There have been lots of maps, lots of U-turns, and lots of yelling from the backseat. I may not be able to renounce my position as the worst person with directions in the world, but I at least feel like I’m in good company. In fact, as I write, we’re lost again and making another U-turn as two local women turn around and laugh at us. Here’s a sample of the conversation that’s going on around me: “Where’s the road?!” “Roger, where are you going?!” “People do not drive here!” “You’re crazy!” Ah, yes. Another day in the life. And I’m loving it.

Erin