Update from Botswana
Since I'm not sure everyone wants to read it and it's long I'm putting it under the cut.
In summary, UNICEF, giant cockroaches and Alexander McCall Smith are all contained within.
I arrived in Botswana on Sunday totally exhausted because even though there is no time difference it is not particularly easy to sleep when you are sitting behind an enormous South African man. I know he was South African because he was speaking Afrikaans. The plane between Johannesburg and Gabarone was really quite small. I was picked up by the UNICEF driver and taken to the apartment where I met the others. Two girls M and B and a boy J. (Technically I suppose it should be women and men). Fortunately they were very nice. Then being mean was my biggest fear because it would royally suck to live and work with people you hate. Sunday night we went to Game City which is a mall where we ate food and watched the “Da Vinci Code”. It was all right I guess. I don’t really remember the book.
We went to bed fairly early which suited me because I really was tired. Oh and days at UNICEF start at 7:30am which is really early considering how much I love sleep. I met the person I am going to be working with and a whole bunch of other people besides. It was a little overwhelming and confusing. I was also given a ton of reading material and told to go and read it. One good thing that you do is get to meet with all the different staff so that you have some idea of what they do and how that fits into what you do. Everything is pretty inter-related since the focus is on HIV/AIDS.
Honestly I am a little frustrated by the whole situation because it seems like I will be doing mainly office research. I didn’t want to come to Botswana to sit in an office the entire time. This is especially difficult since B and J are getting to do lots of unrelated stuff. There is someone here I think I can latch onto in terms of getting out and going to see a village one day. I just wouldn’t feel quite right about spending all my time in an office. An office is an office wherever it is.
The research I am doing for my thesis is not going particularly well. I think it’s because I am doing so much reading during the day that I don’t want to come home at night and do more reading. Still there will be time at the weekend to do it. I still haven’t seen any wild animals except a giant cockroach. We may or may not be seeing some this weekend.
We have made tentative plans to explore Botswana and maybe Johannesburg. Now I know it is supposed to be one of the most dangerous cities in the world but the people we’ve talked to say exercise a great deal of caution and you will be fine. I think I might pass on telling my Mom until afterwards though.
Now I know we are in the Southern Hemisphere so it is winter but it is unexpectedly cold here. I didn’t really bring cold weather clothes. Or you know a coat. But I’m surviving. I don’t think I’m homesick exactly but things are different so it is sort of hard to adjust.
Last night we went to a concert and book signing. The author Alexander McCall Smith was there. Since his books are set in Botswana it was pretty cool. The crowd was very much posh British ex-pats. Speaking of posh British ex-pats there is E. Now E is your typical public school boy. However crude, selfish and irritating this may mean he is he also has a heart of gold. He is going to make sure that one of the girls performing last night. (the performers at the concert were Batswana) gets a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. She was that good.
I hope everyone on my f-list is fine. Sorry I can't read what you have to say. Hugs to those who need them.
In summary, UNICEF, giant cockroaches and Alexander McCall Smith are all contained within.
I arrived in Botswana on Sunday totally exhausted because even though there is no time difference it is not particularly easy to sleep when you are sitting behind an enormous South African man. I know he was South African because he was speaking Afrikaans. The plane between Johannesburg and Gabarone was really quite small. I was picked up by the UNICEF driver and taken to the apartment where I met the others. Two girls M and B and a boy J. (Technically I suppose it should be women and men). Fortunately they were very nice. Then being mean was my biggest fear because it would royally suck to live and work with people you hate. Sunday night we went to Game City which is a mall where we ate food and watched the “Da Vinci Code”. It was all right I guess. I don’t really remember the book.
We went to bed fairly early which suited me because I really was tired. Oh and days at UNICEF start at 7:30am which is really early considering how much I love sleep. I met the person I am going to be working with and a whole bunch of other people besides. It was a little overwhelming and confusing. I was also given a ton of reading material and told to go and read it. One good thing that you do is get to meet with all the different staff so that you have some idea of what they do and how that fits into what you do. Everything is pretty inter-related since the focus is on HIV/AIDS.
Honestly I am a little frustrated by the whole situation because it seems like I will be doing mainly office research. I didn’t want to come to Botswana to sit in an office the entire time. This is especially difficult since B and J are getting to do lots of unrelated stuff. There is someone here I think I can latch onto in terms of getting out and going to see a village one day. I just wouldn’t feel quite right about spending all my time in an office. An office is an office wherever it is.
The research I am doing for my thesis is not going particularly well. I think it’s because I am doing so much reading during the day that I don’t want to come home at night and do more reading. Still there will be time at the weekend to do it. I still haven’t seen any wild animals except a giant cockroach. We may or may not be seeing some this weekend.
We have made tentative plans to explore Botswana and maybe Johannesburg. Now I know it is supposed to be one of the most dangerous cities in the world but the people we’ve talked to say exercise a great deal of caution and you will be fine. I think I might pass on telling my Mom until afterwards though.
Now I know we are in the Southern Hemisphere so it is winter but it is unexpectedly cold here. I didn’t really bring cold weather clothes. Or you know a coat. But I’m surviving. I don’t think I’m homesick exactly but things are different so it is sort of hard to adjust.
Last night we went to a concert and book signing. The author Alexander McCall Smith was there. Since his books are set in Botswana it was pretty cool. The crowd was very much posh British ex-pats. Speaking of posh British ex-pats there is E. Now E is your typical public school boy. However crude, selfish and irritating this may mean he is he also has a heart of gold. He is going to make sure that one of the girls performing last night. (the performers at the concert were Batswana) gets a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. She was that good.
I hope everyone on my f-list is fine. Sorry I can't read what you have to say. Hugs to those who need them.