May 2006 Archives

We had an amazing time at Victoria Falls two weeks ago. Haven’t had any time to post about it because we came right back from Vic Falls to Peace Corps mid-service training. We traveled this time with our friends Kathi, Scott and Fallon who are just awesome. Not sure if I’ve said it before, but I’ve really love traveling in a group. It’s different than family vacations and also different than traveling just as a couple. Totally the way to go especially on activity trips like this. Anyway, here’s a few highlights of our week:

• Hitching a ride in a semi-truck between Nata and Kasane. The only public transport to Kasane starts in Francistown but we had free accommodation in Nata (200 kilometers north of Francistown) with our friend Melody so we decided to hitch a ride from there to Kasane. We were really lucky to get a ride in the cab of a semi-truck where all five of us and our gear would fit. Since a semi can only go 80 km/hour it takes a little longer than in a private vehicle but it was definitely a unique experience.
• Watching the sunset at the Chobe Safari Lodge in Kasane. The former PCV in Kasane says that watching the sunset over the Chobe River at the lodge is the best place to watch the sunset in Botswana. I have to agree.Jolly Boys Backpackers in Livingstone, Zambia. The backpacker in Cape Town felt so cramped that we spent as little time as possible there. Jolly Boys is big and open with great facilities. We enjoyed just hanging out in the pit and playing a tournament of ping pong. I would definitely recommend Jolly Boys if you’re headed to Vic Falls.
• The Zambian side of Victoria Falls. The Falls are so much bigger than I even imagined. There was a lot of rain earlier this year so the spray from where the water hits at the bottom actually rises up above the height of the falls. They are just absolutely thundering. We got soaked to bone walking across Knife Point Bridge and through the rain forest. We dried up afterwards sitting in the sun and eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in true Peace Corps Volunteer style.

The last three weeks have been jam packed with Camp Hope, meeting the new trainees, trying to resume daily life and then hosting two trainees for shadowing last weekend. I just wanted to share a few thoughts to catch up on all my activities:

First of all Camp Hope Botswana was an overall amazing experience. As Brian mentioned, it was hosted by the Botswana-Baylor Center of Excellence that emphasizes in pediatric HIV and anti-retroviral therapy. All of the campers – between the ages of 10 and 17 – were HIV-positive. I was team leader for the 10-11 year olds, the youngest and cutest kids at camp. To look at the kids you wouldn’t think anything could be wrong. They were all very healthy and active. It was only at breakfast and dinner when all the meds were handed out that you had a moment to think about all the kids being HIV-positive. We did all the regular camp activities: swimming, arts and crafts, sports, cooking, talent show, games, etc. At the end of the week I was physically exhausted beyond words, but also emotionally filled-up with the energy and love from my kids. I hope to go back next year.

Camp ended Friday morning and the new trainees arrived that afternoon. Again, I can’t emphasize enough how exciting it is for a new group to arrive! I was practically giddy waiting for their bus to pull in. I was instantly known as the “blog lady.” Many many more people had read this than we were even aware of especially because, as I found out, the Country Desk in Washington, DC was giving out the web address for people with questions! It was interesting to get follow-up questions based on what we’ve written here, almost like having a continuing conversation. Lots of fun. I still can’t believe how many people are in the group (43 among three programs – DAC, CCB and NGO) After spending three days with them still don’t have a complete grasp on everybody’s name.

Last weekend was a holiday weekend (Monday, May 1 is Labor Day here). To celebrate we hosted two trainees for “shadowing” – an opportunity for them to see what life is really like as a PCV. We had Chami who will be a DAC volunteer and Pilar who will be a CCB volunteer. It was a low key weekend, but I definitely needed it! Pilar and Chami arrived on Saturday and, because of the long weekend, stayed until Wednesday so they could come with us to work on Tuesday. We really enjoyed having them.

Now we have just a few days left until leaving for a week long vacation on both the Zambia and Zimbabwe sides of Victoria Falls. We’re traveling with Scott and Fallon from our Cape Town trip plus our friend Kathi. It is going to be a really good time. We come back just in time for Peace Corps mid-service training from May 22 – 26.

And finally, for the family and friends of Bots 5 who are reading this know that they are all here and in the swing of training. There is no internet access in any of the training villages so email communication from them will be rare. I promise to write about any news I hear. :)

Molepolole Basketball Club will begin Botswana Basketball Association league play on May 14th. The team has been training hard over the past several weeks and expects to improve on its finish last year.

I was curious if family and friends out there are interested in making a small contribution to give the team a good experience this year. Even a few donations in the range of $25-50 would fund matching uniforms, prints of a team photo, a game-quality basketball, copies of basketball instruction materials, a pump and nets.

If you are interested in making a small donation, please email me and I will tell you how that can be arranged.