Before I begin this entry, I would like to make a shout out to my sister Erika Bernal who graduated from Armijo High School this afternoon. I regret not being able to be there in person to celebrate her accomplishments, but I send all my congratulations and happy wishes to her. Good job sis, I am so proud of you!
Today ended my fourth week of working in the clinic and marks the end of the first full month I have been in Botswana. The time has flown by remarkably fast, and I can only imagine that the rest will be a blur. I am having a wonderful time and learning so much, but I must admit that this week also marked the beginning of missing some of the luxuries of the US. For example, I miss being able to satisfy any food craving with a simple phone call, or quick drive/walk. I miss not having to schedule my life around when the sun goes down. I miss having reliable Internet and phone service. I also miss being able to talk at a normal pace without having to stop halfway through my sentence to restart at half the speed. It may have just been in my head, but it seemed like patients had an especially impossible time understanding me on Wednesday. It got to the point where I just wanted to say “I can’t do this, someone else please ask them in Setswana what they are feeding their baby”. Not being able to communicate and having people not understand you are some of the most frustrating things I have ever experienced. It also makes me extremely grateful when the nurses take the time to explain things to me in English, or converse in English so that I can be included.
This evening Kaitlin, Julia, Lina and I had dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant at Riverwalk. Every Friday, the restaurant offers a set price menu that has received raving reviews. Our information packets even included the restaurant as one of the must go-to places in Gabs. All being Ethiopian-naïve, we were curious and excited for the meal. I didn’t have the slightest idea what Ethiopian food was like and to be honest, I was a bit wary because I am extremely sensitive to spicy foods and I didn’t want to have an upset stomach the night before taking a 4-hour bus ride to Serowe the following morning. When I asked the server if the food was spicy, she told me that parts of the meal were, but that I had the option of making it mild. I made sure she understood that I wanted the mildest option possible. I think she was amused by my insistence, but definitely followed through with my request. When we received the food, we were all stunned by the phenomenal aroma and presentation. One of the staples of Ethiopian food is a thin, spongy type of bread that is used as a utensil to grab and eat the other parts of the dish. On top of a large circle of spongy bread was a meat and onion dish surrounded by lentils, some sort of mashed vegetable, lettuce, and a sort of sweet cole slaw. There was also a roll of spongy bread that we could unwrap and use to grab and eat the food. Think making your own taco with the spongy bread. Everything tasted AMAZING. The meat was by far the best quality meat we have eaten here, and the spice level was perfect. The lentils and vegetable were incredibly flavorful. To drink we all had cappuccinos, made with famous organic Ethiopian coffee beans. After sampling cappuccinos at several restaurants (they seem to be a favorite here), I can say with confidence that this restaurant boasts the best cappuccino.
Tomorrow we are going to the village Serowe for the weekend. We will be staying at the Khama Rhino Sanctuary, which is home to the endangered animal. The sanctuary is named after the first president of Botswana, Sir Seretse Khama, who was also the chief of Serowe (yes, villages here still have chiefs!). The position was passed down to his son, Ian Khama, who concurrently serves as the president of Botswana. We plan to leave UB for the bus station at 9:00 am and hopefully catch a bus Serowe by 10:00 am. The ride could be anywhere between 2 and 4 hours. We seem to have gotten mixed information about the length and price of the ride, so we figured we should get there early to be on the safe side. Also, depending on whether we get dropped off in Serowe or a neighboring town, we will have to catch a ride to the actual village. We plan to pack lunch and just explore the village for the remainder of Saturday. Hopefully we can grab an early and inexpensive dinner so we can be in bed early. We scheduled a 6:00 am game drive for Sunday morning, which will be both awesome and a struggle to wake up for. Although none of us are early birds, rhinos apparently are, and so the best time to schedule a game drive is very early in the morning. After the game drive we’ll probably grab brunch and head back to UB. Because I am sure we will be exhausted from the early morning and long bus ride, I decided to use one of my off-days to take Monday off work. I will probably use it to sleep in, do laundry, and hopefully set up wireless on my computer (finally!!!).
Also, Happy Belated Birthday to my Grandma Delia, and in case I do not post before Sunday, Happy Father’s Day to all fathers, especially my dad. I can’t thank him enough for being an amazing father, role model, teacher, coach, provider and support. Love you!
