I'll keep this one short and brief.
Last day of Classes, though I didn't have my single morning class today so I guess classes ended for me yesterday. Anyways last day of classes but I'm still stuck tonight working on to papers that are due next week during finals, a pretty big bummer but I had a great day so I guess I really don't mind giving up my freedom Friday to keep working.
Spent the last few hours working with a local ministry known as The Kings Foundation. They invite local kids from neighborhoods to come out to learn/play sports. The kids all love! At the end of the sports session everyone sits down to learn some type of biblical message. Its an amazing program and really is changing kid's lives one game at a time.
Anyways, I was hot and gross after some serious play and all I wanted to do was take a show
20 Second Clip:
I grabbed my gear and headed to the shower just across the hall. FINALLY, my floor has running water and I couldn't wait to take advantage of it. As I switched on the water, I stuck my hand out somewhat out of habit to adjust the temperature (something I would do at home but not here) and then I realize. It hits me like a ton of bricks. I almost can't control my excitement...
....HOT WATER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (a stand-up, hot shower, on my dorm floor is something I haven't experienced since the first two weeks or so I came to Botswana)
Ah! I jumped in, a bit afraid it would quickly run out which if never did. I returned from the shower happy and feeling great and with clean hair. With just enough energy I settled on my bed to continue work on my psychology paper. with Text books and journal articles spread out in front of me.
I was ready to work. I was sitting there with a Delicious, sliced, green apple and a half broken spoon to eat peanut butter with straight from the jar. That's when I decide I would put off homework just a moment longer to share my goodnight with all of you.
Okay now I should get back it!
Friday, November 12, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
PULA!
Since roughly mid October the heat in Botswana has dramatically increased. I would like to say I have become somewhat used to it and indeed I have though I still found it necessary to run out and buy a fan two months into being here. Anyways, High altitudes of cooler temperatures mixing with insanely hot days have made for the perfect storm....Literally!. The last month or so has been filled with fantastic thunder and lightning shows nearly 2 to 4 times a week and better yet PULA!!!! (a.k.a RAIN!!!!)
I'd like to say that this has helped to cool the place down and at some points throughout the day, life does feel a bit cool and it does make for more bearable night but unfortunately it usually just makes everything feel sticky and humid. Oh well, I suppose it’s a small sacrifice in order for God to answer my prayers for rain.
Well with a little hard work and a great camera (thanks mom, and the Stewarts) I got some shots of the amazing lightning. Though I really wish you could hear the thunder that follows. Sometimes it feels so close that it could literally knock you over. Keep in mind I was indoors for most of these photos so they are kind of blurry but I just so happen to love them anyways.
Hope you love them too.
I'd like to say that this has helped to cool the place down and at some points throughout the day, life does feel a bit cool and it does make for more bearable night but unfortunately it usually just makes everything feel sticky and humid. Oh well, I suppose it’s a small sacrifice in order for God to answer my prayers for rain.
Well with a little hard work and a great camera (thanks mom, and the Stewarts) I got some shots of the amazing lightning. Though I really wish you could hear the thunder that follows. Sometimes it feels so close that it could literally knock you over. Keep in mind I was indoors for most of these photos so they are kind of blurry but I just so happen to love them anyways.
Hope you love them too.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Reality is....
So here's the thing,
I now consider myself a real world traveler and as a real world traveler capable of handling the somewhat uncomfortable living conditions one will often encounter. I have become so accustomed to dealing with such situations that I have actually made a game of it. The game is simply called wins and losses (make sense?). For each circumstance I decide what to consider a loss and what to consider and win. Very subjective I know but either way each is worth 1 point. At the end of the day I count my points and if all goes well then hopefully the "wins" come out on top. If not then I have two options. The first, change the situation. The second change my mind set. Either way somethings got to change. Here is the game I played today.
Example: my regular shower routine
It first consists of leaving my room and checking to see if my floor has water. Now I already know the answer but checking it first has become somewhat of a tradition for one reason or another.
No...no water. (Loss +1)
So I go down to the next floor...no, no water (usually) (Loss +1)
So I go down to the final ground level...YES! water! (usually though not always) (Win +1 but sometimes not so Loss +1....cancels out 0pts)
Two showers open!! (Win +1)
Large cockroaches on ground level, decide not to shower with them (Loss +1)
Go to the next building over or on the other side of the dorms,
towel shampoo and conditioner in hand (Loss +1)
Open Showers (Win +1)
Water on ground floorr (Win +1)
First shower choice to many bugs (Loss +1)
Second Show choice only two mosquitoes and some ants (Win +1)
Kill mosquitoes!! (Win +1...no...two mosquitoes means two points, +2)
Cold Water (Loss +1)
But not as FREEZING cold as it used to be!! (Win +1)
Dang! Three bugs, didn't see the cockroach at first (Loss +1)
Tiny Baby cockroach, easily killed (Win +1).
Shampoo and Conditioner equals clean hair (Win +1)
Feeling refreshed after a long day (Win +1)
Heading back to my room to laugh about the crappy shower conditions with my roommate (Win +1)
Wins = 11 Losses = 7
See, Reality is the best situations in life are not going to just fall into our laps so we have to work for them. Reality Is, despite how much we fight and struggle against the wind, it may still blow us over. In other words, sometimes it doesn't matter how hard we work, sometimes the great situations in life are just not going to come our direction. Reality is....we make our own situations and we can decide to see them in any light we choose. I choose to win.
Just for fun...
I now consider myself a real world traveler and as a real world traveler capable of handling the somewhat uncomfortable living conditions one will often encounter. I have become so accustomed to dealing with such situations that I have actually made a game of it. The game is simply called wins and losses (make sense?). For each circumstance I decide what to consider a loss and what to consider and win. Very subjective I know but either way each is worth 1 point. At the end of the day I count my points and if all goes well then hopefully the "wins" come out on top. If not then I have two options. The first, change the situation. The second change my mind set. Either way somethings got to change. Here is the game I played today.
Example: my regular shower routine
It first consists of leaving my room and checking to see if my floor has water. Now I already know the answer but checking it first has become somewhat of a tradition for one reason or another.
No...no water. (Loss +1)
So I go down to the next floor...no, no water (usually) (Loss +1)
So I go down to the final ground level...YES! water! (usually though not always) (Win +1 but sometimes not so Loss +1....cancels out 0pts)
Two showers open!! (Win +1)
Large cockroaches on ground level, decide not to shower with them (Loss +1)
Go to the next building over or on the other side of the dorms,
towel shampoo and conditioner in hand (Loss +1)
Open Showers (Win +1)
Water on ground floorr (Win +1)
First shower choice to many bugs (Loss +1)
Second Show choice only two mosquitoes and some ants (Win +1)
Kill mosquitoes!! (Win +1...no...two mosquitoes means two points, +2)
Cold Water (Loss +1)
But not as FREEZING cold as it used to be!! (Win +1)
Dang! Three bugs, didn't see the cockroach at first (Loss +1)
Tiny Baby cockroach, easily killed (Win +1).
Shampoo and Conditioner equals clean hair (Win +1)
Feeling refreshed after a long day (Win +1)
Heading back to my room to laugh about the crappy shower conditions with my roommate (Win +1)
Wins = 11 Losses = 7
See, Reality is the best situations in life are not going to just fall into our laps so we have to work for them. Reality Is, despite how much we fight and struggle against the wind, it may still blow us over. In other words, sometimes it doesn't matter how hard we work, sometimes the great situations in life are just not going to come our direction. Reality is....we make our own situations and we can decide to see them in any light we choose. I choose to win.
Just for fun...
 |
| Traditional Healer in Botswana just leaving his "consultation room" (Batsi took us to pay a visit and to ask and learn all we could. Very Cool! (WIN +1) haha) |
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Sorry Its been So long!
Hey all!
I'm so very sorry I haven't written lately. Last week and this week have proven to be very eventful and by the time I finally settle in for the night my focus becomes homework (and lots of!) rather then blogging. School is super busy right now and once again I have two very big papers due at the end of the week. Hopefully once this week comes to a close, my blood pressure will go back to normal and all i will have left to focus on is FINALS!!!! Gosh I can't believe this school term is almost over!! Next up, a trip to the Okavanga Delta!. I have plenty of pictures and things I want to share including an international Halloween celebration, a wedding for 2000, a visit to a traditional healer and plenty plenty more!
Unfortunately, I need to get back to homework so for now you'll have to settle with a few pictures of a recent field trip to the Debswana Jwaneng Mine. Me and the other CIEE girls....and Batsi took a field trip to one of the biggest Diamond mines in Botswana. Its all above ground so looks a bit similar to a giant gravel pit but trust me the stuff the find there is WAY better then some plain ol' rocks. Debswana is a proud company and has countless security measure to insure that any and all diamonds produce from their mines are strictly Fair Trade Diamonds (as oppose to Blood/Conflict Diamonds). Jaweng Mine is the richest diamond mine in the world by value and one of two places in the entire world were naturally green diamonds can be found.....also known as "mom, please buy me one" Diamonds.
Well anyways, we suited up in bright colored vests, hard hats, and steel-toed boots and headed for the mines. See what we saw....
I'm so very sorry I haven't written lately. Last week and this week have proven to be very eventful and by the time I finally settle in for the night my focus becomes homework (and lots of!) rather then blogging. School is super busy right now and once again I have two very big papers due at the end of the week. Hopefully once this week comes to a close, my blood pressure will go back to normal and all i will have left to focus on is FINALS!!!! Gosh I can't believe this school term is almost over!! Next up, a trip to the Okavanga Delta!. I have plenty of pictures and things I want to share including an international Halloween celebration, a wedding for 2000, a visit to a traditional healer and plenty plenty more!
Unfortunately, I need to get back to homework so for now you'll have to settle with a few pictures of a recent field trip to the Debswana Jwaneng Mine. Me and the other CIEE girls....and Batsi took a field trip to one of the biggest Diamond mines in Botswana. Its all above ground so looks a bit similar to a giant gravel pit but trust me the stuff the find there is WAY better then some plain ol' rocks. Debswana is a proud company and has countless security measure to insure that any and all diamonds produce from their mines are strictly Fair Trade Diamonds (as oppose to Blood/Conflict Diamonds). Jaweng Mine is the richest diamond mine in the world by value and one of two places in the entire world were naturally green diamonds can be found.....also known as "mom, please buy me one" Diamonds.
Well anyways, we suited up in bright colored vests, hard hats, and steel-toed boots and headed for the mines. See what we saw....
 |
| The whole tour crew! |
 |
| Batsi says the his Dreads are a problem everytime...he was right. |
 |
| this is the delightful little monster they use to move the rubble...figure this pic gave a bit of perspective |
 |
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Random Thoughts Inspired by Botswana
Random Thoughts Inspired by Botswana
1. If I get ONE more bug bite, I’m declaring war on ALL mosquitoes
2. As a forth-year college student it is practically my duty to put off papers until just before they are due. Its like an unwritten rule, why mess with tradition now? At least that’s what I’m telling my professors. :)
3. Word Swap! (Botswana vs. America)
a. Full Stop = Period (like at the end of a sentence)
b. To borrow = as in “I borrowed him my book” actually means “I lent him my book”
c. Full cream = whole milk
d. Knock-off = to leave or to finish (in terms of “what time do you knock-off school)
e. Motor Bike = Motorcycle (that one was easy to figure out)
f. Biscuits = cookies
g. That side = this side, over there, the other direction, the other end, etc.
h. Chips = French Fries
i. Airtime = Cell phone minutes
j. Car park = Parking lot (so British)
k. I’m coming = usually said while walking away actually means I’ll be back.
l. A rubber = eraser
m. Write a Test = actually means to take a test
n. Rumza = roommate (practically my name while in Bots, which I love)
4. I have to register online for my winter term classes at OSU. Of course since I’m in Africa it means my allotted registration time falls on November 16th at 4 am. So annoying and yet, kind of exciting, though I may not be too excited come 4am.
5. Legal Drinking age?….18. Legal age of Driving?.....18….Not the greatest idea.
6. Got to Love my roommate. Her name is Chimo and she is an amazing person. She also has this hilarious and sweet friend Jobe and this is possibly my most memorable conversation while here in Botswana.
Krisstina: “The first thing I’m going to do when I get back is go to Strabucks!”
Jobe: “Haha, is it?”
Chimo/Jobe: “What’s Starbucks?”
7. I live in Oregon where it rains or hails or snows or some has means of downward moisture, the majority of the year. Yet, I see almost twice as many umbrellas in Africa.
8. Its not easy to grow grass here, which is to be expected with such little rain. Yet they somehow manage to grow grass outside of the nicest buildings in Botswana. Though I must confess it doesn’t look like or feel like normal grass. Anyway, they figured out a way to grow grass all year round through a delicate balance of frequent watering and mass amounts of cow manure based fertilizer. That’s when it occurred to me. Why would anyone want the NICEST buildings in Botswana to always smell like manure? Skip the grass, take the dirt.
9. Speaking of dirt, they have dirt sweepers here. Ya know, to clean up the dirt a bit and make it look nice. Thought that was very odd, then I realized we rake our lawns…equally odd.
10. Someone was convinced I was Brazilian the other day. So I said yes and started speaking Spanish just for the fun of it. He was convinced and satisfied with is fine skills of perception…..They speak Portuguese. Just sayin’
Lovin' Bots...
1. If I get ONE more bug bite, I’m declaring war on ALL mosquitoes
2. As a forth-year college student it is practically my duty to put off papers until just before they are due. Its like an unwritten rule, why mess with tradition now? At least that’s what I’m telling my professors. :)
3. Word Swap! (Botswana vs. America)
a. Full Stop = Period (like at the end of a sentence)
b. To borrow = as in “I borrowed him my book” actually means “I lent him my book”
c. Full cream = whole milk
d. Knock-off = to leave or to finish (in terms of “what time do you knock-off school)
e. Motor Bike = Motorcycle (that one was easy to figure out)
f. Biscuits = cookies
g. That side = this side, over there, the other direction, the other end, etc.
h. Chips = French Fries
i. Airtime = Cell phone minutes
j. Car park = Parking lot (so British)
k. I’m coming = usually said while walking away actually means I’ll be back.
l. A rubber = eraser
m. Write a Test = actually means to take a test
n. Rumza = roommate (practically my name while in Bots, which I love)
4. I have to register online for my winter term classes at OSU. Of course since I’m in Africa it means my allotted registration time falls on November 16th at 4 am. So annoying and yet, kind of exciting, though I may not be too excited come 4am.
5. Legal Drinking age?….18. Legal age of Driving?.....18….Not the greatest idea.
6. Got to Love my roommate. Her name is Chimo and she is an amazing person. She also has this hilarious and sweet friend Jobe and this is possibly my most memorable conversation while here in Botswana.
Krisstina: “The first thing I’m going to do when I get back is go to Strabucks!”
Jobe: “Haha, is it?”
Chimo/Jobe: “What’s Starbucks?”
7. I live in Oregon where it rains or hails or snows or some has means of downward moisture, the majority of the year. Yet, I see almost twice as many umbrellas in Africa.
8. Its not easy to grow grass here, which is to be expected with such little rain. Yet they somehow manage to grow grass outside of the nicest buildings in Botswana. Though I must confess it doesn’t look like or feel like normal grass. Anyway, they figured out a way to grow grass all year round through a delicate balance of frequent watering and mass amounts of cow manure based fertilizer. That’s when it occurred to me. Why would anyone want the NICEST buildings in Botswana to always smell like manure? Skip the grass, take the dirt.
9. Speaking of dirt, they have dirt sweepers here. Ya know, to clean up the dirt a bit and make it look nice. Thought that was very odd, then I realized we rake our lawns…equally odd.
10. Someone was convinced I was Brazilian the other day. So I said yes and started speaking Spanish just for the fun of it. He was convinced and satisfied with is fine skills of perception…..They speak Portuguese. Just sayin’
Lovin' Bots...
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