First Weeks

We have already had Seswaa.

“As the national dish of Botswana, Seswaa is served at weddings, funerals, and other celebrations. Seswaa's ingredients are very straightforward: meat on the bone, water, and salt. The salt, added while the meat cooks, helps to soften the meat until it is ready to be pounded with a pestle” (g-Adventures)

We think of it as pulled beef, similar to pulled pork.  And it’s tasty, served over rice.

We are already working on an issue.  The missionaries all have cellphones, and can call within the country.  The Mission Leaders (the President & his wife) are supposed to have the super deluxe package which should let them call anywhere in the world.  We pay a deluxe premium for that package.  But they can only call intra-country.  We drove down to the telephone company office and discussed.  ‘It’s all fixed!’ they say.  Of course the two-year lease is up and we need to renew, or change.  So we renew. Of course, it’s not fixed. Back we go to the telephone company office, and no one is there, but the lowly assistant.  After another hour of them working, the phone can now call Botswana and any contiguous country. But not USA.  Welcome to Africa.

On another day, we need to accompany the Office Elders to begin processing our visa paperwork.  One of the steps takes us down some back alley roads to a Drs clinic.  We waited in the ‘waiting’ room which was a small hallway with a computer monitor that was pixilated showing something about staying healthy.  After 20 minutes, we moved into the Drs waiting room, which was an exterior patio that had been enclosed as part of the house.

After 10 minutes, the Dr will see you now.  Part of the visa process includes obtaining a Dr-certified paper stating that we are not imbeciles.  The ‘test’ involved the Dr filling out the paperwork while we talked about when we lived in Cincinnati.  Fortunately we both passed the test.

But it’s not all Flowers and Happy.  We have had to deal with problems, too.  Suicide Ideation, Trashed Flats, Dangerous Driving Elders, an emergency transfer when an elder punched his companion in the face. 

And one fine morning, as Mark had just started showering and washing his hair, the water pressure dropped to zero.  After three days of investigation (and no water), it turned out that we had the water meter (which is a remote control type box that connects wirelessly to the actual meter) for the next door flat and they had ours.  Our meter had run down to zero, but we didn’t know it.

One day, the Zone Leaders announced they were hosting a Braai (BBQ) for the Mission President and his wife that are leaving.

A braai (pronounced "bry") is an Afrikaans term for a barbecue or grill, but it's more than just cooking; it's a social custom and a fundamental part of South African culture. It's a gathering of friends and family around a fire, sharing food, stories, and laughter. The Dutch word for grill is Braden. Braden vleis merged into a shorter word, eventually emerging as ‘braai’

We love a good BBQ.  The problem was planning.  One set of Elders was told to be there at 10am.  We were told noon, at 12:30 when we arrived, there was still nothing.  At 2:30 they finally arrived with the grill and meat.  At 3pm, we started eating.  So missionaries can be enthusiastic, but their organizational skills are still budding.

On prep day, the Senior Missionaries decided to go to the Gaborone Game Reserve. We saw lots of animals and got some fun pictures.  We even saw the elusive Elands and skittish warthogs.

The Game Reserve is maybe 20 – 30 minutes from our flat. And it costs 15 pula per person, which is like $5 for a car full. When we arrived, they said pay when you exit.  When we left, we were told the guy who takes the money wasn’t there so we could just leave. Inside, the ‘roads’ are dirt, and after the rains they are terrible. But after the rainy season they grade them, so the dirt paths for us were really nice.  We saw:

The New Mission President is Greg Neuberger. The Newbergers and Stansbury’s (from Cincinnati, where we used to live) studied together at the MTC mission leadership training.  Trevor and Becky Stansbury will lead one of the missions in Peru.  Budge Wallis (of Cincinnati) also wrote to say that he knows the Neubergers as Budge and Linda’s son, Tyler Wallace was a counselor to him in a stake presidency.  Tyler was also at the MTC, training for a mission presidency. It's a small world after all.

• • •  Announce the number

    • Someone (not necessarily the conductor) sings the first line

    • The conductor says ‘Two”, as in: One & a Two & a …

    • The audience starts singing

    • The conductor conducts in 3/4 time, not matter what the meter is.

They sing beautifully and enthusiastically (although some are not in tune).  Many sway to the music.  We don’t hear much harmony, mostly melody.

Two returned missionaries spoke.  The Elder served in Zambia and the Sister in Zimbabwe. They both did a lovely job.

The trip home was uneventful, but it was stressful.  Some of the cars creep along, so you have to pass them.  The main highway is just two lanes total, so you’re passing on hills, watching out for oncoming cars and trucks in the wrong lane (sorry, in the British lanes), watching for animals and potholes and people and combis (mini-vans that pick up passengers) that are stopping at random spots.

Another day, another adventure.  But we LOVE Botswana, the gentle people and the great missionaries.