Maitirelo Cultural Festival

There was a fancy culture and arts festival at Botswanacraft today which I wanted to attend but the pricey tickets disappeared quickly. Besides, there was a sponsored walk to raise funds for Thornhill at school from 9-12 am and the kids definitely wanted to participate in that. (Kuno walked 20 km!) Instead, Sethunya and Moroka and Kuno and I went to another festival at Tsholofelo Park in Broadhurst this afternoon, the Maitirelo Cultural Festival. It was small but nice, featuring a few local artists as well as Wild Foods, based in nearby Gabane, which sells foods such as marula and mmilo sustainably harvested by rural communities. The marula juice was delicious; other treats included dried cucumber slices and dried melon slices. There was a program as well which included several informative lectures. But what drew the most attention and applause was the dance troupes. It was interesting that as soon as the dancing began the tent filled to capacity with people keen to watch. The biggest attraction was Ditholwana Cultural Ensemble which performed a selection of dances from different parts of the country. This group was the pioneer in the early 1990s in promoting ‘traditional’ dancing; since their early heyday many other such ensembles have emerged and thrive.

The ailing US dollar

Over the course of our five month stay here the dollar has more or less steadily declined in value. When we arrived one US dollar was worth well more than eight Botswana pula. Now one dollar hovers right around seven pula or even dips below. Indeed, in the course of our stay the rent for our flat has increased about 50 dollars per month! At the same time, when I go to sell my car for pula in another month's time I will do better with the stronger pula. Many things, including food, are still much cheaper here than in the US, helping to make this sabbatical possible.

Pula, of course, means 'rain' in Setswana and is also a cheer that is used in celebration (rain being so precious in Botswana). Coins are called 'thebe.' On this 100 pula note one finds the three chiefs who are memorialized in the Three Dikgosi Monument in Gaborone, among other places.

LMS Church in Serowe

On the way out of town on Saturday morning, Moses wanted to stop by the London Missionary Society church that sits atop another hill in Serowe. Indeed you can see it from Thathaganyane Hill, the Khama burial ground. The church was built in 1912 under the reign of Khama III, the society’s ‘most famous convert’. At the end of Khama III’s reign, Bangwato membership in the LMS reached 3,000, though declined thereafter as many left the LMS church and joined independent churches.

Serowe

On Friday, the plan was to see Serowe, as we had not had a chance to do that last time we visited the KRS. Checkout time at the KRS is 10 am and, indeed, we were on the road by 10. First stop was the Khama III Memorial Museum, on the way back into Serowe from KRS (which is actually on the road to Orapa). The museum is like many of the delightful small museums in towns all over Botswana: three to five rooms that tell an important piece of the history of that place, usually going back 100 or 150 years. There is often an exhibit of old and newer photographs as well as artefacts and displays that depict aspects of life in the past. Serowe has been the capital for the Bangwato, the largest and most prominent of the Batswana ‘tribes,’ since 1902 – before that Palapye and before that Shoshong (abandoned because of wood, grass and water depletion). The Khamas, of course, are the Ngwato royal family. Also at the museum, one will find the Bessie Head papers and a room that replicates the small house in which she lived and wrote for many years in Serowe. That room is full of photographs that chronicle her life, especially her years in Serowe and Botswana.

After a couple of hours there we headed into town to find some lunch. There is a pedestrian mall that begins with a blue clock tower that somehow resembles other clock towers we have seen in Botswana. Eventually we found a Chicken Licken’ and sated our hunger there. From town we set off for the Serowe kgotla. This is a pretty famous kgotla – the one at which on numerous occasions the Bangwato appealed to keep Seretse and Ruth Khama from being sent into exile, or appealed to have him back, and from where Seretse made the same unsuccessful bids. Our goal was to find a police escort up the hill to the Khama burial grounds that overlook Serowe. Indeed, that is the only way that one is allowed up the hill. But when we got to the kgotla and spoke with the police, they informed us that we needed the kgosi’s (chief’s) permission first. So we crossed the road and went to seek permission from the chief which he duly granted us. With our police escort we then climbed the hill, past the fat dassies or rock rabbits, sunning themselves on the rocks. The burial grounds is very cozy and intimate up there on the hill, containing the resting places of Khama chiefs and regents (and their wives) including Khama III, Tshekedi Khama and Seretse Khama. From there one also has a view of the vast village of Serowe.

After that visit we passed by a not very well taken care of and not very well done statue of Seretse Khama. From there we found the Serowe Hotel, where we stayed the night. The hotel does not look like much from the road, but is quite nice in the back where the rooms look out on a nice grounds, swimming pools, bar and tables. We were told that the Serowe Hotel has the best restaurant in town and, indeed, Moses was happy to finally enjoy some seswaa and pap.

KRS Again

Thursday was Ascension Day and another religious holiday in Botswana! So the kids had Thursday and Friday off from school. We decided to return to the Khama Rhino Sanctuary, so that Moses could experience it, and so that we could spend some time in Serowe which we had not done last time. So we left Gabs at about 8 in the morning and followed the same route, arriving at the KRS around noon. This time we found a number of BDF soldiers with horses about to go on a routine patrol (we were told) of the sanctuary. Indeed, I recently met with a visiting scholar from UT Austin, looking at civil military relations in Botswana (and other countries), who told me a couple of interesting things: that Botswana has the best military in Africa (at least in terms of training and resources) but that they spend most of their time controlling poachers (so as to protect the lucrative tourism industry) - and also on peacekeeping forces around the world. In any event, as we approached Serowe it became cloudy and overcast and we could see that people were very warmly dressed. Fortunately, we had packed accordingly.

After registering and hanging out for a bit in and around our Chalet F, we went on game drive. We were delighted to see that our guide was again Vivian. Well, this turned out to be quite a drive! Kuno very diligently took pictures, while Moses made a video. But the most remarkable moments of the drive were at the end. Just as it seemed the drive was winding down, we were driving around a bend in the road and there in front of us was an ENORMOUS white rhino! As Kuno quickly observed, this was the ‘experience of a lifetime.” Of course he quickly moved out of the way and into the bush but we still got some great views of him. We also could see quite clearly his tracks along one side of the sandy road (as well as his and his herd’s droppings). Well, we thought we had really seen something – and of course we had – and then we happened upon a mother rhino and her three week old baby rhino! The baby was about the size and shape of a warthog and was being very well looked after by its mother; sadly, by then it was really too dark to get any good pictures. The afternoon game drives start at about 4 pm and after about an hour and a half we watched as the sun set quickly on the horizon. Indeed, by the second hour of the drive we were very cold, despite our layers and fleeces. Fortunately, there were some blankets that Vivian pulled out to keep us warm for the final exciting moments of the game drive. As always in the southern African winter the best way to get warm is to go outside and find some sun – that is, until it sets.

The black rhinos eluded us this time, just as last. Oh well!

Soccer in Molepolole

Yesterday Moses and Kuno ventured to Molepolole for a soccer game held at 3:30 in the afternoon. Molepolole is about 50 km northwest of Gaborone on the Molepolole Road. The two 'sides' were Notwane and Tafic; they are part of the Be Mobile Premier League sponsored by the Botswana Football Association. Moses and Kuno don't know who won because they left the game early. Botswana boasts several very nice soccer stadiums and Molepolole is one of them - with an entrance fee of only 20 pula each. Kuno is thrilled that now, during term 2 at Thornhill, he will at last be playing soccer!

Back to Gaborone

All good things must come to an end and so we had to return to Gaborone, to school and to work. We were leaving right from the farm and were a bit worried about getting stuck in the sand on the dirt road on the way out and so Otniel had very kindly agreed to drive with us in his red truck which also meant we would have to leave quite early so he could get to work Monday morning. And so by the bright light of the moon we sadly departed the farm and the cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents, hoping that we might return soon. There had been a big rain storm the night before, strangely as the rainy season is supposed to be over (has happened recently in Gaborone as well). Once off the dirt road, a couple of hours on the gravel road and then turn left on the tarred road and it is straight, practically to our front door. The farm is in far eastern Namibia very close to the Botswana border, and within 30 km we were at the border. Then, the same, fortunately completely uneventful, trip back to Gaborone. By 5 pm we were unpacking, gathering piles of laundry and getting ready for the first day of term 2 at Thornhill.

Last Day on the Farm

The routine on the farm goes something like this: at about 4:30 in the morning the first roosters crow. Grandma and Auntie Justina get up around 6, I think, and start the fire burning for breakfast tea. We have been getting up around 6:30 and by that time there is already a crowd around the fire. Breakfast consists of a sweet tea and bread of some kind, when there is any; when there isn’t, just tea. There is usually a large pot of pap cooking as well, as tea alone would obviously not sustain those who are working so hard on the farm. After breakfast the older girls do the dishes. Then the men and boys spend the morning tending to the cattle and goats and sheep and whatever other work needs to be done around the farm. The women might do some washing and cleaning and tending the various birds on the farm. All morning the kids will be playing – the boys usually with the soccer balls and the girls cards or something along those lines. Quietly, alone or in groups, people head into the bush to do their morning business. By 8 the sun is high in the sky though we have been lucky to have a breeze that has kept things pretty cool. Maybe around 11 or 12 preparations for lunch will begin and it will be ready around 2. When there is meat lunch will consist of meat, probably boiled in some way, and pap or rice, often with a sauce that contains potatoes. Preparing any meal is a huge task with so many people on the farm; we are probably 30 in all. After lunch and cleanup after lunch there is some time to rest. That might be a time for cleaning the small houses in which each family lives, doing washing, or just sitting in the shade of a tree. Around 4 or 5 the fires get going again and the preparations for evening tea begin. Again, if there is bread, there will be bread with the tea, if not then there will be only tea. On one of the fires water for bathing will be heating up and the girls in one house and boys in another will bathe pretty much communally from a large tub of water. Once people are clean and warmly dressed they gather back around the fire to talk the night away. Often the older boys and younger men will be at one fire and everyone else at the other. Last night all of the kids were with the older boys and Kuno was regaling them with jokes.

This morning Kuno was given a female goat, to begin his own herd! Later in the morning another delicacy of the goat from a few days ago was cooked and served – the stomach and the ears. Moses and Kuno very much enjoyed that, though Mave was less impressed.

Trip to Talismanus

There is so much work to do on the farm, and now that there are older kids they can at least help out. There is a borehole nearby but there have always been problems with it and now someone, usually Uncle Otniel, has to go to Talismanus every weekend to get water and bring it back to the farm. This is especially critical when there are so many people on the farm at once. So we went along in our car to Talismanus. In the three years since we were last in Talismanus it seems to have grown some with a new restaurant, shop and takeaway. I especially like going to Talismanus in order to buy what they call ‘Herero bread.’ It is a dense homemade raisin bread and just delicious with the sweet tea that they serve on the farm. The water is fetched from Uncle Emmanuel’s place, so we spent quite a bit of time there visiting with him too.

On the Farm

On Thursday we headed to the farm to see the grandparents. It is also the school holiday, though just started, in Namibia and so there are many kids – around 15 – on the farm. That is what they do during the three school holidays per year as there is nothing for them to do home alone and in the city. We left Windhoek around 10 and headed for Gobabis, where we would pick up the Transkalahari if we were heading back to Gaborone. There we stopped by Jet Mart to say hello to Auntie Albertina and then met Uncle Otniel and his red truck at Shop Rite where we would be doing the shopping for the farm, things like sugar, oil, rice, milk, bread, potatoes and lots of other provisions to add to what is already there (and goes very fast with so many people). About half an hour beyond Gobabis we turned off the tarred road onto the dirt road to Rietfontein headed for Talismanus, the town, or really village, nearest to the farm. The road was not bad for us to drive on in our Toyota Verso. After Talismanus, a couple of hours later, we turned off onto a dirt road which was much more difficult for us to drive on as we were riding a little low. By the time we arrived at the farm it was quite dark and we found everyone gathered around the fire where Shikuu was serving tea. The kids were thrilled to unpack all of the provisions, especially the bread that would serve as the evening fare along with the tea. Auntie Justina had made a special treat in honor of Mave, vetkoekies – which we were delighted to eat with our tea. It quickly became very cool though the fire kept us warm. Kuno fell asleep early and the rest of us turned in a bit later.

This morning we all awoke around 6 am, and crawled out of our small house around 6:30. Many people were already up and tea was being brewed. We had a leisurely breakfast and then the kids started on some serious playing. There were races, including relay races, dodge ball, horseback riding, cards, hunting, sling shots and, of course, soccer. About mid morning it was time to think about the mid day meal and so a goat was found and ‘prepared.’ That did not take long and before we knew it we were enjoying the first delicacies of the goat - liver and kidney. Lunch of meat and rice followed. In the meantime we also watched as a horse was being trained; a few horses are kept on hand in the event that it becomes necessary to go out and find a stray cow or two. We also watched as Shikuu and Auntie Justina prepared the ‘Herero fat’ or butter, by shaking up a huge calabash of milk that had stood overnight. At some point the fat would be scraped off the top and the butter, which everyone loves, prepared.

Katutura Single Quarters

This morning Nawa said that she needed to check up on some Herero dresses she was having made in Katutura and I thought that would be a great opportunity for the kids to see a bit of Katutura. This would be the one time ‘black township’ for Windhoek, just as Khomasdal served as the ‘Coloured township.’ Both essentially continue in those capacities – and are a distance from the CBD and the ‘white suburbs,’ which are no longer only white. In all of these areas too tremendous building and growth has taken place. I could probably hardly find my way around Katutura today and I used to know it like the back of my hand. Nawa drove the white bakkie and Ndahafa went with. Mave and Kuno were thrilled to finally be riding in the back of a bakkie, even if with a cover. We stopped first at the market in the Single Quarters which was once a place you would want to stay away from and was just a haphazard open market. Today there is a roof overhead and lots of stalls for hair salons, dressmakers and tailors, television and computer repair, food stuffs and a long outer row of braaivleis – roasting meat. We stopped there and enjoyed $N10 worth of roasted meat. On our way out we noticed a tour bus and group of Europeans touring the market. From there we passed by the Herero Market and then on to Soweto Market, not nearly as interesting somehow.

After we got home we headed back into town - we thought for some cake, which Mave had requested from yesterday. Instead we had a so-so lunch at News Café Central. This was our third stop; it seemed hard to find a place with only light meals. As we were returning to the car we encountered two stunning Himba women crossing Independence Avenue. They were ochred all over and their hair was beautifully done. They strutted proudly up the street, one of them only half clad, with a smart leather bag in her hand. I said I had never seen Himba women like that in Windhoek and Nawa said it has become very popular now for them to come to Windoek to shop.

Once home, for the second night in a row, we had lots of visits from family members living in Windhoek. Among others, Harari, who looked after Kuno when we were on sabbatical in Namibia in 2002, came by. Of course, she could not believe how big Kuno is now!

Windhoek: 'Obama for Africa'

Today we went into ‘town,’ taking cousin Megan along, so the kids could see it. Mave had a memory of Windhoek, but Kuno did not. Windhoek has grown quite a bit since independence and now boasts a huge Supreme Court that overlooks the central car park, where a hotel and casino are in the process of being built. There are new shops and even new small malls, new government buildings, a new National Archives and so on. The kids wanted to go to the pedestrian mall at Wernhill and that is what we did. There have always been large spreads of African wares, mostly geared to tourists, at this spot, and we were not disappointed. From there we decided we needed some lunch and they all went KFC which they had been hankering after and I went off to the Craft Centre for some gift shopping and perhaps lunch. At least at the Craft Centre most of the items are Namibian made. From there one can pick up tours of Windhoek and surrounding areas. From there we headed back to Jakes’ nicely and newly renovated house in Dorado Park and pretty much hung out for the rest of the day.

As we got out of the car, a young man walked by wearing a t-shirt with a picture of Obama on it. On the back it said quite simply: ‘Obama for Africa.’ Everyone here in Africa does believe that he is theirs; indeed, they believe that Obama is a gift – to the world.

Transkalahari Highway to Namibia

Today began our trip to Namibia to see Moses’ family and friends. We had decided that we could not take the Tazz because it is too small to be comfortable, to be safe and to carry all of our things. So we rented a Toyota Verso which is very nice; we also managed to get ourselves a good deal that included unlimited mileage. On the road we also realized another reason not to take the Tazz and that is that it is too small to go 160 km/hr comfortably, if at all! That of course was really too fast to be driving and we will drive more slowly on the way back.

We left Gaborone around 7 am, having aimed for 6 since it is a long trip – 1112 km to be exact. As always the road to Kanye was quite busy, at least to Thamaga. Around Kanye we noticed something very strange – brown and black clouds and then very dense fog. We passed through without incident and picked up the Transkalahari Highway. Then we were on to Jwaneng where we made our first pit stop and passed the Cezar Hotel where we stayed when we did this same trip almost three years ago. Outside of Jwaneng we saw our first road kill being feasted upon by a flock of huge vultures. First we saw a cow and much later a donkey, both of which had presumably been hit by vehicles. Within another hour we were in Sekoma and the sun was starting to beat down intensely and the animals were starting to seek refuge under the trees.

Beyond Sekoma one enters the Kgalagadi, otherwise known as the Kalahari. What we saw was mostly savannah, tall yellow grass waving in the breeze. By 11:15, 425 km from Gaborone, we were at the Kang Ultra Stop, one of the few places to get food and fuel along the Transkalahari. We spent too long eating lunch at the Kang Ultra Stop and were off by about 12:30. Three hours later we were finally on the border with Namibia. As we got closer to the border we appeared to pass through several San communities that looked quite poor by Botswana standards, though there were villages with small houses. I think this is evidence of the ‘remote area development’ that has been targeted at the San in Botswana. The two border posts took a while, especially the Namibian one where we had to pay a fee – in Namibian dollars or South African rands only – for bringing in our car. Also, the Otjiherero speaking soldier at the border post wanted to have a lengthy conversation with Moses. On our way through we picked up a passenger for Gobabis, 110 km away.

Once in Namibia I was surprised to see roads with no shoulders and no bus stops on the side of the ride for ‘hikers’ and others to pick up a ride. There was, however, lots of grass at the side of the road that had not been slashed. On either side of the road, as well, were very fine fences demarcating vast privately owned commercial farms. Welcome to Namibia! At THE Shell Service Station in Gobabis we met many Haimbodi family members who had been together on the farm and were waiting for our arrival. Also at the Shell Station we saw our first street children pleading for money or food; this is something one does not see in Botswana. By then it was getting quite late and it was time to finish the final leg of the journey to Windhoek. We had panoramic views on either side of us, such as I have not seen in Botswana. We watched a spectacular sunset that lit the sky with reds and blues, purples and pinks, yellows and blues. Finally, in the dark of night we arrived in Windhoek.