Arriving in Gaborone

We had a very funny booking that was the cheapest at the time (back in February), though was not very cheap: a United flight from Philadelphia to Dulles (made no sense) where we got our SAA flight to Johannesburg via Dakar and then on to Gaborone. We have not flown SAA for a while and we were, unfortunately, rather disappointed. We let some passengers off in Dakar and took on new ones but most of us stayed on the plane for more than an hour. (Question: what is that monument that overlooks Leopold Senghor International Airport?) Mave said she could see the outline of West Africa as we took off from Dakar in early morning – that was cool. Still, I think we agreed that an eight hour layover in Europe, when you can get out and walk around and get some decent food (and coffee!), is preferable to our quicker though more painful journey. We really did not eat anything for 24 hours and so were looking forward to the News Café at ORT International Airport in Johannesburg.

It took us a little more than 24 hours to get here and a little less than 24 hours to get settled in. At the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport – very much still under reconstruction - only two bags awaited us much to Mave’s dismay. But Avis was still open, waiting more than two hours to give us our hired Toyota Corolla. Our accommodations, a ‘cottage’ at Godi’s near Northside, are great. On Saturday we made five or six trips to Riverwalk Mall, to get our phones operating, get on the internet, do some shopping, have some food and drop off Mave for the evening teen scene extraordinaire and then of course back again to pick her up later! (And one trip to the airport where we retrieved the lost bag.) It is definitely winter time, most noticeable in the evening.

2011 Summer Research

In a couple of days Mave', Kuno and I will head back to Botswana for a few weeks of research. I have a small project that stems from my 2009 sabbatical research on women MPs, or the lack thereof, in Botswana. At the time I happened to interview Kgosigadi Mosadi Seboko ("a chief called woman"), paramount chief of the Balete, who made me think that her decision to assert her right to become chief, and her people's willingness to go along, was a symbolic representation effect of more women in political positions in Botswana. Thus with this project I would like to 'test' this hypothesis. Further I would like to determine to what extent women chiefs, who have emerged in small numbers since about 2000, substantively represent women's interests. (In the past women in Botswana have served as regents but not as chiefs.) There is a House of Chiefs in Botswana and currently three women sit in the HoC; in about 2005 the HoC was expanded to now include 35 members who become members in different ways: elected, selected and more. I am aware of three other women who have been members in the past decade or so. My goal is to interview all of these women and others who have been or are involved in their election or selection. That will take us to such farflung places as Maun, Ghanzi and Francistown, about which I am very excited. We leave for Gaborone on Thursday, July 28 from Philly traveling via Washington, DC, Dakar and Johannesburg and depart from Gabs on Monday, August 22 for the same return trip. So it will be a very busy and fun few weeks!