Elephants Crossing

On Thursday I had an appointment at the Department of Tribal Administration in the morning but we could not leave for Nata, en route to Maun, until around 2 pm when Leloba finished teaching. We knew that we were leaving late if the goal was to reach Nata by evening; indeed, the most optimistic scenario would put us into Nata around 8, four hours to Francistown and then two more to Nata, arriving in Francistown as it got dark and then driving in the dark to Nata.

Well, the drive on the A1 to Francistown was not bad; it is always a shame when already at Rasesa the four lanes become two and then all of the driving becomes about overtaking the mammoth lorries making their way from south to north (SA to Zambia or Zim) and slowing down to 80 km for each village along the way. Outside of the villages, the speed limit is 120 km per hour which is about what I was doing the whole way. Still I did manage to get a 500 pula speeding ticket in the way that everyone does in Botswana – by not slowing down fast enough when entering the next village. I was going 100 km in an 80 km zone. The police officer thought it was very funny that I am a professor.

Past Mahalapye and Palapye the traffic eased up a bit; the landscape changed – more sparsely populated and lots of Mopani trees – with lots of people selling the wood of the Mapani. We got to Francistown in the dark around 6:30 though it was well after that and a pit stop that we managed to get on the road to Nata.

At that point we might have been somewhat foolhardy. While we could have overnighted in Francistown we decided to push on to Nata. The road was the most narrow of two lane roads and seemed to drop off on either side. While there was not much traffic there was more than I would have liked, especially again the mammoth lorries. On the left where the road met the shoulder were inevitably deep potholes and on the right the trucks. And then of course the other nighttime driving worry: animals, in particular cattle. We found only one group in the road in front of us (black and grey to blend into the night) and for them we were given lots of warning from the drivers ahead of us. We found many groups grazing on the side of the road, enough to persuade me to slow down considerably. At Dukwi, home to a refugee camp and major truckstop, we were directed through a cattle dip; we had to wipe our shoes and then drive the car through. That was a first for me. Aside from some Kingfishers and Hornbills and hares (on the road to Francistown), we saw no other wildlife. We did, however, see an elephant crossing sign! There is apparently a herd around Nata, but that is more commonly encountered on the road out of Nata to Chobe.

Sparkling Pear Juice

And then there was peartiser…..first appletiser and then red and white grapetiser and now peartiser. But it is not selling in Botswana yet, only in SA. And so a can costs about 15 pula, at least twice what an apple or grapetiser would cost! Kuno found them at Delis when we went to the Craft Market in Broadhurst in search of gifts for the dikgosigadi. We found handbags locally crafted from German print cloth, blue and brown of course. I hope that they will be liked. Will also impart a book and my women mps article.

In the Garden

We have nice warm days though the evenings and early mornings are still quite chilly.

The garden where we are staying is lovely – full of cactus, in particular!

Mave and Kuno spend their mornings and sometimes afternoons at their respective schools, Maru a Pula and Thornhill, though they arrive only at the morning break, not at the start of the school day at 7. No one seems to mind in the slightest. I am then free (this week) to make appointments and arrangements for our first trip – to Maun and Ghanzi – to meet some of the women chiefs. Very excited!

Gaborone Roads Upgrade

A major project has been underway for some time to expand some of the most heavily trafficked roads in Gaborone – upgrading from single lanes in each direction to four lane thoroughfares. At the moment the road from town to Tlokweng and the Samora Machel which leads to Game City and Lobatse are under reconstruction. As all of the work takes place, roads are closed and for some reason robots (traffic lights) are out at many intersections. Yet drivers seem remarkably patient, even kombi drivers, taking turns to let each vehicle pass. I understand that people are seeing the benefits of the upgrades.

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!

Sala Sentle Gaborone!

We are so sad to have left Gaborone and Botswana and all of our friends there. But, finally our six months came to an end and we had to return to Delaware. Mave and Kuno went to school Monday and even Tuesday, the very day we left in the late afternoon. July 1 was President’s Day in Botswana so Thornhill was off for the rest of the week. Somehow that made it a little bit easier. Still the tears flowed with the final good-byes at school. Everyone wants to know when we will be back; everyone has exchanged email addresses. Things had been quite hectic in the last few weeks as we sold our car, took care of our utility accounts, did our gift shopping and figured out what to take and what to leave behind (and I did my last interviews). Mary and Bruce, Leloba and Mora helped us get ourselves and our things to the airport and at the airport we had final visits from other friends. Our travel home took us to Johannesburg (as does all air travel out of Gaborone), then an overnight up the continent to London. Here we sit at London Heathrow with our first Starbucks in six months, waiting for the flight back to Washington Dulles. We know we will be back to Botswana soon.