so jsut as a little update…

I have been spending my mornings in the SOS kindergarten, helping teach classes and pretty much helping out wherever i can.

my computer classes with the kids are interesting as usual. they dont always show up but we make the best of it! during one of the classes i was showing a group of 10 year olds how to do capital letters and made them type words that would start with them. one of the kids kept on forgetting and everytime i pointed it out he would make an, “oh jeesh”
noise, do the sign on the cross and really concentrate so he could get it right. it was so cute! and during the craft classes i have been doing braclet making and oh my god, kids LOVE beads. the first pattern they would want to make for their braclets is the colours from the botswana flag, black, blue and white (i made one too!) then the black ran out so it was blue and white for a while. but a few kids just wanted to make bracelts with the flag colours of south africa. i tried to suggest doing a canadian one, but red and white wasnt too appealing…

OH and i had the most amazing afternoon in the library last friday. I decided that i wasn’t going to try to organize books that day, i was just going to hang out with the kids that came in. Soon enough i had a book given to me to read to the little group, it was sleeping beauty, and although i still cant pronounce the evil witch’s name…
they loved it. during my reading a couple of the girls were playing with my hair and asked me if it was real. i told them it was mine and they freaked out! and that made them touch it even more. after that reading i got the kids to read to me and they read more then a few, they were so good at it!! it was nice

so last friday night i took the overnight train to Gabs to do some visiting. and the train was SO COOL. i paid the $17 canadian to geta second class ticket and i was whisked away into a compartment that you see on the hogwarts express. it was so cool! and yes, of course i took pictures inside. the ride was pretty good, but then it arrived at 5:30 in the morning. way to early. haha… im sticking with the bus next time. a bunch of volunteers met for breakfast, where i got to top my own bagel and eat way too much! mmm…

This week i had a visit from my WUSC supervisor. she stayed in Francistown for part of the week to check on how everything was going up here. while she was here i decided to show off my Motswana cooking skills and make her dinner one night. well she obviously helped me out ALOT but it was fun! and i got to eat chakalaka again! Oh and i learned how to make scones today in the kindergarten! sweet!

ummm thats pretty much it i guess! today has been crazy because tomorrow is the once a year, international SOS day. so there was alot of preperation today. i have never seen more coleslaw in my entire life. and kids of all ages were busy setting up and cleaning and everything, it was amazing to see everyone do a piece of the work, they are all so excited for tomorrow. OH and the village bought an entire cow for the celebration!!!

time for the random pieces of info…

i have been eating so much beetroot lately that im worried my teeth will turn pink.

i’m never handwashing clothes with hot water again, my hands were sore and red for a while after that decision.

i love counting change here. the denominations for coins are different here and it still throws me off sometimes. they have a 0.05, 0.10, 0.25, 0.50, 1.00, 2.00, 5.00. all in coins!!

at least four different people have tried to marry me off

i saw fatcakes being made today and they are pretty much exactly the same as malasadas, but their not stretched out before theyre fried, and have no sugary coating

the mornings have been so deathly cold lately!! i didn’t bring enough sweaters for weather like this!!!

i’m glad to say that canada is not the only country where part of their police force patrols the streets on bicycles and horses!!

anyways, i hope everything is going well at home! i will be back there soon!

brittany

i have now been here for almost 3 weeks and have already seen and done so much! below is a few interesting thigns!

During my week of orientation i have seen most of Gaberone. The group i was with did alot of things! we saw a traditional dance group, learned some setswana, went on a mini safari, went to a traditional village and ate their amazing food. we listened to many speakers from different NGOs all over Botswana, we listened to one woman speak about how she was learning to live with HIV (she was so strong and comfortable with herself it was amazing) i have been shopping in downtown outdoor markets as well has huge malls, they have 3 in Gaberone alne! The outdoor markets are the best though, they have the most interesting, well everything, from home decor to beans to oranges to earrings. Even in a big city like Gaberone people are so friendly, people passing bye will jsut say hello to be friendly, its nice! Its a really big community here as well, everyone seems to know everyone, at red lights people are talking to the car they happened to stop next to, i dont know if they actually know each other or not, but i think its cool!

Anywho, i arrived in Francistown on Monday morning (after a 5 hour bus ride, with setswana gospel music playing really LOUD the entire time!) and went to the place i will be spending the rest of my time! the SOS childrens village is really a nice place, and my little houseis nice too! i have breakfast and lunch in the kindergarten, but i have started to make my own dinners… and well, i will get used to it but its not that much fun! and there are no washing machines so tomorrow my task of the day is to handwash my clothes!

Other than the kindergarten i have been working in the village. The craft classes will start this monday, but there are also other projects that i will hopefully compete while im here. (organization of the SOS library, starting a boy/girl scouts group

anywho thats pretty much it for work stuff but i have a few random things that i thought were interesting…

instead of saying excuse me, people say sorry. it gets me confused sometimes.

there is a store up the street from SOS and its called “the hyper store” and its exactly like costco!!

there is a little tiny lizard living on the wall of by bedroom.

people literally sleep during their lunch breaks. once i came back early from lunch and went to the main office only to find the secretary sleeping on the chair!

Also, there is alot of boys wearing girls clothes and visa versa, and in little kids i can see them getting away with it, because they probably wont notice those things. But i noticed, during a youth study group that i go to, that there are 2 boys and 1 girl all wearing the same jacket, which is clearly a girls jacket. But no one seems to care, its just a jacket that will keep you warm!

anyways, this email is probably long enough lol.. but jsut so you guys know, email me back! i would love to hear from all of you!!… send me random messages, its nice to get news from home! i only get internet access every sat. morning, so it may take me a while to reply but i will!!

i miss you all tons and tons and i hope you are all having a good and safe summer!!!

My name is Brittany Medeiros and this summer I will be volunteering in the SOS Children’s Village association in Francistown, Botswana.  I am just finishing my 3^rd year of schooling at the University of
Waterloo, in the History and Business, Co-op program. I chose to participate in WUSC’s SWB international placement becauseI want to directly learn about ‘the other’ so often emphasized in the classroom.  This program will give me a chance to experience a way of life that I will otherwise never know about.   I will also have a better understanding of international development and the inner workings of a successful NGO.  I hope that with this experience I will have a better view of the world and how to affect change within it!