Dumelang!!

Posted by Larissa Duma on February 12th, 2010

Dumelang!!

I have been in Botswana for just over a month now and things have been great! I was in Gaborone for two weeks (instead of one due to flight delays in London with some of the rest of the short term WUSC volunteers) and then headed up to Maun where I am currently in my placement!

Things are great in Maun and I am undeniably happy to be out of the city of Gaborone.. just because I am not a city person and Maun is just that much smaller. Just as a recap, I am working for Botswana Predator Conservation Trust and things have been going great here! I am lucky to have my placement here at a really exciting time, as I am able to contribute to and actually see change happen with the organization as I develop and implement new curriculum and watch more of the conservation centre I am working at be built up! With my past work experiences I have been able to re-create old activities into fun and relevant ones for here and have enjoyed the freedom I have been given to do so! Although this didn’t come without a slow start. Life out here took a bit of time to get going.. with the extra week in Gaborone leading to a slow start to familiarizing myself with the community of Maun and new approaches, that match my placements mandates, towards effective environmental education practices here, however I think I am making some good ground.

I am continually surprised at how developed Botswana is in so many ways and yet how traditional some of the family settings and gender roles are! The contrast is quite fascinating!

Otherwise, life with my host family is AMAZING!! This is by far the best host family experience I have ever had and I am great-full that it all worked out in the end. I ended up arriving in Maun to find out that my original home stay was no longer, and was ‘homeless’ in Maun for a week while I lived with a lovely long-term volunteer family and searched for places to live! Stumbling upon my add at the school I work at, my host mom Crunch called up my supervisor right away and offered me a place to stay! The house I am in is sooo new it has no furniture in it. I have a bed and wardrobe (because they are built into the walls here) but other than that their is no furniture in the living room/kitchen and we all enjoy sitting on the floor, which is just fine with me! The very first night I moved in the power went out and I bonded with my new family over candle light while reading a book to my host sister Ratang (who is 5 years old) before she went off to bed! I am starting to get really involved with the local community by now and am making lots of friends and spending lots of time out and about, which is nice.

Long story short, all is very well in Maun and I have been pleased with the placement so far!

Cheers!

Posted in SWB