Mozambique

On October 10^th I went to Mozambique for a “weekend” trip. By weekend I mean we left on Wednesday afternoon. We were going to take a combi to Joburg, but we missed it, so we bought a bus ticket, but the bus was late, so we rented a combi along with some others and almost missed the bus form Joburg to Mozambique. There were some stressful moments as we arrived at the bus station, which were resolved by me running ahead of the group at full tilt through the bus terminal to stop the bus. Thankfully we made it, and took the bus overnight. Traveling by bus is different than plane in several ways. You get to see more of the countryside and interact with more of the local people on the bus, but you also have to cross more borders. It feels strange at first crossing 2 borders just for a weekend trip, compared to Canada where there aren't very many borders to cross. My visa collection is rapidly growing.

Streets of Maputo

We stayed in the capital city of Maputo, which is a (relatively) nice city. There are a lot of trees within the city, and it is situated right on the coast of the Indian ocean. The exchange rate is about $1 to 25 Metical, so I certainly felt rich, but also felt like things were expansive when being approached by the many VERY persistent street vendors. But because of the economy, the souvenirs and art were cheaper then other places so I did all (and then some...) of my souvenir shopping in Maputo. Because we were situated on the ocean, there is a popular (and of course smelly) fish market where you can buy fresh seafood and have someone cook it for you.

Fish Market

I was originally supposed to go up to Tofo with my friends but ended up having to stay in Maputo because I was leaving early due to school. After accidently riding a ferry to the wrong place, I spent the day touring the city, including a huge central market with hundreds of street vendors (at very tempting prices...too bad I was backpacking). There is also a lot of unique architecture that I got to see, including a train station, and a Steel House designed by Gustav Eiffel.

On my last day, I went out to Inhaca Island (pronounced inyaca), which is about 2 hours out at sea. I thouroughly enjoyed being out on the ocean, it was definitely the farthest I've travelled over the ocean. At the island, I spent some time on the beach and did some snorkeling, although the tide was out which made it more difficult and I did not see as much.

on Inhaca island, with the tide out

I returned to Gaborone late Sunday evening, one small adventure completed, and back to the familiar school environment. It always feels weird getting back to my residence, because it never really feels like home, just like some temporary place where I'm staying. I suppose because its true. My home away from home, until my next bloggable adventure...

Maputo from Catembe

Cape Town

Our semester week long break was from Sept. 26 – 30.

During the break I travelled to Cape Town, South Africa with a few friends. The travel time to get there by bus was 25 hours. Thankfully for most of the way (after our layover in Johannesburg) we were in a sleepliner (double decker), which was actually more comfortable than an economy airplane seat, so it was not so bad. The South African landscape is quite different than Botswana's, less dessert and more rolling hills with sparse shrubbery and such.

Cape Town is on the most southwestern point of Africa, and has a mountain in it called Table mountain. We hiked up the mountain, which took about 2 hours. It is called table mountain because it has a big flat top (upon which there is a restaurant and gift shop, along with a cable way, so not the most adventurous experience) We then took the cable car down the mountain.

top of Table Mountain, overlooking the Cape Peninsula and Atlantic ocean

I also abseiled partway down the mountain. The abseil was 112 meters, which is the tallest commercial abseil in the world. Abseiling is rappelling down a cliff where the person rappelling controls his own descent, and generally tries to bounce/jump out from the cliff. I can't say I jumped out from the cliff very far, because it was my first time and the whole experience was one of the most intense things I have ever done. Table mountain is over 1km high, and heights and climbing are definitely not my thing. Needless to say, while walking off of a cliff 1km in the air (actually while leaning back on a rope over the edge...) I was virtually scared out of my mind. But it was one of the coolest, exciting and best experiences ever!

Abseiling (yes, those are roads and houses way down there)

We also hiked “The Lion's Head”, a large rocky hill near table mountain.

on top of the "Lion's Head" (it did actually look like a lion's head from a distance)

We also did a tour of the peninsula, where we saw Southern Right Whales, South African Fur Seals, and African Penguins. We also did a bike ride for part of the trip through a kind of field wasteland area in the center of the Peninsula, and stopped at the most southwestern point of Africa.

South African Fur Seal Colony (unique because they're furry)

Cape of Good Hope, the most south western point of Africa

We toured the city and saw some museums, art gallery, the “Company Gardens” (previously owned by the Dutch East India Company), the Kirstenbosch gardens (one the greatest botanical gardens in the world), and did a wine tour at Groot Constatia. We also went on a tour of Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years, which was a unique historical experience.

Kirstenbosch Gardens

For the trip home, we took the train back. This turned out to be quite the excursion, as the South African train system is in need of some repairs. Riding the train was interesting, at least we got to walk around and go to the dining car. But we spent a significant amount of time waiting for various delays (power outage, traffic lights not working...), so much so that the 26 hour train ride became a 40 hour train ride! After which we missed our bus back, had to stay overnight in Joburg and then take an additional 6 hour bus ride to Gaborone. I think I'm ready to not travel for at least a little bit...

Around Gabs

It has been way to long since I've updated my blog.

Since going to the delta, I've spent a few of my weekends around Gaborone, including going to the National Museum and Art Gallery, several different churches, a political party youth meeting, a circus, and the Gaborone Game Reserve.

There were a lot of nasty baboons at the Reserve, they stole food right of the Braai ('African' for barbeque). So we were always chasing them away, and I managed to hit one on the head when he had his paws in the braai.

I had an opportunity to go to the university vice chancellor inauguration, during which I saw the President of Botswana (who arrived late in a... fancy Land Rover, of course). One interesting difference in the culture here is when the ladies make a unique kind of cry (as in cheering) that involves wagging the tongue side to side in a very rapid fashion...difficult to describe, and difficult to keep a straight face when I first heard it as well.

I also went to a football (soccer) game with my friend Solomon, where we were representing the Mochudi Center Chiefs. They definitely love their soccer, as was demonstrated by sections of the fans dancing and singing songs (made up on the spot) at halftime. Just the fans themselves were entertaining, I'm not sure I followed the game too closely...but we won!

football game

I have also joined a club on campus, Tshwaraganang Charitable Society. Their primary goal is fundraising to build a house in December, however Sept. 17^th we went to Gabane Homebased Care, where we made a donation to the school there, did presentations for the kids and played with them. It was really cool to see how the children play, always with lots of song and dance in their group games.

volunteering at Gabane Home based Care

And in honour of two special friends, I really must close this blog post with the following image:

Purple trees on campus

This blog post covers about a month of time, during which I did the above on weekends, but of course spent the bulk of my time at school. But stay tuned for my next trip...

Okavango

Dumelang! Leina lame ke Tumelo. Ke nna kwa Botswana mo Gaborone.

Hi everyone! This past weekend I went to the Okavango Delta, which is the largest inland delta in the world. The delta is supplied by the Okavango river flowing through Angola. Because it is in the rural northern area of the country, I am currently on anti-malarial pills as a preventative measure. However there were almost no bugs because it is still winter time, which was nice. There was six of us, and we took the bus up. We saw a lot of salt pans and the parts of the Kalahari desert. It was a 10 hour ride and we left 5:30 am on Friday from the bus station. We stayed at Old Bridge Backpackers, which was a very nice little lodge next to a river in Maun, where we rented tents.

On Saturday we went on an all day boat cruise of the delta. It was just us and a guide in the boat, and it was unlike any boating experience I've ever been on.

cruising along a path in the Delta

 To me the delta was basically like a river in the shape of a swamp. The water is very clean and we could see the clean, sandy bottom (usually less than 6 feet deep) the whole time. It is a massive expanse of reeds and grass, with little pathways going through it. There are many trees around, including palm trees, and we saw many birds.

For animals, we saw quite a few elephants and giraffes. It was very exciting to know that we were truly in the middle of the wilderness and seeing these wild animals at such close proximity.

Really close to a wild elephant. This is a young male.

Along the delta. Can you see the giraffes?

We stopped on an island in the Moremi national park for lunch and also went for a hike. Our guide showed us a lot of things about the plants and animals there. The Okavango was a truly incredible place to see.

A Strangler fig tree. It starts growing on another tree and eventually strangles its host tree with its roots which descend down to the soil.

The next day, we went to a basket weaving workshop. We spent about 3 hours weaving reeds, and I ended up with a little 2 inch circle...it is definitely a lot of work. I think I will use it as a beverage coaster. Our weaving teacher also gave us Setswana names. Mine is ‘Tomela’, as you can see in the sentence at the top of this post.

basket weaving

Then it was back on the bus for a 10 hour ride back to Gaborone. I was impressed with the quality of the roads, most of it was smoother than my hometown, and with a speed limit of 120 km/h on the non-divided highways. The bus driver frequently had to slow down and honk for animals on the road, including cows, donkeys and goats. This trip was a short weekend, but was certainly a worthwhile trip.

As you can see at the top of this post, I have been progressing in my Setswana class some. The introduction at the beginning means “Hello! My name is Aaron. I live in Gaborone, Botswana.”
This week I also went to a Young Adults group. The worship style was definitely an excellent cultural experience. It was vocal only, with everyone standing in a semi circle. The musical style was distinctly African with someone singing out and the rest responding, along with a lot of syncopated clapping. People would take turns going to the front and leading dancing as well. Not exactly easy to follow along with, but I really enjoyed it.

the Delta

Cultural Excursion

This past week I have settled into my classes, things are finally getting pretty regular. During the week I have been focusing on schoolwork, and hanging out with friends.

This weekend we went on a Cultural Excursion planned by the International Office. We left Saturday morning and drove for a few hours. This was my first time really seeing the countryside up close, and it was very cool to see all the flatlands and hills. There are many cows, goats and donkeys around the countryside and by the sides of the roads. (the bus driver used his horn numerous time throughout our travels)

view from the rock paintings

We went to a village and had a tour, including of their open air courthouse. We learned about wedding ceremonies. One of the traditions is that the groom gives a ‘bogadi’ to the bride’s parents, which is usually a certain amount of cows. The man standing on the right is the 'kgosi', or main chief.

the village courthouse

We also stopped at the Manyana rock paintings, which are about 2000 years old. They were very faded, but amazing to think that they are actually that old.

can you see the antelope?

some giraffes

The Livingstone tree

Livingstone was a doctor and missionary who did his work under this tree (along with many others) He worked under this tree in the 1850s, which means that the tree was already big at that time. It is a fig tree and is amazingly big and sprawling.

We spent the night at Bahurutshe Cultural Village. The people there showed us (and let us try) some traditional dances and ways of preparing food. It was cools seeing their traditional dress and dwellings.

the villagers preparing to show us a dance

On Sunday we went to Mokolodi Nature Reserve for a game drive. The landscape was mainly sparsely wooded savannah, and we were able to see quite a few animals.

I am thoroughly enjoying being able to go out and see and experience all of these cool things in between my classes here. Next weekend we are planning to go to the Okavango Delta, which is the worlds largest inland delta. Stay tuned!

view from just outside the village

back to school

I am back in school again. Well sort of…it seems the norm here is that the professors might show up for a class or two for the first week. I slept through my alarm on the first day, but it was okay because the professor did not show up for class. kind of annoying, but at least it lets us students gradually adjust to sitting in class again. My courses are Software Engineering, Computer Organization, File Systems, Linear Algebra and Setswana for Beginners. It turns out that I originally was registered for some classes that did not exist, so I had to do some work to get them all sorted out. Class structure has been pretty much the same as in Canada, my classes are a little bigger because it is a bigger university. My language course has probably been the most challenging course so far, it is difficult to remember all these different words.

Most of the week is pretty regular, things are settling into a bit of routine with class going on, not too much extraordinary goes on. I have taken the time to take some pictures of around campus.

 

these trees were purple according to google earth...apparently not right now

a prickly tree at the entrance to my dorm

I have walked to some of the nearby malls to do some shopping. There are some Americanized malls that feel like home, but there are also some market style areas as well. There are often people who will approach me just to say hi, it seems like it’s a novelty to them sometimes. Things are cheaper here, but I’m trying not to buy very much stuff because I’ll never be able to bring it all with me. The exchange rate is about 6.5 pula for $1 Canadian, which is a little bit weird to think with when shopping.

the Riverwalk mall

combis on the street near Riverwalk mall

To get around town, the primary method of transport are combis. Combis are vans that hold up to 16 (crowded) people. It costs 3 pula per combi. They are owned by individual drivers and follow virtually undocumented routes around various parts of the city. Basically the only way to find your way around is to ask people for help.

riding a full combi

I have been getting to know the other exchange students better, along with some of the local students who have been hanging out with us. We went out to a braii, which as a barbeque party. We basically had only meat for dinner and hung out, it was a lot of fun. People are friendly and fun to be with, although there is usually a bit of a communication barrier with how the Batswana speak English. I have also met some Christians around campus and have been getting to know them as well.

On Saturday, some of us went on a hike up Kgale Hill. It was a pretty big hike, especially near the top where it got really steep. It was a very nice view, we could see around the whole city and a lot of the surrounding countryside. There were some communications towers up there, along with this sign:

we're 6085 km from Cairo

My profile picture is currently taken up on this hill, along with the background picture for this blog.

My accommodations are in a double-room dorm block nicknamed Las Vegas. It has a nice bricked courtyard, and the rooms are pretty nice as well. There are 10 students per floor who share a washroom. Unfortunately there are no kitchens in any of the dorms, so we have to eat in the 'refectory' (cafeterias) most of the time. My roommate's name is Comfort, he is a local student who is studying physics.

hanging with roommate Comfort (next to me) and his friends

in front of my dorm

the first week

I love travelling - I enjoy the getting there part just as much as being there. My first flight was on Monday evening from Toronto to Amsterdam, a 3 hour layover, then off to Johannesburg, South Africa. The 10.5 hour flight was during the day and I had a window seat. It was quite the view crossing the beautiful Mediterranean and coming over the coast of Northern Africa and the Sahara with fairly clear skies.

Northern coast of Africa

Africa is amazingly brown!

After clearing the clouds I got to enjoy an excellent sunset as well.

I had a cold overnight layover in the Joburg airport, because I lost my sweater and jacket in Amsterdam. It is winter time right now, and the nights go down to about 5° C, and the afternoons go up to around 20-25° C. (Don't feel jealous about the weather just yet, apparently it has been colder then usual here) We actually were delayed because of ice on the plane’s wings. It was a short one hour hop on Wednesday morning over to Gaborone, Botswana, with a great view of the once again brown countryside.

Upon arrival I found out that my suitcase was not there. Our student guide Kevin picked me up and brought me to the University. 40 some hours after leaving home with almost no sleep and I was finally there! In the evening we went back to the airport and thankfully my suitcase was there. I spent the day getting to know some of the other international students and registering for courses. There are at least 60 exchange students here (Botswana is a popular destination), of which many are American so I do not feel too far from my own culture when I am with them. I am the only Canadian here, and it is interesting hearing all of the American and Setswana (the language) accents. Apparently I have an accent as well, and sometimes get a few chuckles when I say ‘aboot’ and ‘Eh!’

Over the next 2 days we went through orientation at the university. We also had a brief tour of the city, including the government grounds (very nice but no pictures allowed), and a monument of Khama III, Bathoen and Sebele.

  

They were leaders who appealed to Britain for protection of the Bechuanaland protectorate in 1885; Botswana gained independence in 1966. The countryside is very brown now (it is the dry season), and there are plenty of different looking plants and trees. We also had a tour of the university, which is very nice with many different buildings close together, and a lot of covered walkways going in between them. There are about 15,000 students (a little bigger than Laurentian, my home university), and it is sort of like a maze around campus in some places.

On Friday, we went out for a traditional meal in a field just outside of town. We ate around a campfire and had goat, Phalatshe (corn meal) and Mopani worms.

trying a mopani worm

 I unfortunately did not do very well with the worms, but I managed to eat half of one. The taste was not bad (salty), but the texture and crunchiness was a little too much for me. The food at the university is pretty good, and they eat a lot of meat. There is usually rice, pasta or Phalatshe with chicken or beef, and some (not very much) vegetables. Unfortunately there is not too much variation from this, but I am happy with it so far. They also eat a lot of ‘fat cakes’, which are deep fried balls of sweet dough. They are very good on their own, or can be dipped in meat or sauce.

On Sunday, I walked to a fairly big church called the Universal Church. It is close to the university and is very nice. It was cool to see a different style of worship. I am looking forward to going to a few different churches here as well and experiencing the different bodies of believers here.
One thing that is different out on the streets is that the traffic drives on the left hand side, which is very strange to see when you are not used to it. It also takes a lot of getting used to, especially looking to the right when starting to cross the road. After a close call or two, I started looking both ways just in case I forgot which way the traffic would come from, but now I am getting used to it. It will be interesting to see what going back to right hand side traffic will be like.

I have been getting settled in here, and getting a little bit used to some things that are different, including often having cold showers, and chilly evenings and mornings because the buildings are not heated. There is also a lot of time spent waiting for pretty much anything, whether for food or getting paperwork done. This is definitely the place to be if you need to develop some patience, but I am getting used to it. Next week I start school, and I’m looking forward to what it will be like...but not so much the studying part :-).

just outside of my room