Gaborone

I have finally moved on to my second location--the Maru-a-Pula school in Gaborone, Botswana. Thanks to my wonderful contact at the school, Alport Mhlanga, they have me all set-up with a room in the boarding house, meals at the dining hall, etc. Now, this isn't the best arrangement sometimes, especially because it is very quiet in the "adult" area of the boarding complex, but I think it is still better (and cheaper) than finding a room on my own. Unfortunately, the dining hall doesn't cater to vegetarians... and they look at me a bit funny when I ask them if this or that dish has meat in it... but overall I think I'm happy with the arrangement. The only downside is that there aren't any cooking facilities available to me to supplement the dining hall fare, and the location of the school isn't convenient to any of the major commercial areas in Gaborone.

I've been sticking to campus for the most part since I arrived late on Tuesday night. This weekend will see me jumping right into Gabs, though, because it is actually a four-day weekend. That's a long time in a place you don't know at all! But the only scary bit are the combi taxis, which are similar to the minibuses in Cape Town. I'm not so intimidated of them as a form of transport, just that I don't know which route to take which direction, and I'm not so sure of myself with just jumping on. But I hope I'll figure it out this weekend--I certainly won't have much else to occupy me.

The weather has been a funny combination of hot and cold--the rain comes suddenly, without any warning, and just pours buckets of water. This is pretty unusual, I have been told, especially at this time of year, but it is nice because it makes everything nice and green. Apparently, this school campus hasn't seen so much green for ages! I am always impressed by plants that can survive in such harsh climates. And maybe I will also envy them in a few days if it gets seriously hot! I don't know how bad it gets, but I have been warned several times. The other problem with that is my wardrobe... I don't have too many nice teacher-y outfits for super hot weather.

I've gotten to see a bit of marimba so far, and I'm teaching some music classes to kids in grades 7 and 8. It will be interesting to see how my "professional" schedule shapes up over the next week or so! But the long weekend really puts a kink into that, because you can't establish a schedule when half the week is cancelled. Oh, well!

More updates next week, and hopefully some pictures as well. Wish me luck!