“Would you rather?” is an informal game to play on long road trips in the car. You provide two scenarios, asking which the group would rather do and the group discusses the options. After the next two years I’m going to have a whole new set of “Would you rather” statements to play with. Would you rather bathe twice a day or bathe every five days for the rest of your life? Last night a kind gentleman drove around the neighborhood with a megaphone relaying that there would be no water today or the day after. And so I start my long stretch of not washing my hair. By Sunday I’m sure there will be bugs crawling next to my ears and at the base of my scalp. Would you rather have bugs crawling in your hair or learn and accomplish how to bucket bathe? I could play this game forever, but it looks like I’m going to be innovative and learn how to bathe with a bucket, something Batswana wouldn’t consider innovative but instead a staple skill when living in Botswana.
I woke up periodically throughout the morning because my mom and dad were talking loudly in the living room starting around 5am. There were a few reasons why this doesn’t make sense. First, my host parents have a separate little house with their own living room to talk loudly in. Second, it’s 5 o’clock in the morning! What could you possibly talk about that early? I left my room at 6am because I desperately had to use the bathroom. Right as I was walking out of my room, Mme passed by me and told me to go outside and get water off the fire to take my bath. So much for getting a few extra minutes of sleep. Still sleepy eyed I grabbed my bucket and gathered some hot water so I could take a pathetic excuse for a bath in the frigid morning.
Instead of Setswana lessons this morning we gathered at a local Kgotla where we would meet the various Kgosi of our respective wards. A Kgotla is similar to a town hall and a Kgosi is a chief. The Kgotla is used as a community gathering place, place for councilors to relay community information, a social service venue, platform where community development projects are discussed, a court where one can settle civil disputes, and it provides the community with security. The Kgosi is challenged with overseeing the land, bringing people together to unify the community, and to encourage development. The Kgotla is an integral part of the community and a great place to go when proposing an idea or simply to access various community resources.
The Kgotla is a formal setting where women are required to wear dresses or skirts and cover their hair. During the informal meeting and introductions, a woman, who was not wearing a head scarf, began asking a question. One of the Kgosi asked her to leave and only return when she had a head covering. Our group was allowed to have their hair covered, but I was surprised by this strict enforcement of dress code. I will be curious to continue observing the role of the Kgotla and Kgosi as my stay in Serowe continues.
The rest of my day was filled with elementary medical and security trainings. Mme Chiliwa left for Gaborone today and Mr. Chiliwa will be gone working until next Friday. Until Mme returns Sunday night I will be home alone with the girls. There is still a level of awkwardness around my new sisters, so I locked myself in my room, ate copious amounts of peanut butter on an apple for dinner, and crashed. I’ve been in Serowe less than a week and I am almost through an entire jar of peanut butter.
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