Five o’clock in the morning I get a call from Job and fifteen minutes later a text form my dad. Do my family and friends have no idea what time it is in Botswana? I couldn’t go back to sleep, so I read and caught up on some writing until it was time to start my morning routine at 6am.
As I left the house my mom reminds me that she will be gone until Friday and I will be in charge of the house. As the oldest child it would be my responsibility to ensure that my dad gets dinner and to pack his lunch for the following day. In reality, Princess would help me and likely do most, if not all, of the preparations for my dad, but it was still a daunting thought that I would be in charge. It’s interesting that the man traditionally runs the household, but it’s the mom that is the glue that holds everything together. Without her there would be no food on the table, in our lunch pails, or in the fridge; there would be dirty dishes and laundry stacked to the ceiling. The many tasks my mom completes around the house is what keeps it standing.
Today we had a more extensive session on global health as well as part two of our intercultural behaviors and values training. During the global health session we differentiated communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases, and population based and other challenges. The top three infectious disease killers globally are HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. The HIV/AIDS health statistics were alarming, as usual, and I was surprised by the co-occurring diseases (like tuberculosis) that make one more susceptible to contracting HIV. Seeing the sheer number of people affected by these diseases made my work even more meaningful.
After part two of intercultural behaviors and values we were given “healthy outlets” time. I traveled to the post office to mail my three reply messages and a letter to Sam. Healthy outlets is a free hour of time at the end of the day, once per week. It is also the only chance we have to travel to government offices that close at 4:30pm everyday, particularly the post office. I was incredibly confused by the post office line, or lack thereof. There was a line of benches in the middle of the room which I was told was the line to see a teller where I would need to buy stamps. There was then another row of benches lining the back of the room which I still have no idea of their purpose. The benches were full, so I stood behind a man who appeared to be in line. As the line shifted forward, another bench full of people off to the side jumped into the middle line. Once I went to sit at the newly identified bench line, a group of men jumped in front of me and stood where I previously was. I was thoroughly confused at this point and just wanted a simple stamp. Before I knew it, another woman was coming up to me, telling me to take her place in line, meaning I would be cutting at least five other people. I insisted that I was fine waiting in line, but she persisted. I’m not quite sure the rules of lines, cuts, tradesies, and saving spaces, but I was happy to progress towards the front.
I had my letters and money in hand thinking it would be as simple as buying a sheet of stamps and being on my way. When the lady behind the counter stated this would be around 150 pula I was discombobulated and had to reassess what I actually needed. It’s not as simple as in the United States. The lady was trying to sell me a sheet of at least fifty stamps. I instead bought stamps for my four letters and then enough to send five more letters without having to go through that dreadful line. I still ended up spending nearly four days worth of my walk around allowance on postage, but if it puts a smile on the face of my loved ones then it will be well worth it.
After walking back to the school and using the internet, it was nearly dark. I walked home as the unlit footpaths developed into complete darkness. I now understand why we are supposed to be home by dark with the unknown people and animals running around that are undistinguishable in the blackness.
Like I had predicted, Princess was busy making dinner once I got home and refused my help. I studied, ate dinner, and decided to wash dishes and clean the kitchen as my contribution to the household. This was probably the cleanest all the dishes have been since their purchase. I utilized my new washing techniques of conserving water while being overly generous with my soap contribution.
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