Culture Shock and Cold Weather

I have now officially been here in Botswana for about a week and I have to say, it is quite different from what I expected, yet completely does not surprise me. Many Batswana are very nice, polite, and helpful as all the travel books and websites claim. Others, though, are not so nice. I suppose its like the opposite of New York where the preconceived notion is that all New Yorkers are very rude--many are, but some are quite decent and polite people.

Here is a view of campus from my dorm (called "hostels" here). Starting from the right, you can see the refectory (dining hall), laundry station, and the student center. Also in the background is the stadium. Farther back is most of the rest of campus. Our dorms are on the very edge.

This is the overview of my dorm's courtyard. The official name is block 480, but everyone calls these dorms "Las Vegas" because they think it has everything good: hot water, internet, etc. I think they are newer dorms, too, than the rest of the undergraduate dorms.

This is my common room in my dorm. I do not have a picture of my actual room yet because its really messy--I have not quite settled in just yet.

One of the first things a person reading about Botswana should know is that this country is doing much better than most other parts of Africa. Violent crime is fairly low, especially compared to South Africa, though theft is fairly common. Gaborone especially is the most developed city in Botswana, being the capital and hub of trade in the country. The population of the city is only about 200,000 people in a country of about 1.2 million. There are few tall buildings to be found in the city, besides near the Parliament building, so it has more the feel of extended suburbs. The diamond industry, which is both government and privately owned, generates most of the income of the country. The government is very socially progressive, supporting extensive social welfare programs with the income from the diamond trade. Since the recession in 2008, diamond sales are down by almost 90%, which has left the government in debt. Some people are concerned that the government will not long be able to support all of these programs. For more about the basic facts of Botswana, check out the State Department's country profile: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1830.htm

All of the people from the international education office keep telling us to be careful, don't walk around alone at night or alone anytime off campus; be careful with your belongings because people will steal from you in a heartbeat; be careful with who you bring into your room because they might just be making friends with you to rob you; and don't answer your door if you don't recognize the person's voice because they might be there to knock you out and rob you. Then on the other hand, we are told that Batswana are friendly and honest people, so we should feel free to go up to them and chat; we should avoid always hanging out with other Americans and international students because we will miss a lot of the culture. These two opposing pieces of advice really have me confused because I want to make friends with Batswana, but everything that I am being told seems designed to make me distrust them. 


I am becoming close friends with my roommate now and she is one of my favorite people here so far. She is a dream to live with because she is quiet and considerate. Also she has been very helpful to me so far in learning how to get around the city, especially how to use the combie system. Combies are the main form of public transportation. They are white mini vans that are privately owned and opperated and run along specific routes in the city. You have to know which route goes by your particular destination and choose that van. Sometime, you have to switch combies at a certain place so you can go in the right direction. The fare for the combies are very reasonable, too, being only three pula per a ride, which amounts to less than fifty cents American. Everyone pays as they leave the van, dropping the coins into the driver's hand or passing it up to him via other passengers. I love riding in the combies for a few reasons. First, the international students from UB (University of Botswana) are virtually the only foreigners to ride them. Then, we also get to meet other Batswana from all over Gaborone.


If you know me, you probably know also that I love tea. So obviously, when I got here I had to set myself up with a tea station in a my room. This was a bit more complicated than I thought it would be because I had to search around Gaborone for an appropriate converter to use. The one I brought I thought did not work--that is, until my roommate told me I had to know the African trick of pushing down the third hole with a pen so that the other prongs would go in. So the converter I brought worked (because Botswana mostly uses UK plugs) but I still had to buy another one because my kettle used the round plugs that South Africa uses. Essentially, my appliances use three different plugs: European (for my cell phone), American (for my laptop), and South African (for my kettle). Everything is sorted out, now, but as you can see inspired the name of my blog. That, and there was alliteration, which I very much enjoy. It ties the title together (<--Yep, see?).

This here is my tea station.

And this here is my elaborate converter system!

One thing I did not expect is my dorm room not having heating. At night, it gets very cold here, almost to freezing. The first two nights were rough because we did not have a heater. Luckily, the blankets were very warm. The next night, I happily came back to the room to find it relatively toasty because my roommate brought a heater. It is a lifesaver here at night. I am the envy of the rest of the international students because most do not have them.

The beautiful heater, with its happy warm glow (makes me feel warm and fuzzy outside!).

There is so much more to say about the country so far, but I will save it for the next post. Classes have not really started yet either because the first week is the Add/Drop period and most students are still trying to figure out scheduling. Usually the first day, neither the students or the professor will show up for class. If they do, they pass out the syllabus and dismiss us. Next week, the classes will start more seriously, so I will have something substantial to say.