Homestay

Laying in bed on the first night at my homestay…I’m with a single mom named Monkie, (don’t know what her birth name was, but at least I can pronounce Monkie) who works at an HIV/AIDS testing and counseling center in the town of Mochundi…about an hour commute from the house. She has a fifteen-year-old son, Yao (yaw-oh), who is in 9th grade at a private school here in Gaborone. Monkie has hosted international students before...I think her first one was 11 years ago, but most of her students stayed only for the summer session...so 2 months.  I will be her longest!  My group’s director, Batsi, met Monkie through a friend when he came south to Botswana from Zimbabwe to escape the conflict. (In short, the president, Mugabe, had told the people he would collect the land from the very few upper class members who owned it all and then redistribute to the people, but he has failed to do the redistributing part. Although it is still going on today, it is less violent than when he left the country.) He had started an exchange program in Zimbabwe and brought it to Botswana when he came…I believe it was called the Pentzer program…but he is now with CIEE and has been running the Botswana program since 2000.

Anyway…back to my homestay…it was dark when she picked me up at the guest house we’ve been at, so I wasn’t able to see too much of the drive or the neighborhood, but from what I could tell and what Monkie and Batsi have told me, it is a very safe area. Besides the area being safe, her house has a gate around it with electric wiring on the top, as well as a remote-controlled front gate. My things are definitely safe in the house when everyone is gone…which is an issue for those students staying in the campus dorms. She has a helper around the house…named Gale (from the Setswana I know so far I think that’s how it would be spelled…but it is pronounced Hally), and she lives in a small guest house in the back. From the way I just described the place, you would think it would be a very nice, well-taken care of and spot-clean house. It’s hard to explain, and I don’t say these things to complain or be picky, but I just find it all so interesting: She has several very nice things…very nice couches, a large flatscreen tv, and wireless internet…but there are definitely some things that I didn’t expect! There is not a lot of organization or order to very much as cabinets and drawers are jampacked with numerous odds and ends; my bedding is composed of a flowered fitted sheet, a wool blanket, a beach-themed bedspread and pillow shams and an Indian decorative pillow on top; and there are several areas where paint is just falling off the wall (and ceiling)!!! It’s not bothering me or anything, but I just find it very interesting! I don’t think any other Motswana (one person from Botswana) would notice these things (or the several others I have not stated), but from my experiences, I couldn’t help but notice. There is no doubt some cultural differences here.

As for Monkie herself…she is a very welcoming, laid-back, and comfortable person. She talks to me like we’ve known each other for 5 years…whereas I’m still asking introductory questions about her commute to work, what her son likes to do, and what to do with my dirty laundry. Right before she showed me where thing are in the kitchen, I gave her a little gift I brought from Iowa, and, surprisingly to me, she didn’t say much at all when I gave it to her…just sort of set it on the counter while looking at her phone…but after explaining some things to me, she went back to it and was SO appreciative and excited to show Yao. When she didn’t say much at first I was offended, because she didn’t seem very grateful, but then when she went back for the gift and went through each thing I brought, I knew she liked it. Later, when I was unpacking some things, she comes in with a picture album of her son, pushes some things to the side of my bed, sits down and proceeds to show me Yao’s baby pictures. Back home, things just seem so much less informal…there are different mannerisms two strangers would do, with lots and lots more questions and details of house rules.

I know all of my experiences thus far have been with one Motswana, so by no means to I think all Batswana live and behave like Monkie, but she is definitely different than anyone I’ve met in the states, and I think I will learn a lot from her. I think I will learn to relax more around others, to be more welcoming to people, and also to slow my pace of life down. She says that on some weekends she will stay in bed for a whole day or two...every week, she is gone for work from 7-6 Monday through Friday, watching new victims of HIV be diagnosed and also hearing from each and every one about their emotional and physical struggles with the disease…it’s draining! I’m very excited to get to know Monkie better, and also excited to meet Yao and Gale.

Tomorrow morning is my first time to take a combi (comb-bee) by myself to school for the first day of our Univ of Botswana (UB) orientation. Combis are like really old white vans that each hold 15 people. Each combi has a specific route, which is known by the word and number on the front of the van, and picks up or drops off people at specific spots along the route. And each combi is somehow always FULLY occupied. The whole group of us, twelve people, took three of four of them today, but I didn’t get too comfortable with the system and never had to do any talking to the drivers, as we had two Batswana UB girls with us, who work for CIEE. I’ll have to take a total of four combis every day! Each ride is 2.7 pulas…totaling 10.8 pulus/day on transportation. 6.3 pulas are in a dollar, so I’ll spend less than $9 every week on transportation…really not too bad. I look forward to the day when I’m comfortable with this transportation system…I’m hoping this day will be next Friday…give myself a week to figure things out.