Dumela!!!

This is an old post that I had hoped to post way back when I first arrived, but unfortunately I was unable to. So here it is...
Dumelang!!!

After a whirlwind of traveling, I am glad to say I have safely arrived in Botswana!! I am currently staying at the Big 5 Lodge in Gaborone (which I have now learned is pronounced Hab-o-ron-eh). It is a very nice lodge, in which we have had access to internet, wonderfully cooked meals, and electricity. Clearly, Im “roughing” it in the Peace Corps (PC)…But don’t you worry, that will most likely come to an end on Friday!

Just a quick recap of the weekend events before I dive into details about pre-service training(PST). On Saturday, April 10th I left from National Airport to Philadelphia in the morning, and got myself to the Holiday Inn downtown. We had “staging,” which consisted mostly of turning in paperwork, going over PC goals and expectations, and our own anxieties and expectations. After dealing with room situations (we didn’t get into our room until like 8:30pm after being double booked), a bunch of us set off for our last dinner, in which I had my first Philly cheese steak. I stayed up, since we had to be back downstairs to board the bus at 1:45am. We took a bus from Philly to JFK and got there around 5:30am, where we had to wait till 7:30am to check-in. Finally, we were able to pass through security and waited to board our plane, which took off at 11:15am. We arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa and proceeded to have an 8 hour layover, before finally reaching Gaborone around 5:30pm (their time) Monday. We were all ushered to the lodge and found many staff members and dinner waiting for us!

PST started first thing the next morning-breakfast was served around 7am, and orientation started at 8am. Our “orientation” this week has consisted of basic language training, cultural aspects, and information about homestay. I was able to get a basic cell phone-and it is my understanding that any incoming calls or texts are free for me (which means you’ll be paying the international fees). I found out that I will have 2 numbers: One for the Mascom service and one for the Orange service. Apparently Orange is better-so here is my number: 01126772628397. I would most likely be able to receive a call after 5pm(but probably more like between 6-8pm my time-or between 12-2pm your time).

So far this week, we have learned that the Botswana people are very nice and find greetings to be VERY important. They greet-say hello and how was your day-to just about everyone. They do not pass everyone by, as it is a form of disrespect. We have been told that if you pass someone by, and later find out you need to go back to them, they will not be happy and will most likely not help you, unless you say sorry a lot. (For example-passing a security guard without greeting them, but then finding out you need their assistance for directions).
The Setswana language is very interesting, and so far I seem to be doing well….but we’ll see how much I actually retain. I think the main difference is that they are big on tones-and it is very hard for me to tell the distinction. I would describe how the different letters sound-but most of my notes consist of interpretations like “hawking sound”. I also find the consonant combinations hard (for example: tl-sounds like the “cl” in click) However, I have learned a few phrases:
Dumela rra/mma-(do-meh-la (rolling r)raa/mm-ma) Hello Sir/madam
O tsogile jang?- (O-so-he-le-jahn) How did you sleep last night?
Ke tsogile sentle.-(K-so-he-leh-sen-cle) I slept well.
Ke bidiwa…- (k-be-de-wa) My name is

We will be at the lodge until Friday morning, and then we are transported to Molepolole, where we will meet our HomeStay families. We will then stay with these families for 8.5 weeks, during which we are still under the PST-and will be learning more of the language, cultural aspects, and HIV/AIDS basics.

We just had a dinner with the US ambassador, and at the end of it, we actually found out our lodge was the set for a music video by a popular artist here. Her name was Slitsha (not sure about the spelling but pronounced “sli-tzah”). And they tried to get us into the music video-but unfortunately since we are representing the Peace Corps and US, we were unable since we weren’t sure what the video was about or what kind of edits would actually be made. But overall, it was pretty cool to see them shooting the video.

I hope all is well with you and I probably won’t be able to send another email for about 8-9 weeks. ..but then again who knows!
Love you and miss you all lots!!!