Hey everyone! A lot has happened since the last time I posted...

I'm now at Mashatu and it's amazing. I'm living in a small cabin (one room, two beds and a bathroom) on the property. I eat meals with the staff and guests and the food is INCREDIBLE. I can't even explain. I'm so lucky. I'm also spending a lot of time with the three researchers here. Mark works with the elephants, Dewald works with the wild dogs and Andrei works with the predators (predominantly big cats). All three of them are from South Africa.

Unfortunately, Mark left for SA on the 11th and won't return until the 23rd and, since I really wanted to work with elephants, that's a huge bummer. On the up side, I have been spending a lot of time with Dewald (who is also my next door neighbor) and Andrei. In fact, the other day, we caught a leopard. Yeah. That happened. SO COOL. Andrei came and knocked on my door and said "Hey Jess, wanna catch a leopard?" DUH.

So, we headed out to one of the bait sites that Andrei set and, sure enough, there was a mature male leopard in the cage. Andrei mixed the drugs for the dart and then tranquilized him. After he was down, Andrei, Dewald and I hopped out of the truck and pulled the leopard out of the cage. I helped (and took photos, as I was assigned picture duty) the boys take measurements (head, neck, paws, legs, testicles, length, weight, etc). Then, we each got photos taken with the cat before we put the tracking collar on.

After we were done, we had to hang around and wait for the drugs to wear off to be sure the leopard could walk on his own (if we had left him hyenas or some other predator might have taken advantage of his weakened state and attacked him). While we were waiting, a SECOND leopard showed up. This one was a female that was clearly in heat and wanted to mate with our drugged out male. Poor girl was clearly unsuccessful (and thoroughly displeased with his lack of attention).

Today, I went out on a game drive (my first since I've been here) and I've noticed the game drives here are quite different than they are on Chobe. In Chobe, there were animals at every turn- elephants, giraffes, etc- but it began to feel routine. Here, there will be nothing but a few impala and suddenly, we'll see something AMAZING. For example, on the drive today we saw a leopard. Now, I was thinking "I just CAUGHT a leopard the other day. This is cool, but not nearly as cool as that." Then all of a sudden, we see something run past and the leopard went after it. It turned out to be a very lucky African Wild Cat that managed to escape the leopard. Pretty cool. The leopard then climbed a tree and we hung around a bit taking photos. Then, we headed out and again, saw very little, UNTIL we came upon a female lion nursing her three four-month old cubs. I know, it doesn't even sound real. But it was real and it was SO CUTE. The cubs were all playing together and none of the lions payed any attention to us. The mother even walked up super close to our truck. Very exciting experience.

So, yeah. That's my life (pretty rough, eh?). Now, I've got to get some sleep as it is FAR past my usual bedtime here.

Hope all is well state-side!

-Jess

Hey all.

Sorry I haven't updated. Really, I have no excuse since I am now living in a home that has wifi. I'm currently living in Phakalane with the GREATEST family. Honestly this family could not be more different from my last.

I live with my mother, father, sister (31), brother (not sure how old... late 20s maybe), two nieces (6 and 13), one other man (not sure the relation) and our maid. It's a busy household but I love it. The 6 year old is ridiculously hyper and not the most well behaved child, but other than that, the family is one of the nicest families I have ever met. My host mother is the COOLEST. She is always offering to pick me up or take me places. She shows me off to her friends and she is even making me a traditional dress. On top of all of that, she has said she is going to put together a collection of traditional Botswana crafts for my mother and me. I'm the luckiest.

My 13 year old niece (we call her and my other niece my sisters), Amo, made me a sandwich the other day for me to take to school because she was concerned I wasn't eating enough. Super adorable.

I leave Phakalane this weekend and head to the far eastern part of Botswana to begin my DISP (Directed Independent Study Project). I'll be working on a private game reserved called Mashatu conducting field research on elephants (and perhaps on wild dogs and predators like lions and leopards as well... though I'm mainly interested in the elephants). I could not be more excited. This is exactly what I have been wanting to do and I'm so lucky I found an internship dealing with elephants.

I'll be at Mashatu for the next 4-5 weeks or so. Then, I come back to Gabs, write my report, present and then LEAVE BOTSWANA. Where has the time gone? It does not feel like we've been here for almost three months and I'm so sad that we only have less than 7 weeks left. I'm definitely going to return to Botswana some day.

I think that's all for now... I'm sorry these are so non-specific but I feel like that's all time allows for.

Until next time!

-Jess

So, talk about going out with a bang.

First of all, we literally had NO food in the house. My host mother is still in Gabs (yeah, didn't even come home, or call for that matter, to say goodbye to me... whatever) and we either have no money to buy food, or the other people in my house are too lazy to go buy food. We also have no milk for the baby and no toilet paper (or tissues, or napkins, or newspaper, or anything else that could be used as a substitue). So yeah.... that's a good time...

Last night was our last night in Mochudi and it was quite the experience. One of my friend's families threw a going away party for all of us, so I went to that last night. My 22 year old aunt, Esther, was supposed to babysit the kids. When I returned at 3:00 am (couldn't get a ride home for a while), Esther was not at home and Lebole (the 13 year old) was left alone with the 9 year old and the 1 year old. Turns out, Esther went to the bar. So, I took the baby from Lebole so he could get some sleep and brought him to bed with me. He woke up several times crying, but of course, we have no milk to give him so Lebole made some sugar water and put it in a bottle for him (is that a normal thing or is it as weird as I think it is?). Because of this, I only got about three hours of sleep before Anto was up for good.

Esther finally rolled up around 8:30 am, completely TRASHED and still holding a 75 mL Black Label. She then continued to drink the whole day. She even tried to give the baby beer (and would have succeeded if I hadn't stopped her. No one else seemed to care). She also spilled shake-shake (this DISGUSTING, thick, local beer stuff) all over my room. TWICE.

What the hell is with this family?? Let's just hope that my next homestay is better. Please, god, let it be better.

On an upside, the party last night was fun. One of our professors even showed up. There is nothing better than partying with a cool professor. What a fun night.

Now we're in Gabs staying at the Lolwapa Lodge for the night. Our host families will pick us up tomorrow morning.

I think I covered everything I wanted to say, but I must admit I"m doing this kind of fast because there is a line for the internet behind me.

Today is our last day in Mochudi. It went by unbelievably fast.

Yesterday was my final day at Stepping Stones (or, I should say, with the kids at Stepping Stones. Today I'm in Phakalane to finish up my work here). The drama program was a hit and will continue to happen even after I leave, which is great. The kids really seemed to like it and expressed that they were sad it was my last day. I'll really miss working with them. Three weeks is just enough time to get comfortable and get attached before you have to leave.

In Phakalane we finished creating the new curriculum (meaning we have at least one activity for every objective) and now we are just looking for activities to fill in some of the areas that seem a little depleted.

Ultimately, I think I'm going to miss Mochudi. My experience here was great, save for my host family (but I still think I'm going to miss them. Maybe not Marea so much, but definitely the kids and our maid.).

We leave tomorrow for Gabs around two and then we're staying the night at some hotel there (not sure which, yet). Then, Sunday, we meet our new host families.

I think that's all I have for now... just wanted to do a quick update, but now I have to get back to work.

Until next time!

In other news, I came home on Thursday and was told my host mother was in the hospital. She had been admitted for high blood pressure, was put on bed-rest and would likely not be back until after I left Mochudi. WHAAAT?! Turns out she was back today feeling just fine (she promptly asked me for P50 to go to Gabs).

I don't understand how the program thought it would be a good idea to let a student stay with a woman who is due to give birth before the student leaves. The last thing a family with a new baby needs is some student living with them. Her due date is October 19th. TOMORROW. I'm not supposed to leave Mochudi until Friday or Saturday. I just don't see how this was a good idea at all.

This weekend was great though because I spent a lot of time with my friends and not a lot of time at home. I think the kids at my house don't really like when I'm out, but to be honest, I've developed no real attachment to this family at all. Plus, when I'm home, I literally don't do anything. I sit in my room and read (I've read three books in the two weeks I've been here) because no one really talks to me. Then, when I'm trying to read, the kids are SO obnoxious. I figure I'm just going to have fun in Mochudi, whatever that means for me.


Last night I talked to some of my family from Manyana. I'm so glad I had such a wonderful family for my first home stay. They keep telling me how much they miss me and my brother expressed great concern when I told him I didn't really like my Mochudi family. The amount of love I feel from that family is overwhelming. I can't wait to go back and visit. I love the Mogomotsis.

Anyway, that's about it for now. Work is going well (I'll update more about that when I finish my internship). We leave Mochudi on Friday or Saturday and head to Gabs for our third (and potentially final) home stay. Let's hope I'm two for three on families.

More to come!

-Jess

So, I'm a third of the way through my time in Mochudi and I'm having a love/hate experience here.

My job is amazing. In the mornings (most mornings) I take a bus to a nearby village called Phakalane, which is literally the Beverly Hills of Botswana. Every house is huge and has a manicured lawn and whatnot. The house I work in has marble floors and a swimming pool. It certainly causes quiet the disconnect.

In Phakalane I'm working at the Stepping Stones director's house. They're in the process of creating a new program that will be implemented at Stepping Stones and then hopefully in similar programs all around the world. I'm helping them type up lesson plans and activities for this program. Then, in the afternoons, I head back to Mochudi and spend my time with the kids. I tutor and just hang out with them, but soon I will be starting a drama program. Hopefully I'll get the kids started on writing a short play that one of the other staff members can help with when I leave.

So, work is the love part of my relationship with Mochudi. My host family constitutes the other part (and hate is definitely too strong a word to use). My host mother doesn't really talk to me at all and she really likes to demand things from me. For example, yesterday I bought some snacks at the grocery store and had them in my purse. My purse was on the couch and my mom picks it up, goes through it, pulls out a piece of bread that I bought and says "Give me this." I said no, and she said "you can keep the other things. Give me this." and started to take the bread out of the bag. I told her she could have a piece, but that I wanted it. She took half of it, ate it, and then said she didn't like it. She also likes to ask for my phone to call someone because she has no airtime. I don't know. It's not the worst thing in the world, but I really just don't like to spend time in my house. I start to go crazy very quickly when I'm there.

Many of my friends are having a hard time in Mochudi as well. I think we're just at the point in our cultural adjustment where the culture and location stop being romanticized and become more real. It's definitely a transition period. But over all, my experience here is still highly positive.

That's all for now, I guess. More to come soon.

Mochudi is big. My life is hugely different now... to be determined if it's positive or negative...

My family here is quite different from my family in Manyana. I live with my 12 year old cousin (a boy named Lebole. I think that's his name...), my 8 year old sister Phomolo, my one year old brother Antonio (we call him Anto), and our maid Agatha (a friendly woman around my age from Zimbabwe). My mother is pregnant and due just before we're set to leave Mochudi. The house is small, but has running water and electricity. Living with little kids is very different. They are constantly going through my things (including my laptop, iPod and camera) and I'm trying to set some ground rules about asking before they take my things, or using them only when I'm around. We'll see how that works...

I share a room with my sister, and every night thus far, we've both slept in the same twin bed. The first night was by choice (hers, not mine), but every night since we've had guests and have been forced to share the bed. Thursday (the day after we arrived) was independence day and it was filled with partying. At 11:00 am, my mother walks in with two beers, hands one to me and says "it's independence! Let's drink". Yeah, my PREGNANT mother. An uncomfortable situation, to say the least. I spent the day riding around with my mother, Agatha, and two of my mother's male friends, Slim and Edwin (Edwin has become like a friend to me too.We exchanged numbers and he frequently checks in to make sure I'm doing okay), going to different stores and bottle shops. We picked up my friend Cameron and he hung with us the whole day. We were later dropped at Cameron's house and we went to find Ian, who lives next to Cam. The three of us then went to my house and started to prepare lunch for ourselves. All of a sudden, Agatha comes in and says she doesn't want to cook and tells us to cook for everyone. All 13 of them. A later head count came to 6 who would be eating. So, we made enough food for 6, and then, of course, everyone else arrived and didn't have food. After we ate, we picked up Karen and the four of us went to a bar with my family. We stayed there for a while and then Ian and Karen went to a braii in the masimo, that my mother would not let me go to. She was convinced I was going to be killed in a sacrificial murder. Instead, Cameron and I got roped into judging another beauty contest. At least this one ended by 12:30 am, not 5:00 am like the one in Manyana.  It was a fun, but semi-overwhelming day, especially because I hadn't even been in Mochudi for 24 hours yet. Everyone who went to the braii was fine (I really wasn't that concerned, but just thought I would clear that up for all of you reading)

Today Cam and I figured out the combi system and had our first experience at the bus rank. It seems like it will be easy enough. Now we're at an internet cafe with Ian and Karen. We all have a paper due on Monday, which I should definitely be working on but, knowing me, I'll wait until tomorrow.

I am so far beyond excited to start my internship. I'll be working at Stepping Stones International for the next three weeks. It's an after-school program for kids that teaches leadership and things like HIV/AIDs awareness. I will likely be working/developing? a drama program for the kids. Apparently, there is also a German boy around my age that is working there and I hope I'm able to make a new friend, someone who is not in my program.

MOM- if you're reading this: my friend Cameron's mom reminds me SO MUCH of Aunt Helayne. She's a petite woman with glasses and hair exactly like Helayne's. There's just something about her energy that made me feel so at home. She's a lovely and welcoming woman and I have a feeling I'll be spending a lot of time there...

Anyway, that's a brief summary of my life right now. Mochudi and this new family will take some getting used to. I miss Manyana and the Mogomotsi's a lot. Mochudi is like life in the fast lane compared to Manyana.

More to come later.

Love from Mochudi