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

Just wanted to let everyone know that photos are now up on facebook!

There are two albums: One from my study trip and one from my stay in Manyana.

Check them out!

This week has been the most amazing week ever.

Last Thursday, we left Gaborone at 4:30 am and began our drive up to the north of Botswana (Kasane, to be precise). It's about a ten hour drive. We arrived at the Waterlily Lodge, which is a lovely little lodge that overlooks the Chobe River, and had the whole afternoon to relax. We spent most of our time next to the pool and enjoying the availability of Western food again.

The next day we woke up and we taken to an ecology center that housed injured reptiles and various other animals. We all got to hold snakes and turtles and, of course, lots of pictures were taken. We were supposed to receive a lecture from one of the employees there, but there seemed to be a slight lack of communication and he was not prepared for this. Instead, he chatted very briefly with us about general topics. In order to fill the time, our drivers took us to a few random sites in the area such as "the salty place," which I am still unclear about. It was basically just a large area with some natural hot springs and a lot of salt deposits. We got very little information. After our short tour, we returned to the lodge and half (seven) of us went on a sunset cruise down the Chobe River. Here, we got our first glimpse of the wildlife in Chobe. We saw hippos, elephants, baboons, impala, crocodiles, buffalo and all kinds of birds. It was a nice little taste of what was to come.

On Saturday, we drove into Zimbabwe and took our trip to Victoria Falls. The falls are absolutely astounding. We walked along a little trail that periodically has lookout points that you can walk to and take photos from. Then, you reach "danger point" which is a lookout that has no barrier keeping you from the edge of the cliff. My friends and I took turns sitting on huge rocks right at the tip of the cliff, laying down on our backs and hanging off the edge to see the falls upside down, and various other adrenaline-inducing activities. After we finished our walk along the falls, many of us were hungry for some more thrill-seeking activities. We knew the program wouldn't let us bungee jump for liability reasons, but we managed to find a loophole. We were informed of a "swing" that existed over the gorge. We somehow managed to convince one of our coordinators to let us do it, and we were transported to location. The "swing" consists of jumping off the cliff, free-falling over 70 meters, then swinging over the Zambezi River. The only difference between the swing and a bungee jump is that instead of bouncing after the free-fall, you swing. Nine of us decided to do it, and I was the first to go. It was the scariest, most amazing thing I've ever done. As soon as I was pulled back up to the jumping platform I wanted to go again. Immediately after I jumped, I raced back to the van and two of my friends and I went on an elephant "safari". It was less of a safari and more of a one hour ride on an elephant's back, but nonetheless, it was a blast. We learned all kinds of cool facts about elephants and even got to feel them. After our ride, we were taken to a small flea market where we did some very fast, very intense shopping, and then we rejoined the rest of our group and returned to Botswana.

As if Saturday wasn't amazing enough, Sunday began our three day safari/camping trip in Chobe National Park. It was somewhat upscale camping (portable shower and toilet, prepared meals, etc) which was not what I expected. Our daily schedule consisted of wake up call at 6:00 am, half an hour to freshen up and eat a quick breakfast, safari drive from 7:00-ish to 11:30-ish, lunch, "siesta time", high tea, safari drive from 3:00-ish to 6:30-ish, dinner, and then free time around the campfire followed by bedtime. This happened everyday for those three days. The safari drives were PHENOMENAL. Some of the most memorable moments included:

• Our guides driving off the road and OVER bushes to get better views of two lionesses. TWICE. Each time we were within twenty feet of them. The first time, we were only about ten feet away and one of the lionesses stood up and our guide said "sit down, don't move," which is never something you want to hear when you're that close to a lion.
• Seeing so many elephants that it began to feel routine. It got to the point where there would be an elephant next to our car and none of us would even reach for our cameras (however, I must admit I have a zillion pictures of elephants. I adore them). A similar situation happened with the elephant as with the lion. Once, an elephant was relatively close to our truck, got scared, trumpeted and mock-charged us and our guide told us again to not make a sound. Those words are insanely scary those words can be when a dangerous animal is standing next to you. 
• Seeing an elephant carcass recently caught by the three male lions that were sitting near it. The following morning, we woke up early to return to that spot and see the lions again. Once again, our guides went off-roading to get closer to the lions. The male lions are much more shy than the females so the kept backing away. They walked far enough away that the vultures that had gathered felt safe enough to descend on the elephant carcass. We drove over to get a better glimpse (it's a remarkably disgusting and simultaneously fascinating thing to watch vultures eat). We drove up far enough so that the lions would come close again, but not too far so that we couldn't see. Then, the lions returned and scared away all of the vultures. It was WAY cool.
• Watching an African fish eagle catch a fish and then have the fish stolen by leopard faced eagle (I think...). We all became very invested in the fight and cheered when the leopard faced eagle dropped the fish. Honestly it was like watching a sports game.
• Sitting three feet away from a leopard while it stalked a gathering of guinea foul. Amazing and incredibly lucky.
• Watching one male elephant try to mate with another male elephant on our drive out of the park. We saw an aroused elephant and, being the college students we are, made our guide stop to get better looks. That's when it all went down. The whole van was giggling, which made the van of elderly people behind us giggle as well. It was an all around good time.

Those are all of the highlights I can think of right now, but if I remember more I'll be sure to add to the list. So, that was our AMAZING safari. I was so sad to leave. Yesterday (Wednesday) we left Chobe and we all went on the sunset cruise (some of us for the second time). I must admit that before the cruise we all stopped at Tops (the liquor store) and stocked up a bit, thus, the cruise was slightly different the second time around, but no less fun. We all had a blast together. We then had the rest of the night to just hang out at Waterlily and relax before the long drive ahead of us.

Today we left Kasane and headed back to Gaborone. We're here (back at the Kagisong Center) until Wednesday, which means I will have regular, if slow, internet 24/7. Here we're doing our orientation for our next village home stay which will begin on Wednesday. 

So, that was a remarkably long post, but it was a fabulous week. Check in every now and then for more updates while I'm in Gabs. I hope everything is going well back in the states!

Talk to everyone soon!

Hi everyone!

It has been far too long since my last update and I have millions of things I would like to share. A lot has happened since the last time I posted...

I guess I'll just start where I left off. The Mokolodi Game Drive was amazing. We saw lots of amazing animals (giraffes, antelope, rhinos, ostriches, etc) and after the game drive we had a fantastic dinner in the bush (a braii). So much fun and a fantastic way to end our stay in Gaborone. The next day we left Gabs for our first home stay.

For the past 5-ish weeks I've been living in a small village called Manyana with the Mogomotsi family [Cecilia, my mother, Boiki, my father, and my three siblings: Dineo (sister, 22), Onalenna (brother, 20) and Onnetse (brother, 17)]. As soon as I met my mother, I was given the name Boitumelo, which means 'joy' and my nicknames include 'boi', 'bitu', 'bitwizer', and just simply 'twizer'. I adore my name and the meaning behind it. I couldn't have asked for a better family to live with. They were so warm and welcoming and exactly what I needed for my first home stay. The village was rural but not nearly as rural as what I was expecting. Every one of our families had electricity and most had working televisions. However, there was no running water so I bathed in a small plastic tub with an inch of water in the bottom and went to the bathroom in an outhouse in our backyard (at night, I had to use a bucket in my room because the outhouse potentially contained snakes and bats. No thanks.). Manyana is just a beautiful village and I am so sad to leave it (we said our goodbyes this morning).

In the interest of saving time and condensing five weeks worth of experiences, here are some memorable moments in Manyana:

• My first night in the village, my sister bathed me entirely, which sounds a lot more awkward than it was. To be honest, I actually really appreciated the demonstration. 
• Hiking to "pride rock" with friends from my program.
• Making a pot with a traditional potter in the village (made entirely by hand from the soil in the woman's yard. We used the rib bone of a cow to smooth the pots).
• Making friends with all the children in my neighborhood (particularly Boitshepo and Doku)
• Visiting the village of Mmankgodi for the culture day at the kgotla (a town center, or sorts) and discovering what we thing is an abandoned school.
• Visiting a traditional doctor. 
• Visiting the Manyana rock paintings
• Our farewell party

Now, I'm in Gaborone for the night and tomorrow morning (at 4:00 am) we are heading north for our first study trip (to Chobe National Park and Victoria Falls where we will camp and have a three day safari, a sunset cruise on the Chobe River, and a day trip to Vic. Falls!). We'll be gone for 8 days and then we're back in Gaborone for a few days before we head to our next village (Mochudi). In Mochudi, I'll be living with another host family and I will have an internship (yet to be determined where). 

Unfortunately, I think that's all I have time for right now, but I will have internet again after our study trip and hopefully more regularly in Mochudi (I hear there are internet cafes there!).

I miss you all very much and it was so wonderful to touch base with home for a little bit today. I promise to update after our trip!

Love,

Jesse (Boitumelo)

Dumelang (doo-MEH-lahng...hello everyone)!!

I found an restaurant with free wifi! Unfortunately, this is likely the last time I will have internet for a while. I move to the village on Saturday and have very little free time between now and then. I will be in the village for about 4 weeks and then I will be back in Gaborone for a few days. I promise I'll get online whenever I can and update you all.

Here's what's happened so far:

-We've learned LOTS of Setswana (especially for only having two classes so far). We can now greet people and have conversations in several ways (some for morning, some for afternoon, some for all the time), we can ask a person's name and where they are from. We know how to ask questions, and how to say we're feeling sick (a phrase that will likely be very useful), and all kinds of stuff! I'm keeping a notebook of everything we learn and I would be MORE than happy to show you when I return to the states. Maybe I will also post some Setswana words in here when I have more time (and more battery life... 15% right now!! Trying to type quickly...). 

I'm loving this trip so far, and we haven't even gotten started. Tomorrow we are going on the Mokolodi game drive and then we are having a braii (a barbeque of sorts). I promise to take lots of pictures!

For all of you who were concerned, the village is VERY different from what I was told to expect. Apparently, last year, 9/10 of the students had electricity. Two of our Setswana assistants are from this village and they said that people have running water, electricity, watch tv, etc. It seems to be a large village, complete with supermarket. However, it does seem to be very rural. It seems like a lot of contradictions, so I will clear things up once I have a better understanding of the location.  

Well, I think that's about all I have for right now. I apologize if this seems rushed... hopefully I'll be able to leisurely update this at some point during the trip. I miss you all and I can't wait to talk to you again.

Go siame (ho see-AH-may... goodbye)!!

Love,

Jess

Hi everyone! I finally made it to Gaborone (after a very long and occasionally aggravating travel experience... having to pay for an extra flight, for example. My flight from London to Johannesburg was delayed and I missed my connection. British Airways automatically rebooked me for a different flight, but South African Airways made me pay for it. Really stupid and added unnecessary stress. But it's all taken care of now). We are living at the Botswana National Productivity Center until Saturday. Then we will move into our first home stay and I will be out of communication for about four weeks. Unfortunately, the BNPC doesn't have wifi so I will have to walk to the Riverwalk Mall and pay 5 pula to get on the Internet for 15 minutes. I will try to update whenever I can, but I have to be smart about it. Also, sorry I'm blast emailing instead of emailing individuals, but I'm trying to make best use of my time =). I already miss home, but I'm quickly falling in love with Botswana. It's beautiful here. We starting learning Setswana tomorrow morning, so I will likely post about my progress every now and then.

I miss you terribly and I will talk to you whenever I get the chance. Please send me updates about what's going on back home!

Love,

Jesse

Well, the time has come for me to leave for Botswana. It snuck up really quickly, but I think I'm finally ready to go. I won't be able to update a whole lot (only for a few days once I get to Gaborone, and then not at all for 4-5 weeks), but I promise that whenever I have internet access I will update you all on the progress of my adventure.

Here's the plan for today:

Flight to London leaving at 7:25 pm
Flight from London to Johannesburg leaving at 7:05 pm (London time)
Flight from Johannesburg to Gaborone leaving 8:35 am (Johannesburg time)

I'll arrive in Botswana at 9:20 am Tuesday morning (Botswana is 9 hours ahead of Phoenix, so that's about midnight Phoenix time). From there, I'll spend a few days at the program house with my program-mates and try to reset my biological clock as much as I can.

I had a wonderful last night in town with friends and I will miss everyone dearly. Here's my request from all of you. Please keep in contact with me. Even though I won't have regular internet access, I still want to know what's going on in your lives. Email me, comment on my blog, facebook me, whatever. Just keep me updated, and I will do the same. Talk to you from Botswana =).

Love you all,

Jess