Uneventful flight from Doha last night. Enough seats were empty that Anita stretched out over 3 seats to try to sleep better - no such luck, so she is exhausted. I slept most of the night.
Our adventure began when we landed at 7:30 am local time, a full 30 minutes earlier than expected. The plane staff to us to go to the South African Airline counter to get our next boarding pass which we would need to claim our luggage. After standing in that line, we were told no, we needed to go through passport control. We joined another longer line only to be told no, we needed to go through customs to get a temporary visa, which was luckily free, so we could get our luggage. By the time we made it through to the luggage carousel we were told our luggage was on its way to security to be searched and possibly destroyed. Because Anita and I had put multicolored ribbons on all our luggage, one agent took off running to see if he could quickly find our two pieces. Success! And he then took us through corridors which I suspect folks like us never see. At the end , we were on the concourse where the airlines check in passengers. He dropped us off - got a small tip for his troubles, and we waited in yet another line. As we moved toward the scales to weigh our checked bags, we were happy that things had changed for us. Nope, that wasn't what was happening. At the scale we were told we needed to be in yet another line at another counter. That line was also incorrect, but close enough that the agent took us to the correct counter and finally we received our boarding passes.
Security was next. Shoes stay on, but liquids can not come through so we drank our bottled water quickly. We are now at our gate about 3 hours early, but we have a place to sit and wait and watch. Plus, we can explore while the other watches our bags. We need to find someplace to eat before our flight. As we walked through the airport, I did not see any Internet areas, as in Doha, so I doubt if we will send any messages today. Tomorrow or this evening in Moshupa, maybe. Our first bed is waiting for us since Monday morning August 11th! And it is only a 1+ hour flight away, plus a 1+ hour drive to Moshupa.
Moshupa, August 14, 2008, 8 am local time
Anita and I are both awake and feeling pretty human. We slept well in the bed room Njale prepared. Njale (pronounced en-jally) is my sister-in-law, Jim's late brother's wife. Anita and I have 2 double beds, closets with shelves, chairs, table between the beds where we placed our personal pharmacy. We laughed when we compared pills - we are certainly of a same age! My cold seems a bit better - congestion is loosening. We will go shopping today to get staples and supplies for 2 extra people.
Driving from the airport last evening was amazing. While the route seemed familiar, it was still foreign as the road was hard paved instead of sand and dirt like 1990. Jim remembered recently how driving on sand was good practice for our winter ice. We went past Kumakwane where Njale's mother and some family still live. Kumakwane was the location of 2 of the 3 days of wedding celebrations, which were held in 1990. Anita remembers seeing the village in our videos of the wedding celebrations. We will visit her mom soon. Boni (Njale's son - pronounced bone-ee) wanted us to stop by his office, but Njale realized how tired we were, so we will postpone seeing him until another day. We will try to see Sedi (Njale's older son - pronounced say-dee), but her relations with him are not good right now.
This is the old house where Brian lived before he married Njale in 1990. This is the rental house. The roof is thatched.The new house is big - about 2-3 times bigger than the oval rondeval where Brian and Njale lived when we were here in 1990. That house is rented and the new house is right next door. The whole compound has been enclosed in a 6 foot tall concrete block wall, with a locked entrance gate at the driveway. This is common in larger family compounds. We visited the family in this rondeval so Anita was able to see how spacious it is - living area, kitchen, bathroom and 2 bedrooms.
This is the new house with just a bit of the old house showing behind the bushes at the right. On the left is the satellite dish that Jim, Brian and their father installed during the visit in 1990. Television comes by way of a small satellite dish on the back of the house now, and this one is just for decoration with a flower bed to be developed inside the bricks.The new house has a large living/dining area with fireplace, a very large kitchen, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a laundry storage room. There is
also a lovely frontporch. The grounds are fully planted with fruit trees and decorative trees with flower gardens and stone pathways. Njale also raises guinea hens. I'll take photos of as much as I can.
Brian's friend, Curt Hansen, is away until next week, so we will try to see him then. Jim and I stayed in his home just around the corner from this compound when we were here in 1990.We looked at the garden area where we might create the memorial to Brian. Njale has already begun a garden spot with two concrete hearts, one inside the other. Anita and I agree with her that this might be a perfect spot. Curt Hansen has suggested that we take a small portion of Brian's ashes and sprinkle them on the pitchers mound on one of the local softball fields. Brian, Curt and another Peace Corps friend (Bob Williams) brought softball to Botswana, coached several teams, and took a couple teams to the national championships. We also thought we might put a bit of Brian at the base of the satellite dish that Jim, Dad and Brian worked on while we were here in 1990 - the dish never worked very well, but it was a good team effort.
Njale has part of Brian's ashes in a lovely wooden box for me to bring back to Kansas. It opens from the bottom, so we can spread him over the area where his mother is already buried and where Dad will join her at some point. Right now, Njale wants him spread over the garden as well. We will go shopping for plants later this week. We also need to use an ATM to get the local currency - PULA (current exchange rate is 7 P to 1 $).
Anita and I have realized we need to date our blog posts in a clearer way so that our readers can understand when things are happening. (NOTE - thus the change that has already appeared.)
Last evening on the way to Moshupa, I saw trees with weaver birds nests. That was the first thing I saw at the airport in 1990 that proved to me I was in Africa! I also noticed rondeval homes with thatched roofs, stick fences, and animal corrals with thorn bush walls. 
Anita was curious about the goats and cattle roaming freely along most roads, even in the large cities. We explained that each evening they are rounded up by the children of the family that owns them and taken home for the night. Burros were also free roaming in greater numbers than I remembered.Refilwe (pronounced ray-feel-way) made me toast with peanut butter and got an orange from the tree in the yard for my breakfast. Delicious!
We left Moshupa in late morning and drove to Kumakwane (pronounced cuum-a-qua-nee) where we met Njale's brother who is finishing the 2nd of two rental homes built close to her mother's home. These will become a good source of income for Njale, now that she is without Brian's salary from the University. One is already rented.
We also visited with Sputnik, Njale's cousin, and her daughters Sekele (se-kay-lee) and a daughter who had not been born in 1990. Sekele, Refilwe and I walked to Njale's mother's compound. She cried when I went in, left the room to compose herself, and came back to tell me how much she misses Brian, her 'son'. He was doing everything for me, she said. We will try to visit again.Next stop was a new shopping mall (this type of shopping did not exist in 1990) to visit a pharmacy where I purchased additional meds for my cold. Anita purchased lunch for all of us at Primi Paniita which specializes in interesting Italian food. I had a pasta primavera made with sauted spinach and garlic in olive oil with fresh tomatoes and cheese all put over fettucini. I'm glad I ordered a smaller portion when I saw the regular portion ordered by Refilwe.
Groceries were next - the store was in the same mall. We purchased cereals, yogurt, soda, meat, vegetables, milk, candy and other necessities. The $400 pula I withdrew from the ATM this morning did not cover the purchases - about a half cart full. Our order came to P564, so I charged it. With the exchange rate in my favor, all the groceries came to about $80.
Our final stop before returning to Moshupa was at a Barkclay Bank office to see my nephew Boni (pronounced bone-ee). He has grown from a small boy to a handsome, tall man working as a mortgage loan manager in the retail office. He and Sedi are to come to dinner on Sunday - maybe we will meet Sedi's daughter and her mother.
Home around 6 - in for the evening and relaxation. We had a surprise visit with a lady who remembers me from the wedding. She is related to the DiSale's - they are her uncles. The DiSale family affectively adopted Brian when he arrived after the Peace Corps, they were his 'African' parents who negotiated on his behalf when he wanted to marry Njale, and they helped him build a small cattle herd with which he ultimately paid the bride price for Njale - 7 cows.
No Intenet connection this evening, so only some relaxing.
Njale is still concerned about the money owed to the hospital and doctor who treated Brian after his heart attack before Thanksgiving and the open heart surgery after the holiday. She is also hopeful for a resolution on the money spent with Expedia last year for the tickets that were to bring the family to Kansas to celebrate Mom and Dad's 65th wedding anniversary. No one was able to come to Kansas because of Brian's illness. She says her finances are OK right now and I asked for a promise that she will call Jim if she needs help. Jim is feeling confident that the hospital and doctors are settled as he has been working with that organization via email. He continues to work with Expedia and feels as if there will soon be a refund of the ticket costs from them as well.
August 15, 2008 - 5 pm local time
Home from a day that began early. We left Moshupa around 8 am for an appointment with Njale's cousin who works with the Red Cross here in Botswana.
We are trying to connect with two K-State students (Ana and Jessica) who belong to the Circle K club at the university which is sponsored by the local Kiwanis club in Manhattan Kansas. Jim's Dad is a charter member of the club and money collected as a memorial to Brian and Mom was given to the club to help fund a project begun by Ana and Jessica. The project is managed by the Botswana Red Cross and helps children orphaned by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the country. Ana and Jessica spent much of the summer here in Moshupa, living at the university and working with the Project. Initial phone calls made by Njale's cousin were unsuccessful, so we went to the University to see if we could locate them through student offices.
This is the fountain in front of the administrative building at the University of Botswana.First however, was our most important appointment of the day. We went to an office to meet with the man who is responsible for the distribution of a death benefit due Brian's dependents from the University. He wanted confirmation from me as the American representative of Brian's family that there were no other dependents who might question the release of the funds to Njale and their three children. He was pleased when I acknowledged the adoptions of Sedilame and Oabone. When I told him that Brian's father, the only parent still living, had his own income, he was surprised. Parents are supported in their old age in Botswana. I reassured him that Dad was not alone, and that Brian's brother, my husband, was in charge of Dad's care and finances. Apparently, the fund will be 4x Brian's annual salary, with 50% to Njale immediately, 30% to Refilwe with Njale as trustee until Refilwe reaches adulthood at 21, and 10% to each of the adult sons. He promised the release of the funds next Friday.
We visited several offices relating to student affairs and housing and were again unsuccessful locating Ana and Jessica. Njale showed us the building where Brian's office had been. Since we were to return to the Red Cross around 2 pm, we decided to be tourists and visited the Museum of Botswana - located near the downtown outdoor mall where Jim and I spent a lot of time in 1990. I finally connected with something familiar as we neared the museum - right across the street was a Catholic church with an unusual bell tower. I remember taking a photo of this tower for a friend who is Catholic, and telling her that I was thinking of her in 1990 when Jim and I walked the street looking for the local library.
The museum had an exhibit of many local crafts and as we discovered many of the items on display were now for sale. Anita bought a lovely woven tray.
As we walked to Njale's office we met a man from the University who knew Brian. He may be able to gather a group of elders who will be willing to speak with Anita and share stories and other oral traditions. We are to hear from him by Friday as well. (NOTE: Anita did not hear from this gentleman and was unable to meet with the elders.) The people we met in Njale's office were very appreciative of her and were pleased to meet us as well.
More people remembered me from the wedding celebrations - I guess it's easier to remember one white woman than me remembering all the Batswanans I met during 1990. Tomorrow we are invited to a birthday party for the mother of Refilwe's best friend.
We had lunch back at the museum in a lovely courtyard. I had stewed beef and vegetables with sorghum, rape (like spinach) and a small salad.Finally in the late afternoon we were taken to a lady's house who knows Ana and Jessica. She told us that they have returned to America, possibly on the same day we arrived. Miss Shirley is working with the Orphan Project. She had a photo of her with Ana and Jessica. The good news is that she will be at the location of her project tomorrow, so our day will begin really early in order to get there to help with breakfast. We must to to Gamabudu which I think is east of Gaborone. We need to arrive before the orphans have breakfast, so we can help and then give them bookmarks, stickers, books and a story time with Anita.
We stopped at an ATM machine and unexpectedly met up with Sedi. Njale had chosen this ATM because it was close to his office. He came out to the car so I could have a quick reunion and get his promise to visit on Sunday with his brother. He also said he would bring his daughter Anele ( pronounced ah-nee-lee), who is 3 years old.
Njale left after we got back to Moshupa to go to a friend's house to visit - there has been a death and she will be unable to go to the funeral. Anita just went in for a nap and I think I will try to beat the computer back into submission.
Tomorrow we need to shop at an electronics store to purchase a new converter/charger for my Palm. So far, I am unable to recharge and my battery is down by 2/3.
August 16, 2008 - Gamabudu, Gaborone and Kumakwane
We were up at 6 am and on our way by 7 am. We were due at a site where orphans are cared for by Miss Shirley. We found an unimproved dirt field with a tattered screen held up by posts sunk in the ground to provide shade. Some children had arrived of the almost 140 she told us she cares for. Miss Shirley left in her vehicle to collect other children while we began chopping cabbage and carrots. This would be added to onions and beets for a soup cooked in iron pots over wood fires. A stand pipe provided water to the site and a trailer stored supplies.
Adults arrived to assist and as the children arrived, they were given 3-4 pieces of bread from supplies that had been donated to Miss Shirley. We saw the two trees that had been planted for Jessica and Ana - the tall one for Jessica and the short one for Ana. I had hoped to find the three orphans being supported by the Kiwanis club here and bring photos for Dad. Miss Shirley tells me that they are not part of her group.
Anita brought books and stickers and we had a 'story time' with the children. Mild chaos developed as the children jostled to get their stickers and to get as many as possible. As they realized we were trying to share the stickers with as many children as we could, they started putting them in hidden locations, many of them on their tummies. Anita's story went well and by the third time through, the children were participating in the rhyming rhythm of the story. She left books for Miss Shirley to continue to use with additional stickers.
As we walked and talked with Miss Shirley, some questions developed - how are Jessica and Ana involved with her when she doesn't seem to be involved with the Red Cross, as we had thought. The memorial money form Brian and Mom was funnelled through the Kiwanis Club to the K-State Foundation and then to the Botswana Red Cross and then to the Botswana Orphans Project. So where in the pipeline is the memorial money and how do the children whose photos have been sent to the Kiwanis club fit in? Where are they?
We left the children before lunch, so as not to eat the meal cooked for them. We had been encouraged to stay, but chose not to.
This is the adult group with Anita and the whole group of children with Ana's tree. As we left they sang to us.
As we left the orphan project location we headed back to Gaborone where we tried to reenter our lives and wondered how the children will survive.
We went shopping for beads and knitting ribbon so Anita can teach Refilwe and Njale to make the necklaces she has brought for gifts. We found beads, but so far have been unable to find the ribbon. We have a few more stores to try on Monday.
On to Holly Radio which was closing for the day, but when I explained I was a friend from American to see Peter Holly, I was let into his store. We had hoped he could help me with my Palm problem. He did by telling me that the converter was fried and I needed a new universal converter/charger. He recommended a computer store at another mall - a huge new mall similar to many American malls. Refilwe had left us to go with her friend to prepare the birthday lunch, so we will see her again there.
Peter is a long time friend of Brian's, and he remembered me from 1990 when we brought him some piece of electronic gear from America. He worked hard while we were here then to get a large satellite dish working in front of Brian's rondeval. He tells me that the plug adaptor for African style electrical plugs did not protect the charger for my Palm and allowed way too much electricity through. If I don't find the correct recharger, my Palm will be effectively dead, and I will be in a crazy state trying to live with out my 'life'. Keep your fingers crossed for me on Monday, my friends.
We went to the birthday party, held at a lovely restaurant nestled inside a large nursery. It's a good thing my gardens are 12,000 miles away because I saw many items that would look lovely at home. Anita and I enjoyed pounded beef and meli-meli (starch like potato with little taste of its own). This had been served at the wedding and I watched the meat being pounded with logs inside hollowed out tree trunks to tenderize the meat. Much amusement was enjoyed as we gave unexpectedly matching gifts to the birthday girl - the mother of Refilwe's friend.
Here are the birthday girl with her new ear rings from me and a new handmade necklace from Anita, and the beautiful hair arrangement of her daughter.
Refilwe asked to be permitted to stay overnight in Gaborone with her friend - it was my decision since Njale wanted her to be with me while I visit. Remembering what it's like to be a teen and wanting to be with friends, I told her it was OK with me. She will be home tomorrow morning in Moshupa.
As most left the party, we started shopping and found a number of plants and other items for Brian's garden. We picked plants that are frost and drought resistant, had different colored leaves and flowers, flowered at different times of the year, got soil and stones, and a tall slender planter for the center. Anita purchased a small candle holder with writing about remembering a loved one. We gave the planter and the candle as gifts to Njale. Tomorrow we will begin working on the garden.
Njale's cousin works with the Red Cross and she helped hook us up with Miss Shirley. We stopped at her home in Kumakwane on the way home. We had a lengthy conversation regarding our concerns, mostly confirmed by her. We will visit her office again on Friday to better understand the finances behind the orphan project before I return home and share my experience and information with the Kiwanis club and Ana and Jessica.
Home, dinner, and my attempt to get on the computer took much of the evening. I was able to log on, check email and post to the blog. We have asked Njale how she is charged for Internet access so we can reimburse her for our extra time.
Today I finally felt as if I was in the Botswana I remembered. So many roads have been paved and there has been so much development that I haven't been able to see the Botswana from 1990. Until we turned into the road to the nursery and party - it was dirt, rutted, dusty, sandy, closely bordered by trees and scrub bushes and had a 'curb' of stone and piled dirt. Njale laughed when I said 'NOW, I feel as if I've come home to Botswana."
You are now caught up to today. I must leave all of you and go join the group working on the garden, see what is making my great niece laugh in the living room, and be with the family I came to visit. Until I can write again, enjoy our journey.
