Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Tomorrow
Well hell, I'm leaving tomorrow, which means my four months here are up.
A note about the last entry - I've actually read 12 books, The Colour Bar should be inserted there too - it's a great historical account of how Botswana's first president and key revolutionary, Seretse Khama, was exiled from colonial Botswana by the English government because he had married a white woman. His marriage really pissed off the racist white South African government so England appeased SA. Hmm...not sure how coherant that is, moving on.
It's hard to say what I'll miss most, but here are some things:
Combies - the minibuses that are the main form of public transportation in cities and big villages. They run on predetermined routes throughout the city, periodically slamming on the breaks to honk at passers-by and yell "A Re A Re!! Let's Go Let's Go! Station!!" The vehicals are really suited to hold about 16 people, but I've seen up to 21 squeezed in at one time. There are these often poorly constructed fold down seats that in an accident might snap off a finger or two - but hey, they're completely charming.
Getting Stared at All the Time and Being Constantly Misunderstood - probably wont miss that...
Really impressing unsuspecting people by speaking Setswana with them
Walking to school in Mmankgodi with Nicki, Vanessa, and Maresa
The deafening sound of hail on my tin roof in Molepolole
Just the rain in general
Turning a corner to see someone burning a broken plastic deck chair in their yard
Elephants
Not going to miss the spinichy vegitable Morogo
That's I'll I've got right now.
See you soon.
A note about the last entry - I've actually read 12 books, The Colour Bar should be inserted there too - it's a great historical account of how Botswana's first president and key revolutionary, Seretse Khama, was exiled from colonial Botswana by the English government because he had married a white woman. His marriage really pissed off the racist white South African government so England appeased SA. Hmm...not sure how coherant that is, moving on.
It's hard to say what I'll miss most, but here are some things:
Combies - the minibuses that are the main form of public transportation in cities and big villages. They run on predetermined routes throughout the city, periodically slamming on the breaks to honk at passers-by and yell "A Re A Re!! Let's Go Let's Go! Station!!" The vehicals are really suited to hold about 16 people, but I've seen up to 21 squeezed in at one time. There are these often poorly constructed fold down seats that in an accident might snap off a finger or two - but hey, they're completely charming.
Getting Stared at All the Time and Being Constantly Misunderstood - probably wont miss that...
Really impressing unsuspecting people by speaking Setswana with them
Walking to school in Mmankgodi with Nicki, Vanessa, and Maresa
The deafening sound of hail on my tin roof in Molepolole
Just the rain in general
Turning a corner to see someone burning a broken plastic deck chair in their yard
Elephants
Not going to miss the spinichy vegitable Morogo
That's I'll I've got right now.
See you soon.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Books I've Read
One of the things I've enjoyed so much about studying abroad is the abundance of time and lack of distractions that have given me a chance to read a lot. Here's a list of what I've read so far, in semi-chronological order (as best as my memory can produce) with a few comments.
On the Road - Jack Kerouac: I really enjoyed this, I can see how it would have been totally radical in its time, but it wasn't so much for me. Still, it captures 50's America in a really lucid way.
Far and Beyon' - Unity Dow: Required reading with great dialogs and painful narration.
Place of Reeds - Caitlin Davies: A vivid and powerful account of one English woman's life in Botswana.
Mountains Beyond Mountains - Tracy Kidder: A really amazing story about a doctor, Paul Farmer, who travels the world trying to improve healthcare for all. In one of the greatest coincidences of this century, I actually met a doctor who worked with Paul Farmer while I was interning at a hospital in Molepolole. She also went to Pomona. Madness.
Bel Canto - Ann Patchett: A sappy and not-believable romance novel about hijackers and such, lame.
IV - Chuck Klosterman: A collection of essays, magazine articles, and fiction writen throughout Klosterman's career. Really great social commentary on pop culture, completely hilarious. He can make you interested in people, music groups, etc that you never cared about before.
Everything Is Illuminated - Johnathan Safran Foer: Ooo, I loved this book a lot. The way Foer writes is hilarious as the Romanian character Sasha, who's in love with his thesaurus even though he uses incorrectly.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows - J.K. Rowling: I pissed off a lot of Harry Potter diehards in my group by reading the last book first. I enjoyed it a lot, certainly a lot more than I thought I would.
The Slate Diaries - Various: This is a compilation of essays written from slate.com, basically blog before "the blog" existed. Famous writers/important people and also the average citizens contributed in a daily diary style fashion for a week each. Really interesting and humorous insights.
Death and the Penguin - Andrey Kurkov: One of those darkly humorous post-Soviet satires, I guess, that's what the back cover says. A funny and quirky story about a struggling Ukrainian writer who writes obituaries for a local paper but gets accidentally entangled in the mafia. The main character also has a pet penguin that Kurkov renders perfectly, as if we all knew exactly what it's like to have a pet penguin.
In Cold Blood - Truman Capote: Almost finished with this one. This story is what I imagine you'd get if you combined Fargo and On the Road. I had seen the movie Capote, which is about Truman Capote's experience writing the book (not a movie of the book at all, per se). So I definitely had a different perspective going into it, knowing that writing In Cold Blood took such an emotional tole on Capote that he was never the same again. Really good and completely fascinating.
I'd strongly recommend all of these books, except Bel Canto which felt more like drug store book rack melodrama than legitimate fiction. Far and Beyon' did reveal insights into Setswana culture, sure. But man, Dow would just keep beating you over the head with the morals/lessons she wanted you to take away from the book, even though they were obvious to begin with.
At 11 books in four months, that's easily a personal record. It would have been more, but I ran out in Molepolole about a week into the three week stay.
On the Road - Jack Kerouac: I really enjoyed this, I can see how it would have been totally radical in its time, but it wasn't so much for me. Still, it captures 50's America in a really lucid way.
Far and Beyon' - Unity Dow: Required reading with great dialogs and painful narration.
Place of Reeds - Caitlin Davies: A vivid and powerful account of one English woman's life in Botswana.
Mountains Beyond Mountains - Tracy Kidder: A really amazing story about a doctor, Paul Farmer, who travels the world trying to improve healthcare for all. In one of the greatest coincidences of this century, I actually met a doctor who worked with Paul Farmer while I was interning at a hospital in Molepolole. She also went to Pomona. Madness.
Bel Canto - Ann Patchett: A sappy and not-believable romance novel about hijackers and such, lame.
IV - Chuck Klosterman: A collection of essays, magazine articles, and fiction writen throughout Klosterman's career. Really great social commentary on pop culture, completely hilarious. He can make you interested in people, music groups, etc that you never cared about before.
Everything Is Illuminated - Johnathan Safran Foer: Ooo, I loved this book a lot. The way Foer writes is hilarious as the Romanian character Sasha, who's in love with his thesaurus even though he uses incorrectly.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows - J.K. Rowling: I pissed off a lot of Harry Potter diehards in my group by reading the last book first. I enjoyed it a lot, certainly a lot more than I thought I would.
The Slate Diaries - Various: This is a compilation of essays written from slate.com, basically blog before "the blog" existed. Famous writers/important people and also the average citizens contributed in a daily diary style fashion for a week each. Really interesting and humorous insights.
Death and the Penguin - Andrey Kurkov: One of those darkly humorous post-Soviet satires, I guess, that's what the back cover says. A funny and quirky story about a struggling Ukrainian writer who writes obituaries for a local paper but gets accidentally entangled in the mafia. The main character also has a pet penguin that Kurkov renders perfectly, as if we all knew exactly what it's like to have a pet penguin.
In Cold Blood - Truman Capote: Almost finished with this one. This story is what I imagine you'd get if you combined Fargo and On the Road. I had seen the movie Capote, which is about Truman Capote's experience writing the book (not a movie of the book at all, per se). So I definitely had a different perspective going into it, knowing that writing In Cold Blood took such an emotional tole on Capote that he was never the same again. Really good and completely fascinating.
I'd strongly recommend all of these books, except Bel Canto which felt more like drug store book rack melodrama than legitimate fiction. Far and Beyon' did reveal insights into Setswana culture, sure. But man, Dow would just keep beating you over the head with the morals/lessons she wanted you to take away from the book, even though they were obvious to begin with.
At 11 books in four months, that's easily a personal record. It would have been more, but I ran out in Molepolole about a week into the three week stay.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Random Thoughts
So I'm at work right now, and like most places in Botswana, there is a TV going 24/7.
The weirdest thing about it though, is that Batswana (citizens plural of Botswana) are OBSESSED with wrestling, like WWF Hulk Hogan style wrestling. And, as far as I can tell from the exclamations of "Tjo Tjo Tjo" (translation: "oh crap!") coming from the other cubicals, not to mention other observations, everyone here thinks it's REAL!!!
AHHHH!!!
The weirdest thing about it though, is that Batswana (citizens plural of Botswana) are OBSESSED with wrestling, like WWF Hulk Hogan style wrestling. And, as far as I can tell from the exclamations of "Tjo Tjo Tjo" (translation: "oh crap!") coming from the other cubicals, not to mention other observations, everyone here thinks it's REAL!!!
AHHHH!!!
Another Week - Another Article
Global Fund Rejects Botswana Proposal
I have to say I'm pretty proud of this one. I'm getting the hang of doing the necessary background research for these articles, by pulling from various different sources, calling those in the know, etc. I enjoy the writing, but newspaper articles require a style I'm not totally used to. But it has been a fun challenge. Mostly I just try to channel Bill Plaschke's philosophy: If you're not crying by the end, I haven't done my job.
I have to say I'm pretty proud of this one. I'm getting the hang of doing the necessary background research for these articles, by pulling from various different sources, calling those in the know, etc. I enjoy the writing, but newspaper articles require a style I'm not totally used to. But it has been a fun challenge. Mostly I just try to channel Bill Plaschke's philosophy: If you're not crying by the end, I haven't done my job.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
My Articles Online
So two weeks have gone by and I've had as many articles published in the newspaper. Here are the online versions for your reading pleasure.
The First One
The Second One
Things are going well here. 3 weeks to go, but I'm not counting. I know I will miss Botswana and Africa in general, but I miss my family, my home, my friends a lot too. I think it's going to be really strange coming home, the first few weeks anyways.
Coming here has made me think about what I want to do in the near future and I'm starting to get a few short term thoughts in focus. I'd like to move out of Los Angeles for a short while after college in conjunction, or separately from, graduate school of some kind. I'd like to continue traveling abroad a lot - starting hopefully next summer with an internship in Europe through the EU Center of California (part of the Claremont Colleges). For people thinking "Fulbright," I'm not particularly interested in teaching, but who knows. My mini-dream right now is to get a job/internship related to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, which would be a nice union of my love of international goings-on and sports.
But for right now, I have to go bug the editor for some assignemnts.
The First One
The Second One
Things are going well here. 3 weeks to go, but I'm not counting. I know I will miss Botswana and Africa in general, but I miss my family, my home, my friends a lot too. I think it's going to be really strange coming home, the first few weeks anyways.
Coming here has made me think about what I want to do in the near future and I'm starting to get a few short term thoughts in focus. I'd like to move out of Los Angeles for a short while after college in conjunction, or separately from, graduate school of some kind. I'd like to continue traveling abroad a lot - starting hopefully next summer with an internship in Europe through the EU Center of California (part of the Claremont Colleges). For people thinking "Fulbright," I'm not particularly interested in teaching, but who knows. My mini-dream right now is to get a job/internship related to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, which would be a nice union of my love of international goings-on and sports.
But for right now, I have to go bug the editor for some assignemnts.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Lunch
File Under: The Continual Absurdity That Is My Existence in Botswana
Today for lunch I am eating a brie and carmalized onion toasted sandwich. With this I also bought a cappuccino and a bag of 6 chocolate chip cookies for a total of about $8.50.
I can't say this is what I imagined in Botswana, but it's Botswana none the less, and really really delicious.
Today for lunch I am eating a brie and carmalized onion toasted sandwich. With this I also bought a cappuccino and a bag of 6 chocolate chip cookies for a total of about $8.50.
I can't say this is what I imagined in Botswana, but it's Botswana none the less, and really really delicious.
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