Botswana

Elephant crossing the river
Hippos!
Lion!
Elephants crossing the river behind me
Water pump

August 31, 2009

Last week Mathias and I taught our first of five HIV classes. Topics covered include what HIV/AIDS is, how it attacks the body, how it is and is not spread, condom use, positive living, and treatment options. One of the local African Impact employees, Brave, assists us and translates for those that do not understand English well. I am really excited about this project because Mathias and I will be teaching the class the whole way through and will be able to see the progress the students make and see what information they learn from the course.

Last weekend the group headed out to Chobe National Park in Botswana. We stopped in town to pick up a few supplies and I was surprised by how much more developed Botswana was than Zambia. The roads were paved and free of potholes and the storefronts resembled those of home. While waiting in the monster truck for the rest of the group to get back we saw some warthogs and a random woman decided to stop and pee on the side of our truck. Very strange indeed. Friday night we camped out by the fire and ate a hearty meal of steak, sausage, potatoes and corn on the cob. After dinner we talked around the campfire and then headed to bed early.

Saturday morning we got up at 5, had breakfast and drove out to Chobe National Park. During the morning safari we saw water buffalo, impala, giraffes, an elephant and a lion. There are only twelve lions in the entire park so seeing one was really cool. After brunch back at the campsite we hopped on a boat for a three-hour river cruise. We saw crocodiles and water buffalo. There was a large group of hippos, half of which were grazing on land, which is a very rare sight when it is so hot out. The highlight of the cruise was seeing a heard of male elephants cross the river right in front of us, which is also a very rare sighting.

We got back Saturday night and Sunday was spent relaxing at Zambezi Sun. This morning I took vitals at Dambwa clinic and this afternoon was spent farming at Maramba. It took us about an hour to get the water pump (stair-stepper) working but I had some great conversations with Robbie and Ollie. Next week’s post will be a bit late. We are planning a week-long trip to Zimbabwe, which I will tell you about when I get back.