Monipeloli

This morning we had our counseling class gave a presentation on whether being gay or lesbian was a choice? I explained the Kinsey scale and how some people fell somewhere on the scale. I also presented some political views from both Botswana and the United States. Gay or lesbian acts are illegal in Botswana and can be punished with prison time. I explained to the class how homosexuality is still a debating topic in our country however we have come a long way with equal rights. I was not surprised with the presentations of the other students in our counseling class. Many of them were opinionated and they stated homosexual stereotypes as facts, Jen and I felt it was not our place to correct them because this might be a cultural difference. We felt the only way to educate them without being disrespectful was during our presentations so I tried my best to describe something I was quite familiar with, the laws of attraction. I explained how you can’t choose who you are attracted to but being homosexual is a choice because you can choose to act on the person you might be attracted to whether they be male or female.

A few of the presentations were very open and honest and they looked at all possibilities including research and studies that have been done on the topic of homosexuality. I was tempted to ask questions to those who said homosexuality might be cause out of frustration of the opposite sex or because they wanted to be different from everyone else. I like how one girl did pick up on how homosexuality used to be in the DSM as a mental disorder however it was taken out after more studies were done exempting the possibility.

In the afternoon Vicki had promised to take us to Montepeloli which is a village about 60 kilometers from Gabs. It ended up taking us about an hour and twenty minutes to get there. We saw some very interesting scenery on our journey though. There were random goats, cows and donkeys crossing the road at free will. There were children walking up and down the side dirt roads bare foot. It was sad passing hundreds and hundreds of people trying to make a living on the side of the road by selling individual pieces of candy. Many of their homes were one room huts with straw roofs. As we came closer to the Lifeline center at Montepeloli we passed hundreds of school kids just getting at out of school and walking down the road venturing home. As we came closer to where we thought was going to the Montepeloli Lifeline center the paved road turned into dirt and the car ride became very bumpy from there.

When we pulled up we realized that we were visiting a private school which had a Lifeline Center in it. As we waited for Vicki’s friend to come I asked to use the restroom and they gave me a disgruntled look and I didn’t know why until I realized they do not have running water so until they received water my urine would have to sit in the toilet and mellow. We waited a few minutes until two women walked in with huge smiles and open arms speaking Setswana. One of them was the principal who started the school five years ago. She took us into a classroom a few rooms down and we sate in a small eight by eight corner, this was their “Lifeline Center”. Her and Vicki began talking and catching up on what’s new. She then told Vicki that she had taken in three kids from the school because they needed guidance. The three children all coming from different families were dealing with their parents going through a divorce and she took them in so they did not get caught up in the custody battle. She finds that this is the best way for the parents to agree without manipulating the child. The forth child she took in was a twelve year old orphan whose twin sister just passed away from Aids. When the two were born one was born HIV positive and the other HIV negative. She discussed with us that the child has not shown much emotion over her sister’s death and she was going to let her grieve on her own until she feels the time is right. She also mentioned how many of the children that are born with HIV at the school get frustrated and upset. They act this way because since the day they are born they have to take ARV’s to slow down the HIV process the frustration comes in because they wonder why they have this virus, “we didn’t ask for this, we didn’t do anything wrong”. Good question children. Jen and I looked at each other in disbelief but reality quickly hit us when the girl walked in to meet us with her chin held high and a beaming smile. They have to teach these kids to not grieve over their loved ones otherwise they would be grieving rather than enjoying their own life. I understand this concept but it’s hard to say goodbye to a loved one in passing especially when all you have in your life is a twin sister. The principal, I forgot her name but I will find out before I leave, runs the school with over 230 children, eight teachers, limited funds, clothing, food and teachers. She also takes four orphans home with her every night to take care for on top of her own three biological children not to mention she is a single parent that recently went through a divorce, talk about strength. This woman enjoys every moment she has with these kids and enjoys life to the fullest while providing more than any one else can imagine.

The children came in and played their African instruments for us which I was able to get a video of.

They were amazing and full of spirit I felt blessed to be sitting in their presence at that very moment.

Presidents Day (Our day off)

We have the day off today for Presidents Day. I am proud to say that I have Barak Obama making decisions in office and that he is doing his best to provide equality and more healthcares for everyone in our nation. After breakfast Mandy and I decided to go to River Walk mall with a few others to go shopping. I bought a shirt for the Rascal Flatts concert next month and another t-shirt. When we got back we finished our movie 7 pounds with Will Smith, it was a very touching movie with a good message. We then decided as a group to go to Gaborone Game Reserve to see some animals since the anticipation for the Game Drive at the end of our trip was becoming too much. On the drive we saw deer, antelope, ostrich, warthogs and monkeys. It was very relaxing and got us all excited to go up north and see the bigger and exciting animals. We stopped to go to the restroom before leaving the park and we found an area where there were about fifteen to twenty monkeys jumping around playing with each other and climbing trees. There was even one who jumped onto a movie jeep and stood on the side mirror as the driver sat and waited for the monkey to leap off the car.

When we left the Game Reserve we headed to Khali Park near game city to go for a hike up a mountain to watch the sunset. The path was very rocky and unsteady luckily everyone made it up safely. When we reached the top we were all left speechless at the beautiful surrounding below us. We took many pictures and climbed the highest rocks possible to get the best pictures. The pictures I am posting will explain our view better than me putting it in words.

Katie, Meg and I chilling at the top of the mountain.

Amazing view, you can see for miles.

Beautiful sunset!!!

I call this picture "Mandy and Zach tackle the globe"

We were all starving by the time we reached the bottom of the mountain so we decided to go to Hagan’s Irish Pub for dinner. The five girls and I at my table decided to order a flaming Lamborghini which was three different shots mixed into one but you had to drink it with a straw while it was lit on fire and then the shots were added. I was the genie pig of the group and went first while Dr. Pillay took pictures. It was quite thrilling but I got scared when I became to feel heat coming up the straw and quit a tad bit too early. Everyone at our table followed after me and loved every minute of it, the shot only came out to be about $5 or $6 a piece.

Dr. Pillay also sat at our table which gave me the opportunity to talk a little bit about the program and compare it to past study abroad experiences. To my surprise we seem to be a lot more laid back than most groups. I think that might have to do with having a larger number of people and this allow us to have more outlets. I think another part which might contribute to this is that a lot of us already know each other and that the meetings before hand got us familiar with one another.

Our service at Hagan’s made the overall experience below satisfactory. Our food took two hours from the time we got there and they didn’t have two separate things that people in our group had ordered but failed to mention until the time we were expecting our food. Our drivers became frustrated and eventually came in from the parking lot and “accidentally” put their drinks on our tab. When Mandy confronted them they said they asked the waiter if that would be easier. First of all who wants to pay for their bus drivers alcohol drinks right before he drives you home, second the guy Mandy asked has been shady in the past with money so it was good we asked. While we waited in the parking lot I was made aware that Meg Mealy has an official stocker. A few weeks ago Meg was talking to a gentleman at the bar and the guy’s sister wanted the two to date. Meg never called him after leaving that night and just so happens she ran into Meg at Hagan’s that night. Well she followed us out of the club that night and was looking under cars trying to find Meg so that should could go meet up with her brother. The people of Botswana are persistent and come on very strong if you cannot tell already. We had very adventurous day and I thinkg everyone on the trip had a great experience.

Conversation with Dr. Pillay at dinner

At dinner last night we had a discussion with Dr. Pillay after dinner that I found very enlightening. He explained how he grew up in South Africa and what it was like to have four different segregated communities living in their society. He also mentioned how if anyone was caught violating their segregation laws how people would be prosecuted. I cannot fathom how cruel society might have treated people of a different race during his childhood. Another point that cleared up some of the racism for me was our discussion of how government divided up the funds. Caucasian’s received about eighty percent of the funding, Indian heritage received about 5 to 7 percent, Colored (mixture of white and black) people as they were called received about ten percent and then Indigenous Africans received the lowest amount of money in the budget with less than five percent even though they were the majority of the population in South Africa at the time. There was one college for Indians, Blacks and Coloreds and many university and colleges for Caucasians. The government had it fixed so that the other three races were not empowered. Dr. Pillay discussed how he was a rare case to success because he was granted a scholarship by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Without this scholarship he would not have had the funs for the education he needed.

I was shocked when he explained how much he has developed since he was young and how he to had prejudices. I find it fascinating how he took that anger and education and used it to help people understand their own cultural biases. Dr. Pillay set a goal of helping people think about and change their cultural awareness through education. I can personally say he has done that for me. Where I was a year ago and where I am now are completely different. I always wondered why he would want to live in a small community like Athens where there might be a lot of racism or misunderstanding. Now I understand that he wanted to take students who are misinformed or misunderstand cultures and help them come to the realization that we all have biases and prejudices its how we deal with them and how we over come them that matter. I always thought of myself as culturally aware but now I realize that I just thought I understood different races, not culture.

After my trip to Africa I can say I understand that culture is more than skin color, more than heritage, its how one views their own life determined by their morals and values and that each and every individual on earth has their own culture. Although we do have cultural norms in a society that make up generalized cultures, I like to think of it like religion. People of the same religion might have the same belief however some may approach aspects of their life differently and that no one sees every circumstance exactly the same. My favorite quote from the night came from Dr. Pillay “Where there is different races, there will always be racism. Where there is different gender there will always be sexism. Thank you Dr. Pillay for helping me see that through academic course work and this amazing experience in Africa.