Friday, June 8, 2012

Day 3

My group and I didn't tour the city since we came. So, today we were split into groups and were sent on a scavenger hunt to find popular city landmarks. Our director just expected us to use the public transportation to find these places. I had an awesome experience with my group touring the city of Gaborone, interacting with local people, reading maps and figuring out which routes to take. We used the Combis, which are vans that locals use for commuting. This little mini-van fits 20 people or even more! One of the things we had to find was the "Three Kings Monument,"  or "Three Dikosi Monument,"which was built in the honor of Khama III, Sebele I, and Bathoen I. They embarked on a journey to England in 1885 to seek protection for Botswana, establishing the Bechuanaland Protectorate. The other was called the Onion Tower, which was essentially a water tower we have back home in every suburbs. One of the landmarks that I thought was interesting was the "El Negro" grave. After some research, I found that this "El Negro of Banyoles" stirred an ethical controversy. Along with other African wildlife, a man from a certain tribe was stolen and stuffed by French taxidermists to be displayed in Paris. Due to its unethicality, and its representation of African enslavement, the body was repatriated back to its origins and buried in Gaborone. You can learn more about this here. I also got to see the broken down "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" film set. Check out the pictures from the scavenger hunt in the "Photos" section of the blog. The scavenger hunt was, in essence, a terrific way to learn about Gaborone. My group and I got to interact with a ton of people and learn to use the rambunctious public transportation. One of the locals decided to become our amateur tour guide. At one point, we were so lost that kids on a school bus/van persuaded their driver to give us a ride. I guess the students figured we were lost from our non-verbal cues; we literally had no idea of where we were going. In Botswana, directions are given not by street names, but by landmarks. Riding with local elementary students, though, was an amazing experience.

Interesting Fact:

Unlike the U.S., punctuality has little traditional value in Botswana. The person who is late is given the benefit of the doubt; it's assumed that the person was late for a specific reason, for which he/she needs to provide no further explanation. Also, the importance of mothers is valued in Botswana. After it's independence, the women played a significant role in developing the country when men worked in South Africa. They would send money back to Botswana. The mothers were responsible for rearing the children and sending them to school.

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