Ahh Spring! I mean, Fall! No Spring! Whatever.

This is an odd feeling. Winter in Botswana is ending. Only because winter here is a sight warmer than anywhere else I've ever been do I feel like it should be cooling down soon.

It ain't. Sure we had some mornings when I'm pretty sure it was below the freezing temperature of fresh water (32 degrees Fahrenheit, 0 Degrees Celsius). But always by 10 AM it was at least pleasant shirt-sleeve weather. The Motswana don't buy that. I'm always amazed when in what is surely 80 degree F. weather people are wearing sweaters, hoods, thick jackets (I saw the same thing in Puerto Rico).

But I tremble to think what lies ahead. Apparently 40s C aren't uncommon. Yikes! At least I'll save electricity by not heating the water.

Still I feel like I should be getting a new coat...

Hey! Primanti Brothers!

I’m not making a political statement. I just can’t see why they would ruin a perfectly good picture of Primanti Brothers (in Pittsburgh) with Cindy McCain’s mug. This was in a recent edition of Newsweek the Peace Corps sends us.

Man, what I would give for a Primanti’s roast beef piled with fries and cole slaw! And a stroll down the Strip to Mon Aimee Chocolate to drop about $70 on dark chocolate, then across the street to pick up some flavoured pasta and up to Mt. Washington for a look see at the city, then a Pirates game, then throw the kayak in the Mon for a paddle, then stop at Starbucks afterward for a Venti caramel Frappuccino, and then, and then, and then…

Oh well, maybe the Engen station has meat pies today.

Amazing what one picture can do?

What They Need

Following my picture of the Pre-School I was asked by a loyal reader (one of six) if the kids needed supplies of any kind.

Sigh! Where to start? The government provides the VERY basics, paper, pencils, etc. but these kids (and even or ESPECIALLY older ones) need EVERYTHING! Those who know me well know I'm not the most sensitive SOB in the world. I tell you when I visited that little school and saw what they DIDN'T have it about broke my heart. By that I mean things you wouldn't ordinarily think about: games, puzzles, coloring books, crayons... Americans would blow a gasket if their kids were supplied as poorly. They mean well. It's just there isn't enough money to get the things little kids, EVERY little kid, should have.

Things that make you have to think to solve, to work together with others.

See, the educational system here is about where the US was a century ago. Rote learning. The teacher drills them and they respond accordingly. When you ask a kid for his/her opinion you get a blank stare. You get that even from the adults. After all, they are products of the same system.

You talk to kids and they are stunned that you consider them as thinking people. If you can send anything along those lines you will be doing a world of good.

We talk about building capacity among the people in Africa. Get them to the point where they can develop without outside help. So, how does a coloring book build capacity? If one child realizes he or she CAN think and DECIDE for themselves you have built capacity.

The other Peace Corps Volunteer in my village recently met the former Botswana Minister of Health, a physician. Female even. She told her she was inspired by a Peace Corps volunteer teacher she had in Science class Standard Nine (9th grade). That volunteer will never know she gave a push to a future Minister of Health for a country. that's like a Cabinet post.

So you never know.

Also, if anyone with IT expertise could give some advise or help. One of the schools actually has some IMacs, circa 1997. They are all of course basically paperweights. The operating systems are so corrupted as to be about useless. The kids are taught typing skills on turned off computers. Does anyone have an old Windows OS Disc to try to re-format these things? I don't even know if that is possible. Even if you let me know it can't be done would be helpful information.

My address again is:

Mike Wigal
PO Box 170
Charles Hill, Botswana

That's in Africa

My First Picture of Wild Game That Was NOT Donkeys!

OK, so donkeys aren't actually wild game. I've seen a jackal, a hyena, a fox and a Springbok (look it up). But those were at night while speeding along the highway. This was taken also speeding along the Trans-Kgadihadi Highway (150 Km/Hr), so it isn't the clearest. I've been spotting them from time to time between Ghanzi and Chuck Hill, but could never get my camera ready fast enough. This was the best I could do.

Africa is famous for the Big 5, Zebra, Hippo, Lion, Rhino and Elephant. No one talks about these guys. The big game is located farther north. Maybe in a few weeks or months when I get sprung from lock-down (Peace Corps requirement for the first three months at site) I'll run into some of the big boys.

More Pictures from the Petroglyphs

Some of these weren't carved in stone. See if you can tell which.

The Mamuno Rock Carvings

Went out into the bush last weekend. The head of the Village Development Committee (George), took an archaeologist from Gaborone (Judge), the other Peace Corps volunteer in Chuck Hill (Lesedi) and her mom and me to view the rock carvings done by whomever it was who lived in this area 35,000 years ago.

It was pretty remarkable. Too bad I'll NEVER have enough internet time to upload all or even the best photos of the petroglyphs. But I'll throw up what I can here.

I've spent a half hour trying to get one more picture up. Forget it. This one was about the best. Pretty self-explanatory