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Tag: Botsawna

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By teniolab

Just four weeks left. I cannot believe that my program and time abroad is coming to an end. I am not entirely sure how I feel about it. In these past two months, I have definitely “settled-in”. We have had less and less program commitments on the weekends. I have had the chance to spend more time with local and program friends. The most frustrating part of the situation is that I wish that this “settling in” sensation occurred mid-way through the semester, as opposed to happening right before I left. The benefit of having this feeling now it that it helps with the pain of leaving Botswana.

In terms of preparing for re-entry into the US, I am just trying to make the most of the connections I have in Botswana. Spending more time with my local and program friends helps to manage any sadness I feel about leaving soon. What really helps is the fact that my local friends no longer treat me as a “tourist”. They no longer take me to the super touristy or “must-see” places in town. We have reached a level where being bored but in each other’s company, is enough. For friends back in the states, I have to somehow find a way to recount my entire experience abroad. Do I just word vomit everything that has occurred over the last 120 days? Do I have them read my journal? Do I make a presentation for them? We have talked throughout the semester, mainly about my experience and the challenges I have faced. Talking in person would be a whole different story. You are going to be more vulnerable and expressions will be easily understood in a face to face conversation. Not that I could ever butcher the retelling of my semester, I just really want to portray Botswana is the accurate way.

What I’m really scared about the most is possibly seeing a change in my life once reoriented in the states. I mean, I know I have further developed my ability to adapt. But, what if I cannot cope with the reverse culture shock and immediately become disgusted by American values and stereotypes that I tried so hard to dismantle while abroad. The worst part is, I probably will not be the first to the notice the little changes in my life. It will probably be my friends and family who will see the changes first. I am saying that the changes will be bad. They may even enhance my personality. I think the key to coping with changes and reverse culture shock is to remain open-minded and give yourself time to process reorientation into the states. There is no perfect timeline for how the whole situation is supposed to unfold.

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By Teniola Balogun

A couple weeks ago, I took a weekend trip with my friends to Cape Town. It was such an amazing experience that I am very grateful for. After a 5-hour car ride to Johannesburg, we finally boarded our flight from Joburg to CPT (it was way cheaper this way).  We had just endured a long week of midterms, so no plans were made for this excursion. Which was okay, because CPT has so much to offer. The city is very westernized which really caused me to experience reverse culture shock. At times, I felt like I driving around the Bay Area of California.

Once the plan was made, the agenda for the week included hiking, Robben Island, museums, markets, food, and music. CPT is a very big city so it’s really impossible to see absolutely everything. Which was a really hard conclusion to come to. Luckily, our accommodation was located right outside the city center. We stayed in Bo-Kaap, which is a touristy area of CPT. It is a religious neighborhood that is filled with streets of colorful houses. At times, we would see tourists stopping to take pictures outside of our place. The strip of colorful houses made it a picturesque spot to watch the sun rise and set. Another benefit of our location in CPT was Table Mountain lurking in the back. It was literally right outside of our place. After endless trips to food and art markets, museums, hiking Table Mountain and live music, we were differently ready to head back home.

CPT was such a weird change from Gabs. The entire time I felt like a tourist who thought I had turned up in California and not Cape Town. Little to my knowledge, Cape Town has a pretty dark history involving Apartheid (something they do not teach you in history class). It felt weird for it to be that westernized. It made me very appreciative of my choice to study abroad in Gabs. The culture that I have experienced in Gabs, I could not experience in CPT. I felt like I was still in America doing the exact same things (going to artsy coffee shops and visiting fancy modern art galleries). For me the whole purpose of study abroad, it to experience a culture different from your own or at least a culture that you would probably never get the chance to experience. I loved my time in Cape Town. It is definitely a place I hope to visit again though.

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By Teniola Balogun

My type B personality matches the relaxed lifestyle found in Botswana. Everyone here is moving at their own (slow) pace. Everything often starts about 2 hours late. And everyone is used to it. When you go to a restaurant, expect to be sitting for a minimum of 2 hours. It is just how it works here. Batswana are always willing to have a conversation and go out of their way to help people. I definitely think that is related to the slow pace of how things move here.

At first, I thought I would get overwhelmed by it and throw a fit. It is just something you get used it. Whenever I go to a restaurant now, within 5 minutes of sitting down, I know to always place your food order. If you don’t, you could be sitting there until the sun sets. There is absolutely no rush in this country. Apart from having a type B personality helping me to navigate the Botswana lifestyle, a person also needs to have an open-mind that goes into every situation without expectations. If you walk into a situation expected something to happen a certain, you will be disappointed. Being open to change is an important quality to have in Botswana. For example, I had a presentation scheduled for 4-6pm on a Wednesday evening. At about 7 pm on Tuesday evening, my professor emails the class to say that she wants to change the time to Wednesday 6 am. No worries came from me because, you gotta constantly be on your toes here to make the most of your experience. Nothing is set in stone. Your professor might even throw in an extra group project that was not mentioned in the syllabus just for fun. The combi you need to take to school to arrive on time for an exam may take an hour to fill up instead of taking five minutes to fill up. All of these situations become 200% more manageable if you accept that they happened out of your control and the only thing you can do now is embrace the change.

I have noticed that “going with the flow” honestly does wonders for your mental health. It frees up your mind to focus on other things that are in your control. You now have the time to fully embrace culture and experience what Botswana has to offer you if you don’t constantly focus on the situations that were frustrating.

 

Published on

By Teniola Balogun

I love hearing about all of Batswana’s perceptions of Americans. Some are pretty accurate and while others are so far-fetched. Most of the perceptions come from television and from the media. During our program orientation, our program volunteers mostly referenced shows like the Real Housewives franchise, and “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” to come up with the ideas about the American “culture”. Also, some of the Batswana perceptions of America came from interactions with previous international students.

The biggest shock I have received while in Botswana is the perceptions that Batswana thought ALL Americans embody. When , the perceptions that they had only characterized small pockets of the vast country of USA. “Do you all walk around wearing crop tops and thongs to walk your dogs?” My jaw literally dropped when my friend asked me this question. She wholeheartedly believed that this was something that all Americans did. I quickly explained to her that this is probably something you would see in an American Hip-Hop music video. While music plays a huge role in, I guess the American culture, they do not accurately depict our dressing style. My friend said she believed we all dressed like this because it is shown in music videos and at public events like Coachella.

A different friend of mine asked, “Is America really as bad as it is portrayed in the media? I want to go but it seems very scary.” She is not wrong. It is quite scary right now to live in America. Yes, the terrible events do happen. And the media does tend to fixate on them, so much to the point that it can be overwhelming to watch the news any longer. But the media should not stop her from coming to experience the country for herself. I explained to her that the media often blows things out of proportion and controls the information it feeds to the public.

...continue reading "“Americans are allowed to say, ‘Shut Up’ to Their Parents”"

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By teniolab

I am so thankful that we are required to take the Setswana language course as a CIEE Community Public Health student. As a CIEE Arts and Science student, you are given the option to take the course. I cannot imagine why you would choose not to take the course because I having the best time learning the language.

The official language of Botswana is English. English is mainly spoken in Gaborone, where I am studying. Setswana is also spoken by the majority of the country. Every Motswana that I come across has said, "Setswana is so easy. You will be fluent by the time you leave!". I usually follow their statement with a laugh. Setswana is not too difficult to learn, thankfully due to my fabulous teacher Mma Phono. From learning the "Survival Setswana" on the first day of orientation to learning the different forms of greetings (very important in Botswana culture), we have come so far. Mma Phono's teaching style is unique in itself. She pretty much acts out a dialogue with specific body language and we just play a guessing game. The students and I continuously impress the locals we come across, given that we have only been here for five weeks. Unfortunately, the expectations are higher for me because everyone here assumes that I am a Motswana. People insist on speaking Setswana to me, even though I tell them I do not. They literally won't stop. It's just something you get used to though.

I have a couple of favorite phrases. One is specifically related to the struggle I knew I would face with people assuming that I was a Motswana. "Ga ke bua Setswana." If you haven't guessed it yet, the phrase means: "I do not speak Setswana". I throw that phrase around about a handful of times a day. 🙂

...continue reading "I Setswana Learn the Language"

Published on

By teniolab

On the "Rollercoaster of Study Abroad" schematic, I definitely think I am in that "initial adjustment" phase. More or less I have found myself to be comfortable in my surroundings and have figured out what works and does not work for me to be successful during my time abroad. While in this stage, I have found myself retrospectively criticizing my packing situation. I constantly think that if I had known "this", I would have brought "that". I tried my hardest to not overpack. After many attempts at packing and repacking, I somehow packed the items that I "wanted" as opposed to packing the items that I "needed". But when it comes to being away from home for four-plus months, it is important to pack smart but also pack the items that make you feel the most like yourself.

It is challenging to now realize that I didn't pack certain (sentimental) items for the sake of saving room in my suitcase. So here it is, a list of items I wish I had packed:

...continue reading "5 Things I Wish I Had Packed"

Published on

By teniolab

Hello everyone!

Tomorrow officially marks the start of my fourth week in Gaborone. Now, I can thankfully say I have tried almost every form of public transportation. Gaborone is the capital of Botswana, and a fast-growing city at that.

Living in the University of Botswana Dorms has given me the unique experience of navigating around the city with ease. While in the first few weeks, trips to the grocery store and to dinner were taken with the lovely help of the CIEE driver. Bethel, who has worked with CIEE for seven years, pulls up to the UB dorms donned with the biggest grin ready to share his Gaborone with us. And just like that, a person would pay 30 pula in total, roughly 3 US dollars, for a "special" taxi.

A “special” taxi is taken alone or split among friends. While this is still cheap, taxi drivers will try to trick you into taking a special when you don’t need one! If you are not in a rush or simply do not want to pay a lot for transportation, you can take a regular taxi. The "non-special" taxi will cost 4.10 pula, about 41 US cents. Often times, the driver will either pick up passengers along the way or wait at your pick-up location until passengers fill up the car.

...continue reading "Navigating through the City"

Published on

By teniolab

Hello!

I am just arriving back to campus after spending the weekend in Bahurutshe Cultural Village. The village is located in Mmankgodi which is about 22 miles from Gaborone. It is deemed a “cultural village” in that it is a village that tourists can go to participate in and experience the culture of the Bahurutse tribe. From the food to the dancing, two moments stood out to me the most.

 

1. Foreigner Acceptance Ceremony

Traditionally, when a foreigner arrives at a village, they must be accepted to stay by the chief and by the ancestors. The "ancestors" adorn animal skin on their bodies, paint on their faces and shells around their legs. They perform traditional dances that involve quick footwork. It was always a shocker to see the dancers throw in a backflip here and a back-tuck there. Accompanied by their impressive dance skills were their wonderful harmonies.

...continue reading "Bahurutshe Cultural Village: Unforgettable Moments"

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