Tag: Botswana

By teniolab

Growing up the suburbs of Atlanta, I was not a stranger to being the only one that looked like me in my classes. When I got to college, the narrative was the same. Before picking a studying abroad program, I had to research the cultural acceptance of people of color for each country I was interested in. Issues of cultural acceptance or other financial issues cause African-Americans to be among the most under-represented groups to study abroad. Because of this, it was always better to err on the side of caution when it came to picking which country I wanted to study in. This just comes with the territory of being a person of color. In spite of this, being a minority student abroad has not only enhanced my experience but it has also help me with my own personal identity issues.

I knew that once I got to Botswana I would be “invisible”. When Batswana see my skin complexion, they would immediately think of me as their kin-folk. Unfortunately for my CIEE program friends who aren’t invisible, unwanted attention follows them wherever they go. My colleagues are constantly getting marriage proposals, being stared for unnecessarily long amounts of time, and/or getting other forms of verbal harassment. This has made their transition and acceptance of life in Botswana much more difficult. And I empathize. Every girl in Botswana faces some sort of harassment on the daily, so my friends and I could relate to that aspect.

Once people assess me as Motswana, no one really wants to get to know me or hear my story. Constantly being spoken to in Setswana is the biggest disadvantage of being “invisible”. This mostly affects me because of the connotation associated with a Motswana not speaking Setswana. To Batswana, a Motswana not speaking their language comes across as elitist. That was certainly not the impression that I wanted to give off. Once I open my mouth and start speaking English in my American accent, the jig is up. They know I am American. There is a Black American female stereotype that is displayed on reality TV, which is watched by Batswana, so that was another stigma I had to work past. What’s worse is when I tell them that I am actually 100% Nigerian but born in the States. Minds = blown!

...continue reading ""You’re not a Motswana?": Studying Abroad as a Minority"

By teniolab

While living in the Southern Africa region, I have been able to encounter and learn about the lifestyles of people from South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. I have begun to understand the territory that comes with living in a developing country.

One recurring struggle that I have encountered is the issue of with water insecurity. Botswana is a land-locked country. Water is imported from dams in South Africa. Also, rainwater is collected in dams situated in cities all over the country. Having running water available across campus and in the dorms was expected just as you would expect the sun to be shinning every day. Then when I least expected, the spout in the 3rd-floor bathroom of UB's Main lecture hall ran dry. Just like that, you start to become more conscious about how much one relies on running water to complete tasks.

For Batswana, the inconsistencies in water is not a major issue. Most families in their homes store water in empty soda bottles or in giant storage containers. If you are able to afford it, some people will have the ever-so sustainable rainwater collection tanks on their properties. My first reaction to the lack of water shock, but then I became overwhelmed with a calming sense shortly after. I understood that the water issue was something I was eventually going to have to face (shout-out to the CIEE student blog posts for preparing me). More or less, I wished I knew to what extent would a region-wide water shortage affect me on campus. A notice was delivered by my program director. My roommate told me the day before that the water tanks on campus would be turned on for these purposes. With the help of my type-B personally and two 5 liter bottles of water purchased from the nearest Spar, I was able to make it through my first week-long water shortage. I had assumed that the Gaborone dam water levels must be low. But it turned out that a water pipe had broke, so all water was "shut off" in the Greater Gaborone area and surrounding parts. Most of the campus had running water. There were just a few campus buildings here and there that did not.

...continue reading "Metsi! Agua! Water!"

By teniolab

March 4-11th. The week that everyone was dreading/looking forward to. March 4-11th was the week that the Community Public Health students would get the chance to observe rural medical practices in a nearby village named Kanye (which is in fact, West of Gaborone).

I spoke with some local students in my classes, and they would laugh at the fact that I called "Kanye" a village.  Little did I know, there is a KFC, Nando's, Chicken Licken, and many more mainstream shops in Kanye. Even though the program had deemed Kanye as a "village", others would call it semi-urban.

I was excited about the homestay aspect of the village trip. I was on the fence about doing either a dorm or a homestay for my semester abroad. The Kanye homestay allowed me to experience the best of both worlds given that I had chosen to live in the dorms. I really enjoyed my experience and my Kanye family. They were so welcoming and ready to share their lives with me. My homestay experience and life as a Kanye local would not have been the same without them.

...continue reading "Dorm Student Takes on the Homestay Life"