Student Blog Takeover Part One

Wildlife Conservation in Gaborone, Botswana - Session 1 - Week one blog - 

Day 2 - We woke up at 6:45am and got ready for breakfast. Then we headed out to Boma Center where we would have our lessons that day. First we had a lesson on biodiversity and conservation methods. Then we had a break where we drank hot chocolate and juice with some grilled cheese sandwiches. Afterwards we went for a walk, and played some games. One game had 9 circles, and people stood in each circle trying to figure out how to switch sides, but you could only skip one space at a time. We also played a game with recycled cans. It was almost like musical chairs. However many groups there were, there was one less bottle in the middle. The groups were made up of three people, one fork, one spoon, and one knife. The leader would say one of those, then left or right, and that person had to run to that direction around the circle of people and through their other two teammates to grab a can to avoid being eliminated. After a fun time of games, we learned what our final project is and began working on that. Then we played a game with tires where you have to rearrange tires to be in a pyramid shape while keeping them in order faster than another team attempting to do the same. After this we headed back to Boma center and had a dance class, which was incredibly fun, and we learned a surprising amount very quickly. After this we had lunch: peas and carrots, oxtail, chickpeas, and salad. It was delicious. We then went on a game drive because of two late arrivals, Jason and Hudson, who never got to join us on our first drive. We saw all the same animals, but unfortunately no giraffes. However, we came across a rhino mom and her baby and she attacked our bus! Attacked is a bit of a strong word, but she was very protective of her baby. It was a slightly scary but very cool thing to experience. We headed back to Mokolodi and had some free time. Then we had dinner and went stargazing. Overall, it was a fun day. 

Day 3 - At the Boma facility again, we hung out for a bit and then had a class on wildlife conservation, threats, and strategies. We then had a break with sandwiches and juice, and prepped for our co curricular activity, stakeholder interviews. There was one gentleman who worked in an inclusive educational unit. He works with deaf students and involves them in conservation attempts. Another gentleman has worked at Mokolodi for 24 years in various positions. He currently works in the educational unit. The third gentleman works out in the field to conserve and protect the animals at Mokolodi. During the interview, we learned a lot about life in Botswana and nature conflicts from a native perspective. After these interviews we had our final functional Setswana class. We learned survival phrases like “Ga ke tlhaloganyo” meaning “I don’t understand”, and “Ke na le potso” meaning “I have a question”. This class was very interesting, but overall people were struggling to catch on to the pronunciation as it was very different from how Americans spell and talk. After lunch we had a class on the physical geography of Botswana where we learned about the climates and biomes, including the Kalahari desert that spans most of the country. We then did a scavenger hunt and learned about trees. For example, we learned about the Buffalo thorn tree and how some tribes believe that it can be used to transfer spirits from one place to another. The leaves of the Buffalo thorn tree can also be used to treat boils. We headed back to the education center and got ready to go to the waterhole. At the waterhole, we were divided into teams to do some bird watching and identification. We learned about various kinds of birds and their habitat, and as an added bonus, we saw hippos! They were incredibly cool. Then we had dinner and everyone was very cold. After dinner we all sat outside by the fire and chatted for a while. Finally, it was time to go to bed.

Day 4 - This morning we woke up around 5:30 am to hike up a hill to watch the sunrise. It was very dark and cold, but the sunrise was absolutely astonishing. We headed back to the education center and had breakfast, which was delicious as always. Then we had a while to hang out before our first class of the day. Learning about geology and erosion, we talked about the causes of soil erosion and some ways to prevent it. Afterwards, we went out to do field work on this topic, putting our words to actions. With our gloves and tools at the ready, we began to cut down trees known as the “three cousin trees,” which are present when land is overused and they are a sign of desertification. We cut these down with saws, axes, and clippers and spread out the thorny branches to prevent soil erosion from water flowing downhill. After this, we had lunch at the Education Center and had free time before our music class. The music class was fantastic, the marimbas we used were authentic, and they looked really cool. Compared to the US, the marimbas here only had one accidental, F#. We managed to play some really cool tunes together as a group, despite most people having little to no experience. Everyone really seemed to love the experience. The class was taught by the same gentleman who led our dance class and everyone loved that as well. After the music class, we had a quiz on what we had learned that week. Then, we had a lecture on Indigenous knowledge systems where we learned about different totems and customs. After this class we drove up the hill to watch the sunset. This was really nice because you could see the sunset on one side, and an incredible view of the valley on the other. We got to see the way the Sun rose and set across Botswana. We headed back to the dorms, had some free time, and then had dinner. After which, we went to bed. 

Day 5 -  We woke up, had breakfast and got ready to head to Legae Academy to meet our high student peers. When we got there, we did ice breakers and musical chairs. We then got to explore the tuck shops at school. Afterwards, we watched the marimba team and dance club perform. We then played netball, rugby, and basketball. We hung out with our peers for a while and then headed to Fields Mall, where we split into groups to explore the shops and food. The group I was in ate at Vida E Cafe, had incredible burgers, and went for ice cream. Everything was delicious. We looked at different stores and explored the mall. We had a lot of fun. We came back and got ready to go camping. We got there and tents were already pitched for us and we sat around the campfire. We had a delicious dinner followed by a stargazing and navigation lesson. We went to bed and everyone had a tough time sleeping because of how cold it was and the crazy animal sounds, like warthogs and hyenas! However, we were perfectly safe inside our tents. We also could hear Dusani snoring all night, which was incredibly funny as he sounded like one of the hippos. In the morning, we got ready to meet our homestay families!

Student blog report of daily life in Gaborone, authored by Emma Kirwan