The Border

 

You have to love the informality of Botswana and the friendliness of the people.

I have never had a problem striking up a conversation and nattering on to whoever is in sight.   I don't know what they think of this old guy who wanders up and starts asking how the day is, and how long they have to work until and where do they live (meaning their home village).

However, I have to think that they appreciate someone taking an interest and taking time to inquire how things are.  Many people have long tedious days.

So on Friday our nephew Jamie arrived from Toronto.

He flew Toronto to London overnight, 8 hours or so hours in Heathrow and then overnight flight onto Johannesburg.  From the airport in Johannesburg he took a 5 hour bus right to Botswana.

The bus got to the border around 5:30 p.m.  See above.

Binnie and I got there about 25 minutes early and wandered around.

In the picture above we are standing inside Botswana and not bothered by customs or immigration.  The fence and red brick building in the background is the last border check by the Batswana.  You can see a couple of cars ready to drive through but first the border agents inspect the car and make everyone get out and walk through a tray of liquid anti-foot and mouth disease to make sure that you don't accidentally bring the disease into Botswana.

Then you drive or walk through the archway and you are off into Botswana.

Further back in the picture is the no-man's land between RSA and Botswana and further back the RSA border post.

As noted, we got there early and so I wandered up to the archway and wandered through.  Kinda like into the security area.

There were 5 Staff going about their duties and I just said I was there waiting for my nephew.  I asked how the day was going and how busy was it.  I stood and watched 3 or 4 cars being searched.

The Staff were in a wide array of uniforms or not and it was hard to tell who was official and who was simply a person transiting the border.  Part of the typical backdrop of Botswana. 

Eventually the bus from the airport showed up and everyone had to get off with their luggage and walk past the officials who randomly checked bags, step into the chemical tray and walk through the archway.

Everyone except Jamie got back onto the bus once it came through the archway for the last ride to Gaborone but we grabbed Jamie and headed to the car for the ride to Thamaga.

As soon as I saw Jamie I wandered up under the archway and welcomed him to Botswana and told him to step into the tray and come across, which he did.  Nobody said anything to either of us.

Yes, 1,000 times different than landing in Pearson Airport in Toronto or crossing into the States at the Ivy Lea Bridge at Gananoque or any other border crossing in most parts of the world.

The joys of Botswana that make living here so fascinating and easy going.  

Just don't come here and expect things to move with any urgency.

Hospitality

 When it was decided to built our winter home in Botswana it was always part of the equation that the house was to be used by friends and family.  To share the place.

No, it doesn't have the benefit of water anywhere near by, like on a more traditional cottage but if you wanted a place to enjoy the weather, take a break and explore Africa it is a good base.

And of course, if we do have guests, although I don't see him that way, since Jamie is here until early April, Binnie labels everything so that you can quickly find stuff to eat and accommodate yourself .

Not to be rude but you are to make yourself at home and look after yourself.  You carry on as you please and there is plenty of space in the way Binnie designed the house that you have your own area (bedroom, bathroom and sitting area) and we have our own.  Two spare bedrooms in fact.

So there is plenty of space to spread out and have your own  area without bothering anyone else.

So come over and drop by sometime....

"Rain Day"

 Well in Canada we are used to “snow days” when schools are closed or the school buses do not run here in Thamaga were are having a “rain day”.

It has been raining since last evening and it has been coming down steadily and with an intensity that is quite remarkable.

Thus when we got up around 6:30 a.m. the yard was flooded with the water rising noticeably.  It was just about at the height of the main floor.

The problem is that our property slopes slightly from west to east.  So any stormwater that is created on the property (all the paving stones don’t help with water infiltration) runs to the east and is blocked by the back wall of the compound which acts as a dam.

Luckily there are 4 drainage holes at the bottom of the wall but they can get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of water.

More detrimental was the fact that the stormwater in the “street” in front of our house was acting like a river carrying water to the east.  However, there was a grade difference that meant the water instead of simply running past the house was coming in through our front gate and running east along the north side of the house.  A real rushing stream carrying sand with it!

Binnie with a hoe and the Tenant and I with shovels created a swale to divert the water back along the street outside our wall.  We also created 2 small sand dikes to re-route the water.

Once this was done and the path for water through our yard was blocked, the water inside the yard has started to drop.

However, I bet you there was a good 9" of water ponding behind the house and 3 or 4" inches in front of the house as the following pictures will quantify.

The next problem is when the rain stops and the sun comes out, we will have quite a bit of silt all over the yard.  Not bothered about behind the house but the courtyard is gong to have to be washed.

We used to have a long hose, but just looking now, it seems to have disappeared... 

I assume “borrowed”.  So we will have to get another hose.

The other precaution we will have to take is to get a collection of sandbags to be able to utilize quickly when, or if, we have to divert stormwater again in the future.  We can store them in the garage in the meantime.

While talking about our own stormwater issue, don’t forget this rain and running water is happening all through the village and looking at the skies I would suggest in a quite large geographic area.

Thus, all the “streets” have turned to muddy rivers and everyone simply stays put in home.

Because of the predominantly warm/hot climate, Botswana is essentially an outdoor country.  As long as you have shade you can function outside.  Cold temperatures are not an issue.

Thus, all the informal shops and vendors really cannot deal with too much rain and everyone essentially sits tight until the rain stops and then evaporates or disappears into the ground.

In the same vein, the 2 kids next door did not go to school although they were ready to go.

Throw in that the power has been off and it is quite gloomy and dark inside the house.

Luckily my laptop was fully charged up, so I can work away in the meantime.  However, I don’t have access to the internet until the power comes back.

And also luckily I didn't encounter any snakes floating in the water or hiding in the "pond" in front of the house. Thanks to Binnie to warn me to watch out for snakes!

In front of the house

Diverting the water

Before

After!

Silt/sand washed in

"Street" to the left of house or floodway

"Street" in front of the house

"Street" to the east of the house

Projects

Well, we continue to work away through a list of projects.

This week, we got all the cracks in the house fixed and patched up.

 All that is left is for the better half to match the paint colour and touch it up.

Then it will be a matter of seeing if the house settles any more in the next 7 years as it did slightly in the previous 7.

The other project was to put an awning over the back door.

Rain was coming into the kitchen and leaving a large puddle on the floor.

Instead of putting a rubber gasket under the door, we opted to try the awning.

The reason being it was felt that the rain was falling, hitting the top step outside and then running in.  With the awning in place hopefully the top step will be kept dry.

It took us 4 stops at builder supply centres in Gaborone to get a 1.2 metre wide awning.  Even after that the awning we bought was crap.  Cheaply made Chinese product.  All plastic.

2 year warranty?  Right!

Anyway I got my crack team of building assistants to assembly the awning.  

They then used my drill and cement bit and drilled four holes and lag-bolted the awning to the back wall of the house.

Yes, Steve and Ed, it is symmetrical over the door, the angle of the photo is deceptive.

If you look at the steps, you will notice the top step has tile.  At the top of this vertical piece of tile, the tile continues, in big squares, right through the house to the front door. 

As noted we are hoping to keep the rain away from the top step and out of the house.

Testing has yet to occur, but I for one am hoping for a good outcome, since I have a better half that wants action!!

ZOOM meeting

 This past Thursday I had a ZOOM meeting for a difficult planning project in Belleville.  Meeting with the applicant and his lawyer.

8:30 a.m. - Belleville time; 3:30 p.m. Thamaga time.

The technology worked quite well and no lack of audio or breakup of video.

Unless it was stated, you would not know where any of us were?  Belleville, Trenton or Thamaga?

The only problem, and I have seen this happen once or twice in meetings in Belleville, is when the power goes off.

So 50 minutes into our meeting, the power goes off in the village.

As seems almost automatic, if there is a heavy rainstorm, the power goes off??

Sure enough a shower was passing by and it knocked off the power to my router.

Not much you can do about that?  

My laptop was not affected since it runs on battery but the internet connection was lost.

 It is truly amazing to consider when I first arrived in Botswana the internet really didn't exist and one relied on mail.

Today there is an excellent internet service especially in this corner of Botswana. 

Rain = temperature

Every day this past week it rained.  One day a lot, others an hour or so.

In talking to Binnie and our tenant this is not normal.  It didn't use to rain in February.

Thus like many places around the globe the weather patterns are definitely changing which makes living here trickier.

As seen on the climate classification map above, Botswana is either warm desert or warm semi-arid.  That doesn't leave much scope for getting hotter or dryer.

Anyway when the clouds are out, the temperature never really rises.

Thus, this past Thursday I had a warm shower for the first time.  Previously I simply turn on the shower and turn the tap to cold.  The water coming out is quite mild and far from cold.  I never have turned the tap to warm or hot. 

Don't forget we don't get frost here and so pipes are not buried deep in the ground and surface water storage tanks run by the government to supply water to the village are on the surface and subject to the sun.  Not elevated water storage tanks but tanks on the highest ground in the village.

All in all, this contributes to water coming out of the tap to be relatively luke-warm.

We do have a hot water heater but it is fixed to the back wall high up on the outside of the house.

You will also notice that all the copper piping to supply the house with water is attached to the outside wall.  As are the drain pipes.

So on the far right are the pipes for the master bedroom, tub, shower, sink and toilet.

To the right of the back door is the plumbing for the kitchen. 

Sorry for the diversion.  The water heater is powered by electricity and there is a switch inside to turn it on and off.  It does not run continuously.

So because of the cooler water temperature I finally reverted to utilizing the water heater.

I should note that the better half uses the water heater every morning and night for her shower or bath.  Softy!!

 
  

Mr. Bean - the cartoon

 So I have 2 new friends who live in the house next to Binnie and I.

Angela and her brother Shalom.  Both in primary school.

Monday through Friday they head off about 7 a.m. and get back around 1 p.m. or so.

Angela usually has some homework to do and her brother tends to get out her bike which he proceeds to ride in circles around the courtyard.

They like chatting and they help translate for me when there is an older person around.

Earlier in the week, after school, it was raining and so they and a friend were standing on the front stoep watching the rain.

Shalom then asked asked if they could come in and watch cartoons!

Like tv service in Canada I get about 70 channels on the dish.  News, sports, comedy, religion, movies and kid's programming.  Needless to say I jump over the dozen or kid's channels since I am not the slightest bit interested.

Anyway, the 3 kids made themselves comfortable on the sofa and then Shalom said 302, Mr. Bean.

302 being one of the kid's channels.

I tuned it in and watched for a minute for so.

The cartoon version of Mr. Bean.

They clearly watch it and had  a feel for the show.

I left them to it and went off to play on my computer.

It never fails to leave me a bit jaded about what tv shows get beamed to the world.  Is that the best we can offer the kids of Botswana?

Technology sure makes the world a much smaller place and we send images and stories around the world.    However, growing up here you sure get a westernized version of what constitutes success.   

 

Borrowing

 Families over here have a sense of "borrowing" which means in effect, you will never see it again!

It is not if they cannot afford to buy the item for themselves, but they see yours and figure you don't need it since you are not always around.

When constructing the house Binnie bought a wheelbarrow.  Very handy.

Now she is back and once again into gardening and the wheelbarrow is gone.

Then this morning she was going to bake banana muffins only to find her tray gone.

She was not a happy camper!!!

Thus she got onto the family WhatsApp chat group and fired a message to her 10 siblings saying this borrowing had to stop and she wanted her stuff back!

A few replied with smiley emojis but the youngest brother who had the wheelbarrow for 3 years, went off and bought us a new one from the hardware store.

Consequently we now have a replacement wheelbarrow and like everything else of ours, where appropriate, it has been sprayed with bright red spray paint.  Thus, my tools, the rake, the water tank, etc., everything is marked so there is no arguments who the owner is!

Copy Shop

 So I am responsible for the year-end financial report for St Columba Presbyterian Church in Belleville and so it was time to finish the report and email to my colleague in the church office.

However I wanted a print copy to read over and check the numbers.

So I loaded from my computer onto a jump stick 6 files and headed off om my walk across the village to the copy shop.

It was right where I expected it to be.

A small office with a range of printers and 6 workstations with computers and monitors.  Thus, you could use the workstations at an hourly rate or use the printers to print out documents.  The going rate was 2 pula or about 25 cents per page.

There was a young lad in front of me printing out his CV and job application letter.

When it was my turn, it turned out they only dealt in cash and not swipe cards.  Now that was a problem because I don't carry cash and it was going to be a trek back home to get an allowance from the "Boss".

Thus, I bartered with the girl behind the desk.  Please print out my papers, I'll give you my driver's license and will be back later to pay!!

As if she hasn't heard that before!!  However, colour does have its place and I got my prints!

On the way out, I asked what she drank.  She said Fanta orange.

So I stopped at the shop next door and bought 2 Fanta orange.  One for her and one for me.

I went back and headed one in.  She was quite pleased!

Cost to me was 90 cents and a friend for the duration of my stay.  Every time I go I will bring along a Fanta orange!

Lunch Time

 As noted in other years, Botswana still seems to have a habit of following the old British tradition of closing for lunch hour.

On my way to the copy shop, Binnie asked if I would stop at the Council offices and inquire about garbage.  There used to be a sign up for pickup at your house.

Or was there another alternative, or a place we could take our garbage bags to?

Unfortunately  I arrived just at the beginning of the lunch hour break and was told to come back in 75 minutes.  Since I was on a specific mission and this was a diversion, I was not going to hang around.

So I continued on to the copy shop and would let Binnie know we will have to check again later.

A real pain in the butt these lunch hour closures.

Cold?

 So the day dawned this morning overcast with a slight drizzle.

Thus I imagine the temperature hovered just below 20C.

Perfect weather for Binnie and myself but a little chilly for the neighbours!

The tenant's kids were all bundled up as they headed to school and dad had on a long sleeve shirt as he was getting ready to the office.

When I walked to the copy shop a lot of people had on sweater or insulated jackets/

As we all know, temperature is relative and for Canadians cold is quite different from Botswanans.

Getting lost - twice!

 For the record, the actual location of our "winter" home is :

 24°39'47.84"S   25°31'48.70"E

If you entered those co-ordinates into Google maps or equivalent you should end up right over our abode.

Or for a visual presentation of our neighbourhood, see the picture below.

It is simply a hodge-podge of houses/plots with dusty trails weaving in and out around the houses.

No assemblance of order, no addresses, no street signs or name.

You have to figure your way around by recognizing certain trees, houses, or other distinguishing features.

Last evening at around 6 p.m. it was very cloudy, dark with lightening and thus idea weather for a walk by yours truly.

So as shown on the map, in the red line, I headed southeast eventually passed the soccer field were a practice was going on and hit the tarred road.

I then headed north on the tarred road until I hit a secondary road made from paving stones and circled back west.  At a certain point I veered southwest hoping to hit our house.

Well at this point my sense of direction completely went askew.  Before you know it, I was off the map in the bottom left corner where it says Google Earth!  I knew this because I eventually hit another tarred road that I recognized and knew where I was.  I followed that road north and then headed back east to close a rather convoluted and very large circle!!

The good news was that I put 12,000 steps on my Fitbit.  The bad news was that it was dark by the time I got home and if I had messed up, I truly would have been lost.

Then today at midday I headed off to the copy shop to get some files on my jump stick printed out.  I knew where I was going and made good time getting there.  However, on the way back I again misjudged the way I was supposed to go and for the second day in the road veered southwest and instead of northwest.  

Near the end of the trek, I was getting a bit confused and stopped and asked two girls hanging over a wall staring at me, where did I live?

They pointed over their shoulders to the west and laughed!

For the record, Thamaga has a population of around 25,00 people.  I am pretty sure I am the only white guy in these parts.  Definitely in the northwest corner of the village and for obvious reasons, I definitely stand out!

Consequently, everyone seems to know me as the guy who lives in the new house in a certain location. 

Setback

 Well currently we are dealing with a normal setback encountered by many people and not confined to Botswana.

Through lack of concentration on my part, I clicked on a FB post by a relative and downloaded a hack to my Android Phone.

This then resulted in my WhatsApp sending out false messages to some of my contacts.

So the next item today is to google and find out what I have to do.

I use the phone on airplane mode and use free Wi-Fi when in the City.  FB, email, and WhatsApp.

Thus a real pain to have it out of commission right now.

Gardening

 Well like in Canada Binnie loves gardening.

More power to her!!

Of course, it takes a little planning because of the hotter temperatures and dryer climate.

But like all things there are plants that are able to survive the conditions found in Botswana.

Yesterday in Gabs we picked up some gardening supplies.

Packet of carrot seeds.

Small gardening kit with small hoe, weed extractor, shovel and clippers.

Also 2 plastic pots and a container of snake repellant.

I guess snake repellant is something that is not part of standard gardening supply in Trenton.  However, it is advisable to avoid snakes in your garden in Thamaga so you add the liquid repellent to the ground around the garden to deter the snakes.

For those keeping score, to date, no snakes have been spotted.

Laundry

 Now to the more mundane.

My beloved made sure that the 2nd appliance that she bought was a washing machine!   Very handy and a time saver.

In this dusty land she does one load a laundry a day.  Not big loads but a constant daily stream of small loads.

Thus, in reality we could really have packed with very few clothes and just had clean ones every 2 or 3 days.

Then of course, with the all plentiful sun it is a matter of  simply hanging the clothes outside for 20 minutes and then they are bone dry.

No fuss or bother.

Property Management or Affordable Housing

 I probably could go 2 ways with this post.

One would be to say how a developing country like Botswana has something to tell a 1st world country like Canada about affordable housing and a few other things to boot!

The other is to explain our housing situation.

This picture shows Binnie's original house, now referred to as the "Cottage", with a corner of our new house to the left.  Our Camry on the left, the tenant's BMW on the right.

To repeat the tale, after finishing nursing school and before a certain Canadian asked her if she wanted to come to Canada (!), Binnie wisely got a plot of land from the Land Board.  Subsequently, she build a modest bungalow in it.  To serve as her base of operations.

Move forward to the mid 2000's and she came over and build the new house.

As the construction was finishing she got the builders and painters to "spruce up" the cottage.  New bathroom, new kitchen, tile flooring throughout and new paint job.  Really the only thing missing was a new front door and windows.

At this point in time she located a property manager in Gaborone to take the cottage on as part of her inventory.

Kate is Zambian and married to a Swiss gentlemen.

Thus she looks after maintenance, finances and complaints,, etc.  Through social media she and Binnie can, if need be, communicate daily.

For the most part everything sees to run smoothly.

So right now we have a young family staying in the cottage.  The husband works and commutes into Gaborone weekdays.  Mom is a housewife and there is a young girl and boy both in primary school.

And also 2 large dogs.  One is a South African mastiff; a " boerboel". 

"Ownership of the dog is limited by law in many countries.  Used as a family guard dog. It is large, with a short coat, strong bone structure and well-developed muscles."

Needless to say , she has her pluses and minuses.  On the negative side, she scares the heck out of us and is tied up during the day.  At night she is let loose and provides "security".

Anyway, back to the theme.

The "cottage" is rented out at 1,600 pula a month.  ($160).  This is below the going market rate but we simply wanted someone living in the compound and keeping an eye on the empty house.

So far, this appears to have worked out well, and the tenants are on a 24 month lease.  Stability.

Kate charges us 1,600 pula a year for her services.  Pretty decent compared to Canada I would say.

Thus we end up with 11 x 1,600 pula a year in rent which I believe works out to 17,600 pula.

Our only expenses from that sum is for water and any maintenance Kate deems necessary.

Therefore, the bulk of this revenue is available to keep upgrading our house.

Additional furniture, A/C, outdoor circular clothes dryer, etc.

Finally, to circle back to the beginning.  Our property has 2 houses on it.  Mma Binnie has a total of 3 dwelling units and everyone else in the village seems to have at least 2 dwelling units on their property.

Thus a lot of "affordable" housing for property owners and renters and the ability for new property owners to supplement the income of their new house/property.

More to be said on that in a future post.

Neighbourhoods

 In a good many villages, and Thamaga is no exception, whole neighbourhoods are inhabited by the descendants of one family.

In Binnie's case, I believe the original family member to get a plot of land from the Tribal Land Board was Binnie's paternal grandparents.  Beside their plot, their 4 sons got plots and so on.

So when you look out from Mma Binnie's house everyone to the left, right and across the open space are family members.  As time goes on more plots are added until their is no more room and people have to get a plot a little further afield.

Similarly, if I understand correctly, daughters were not usually allocated plots in the "inner" family area and were directed to "outer" areas.

By the time Binnie went to get her plot in the early 90's, her plot was a few 100 metres east of Mma Binnie's.  However, across the laneway from a cousin slightly older than Binnie.

When I say "cousin" I have to hedge my comments because I don't know many steps on the cousin tree we are talking?  It must be way past 1st, 2nd and possibly 3rd cousins.

All I know is that they are all related and Binnie always introduces another stranger as a cousin!

The view from the front wall of Mma Binnie's house to the other family connected plots/houses across the open space.

The open space is an excellent place to play soccer.  Gordon loved to spend all day playing with all the kids in the area.  It still continues to this day and if you look closely you can see 2 bricks/blocks to serve as one of the goals.

Mma Binnie's house/plot.  Looking opposite to the previous photo.

You cannot see them clearly but Mma Binnie has 2 smaller accessory dwelling behind to the left and right of the main house.

Over Employment

 Botswana and South Africa suffer from a serious problem.  Too many people and not enough jobs.

This is particularly true for young people.

As a small country, roughly the population of Toronto, it is almost impossible to have an industrial base or manufacturing.  Thus there is scramble to create jobs.

High end tourism is one source of jobs and income for the country as is the various diamond mines.

Botswana

Botswana was one of the first areas where bulk sampling and indicator mineral mapping were used to characterize and identify diamond pipes across a large and difficult geographic area. Exploration began in the 1950s and diamond mining began in 1971. By the mid-1980s Botswana had some of the highest yielding mines in the world, and the tiny country was among the world's leading diamond producers.

For over a decade, Botswana has been the second-leading producer of diamonds on the basis of carat weight and the leading producer on the basis of value. It holds this position because its average diamond size is larger than what is produced by Russia and of a general higher quality.

Botswana's Jwaneng mine is often referred to as "the richest diamond mine in the world." The mine has been producing about 10 million carats of high-quality diamonds per year. The mine is owned by a company named Debswana, a joint venture company between De Beers and the government of Botswana - hence the name "Debswana."

The diamond industry is the most important contributor to economic activity in Botswana. Diamonds account for about 60% of Botswana's exports and about 25% of its gross domestic product. De Beers is in charge of selling all of Debswana's rough and has built the largest diamond sorting and selling facility in the world in Gaborone, the capital and largest city of Botswana. There, stones mined by De Beers in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa are sorted and offered to diamond buyers and manufacturers from around the world in De Beers' famous "sightholder sales."

Unfortunately diamonds produce income for the government but relatively few jobs.

Thus, the other day when I went to get my hair cut for 200 pula ($20) there were 3 staff for every chair.

The hair cutter, the sweeper and the hair washer.

As the hair cutter went about his business, every few minutes, a girl came with a small brush to sweep hair off the cloth around my shoulders and then the hair off the floor.  When my hair cut was finished the floor was already clean!

Then around the corner at another station with a big sink you leaned your head back into was another employee.

For the inclusive cost I could have also had a shave but I passed on that.

At petrol stations there are about 2 employees per pump.  All in unforms like it probably was like in the 60's back in Canada.

This group, fills the petrol, washes the windows and will check the oil if requested.  When finished they bring the debit machine to the car to pay for the petrol.  No charge for their services but they usually get 20 pula to share. ($2).  All part of wealth distribution!

When we went to get our gas cylinder exchanged at the hardware store this morning, there were 3 young lads sitting in the shade in front of the store.  One came and got the empty cylinder from the boot and took it to the compound behind the store and brought out a fully charged cylinder and loaded it back into the trunk.

I anticipate that this is their current livelihood and it is as pretty informal as it gets.  (Binnie gave the young lad 20 pula.)

This scenario is seen everywhere in Botswana. Too many people looking for work and not enough formal jobs.  Thus "jobs" are created.

Cooking

So Binnie was quite smart when she set up the house.  She got a dual gas/electric stove.

Thus, if the power happens to go out, she can still cook with gas. Similarly, if the cylinder every runs out, then she can use electricity.

Thus, this morning's chore was to get our empty cylinder exchanged for a new one.

This took us to 3 different shops before we found one that had cylinders.

Back home I lugged the cylinder to the back of the house and went in search of the regulator.

Luckily it was close at hand on the shelf in the garage.

I locked the cylinder to the chain embedded in the wall.   Things not tied down in the village tend to disappear quite quickly!!

Then I had to cut a short length off the rubber hose since it was blocked and then re-attached the regulator using the small clamp.  Back in business!!

Luckily on our last trip to Thamaga from Canada I loaded up one of my suitcases with a lot of tools from Canadian Tire.  Exacto knife, screwdrivers, wrenches. plyers, etc.  Makes small projects relatively easy to do and gets me bonus points!

Our dual stove.

Of course, I picked the cabinets and counter top.  NOT!

Cylinder all set up and ready to be used.  Note chain.

Too Much Running Around

Today Binnie and I spent 8 hours in the capital running around knocking things off are to do list.

Very tiring and draining!

This included getting our internet router activated and operational.

For the record, the "silver" package costs 595 pula a month which I convert to around $60.

We also got our satellite receiver activated and so we have television at the house.  No sure if that is a good thing or not??  However, we now get BBC World News and CNN International and about 75 other channels.

The cost for that was 526 pula or $55.

When you add those 2 together it is cheaper than the internet/tv package I have with Cogeco in Trenton which comes in at just over $200.

For reference at the local Shell gas bar the price is 22.45 pula per litre.  I guess $2.25 Cdn/litre.  Thus we have a ways to catch up in Trenton.

Lastly 3 photos to put our lifestyle in perspective.

A look down one of the aisles at the ShopRite grocery store in the capital.  Pretty similar to home.

Binnie stocking up the cart.

Then the ice cream selection.

Living 45 minutes from the capital, the odds of the ice cream becoming liquid before half way home are too great.  See having -25C in Ontario right now would prevent this problem!!

Lastly having lunch with Binnie's sister at Nando's.  An international chain with at least I think 6 restaurants in Ontario.

I hate to say it, but today is a perfect reason why Binnie and I are here.  Somewhere around 50 degrees warmer than Trenton and we have been out in shorts and t-shirts.

Oh one final question.  What does snowbird mean to you?

Binnie says its retired people who go to a warmer climate to get out of the Canadian winter.  She keeps saying she is not a snowbird.  I beg to differ?

Thoughts?

Photos 1

Only defect in 7 years.  Block pillar holding up archway between kitchen and living room has “shifted” and cracked.Original builder and engineer came this afternoon and looked at the crack and the approved engineering plans and determined it was only cosmetic.  Builder will be back next week to remove plaster and confirm.

 

D. O’Leary designed village street in front of our house and the front gate.

View out our backdoor to the east

Patience

 When you come to Africa or at least Botswana you have to become reacquainted with the concept of patience.  Things get done but at a timing that is totally beyond your control.

If waiting an extra 2 or 3 minutes at the Tim Horton’s drive-through bugs you, don’t even think of coming to Botswana.

Monday we went to the Mascomm Office at the Game City Mall.  One of the big cellular companies in Botswana similar to Bell, Rogers or Virgin Mobile.

12 people were standing and sitting in chairs in the mall hallway waiting to get inside the commercial unit to speak to a customer representative.  Everyone is very patient and they know their place in the line.  This held until some older guy came along with a plastic bag with what looked like a new cell phone box in it.

He shuffled past the queue and went up to one of the representatives and started to talk in a loud voice.  Right away he was served??

Finally after 55 minutes Binnie go her turn and was efficiently helped by a young lad.  He got her Botswana cell phone and running and loaded a pre-paid amount on it.  Then she produced our small wireless router the size of a pack of cards.

He too got that activated.

That got our two basic necessities up and running.  Telephone access and acess to the internet, email and Whatsup.  This has already allowed for numerous voice and video call back to Canada.

As for the older gentlemen, according to the agent who helped us, it is company policy to provide priority service to senior’s.  Thus he was in his right to bypass the queue.  I might have to explore this option further.....

Then yesterday, Binnie and I went of to the Airport Mall branch of her bank to get her debit /ATM card activated.  It had expired.

This was a 2 hour wait for Binnie as I went off to find a nice suitable bench to sit on and watch the mall shoppers!  After being bounced from 3 different tellers, two of whom kept  telling her everything was ok and just go outside the bank and use the ATM, Binnie was having nothing to do with that, and she stood her ground until the 3rd teller got the card activated.

This then gives us the ability to withdraw money from any ATM and pay at checkouts such as the grocery store.  A great convenience and time saver once activated.

I have countless more stories of patience required in our first 4 days in Botswana but they will have to wait another day.

Oldie

Binnie and her 10 siblings refer to her mother, Mma Binnie, as “Oldie”.

At age 82 with bad arthritis I believe she does remarkably well living on her own in the family house.   However, Thamaga is not an easy place to get around if you have bad knees and hips.

Mma Binnie is 40 years older than the country, back in the days when Botswana was a British Protectorate. [Not a colony because it was a desert here and of no real value.] Thus, all her records are paper-based and not readily available or double checked like one would find with a modern government (in theory!)

The old age pension here is 600 pula a month which equates to about $60.  No way you can survive on that.  Moreover, most of the old people grew up when pensions were not really in place.  Consequently, it is the family who has to step up and look after the “oldies”.

I should add that the government does try to help by sending mobile payment offices to various corners of the village at the first of the month to make is easy for the seniors to get their monthly pension a few steps from their houses.  This relieves them of  the need to go to the post office or other government buildings in the village.

I wonder if the government here is ahead of the service level provided by the Government of Canada??

So Binnie and 3 of her siblings contribute monthly finances to Mma Binnie to help her out.

Needless to say, twice this week Binnie has added groceries to our list for the Oldie and dropped them off and tonight walked a casserole over to mom’s house for her supper. 

Yesterday when we were in the capital we were looking for a walker but to no avail at the drugstore that is well stocked.  Consequently we are going to have to ask around to see what other shops there are.

Lastly, Binnie has decided to have a birthday celebration for her mom while she is home.  That will be another adventure I’m sure especially getting all 11 kids and grandkids in sync and organized.