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.