Sights of Gaborone

Nah, this isn't a California sunset, but this is what it regularly looks like here (minus the palm trees, these are the first I have seen here)

The skies here are so gorgeous. I could fill posts and posts of photos like this.

This is the Orapa House, thats where De Beers wheels and deals its diamonds.

The French Embassy.

Right by my house, the Orapa Building is in the far left.

This is the first (and maybe the only) bike lane I have seen in Botswana.

No, that is not the launching pad for Botswana's space program, but rather their telecomunications tower.

Take a closer look, yes... you remember that logo on the left of that fortress, they're the ones that put all the oil into the ocean. Insert witty comment about their priorities here.

Tourists

Journal Entry from Wendesday September 22nd in Chobe National Park:

We were heading back from an extensive day of wildlife viewing, when we saw a herd of 4 or 5 safari vehicles along with their patrons all stopped and staring off into the thick bush. This was a good sign. When these packs of vicious viewers congregate you know you are in for a show. Finding the critter that these khaki clad campers have come across can be more difficult then finding cell phone service in your house. Just like tracking a creature, it is vitally important to follow the signs. The most useful sign is to look at the khaki crew and see where they are looking, along with what they are looking with. What to watch for:

-If point and shoots are being used (especially at rapid fire) then it is safe to assume that the findings are close. Note: Don’t automatically deduce that just because point and shoots are being used that the animal is close, some people just don’t have a clue, but if what they are looking at is far away most will give up the feeble attempt fairly quickly and put down the camera.

-If binoculars are being used, than it is a pretty safe assumption that the creature is further away. Note: Again don’t immediately infer that because you see binoculars that creatures are fact away, some people are just blind, or stupid. It is vital to assess the entire field before pulling out your weapon of choice. Once you have done that, let the searching begin!

After reading the signs, it became obvious that today was going to be a "Where’s Waldo" type of day. Our scene today was a rocky, slowly sloping hillside about 50 meters away. In the bush you can ask where something is located, but even the keenest linguistics will have trouble sometimes. Saying things like: “It’s next to the rock” or “They are in front of the tree” is useless. Why? Because do you know how many trees and rocks there are here?! Duh it is going to not only be around just a single rock or a lone tree, but a plethora of them! They are everywhere. Fortunately though, Mother Nature has provided us wildlife junkies an easier way to get our fix; I will spare you the charts, technical graphs and extensive scientific jargon and simply call it hydration. Animals need fluids, so it is a safe bet (especially in the current dry season) that animals can be found in the more open areas, near water. Today, this was not the case though. Unfortunately, nature also does this thing called evolution (for further reading see Darwin). In a place as hot and dry as Botswana, all creatures that required their equivalent of 8 cups of water spaced evenly throughout the day have long since died of dehydration or been a tasty treat to a predator who was waiting near the watering hole. Animals who have small bladders died off long, long before there was medication to treat it.

Today we were attempting to spot two baby cheetahs, left by their mother so she could go hunt for them. If trying to spot them wasn’t hard enough due to nature, you also have to deal with your own ecosystem. And by that I mean, dealing with the dynamics of your tour vehicle. The vehicle is a pick-up, with the bed having three rows of raised seats and an overhang to protect the patrons from the blistering sun. Getting a good view is half luck and half skill. You never know what side you are going to see something on so you either could be in the best spot, or behind everyone. In that case it is up to your wormy attributes, mixed with some ancient and forgotten yoga poses and your diplomacy skills (remember you have to ride with these people and repeat this process many times) to get you into a prime viewing position. And even then, animals are animals and they move; it is a constant ebb and flow and one must be able to adapt at all times. And that is what I had to do today. Fortunately because they were cubs, they didn’t move around too much and once I found my position I was set.

After taking full appreciation of the sight, it was time to move on. As we continued on the path, giddily searching around every tree and stone (ok many of the trees and stones) for the next critter which we were to see. Where then, we would scramble over our seats and scamper to get the best look and shot of our new friends.

Just heard a lion howl, feeding time.

I find this photo particularly amusing, as it portrays and mother elephant and her child crossing the river, accompanied by a hundred or so on lookers.

Early Morning Joy

It is nearly 6 am and I have been up since before two. Why? No, I have not been tracking the pesky leopard. I was tracking something I have seen less of here than the carnivorous cats. I don’t think some of you know just how lucky you actually are, everyday, at a reasonable time mind you, you can sit down relax and just appreciate something great on multiple mediums. That is not the case for everyone in the world (ie me). Every morning, you can find in-depth info on them and every night you get to appreciate them directly. I am speaking of the Giants of course. Do you know how hard it is to get info about them here?! It is funny how the time I decide to live super rural, the Giants MAKE THE WORLD SERIES!

It worked out perfectly; Saturday we wrapped up our Mochudi home stays and we were to spend one night in a little lodge before meeting our new families in Gaborone. When I walked into the front door of the lodge and saw a computer on the internet, I knew it was going to be a good night (well actually morning). Unfortunately the Yankees lost the day before, so rather then getting the afternoon game which would start at the reasonable time of 10pm for us, we got the night game which meant 2am… rough…

Four of us all manager to stumble out of bed only to find that the computers speakers didn’t work! Then, with some "MacGyvering", we hooked up one of our computers and got the Giant's broadcast and man did those voices sound like sweet velvet pancakes! There we huddled on one of the couches and listened to the trials and turmoils of our valiant crusaders.

Soon I will be meeting my new family, hopefully they or someone else will have internet so we can continue cheering on the orange and black!

Address

There was some confusion about my address so here it is:
Vincent Giannotti
c/o Pitzer College in Botswana
Box 1482
Gaborone, Botswana

Quick Update

Currently, I am living in the village of Mochudi. It is about a 30 minute drive or an hour and a half bus ride from the capital of Gaborone. I have been living here since the beginning of my stint with the Wildlife Department, which is turning out to be more than a stint. After working with them for the past three weeks, I am pretty sure I have secured a one month internship with them working in the Okavango Delta (AKA one of the most beautiful and wildlife plentiful areas on this planet)! You know, life couldn't get much better... oh wait, it just did! Flying in November 1^st and staying with me for two week is cousin Francesca!!!!!!! Yeah we're not going to do much... When we’re not going to Zimbabwe, visiting Victoria Falls, rafting the Zambezi River for a few days and camping, or going on boat safaris! Life is tough, but somebody has to keep the tourism industry going...

Much love and thanks

Working with the Wildlife Department

The Crew:
Back Row: Me and Bitumelo
Front: Jolly and Bitumelo (Billy)

"FEAR THE BEARD"
(Been growing it since my last Giants' game)

My hair, my hair is so disheveled that Einstein himself would be jealous. My arms, my arms have been scorched brown by the ever present sun. My face, my face is burnt tomato red and I don’t dare to take my shirt off for fear of seeing the Neapolitan monster I have become. Put me in a plastic container and people will try and scoop me. And I couldn’t be much happier.

Why, you ask? Well because I just got back from a week of camping in the bush with the Wildlife Department’s Problem Animal Control Division. Every day we would go out on patrol and everyday you could find me standing in the back of the pickup bed. I was standing, for two reasons. First, it feels ridiculously good to have wind whipping in your face (dogs totally got it right). Second, it was out of necessity. If one were to sit down or even attempt to sit down on this real life version of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, they would be bounced and tossed around more than the basketball used in a Globetrotter’s game. You see, tarred roads are a luxury here, and if you aren’t headed to one of the few major cities you’re primarily going to be traveling on dirt/sand/gravel/rocky roads. I spend my time alternating between Windward Facing Dog and a new extreme hybrid sport that is a cross between mogul skiing using the roll bar as my poles (and the moguls are pretty much anything Botswana can throw at me from dry river beds to rocks to dead trees to boar holes), and some upper body form of Dance Dance Revolution, ducking and dodging the oncoming bugs, birds and branches (all of the branches are covered not only in rose-like thorns but also toothpick long ones as well, in case the first didn’t get you). The only difference is that in Dance Dance Revolution if you mess up, your score decreases; in this, if you mess up, the amount of blood you have decreases.

Our primary task was responding to claims of leopard attacks (leopards because all of the other predators have been driven out/killed in the district we were covering). Think CSI: Botswana Bush. The Botswana Government reimburses some of the losses when livestock has been killed by native predators (very few other governments participate in this practice). This is a measure taken to help combat the killing of the native predators. It was as much predator conservation work as it was social. To deal with these claims we were going to the ruralist of the rural areas where the cattle posts are located. We write the claims for the ranchers (ie using “I” and “my”) in English because that is the required language for legal matters in Botswana. We were also writing the claims because very few, if any of the ranchers not only didn’t know how to write or read in English, but also Setswana; for some, we had to write their name down so they could copy it for a signature.

When reflecting on this it is hard not to have a voyeuristic perspective. But the more I see of the world, the more I learn about myself and also the more questions I begin to have. It is something that is hard to avoid, but also it is a two-way street. As I see and speak to Batswana (people of Botswana), they also are speaking to an American and we are sharing a cross-cultural experience. And although I am fortunate to be able to see many different aspects of Botswana and its people, many of the people I meet are not as lucky and to them I represent a population that they are extremely alienated from. It makes me feel good that the first person of light skin they see is not riding a UNICEF or Red Cross chariot of aid, but rather coming to them just to speak with them in their language (or at least try) and share maybe a cup of tea and a story or two.