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.

The (Lack of) Bird(s) Sanctuary

On our way back from Chobe, on Katie's and my recommendation, we decided to check out the Nate Bird Sanctuary. Which according to Lonely Planet is a worthy stop filled with life; the only hint of hesitation in the text being that there was not going to be flamingos during the current dry season. They forgot to mention that not only are the flamingos not there during the dry season, but nearly all signs of life. After visiting, I have now chosen to re-title it The Nata Tourist Trap Salt Pans That Say They Have Over 150 Species Of Birds, But Really Only Have One Ostrich That Is Super Far Off In The Distance And Runs Away When You Get Within Four Miles Of It Sanctuary. Or the NTTSPTSTHO150SOBBROHOOTISFOITDARAWYGWFOI Sanctuary, for short.


After a 30 minutes of driving through the park of flat, treeless plains with everyone questioning my judgment/sanity/reading ability. We finally arrived here, the look out point described by the woman at the park entrance for the best viewing...



Ian and I decided to pull out the binoculars to get a better look at the plentiful amount of the lack of life this sanctuary provided. With so much of nothingness to be seen it was a mystery why we were the only ones in sight.
But to our astonishment (and probably its), we saw a lone ostrich off in the distance (look in the center of the photo right on the horizon, yeah that is not a smudge on you monitor but a fully grown ostrich). One can only image how fortunate and enthralled we were to see this creature so up close and personal in such a natural habitat. (Keep looking you'll find it eventually.)



By personal intrigue or maybe some ancient magic, we were lured in to venture into this unknown and barren land which soon proved to be a nearly fatal mistake.



We struggled, questioning if we had made the right life choices (ie if we should have chosen a colder location for study abroad). Around this time, Nepal was looking like a far better decision.



After much strife, stumbling and bumbling through what felt like the purgatory waiting room for hell we decided to embrace our predicament and film a music video for Waka Waka.



When we finally found the van again, we realized that we must have done something right to appease the poltergeists that ever so deviously chose to torment us, or we turned around when we heard the van honking... But on my way out I found a mysterious feather sitting on the ground - was this a sign that at one time this barren and uninhabitable landscape did possess life or was this another diabolical scheme put on by those tricky tormentors?

Safari Study Trip (yeah I know my life is tough)

This past week I was fortunate enough to visit Chobe National Park, in the north eastern most corner of Botswana. We made the ten hour ride up north passing through Nata and Francis town before arriving to Kasane. During my time up north, I was able to travel on some boat trips around the Chobe along with camping in the park for three nights. Here are some of my photos and stories from the trip.



My first elephant! I had read in Lonely Planet that I should not be surprised if I see some on the side of the road as I near Chobe National Park, so when I saw this one I tried not to look surprised. Oh and just as a clarification, we took this from our van, and cars do drive on the left side of the road (most of southern Africa does), but out of respect/safety we pulled over to the right to appreciate it.


We were fortunate enough to go on two boat safaris where we saw soo many animals! The water ways of the Chobe allow one to explore and venture very close to animals. This elephant, one of the over 1000 (no I didn't add on an extra zero or two) I saw was about to cross the river from his day of feeding (oh and how do I know it is a male? Besides anatomical features, I know that it is a male because elephants are part of a matriarchal society and the older males wander around solo).


We got super up close and personal with these elephants. Every morning we would see their fresh tracks around our camp. This one decided to say hi to us as it passed us on the road.


I'm not going to lie. After my travels, I have become to become a mini bird nerd. It is actually super fun not only spotting these feathered flying friends, but also identifying them. This gorgeous one is the Lilac-breasted Roller and is the national bird of Botswana (and Kenya).


Vultures posted near a dead elephant carcass waiting for there turn to feed. After the lions feed, then the hyenas crush and eat the bones, and after the vultures pick up the scraps, then bugs finish off.


Doesn't get much better than a sunset over the Chobe.


Maybe a little better while watching Impala feed...


And only better if you are watching elephants as it sets.


Four corners! In the water behind me is a point where 4 countries meet - Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Zambia. There is no bridge to Zambia (the other side of the river) so smaller boats carry individuals across, but there is only one "ferry" to take freight trucks across. Which means there is a major back up even when the ferry isn't having mechanical problems (which it "frequently does") or when it is not stuck on one side due to too strong a current. The alternative for shipping goods into Zambia is going through Zimbabwe, which costs way more and can take nearly a month to cross, one of our guides said. I found out why it took so long when I crossed to visit Victoria Falls, when I saw the huge line of trucks all waiting in a line which lead up to one man at a wooden desk, this was Zimbabwe's lone customs agent.


The two most important locations to know while crossing the boarder.


Victoria falls with some of my friends. Katie is on the left, she goes to Swarthmore and is from NY. Patricia is next she is our friend/mentor/assistant teacher who grew up in Manyana, then me the dashingly good looking traveler followed by Cameron who is from Pitzer. Oh and the photo looks so hazy due to the extreme amounts of mist the the falls create.


Victoria Falls really is one of the most amazing places on earth! Although most of the actually falls are in Zambia (when it is low season, you can walk out on the river and even swim in some of the pools on the edge, look up images of 'devils pool' of google), but the best viewing is from the Zimbabwe side, which faces nearly all of it. The enormity of it is astonishing; its length is amazing and so is its power. We saw it while it was nearing its lowest point, where the waters can get to a little as 4% of the max flow. When it is flowing at the high season the mist can be seen/travel for miles around.




Zimbabwe's failed currency. The biggest bill ever created was 100 trillion... I think in February they discontinued printing. What is crazy is that I saw a 500 Zim Dollar bill printed in 2006 and since then their currency's value has imploded and become worthless. Now everything is done in US dollars and sometimes in Pula (the name of Botswana's currency, which directly translates to "rain" showing how important the rain actually is to the people). Another interesting note about Setswana (one of the two official languages here, that and English) is there is no word for weekend, which actually makes a lot of sense. It shows a lot about their lifestyles prior to Europe's influence along with the introduction of the monetary system and the 5 day work week. Hopefully soon, I will write a piece about the language because it is truly fascinating.

More of Botswana

Life in Botswana, so far

Where do I even begin...

Life here has been amazing, to say the least