Moving on

After much thought and reflection, I have decided to move my blog over to a new platform. I needed something that could grow with me.

All of my memories from the Peace Corps and Burkina Faso will still be here.

Off the beaten path

Recently I was discussing with a colleague some of the fun, off the beaten path vacations I’ve taken. We shared stories of our fun adventures and the places we discovered when we were least expecting it. 

Traveling as a child we were typically always off the beaten path, as we camped for most of our family vacations. BUT the better vacations where the ones where we had an end destination, but not set path. I can remember many times that it was our curiosity as children that created the best vacations.

So it’s no shock that my traveling style as a child has followed me into adulthood. One of my favorite less planned trip was one I took with a fellow Peace Corps volunteer to Togo and Benin, small countries in West Africa.

LOME
Founded by the Ewe people

End of the 19th Century the Germans came and relocated the capital to present day Lome

10km from the Ghanaian Border

Like most African countries there is always a market, and not all markets are created the same.  The Grand Market, is set up differently than ones I had experienced, so we spent a long time going in circles. Since Lomé is one of the major ports in West Africa, everything is really cheap. Most Burkinabé make trips here to buy stuff really cheap, in bulk and return to Burkina to re-sell it to us. In the morning we shopped, after lunch we went to the Fetish market. This is a traditional market, where you can find anything you want for you aliments. We first took a tour of the market learning what each different object does, then after that we met with the Chief of the Market, taking us into a tiny room where he further explained some small objects, one for health, love, travel, family, etc. After that he blessed us and we were free to explore the market on our own.

Just East of Lome is a little beach town called Coco Beach. There are little shacks all up and down the beach. It provides a clean and relaxing getaway from the city. Fresh seafood is also always a plus! 
Grand Popo

During the years of the Slave Trade, Grand Popo was one of the major ports, after the fall of slavery, this town become nothing more than a relaxing beach town.

We stayed at this little hostel on the beach run by some Rastafarian men. I remember spending a lot of time at the hotel due to all the rain, but we were the only tourist there, so we received a lot of attention from the staff.

The next day also provided a lot of rain, but in the afternoon the sky cleared.  5km from Grand Popo there is a huge lake, that connects to another lake in Togo, by a river. This section of the lake connects to the ocean. We took a canoe ride to see some mangrove trees, ran into a fisherman who was picking up his daily catch, and then landed on this little island. We took a tour of it, learned about its history, voodoo, saw a few different style colonial houses, and had a man climb a tree for us and cut us down some fresh coconut.    
   

Togo Quick Facts: ·       Togo: Means –“Upon the Hill” in Ewe (local Language) ·       57,000 square kilometers (Half the size of England) ·       Capital: Lomé ·       French Speaking West Africa’s smallest nation ·       Used to be a part of the Slave Coast ·       Portuguese landed first in Togo where they set up trade posts

Benin Quick Facts: ·   Used to be called Dahomey during the colonial period, adopted its current name from an old West African Kingdom located in present day Nigeria. ·   113,000 Square miles (size of Louisiana) ·   Capital: Port Novo ·   Portuguese also landed in Benin to set up ports

                                                               

Ouidah

The Next day we headed east to Ouidah. We arrived by mid-morning, with no rain this time, found a place after searching for a long time. The city was a lot bigger than we expected. There were actual roads, with traffic. The afternoon turned into a nice day, so we made a picnic in the park, did a nice walking tour of the area. We took a tour of this old Portuguese fort, that they turned into the history museum for Ouidah. This fort once occupied 5 different countries, the Portuguese being the first and the French being the last. It’s a small, but well preserved. The next day we met up with some other volunteers and went to the Python Temple, Sacred Forest, and Point of no return, and Door of return.

The python temple was fun, we were the first people of the day, so the building wasn’t crowded, and we got plenty of time to play with pythons. In this building they breed pythons, and will rent them to families for protection. Then we headed over to the forest, where we learned about all the different vodu Gods, and other sacred things.  After this it started to rain really hard again, so we holed up in a restaurant for a while.

The Point of no Return is referring to the slave trade that used to happen. There is a 4km stretch of road that you can take a tour of to learn about the final days/final walk of slaves in Africa. The Point of no return is the last stop on the beach, where a port used to be. Once a slave got onto a boat they would never be coming back. A few years ago a body of a slave was found and returned to the port where it was shipped from. The body returned to Ghana, and since then most other slave ports now have a door of return. It is in hopes that one day people will discover where their ancestors came from and they will return to learn about their heritage. Both places are funded by UNESCO, and worth seeing if you are ever in Benin.

Voodoo is believed to be started in Western Africa- Benin or Nigeria(depending on who you ask). In Benin Voodoo became a national religion in the 90’s, but the people that practice it use voodoo consider it a spirit, demigod or intermediary. They use this to interact with other spirits, ancestors or their supreme God Mawu. Voodoo is only white magic (good stuff) but can be used badly by sorceresses. In this case people will other offer offering, or buy a fetish (a regular object infused with a sacred power) to counter act the black magic, protect the home, or help a sick person. Normally each village has a vodu to protect their village. They build a shrine to this vodu and each year villagers make offerings, sacrifices for their protection.

When slaves were traded they took this religion to North and South America. When the Brazilians returned to Benin between the 17th -19th century they brought back voodoo mixed with their local traditions introducing different parts of that into the voodoo tradition in Benin (like voodoo dolls).

Cotonou

Economic Capital and Port City

West Africa’s least enticing cities

There are mottos everywhere, we spent most of our time in traffic. We found the first hotel we came across, which was a bad choice since it was dirty and near the Grande market, so it never quitted down. Since we didn’t like our hotel we spent the whole day outside. We went to the Grande Marché, where I bought a lot of shoes. We decided to cut our time in Cotonou early since we couldn’t handle all the moto traffic.

Natitingou

It’s a 12 hours bus ride north. It was really nice, a lot better than the ride down. We got a hotel room and called it a night. The next day we went 17km to a village where there is a waterfall and hiking. We spent the whole day playing in the waterfall and finally got some sun.

This post is a highlight of my favorite off the path places visited while in Togo and Benin in 2011. You can read the full posting here: Going Costal...Togo and Benin

*Book Review*

   Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com

I need to preface this post with this statement, I LOVE CRIME NOVELS! Detective novels, movies, and tv shows are my jam! The suspense of what is going to happen next, or trying to figure out who did it, is far scarier than anything with a lot of violence.

I subscribe to Shelf Awareness were I get a daily e-mail in my inbox. The newsletter highlights fun things happening in the world of books. I've found some really fun new authors! Occasionally they post links with the option of getting a free copy of a book, yet to be published. This is the best, coming home and having a free book waiting in the mail for me.

A while ago, I got a book in the mail called “Crime of Privilege” by Walter Walker. I have a bit of a back log in my reading requests (for work and fun). Once I started this book, I wonder how I overlooked it in the first place, it should have been read the moment I got it.

What I love about reading this book, is trying to figure out who did what. There is a list of characters, all whom have some part to play. The main character is George Becket. He is an assistant D.A. in Cape Cod. This character really made me mad, I felt times he was being a baby, or just letting things happening. He wasn’t living life, but just going through the motions of living. He was a lawyer, has friends in high places, and he just acts like a bum.

An excerpt from the book:

“A murder on Cape Cod. A rape in Palm Beach.

All they have in common is the presence of one of America’s most beloved and influential families. But nobody is asking questions. Not the police. Not the prosecutors. And certainly not George Becket, a young lawyer toiling away in the basement of the Cape & Islands district attorney’s office. George has always lived at the edge of power. He wasn’t born to privilege, but he understands how it works and has benefitted from it in ways he doesn’t like to admit. Now, an investigation brings him deep inside the world of the truly wealthy—and shows him what a perilous place it is.”

This book is a realist portrayal of the justice system when it comes to the wealthy. George finally comes to and starts asking the right questions. It takes him on a journey across the world, but it’s hard to decipher who is pulling the strings in this investigation. I felt the ending was less climatic than the rest of the book, justice wasn't really served, but again that is a very realistic outcome. The main character and the book felt like a real investigation, and not one that is solved in a 60 minute television show.

Check out the book HERE!

A Reflection of Service

After recently celebrating my 6th anniversary of meeting a great guy, we reflected on my Peace Corps experience. Discussing how we met, the people I worked with, but mostly laughing at the craziness that was my service. Surprisingly, I still find myself running into people who are interested in learning more about Peace Corps, or my experience overseas. After most encounters I think back to those 3+ years. 

Waking up every day to a new experience might frighten some, but to volunteers serving in the Peace Corps it’s just a regular day. I lived in Burkina Faso, a country in Western Africa, serving from 2008-2012. As a health volunteer I taught health education and outreach. I spent most of my time weighing babies, teaching mother’s proper food preparation, and children how to wash their hands. 

Teaching overseas in a another language was really hard, and sometimes felt very daunting. During training, Peace Corps helps to teach the common language spoken, which in my case was French, but like most African communities the local tribal language is also very prevalent. Even though I used, Moore, the local African language more than French, my skill level was far from being perfect. Each program I put on was a struggle, always needing a translator. Which to most, would be great, but I seemed to never be able to get the translator to show up at the same time as my women, or vice versa. Rainy season was a whole different story; I just knew people wouldn't show up to programs because everyone and I do mean EVERYONE was in the field farming.

2010

While on vacation in the United States for a short time in 2010, I would get all sorts of questions. The most common was, "What did you like or didn't like about being overseas?" The one thing I did not like, was having to barter for my food. It’s petty, but going from booth to booth to get all my vegetables, fighting for a fair price is not how I like to spend my time. That was something that would never change, but I learned to deal with it. 

I loved the sense of community. My village was small, were everyone knew each other. Not in the way were you know everyone’s business, but when there was a crisis everyone banned together. I loved everyone knowing my name, or when I was gone people took turns feeding and caring for my dog. These villagers lack in resources and materials, but they are rich. They have a strong community, stronger than most communities I've been a part of in the US. One person may have nothing but together they have it all.

When most people ask me to describe my 3+ years worth of experience in a sentence or two, I usually say, “It was great!” which is was, but it is better described as a roller-coaster. Once you start you’re normally scared for the future, you don’t really know what you got yourself into. Then you get used to the roller-coaster and start to like it. During the ride you have a lot of ups and downs, but in the end you love it so much it leaves you wanting more, and you beg to ride it one more time. 

That’s exactly how my Peace Corps experience was, it left me wanting more. 

View some of my pictures of my service here.

Small Packages

About a week ago I came home to find a neat little box on kitchen table. I hadn't ordered anything, or at least thought I hadn't, so when I opened the box, I was surprised to find it was a book. Not any book, but a book about the University of Miami, as written by Dr. Butler himself. 

Dr. Butler may not be known in all circles, but to the UM community, he is the creator of all good things; the person who started the spark for service on campus.

Walking around campus, you'll see the various spots names after him, such as the atrium at the wellness center. Most importantly he founded The Volunteer Services Center in 1989, but it's known now as The William R. Butler Center for Volunteer Service and Leadership Development.

The cover of "Following My Bliss: Becoming Global"

I had the privilege of working for this establishment for two and a half years. Honestly, it really just happened, I had never thought of working with college students, or knew that volunteer offices existed on college campuses. I had just been accepted to the University of Miami's Community and Social Change masters program, and was on the job hunt. 

I applied to be an AmeriCorps volunteer in South Florida, and within a day, I got a phone call asking if I would like to be a VISTA at the Butler Center. I said yes at the opportunity, and as they say, the rest is history. Over my time spent at the Butler center, I got to meet the man who created this office. He often spoke to the underclassman, listening to him speak is awe inspiring, being able to take the needs of the students, and morph it into tangible experiences.

Dr. Butler and I at Celebration of Involvement Awards
2013

Dr. Butler spoke so effortlessly about helping others, always striving to do good, never making it seem like it's his duty, but simply how things ought to be. While my time working at the Butler Center was limited, I feel a sense of pride knowing that I worked in an office, created by such a kind and caring human. 

It really is the small things in life that make me happy. It's nice to know, that not only he thought of me, but sent me a book too! I won't spoil the details of the book, but my picture makes an appearance! 

I'm BACK!

Welcome to my new and improved blog!

As some of you many know, I kept a blog about my experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Since returning to the US in 2012, I have posted a handful of blog posts on things that interested me, but never kept it going.

Now that I have a new job, new city, and in a new stage of my life, I am ready to make a commitment to the blog world. 

I've decided to keep all my old posts up about Burkina Faso, to intrigue everyone to visit the wonderful country, but just did a little re-branding! I'll be adding posts about my fun travel adventures, getting to know my new city, weekend volunteer projects, and things that I just truly enjoy!

Stay tuned!!!

Wedding bells are a ringing!

Last month I had the honor of being the Ordained Minister for a friends wedding. Annette and I met in October 2008 as we left for Burkina Faso. I can't believe that it has been 5 years since we left for Burkina, but more importantly, I can't believe that we have been back in the US for 2 years. It was wonderful to spend time with her and see her in her "American Habitat."

Annette was married in a small chapel at Kansas University in Lawrence, KS. Please enjoy the video of my performance during the ceremony and a few pictures from the weekend. 

(I might make this a career!)

     

                                                                                          

Miami Vice

July 27^th marks my 1 year in Miami. This time last year I was driving my little Saturn, Eva to Atlanta for training, where I would then meet my father and brother to continue onto Miami. Time has gone by pretty fast. I look back on this year and I see a jam packed year. I was very busy all the time, but work and school were very enjoyable, and have given me some wonderful opportunities. I went to phenomenal speakers, such as Temple Grandin, Sonya Sotomeyer, and Will Allen. I listened to the President speak along with Mitt Romney (I also sat in the traffic they created too).

School this past year, opened me up to so many ideas and ways of learning I could never imagine. After the first week of school, I knew I was in the right place. Our cohort came from all over the US to take part in the program. We each brought different views on everything, but are still focused around social change. Have such a great job and studies really helped with tolerating the busy schedule.

Here is a re-cap of my year in Miami.

Hurricanes- I made it through my first tropical storm, Isaac and Hurricane, Sandy. Neither of which were bad enough to evacuate or do major damage to Miami. I also got to experience my first hurricane day, where school and work were closed due to the weather.

Saturn- My loyal Saturn of almost 12 years finally went to car heaven. I started having issues in January and it was downhill from there. It was really hard to let her go. I remember going with my father to the dealership in Greenwood, IN to pick her out and driving her off the lot on Halloween. It was a great first car, and we’ve been through some good times. I currently own (or my father per say) a red Chevy sonic, named Minni.

Work- Being an AmeriCorps volunteer was hard or harder than I expected. Coming right out of Peace Corps, I knew the commitment that would be involved with the job. I never knew to what extent it would drain me sometimes. However, the Butler Center was such an amazing place to work. The students who work in the office have such an amazing drive for service, and it’s refreshing. They truly are the reason this office does such great work. The professional staff became such good friends, and I am lucky to never had a horrible boss. The whole job bundle really was great. I liked my VISTA leaders, Butler Center employees, and Student Affairs department at UM.

Visitors-Being in Miami does have its perks, either people are passing through Miami onto their next destination, or they really want to visit. I’ve had such luck with having both types pass through my year here in Miami.

The first visitors (after my dad and brother moved me in) were Bethany and Keith, they were on their way home from living in the US Virgin Islands. They had a stopover due to issues with their dogs, and had to rent a car to head home. We had a lovely dinner together before they headed north.

My parents and little brother made the 18+ hour car drive down to celebrate Christmas in Miami with me. They spent almost two weeks here, and I finally got to do some fun touristy things.

Spring semester was quite busy; Anne-Claire came to Miami for a few different reasons, each time making sure to see me. Shanna came for a long weekend, the coldest Miami weekend I might add, Heather brought me some PC Love, and Sarah and I spent a nice weekend together at Disneyworld.

Lastly, I had the Wilson sisters come to visit this past July. So in total and not counting duplicate visits, I had 11 visitors. Not too shabby if I ask myself. I also went to Tampa a few times to visit my older brother and his family while they were on vacation.

Update on me: As most of you may know I have accepted a position with the Butler Center full time. I am the Volunteer and Community Outreach Coordinator. It is very similar to what I was doing as a VISTA, but there are some added duties. I am excited to see what this year brings. I finish with my Masters in Community an Social Change in December. I've only got 2 electives left.

Not sure how long I will be in Miami, but I am here for now and enjoying it. (PLEASE VISIT) J

For all you loyal blog readers, I’m going to try my hardest to keep my blog up to date will all my adventures big and small. I choose to keep my original Peace Corps blog, since it is where my blogging days started. The adventure in my life did not stop with Burkina, and while I am no longer in Africa, a little piece of me will always be there.

Please keep in Touch!

Audrey

Where has the time gone

It's already December! This semester has flown by! I have had the chance to meet some wonderful people through work and school. The choice to move to Miami was a right one, even though I still hate my daily commute, Miami is warming up to me.

Click HERE to read an article about the Women s Build at Habitat for Humanity I participated in with some lovely ladies in my Community and Social Change Program!

I promise there is more to come. Once school ends on the 14th I'll have ALL Christmas break to upload some good posts, and pictures! 

It's cool to be uncool....

Just a little blurp on my grad school experience:

I just finished my first week in my masters program. It was an intense but amazing experience. 

The class met Monday-Friday from 9 to 5. It was such a breath of fresh air to do something everyday and really enjoy it. I loved going to class and listening to everyone.

It was really intense, everyday receive a lot of useful information, and continually being inspired by my peers.

I feel so much more inspired to be an agent of change. I am sure this program is what I was meant to do.

To learn more about the Community and Social Change Program, visit their website:

My best friend Isaac

This posting is dedicated to the tropical storm, Isaac. Being from Indiana I have never dealt with such nonsense as a Hurricane or Tropical storm, so imagine my surprise when Isaac started heading my way. He was only classified as a tropical storm when he passed through South Florida.

 It mostly rained with A LOT of rain!  We also got a hurricane day, which is similar to snow day, but without snow and you can't really go outside. I spent my free day doing homework and relaxing. Here are some videos I took of the weather outside. The video's are of the wind and rain, and the crazy bird outside my window who held on for dear life!

I love to Read

Book count for Peace Corps Burkina Faso: 290 books in 3 years

Book count for AmeriCorps Miami: 1 Book in 1 month!

hmmmmm. something needs to change!

Ba ba Baco Raton

About 2 weeks ago I went to Baco Raton, FL for an AmeriCorps retreat. We had a 3 day event, held at the FAU campus.

The campus is decent, but I only really saw a small portion of it. The retreat was a learning experience, and an overall fun one. The days were spent in and out of sessions on different topics pertaining to the AmeriCorps experience. I felt it was a much more beneficial training than the previous one in Atlanta. I finally got to meet all the other VISTA volunteers serving in Miami. Getting to Boca Raton, was an interesting experience. I finally had one of my first public transportation experiences in America. I took the Tri-rail, which starts in Miami-Dade and goes to Palm County. Getting to the rail station was more difficult than actually taking the train. Living in North Miami put me close to the station, which is nice, not having to drive far, but it was the in the ghetto.
There is "public" parking, but consist of only 20 spots, which are all full on a Monday morning. After conferring with a fellow volunteer, i decided to leave my car, and hope for the best. In the end it was fine, but I get nervous about leaving my belongings in an unfamiliar place for the first time. The tri-rail was such a nice train!
On our last day we did a direct service project. Everyone was divided into 6 different projects. My group went to the local YMCA. We helped the teachers during their teacher work day. We literary pulled everything out of their classrooms washed it, cleaned the room and put everything back in the class. They were switching their summer classrooms into the fall. We also color organized the entire craft closet. There were about 10 volunteers along with 5 teachers, and we accomplished all their cleaning for their entire week in just 3 hours! I think I washed enough plastic fruit for a lifetime!

Other groups participated in beach clean up, mowing yards at the soup kitchen, worked at the butterfly garden. It was nice to physically do some volunteer work in the community.

Hey Everyone! The volunteer who replaced me, DOUG is trying to get latrines for our village, Nakaba! It's a wonderful project! Here is the link to the Peace Corps page, where you can read the project description and donate. He still needs about 2500.00 more! Here are some pictures to remind you of how awesome Nakaba is! (Benga(my DOG), My head nurse @ a meeting, and my girls planting trees!)

Welcome to Miami!

I’ve been in Miami just over a week. So far it’s treated me pretty well (minus all the crazy drivers). After having a two week training in Atlanta for AmeriCorps, I met up with my father and little brother for the trip to Miami. We arrived on Friday and quickly moved me in. We spent the weekend getting things organized and in Sunday observed the day of rest by heading to the beach.  I’m only 4 miles from a beautiful beach.

On Monday I made my first commute to the University of Miami, for my first day of work. I was greeted by a great staff. They seem very energetic, and friendly. My first day went over well, I took a campus tour, got to know the office, and the gist of things. Overall the week went by without a hitch. There isn’t much to do at this moment, since there are no kids on campus. Orientation starts in 2 weeks! Then things will pick up, and I’m sure I’ll be wishing for more free time!

The apartment complex is nice, but very big. There are way to many people here to get a good sense of community. The complex has 5 building, each building having 12 floors! I am continually running into new people. My room and part of the apartment is all organized and put together. I’m keeping it to a minimum, since I don’t plan to live in Miami permanently.
Here are some photo’s of my room, and the “park” from my balcony. Our living room isn't done yet and probably wont be for a while. We aren’t in a rush to decorate, and my roommate and I work all week long.



This past weekend I visited the Bass Museum of Art. (website). They had a special event where you paid an entrance, and got all the drinks and appetizers you wanted, and got to look around at some of their special exhibits. The museum was nice, but some of the pieces where a little random.  One room an modern and renaissance pieces, and some where not explained. My favorite exhibit was done by  artist Charles Ledray, called “Workworkworkworkwork”. He basically made miniature clothing, but it was more than that, the way he presented it was really interesting. . The event was a good experience, and I met some very nice people. I can now check that of fmy list of stuff to do, but I wouldn’t mind going back when it was in full force.

The rest of the weekend I finished getting my stuff together and relaxing, since my next few weekend are full due to work. I also got to experience my first TAX FREE WEEKEND!!! All basics are tax free clothing, school supplies, the list goes on. All stores across the state participate. I didn’t buy much, just the necessities, and I stuck to the list of what is tax free and what is not, so I saved some good money!! Also, the Wal-Mart parking lot was crazy! I waited in line for 10 minutes just to get a parking space, but the actual lines in the store were not that bad!

I like Miami so far, but I guess we’ll see after this year!

 Moving to Miami! Same blog different City....

Our Trip in Photo’s!

Chantal and I gearing up for Victoria Falls.

Victoria Falls

Crossing the Border Elephant riding in the Zambezi!
WINDHOEK, Namibia:

Here are some photos of our trip. Today we are heading to Swakopmund, for a little relaxing on the beach, and sand surfing on the dunes, before heading to Cape Town next week.

Animals, Animals, and more Animals, OH MY!

There is nothing like sitting on a bus waiting for a herd of Elephants to cross the road. Since arriving in Botswana, we have been lucky enough to catch a lot of African animals just chilling on the roadside.  Our first encounter was with the caribou which are like the deer of Africa. Going from Francistown to Kasane, we go through the outskirts of a few big game parks. We saw a lot of elephants, a pack of zebras, giraffes, and a family of monkeys.


In Kasane we took a boat ride through the Chobe National Park. The park is beautiful and we continued to see so many more animals. In the park you can either take a safari by land, or water. If we would of done it by land we could of gotten closer to the animals, but by water you get to see more, and don’t end up scaring the animals away. We saw hippos, crocs, monkeys, giraffes, multiple types of caribou, a weasel, elephants, and plenty of birds. The park is also on four countries, so while on the water we passed through Zambia and Namibia.

After the boat tour, we ate dinner at the hotel we took the tour from. They have a buffet, which was my first buffet in 3 years, but it also serves game meat! I got to try Impala meat(like a deer) and Kudu (another deer) and a few different types of fish.
After Kasane, we traveled north and crossed the border into Zambia. Going from Botswana to Zambia you take a ferry, which I can add to another type of transport we are taking on  this trip. Crossing the border was easy, then we went to Jungle Junction. It’s a little island, about a 1km long on the Zambezi. We got dropped off on the Zambezi, and a guide came to pick us up by canoe. Since we were the only 4 people on the island we had a nice view of the river. Our chalet was like the house in the Swiss Family Robinson. In the evening it started raining, so we hung out in our chalet and relaxed.

From Jungle Junction we went to Livingstone. That is were our group split for a few days. Two of us headed to Luska, and the other two into Zimbabwe. 




Upcoming Events: Victoria Falls, then heading to Namibia!

Leg # 2

Quick update: We finally met up with Heather, our final group member. We also made safely to Francistown, where our vacation officially starts! After being in West Africa for 3 years, Francistown is like mini America. There are shopping malls, grocery stores, and people don’t sell things from the top of their heads, or go to a farmer’s market for their veggies.


Since there was no direct bus from Jo’Burgh to Francistown we had to stop in Gaborone. We arrived, EARLY, but at night, so we didn’t get to see much, since early the next morning we took off for Francistown. Since our arrival, we took a tour of the town, which is really nice. Francistown in the 2^nd largest city in Botswana. It’s also halfway between Gaborone and Kasane, a large tourist city.
Since there isn’t a lot of touristy things to do, we have been doing things, that Heather participated in while a volunteer here. Friday morning we went to the Prison of Immigrants and played volleyball all mornings. People who illegally sneak into Botswana, and then get caught go to this prison, while waiting for a visa, or asylum seekers. Most people here have been denied asylum or a visa and are awaiting to be returned back to their country of origin. Heather got involved here and would do educational programs for the women, and recreational activities for the men, since this was her last time going, we decided to play volleyball. I felt we gave them a good run for their money. They were pretty competitive, but I was on the winning team!


Next leg:
Kasane-boat cruise
Livingstone- Fisherman’s village, Victoria Falls
Luska