Pula!

Pula! Pula is the Setswana word for rain. Since rain is very important in such a dry, desert climate as Botswana, the word pula is often seen and used. For example, the word pula appears on the official Botswana seal. Also, at the end of speeches, people often yell “pula!” The rainy season has begun and it has cooled off slightly. We have been having occasional thunderstorms and downpours. By December, I’m told the rains will come almost daily. Millipedes have appeared everywhere- they are even more plentiful than earthworms after a rainstorm in the US.

I finally found a chameleon on Sunday. I have been looking everywhere for one since I was told they are plentiful in this area. However, many people in this region are afraid of chameleons and consider them evil. Many of the children will even try to kill them if they see them. After extensive searching, it turned out that one was in a tree right in my backyard. He was using his long tongue to capture millipedes and he was camouflaged beautifully with the tree’s leaves. He turned about 5 different shades and hissed when I tried to touch him. Richard recently had his second elephant pack sighting over a week ago. He saw them both times while he was in the car between our village and the next village to the south. The elephants come to this area in search of water.

Since the rains have started, we will be starting our vegetable garden soon. Yesterday, my counterpart’s 9 year old son helped us plant watermelon. We have also been collecting plant clippings so we can expand our plant/flower garden. Having a garden is especially exciting since I haven’t had my own yard in over ten years.

I spent last week in D’Kar, which is a San (sometimes known as Bushman) village in the Kalahari. Myself and 3 other PCVs were helping the PCV in D’Kar with data from a health seeking behaviour survey. It was interesting to the see the data (some of which was from villages in our district) and also spend time in another village. D’Kar is home to a large NGO called Kuru, which works with the San and other minority groups in Botswana. You can find some beautiful crafts in D’Kar such as paintings and ostrich eggshell jewellery.

While I was in D’Kar, Richard spent a couple of days in Shakawe at Drotsky’s cabins, helping prepare the annual District HIV/AIDS report and next year’s DMSAC activities budget proposal. We are hoping to get funding to do activities like an orphan needs assessment for the district, as well as life skills camps. On Saturday, we will be in Maun for a Peace Corps regional meeting, and then we will be in Kasane all next week for a language workshop.