Over two weeks have passed since we returned to our village after our three-week vacation in America. We had a great time visiting friends and family and eating all our favorite foods. It wasn’t actually a restful vacation, as we did not stay in one place for more than a few days a time, but it was well worth it. We were there for my father’s birthday and we managed to visit NYC, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, DC/Baltimore, Boston, and New Orleans in a short amount of time. We had no trouble adjusting to being in America, which was somewhat surprising, and it was an easy transition back to being in Gumare.

The weather was nice while we were home. We managed to miss the hottest part of the summer and there were only a couple of days of rain. Unfortunately, I picked on of those rainy days to drive to Baltimore by myself, after 2 years of not driving. That particular day, it was pouring so hard I could not see more than a few feet ahead. Luckily, I made it safe and got to see a great friend in DC.

I was expecting the worst weather-wise when we returned to Botswana, since September and October are the hottest months, but it hasn’t been too bad. It was hot the first few days, but then we got a few days of rain, which made it cool. The temperature is starting to steadily rise though! – it is already back in the high 90s.

Unfortunately, our electricity has been going out quite a bit. We have experiencing rolling power outages almost twice a week. We get our electricity from Namibia and there does not seem to be enough electricity to go around. We have also been on drought control, despite the recent rains and the flooding earlier this year, so we lose our water for most of the day, several times a week. Luckily, the water usually comes on in the evening, around the time we typically bathe.

Elections are next weeks so everyone has been gearing up for the big day. We have postponed events, such as a health fair in Xakao, until after the elections since everyone is busy preparing. Most of our projects, such as GIS mapping, are still ongoing, and we continue our work with our respective offices (Orphan Care and District AIDS Coordinator) as well as the basket co-op, Mothers For All, the schools, etc. Richard still continues to work on the same basket. I was chosen to be on the organizing committee for the national GLOW (Girls and Boys Leading Our World) camp in December. I went to a prep meeting the weekend after I returned for America and our organizing committee will be leading a training of facilitators in November.

Since the weather has gotten warmer and there has been rain, all the creatures have been out in full force. There are millipedes and grasshoppers everywhere and we have seen a few chameleons. My chameleon Fido is still happily living in the bush outside our house
He now eats grasshoppers (with his long sticky, tongue) from my hand. Also, there have been brush fires in the area, so some of the bigger animals have come closer to the main road between Shakawe and Maun (Gumare is the middle point between the two places). We see elephants from time to time and an occasional zebra.

It is nice to have our own yard. We have made a 2 nice cactus gardens. Richard started his second (or third) attempt at growing vegetables. He created several patches in the yard in hopes that something will grow. We did have two tomato plants grow by accident (bird droppings) and Richard is quite proud of them.