Defensive Driving

Friday was another day to adjust to our new surroundings and that it was for sure! We woke up and again walked to Riverwalk to use the wireless internet there. Internet had worked Wednesday evening when we got in, but the university unexpectedly lost connection Thursday morning. Some of the team had not been able to really contact many back home, so we thought we’d use the wireless at the mall. After lunch, we were all able to send a few emails and check a few things online before half of us headed to speak with Charity about our appointments and the other half went to buy tickets for the Botswana Craft festival that was taking place on Saturday. The Botswana Craft Festival is a festival that exhibits the traditional Botswana food, culture, dancing, and homemade crafts.

Jack, Leslie, Meeka, and I were the group that ventured off to buy tickets for the festival, while Danielle, Jayne, and Matt went to meet with Charity. My group tried to find a taxi to take us to Botswana Craft, the place of the festival. However, there were no taxis to be found there at Riverwalk. We then headed to see if a combi, which is the public transportation here that looks like small Volkswagen buses/vans, could take us there. A man said to just first go to the station and then get on another one to take you there. So, us four hopped on a combi, along with about 12 others, to go to the station. The station wasn’t a station, though. It really was just a bunch of combis in a parking lot. There wasn’t really a map of routes either. So, we started asking around. However, everyone kept telling us to go the combis that took us to the airport! Botswana Craft and aircraft is the only connection we could make. But, we knew that wasn’t right. After walking around a bit, we got back on a combi to take us back to Riverwalk --- the place we just came from! We made it back to Riverwalk and miraculously there was a taxi driver there that knew where Botswana Craft was!

We had been in taxis here before, but never had a ride like this before! This driver was, well, let’s call him a defensive driver. He was swerving in and out of traffic, making new lanes of traffic, honking the horn, and much more! The speed is in kilometers per hour here so I don’t know how fast we were truly going, but sometimes it may have been a little excessive for the situation. After about 20 minutes of this ‘defensive’ driving, we made it to Botswana Craft. Yay! We headed inside to buy our tickets, but the woman there said that they were sold out! They had been sold out since Tuesday! We weren’t even in Africa at that time! We had a quick laugh and got back in the same taxi to go back to UB. Again, very ‘defensive’ driving, but we got back to UB in one piece and without getting in any accidents. It’s no surprise, though, that according to a billboard, 50 accidents happen on the roads every day!But, in our few days here, we haven't seen one yet!

We were a bit disappointed that we wouldn’t be attending the cultural festival, but we found out that on Saturday, the national football team (a.k.a. soccer) was taking on Madagascar at the stadium across from UB! Change of plans for Saturday!