Getting Adjusted

Thursday morning was spent with the graduate student, Riley, who is helping us get adjusted to the campus, and going through a safety orientation. UB (University of Botswana) has gone to great measures to ensure the safety of the students on the campus. It was reassuring to listen to their safety precautions and to be aware of any dangers to avoid. We all found it comical, though, that according to one of the handouts, singing in the shower is strictly prohibited, as it is a noise violation! I guess that’s one habit that I’ll have to kick fast! :)

We also discussed our service options with Charity, our contact at UB through the International Students Office. Charity then offered to make the appointments with our potential project sites! One step closer to our project selection! It is much more credible when the arrangements are made through UB, too.

We then met Anna and Jessica, two girls that traveled here last year with the International Service Team who are returning to do service work on their own, for lunch in Riverwalk. Riverwalk is a very nice outdoor mall, with all types of restaurants and shopping to do. So far, though, all the meals have been fairly close to the meals back home. There has not yet been a traditional Botswana meal as such. The rest of the afternoon we spent shopping for the necessities to live --- groceries, dinner plates, cups, pots, pans, towels, flashlights, and so on. I don’t know if it was the afternoon of shopping or still jet lag, but sleep came easily that night!