Truitt Grau and The Kelvinators to host a benefit in Gaborone!!!!

It's true!!! Truitt will be here doing what he does best.... and the Kelvinators will be barnstorming the country to raise money for the Truitt Grau Foundation(inside joke for all the Nolans reading the blog)

I have been getting some requests for our address , in case anyone wants to send something here. We've had success through DHL receiving packages. It's expensive, but we're worth it. It's posted at the end of this post.

It takes about 10 days, I think. Michelle's dad sent a package to us, it arrived in Botswana in 7 days but sat in customs for 16 days after that. Here's where you should send it...

Attached is a video of Jacob and his classmates after a softball match receiving awards. It's a bit boring, but it was an enjoyable evening. As stated before, the sporting events are sooo much more relaxed and non competitive here. Puts things in perspective. No crazy parents screaming at umpires and yelling at their kids to get their heads out of their a**. I figured I'd pick up the slack, so I start yelling at everyone..... Jacob, his coach, the ump, the concession stand lady, no one was spared. I'll have photo stills of Jake in his throwback Chicago white Sox uniform in a day or 2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBhzlJ0VVEg

Getting ready for our first excursion into the wild.. Tomorrow will be the last post for the weekend... We head to Pilanesburg National Park, South Africa on Saturday.. One of the biggest gatherings of animals in the country including all the major animals.... Lion, giraffes, rhino, water buffalo, antelopes, wild dogs, hyenas, etc. Should be fun.

Sorry.. here's the address to send anything. ... for some reason it was pasted here, and I can't move it... I'm too lazy to retype it.

The Botswana - Baylor Children's Clinical Center of Excellence- Princess Marina Hospital
1823 Hospital way, Private Bag BR 129
Gaborone, Botswana
Attention--- Michelle Eckerle

Happy Birthday Maura/ Jude showing off his badonkadonk and...In Memory of......

Maura turns three today. Our forgotten child.. She is without a doubt, the most independent one out of the lot.. Because of the twins, her life was turned upside down, and she has learned to do things by herself. Yesterday, she got up before us all, made pancakes and eggs and changed the oil in the truck for us. She's awesome. How did she do it without any tools? she's at school right now celebrating and probably catching another virus that we are not used to. Hopefully it will knock our family out of commission for another 3 weeks. Kate is missing her 3rd day of school and the twins are sick in bed as we speak. I realize it's Halloween at home, but it feels nothing like that here. they don't celebrate it here. Attached is a b-day celebration for jacob and maura that took place on sunday. Jude tries to get naked in it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShAlbJulq60

If you didn't catch her singing, go to the last blog post to see.

On to more important things.... John Black dead!?!?!?! Hit by a car? What has our country turned into? How are you all coping? How could you let this happen? Is Marlena alright? Are flags flying at half mast? Days of our Lives will never be the same... Someone inform me of the current happenings in Salem. Did Sammy have her baby/twins/sextuplets yet? Yes, I know way too much about Days, but can you blame me? The show is unbelievable. I'm a mom. They show Days here, but it's 1-2 years behind... I think. Marlena is dead, Jack is dead and Abe was dead, but he's not anymore. When I started watching the program again last summer, all those people alive and kicking. Where am I in the show? Someone help me out? John is in the hospital, on the verge of death(not in a coma, but just had some tests done.)

Ok, keep reading the blog.. I've exposed myself...I like cool things too.... Like baseball and Nascar.

video for the day!!!

Here's one of the greatest renditions of the hit song from "High School Musical II". Notice the emotion in her face as she hits the key notes and phrases of the song.What those phrases are, I don't really know.. Happy 3rd B-day Maura!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVKgz20ynOs

Maura turns the big 3 and Jude in a dress

The Halloween party was a success. Even in Africa the kids received an enormous amount of candy to rot their mouths. Jacob received his photos from school today... It was a great class photo, with him being one of 2 white boys in his whole class. The diversity within his class is vast and I think really , really good for him. We had a b-day party with the PAC docs last night for Maura and Jacob. We watched the 3rd game of the World Series and now that I know that the series is over, I was very sad to see that baseball has ended for another year. Way to go Red Sox, only 60 billion spent to win the world series . What a joke.

I wouldn't be complaining of course, if the reds spent that much and won..

Anyway, here's a few pics from Saturday. One is of Maura and the tremendous job she did of putting on lipstick and the other is Jude in a dress. He pulls off the girl thing really well.

Franny looks like a girl still. Loved the lollipop.

Tomorrow or the next day I will put a video of Maura out there for her Birthday. It's not a sappy photo montage with the Carpenters playing in the background, but Maura singing one of her favorite songs from High School Musical II. Watch Out!!!!!

Lastly, went to get car insurance today. Was told to get there before 10:45 b/c they need to inspect the car and they stop inspecting for the day at 10:45. I arrived at the place at 10:00, went to get the car looked over and no one was there to inspect it. "Come back tomorrow, early and it will be done." This could take a few days.

Teen Club

It's 7:30 on a cool Saturday evening. Everyone is at the U.S. embassy Halloween party except for me and Maura(she's eating a P, B and J and watching Scooby Doo and running a fever, again.) kate went as a dalmatian, jacob went as himself and we dressed Jude as Franny and Franny as Jude. It was pretty funny dressing them. Jude gave me a look as if to say... "what the hell are you doing to me?" Franny's reaction was one of..... "finally, now I will get all the attention."

I've added a link to the weather in Gabs as well as a satellite map. If you zoom in and look at many of the highlighted areas, we live within walking distance to the Main Mall, Princess Marina Hospital and Northside School. and The Hood Park. The Hood Park is right across the street from our home and down the road a bit. There is a square around a property near these sights, when you scroll over it, it should say 'the Eckerles Home' That's us..if you find Northside School, there's a small square in the large square, that says Kate and Jacob's school when you scroll over that. Near that is another small square that whn you scroll over it should say Tiny Bubbles (maura school) Did I make it too complicated. You have to zoom in pretty close, but it gives a good view of our neighborhood. Let me know if you find us.. We are north east of the Main Mall.
here's the link too, if you don't want to go to the side of the blog.
http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=-24.6582&lon=25.9124&m=h&z=12
On a different note...
Today I was able to participate in the "Teen Club" at the Baylor Clinic.. I made up an art activity for the 50+ kids and got to see them make self portrait tapestries using some very basic materials. It was a great experience. They are such a beautiful group of children who seem to look out for one another and help each other when needed. They seem to respect their peers and the adults that come to run the activities.
I gave instruction to all of them, which was basically asking them to do tracings of hands, faces, things and fill them in to create a portrait of themselves. I had a group of about 10 of them to myself and helped them get started. The first boy that I helped understood no english, the girls in the group helped me talk to him and vice versa. He was very quiet at first, but when I gave him a few pastels and told him I would help, he smiled and began to take off his shoes... He said something in Setswana and the girls translated, saying .. "he says we wants to trace his shoes and shoe laces, that's all." The girls straightened the canvas, I held the shoe and he very diligently traced his shoes, making sure he got every aspect right. When we were done, we high fived , and he continued working on his art.... He was probably smaller than Kate in height and very young looking in features, but he was 14. I couldn't believe it. Michelle informs me that in many instances, the disease stunts their growth.
He was so sweet and worked so hard on his project, it made a lasting impression on me. I may get a picture of some of the pieces and my new found friend, Tshapang in a few days. Needless to say, the few hours I get to spend with these kids puts perspective on life and reminds me to bite my tongue the next time I want to complain about how difficult mysituation is . These children come to the clinic on Saturday morning, by themselves, and travel great distances to get there. They are struggling with a horrible disease, but are still eager to draw and paint what a 34 year old stranger asks them to. Then, they thank you with all their heart for coming in and doing the activity with them. As I was packing up to leave, a young boy said to me.... "One day, I will be just like you. I want to be an artist....." I hope he gets the chance.

Nice rainy day

It has cooled down considerably here and it feels like home. We have had a constant drizzle for a day now, with the temperatures in the low 60's. Not much to report today, we have a softball game to go to tonight(i think it will be cancelled). Here's a few more pics for your viewing pleasure.

Yesterday, I made our friend Tim the cab driver a CD full of different music ranging from Lucinda Williams to Neil Young. He picked it up and called me in a few minutes telling me how much he loved the music. I had made him a CD previously of Neko Case and he loved that as well. He had passengers enjoy the music as well, saying.. "I want to be your friend. If we were friends you would let me have this CD." He had other people offer to buy it fom him.. My plan is to start pirating CD's and making millions here in Botswana. What struck me about the whole CD thing was I saw him driving a few days ago and told him I would make another CD for him... He replied, of course... "When." I said i'd call him and let him know. I called him yesterday , told him the CD was ready and he said.. "I will come." He stopped working and sure enough was here in 10 minutes.

I think he loves the music, when I first met him he was listening to Merle Haggard and Conway Twitty. He said he loves the country music man.

One last note on the photos, one of the photos is of a carving on a tree in our backyard. I assume its the name of the person who planted it..

The new car plates are here, the new car plates are here!!!!

After 8 hours of waiting and many days of hassle, we are finally legit. If it is boring to read about our adventures in testing our car and getting the plates for it, I apologize. I feel like I've been through a war, but it was totally worth it... This morning i went back to the transport place, applied for registration, received a number and drove to another location(located in a strip mall) that makes the plates for you while you wait!!!! The shop was the size of a bathroom, a young man took your paperwork, you pay around 20 bucks for 2 plates, and he prints them on plastic for you. When I parked my car, you are approached by men who for 30 cents will "watch your car for you" and wash it even while you shop. After I finished getting the plates, I drove down a street named Broadhurst and bought a table from one of the many men who make furniture from scrap wood, stain it and sell it for about 15-20 bucks. He is making an end table for me that I will pick up tomorrow. There are vendors everywhere selling everything from furniture to pieces of candy. We are taking Jacob out to dinner tonight to the "red Dragon" chinese restaurant , which is actually the best Chinese restaurant I've ever been to.. We went with a group one of the first days we were here and 8 of us ate for around 40 dollars( we all were drinking as well.)
For the weekend outlook.... there is a half marathon i'm thinking about running and on Saturday the U.S. embassy has a Halloween party. Sunday we will have a birthday party for Maura and jacob and take in a little taped World Series. Don't tell me who wins, but if there is a rain postponement, someone let me know.

Thanks for the postings for jacob, we really enjoyed hearing from everyone.

happy birthday jacob!!! and a favor to ask

Today jacob is 12, which is totally amazing to me. To the left is a current picture. He has grown up so much, just in these past months here in Botswana. I think the beard is very becoming, Michelle hates it. If you have time, check out this photo montage(that's what us in the biz refer to when speaking about a bunch of pictures put together, you wouldn't understand.).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SycSGaeXGmA The song chosen is one of Jacob's favorites which gives me hope for his musical tastes as he matures and learns that he can only like the music that his dad likes.. As Homer Simpson says.... "that's the great thing about being a parent, you can teach your kids to hate the same things you do."

If you have the time, i'm sure it would mean alot to Jacob(since he can read) if you could leave a comment, memory, a birthday wish in the comment section of the blog site. I'm sure he would love to hear from you.

One last thing.. I realize there are several mispelled words in my blogs and in the video montage... Forgive me, I do these while watching the twins eat crayons and stick things in the outlets. Not much time for revision.

the car passed. We are getting closer.

No news today. I just feel compelled to write something so as to not lose the interest of our faithful readers. I have been slacking a bit, but intend to keep this thing up to date as much as possible. Got to go back to the trasportation office today, waited another 2 hours, but got in and our Pajero passed its registration test!!! Thank God. The man in front of me had a car he had just purchased and from a simple test, told him his car failed and he needed to replace the shocks. He waited 2 hours as well , and has to do it in 7 days.

I am amazed at the patience of people here. They wait all day for something. Michelle commented on how the children at the clinic will sit quietly for hours at the clinic to be seen, after travelling 3hours to get to Gaborone. In the heat of the day they will pull up a rock and sit under a tree to wait for hours for God knows what.

A couple observances about living here. ...

1. don't eat a hamburger, they're bad.. really bad and the ketchup is tomato sauce with lots and lots of sugar. Plus they ground the meat with the bone(that's store bought ground beef).
2. I am the only stay at home father in this country and for that matter the only one that would push the stroller.
3. Jude is a stud
4. If you plan on anything getting accomplished , think weeks , not hours.
5. Service men show up completely out of the blue to do work on your house. If you aren't there, you'll have to wait when they feel like coming again.
6. The people here are strikingly beautiful.
7. It's going to get really hot
8. Saying "Dumela Rra and Dumela Mma" to everyone to see while trying to run 4 miles is exhausting.
9. Americans need to learn more languages. Everyone here is bilingual, from the maids and road crew workers to government officials.

I think that's all for now. We are heading (as stated a few days ago) to Pilanesberg National Park. Here's where we're staying... http://www.goldenleopard.co.za/bakgatlaresort.htm . We've arranged to have our own chalet for 2 nights. We'll be taking in the Big 5 on game drives during the day, and having a few "sundowners" while the kids frolic in the pool. Yeah, right. We'll be chasing Jude and Franny around all night long.

Tomorrow is Jacob's B-day.. He's 12.. Unbelievable.

moto vac, the twins and the wonderful department of transportation and registration

It's monday around 4:15. I went out shpping today for a bulb for our truck in order for it to pass it's test for registration.. Iset out for "Moto Vac" the KOI of Botswana.. If you like to go to motor parts stores, this is a must for you. Inside was like any other parts store, give them the part, they find the match, etc.. I purchased my bulb, no problem, and was out in 10 minutes. Outside the store, I began to install my new bulb in the parking lot. As soon as I pop my trunk I am asked by 2 gentlemen if they could install it for me. THey have wrenches in hand ready to go. I tell them no, I can do it myself. I open the cover, and they followed, looking at my engine, etc. I accidentally dropped the bulb on the ground, one of them picks it up and says, "Let me do it for you, free of charge....for you, my friend." Translation.... Give me what you want, I expect something for this. I wasn't going to fight him , gave him a dollar, asked him if did any other work on cars. "Yes , all kinds." I finally realize that there are 10-12 guys just like him in the parking lot trying to make money off of people coming right out of the motor parts store. They all have wrenches in hand , offering to install what you just bought. I asked if he did oil changes in the parking lot... He said, " you buy the oil and filter, I do it for 20 pula"(3+ dollars) .. I said, "ok, I'll be back." Which is something that I've learned not to say to anyone here, because in the U.s. that means nothing.. Here as soon as you say that, they come back with "When?" And they mean it.. I told him in a few weeks and I'm sure he'll be expecting me..

After I left the motor parts store I headed off to the transportation division of Botswana to register my car and have it tested to make sure it's roadworthy. This was unbelievable. Paperwork, no problem.. took 20 minutes. When I went out to get it tested, looks very much like an emission testing station in the states, I was directed to wait out on the street in a long string of cars. This was at 10:30 in the morning. I waited in line until 12:15 . At 12:15 the guy in front of me gets out of his car and says.. " YOu'll be in this spot until 2 at least. They have just locked the gate and are going for lunch. I am going to lunch too, I need my spot back when I return." I look over and sure enough, the guards have locked the gate into the testing center and are walking away to the nearest tuck shop for lunch. So, tomorrow will have to be another day of waiting and hoping to get the car tested. I left disgruntled and looking forward to the next time my car will be tested for something in the U.S. A .

Here's a few pics of the babies this morning strolling around the grounds of our apartment complex. In one, Jude is saying Hi to our gardener and security guard.

Friday Night Lights and Puke..... Lots of it.

After quickly downing a grilled chicken burger, ribs, a t-bone steak, beer and neon pink hot dogs that you can't cut with a knife at Apache Spur, Michelle dropped Jacob and I off at Broadhurst Primary School for his first session of Friday Night Softball. Michelle took Kate, the twins, Maura and our friend Celeste back to the home to put the babies in bed and prop Kate and the rest of the crew in front of the TV to watch High School Musical II. Michelle then came over to watch the "softball match". We won 14-11.. It was great to see a sporting event that was totally relaxed, unlike any American youth sporting event I've ever been to. There was a calmness to it, no parents screaming, simply watching and enjoying the night. We came with beer helmets, but left them in the car. I'll have to get pictures because their uniforms were like the 1970's Chicago White Sox( dark socks, dark pants and a dark collared shirt). I volunteered to help with the team, the coach was all for it, saying he didn't quite understand all the rules, but loved the game. I kept score and really had a great time. The weather was perfect for a "ball match," breezy and mid 60's. In the first "frame" Jacob made a diving catch in left field to save a run, it was the talk of the game..(really helping Jacob's humility). Lots of "well-played, well-played" were barked from the gallery and the team never looked back from then on. I have all sorts of plans for this team.. Pitch outs, hit and runs, double steals, squeeze plays, etc. We will be the best team in all of Botswana, taking no prisoners and displaying a brand of ball play never to be seen on this side of the pond!!!(Waa - Haa - Haa - Haa !!!! ) But the most important thing is that the kids have a good time and learn the sport. And we all know the only way to have a good time is to mercilessly cream every opponent by 15+ runs..

After the match, Kate and I puked our brains out. One time for me, 5-6 times for Kate.. She's still sleeping(10 am).There's a bit of a bug going around her school and we got it. Now it just needs to make its way through the rest of the family... Can't wait.

Michelle is on call this morning and has been at the hospital since 8. No plans for the day, just to recoup from the hurling and get back to normal.

One last tidbit .... When we were at the restaurant, Jude and I went for a walk through the establishment. It took us 20 minutes to get back to our table because all the waitresses wanted to hold him and kiss on him....What a stud.. We were walking the other day and a girl stopped us and said.. " Bring him back to Botswana in 30 years and I will marry him." So he's got that going for him.. which is nice.

One last thing, if you want to take a look at other videos about Gabs, go to you tube and search "Gaborone", or follow this link... http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=search_videos&search_query=gaborone&search_sort=relevance&search_category=0&search=Search&v=&uploaded=&page=1

The Car, Boss!!!

As stated, we have finally gotten our car and are in the process of getting the plates. It's a '96 Mitsubishi Pajero. Getting the plates takes more paperwork as well, and then you have to get it tested. Unfortunately, one of the front lights is burnt out and our clearing agent told us it would fail the test if we don't replace it, thus not getting the plate.I have been driving it around town and avoiding all police. I should mention that I was pulled over once driving a friends' vehicle and they saw me on the cell phone.(I was trying to find a house. )ANyway, they told me they were going to take me to the station and confiscate the phone or I could pay them a fine of 500 pula(90 $). Told them I didn't have 500 pula, they asked how much I had, I told them, they said.. "you give us 100 pula each for lunch and we'll let you go." Lunch on me.. They like to do that around lunch time around here. They eased the blow by congratulating me on all of my children(who were in the car), laughed and then told Jacob he looked like David Beckham(exactly what Jacob needed to hear.)

I had a strange experience today. Went to the supermarket to stock up and decided to take the truck to one of the thousands of car washing places in town. Everyone lives on a dollar a day, but they have the cleanest cars I've ever seen.We have to be the dirtiest family in the city. Anyway, it took them 2 hours to clean the car. Iwas in Pic-Pac for an hour to shop, I came out, the car was still sitting there.. A gentleman from the Riverwalk Car Wash said.."boss, we are not yet done with your car, it will be soon.." Everyone call everyone 'Boss around here. So I stopped in and had tea at an Ethiopian Coffee Shop, (it was Bush tea. very , very good.) walked back out to the car and 8 men were all over it spraying it, vaccuming it, washing it down, it was cool. One of them saw me walking to the car, said in Setswana something like, "Come and sit under this tree and watch us labor over your vehicle."" He pulled out a lawn chair and I watched them clean my car. Weird. They were cool though, whistling to each other, yucking it up(probably at my expense) and did a hell of a job cleaning the car.. Total bill- 40 pula (6$ plus change.)

Anyway,I have no plates on the car, but it's a nice ride. We are planning our first weekend getaway to Pilanesburg National Park http://www.tourismnorthwest.co.za/pilanesberg/ Looking forward to the trip, which should be in 2 weekends. Tonight, we are taking our helper Celeste out to eat and then heading to Jacob's softball game.. A night game, in Botswana!!! THey won their first match 15- 1 Jacob had 3 hits. Right now Jacob and Kate are out swimming with Celeste,Maura is drawing, Jude is eating a hair clip and Frances is emptying all drawers in the house. Tomorrow, world cup rugby finals... South Africa v. England. Go Springboks!!! Bet you can't guess which team is the Springboks?

Part I Happy, Part II Sad

First, part one: the car has arrived! Not much more to say, but pictures are forthcoming...
Part two: this is actually Michelle writing for today, so I can assure you that it won't be nearly as clever as what you've read when Andy was in charge. However, a couple of people have asked me about details of what I'm doing at work, so I thought I would put up a little about my day today and some of the stuff I've seen.
The majority of my job is working in the Baylor-Botswana clinic, which is a really beautiful place that sits behind the main government referral hospital in Gabarone. Most months out of the year, I'll be here, seeing children with HIV and managing their treatment. However, because of the agreement between Baylor and the Ministry of Health in Botswana, Baylor has agreed to lend us to the hospital to run part of the inpatient pediatric service. So, three months out of this year, I'll be in the Princess Marina Hospital managing inpatient care, and October is one of those months. I'll come back to that in a minute.
During the time so far that I've been in clinic, that day starts, for me, at 8 am, when we begin seeing patients. For most of the families, though, the day starts far earlier. I have come into work at 6:15 and the lobby already has 10-15 people there. Often the kids fall asleep once they get back to the exam room, because they've left their home at 4:30 or 5:00 am to start their trip. Most live within a 60 km radius but because they're using public transportation the trip can take awhile. The other reason to get there early is: there are no appointment times. It is first come, first serve. We start at 8 and keep going until the last patient is seen. Today I was in clinic and that ended at 3 pm, although that's a little later than usual. Ostensibly someone could leave their house, come to clinic and arrive fairly early (because by 7:15 the lobby is packed), and still wait several hours to be seen. The contrast with our American system is striking at this point, because in Botswana, people know how to wait. There is no complaining - at least none that I've seen. I don't know if its a fair system for the patients, but it certainly makes it pleasant for the doctor when you know that you can give each patient the attention they need and rarely will the next one give you any trouble for it.
I should also include how the day starts: with prayer and song. There is one gentleman, Kopano, whose job is to open the doors and close the doors and then manage things in between. He has charged himself with the spiritual life of the patients. At around 7:15, there are Bible readings, some gentle preaching, prayer, and then song. The first time I walked up to the clinic at this time, I heard song coming through the door. I thought they were playing a CD of one of those Ladysmith Black Mambazo-type groups. I walked in the door and realized that it was a lobby full of patients and parents with some of the staff singing in that style. It was so overwhelming I immediately teared up (not a surprise), but every morning since, it still gives me chills. This is a random group of people who every morning sound PERFECT, singing in a call and respond style with multi-part harmony. I am still trying to devise a way to respectfully and confidentially record this to share it with you.
My impression the first time I walked into this waiting room was: I can't believe all of these kids have HIV. The lobby is teeming with babies, school age kids, teenagers - and generally, they all look great. Its inspiring and scary at the same time: they are living through this, their parents are going above and beyond to take care of them, but at the same time they are facing a lifetime with this disease and no one can tell them what that will really mean. I saw one child early on, the only child of a well-to-do family. HIV can do really horrible things to a young baby's brain and motor development, and this girl, although she was cognitively right on target for a 4 year old, still was not walking presumably because of her HIV infection. I walked into the room, introduced myself, and the dad smiled and said "When are you going to find a cure for this?" I explained to him that I was certainly not the one to do that, just here managing the damage (not in those words) until someone smarter than me can figure it out, but I got his point. The things this virus can do, especially when it is left to fester unchecked for many years, are astounding. One of the first kids I met, and who I have had the luck of seeing several times subsequently, is 2 months older than Jacob, but is the same weight and height as Kate. His mother died several years ago and he comes with his 19 year old sister who has assumed total responsibility for his care. When I asked her how he was doing in school, she said "Not well. I think this disease has done something to his brain." I agreed.
Today in particular was a difficult day. I saw another patient that I've now seen twice before. Also a child with stunted growth, this little girl will be 3 next month and is slightly larger than Jude. Last month I saw her with her mother. Her mom looked sick, and we started talking. She had been trying to check her CD4 count at the adult clinic (one of the markers of disease progression and one factor used to determine eligibility for antiretroviral medications) but the country was out of reagent and hadn't been able to run CD4's for several months. We were having the same problem with kids until the Clinton Foundation donated the reagent to be used for children only. In the interim, though, this mom had since developed belly pain and difficulty breathing. In Botswana, people carry their medical records with them, so she showed me an abdominal ultrasound that apparently showed some kind of tumor. At the end of the visit, we talked about who might be able to help her with her daughter if "she wasn't feeling well." It was a sobering conversation - I think we both knew that what we were really talking about was who was going to take over for her when she died. She left and we agreed she would bring her brother next time. Her husband worked and had difficulty coming to the clinic. The next day I called her and asked her to come back after one of the med/peds doctors in the clinic agreed to see her (we have some doctors seeing family members of our patients in select cases). He had her admitted to the hospital the following day. Today, the last patient of the day, at 2:30, was this little girl, accompanied by her father. I greeted them and immediately the father told me, "I'm sorry to say that her mother passed on the third of this month." He then produced the photocopied funeral program. It was incredibly sad. Suddenly, you're looking at a girl who lost her mother (only one week after that last visit), and the man who lost his wife, and the overwhelming thought is: no matter what you may think about any of this, whether you blame people for being sexually irresponsible or promiscuous (and I'm not convinced its any different here than the rest of the world), or whatever: nobody, anywhere, deserves this. Its really dreadful that these events that should be so happy in someone's life - dating, marriage, childbirth - in this country are marred forever by this disease. Sorry for the rant, that mom stayed with me a long time after I saw her last.
So, I was going to go on about the hospital, but suffice to say, the bad parts are just about as depressing as this entry, so I think I'll let Andy have his turn for a few more weeks then come back and sober it up again. I don't want anyone to think that there's a black cloud over the place - to the contrary, its quite uplifting work. But when days like this happen, they're hard to shake. I'm sure we'll all say an extra little thanks today for our health and good luck.

Killing Flies

We have hit Summer and apparently with summer comes flies. All day long our kitchen is filled with these things. Jacob killed 18 in a matter of minutes. They're gross, smart and seem to be able to avoid death. When you strike one, they get bigger and stronger. The heat here is exhausting. the sun is opressive and hard to escape. But the shade feels at least 10 degress cooler. All I keep hearing is, just wait til December.

Waiting for car to clear customs, should happen later today. Jacob has a chess match today against Phakalane, he was unable to play last week, the other team did not field enough players. He has softball game tomorrow and Friday Night. I plan on attending and acting like an obnoxious American. Michelle and I will be sporting our beer drinking helmets, the ones with can holders on each side and a straw attached.

Jude just ate a giant clove of garlic off the ground and he smells like a mobster. He loved it too, which really concerns me.

Here's a giant cactus.

First vacation

We have officially booked our first vacation in Africa. We have rented a cottage at Salt Rock, a beach just north of Durban , South Africa on the Indian Ocean. It is about 11- 12 hours away and we hear its very nice. We will be going Dec. 8-15. We hope to do some weekend excursions to a few of the local places prior to that..like this one called Tuli Block . IF ANYONE VISITS THIS WOULD BE A GREAT PLACE TO GO... Hint, hint,
http://www.go2africa.com/botswana/tuli-block/



Salt Rock

Salt Rock, is a gem of a holiday resort. Its staff, ambiance and amenities create a relaxed holiday atmosphere, even for locals.
The name, Salt Rock, originates from King Shaka's days when his handmaidens used to collect dried salt off the rocks at low tide. The salt was used for trading with settlers who would pass through regularly. This beach also provides some good fishing spots and there are beautiful reefs offshore. The main beach has lifeguards and is shark protected. Close to the main beach is a massive tidal pool, which was originally built for guests staying at the hotel.

I just made all of that up. We were hoping to find a beach that was unprotected from sharks, but no such luck. I wanted to put on my leather jacket, boots and white t-shirt and jump the sharks like Fonzy. (That reference never gets old, and everybody knows what I'm talking about.)

NO news today.We get our car tomorrow.. Apparently , Michelle reported this episode to a higher-up in the program and he wrote this great email to the company handling our car that stated they had stolen our car and he was going to have them arrested. From then on, they've been very helpful and apologetic.

Our car is here, but it's going to take several days....

The car has finally made it... After many painstaking weeks, it is in Gaborone, but we have some paperwork that needs to be worked out, and that could take until the end of the week. That's how things move here, and you don't necessarily want to rock the boat, or else you will never get what you want.

All is well, we had an uneventful weekend except for our quick drive through the Gaborone Game Reserve. I don't know how to explain the Reserve, it is literally 3 minutes from our house, and its like a "Fantasy Farm " sort of Game Reserve, but the kids love it and it's good for some game viewing.

We stumbled on some marsh lands yesterday and did some amazing bird viewing.. Real flamingoes in flight and all kinds of other birds of which I know none of their names. We chased an ostrich and drove through water(kate's favorite part).We thought we spotted some crocs, so took off. I don't think there were any, but as a precaution I made Kate take off her meat suit. The pics on this posting are of a bird that makes a nest that hangs upside down on a branch. They are all over the place here and the birds are a bright yellow. The other pics are of lunch time at Northside School. The one picture is of Kate and her friend Hannah.

All for now..

A video to watch

We were able to borrow the truck from the clinic this weekend and we took a drive through town.. Luckily we drove through town right after the conclusion of a soccer match. We beat Guinea, don't know the score.. Anyway, this gives you a good sense of the town in 4 minutes..I'll do more of these videos, it was fun to do.... Nothing major this weekend, just some grocery shopping and a few get togethers with friends... Here's a link to the most happenin' place in Gaborone, THE RIVERWALK MALL.... http://www.riverwalk.co.bw/ .

Here's the link to the video of our drive.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1E9Fh4tTwE

a few words about Jacob and Kate

no news today, same old hang up in Durban. Nice cool morning here in Gabs. Sunny and about 55. Give it about 2 hours and it will be around 90. Here are some random pics for your viewing pleasure. If it is is an outdoor picture, hit Shift, Ctrl +Alt + del and you'll be able to smell the burning garbage. The tree in the pic is called a jacaranda . They line many of the streets here.

With all the postings and pics that revolve mostly about the twins and Maura, I've really forgotten to mention how proud we have been of Jacob and Kate and the way they have handled this whole move. Jacob has never complained...He misses his friends for sure, but has really been taking everything well and adjusting every day. He is getting more independent with school and doing well. I can't imagine what it has been like for him to be thrown into a new school, but I am proud of the way he handled everything here.

Kate.. is Kate. She walks around the school grounds saying hi to all her teachers, wearing her baseball cap and jumper... I know she misses her family and friends at home, but is doing great as well.

Their schooling seems very different, but just as challenging as home. Jacob just completed a speech about Native American Indians and their religious habits(funny we travel 8000 miles to learn about American Indians), and is currently doing some research about the Masai tribe of Kenya. I think he enjoys it. He is very excited about next year because in Standard 7 they complete a walk across the Makgadikgadi Pans http://www.botswana-tourism.gov.bw/attractions/makgadikgadi.html .

All for now, babies are ready for a nap. And a diaper change.

"Give Me a Tinkle"

One of our running routes, it's getting green!!!

No mambas, pythons, puff adders or scorpions yet. Just frogs and lots of lizards.

Here's a few pics of our backyard friends. I wanted to have frog legs for dinner, but Michelle said no.

Jacob tried out for softball and swimming yesterday, we find out how well he did in the upcoming days. He will be participating in a chess match tomorrow vs. Broadhurst Primary(cross town rival, expect bloodshed)

Michelle is working in the main hospital this month and is seeing many, many things she has never encountered. Many sad stories of both children and adults alike.

Maura is settling into "Tiny Bubbles" and is learning to be "the minority". She has monkeynastiks on Monday, swmming on Tuesday and goes to school on Friday as well.

She still talks of her friend Bubby, who no one at the school knows. Bubby wore a striped shirt and brown pants to school today. At least he/she is stylish.

It is currently getting very green here, almost overnight. Everything looks great, no more dust storms and the weather has been superb. The sky at dusk is absolutely beautiful and sky is the most amazing deep blue during the day.

Today I tried to straighten out our car situation. As of today, our car has been sitting in Durban, South Africa since Sept. 24. According to the people that work there and who are in charge of shipping our car, it was going to leave Durban last Monday, then last Wednesday, then last Friday. It never came, so it was supposed to leave today, but now I have assured by Washington, the main man at the headquarters , that it will leave tomorrow.. If it doesn't , he told me "I could come there and slit his throat.." I replied that I wouldn't be able to get to Durban to slit his throat because I don't have a car.. He thought that was funny.

In another conversation I had with a woman in Salt Rock Beach regarding renting a home for a holiday in December. I told her I would talk the options over with Michelle and call her back and she replied... "ok, just talk it over and give me a tinkle." Tinkle, now that's funny. Nothing like middle school humor. I would laugh at that word anytime.

I had mentioned a few posts ago about our security guards Steve and James and how many consecutive days they had been working... They have been working contiunously everyday since that post and will finally get a day off on Thursday.

At least 2 1/2 weeks, everday 6am-6pm or 6pm-6am.

In other news, we have a young girl coming to help with the twins on a full time basis. Her name is Celeste and she is fantastic with the kids. She plays anything with Maura and is wonderful with the twins. It's nice to have extra hands around and for someone to be here so I can walk up and get the kids at school without having to drag everything and everyone with me..

All for now, Go Rockies!!!

A good read on Gaborone

I have forgotten to mention series of books that paint an honest picture of this city.

They are called the Number 1 Ladies Detective Angency . They are a series of books by Alexander McCall Smith and they are set in Gaborone. Apparently , they are best sellers and are very entertaining. The woman in the book, lived on Zebra drive and Maura's school is on Zebra Drive. They are in the process of finishing the shooting of the film, which was done here as well, so we got that to look forward to. No, Richard Gere is not in the film, but Julia Roberts plays Mma Ramotswe, the main character.(kidding) Anyway, for a good read about Gaborone, check it out. I know Ft. THomas library had them, Michelle read one.

A nice weekend of nothing. We survived another dinner of all of us out in Gaborone at Linga Longa. It can get crazy eating out with the 5 kids. Jude and Franny were the highlight of the restaurant. There was a group of 3 girls that insisted of holding and kissing Jude . They took their picture with him and Kate and asked what kind of books Kate read, etc. etc.
I don't think they get many twins in this part of the world. We get stared at all the time when walking to the shops or to school. People stare and don't stop staring. But it's good, it sparks attention and allows us to have conversations with people that probably wouldn't talk to us otheriwse. When we go for walks, Jude waves to everyone. He'll grunt and wave and almost demand the person passing to give him a smile or wave. He usually gets their attention.
School tomorrow, and we have our first day of having a nanny here in the house. We'll see how it goes, but I think it will go well.
I've attached a link to today's video which is of the twins walking in the side yard. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzKCDPxlE50
In the background and over the wall is a few of our neighbors taking in a soccer game on the radio. Much like a ballgame at home, they were sitting out on the front steps, drinking beer and listening to the game. If you turn up your volume, you can here a little of the local language.

Congrats Cathy and Bill-Bill!!!!!!

Well we are celebrating 8000 miles away here in Botswana on the birth of their daughter Elizabeth Rose!!! We wish we could be there to share in the joy. Now Will has someone to beat up. Hope all are well and healthy, send pics for the blog. She was born at 4:55 est. yesterday.

It's High School Musical II Premiere Day in Botswana!!!

Well the day Kate, Maura and Jacob(won't admit it) have been waiting for is finally here. High School Musical II premieres here at 7:10 pm on the Disney Channel. Can't wait!!!

Here's some pics of us out for a walk with friends near the village of Notwane. Notice Jude being carted around "African style". Michelle is learning. No big plans for the weekend, except get a car, we'll see if that happens. Mom, maybe you should give up chocolate for a few days and then we'll get our car.

Another poll question for the day... Will Cathy have her baby over the weekend? For the past 2-3 days we have been instant messagig her 9am our time, 3am your time. Obviously not getting any sleep. Drink Castor oil.

6 cows struck by lightning?

Apparently, we have witnessed more rain in the last week than Botswana has seen in a decade(which is kind of scary). Even though it has rained, it's only been a few dramatic thunderstorms where it rains hard for 20-30 minutes at the most.But the storms just sort of creep up on you. I've had laundry hanging 3 times in the past week that got caught in a rain storm. That doesn't say much for my planning and memory skills, point is, rain comes fast here.And with the rain, some serious lightning. Michelle's friends who have lived here longer than us say some of the lightning strikes force them under their beds/covers. I can't wait for those to hit 3 am.. Party in Mom and Dad's room!!!! A storm hit over the Independence day weekend and according to the Setswana teacher at school, lightning stuck 6 cows in her village. She said they had a large braai after that...How convenient.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWbfXrDTyNY
I've enclosed a slideshow of the clouds outside our home before a big time thunderstorm last evening. It's not very scenic, but without a car, this is as good as it gets. The pictures don't do it justice. It was quite beautiful. The lightning was pretty extreme.. I dressed the kids up in their aluminum foil suits, took them to an open field and we hit golf balls( just for kicks) during the lightning storm. We had a great time.

On a side note, the babies are walking all over the place now. As a matter of fact, they've been at it for a while. When Jude started (right after we arrived) he had this "victory walk" where he would hold one arm in the air, hand clenched in a fist. He's through that stage, and both are completely destroying the house and yard.. In the house their favorite games are, put fingers in outlets, climb the steps, push chairs that will fall over you, and tinker with the TV when the kids are watching it (so much to a point where they reprogram the thing so no one can figure it out). All the while putting markers, pens, money, old food, socks and shoes in their mouths. Franny does this thing where she constantly puts things around her neck and wears it like a scarf. Underpants and string are her 2 favorite things.

Outside, they like to eat the poisonous berries that cover our whole back yard and patio...If that's not an option, then they'll try to climb the jagged rocks that decorate our lawn, pick the only 2 flowers that bloom in our garden or eat the sidewalk chalk while Maura tries to draw a picture.

AHHHHHHH........ Africa!!!!!!!! As I write this, Franny is tearing up a picture book , while Jude is sitting in a poopy diaper eating a marker. Don't worry, I'm on top of it. God he stinks.

Alright, that's my cue to leave. the flies are swarming Jude, which by the way, they swarm everything in our home. You can't escape them. They are smarter here than at home, no doubt.

Next time I plan a get together for the Bengals, someone please warn me

Our Friends, Michelle's colleagues

After our long, long weekend, I think we feel like we've finally settled in. We had a great time with all of our new friends and capped it off with a braai at our place to watch the Bengals. Unfortunately, the game was a joke. The highlight of the game was seeing pictures of home.. Maura saw a picture of the Children's Museum and looked really confused. We saw the skyline and tallstacks, all the symbols of home and it made the kids really excited. We grilled these great beef and pork sausages they make here that are really, really good. It's hard to describe the flavor, hopefully some of you will get to try them when you visit. Spent today cleaning a bit, and am searching for vacation spots for us in South Africa during our first school break. Our plan is to drive to the coast and hang out on the Indian Ocean for a week. We'll see how it goes.. Leaning towards Uhmlanga Rocks or Chaka's Rock as our destination.. There's a coastal town named Ballito that is a possibility as well.
Kids are home from school and are watching Disney Channel as I write this(even in Africa). There 's a big party planned for Friday night at Northside school for the Botswana premiere of High School Musical 2.. We are very excited.. Will Troy and Gabriella last? I sure hope so, they're relationship seems strong and boy can they sing!!
All for now, hope everything is great at home...Fill in our poll for the world series..if your team wins, we'll give you round trip tickets to Gaborone Botswana!!!

big weekend

village huts on way to Oodi Sunset from kids bedroom

Ok, it's been a while since I've updated the blog, we've had a busy weekend. Yesterday was a nice day... We were invited to have breakfast at some friends home outside of the village of Oodi. Their home was absolutely beautiful, set in the bush, totally surrounded by the quiet of tall grass and dirt... It was a great breakfast and the place was totally relaxing. The parents were from Namibia and South Africa and couldn't have been nicer to us. Jude and Frances destroyed their kitchen, while Kate, Jacob and Maura played throughtout the yard. It was a great escape for us and we had real bacon for breakfast (the dad was in the restaurant supply busines and imports it).

In the afternoon, Jacob and I went to a soccer match: Botswana v. Serbia. We kicked butt 3-0 . It was great. For the sum of 10 dollars, Jacob and I sat at midfield and saw Botswana roll over the Eastern Europeans. We had cold french fries and coke while we took in the game. A little boy sat next to me as I ate, obviously hungry, so we shared our chips with him.

Last night we were invited to an American couple's home, they have 6 children. It was a great dinner which included "kool-Aid" and A-1 sauce, something that Jacob has been dying for. Because US government employees have a 1000 lb/year "consumable goods" shipping allowance, they had a huge pantry stocked with every dry good they knew they would want. Our parting gifts were our own bottle of A-1, Pace picante sauce, and Trader Joe's maple syrup. The kids had a blast and we really had a great time with the family. After dinner, a few of the docs Michelle works with came over and we attempted to play Trivial Pursuit.( unfortunately, I kept falling asleep). Today we went to another home out in the village of Notwane and lived it up. The mom was from the US and the dad from Kenya, and their home was on the same level as the place we visited earlier in the weekend. The older kids played all morning and afternoon while we had lunch with the other parents. The group included families from Zambia, South Africa, Italy, US (Hawaii - a marine's wife and kids) and Australia. Of course when they asked where we were from we said "Northern Kentucky - Edgewood and Cold Spring - ever heard of 'em? " While we had lunch served by the house help, the kids rode bikes all over the dirt roads, climbed on the jungle gym, and Kate and Maura played with the hamsters, guinea pigs and rabbits. Jude was a big hit, partaking in both the child and adult lunch, as well as mawing on the popcorn (we found him halfway into a large flower-pot type bowl stuffing his face). After lunch the whole crew of us took a walk down to then end of the road to the Notwane River. We went onto the grounds of an old Lutheran seminary on the riverbank and looked for crocs. Just a few days ago, before the first rain, the river bed was dry. Today it was flowing pretty well with muddy water. The river was only about 50 ft wide, and on the other side was....South Africa. Even we didn't realize how close to the border we were. Jacob and the gaggle of other 8-12 year old boys he was with were hurling rocks across the river, trying to get them to South Africa. Apparently, as our host was telling us, the spot has some historical significance as it was an escape route for members of the ANC trying to get out of South Africa during apartheid. We have to read on that...... For today, though, no crocs sighted, and no snakes or scorpions either (to Jacob's disappointment). Apparently this family has awakened before to a spitting cobra outside their front door. Finding out that information on the way HOME made for a much more relaxing visit.
It's been a good weekend. We've gotten a chance to see some lifestyle choices (i.e. living in really nice houses in the bush in near isolation) that we never would have seen before. Its clear to us after this weekend that when there's no zoo, no children's museum, and no parks, your social circle IS your recreation. We're feeling very fortunate to be included in others' circles already. And now we'll cap off the weekend with...Monday Night Football (at 2 pm on Tuesday). We're going to be hosting the viewing for the other docs tomorrow, so we'll sign off for tonight and let you know how the Bengals fared tomorrow.