video of the twins and Jacob with his cricket.

It's Friday... sunny, blue skies and hot...
Went out to visit my friends in Gabane today.. i keep meeting new people, all of which hope that the new president is Clinton or Obama.. They don't think Obama will win, simply b/c they don't feel America is ready for a black president. but they really follow the race closely as the local Tv station plays MSNBC from around 10pm at night to 7-8 am. So they are totally up on the race.
We are headed to a cricket match tonight and have a pitch party to go to tomorrow night at northside school.. So it will be a fun filled weekend..

Here's some video of the twins and Jake's first match.. the music is my phone and its ring tones.... they are awful.. but the twins always dance around the room when it rings...
if you want to make the babies dance... simply call 71609643.. It may cost you some cash.. but the babies will dance.. totally worth it...Unfortunately , they didn't do too much wiggling during the video
all for now... hope everyone is well.
here's the video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlD_mn3Z13A

Jacob's cricket debut!

Just got back from Northside school and witnessed Jacob playing his first game of cricket.. He scored several runs, hit well and seemed to be understanding the rules. He made a blunder at the end of his bat, mostly due to the fact that he thought he was playing baseball.. I went up early this morning to hear him give his oral report on the Islam religion.. He got all high marks. Don't worry folks.. my life is pretty dull these days.. that's why I feel the need to report on exactly what my kids are studying in school.. Cricket seems like a fun game, but when its 125 degrees out,, it makes for a long afternoon in the sun.. Games apparently can take a long, long, long time... Days for example.. Think of listening to a reds game when Marty is at a graduation or something and steve Stewart and tim Kremcheck fill in... could be painful and looonnng.

But it was a good match and Jacob can chalk that off of his list of things to do "when in Rome".

Not much else to report...I started the mural at their school today and are hoping to work on it a bit more tomorrow....a video of his first game, excuse me, match(which is also kind of boring) will be up later tonight or tomorrow. Oh yeah, also included is a photo from the most recent cornhole match(love jude with his shovel) and Franny..All for now....

Wednesday and a little slice of home

One great thing about living in botswana is the array of flavors of Doritos.. I'm not a fan of the things, but we have the most amazing assortment.. And lay's chips as well.. Thai sweet chilli, Chutney, Fusion, sesame seed and something.... Point is there are alot.. But none of them taste like home. today after picking up the kids from school we headed to the local shop (pic and pay) and right outside the shop was a young woman selling soft serve ice cream.... It was awesome.. just like Ameristop. we sat in front of Liquorama and sucked down our cups of strawberry and vanilla "swirl" for about .60 each. It was a nice surprise...

Today is a quiet day around the house.. Maura continues to develop her drawing skills, she has this thing where she'll spend an hour or so on a drawing, fold it up into a tiny package, give it to you as a gift, tell you to put it in your pocket, and then the next day ask if you still have her drawing.. if you don't, you get totally guilt tripped. It's alot of pressure.. to hold onto to such an important object..

I took the twins for a walk this morning... We stop and always talk to these two security guards on the way... Oakantse(?) and Abel.... I offered them a potato chip(the babies were munching on) and they didn't know what it was... I was really shocked... what? you don't know what a potato chip is? It occurred to me that they had never bought them because they are too expensive. All the security guards in our neighborhood work 12 hour shifts every day, they get 4 days off in a month -month an d a half.. They make about 750 pula a month = 125$ a month. But they are just happy they have a job and always , always talk to the kids... and make fun of me because my Setswana is so bad.

Here's a few windows for you viewing pleasure as well as a donkey in the middle of a yard.. they are just kind of everywhere.. Not sure what they're doing.... Or where they come from..

Tomorrow is big day for Jacob.. He is playing in his first cricket match.. He practices each week with the team, but hasn't been invited to play in a match.. until now. He gets to wear a cricket uniform and gets a chance to hit some googlys...I will be sure to get video and/or photos.. I plan on bringing my American "A" game to the match.. A giant foam cowboy hat (like Burt Reynolds in the jeopardy skit from SNL), a cooler of beer, some cut off jeans, tube socks and of course... going shirtless.... i will yell alot of insults, scream at the refs and plan on getting in a fight.. hopefully with one of the kids.

Good show! Mr. Eckerle... Good show!

how do you get crayon off of your wall?

My problem with the twins drawing on the walls has reached its worst level yet..... I was cleaning up, noticed a mark on the wall, about knee height... then noticed another and another and then a whole slew of them... all the way across our wall. and then on the floor, and on the furniture... what a mess...

Jacob had another "swimming gala" today... he did well, finished 1st , 2nd and 4th.

We received a package today from our friends, the Halls .... it was a nice surprise.. a bunch of nets for the local basketball/netball courts... one set will go to Jacob's school(they hold free camps for kids during the weekend and school breaks), and the others to a local school(to be determined). Many thanks to you all for thinking of those here.... as strange as it sounds.. the nets will be a great addition to the local courts... They get alot of play, and these nets will make them alot more enjoyable for the local kids... now if we can sod all the soccer fields it will be just like home.. Currently the soccer fields are dust, dirt and usually rocks for goal markers .

the kids are still going strong, I put them in front of the TV for a few minutes to give me a second to write this..

Hope all is well at home.. is it true that spring training games start tomorrow? I can't wait.

If you have the best ways of getting crayon off the walls... let me know.. you can comment on this blog site....

ONE last note... We received a few great comments yesterday and today from our site.. but I can't reply to you via the site.. if you don't mind.. please leave your email address so I can get back to you, I would love to be able to reply but can't. Or email me directly at andrewecks@hotmail.com

Thanks for all the kind words...

kate's been taking photos here as well... here's a few of her best.

One step closer...and we're kind of famous!!!!

We have taken a small step further in achieving global peace through cornhole. On Saturday night, we had a Kenyan, a Motswana, a Botsonian, 3 Philadelphians, a New Yorker and one South Dakotaan(?) playing cornhole in our backyard.... You could feel the world uniting a little bit more with each toss of the corn bag.... It was spectacular...

Apparently the Ky. Enquirer has run a story about us and Michelle's work today.. It was a nice article... http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008802250324 . If you've read the article and are visiting this site for the first time... thanks for checking it out. there are tons of photos, etc... and videos as well. you can access them on the right.. "eckerle videos"

we had a nice weekend, the kids are off school today due to mid term.... It's hot, a little overcast, but nice. I went to Gabane again this morning to talk to an artisan there named Grand.... he's a great guy, who has a small studio there in the hills above the village... he has these metal sculptures of cobras outside his shop.. I asked if he sees them often... He told last week, he was eating in his home, which is a short walk up the dirt road... anyway, as he was eating, a 4 foot black spitting cobra stopped on his doorstep to bask in the sun.....

He boiled some water, poured it over the snake and killed it... He likes to put them outside his shop to display, but had just thrown it into the woods before I arrived..

He says he does it quite often.. cobras and huge scorpions. Fun stuff.I've been telling myself that I wished we lived in a small village to get the real feel for the place, but now.... maybe I'll be happy with our place in Gaborone.

No new info to talk about.. Everyone here is doing well...Michelle is very busy at the hospital, still dealing with alot of crazy stuff.

That's about it.. hope all is well at home...Oh yeah.. the photos are from today... the woman and child were working a vegetable booth.. They were great.. the girl loved the camera and took a few photos herself..

some cool work...

well, just by chance I have stumbled on an opportunity to do work with a local orphanage. I was searching for some pictures of Botswana and found this great one of some children. I clicked on it, found out it was for a Botswana orphanage, emailed the contact only to find out it is funded by a couple in the U.S. I told them i was interested in volunteering, they asked if I could possibly go and teach the kids a few things about photography to help with their fundraiser. Apparently they give the older children some cameras and they take photos of their lives, they have the developed and exhibit them back home to raise money..

the orphanage is called Reneetswe orphan center, its located in the village of Mmangkodi, about 30 minutes away from here.. Here's a website....http://www.awish.net/Africa/botswana.htm I'm looking forward to the opportunity... It is run by a local Catholic priest, so I hope to be in contact with him in the next few days.. Other than that, its business as usual. Friday night is "bum night" and for that matter , so is saturday night.. we plan on grilling out, swimming and watching a movie.. Tonight is "spongebob movie" We rented a few DVD's from the local shop... Hopefully they work. chances are , they don't.

all for now

First Botswana haircut

Well, I must admit, when they said it was going to get hot and stay hot, I thought I was prepared for it.. the cincinnati summers and its humidity could easily defeat the sun and dust of botswana , africa.. Well, I was wrong..

It's hot as a mug yo! But its pretty. I decided with some time i had today to venture to a part of Gabane that i've never been.... I stopped at this hair salon on the main drag right before you enter the "busy" section of the village... It was great.. I went, met Onkabetse who runs the place.. I asked her if she cuts "white man" hair, she said "of course" for the right price.. I took my chances and was pleasantly surprised.. For 2.50$, I got an appropriate hair cut, shave, shampoo and moisturizer... it was the best work over I've had in years..at the best price.. What I found interesting was as soon as I sat down, it was like being back home.. small talk ensued... "Where you from?" What do you do? What? How many kids? etc, etc.. She had a Alicia Keys shirt on, I told her I'd get a CD made for her... She told me to bring more clients for her, I said I'd bring Jacob... He'll be very excited(sarcasm). Anyway, it was a cool place... A bit run down, dirty and not sanitary, but better than all of the makeshift barber shops that litter the streets of Gaborone. I was sold and will go back.Onkabetse, Lydia and her crew were great and know how to enjoy the work day... Tea, talk and sitting on the front porch.. Unfortunately, I didn't request cornrows, but maybe next time... The kids are finished with their first half term of this school year tomorrow.. Jacob just completed a huge report/inquiry on the religion of Islam.. He now is teaching us about the religion.. Kate learned the history of her school and is giving tours tomorrow for the parents.

Maura is hanging in there and drawing everything under the sun. the twins have now learned the word "No".. and their setswana is improving.. they say "Nyaa" "eyyy" "dimpa" "thogo" "dumela rraa" "Mmaa" and "poop". I'm so proud.

One last note... weed wackers do not exist here.. Instead people hire others to do a landscaping job using nothing but a machete(sp?). this guy in the photo is just getting started.. Other photos include the front porch of the salon, my salon chair i sat in for my doo bust trim, Okabetse with a client and Lydia with a client.

HOT!!!!

It's wednesday, and you know what that means...... It's still freakin' hot! Swimming is on the agenda today, as well as tomorrow and for the rest of the month... fortunately we haven't had any problems with our electric going out, and the evenings get very comfortable.. so it's only the daytime and late morning where the sun beats down on you relentlessly. Michelle is still putting in long hours at the hospital, and children are still filing in with diarrhea and malnutrition. I think it's simply a part of life here.
Celeste and I took the 3 little ones to Sanitas today, which is a garden center and tea garden... it has a sand pit and playground area that the kids love to play in. The first time we went there as a family, monkeys invaded the place. But today it was quiet and we had the whole place to ourselves.. It's a great place to go, considering it is the closest thing we have to a park. The playground is surrounded with huge palm trees. It's like an oasis of green...

Now headed up to school to pick up the kids... Attached are some photos from my most recent trip to gabane ... My visits there are still quite nice, although the people are becoming more demanding and expect me to take 16 photos of them drinking beer. And when i don't have all their photos printed, they wonder why... but all in all, it's great to go there... it's always an adventure and i always get at least 4-5 good shots... I am becoming a fixture there and I go by either andy or eddie, whichever they prefer.. I'm flexible. The photos of the kids are great. They were so scared of me at first... Never seen a white man before.. Their mother kept telling them it was ok, but I took a few photos of them, showed them their images and they were
ok... I knew they loved me when they kept kicking me in the shins

Gabane potters

Don;t have much time now, but I'll write more about this place a little later... Here's some photos.. All I know is the work is awesome, handmade and the people are very kind.. Check out some of the photos from our last visit to the potters from my village away from home..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fSwES2w4Ck The photos are the pottery from Gabane, Maura posing like a swimsuit model outside the studio(god we're in trouble) and some girls from Northside school posing for me during their snack break.. I was there taking photos of the wall I'm going to do the mural on...

Oodi weavers

about 30 minutes outside of town is the small village of Oodi. It sits at the base of a rocky hill, and is the home of the Oodi weavers. This is a small group of weavers who make the most amazing wall hangings. Our friend Julia and i went out to see them Friday morning to see what the place had... It was awesome.. set in this dusty small village, as quiet as any place I've been to, it was a great little place with a great bar across the street called "take two" (that's for another visit). We were greeted by Neo who took us around the facility, the weavers were in the middle of a meeting, but still let us wander through and take photos..... There were goats grazing on the plot, the place was just really a nice getaway from the city... Here's a quick slideshow of our visit.

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

We walked around for maybe 30 minutes and then went to the showroom ( the rondavel with the word "sales" on it). inside was about 20 handmade weavings, all around 100 dollars.. The wool is dyed there, spun and then each weaving takes around a month.. They will take orders and you can personalize a weaving if you wish. All the weavings depict village life, and are very similar to what I would describe as Peruvian-esque. But, they are beautiful pieces... everyone I know here has one, except for us.. Michelle and I plan on going out there to shop in the next few weeks. Here's some photos from our visit... If you plan on coming to Botswana, bring 100$ to pick up one of these badboys...here's an article I found about the place..

http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-5125-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

Tomorrow, I'll put up the slides of our visit to the gabane/pelagano potters studio.

khutse trip a success

well the girls got back from khutse last night and really enjoyed themselves... They didn't encounter any lions or leopards in the park, but in the morning when they took off for their San bushman walk... there were leopard prints right behind the place they were staying... Also, they were told there was a truck carrying a leopard that just came through,, apparently had gotten too close to the village or something.

On Saturday morning they went for a "bush walk" with a local San villager nicknamed "Size." The majority of those in Botswana are referred to as Batswana or Tswana people, but the oldest inhabitants of Botswana, and Southern Africa in general, are the San people. They are probably best known in popular culture for their role in "The Gods Must Be Crazy" pictures. In Botswana you mainly find them in the central-western part of the country, in the Kalahari Desert, which is where Khutse Game Reserve is located. One of the activities at the lodge is a bush walk, where you are led by Size and the interpreter. Size then demonstrates the methods by which the San have been able to survive for thousands of years as hunter/gatherers. In the slideshow, you'll see the method by which he makes fire with 2 sticks. He cuts a rivet in one stick, then lays it on top of the knife for stability. Under the knife is a small pile of soft dry grass. He the holds the other stick on end and turns it back and forth on the rivet. The idea is that as the hot ash falls onto the dry grass, then you can blow it and start the fire. I know its possible because 1) they've been doing it for thousands of years and 2)our friends saw it on the same walk. However, Size was a bit tired this time. He was breaking a sweat while the thing was only smoking, so we asked him to stop. We were just glad to see the technique.

Some of the other pictures show him peeling a wild potato. He peeled it, grated it with a stick, and then took a pile of the grated potato and squeezed the water into his mouth, using his thumb as a "spout." Then you'll see pictures of me (Michelle) trying to imitate him...mostly just an unattractive shot of my craned neck. I did get it though - not surprisingly, it tasted like potato water. The most impressive thing about all this is that he could scan the ground and pick out the 3 inch plant that would then lead us to this huge tuber, in the midst of a bush covered with plants after these recent rains. It was really amazing.

Some of the other plants included another tuber, that when peeled is beet red. They use it for women who are preparing to get pregnant - grate it, boil it, and have the woman drink - increases fertility and prepares the womb for the baby. I would LOVE to know what's in it. In the slide show, there may also pictures of the translator showing us the milkweed plant - he put some of the sap on his arm to show us. That plant is given to men to increase virility. I asked if it was a lifelong boost - apparently not...."that would be really uncomfortable" is what the translator, Tshepang, said. About the wild cucumber, they explained that they would have to grill it, let it cool, and then they could it eat it. If they eat it raw, Tshepang said that it would make the inside of their mouth burn and peel. I was really struck by all of this. I've had a coupld of kids come in dead to the hospital after traditional medicine treatments. Then you think about someone who usually takes all their healing from the ground, then they come to the hospital and watch all of these foreign, painful things happen to their child....its got to be so disturbing for them. I'm not sure how to reconcile the two. Usually most parents won't admit to traditional medicine use, because they know how the medical staff views it. I just tell them that this (Western medicine) is all I know, so that's all that I can help them with, and try not to make any judgements about the other stuff. You know there has to be some validity in all of it...especially if the milkweed gives results like that.

Anyway, the place was in the middle of Botswana and on the edge of the Kalahari. Michelle said it was beautiful, quiet and sky at night was unbelievable.. One side story... Julia asked, after seeing the leopard prints , if the bushmen ever carried any weapons with them on this walk... they said no.. which made them feel confident.. then in front of them there was some rustling around in the bush... their guide start jumping up and down.... frantically...thinking it was a leopard.. turns out it was a jack rabbit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEDt7gYETUM Here's a slideshow of their adventure there... some notes.. the traditional hut in the photo show, they entered with caution.. there was leopard prints around that as well, and they checked for snakes. The traditional family(photo above) they encountered on their walk. They were driving down the path within the reserve and saw tracks on the path. They were getting excited, thinking that they were on the heels of a big cat, when all of a sudden they came upon....a horse and a donkey, carrying this family. It looked like they were on their way home, which is literally in the middle of nowhere. The saddlebags (the "saddle" was a blanket) were made out of animal skins. This is about as authentic as you get in Botswana, although the guy was still in jeans. They waved the car over and motioned for food. The girls gave fruit, granola and water, then asked if they could get their picture. You'll see the left eye of the little girl is swollen. When they tried to ask what happened, the father motioned as if the child had gotten poked in the eye. It was hard to tell if the infection was getting better or worse....hopefully better.

What's great about this place is that its about a 3 hours drive from Gabs, so it's a nice place to go for a night.. you travel about 2/3 of it on normal roads, and then the last 100 kms are all on dirt... very fun.

We are keeping it real here today.. Michelle is taking Julia back to the airport, the kids are making a camp in the tree in our backyard and I am cleaning a bit.. soon to swim.

Sundays are still a little tough here... I think the kids get a little homesick, bored and not sure what to do with themselves.. this camp they're making is a good way to pass the time.. All for now.

Happy belated valentines day... If you really want to impress those you love say.... Ke ago rata!!!! Ago is pronounced a-ho. It means I love you in Setswana... i'm just soaking all this amazing culture up.. I also know what fart and stomach are.. no, i haven't learned to cuss in setswana yet..

girls night away..

Michelle, Kate, Maura and our friend Julia went to Khutse, on the edge of the Kalahari for the evening... It's about a 3 hour drive, 100 km of that is on a dirt road..They are staying at a very cool place... http://www.khutsekalaharilodge.com/home.html . We're scoping it our for all prospective visitors..
we 've had a great time with Julia, i took her to gabane to buy some local pottery and then today we went to oodi , to visit some weavers who make the most amazing wall hangings. I wil l post pictures of our trip in the Sunday post.. Michelle ganked my camera to take to the desert. The trip to the weavers was amazing... i'll get those pictures up soon. julia is visiting from Swaziland, she was a resident with Michelle at cincinnati children's and has been here since last august. she's had a good time, I think, driving around, picking up the kids from school, and eating lunch while watching kate take tennis lessons.. i hope the trip goes well. The place is supposed to be amazing bodes the largest population of lions and leopards in Botswana.. michelle and the girls plan to do a Bushman walk tomorrow morning.

for Jacob, the twins and I ... my plan is to put the twins in bed early.. and play some cornhole.... because the bags are finished!!!!!! it is time....
Pictures of the weavers and some of gabane potters will come soon.

Jude and Franny speak, eating termites

rainy day here in Botswana, it's nice.. kind of reminds me of home... we are in the midst of a busy time with Michelle putting her time in at the hospital and the kids in full swing at school.. Thing is, it doesn't feel half as busy as home... all the kids activities are after school and Michelle is usually home by 5, which gives us every evening together.. Jacob had his first swimming gala yesterday at a school called the Baobab school... What a cool school name.. He did well, he finished somewhere between 3rd and 6th, he doesn't remember. I couldn't make it, because no one knew where the place was.... So I stayed home.. Kate is making great strides with piano, her teacher Kabo is excellent and does a good job of keeping Kate focused...

We took all 5 of them out for ice cream at Milky Lane last night, which is located at the Riverwalk Mall(when Jacob says Riverwalk Mall, he likes to say it real dreamy like, like that wine commercial of the radio, Corbin Canyon or that great skit on SNL where the Olsen twins advertise their new perfume..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA16KJyEKZ4&feature=related sorry... got a lot of time on my hands this morning.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLEMpqI0Rcc here's another one of my favorite SNL skits..... "see? see how they walk? "

Anyway, point is we had a nice time getting the twins out of the house.. After our ice cream, we let the twins loose in the mall.... Jude walked around saying hello to everyone that would acknowledge him, while Franny just ran around..

Yesterday as I was walking down the street, there was a young girl in front of me... she walked past one of the hundreds of huge termite mounds(pictured) that are scattered throughout the city, grabbed a termite off the top and popped it in ....her mouth.... apparently they are nutritious and its very common...i'll have to check though.. maybe it's just the termite mound dirt they eat... anyway, it was cool.. she's just walking, never broke stride, reached over the termite mound, grabbed either a critter or dirt and popped it in her mouth.

Here's jude and franny showing off their speaking skills.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyXKJZgsbJY They say "dumela rra" very well, even have the rrrrr thing down. Other than that, your basic stuff. Franny does speak more than Jude, but that's to be expected.. Jude demands more attention, and franny is fed up.. She says the phrase "I want to get down" with perfection, due to the fact that she is left in her chair alot longer than Jude, and at times, will sit for hours... So now she just sits there and says... "I want to get down, I want to get down, I want to get down"

we have 5 bags made for the cornhole set.... 3 away from peace on earth..

all for now.

closer to having cornhole!

The invasion of cornhole to this continent will begin by the end of this week.. I went to pick up my finished cornhole set today and boy is it a beauty.. Andrew the local carpenter did a hell of a job.. I think it's regulation.... I was so happy when I saw it, now we're working on the bags.. Should be ready in a few days... And then chibuku and cornhole will meet for the first time, and there will be peace around the world!!! Unfortunately, he didn't know who the cincinnati reds were, so he couldn't paint their symbol on my set... I'll just have to settle for white... I invited him over for a round of cornhole later this week... He said " i will call you and you can come and pick me up." I said, no problem...

Here's a few photos of Andrew, one is with Jacob....and of course, jacob is wearing his Advantage Plastics t-shirt. I swear I think every photo I have of Jacob he is wearing that stupid shirt.. He's been wearing it since he was 6. Other photose included are photos of our local grocery store "choppies" and our local bottle store, where mom and dad buy the drinks that they like.. I love that place.. It's so cool....

All for now..

music clip

Here's a clip of the local music show that we hear on Sunday morning... check it out... it's alot of fun to listen to...well, at least i think so... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-h_za5fLic I put a few photos in there to give you something to look at. They are from my most recent trip to Gabane. Kate absolutely hates listening to the show.. Alright all the kids hate it, but I dig it. Kate says its embarrassing . Jude and Franny are running a good fever, and I think Maura's got it as well. Michelle was called into the hospital again this morning at 5:30. I promise you she will write a blog describing her experiences recently... Very interesting and sad.

all for now

marker hell

Writing this at 8:30 in the morning..... Jacob is off to his basketball camp, which is every Saturday morning.. The twins and Maura are block building on the floor(which will eventually turn into a screaming match), kate is chilling watching cartoons. It's sunny and hot(surprise) and Michelle was called into the hospital at 6:30 this morning... No plans today as Michelle is on call all weekend.

Good news from home.. My dad is back at home, out of the rehab hospital and happy to be out of there... Way to go Pop! We are thinking of you and mom over here in Botswana...

ok, now it's 9:50. I have been chasing the twins around the house, they got a hold of a few markers, decided the walls need a change in color, as well as the floor.. I love it! I always told myself I was never going to allow my children to draw on the walls, floors, etc..... Oh well, they win.

Since I'm mad at the twins this morning for destroying my house, I've posted pictures of other children. These were taken a few weeks ago. The children here are absolutely beautiful and strong. And I bet they never draw on the walls. One of the pictures is an image of some children wheeling some glass bottles back to the shop for a refund.. remember those days? One other note..the other photo is a woman displaying how they carry their little ones around.. simply wrap a cloth around your waste and strap them on.. The kids sit there for hours. It makes us look like idiots with our LLBean carrier... I should also state, that many of the women carry a baby on their back, a bag of groceries in each hand, and a bundle of sticks, watermelon, or just about anything on their head.. That's a photo i have to get..It's amazing... There were women carrying large logs about 8 ft. in length on their heads yesterday....I was too busy yapping to get their photo.

All for now... thinking of you today dad.

Maria Sharapova look out... and Jacob meets his first snake.

Not much to report today... except that it is as hot as a popcorn fart. I've attached video of Kate during her tennis practice... It was awesome.. She is a natural. It's 5 minutes of video, I think she hits the ball twice.. But who cares...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8OB4uQx5JE

Jacob informed me that as he was changing classes this afternoon, there was a reddish tint snake slivering across the grounds, about 7 feet away from him... it was about 3 feet in length, hissed at his classmates, and then barfed up a dead frog. His teacher told him they just witnessed something very rare. It sounded cool, I'm glad I wasn't there.. I'm waiting for the day when I encounter a big one while jogging.. here's a photo of my jogging path... I occasionally see mongoose and good sized lizards, but none of those other things..

here's a cool website of a snake park near chobe.. we passed it several times while we were there.. I didn't really trust the cardboard sign on the side of the road, but after seeing their web page, wished I would have gone... for all those planning to visit us, we'll check it out with you... http://www.chobesnakepark.org/ . Apparently, there are 60 species of snakes here, 12 are deadly... I love the word deadly when talking about snakes... especially when they live near you... Nothing else going on, it's skyline time for dinner and a movie later..

today is thursday!!!

Donkey ride anyone? this was taken this morning in Gabane.. It is really, really hot here and unfortunately, I forgot to put sunscreen on the back of my neck this morning and am suffering... Not a smart thing to do for a white man in southern Africa. Nothing major to report today, spent the morning taking some photos and swimming with the three little ones. kate had piano today, Jacob marimbas and swimming... michelle is very busy with work and we are all just trying to stay cool.

Jude still is enjoying putting on women's clothing, while franny insists on wearing Maura's clothing. Celeste is now starting to speak to the twins in nothing but Setswana, in the hopes that they are able to understand it, and that I just may be able to pick up on the lingo... We'll see. I've been scolded enough by the old women in the village for not knowing enough... "We know your language, why can't you learn ours?" Point well taken... ok, all for now.. the one photo is of a lizard that was hanging on for dear life as I drove down the highway.. this was taken at a stop light... the lizard eventually lost the fight with the wind, and is no longer. Other pictures are a few street vendors , Kelly and Rose.. Rose is the one with the donkeys in the background..

a 2 litre

As Michelle continues her work in the hospital, I thought I would pass on a story that she told me last night when she came home from work ...


Apparently, due to the rain and serious malnourishment in children, the diarrhea outbreak has reached a serious level.. Michelle is seeing many patients at the hospital who are on the brink of death due to diarrhea/malnourishment. And some of them will die if not given some type of Pedialite-esque solution to get them back to stable levels. The thing is, there are no clean containers to mix the solution in, and some of the families can't afford to purchase a 2 litre to clean out and use to make the solution once they have been shown how to do so at the hospital.. And the children die.... So we are collecting 2 litre containers here at home... Michelle was going to get a ride home from another doc last night, and saw an empty 2 litre in his car, took it back into the hospital to give to a family...She showed them how to make the solution in the hopes that they would take the information and 2 litre home with them. It's very sad, but a very real problem. Many children are dying from some very simple things that in the U.S. would never be an issue. And in many instances, they can't hook the child up to an IV solution because the volume of fluid is so great and the child is so malnourished, that the solution could overload their system and cause heart failure.... It's very sad and mind boggling. Point is, children here are sick... If not AIDS, malnourishment.

On a lighter note, our power went out last night... again... we layed around all evening in the dark, listening to Kate chat, chat, chat... she wouldn't shutup.. The power eventually came back on around 3 am. this is going to be a daily routine during our time here...

And on an even lighter note.... I have designated myself the American/Cincinnati Ambassador of Cornhole....I have a gentleman(Andrew), a local woodworker making a cornhole set for me....I gave him the specs. for it yesterday, and he said it would be ready on sunday... He told me "you take too long explaining what you want, but I will make it for you... this game is very strange...but you will show me how to play so I can show my baby girl....." Can you see what's going to happen? We are on our way to speading peace and unity throughout the world one cornhole set at a time... Now all I have to introduce is Budweiser beer(which has just arrived) and buffalo wings..... and skyline dip, and taco dip, salami rolls, fried pickles, gooey buns, krispy kremes, starbucks coffee, white castles, deep fried turkeys, that sausage and velveeta cheese mixture sandwich thingy that Michelle's family makes for Xmas which the name escapes me(awesome), chili cheese burritos, big gulp sodas, and after that, they'll all be americanized. One day........

All for now.

Super Bowl Monday!!!!

Jacob and I spent our Monday evening watching a shortened version of the Super Bowl. We still were able to catch Tom Petty perform his medley of tunes(thank god), but we didn't get any of the commercials. It didn't feel the same as home, but was still entertaining. Not much to report, Michelle is very, very busy with work here. Apparently due to the rain in southern Africa, there is a major outbreak of diarrhea in children, which is life threatening. Michelle is also working in the hospital these next 2 months and not just the AIDS clinic, so she will be extremely busy with that. I, on the other hand, am not so busy.. We hear our beloved President is coming to southern Africa regarding AIDS in the next few weeks. I wonder if he'll come to the BW. From what I see and hear, they won't be rolling the red carpet out for him. It's hilarious, when I tell people where I'm from, they turn up their noses and say.... "the land where Bush come from." Not well liked here.

I have been asked to do an original mural on the front entrance wall of Jacob and Kate's school, which is a big deal.... I plan on visiting my friends in Gabane in the next few days, while trying my hands at making soups...... If anyone has good, simple recipes for some hearty, simple soups, please email them to me @ andrewecks@hotmail.com .

Side note.... Jude has been really digging putting on girls clothing and high heels.. should I worry? He does make a handsome girl.... here's some pics, as well as a photo of me and my friend Thebe....