Bus rank and all day soccer event

I spent a few hours down at the main bus rank/taxi stand, which I just discovered existed last week.. If you truly want to feel a minority and stick out like a sore thumb, this is the place to go.. unlike the Riverwalk mall, which still feels very African, the bus rank and all its stalls feel like a true African experience. There are vendors selling food, sweets, accessories, clothing, cell phone repair and makeshift hair salons. These tent like businesses(salons) can be found all over the city, but at the bus rank, they are all huddled together, almost like a hair-cut neighborhood.

The places are dusty, dirty and consist of several plastic chairs, a garbage bag and occasionally some electric clippers that are plugged in somewhere.... But they are brilliant.

I met a few women last week when i was there who asked me what I was doing ..They are very blunt that way... not a hello or how are you.. a simple..."what are you doing". I told them I was looking for a woman who sold large wash basins, they laughed, pointed me in the right direction and told me to come back when i was finished.

I returned as told to do, we struck up a conversation, they told me they wanted to marry my brother when he arrives(I told them he was married, they said it didn't matter... Sorry gina) and i asked if I could come back to take photos of them in action... They said of course, and yesterday was the day. It was great.... I spent about an hour and a half sitting with them and watching severall women get hair extensions... That was Lorato, Shanky and Neo's specialty( the owners of the shop)... for about 20 bucks and 4-5 hours of sitting, you can get hair extensions....

That's basically it....I sat there, took some photos and talked. Ironically, they were all from Gabane, so I had something to talk to them about.... I told them I was the white man who took photos in the village, they told me they had heard of me...

Jacob has an all day soccer event today at school.. sponsored by "Apache Spur" our favorite American themed, South African chain.... their motto should be.... "If you like to puke, come and eat with us..." they have a huge billboard outside of Jacob's school that has a Native American, a huge slab of ribs, and instead of getting a starch and veggie as side orders, you get fries and onion rings..... Anyway, the billboard says... "you are now entering Spur Country.' This is the place where all the servers to an impromptu 2-step dance through the aisles... unfortunately for us, they do it better than I've ever seen...I think I've written about this place several times....

the place with neon pink hot dogs...

that's it.. nothing much more to report.... hope you like the photos.....

Matt, Lorato is the one who wants to marry you.... She's the one doing the hair braiding

Jib Jab ,mural and groceries

Apparently the headmaster of Jacob and Kate's school loves the mural and doesn't want me to touch it anymore.. So, I think I'm finished.. I've left my mark on Botswana.... it was a lot of fun to do the mural,, the kids would come out at break, munch on snacks and ask me all kinds of questions about the piece..Basically, it's a 3 panel mural consisting of renditions of old paintings of mine that the headmaster chose...

It's at the entrance of the school, and looks pretty good.

I've attached a photo of the finished piece.

I went to gabane again this morning to take photos, and am realizing that my slight knowledge of the language is helping me get to know people a little better. I think people are surprised that you even know how to say the greetings.. A man was shocked and told me that most people just assume that if you're white you're from South Africa, and they think that most white South Africans don't make any attempt to learn the language.. Granted, I can't get past the greeting, but it helps...

One thing I thought I'd do with the blog was show you some of our favorite items to eat/use here.. Today's entry is Simba chips(salt and vinegar). These things are awesome, cost about a buck a bag and are addictive. they don't sell septic tank sized soft drinks here nor do they sell family sized bags of goodies, so I have to buy several at a time to get my fix.....

I know this is exciting stuff here... so to make it even more exciting, I've attached a photo of my favorite cereal.... It is awesome as well, maura and i are the only ones that eat it... It's like a lightly sugared cheerios... so , you don't feel unhealthy eating them. They are called O'tees....

One last thing I thought I'd leave you with today is a "jib jab" that was sent to us by Tom Meyer... Thanks Tom!!!! It's funny, and it makes me look good..

I hope you can open it...

http://www.jibjab.com/sendables/share_view/jH7QB0kffeAA4nHquXAQaKKO

Another beautiful day here weather wise... if you're getting bored with my entries, i understand and i'm sorry.. michelle has promised to write one soon, to update you on her work and Jacob has probmised to write one about his trip to South Africa.. He swam with sharks, saw moray eels, went ice skating, etc... so we'll see. But for now you have to live with me.. and my groceries.

the tuck shop and Maura's boyfriend

Today I walked around the Maruaplua neighborhood of Gaborone and took photos of some of the local "tuck" shops... I have been asked to do another painting at Northside school and was going around town to get some ideas.. They want me to recreate Northside's tuck shop into an authentic Botswana tuck shop...

Tuck shops are everywhere... They are awesome.. They are these beautiful(i use that word loosely) rugged structures that are at times very colorful and full of character..

Basically they are these neighborhood stands, usually run from the property of a home and they carry phone cards, snacks, drinks and sometimes canned groceries... They are usually run by women, and are just cool hangouts... They are unlike shebeens, which are makeshift bars that are run in the back of people's homes....tuck shops are simple, run down and probably very hot during the summer.... One of my first photos was of a tuck shop near the hospital and since then have been wanting to take more... So here you go.. I parked my car at a local car wash stand, where Raster spent an hour and half cleaning it top to bottom. they charged me 40 pula, and did a hell of a job.. I'll go back.

Today i met Scabs, Tebo, George, Masego, James and a young man named Trust. Here's some of the images .

Maura officially has a boyfriend named Tumi... He's Motswana and

from what the women here tell us, you should never get involved with a man from Botswana... She says goodbye to him everyday, and yesterday, they were going on the slide together.... I just hope he doesn't break her heart

Happy belated Memorial Day!! And "Bye- Bye Cars"

As you can guess, there was no braaing or baseball games being played around here yesterday.. It was business as usual .... the kids went to school, michelle went to work, etc. But it was a nice day, Maura went to sleep without a hitch, which is a major victory for mom and dad. Today Michelle is heading again to Mochudi to do outreach work, while I plan to go to Northside to finish the mural I have been working on... I'll have a photo soon.

Instead I have attached a photo of Kate in her winter "tunic" as they call it here. As summer is creeping up on you at home, it is officially the winter season here.. you'll see people with sock hats and gloves, etc walking around town here, and it's 60 degrees.

One thing that has been happening alot in the past weeks, is the twins' eagerness to get out of our "compound" . They have seen the sights of our closed in backyard, the walls around the front of our house, our guards steven and james every single day, and they are wanting to see the rest of Botswana . And with no parks, playgrounds or museums to go see, they simply love to take rides in the truck.. They'll ask "Bye - Bye cars?" or just try to make a break for it everytime the front door is opened. we make it a point to take at least one of them to the store with us when running errands, but last night, I just packed them in the truck, brought the I-tunes and we drove around town...They loved it and they screamed their heads off when I pulled into our home.... They sing to High school Musical, the Backyardigans, Kanye West, they don't care.... and they take in the sites as if they've never seen other cars or humans before... it's all new.

i'll look forward to the day when I can walk them to a park.. they'll probably faint at the site of other children, doing something they've rarely experienced.. and that's swinging on a swing.

Jacob is coming back today, and we are looking forward to seeing him. I'm going to assume he had a great time... His classmates and him get along great together and in general all of the students in his grade respect and include one another.. I'm anxious to hear how it went and hope that he took some photos..

Went to the store yesterday to buy the shirt that Kate has on in the photo... i was approached by a mother and her 2 young children who looked severely deprived of food or drink, if I could spare some change...They looked very sad , tired and desperate. Being approached directly for money doesn't happen often here, usually they'll ask to do a "piece job" to earn the money.... like wash your car, watch your car, or carry your groceries... It makes me realize that even though we can drive around to entertain our children, most people here are trying to make ends meet day to day... at around the same time we went for our drive, most people were just getting off work... You'll see men and women collecting sticks on the side of the road, bundling them up and putting them on their head to take home to use to make a fire for dinner, heat, etc.....

same old, same old

Not much going on today, the house is quiet without Jacob to stir things up... Maura and Kate opened up a pet shop today in our living room.... Michelle and I bought a penguin, an elephant and a frog that was in a box for 2 years.. That's what Kate said.. or should I say.. Crystal.. Maura (a.ka Flower), wrote up the receipt and charged us 3 pula for the pets... When we left, crystal(Kate) was performing surgery on a lamb, so it was an interesting place they had set up..

Jacob is doing well, headed to the Natal Sharks Board today to see great white sharks being dissected.. we really do miss him alot.... but are sure he's having a great time.

Here's another video for your viewing pleasure.. It is the drive to Gabane, then some video of people talking... I made it look like an old 8mm film, because I was bored.. pretty cool though..The young kids are a family that i visit at least once or twice a month, while the older girls I met while walking through the village.. They asked" where are you going?!?!" I said, "I dont know" they laughed, asked why i had a camera, I told them and then they took me back to their plot to meet the rest of their family.. I had Celeste interpret what they were saying.... basically they are saying... 'what do we say? this camera is taping us, so what do we say?" They were funny, wanted to see the camera and how they looked on "tv".




all for now....

big time party

Jude, Franny and Maura stole the show last night showing all that they can't dance. We had a nice turnout at out home last night, everyone stayed til about midnite. I took Maura up to bed at around 8:30 and fell asleep next to her for about an hour and a half.. But we had a nice time, braaied alot of chicken and sausage and had pap and Mopane worms as well(photo included, as well as a photo of our friend Jeff trying one) Trying the worms was a real treat!!! Tasted like chicken/sardines/beef/something i am unable to describe. I only had one, but the locals filled their plates up with the suckers.

Other images are of Kate and Maura before school, jake and his new haircut and franny showing off her p.j.'s, Jude with celeste, and the kids cutting some rug. Here's some video of their performance... i think Jude was flirting with the two women(Bikani and Pona).

Nothing much more to report, it's another gorgeous day here, we are just lounging around(bumming it). Michelle is planning on taking the girls out to see Kabo sing this evening, Jacob's still living it up in Durban....tat's about all.

I just got back from a jog and i have to say I really enjoy running here. It is usually very quiet and gives me alot of time to think and enjoy the fresh air here... Also, all the stares and strange looks you get when running are worth the effort.. I went running past a man today, who began pumping his arms and laughing at me. Also had a group of you children looking out their windows and screaming..."Lo kowa , Lo kowa, Lo kowa!!! I'm not sure if that is the proper spelling, but basically translates to "white man , white man !!!!"

All for now... i'll have some more video of a drive through gabane up in a day or so..

no time to write, south african accent

Big, big party coming up tomorrow night.. and of course the location is the Eckerle's crib.
We are saying goodbye to a few doctors tomorrow, some who have been here for many years..
We are hosting about 40+ people, all from Michelle's clinic..

I'll definitely have video of that, because the last farewell party we went to turned into an awesome Botswana song and dance.. My goal is to introduce Cornhole to all of them..
I have to start grilling about 3pm tomorrow so it should be fun.

Michelle asked a woman who runs a food stall near the clinic if she would be interested in making salad and pap for us, and she and some man that Michelle met(who was riding a bike down the street and smoking a cigarette) are going to make the side dishes for us...

Jacob is in Durban now, Kate admitted that she missed him, much to my surprise.. he is missed here, but i'm sure he's having a great time.

One note on all of our kids....they are growing these south african accents that are amazingly annoying.... Talking very proper and with this draw that drives me up a wall.. But, what can I expect... maura is even saying "yaw, yaw, yaw" instead of yes, and she is referring to going to take a pee and "taking a wee-wee." Jacob is referred to at school as "yacob" the Afrikaane way of pronouncing his name... jacob and kate sometimes refer to farting as "puffing" while Jude and Franny speak better setswana than me.. They now know "nko" which is nose... plus tonight, we went out for pizza and Jude was screaming at the waitress, saying "mma, mma, mma, mma!!!!" it was hilarious.. He still gets all the attention, but because he hasn't had a haircut in a while, he is believed to be a girl..

all for now... michelle is making brownies while I intend to fall asleep on the couch...
Hope all is well at home.

Goodbye to Jacob!!!

Jacob left us this morning to head to Durban, south africa with his classmates... he was excited and I think a little sad to leave his mom and dad... Thank God!

We packed up last night in the darkness of our home(the scheduled power outage from 6-8pm) and got him ready to go.. He should arrive in Durban about 6pm, 12 pm your time.

they've got a huge week planned for them. Besides flying to and from Durban, they have nature walks, trips to the beach and bird sancutary, a visit to the mangrove swamps, Natal Sharks Board, a boat cruise and a trip to Ushaka Marine World(like the beach waterpark + the aquarium) Here's their web site

http://www.ushakamarineworld.co.za/home.html . a webpage for treasure beach, where he is staying..... http://www.wessa.org.za/reg_kzn_treasure.asp a webpage for one of the boat cruises.... who are apparently famous for their booze cruises http://www.sariemaraiscruises.co.za/

And here's a general web site for durban.

http://durban.kzn.org.za/durban/index.html .

I don't even care where he goes, I'm just glad he got a hair cut yesterday.. We went to "Hair Scene" in the Riverwalk Mall where Clive and Sasha took care of making him look human again.

I went to Gabane yesterday and had a day of photo taking. it was a nice day, and a had a few interesting conversations.. I met with Mabel who was in line with her friend Mary gathering water at the local well to take home for the day. There was a huge line, everyone waiting for water. Apparently, there was a problem with the pump and there was a shortage...

Mabel(1st photo) is from Zimbabwe, works 8am-12am everyday for 400 pula a month. that's

66 USD. She was sweet, took me to the bar and i met her friends... She works at the "Oceans Bar". I also met with Mighty(girl in window), a young boy name Reuben(me in photo). He calls me Uncle andy b/c I meet with his family everytime I go to Gabane and have taken photos of his family members almost every week I go. I have videos of my drive there and some local girls speaking in setswana.. i'll post soon

I met with another woman who criticized me and my being there..She asked what I was doing there, why I wanted to take photos and said I was only going to take them back to the U.S. to show other Americans how poor and stupid people from Botswana were.. I tried to explain to her that that was not the case, that I had been coming here for months and was taking photos of people b/c I respected them, thought they were beautiful and I had nothing else to do.. I told her I didn't want to just sit in my home, was an artist and felt it important to in some way experience the culture. I then added that most of us in America(myself included) are the ones that are ignorant, and half of us would die without electricity, if we had to fetch water everyday, etc... She wasn't impressed, told me that it is unfortunate that we as americans look down upon Africans and that we don't know who their President is.. I said i agreed, she laughed and she gave me the botswana handshake. Then she added that she thought my photos were beautiful and wished me well.

It was interesting to say the least and made me a little uncomfortable... but I always enjoy my time out in gabane and this was no exception.. the truth is.. people here are poor and if you have 6 pula in your pocket, you have more than anyone else in the village... Everyone is looking for work, is looking for a way to feed their family, etc. but they seem, at least on the outside, happy, kind and always inviting...

nothing else to report.... jake's on his way to durban. i hope all goes well.. He should have a great time...

goodbye Westers!!!

We had a nice get together yesterday with to say goodbye to a family we have become great friends with here in Botswana..

They have been here for almost 8 years and will be returning to live in Nashville in June.

So, they won't be too far away from us when we return. The only problem is they are Red Sox fans... But I won't hold that against them.

We had a great evening under the stars and enjoyed seeing the kids roam freely for hours. Jude ate the place out of chips and cheese puffs, made new friends with the security guards, while Franny chased a dog around all night long.

The first picture of Jude is with Bill Wester, it has to be the strangest photo of Jude I have ever seen.. He kind of looks like Jack Nicholson in "Batman".. I don't know, maybe it's just me.. I kept enlarging it to look at it closely and can't figure out why he looks so strange.. the other photos are of Kate, Maddy and franny, Jude with his Botswana buddies, Jude feeding Bill, The Wester boys Jimmy and Billy and others. Maura fell asleep in Michelle's arms during dinner, so she had a good time as well.

Not much going on today, I asked someone yesterday when it was going to get cloudy again around here... They said, "it may rain once in June and then it won' t rain until late September."

So I think we better enjoy the sunshine. Michelle is out hiking Kgale Hill this morning with her friends, the older kids are still sleeping... here's the view of gabs fromthe top of the hill...

http://www.oracleappsblog.com/index.php/gallery/image_full/41/

other than that, it's good to see the reds are finally winning.... The younger ones here are awake and coloring away at the table... jude and franny are mastering circles while maura continues to develop into a little artist.

before coloring they were watching their favorite show "High 5". it's a weird show.. alot of song and dance... Here's the opeing clip.. the kids know it by heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV2IowMcSF0 . I think it's from Australia... Unfortunately, I know all the songs by heart.... "when you wish upon a star.... a unicorn with wings of gold, a dinosaur from years of old... " beautiful.

THANKS TROOP 449!!!!!!! and a hope that some will join us!

We got a pleasant surprise in the mail yesterday.... several boxes of girl scout cookies from troop 449 in Ft. thomas.. Ellen, the cookies were awesome and your note was a great surprise as well. Makes us remember how wonderful all the people are back home. We ate 3/4 of the cookies right before sitting down for dinner. the kids went nuts when they found out Michelle was bringing girl scout cookies home with her. Here's some photos of our impromptu "girl scout" party as well as one of Kate with Kabo during her piano lesson

In an effort to continue to stay physically active here in Botswana, Michelle and I along with several other people from the clinic have decided to run the Soweto Marathon in Jo'burg South Africa. This happens in November and we are looking for anyone interested in joining us... One of our friends says it is apparently the best marathon in the world due to the great crowd support and the fact that it goes through the township of soweto. we'll be able to cross another place we'd like to see off of our list.

Details are not clear yet, here's a website for the marathon and another for soweto... Let us know if you want to come, we'd love the company.... for those who have run marathons before, you might enjoy the fact that it only costs about 9USD to sign up.

http://www.athletics.org.za/Events/FullEventDetail.aspx?EventsID=150&EventName=2

info on soweto

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soweto

http://www.joburg.org.za/content/view/921/159/

If you're interested, drop us a line via the blog(please leave your email so I can respond)

or email me directly @ andrewecks@hotmail.com . It would be alot of fun!!!!! I swear.

Ok, all for now... the kids and michelle are headed to an outdoor screening of the new "Indiana jones" movie tonight...... It is at the American Embassy rec. center....

Hope you enjoy the photos as much as we enjoyed the cookies..

Thanks again Ellen and Troop 449!!!!!!