Half-Breed Outlaw

Update on the Goats

2011-09-16T16:16:00.000+02:00

Remember the goats I saw grazing behind my house?

Aug. 10:

There was definitely not a kid with them, but two days later, I saw the big white gaot with this adorable little creature!

Aug. 12:

Termite Mound

2011-09-15T19:48:00.002+02:00

Kind of scary that little termites made something big enough for me to live in!

Makes me reminisce on My Side of the Mountain ... I could live in a termite mound, right?

Swimming Pool!

2011-09-14T22:57:00.004+02:00

The landlord is putting in a pool. It was entirely dug out by hand!

August 17:

August 19:

September 4:

Don't worry, it will have a childproof fence around it.

September 7:

This week they started laying all of the brick for the pool deck. I took pics with the BlackBerry but of course today I can't seem to be able to download them ... ironically, today I also received the charger for my Nikon camera that I ordered two weeks ago from Amazon. So at least I'm not camera-less!

Disguise

2011-09-09T20:04:00.005+02:00

p.s. Thanks, Mom, for sending the sunglasses. And yes, that's a knee-high pantyhose she picked up and draped over her shoulders.

Baby 4 Eyes

2011-09-07T21:53:00.003+02:00

Cute moment in the Johannesburg airport on the way back from Asia. Those are my glasses ... which have since had an arm bent off in a not-so-cute moment. Live and learn: eyeglasses = great SUPERVISED distraction.

Gaborone Yacht Club

2011-09-06T21:18:00.001+02:00

We went to the Gaborone Yacht Club to watch the sun set with friends. A completely relaxing, fun evening.

A hawk in a tree on the drive out.

I am not a huge "nature person" but I loved the peacefulness and feeling of being away from the city, so close to town.

I lost the battery charger to my little Nikon camera, so these were all taken point and shoot style, mostly while driving, with my new BlackBerry. I'm pretty impressed by the quality!

Pick 'n' Pay, 10 Minutes Till Close

2011-09-05T21:22:00.002+02:00

The workers were playing an impromptu game of futbol.

Marrows and Brinjals

2011-09-05T20:47:00.000+02:00

Different names for foods here.

Marrows = zucchinis or apparently pattypan squash

Brinjals = eggplants

Red, yellow and green pepper bundles sold as "Robot peppers". To understand this, know that stoplights are called robots. Now do you get it? I thought it was a very cute marketing idea.

Fun With Complimentary Shampoo Bottles

2011-09-04T01:49:00.000+02:00

Standing them up is such fun.

So proud of herself.

She danced a little happy dance in a circle, arms waving:

Then she gave them to me.

Happy Meal

2011-09-04T01:23:00.000+02:00

On the way to Johannesburg, Nile got her first McDonald's Happy Meal.

Despite the weird expressions, she really was happy.

There is no McDonald's in Botswana, so this was that much more of a treat ... for mom and dad, too :)

Say what you will about McDonald's, capitalism, etc. but it was a surprisingly dear reminder of home when I put my hands under the dryer in the bathroom and saw the familiar World Dryer logo with the imprint "MADE IN BERKELEY, IL".

Nile was making the most bizarre faces, probably because it was night and I was setting a flash off in her face ... anyway, she really enjoyed her chicken nuggies and her "toy" -- a kittie-themed mini notepad and pen.

The Drive Down to Johannesburg

2011-09-03T22:55:00.000+02:00

We saw lots of this -- flat, open, peaceful land.

Lentswe la Baratani, aka Lovers' Hill, aka Otse Hill (in Otse, about 30 min. outside of Gaborone). The highest point in Botswana and a subject of myth and legend.

We passed a truck of freshly skinned cow hides headed toward a tannery.

Another hill. Whenever I see a hill shaped like this, I think of Diamond Head.

Ditto for any tall rounded hill that sharply drops; I think of Kaena point. Any Hawaii-philes make the same associations?

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words: Part II

2011-08-26T16:18:00.000+02:00

Remember this?

I saw them again! Looks like they've neatly removed the first part of the decal. And added a taxi light (kind of cut off at the top of the pic). Must've been better for business.

South Africa Getaway

2011-08-25T23:34:00.000+02:00

We went to Johannesburg, South Africa, last weekend for a little getaway. We stayed in a great bed & breakfast, A Room With A View. I highly recommend.

Our room with views. The skylight was my favorite. And yes, I took these pics from the comfort of the bed.

Nile was getting a manicure in the bathroom.

There was a cool bird outside the window.

I was in total va-cay mode. I even let Nile eat graham crackers in and wear shoes on the bed.

The view to the saltwater pool below.

Something about the look of the place and the weather reminded me of L.A.

Cat on a tin roof.

We ventured outside to the gardens. Beautiful bird cages. The owner made all of the wrought iron decor by hand.

Me and my sidekick.

Singapore: The Long Goodbye

2011-08-14T22:26:00.000+02:00

The length of our goodbye is another story for another day. But the inevitable came: the end of our trip.

The sun went down.

The girls got their last squeezes together.

Nile became surprisingly clingy.

And we were gone.

Singapore: Escalator

2011-08-14T22:23:00.000+02:00

Nile fell in love with every escalator she saw in Singapore. She would scream and point and then cry if we passed one without stopping.

When we had the time -- in this case, while I was browsing in Zara -- we would take her up and down on them. Endlessly.

Down.

And up.

And down.

And back up.

And then back down.

And up again.

You can see in Neil's face that he is not nearly as amused by the escalator as Nile is ...

p.s. Dad, you better believe I was panicking about her shoe getting sucked into the yellow caution area -- I've never forgotten those horror stories you used to warn us about as kids!

Singapore: FOOD

2011-08-14T22:08:00.000+02:00

The National Dish of Singapore: Chicken rice.

It is surprisingly flavorful; the rice is cooked in the chicken stock. There are provided hot sauces and ginger-garlic salsa to put on top. Delicious! The hot bowl of soup was not at all tempting on a HOT day.

Nile had an orange while the iPad again saved the day.

Later in the trip I had the National Dish of the USA: McDonald's. Hey, I had to indulge, it's not available here in Botswana!

While formula shopping for Nile, I came upon this:

6 years old and above?!

Ages 1-10??!?! Do you still put it in a bottle?

And back at home ...

"I'll trade you a bottle for your pretzel"

"Lemme look at it first"

"How about I take the cap and keep my pretzel?"

"Deal"

Singapore: The Beach

2011-08-14T21:46:00.001+02:00

At the beach, Nile delighted in playing in the sand. And sprinkling it over her head.

Nile and Maple were pretty subdued by the end of the trip.

No shirt, no shoes?

And a couple I blatantly stole from Brooke.

Now I can't wait for summer in the southern hemisphere!

Singapore: Around Town

2011-08-14T21:26:00.002+02:00

The girls!

The "Merlion" (1/2 mer-creature, 1/2 lion). A symbol of Singapore. That's about all I know about it other than it produces a refreshing spray of water that the wind blew my way; Singapore is HOT.

The Merlion park also has views of other landmarks, including the Singapore Flyer ferriss wheel restaurant. It makes a full revolution in half an hour and each of the cars is a private dining room. Atop those three building/pillars is a casino!

A couple interesting buildings: Above, one that was built to emulate a local fruit; below, colors galore!

The historic Raffles hotel.

The iPad was a great diversion.

We found this rickshaw driver to run the kids around ... OK, it was Neil, but the kids loved it. I don't know how he had so much energy in the heat.

One of many shopping malls! This one is where we caught the 15 min. train out to the beach.

Singapore: First Impressions

2011-08-11T22:53:00.004+02:00

This picture kind of says it all.

We took the two hour flight from Bangkok to Singapore on Friday to spend a long weekend with Brooke and Stuart. We love hanging out with their family; they are awesome and their kids are so adorable. Brooke is literally the very first person I met on the very first day of orientation to our new jobs, and we've been friends ever since.

Did I already tell you this story?

The highlights: We picked up our nametags and were herded into a group of about 6 people to get a short walking tour to the ~~holding pen~~ mix 'n' mingle room prior to the start of the orientation day. Being forced into this little group, we started chatting. We had a lot in common and it wasn't until later that we learned that -- albeit several years apart -- we had lived in the SAME HOUSE, SAME ROOM, SAME BED, in a houseful of girls at college!!!! Quiet House, represent!

Back to Singapore. We arrived in the afternoon and Stuart met us at the airport. Kind of hard to miss a big, tall white guy in a hot pink T-shirt in Asia.

We headed home in a taxi. I was impressed by the beautiful green trees and grassy areas along the way. Especially the pink bougainvillea in the median of the highway. It reminded me of spring in D.C. and pink azaleas.

When Brooke got off work, we went to a "hawker center" -- basically a mall food court -- to have a local meal. It was really good; I am glad Stuart ordered a sampling of items to try. I was torn with indecision, too many choices!

Brooke has better pictures here.

Yes, I did say Stuart was in a hot pink t-shirt. I like the blue/pink/purple coordination going on here.

This dessert was SO delish -- ice cream and peaches -- and mango too, I think?

Neil got "the works" on this shave ice -- which includes CORN, of all things!

Back at their fab apartment, we'd heard about their nanny's legendary cooking, and we finally got to try it later during our stay. Holy amazing, she whipped up the most delicious chicken curry. It was soooo good, with snow peas and eggplant on a bed of cabbage. Served with rice and fresh pineapple. Perfect!

Once I found out Singapore imports Ben & Jerry's, there was no stopping me!!!!!!! There's a reason that under "Interests" in my Blogger profile, the only thing it says is "Anything that tastes like s'mores." It's my FAVORITE. I highly recommend Ben & Jerry's "S'mores" ice cream ...............

FYI the Singapore dollar is nearly even with the US dollar, so yes, that is about USD $10 per pint!!!!!!!! And yes, I bought 4 pints before the weekend was through!!!! Hey, I didn't eat them ALL by myself ...... just half .......

Goats

2011-08-10T21:45:00.000+02:00

I told you I would show you some pics of the goats that roam around town.

Well, I didn't have to wait too long or venture too far to find them.

Tonight on my way home from work, there they were, right where I saw the cows the other day.

Below is a pic of the pedestrian path and culvert between our house and our neighbor's. The wall around our yard is on the left, the main road ahead and the goats (you can see the white one) are at the far right, by the road.

A closer look, from the other direction. Our house is at the far left, just visible over the wall.

The goats! Eating what look like thorn bushes. Usually the goats are in big herds. These must be three rejects.

In other news, as I passed through the pedestrian walkway beside my house, I noticed a few unusual markings on our wall ...

Is this what I think it is?! Are people using my wall to relieve themselves?!?!?!

Bangkok: Friends and Food

2011-08-07T23:44:00.000+02:00

We got together with friends Meagan and Chris and their adorable babies.

The baby girls found a new little friend.

Meanwhile, back at the hotel ...
This is the lobby.

And the crazy breakfast buffet. Breakfast and lunch were included and were amazing!

I mostly took pictures of the delectable FISH! Hey, I live in a landlocked country, this was a trip highlight :)

Bangkok: Requisite Temple Pics

2011-08-07T18:11:00.000+02:00

Another of Neil and Nile's adventures while I was in training.

OK, and this one -- I love the historical/modern architecture:

Bangkok: Days

2011-08-07T17:56:00.005+02:00

Neil and Nile had some adventures without me.

A park in the city.

A couple watching the boats ...

... and Nile watching the boats.

Juxtaposition:

Bangkok: Nights

2011-08-07T11:35:00.000+02:00

Don't worry, nothing too crazy here. I was in training all day but we went out at night. Documenting a couple of those nights.

... Now that song is in my head ... "One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster!"

Take off your shoes ...

The King of Thailand in a cowboy hat.

Cool gate and banyan trees.

Tree taking over another tree.

This is the second time ever that I've seen Nile pick her nose. The first time was earlier in the evening in the hotel lobby, right when a group of nice ladies started fawning over her, of course. Though points for the ring finger technique. And note the Kewpie doll curls we never knew she had till we hit the humidity.

Chicken porridge? Also note my impossibly frizzy hair -- soooo humid!

It rained a lot, especially at night.

A snow leopard! I do like cats and I have never in my life seen a cat with these colorings.

Bangkok: View From The 26th Floor

2011-08-06T22:30:00.001+02:00

This is the view from the 26th floor of our hotel, where they held (free!) high tea (fancy finger foods, macarons) from 3:00-5:00 p.m. and happy hour (complete with heavy appetizers) from 6:00-8:00 p.m.

I just have to say that looking out on this view really puts me in a good place. I think I like the safety of knowing people are all around, and creature comforts, and 24/7-ness of cities. This could have been a view of the city in Buenos Aires -- similar buildings, lots of green space. This is not what I envisioned before I came to Bangkok. I like it.

Bangkok: Room Service!

2011-08-06T01:00:00.000+02:00

I have a terrible sweet tooth ...

Chocolate mousse with baked pears and sauce.

The ice cream came in this cute insulated box.

Bangkok: Travel, First Day, and Birthday Dinner

2011-08-05T15:53:00.000+02:00

At the gate in Johannesburg. It's a short 50-min. flight from Gaborone, Botswana, to Jo'burg, then an 11-hr. flight direct to Bangkok. This was the last time during the trip that my hair was straight; Bangkok's humidity is NOT friendly to naturally curly hair.

I didn't tell you guys we were going to Asia before we left because I really thought it might not happen! I was scheduled for training at the last minute and didn't decide to bring the family or finalize their flight details until Thursday -- and we left on Saturday! I was handed our passports with Thai visas in them at literally the very end of the day on Friday!! Thank you, FedEx -- the Thai Embassy is in Johannesburg! Talk about a completely nerve-wracking wait.

So I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up, but thankfully everything fell into place at the last minute and we were off!

As I mentioned before, Thai Airways is the way to fly. The flight attendants have beautiful, colorful silk uniforms, which, along with the upholstery in the aircraft, are gold, dark blue, purple, and hot pink. They even had a change of uniform before we landed in the morning!

We flew Economy but we still got hot towels, full-color printed menus for our meals -- the food was amazing. The video and TV programming was really good, plus they put us behind the bulkhead without our even asking. Very impressed! p.s. we flew Singapore Air on the way back which is supposed to be the best, but at least in Economy it was not nearly as nice as Thai Airways!

As we descended above Thailand at five-something in the morning, we saw the sun rise in an intense, soft swirl of hot pink and deep purple. I immediately thought of Jay-Z "... see the sun rising off the shore of Thailand ... /Can I get a?" For 95% of the rest of the trip, the sky was overcast or raining, so I was pretty happy to have seen one Thai sunrise.

The view from our hotel in Bangkok. May I HIGHLY recommend the Le Meridien Plaza Athénée Bangkok. You know how sometimes pictures on hotel websites make the place look better than it really is? This place is the opposite -- it was even nicer than depicted. I wish I would have taken pics of the pool, it was amazing.

We celebrated Neil's birthday by having a family dinner at a Thai restaurant in the hotel.

I wanted to get a sitter, but it turned out OK as a family dinner because we had DORA!!!!! I think it's time to follow Brooke and Stuart's lead and get Nile an iPad ...

Maybe you're thinking "a sitter? Weren't you at a hotel?" Oh yes, this was one of the amenities -- babysitters on staff. Charge it to the room, please! Later in the week we took advantage of that benefit and went out. Kind of weird to leave your kid with someone you've known for all of 2 minutes ... but hey, it was a 5-star hotel, I was confident Nile would be better off if something happened there than in my own house with the nanny! And honestly, the Thai people are all so incredibly kind and gentle and love children, and the babysitter had the pinnacle of those traits.

A gecko joined us for dinner, on the wrong side of the glass.

I discreetly mentioned to the waitress that it was Neil's birthday and they came out after the meal and sang to him as they presented him with this amazing tropical fruit arrangement!

Heading back up to our room. Neil said I'm making a Mary Kate & Ashley face here ...

Bangkok: Watch This If You Like Kitties and/or Babies

2011-08-05T15:31:00.000+02:00

So this was as we were packing for Bangkok. Nile was cracking herself up playing with the kittie and a piece of string.

Till the Cows Come Home

2011-08-04T22:36:00.002+02:00

I headed home on my lunch break yesterday and as I neared my house, I saw a classic scene: cows grazing behind my house, between the main road and the backyard wall.

Our place is the white house at the very far right of the pic. The dirt area is a highly traversed footpath beside the road.

Grazing along behind our neighbor's house.

There are herds of free-roaming cattle like this in the city, mostly around our residential area. Maybe it's just one very transient herd; I have spotted them in different places on different occasions, I don't know if they ever go home or where they come from.

There are also lots of herds of goats running around. I'll get a pic of them sometime. Maybe by the mall.

Back from Bangkok and Singapore

2011-08-03T23:17:00.001+02:00

We're back from our 10-day trip to Bangkok and Singapore. If you want to see some pics sooner than later, check out Brooke's recent posts.

It was so fun hanging out with her, Stuart and their babies. Hopefully we can be posted together someday!

p.s. can I say how amazing their place is (photo below from their balcony)?! Singapore is awesome.

Thailand

2011-07-28T01:46:00.000+02:00

We're in Bangkok, Thailand. Me, Neil and Baby Nile. We came here for Neil's birthday! (There's also that training I have ...) Good timing.

We've been here since Sunday after traveling all day Saturday and crossing five time zones. Thai Airways is amazing. The hospitality and food on that flight were just a small preview to what we've experienced here in Bangkok -- everyone is wonderfully friendly and helpful and the food is incredible. We are staying in a five-star hotel that has blown my mind with the level of detail in service and quality (and quantity/frequency!) of food provided. I've never been on a cruise, but this must be what it feels like! I am sitting here in my hotel-provided robe and slippers before I'm going to get ready and go down to the breakfast buffet.

When I say breakfast buffet, that doesn't even begin to describe the offerings down there. The widest variety of foods, many made to order, are available. I will have to take pictures because words fail here. Then I'll head to training, where we are also plied with "refreshments" at 10:00 and 2:00 p.m., which have included all manner of fancy wedding-style appetizers and two attendants making coffee and tea. Then a provided, extensive buffet lunch. I feel so spoiled! And all of this is even before we leave the hotel.

I have yet to try the amazing street food that smells so good as I've walked by. We've been to a couple great restaurants already. In the evening after training we've headed out a bit, but there is still so much to see. It's safe to say that I would love to live here. So much to do, and so much green space as well -- parks and lakes. And did I mention the food? :)

We have a day and a half left to see what we can before we head to Singapore for the weekend to visit Brooke and Stuart and fam, so if not before, I'll check in from there!

Twins

2011-07-05T23:15:00.000+02:00

Nov. 17, 2010

Thinking about my buddy. OK, so we're not really twins but I love this girl! We worked together in BsAs and people would confuse us, we always found eerie things in common, and we would coincidentally call or IM each other at the same moment.

I came in to her office one afternoon and as we were talking I realized we were DRESSED ALIKE!!!! So we set the camera on a shelf and recorded the moment. Now she is in Israel, working on saving the world, and I am keeping it real in Botswana.

Michelle Obama's Visit: Saturday

2011-06-25T17:14:00.002+02:00

The First Lady came to meet us at the Ambassador's residence on Saturday.

Ambassador Michelle Gavin introduced the First Lady, who shared some very nice words.

(Sorry for the poor cinematography, I was holding Nile in one arm and holding the camera up with the other tired arm.)

Yes, space heaters -- did I mention it was FREEZING! June = winter here, remember.

Nile and Michelle!

More Michelle.

The First Lady signed this book for the Peace Corps director's daughter. She even asked her exactly how to spell her name. Inside, she signed it the way the President does, with the message: "Dream big!"

And then she took a picture with all of the Peace Corps volunteers who were in town. Beautiful faces!

Michelle Obama's Visit: Friday

2011-06-24T22:15:00.027+02:00

The First Lady of the United States of America arrived in Gaborone, Botswana, on Friday morning. I didn't see her until Friday afternoon.

One of my other tasks during this visit: Local point of contact for the First Lady's meeting with the President of Botswana, Sir Seretse Khama Ian Khama, or, as Nanny exclaimed when I showed her the pics I'd taken: "Ian!"

I stood outside looking quite official waiting for the First Lady's motorcade to arrive at the President's Office. I was given a little lapel pin by the Secret Service to wear as I stood outside so that I wouldn't be identified as a threat. Sincere thanks, guys!

People lined the streets down the road, and I was told that she was on her way. It was bright and sunny but windy out. A helicopter went by overhead, signaling she was near. A few motorcycle cops went by. Then the motorcade came around the corner, a line of black, shiny SUVs. I looked at the windows of the cars as they passed me and all of a sudden I was looking in the face of the First Lady, who was looking back with a closed-mouth smile. For some reason I averted my eyes and looked down. I don't know why; I guess I wanted to seem professional and not stare, or I felt like it was rude to look at her. Then I thought, "wait a minute, why are you looking away?!" I looked back up to catch her looking at and waving to the Government of Botswana Protocol Officer beside me.

In her motorcade were some vans of press personnel that I was responsible for wrangling. They all came running out in a windblown herd to catch up to the First Lady whose car was right in front of the office building.

I moved toward the building to intersect with them; I could see her getting out of the vehicle on the side away from me. Correction: I could see her legs and head. She was wearing bright red pants and red shoes from what I could make out.

I escorted the press to their holding room, which involved more running and breathless traipsing up flights of stairs. The photographer from the Associated Press asked "How many more flights?" When I answered, he joked, "A day wouldn't be complete without flights of stairs!" Once all the reporters were safely inside the Cabinet Room, I stood outside and waited. My White House point of contact then came out and invited me in!

I stood behind the group and waited some more. The First Lady was meeting with the President inside his office.

The meeting and short press appearance was scheduled to last 30 min. total. At about 35 min. they were still in the President's office. The mood had gone from all reporters with cameras at the ready, occasionally testing with a click and a FLASH; to cameras sagging and BlackBerries out. I chatted with the reporter from Reuters. Then one of the Protocol officers indicated that they were coming out. Everyone perked up.

I snapped some pics, but my camera focused on the reporters' heads in front of me instead of the main event. Ah, well. Because they had run over time, they didn't take any questions from the press. Instead they came out, shook hands, and retreated back into the office for her departure. Literally 15 seconds.

Here's a professional photo by the stair-conscious AP photog, Charles Dharapak:

Michelle Obama's Visit: Thursday

2011-06-23T23:44:00.000+02:00

Thursday was actually pre-Michelle's visit, the FLOTUS (First Lady of the United States) visit.

One good thing about a small mission like ours is that when something big like this happens, you are likely to be called on to handle more than one task associated with the visit.

Among my tasks: Gifts.

I was the local point of contact for the White House gift officers. Yes, they have people whose job it is to bring (and wrap!) trunks of gifts for giving and fill those trunks with gifts received.

I made lists of who should receive gifts from the First Lady, and who had given gifts to her. I logged gifts for the First Lady and First Family on special forms, and made sure gifts were distributed to those the First Lady was gifting.

I was also in charge of the Big Gift Exchange: the gifts between the First Lady and the President of Botswana.

I had to get some pics!

For security and logistical purposes, their gifts were exchanged on Thursday, the day before they were scheduled to meet.

I would love to have my own professional gift wrapper! Look how lovely this is! The wrapping is gold foil embossed with the Great Seal of the United States of America. There is a white ribbon overlayed with a gold tulle ribbon, secured with a gold sticker of the Great Seal. The pen is for perspective.

My FAVORITE part was the card, hand-written by the White House calligrapher!

p.s. shhh, since the President of Botswana is a nature lover and conservationist; the gift was an Ansel Adams photography book, signed by Ansel Adams!

Here is the gift from President Khama to the First Lady:

I know what's inside ... it's a beautiful baked clay tea set, handmade in Gabane, Botswana. It's nestled in rich dark green velvet inside a big wooden box affixed with a brass plate with a description of the contents and the President's name.

I love the wrapping paper! The colors and stripes mimic the Botswana flag, and the design is highlighted by the coat of arms of Botswana, which features a pair of zebras. Beautiful.

HAVE YOU HEARD THE NEWS?!

2011-06-23T23:34:00.000+02:00

Hi there, sorry to have left you hanging on the story of Bolu's return home.

Things have been a bit busy around here. Have you heard the news?

Wait, what's the First Lady's itinerary? Oh yeah:

Friday, June 24, 2011
Gaborone, Botswana

Saturday, June 25, 2011
Gaborone, Botswana

Sunday, June 26, 2011
Gaborone, Botswana

More info, photos and details to follow, dear reader!

WE FOUND BOLU!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-06-17T20:04:00.003+02:00

Can you believe it?!?! It hasn't quite sunk it yet for me, either!!!!! We got home an hour and a half ago with Bolu! He was 21 kilometers outside of town, in a little village called Kumakwane. Insane. The most crazy story ever. I will fill you in next time. Just loving having Bolu HOME now!

WHO LIKES EXPLOSIONS?!

2011-06-12T21:52:00.000+02:00

{Video of a truck exploding at the end of this post!}

I went with some guys on Thursday to blow up a Chevy Suburban.

It was awesome!

We drove an hour outside of town to a beautiful rural area where it was sunny but windy and cold, but overall it was QUIET.

Until we blew up the truck.

Me and Mr. Wonderful on the drive out there. We stopped to pick up a hook and rope that fell off the car.

The Botswana Defence Force team used plastic explosives, which are malleable explosives that look like sugar cookie dough. Not sure how technical the use of a shovel handle is for breaking it up ...

They kneaded the plastic explosive dough into balls, which they then distributed all over the car and molded along tubes of explosive powder.

I am pretty certain that if I had asked nicely, they would have let me make my own plastic explosive dough ball.

Beautiful landscape. This was the farthest outside Gaborone that I've been in my 3 mos. here in Botswana.

Luckily Mr. Wonderful, aka The Cow Whisperer, herded these cattle down the hill and away from the truck. Although when I turned around and saw this stampede headed toward me, especially those horns, I thought "great, I come to see a truck get blown up and instead I get trampled and gored by cattle."

I decided this was a better place to risk it: They told me that if it accidentally blew right now, I wouldn't feel a thing ...

This is some serious explosive power.

Almost ready ...

I'm laughing stupidly here because one of the soldiers said "DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING!" after I totally leaned back on the car for the photo. Darwin Award, anyone?!

Ready for blastoff. All of those tubes are filled with explosive powder.

THE EXPLOSION!!!!!!!

There was a delay between seeing the blast and then hearing and feeling the BOOM!

Not much left!

Me and the Botswana Defence Force demolition team leaders.

No News

2011-06-10T21:16:00.000+02:00

We have still not found Bolu. I'll let you know as soon as (if) we do.

Sad Day

2011-06-08T22:57:00.000+02:00

I know things could be worse, but our little dog, Bolu, ran away today. I'm pretty sad about it and not feeling any more cheery about being here.

Bolu a few weeks ago, on top of fill dirt with his favorite toy, "Mr. Sunshine."

Yes, this is the dog we just spent $$$$ in blood tests and shipping charges to have sent from Argentina, to the U.S., to South Africa, to here.

But apart from the expense, I really miss him a lot and I hope he is at least OK wherever he is.

I am still unclear how it happened. I was at work and Neil was getting the car's oil changed.

Nanny was at home feeding Nile and a plumber from work, along with two contract plumbers, came and buzzed the gate. Nanny let them in but she did not go outside or call the dogs in. Apparently Bolu went out of the gate, which he sometimes does, but he usually sniffs around and follows any visitors back inside. It seems the plumbers left the gate open ... I asked around the neighborhood and the gardener for our neighbor said Bolu came in their opened gate and he took Bolu back to our house, but the plumbers still left the gate open ...

Of course, when I tried to ask Nanny and the plumbers what happened, I got a patchy, sketchy story at best. The main barrier to communication is that their English is not great, so I get a lot of head nods and confused looks mixed with either no response or a couple-word response that doesn't make any sense or contradicts what they just said.

Ditto asking around to the neighborhood watch guys. We drove around, called Bolu's name, etc.

I am thinking that someone probably picked him up, as he is a nice, extremely friendly little dog that is very different looking at least from the typical dogs here.

My big boss suggested I follow the lead of his friends who recently lost a Yorkshire Terrier that was subsequently recovered -- post a sign with a reward.

As he said,

"If your dog is out there, $1,000 pula will find him."*

*($1,000 pula = U.S. $154)

The pic we'll use for the LOST DOG - REWARD signs.

Nile With Grandpa

2011-06-07T22:57:00.000+02:00

April 19, 2010 (4 weeks old)

Jan. 5, 2011 (10 mos. old)

No McDonald's

2011-06-07T21:26:00.000+02:00

Believe it or not, like it or not -- there is no McDonald's in Botswana.

As in, no McDonald's in the entire country. No McDonald's here in the capital city -- thriving metropolis of 200,000 -- Gaborone.

Where am I????

You can say all kinds of noble, anti-capitalistic things about how a country is probably better off without the Golden Arch of American consumerism and SuperSized symbol of U.S. obesity.

But sometimes you find yourself hungering for a Quarter-Pounder with Cheese and those delicious, oil-soaked, salty fries.

Why no McDonald's?

The short answer is that apparently the McDonald's franchise requirements and standards are too much for this country to support. This seems like a curious answer to me. What does that say about a place where even McDonald's won't invest?

Botswanisms

2011-06-06T00:24:00.000+02:00

We were over at our neighbor's house not long after we got here for their 4-yr.-old daughter's birthday. The family is from South Africa and their two middle-school aged girls were on a break from boarding school there.

We were all sitting around the living room, and Neil asked the girls what sports they play at school. They listed them off and Neil was repeating them, until they got to one oddly named "sport" (??)

"Nipple."

I instantly thought to myself, "wow, I'm glad I'm not the one asking the questions and having to say what she just said and/or figure out what the heck she is talking about."

Neil, hesitating: "Nih .... puhl?"

Little neighbor girl in her South African accent: "Yee, nipple."

Her father, sensing a miscommunication, said more clearly: "NEH-bohl."

Neil: "OHhhhh, NET ball! So how do you play that?"

Phew.

*******

I've been compiling a list of "Botswanisms," which as you can see may be influenced by South Africanisms, Zimbaweisms, etc. And a lot of it is probably from British English.

More about the way people talk (very proper, very British-ish, very softly) later. I now give you:

Matata - yes, like on the Lion King: "Worry." The cleaning ladies at work actually tell me "no matata" when they mean "don't worry." Or when they're telling me about something worrisome, they say, "Matata" or "lots of matata."
Is it? - this is used the way we use the interjectory phrase "Is that right?" For example, if I said "We Americans love Girl Scout cookies" a Batswana might respond "Is it?"
Oh, shame! - this is used the way we say "Oh, that's a shame!" or more like "Oh, poor thing." I hear this a lot when Nile meets new people and buries her head sideways in my shoulder, looking at the newcomer with a cocked head. They will say, "Oh, shame!" ("Oh, poor thing!") Or when Nile had a cold, if I said, "Nile wasn't feeling well so she is at home" they might respond "Oh, shame!"
Hectic - Crazy/busy. Like "I was studying for my exams, and it was so hectic."
Howzit? - "How's it going" This may be a South African thing but I also heard it a lot in Hawaii
Mma/Rra - ma'm/sir. Sounds like "mah" or "rah" with a rolled r.
Colour, Favour, flavour, etc. - British spellings
sort out/get sorted - get something squared away/figure out. "Have you sorted out the situation with the airline tickets?"
Serviette - napkin, like when eating. NEVER say "napkin," it means sanitary pad.
Rubbish/dust bin - trash/trash can. Also something I noticed people say in Hawaii.
Robot - traffic light. Very confusing when I first got here. People do not know street names, so they give you lengthy directions using landmarks. And with their British-ish accent, when they said "Rowh-baaht" I thought they were saying ROBERT, so they'd say, "Go past the Roberts and continue on." And I thought Roberts was like a store or restaurant.
Flyover - overpass. There are too few of these in the city. The city is divided by a railroad track and there are basically only 3 flyovers to get from one side to the other. I am one of those trying to get to the other side for work daily, and the bottlenecks, as I've documented, are terrible. More fylovers, please!
Rocket - arugula. They called it "rucula" in Buenos Aires. It is that peppery, delicious salad leaf that seems to be really popular in cuisine right now.
Coriander - cilantro.
Biscuits - cookies
Tyres - tires
Tomato - pronounced "toe-MAH-toe." Yes, like "you say toeMAYtoe, I say toeMAHtoe."
SMS - text message. This country lives and runs on SMS. Partly because SMS doesn't use minutes, and many people run out of min. so it is considered rude I think to call people (and use their minutes or not be able to get through if they're out of min.) when you can SMS.
Now/just now/now now - probably never/maybe in 5 min. to an hour/IMMEDIATELY. Always clarify your requests or questions, e.g. "I need you to come NOW NOW." Or "I'm coming just now ..."

I am sure I will think of and encounter more Botswanisms. It's just funny when you think you're speaking "English" but you really have to learn vocabulary that's almost a bit of a different language. And sometimes it's the accent where misunderstandings occur. I used to think that people who put on accents were being fake and weird. Now I see (like when I have to repeat things with an accent to be understood) that it's not that much different from speaking another language -- it's just a way for people to understand you.

Nile Reading With Ellie

2011-06-04T02:29:00.000+02:00

April 30, 2011

This is one of the most adorable videos I have, of Nile reading with Ellie the cat sitting on her bed.

If you're not a video watcher, here's a photo:

Not So Clever

2011-06-03T23:31:00.002+02:00

I just finished telling you how clever I am and now I have to reverse my declaration and admit what we knew all along -- I'm not so clever after all.

The cold had become unbearable so I requested that the HVAC techs from the office go to the house today to either
a) show Neil how to use the heat (everyone kept telling me that our wall A/C units also produce heat, which we could not make them do)
b) clean/fix the unit so it produces heat
c) bring a space heater

Well, they chose option a). Turns out the wall A/C units DO produce heat. This is so silly and embarrassing -- everyone kept telling me that there is a little LCD symbol of a sun on the remote control to indicate the heat setting. I kept insisting that we only had a vague fan-looking icon or a distinctly frosty snowflake for A/C.

Well, it turns out there is a mysterious third option that in our near-hibernative state of cold-induced brain function, we literally did not see.

The remote control FLIPS OPEN. !!! And inside are the heat settings. Who'd a thunk?

You'd better believe I'm sleeping sans scarf tonight.

Sisters!

2011-06-02T23:17:00.005+02:00

Jan. 16, 2011

Speaking of sisters in law, here is me with all of mine.

Neil's sisters (L-R) Clara, Becky and Lisa. In the middle are me and Kristin, who is married to Neil's identical twin.

I've always been fascinated by amazing stories of parallels found between the lives, and in the preferences, of identical twins. Not sure if this is one of those, but it's something to think about: Kristin and I are both obviously "non-white" and were both adopted as babies into white families.

Along those lines, I think it's interesting that two women who couldn't be more distanced from their biological identities are married to two men who couldn't be closer.

Pickled Tink

2011-06-02T22:44:00.001+02:00

Have I ever told you how clever I am?

Well, let me say it now: I'm pretty clever.

While we were in AZ during home leave in Jan., Neil's 16-yr.-old sister Clara was stressing over asking a boy to the annual Sadie Hawkins-style dance. And I solved her conundrum.

There is a whole gimmicky culture that has evolved around girls asking boys to this dance -- the young ladies can't just ask the guys, they have to do it in a clever, highly elaborate way; worded and played out like a riddle/joke/creative turn of phrase. The guys have to figure out the identity of the girl who is asking them in order to respond.

Clara had several legendary examples from years past that are now embedded in the high school Sadies lore. Things along the lines of a bag of nuts left in someone's locker, with a note that reads "I would be nuts not to ask you to Sadie's!" Or moon pies, with the note "I'd be over the moon if you went to Sadie's with me!" Or this gruesome one: a cow's tongue left on the doorstep with "Will you go to Sadie's with me? Whats the matter, cat got your tongue?!"

Well, Clara had the boy picked out and was soliciting advice on how she should ask him. I enjoy plays on words (hey, I used to write newspaper headlines for a living), so I threw a few ideas out and then I, the sister in law, who she probably thinks is so lame and dorky, struck gold with the following:

PICKLED TINK

As in, "I'd be pickled Tink ... I mean, TICKLED PINK to go to Sadie's with you!"

The question couldn't be complete without spelling her name out on pickles to randomly scatter, along with unmarked pickles, on the porch of her potential date.

Helloooo, this is this kid's front porch? (Or rather, his parents'??) Cha CHING!!!! Now I know why Clara asked him to the dance ...

We're whispering in the video because it was at night.

The finished product!!!!

Don't worry, he said yes :) Score one for the dorky sister in law (me).

FREEZING COLD JUNE

2011-06-02T22:17:00.000+02:00

Guys, I hate to admit it, but we're freezing up in here. Granted, it is winter here in the Southern Hemisphere, but

I THOUGHT I MOVED TO AFRICA?!?!?!

This is like a cruel joke.

"So," you're thinking, "what's the big deal? So it's in the 30s and 40s at night -- it's not like you're sleeping outside in the cold or something." No, we're not. We're trying to sleep INSIDE in the cold. This being Africa, where it does get hair-dryer hot in the summer, our house has no insulation and NO CENTRAL HEAT.

I think I can see my breath.

It's kind of pathetic that this morning I got out of bed and couldn't figure out what the length of material was that was hanging from my neck. Then I remembered that last night I'd wrapped a scarf over my head and neck to get warm enough so I could fall asleep. That, along with socks, fleece pants, multiple shirts and a long, heavy wool sweater.

How many days till summer?

Gaborone, Botswana

Thursday, June 02, 2011

Current Conditions

46°F 10:02 PM CLEAR

RealFeel®42°F

Three-Day Forecast

Thursday Beautiful with plenty of sun

RealFeel®: 74°F

High Temperature: 73°F

Low Temperature: 35°F

Friday Sunny and delightful

RealFeel®: 81°F

High Temperature: 79°F

Low Temperature: 38°F

Saturday Partly sunny and comfortable

RealFeel®: 81°F

High Temperature: 80°F

Low Temperature: 37°F

Gaborone Game Reserve

2011-05-31T18:42:00.001+02:00

We took a leisurely drive through Gaborone Game Reserve this past weekend.

All our friends who go on amazing (and $$$$) safaris scoff at the Gaborone Game Reserve, but for us, it was our first "real" game drive and first chance to see African wildlife in a natural setting. It is right here in the middle of town so no long drive with Nile to some remote location, and the price was right (about US $5).

Of course, my camera died about 10 min. in, so I didn't get photos of the flock of ostrich, the Vervet monkeys or the ZEBRAS!!!! But I will next time, and trust me there will be a next time -- it was a fun little drive and so close to home. They also have picnic/bbq areas which looked like fun.

We saw a lot of families of warthogs. They are so ugly/adorable. I kept thinking of the little guy in the Lion King!

Is that an OSTRICH in the road?!

Next time I'll go back and bring the good camera -- and I'll make sure it's charged!

Meet the New Guy!

2011-05-30T23:04:00.002+02:00

We have a new member of the family!

Two weekends ago we adopted a dog from the Botswana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

He joins Bolu, our toy poodle, and Ellie, our blind-in-one-eye cat, as a family pet. However, he also has a job: security alarm and personal intimidator.

You see, around here everyone has high walls, electric fences and remote-controlled iron gates. We have a stationary neighborhood security crew and our contract roaming security guards.

But we noticed that everyone has at least one big dog and one little dog. They bark if you get near the fence or ring the bell. The little one is noisy and the big one is scary.

Well, we had the noisy one. And we started to think that it would probably be good if we had a scary one, too. Or at least one with the intimidation factors of a bellowing bark and the size to match.

We went to the BSPCA and found our man. He looks like most local dogs here, a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix. He is about 5-7 years old and is the sweetest, calmest and gentlest dog I have ever owned. He does not jump up, he is not nervously excitable, he is careful around Nile and has no reaction to the cat.

He is just perfect for us and has finally settled in and lets out a bellowing bark if anyone gets near the fence. He is exactly what we were looking for! He seems used to the gate routine and doesn't try to go out when it opens.

The other night a delivery guy came to the gate and Neil walked out to it with me, holding onto the dog's collar just for the look. The guy whistled and said "You are bringing lions with you, too?!"

We still haven't named him, any suggestions?

I Was Getting Tired Of Those Moths ...

2011-05-30T22:43:00.001+02:00

Some people have rats' nests, others have moths' nests. Look no further to finally rid yourself of those nasty winged pests!

We're running an "End of Moth Special"!

At the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency-esque named "Smart Lady Hair Salon." Because it's not so much about intelligence, but about looking smart (i.e. sharp, for those who don't speak British English)!

WILD BABOONS!!!!

2011-05-30T22:28:00.000+02:00

Whizzing down the highway to the farmer's market, Neil said, "Look, there are some baboons!" We had already passed them and I was like, "OH MY GOSH, TURN AROUND, TURN AROUND!" He did, and I was able to get some pics. CRAZY.

This was over by Kgale Hill, where I have heard they live, and where I have subsequently NOT wanted to go. Baboons scare me, and rightfully so, they are huge and aggressive.

But from afar, this little family was really cute -- a mom, dad and baby. They were waiting on the side of the road to cross, and when they had the all clear, they crossed, with the dad bringing up the rear.

You can just make out the baby's head above the grass as he rode on his mommy's back. Very sweet.

Bug Eyes

2011-05-30T22:12:00.001+02:00

Random connection between two photos taken the same day.

The No. 1 Ladies' Opera House

2011-05-30T21:43:00.003+02:00

Have you read the "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" series by Alexander McCall Smith?

If not, I recommend it; it's a fun read (and HBO series if you prefer visuals!) and is based right here in Gaborone, Botswana. It will give you a good taste for the culture here.

We stopped by the No. 1 Ladies' Opera House for the farmers' market this past weekend. Some of our friends were selling homemade cilantro-mint salsa (awesome!!!), some other friends were selling pork chops to promote their "piggery" (pig farm), and other friends of ours had a booth selling their fine art photography. We mised Ms. Farmer this week, but she'll be there next time.

Nile would still be going up and down the stairs if I hadn't removed her. So cute the way babies look at other babies, too.

At the top of the stairs, the view of the stage. And some lovely young ladies sharing a bit of gossip.

I kind of enjoy how now, as a mom with a baby, I am "invisible" to high school through college age girls and can follow my baby up the stairs and into their conversation space without them stopping or moving on. Great and not so great from an anthropological perspective! I can't really engage in participant observation, but I can be accepted to watch safely from just outside the circle under the socially neutral guise of "mother with baby."

I like the cowhide pillows, a nice local touch. And the enamel tea kettle/cup/spoon chandelier!!!

This venue took me back to days of my childhood and youth, attending the Bluemont Fair. If you are in the D.C. area in September, I highly recommend you and your family and friends attend the fair. It's a WONDERFUL hometown, family event, lots of handmade crafts, Civil War-era antiques, music, food, etc.

Mom, doesn't this make you think of looking out from the Community Center or the Store? This just really reminded me of that atmosphere. A taste of home on another continent.

Roads and Buildings in Gaborone

2011-05-30T21:03:00.003+02:00

So this is what this place looks like.

Molepolole (MOH-lay-po-LOH-lay) Rd., looking toward the Gov't Enclave where some gov't offices and embassies are located.

This was yesterday, the cones are there because the road was closed apparently due to an oil spill on the overpass ...

We're going left anyway, (remember, we're driving on the "wrong" side of the road), where we approach the new "Central Business District," or CBD, an area with a lot of new office construction going up.

These buildings are right down from The Square office park (below). The Square has a Fego (South African chain) cafe in the open area, which has OK food, but not excellent.

The building and atmosphere are quite nice though, and across from it is a very nice shopping center with SquareMart grocery. SquareMart is owned by Muslims, so they don't sell alcohol or pork, among other things. Most everything is Halal.

Nile Coloring

2011-05-30T11:35:00.000+02:00

April 10, 2011.

This was Nile's first time ever coloring.

Making Waffles

2011-05-30T11:32:00.001+02:00

I made waffles in the "other" kitchen. Yes, our house has two kitchens. This one is in the guest wing of the house. See Mom -- and any other visitors -- we're READY for you!!!!

Our TV is in the adjacent guest wing living room, so we watched a movie on the couch while I cooked (and sampled!). The waffles were for a pot luck event the next day. Let me just say that Hungry Jack is right when they say to serve them fresh, they were kind of mealy the next day.

It was our first time breaking out the Belgian waffle maker that we got as a wedding gift from our friends Patrick and Kastle! Thanks, guys!!!! Even if it took us three years to finally use it, it's awesome!

Roses: Blossoms and Thorns

2011-05-30T11:27:00.000+02:00

There are lots of things you could say about this.

My humble submission:

Do you see the rose for its beautiful blossom?

Or for the thorns below?

Really, I'm wondering. When it comes to an actual rose, I see the bloom. Neil sees the thorns. With metaphorical roses, I think we see things the other way around.

50 Cent

2011-05-30T11:23:00.001+02:00

This guy works at TradeWorld. He saw Neil with our camera and asked him to take his picture. This pose was his choosing. I have noticed that most Batswana are very serious in pictures.

He said he goes by the name "50 Cent." He was very interested in getting a copy of this photo; I saw him on a subsequent trip to TradeWorld and he asked when I might bring by the photo ... I need to get this thing printed. I wonder how many photos of himself 50 Cent has.

Mokolodi Backpackers

2011-05-29T19:42:00.000+02:00

We went to our friend Hendrik's place, the local hostel he owns called Mokolodi Backpackers.

It's a beautiful place with all kinds of animals. I think Neil and I may just head out there for an overnight to get away and enjoy the peace and quiet outside of town!

Here is (L-R) Ted, Hendrik, Joanne. Also two of Hendrik's dogs and a gaggle/flock/? of Guinea fowl.

This hen had adopted a Guinea fowl chick. It was SO CUTE to see the little chick running along side the hen, and the hen act so protectively toward the baby chick.

Another chicken, this one quite tame.

These succulents were so pretty. And yes, that is a giraffe skull on the wall.

A lone bunny.

A Guinea fowl and a big, ugly pet pig! Hendrik has had to put sticker bushes around some of his flower beds because the pig digs huge holes searching for food, and will tear up the plantings.

This Will Make Your Skin Crawl

2011-05-29T18:59:00.002+02:00

The seeds were growing inside the squash!

Chilli Mint Sauce

2011-05-29T18:52:00.000+02:00

Very cute "Chilli [sic] Mint" sauce as seen at Mugg 'n' Bean, local cafe

Not sure if they're channeling a South African accent or Mexican ... but I thought the tagline at the end was so cute -- "made south of Mexico in Africa"

Reading

2011-05-29T18:37:00.002+02:00

Nile was "reading" (and possibly pulling all her books off the shelf) in her room before we went out the other day. So precious.

Fabric Stores

2011-05-29T18:23:00.002+02:00

There are a couple fabric stores here in town that I've visited. SISMO, near the Government Enclave on Nelson Mandela Ave., is supposedly a bit pricier than the other store that is near the Craft Market on Nakedi St.

I am no seamstress, but I LOVE all of the fabrics! I wish I were more creative and could do something with this stuff, it's great!

This stuff looks like it's for a sari? There is a large Indian population here.

This fabric reminds me of Hawaii!

This stuff looks like it's for ugly '80s style dress shirts?

I went to SISMO most recently with Nanny in tow to get her measurements and for her to pick out fabric for a tailor to make her some uniforms. I think it is a point of pride for domestic help to have proper uniforms with matching aprons, I certainly didn't insist on it. I can also see how it isn't fair for her to ruin her own clothes working in my house.

I saw the ladies below and with them in the background, pretended to take a picture of nanny, who laughed as she realized what I was doing. I asked her if these ladies were from Botswana, and she said no, she could tell by the way they were dressed and the way they talked that they were from Zambia. Interesting!

Another interesting thing was overhearing the way these ladies spoke to the employee who was helping them. They were joking in this deadpan way that I wouldn't necessarily have picked up on. The employee said, "just a second, I will help you" as she finished up with us. The younger Zambian said flatly, "no, you are not helping me. You are making me wait." The employee laughed and said, "I will help you Mma, do not worry" to which the Zambian replied, "You will not help me, you will help everyone else but me, you will make me wait." and they both laughed. It was a funny interchange once I realized it was a little banter between them.

At the "other" fabric store on Nakedi (isn't that a funny street name?), I was stopped in my tracks by these sewing machines. I was on my out of the store on my lunch break so I didn't ask why they were all sitting there in an array on a table, but I think they might be for sale! They had at least five of them. Are they authentic? They had tags on them that looked old and said Singer. The tags were actually cool, vintage looking, I should have taken a picture. I will go back some time and ask what the deal is, they look so cool!

Ant Farm

2011-05-29T18:07:00.003+02:00

There are a lot of ants in our yard. Which is OK, they seem to have migrated away from the house. The vinegar massacres we imposed on them may have had something to do with it: forget harsh bug killers, we kept a spray bottle of straight white vinegar beside the kitchen sink and would spray any ants we saw -- they die in one shot. Magic. And a little tragic.

After it rains, the ants come up for air and rebuild their homes. The dirt they excavate is deposited on the surface, and renders our yard like Monument Valley.

Easters

2011-05-29T13:38:00.012+02:00

We had a great Easter weekend. I know, it was awhile ago; I think we're both aware that I'm a slacker blogger. Ready to hear about Easters?

We did the obligatory Easter Egg Hunt. Nile was around last Easter, but slept through the day. This year she got to collect some egss. There was only one egg that we found on our own.

That's right, in a tire, too high for the other kids to see!

The rest of our basket was filled by the MOST ADORABLE little girl in the whole world (other than Nile, her relatives, our friends' kids, ... etc. right?).

This little girl LOVES Nile; every time we show up to an event and she's there, she and a couple other cute little girls race over and fawn over baby Nile. It is so sweet. And Nile gets all shy and annoyed, haha. They always say "oh, Nile doesn't remember us." And it's not like Nile is the only baby in our community -- these girls, and in particular this cute little girl, just love babies and are so sweet to Nile. They also call me "Nile's mom" which is so funny to hear.

Upon seeing Nile's single egg, this little girl, who had a basketful of eggs and candy, came over and started offloading into Nile's basket! She said, "here, so Baby Nile can have some eggs, too." So kind and thoughtful.

We also had an Easter lunch with some friends. The food was AMAZING. Our friend made lamb for the first time, and it turned out perfect.

At their house Nile got her first ride in the classic Little Coupe!

Moving Day!

2011-05-29T13:27:00.002+02:00

Was April 10.

I think it took longer for our stuff to finally clear customs than it did to ship it here from Argentina! It was such a relief to finally have all of our things here. And it makes you realize how much you forget you have -- and could probably live without!

They're here!

They're fast!

They're done!

They're gone!

The mountain of boxes they left behind! And this isn't all of them!

The interesting way they put together a recliner (the backrest is on backwards)!

Other Gabs Traffic

2011-05-29T13:16:00.000+02:00

On the outskirts of town, and even in town, there are goats, donkeys and cattle to watch out for, roaming around in herds.

Here were some goats we came across.

And some cattle.

Gabs Traffic

2011-05-29T13:10:00.000+02:00

Is legendary. I am sure it's not like India or China or something, but for how small the population is here, it is stunning how poorly designed I have found the city planning, as there are bottlenecks.

This is on my way home from work. Two miles, 20-30 minutes. I should start walking.

Bumper Stickers and Decals

2011-05-29T13:02:00.001+02:00

I've posted the most shocking window decal I've seen on the roads of Gaborone.

Here are a couple inoffensive sightings:

I thought that was neat.

The combis, taxi vans as there is no municipal bus system here, have their names on the back of them. There is a wide variety from the bizarre, to the humorous, to the imperative. Just today I saw one that said, in big letters, "JUMP IN".

This was more along the lines of bizarre-humorous: "Small Boy: Now It's My Time."

Gaborone Craft Market

2011-05-29T12:47:00.000+02:00

There is a little shopping center here with gift shops, a hair salon, a deli, a photo framer, a quilt shop, etc

It's a nice little place to stop by.

The Last Lions Premiere

2011-05-29T12:43:00.000+02:00

We went to the premiere showing of "The Last Lions", a National Geographic film by Dereck and Beverly Joubert, shot in Botswana's Okavango Delta in the north.

The film was an extremely moving story of a family of lions in the Delta. I laughed, I cried, it was amazing. If you haven't seen it already, go see it!

The shots are breathtaking and expansive. Many are super-wide-angled and completely jaw-dropping. The Delta is gorgeous and diverse: wetlands of course, rock formations, dry savanna, wooded thickets. I can't wait to go visit! I would also love to have photo stills of some of the scenes in the film, particularly one in my mind's eye of a wide-angle shot from a lion's eye view of golden savanna with a hill of steel gray rocks under a deep blue, brooding sky. Gorgeous and evocative!

The event was held at the Botswana Defence Force's (Botswana's Army) auditorium, and was attended by a who's-who -- I had the invite handed down to me from the Big Boss!

I got my picture with some BDF guys

And I got a pic of the President of Botswana, Sir Seretse Ian Khama, as he walked by!

Botswana Fauna

2011-05-29T12:30:00.001+02:00

Some things we've found around the house and the yard.

Lizards, of all kinds, in abundance. Geckos, too.

Enormous spiders.

This is the only toad I've seen. Doesn't look like he fared too well.

Peaceful Lunch

2011-05-22T18:02:00.000+02:00

On Saturday we had a late lunch at Sanitas. I'm starting to realize that there are few places in the city to just relax and have a peaceful time; Sanitas is among those few.

This one's for Papa G:

Bucket

2011-05-22T17:25:00.002+02:00

Bucket

Oh, giant bucket

Around the Yard on Saturday

2011-05-21T14:38:00.001+02:00

Neil is getting into composting. We have been collecting vegetable remains and eggshells in a plastic container in the kitchen and depositing them out in the corner of the yard. He dug a hole this morning and buried the compost stuff and the clippings the gardener has produced.

Thank goodness for the big blue generator. The power was going on and off a bit this morning, so the generator kicked in. It's now 2:30 p.m. and it's still going. Diesel, baby! Not sure how farmer Neil feels about that. I'm sure solar power would be preferable ...

I was so proud of Ellie. She was being a real cat: She may look calm, but she was attentively listening to birds chirping and flying around outside the kitchen.

Nanny Fashion

2011-05-21T14:27:00.000+02:00

Friday, May 20

Sometimes I lay clothes out the night before for the nanny to dress Nile in.

This is what happens if I don't.

Should be Sleeping

2011-05-21T03:51:00.000+02:00

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

2011-05-18T22:46:00.053+02:00

Um, so what can you really say about something like this:

Yes, you saw that right:

I was cruising back to work in my 6-4 after going home for lunch this afternoon. It was sunny, a perfect 78 degrees, I had my windows down and Jay-Z's "Big Pimpin'" blaring (naturally ;) and these guys merged in front of me.

At the red light I got a good look at their window decal and couldn't believe my eyes. Not so much big pimpin' anymore. I started to feel a little like Michael Bolton and thought, "wow, I hope these guys don't realize I'm an American, I really don't want to deal with whatever they mean by the prominent display of their window decal ... !

I quickly turned down the tunes and fell all over myself racing and fumbling to get my camera out of my purse, which was firmly wedged under my seat, hoping I wouldn't have another episode like this, and then the light turned green.

Sanitas Tea Garden and Nursery

2011-05-17T21:17:00.002+02:00

We went to Sanitas garden center and nursery on March 6.

They have a lovely selection of plants. They also have a tea garden/restaurant that is nice and is one of the more popular spots in town among the expats, but it was closed that day.

The owners and those in the know pronounce it "SAHNny-toss" rather than "Sahn-EEE-toss".

p.s. re: foods

2011-05-16T23:46:00.002+02:00

I realize that I may sound like that person who goes to another country but wants to have all of the comforts of home and not try the local flavor. Wait, maybe I AM that person ... at least right now. I promise I'm more adventurous than this. But you have to understand that despite Mma Ramotswe's romantic descriptions of delicious pumpkin, beef, stews, and the like, the traditional food here is pretty bland and rather lacking.

Case in point, the daily lunch menu at the office cafeteria never changes. It is the following:

Beef (fried beef tips)
Chicken (fried)
Spinach (boiled)
Chakalaka (baked beans)
White rice
Potato salad or cole slaw
Pap (thick flavorless (and devoid of nutrition) cornmeal)
Samp (thicker cornmeal)
Sometimes another random main dish that is listed in Setswana, so I don't know what it is unless I see it. Or things like Mopane worms. The experience of seeing those served my first week in the office really freaked me out. Like really, really freaked me out.

Grocery Shopping in Gaborone

2011-05-16T23:27:00.009+02:00

The local grocery store.

This is at Pick 'n' Pay. We haven't had pork or bacon going on almost two months now because of hoof and mouth in South Africa, where pretty much all of the food is imported from.

You don't realize how much you miss bacon, or "streaky bacon" as they call it here, until you CAN'T HAVE IT!

Dulce de leche imported from Buenos Aires! Craziness. They even have flavors I never saw in BsAs -- orange dulce de leche, hazelnut, cinnamon. But I can tell you right now I never saw anything from Botswana on the shelves in Argentina.

The rest of these pics are from my other favorite grocery store, Woolworth's, a South African chain. Yes, they have Kraft Miracle Whip and Hellmann's mayonnaise! And a million other kinds of gourmet mayo and oils.

We really aren't lacking for too much; everything is imported up from South Africa, and there are many European products, too. There is honestly wayyy more variety here than there ever was in BsAs.

And these are just some of the cheeses:

Love it! So it's not so bad food-wise as I've made it sound. Yet another reason to just cook at home. Well, with the addition of Craisins and other uniquely American products via Amazon.com :)

Thank You for the Music

2011-05-15T23:02:00.001+02:00

I got the "Mamma Mia!" soundtrack on iTunes this weekend for fun. The movie is so cute and the soundtrack is great. The last track, "Thank You for the Music" is sweet. It all reminds me of 2008, right after Neil and I were married and were living in Arlington, VA, I saw the movie in a nearly-empty theater one night with some girl friends, a very fun and memorable occasion. Around the same time I read a delightful book, "My Family and Other Animals", which, like "Mamma Mia!" is set in Greece. A couple months after that I started my int'l job and was convinced I would go to Greece if given the chance! We'll see if that happens, or if I even would want to go there nowadays.

I have decided to get an iPod and a speaker dock to put in our kitchen. We spend a lot of time there and we don't have a radio or stereo system in the house, so it would be fun to have music. Espeically because any time a car goes by with music blaring, Nile starts bopping, so I would love to see her if we can have music on of our choosing. But I need to research which would be the best choice; I have not had an iPod since the one I got in 2004 that sadly died years ago. I am thinking just the Nano would be fine, I only want music on it. Neil and I both enjoy music and listen to it on the computer in our room, but it's time to have it elsewhere in the house, too.

We are not allowed to ship/receive lithium ion batteries in our pouch mail. Bummer. Cell phones, iPods, laptops, etc. have lithium ion batteries. Luckily my co-worker's wife is in the States now and can bring the items back with her in her luggage. So I am going to have the iPod, and the battery to my old smartphone my mom already mailed me, mailed to my co-worker's wife to bring here. Exciting, I know.

In other, edge-of-your seat, news:

Let's see, this weekend was pretty uneventful. It's nice to have time just to hang out together, but it is also a huge change of pace from Buenos Aires.

I still can't get used to 1/2 day Fridays every week! Very nice. Friday evening we had some friends over for dinner. Neil planned the menu and got everything ready for it and we cooked together, a very American meal: steak, potatoes, green salad, green beans.

He made a new dessert in his repetoire, pears sliced in half and baked with butter and brown sugar. As a topping, I handmade whipped cream for the first time in my life! I had to go online to look up how to do it, sad I know! But as you probably know, it was easy and so delish.

Saturday we thought about going to the first rounds of a cultural dance competition, but we slept in, got a late start and pretty much stayed around the house.

In addition to my iTunes music purchase, I did some online grocery shopping -- I got Craisins, pine nuts, chocolate chips, brown sugar from Amazon. Expat delights! I also got a couple recipe books and "The Lemon Tree." One of my very good friends is in Israel and has the book, too. We plan to read it together. I'll let you know how that goes.

Saturday night was dinner at another friend's house. Ironically, they served chicken, potatoes, green salad, green beans. Homemade brownies and homemade vanilla custard ice cream for dessert though! Super-delish!!!

Today was more of the same, time around the house, lots of sunshine and hanging on the patio, then the weekly volleyball/families get-together at the Rec Center.

If you can't tell from the above and from the last post, get-togethers here center more around dinners at home than going out, as anything in your kitchen is probably better than what you will find out.

Am I bummed about that? A bit. I like to eat! There is a pizza place here, called Debonair's, that has pretty good pizza. It has very thin crust and one of their specialties is a triple-decker pizza. It is incredible. It has chicken, sweet chili sauce, cheese, I don't even know what else. Yum-o-rama. You can choose to have it triple-layered with cheese and toppings. We ordered three of these pizzas at work one time, triple-decker and triple-layered. I wondered what the order dispatcher thought, the Americans ordering gluttonous amounts of food ... typical?

Sunglasses at Night

2011-05-15T22:05:00.000+02:00

More from March 9. Random, I know.

Thanks, mom, for the sunglasses! Nile wears her sunglasses at night ...

Mugg n Bean

2011-05-14T23:13:00.002+02:00

I would not say that Gaborone will ever be known for its cuisine, but there are a few acceptable places to eat, Mugg 'n' Bean being one of them. As the name suggests, it's a coffee shop but they have an extensive menu as well.

Here is photo evidence of our trip there on March 9:

Neil's burger. Brie cheese, "macon" (beef bacon) and onion rings -- why not?

Nile and her lemon.

This has got to be the creepiest face I've ever made. I think this is my "surprised yet underwhelmed" face.

My cobb salad. It was OK. The most remarkable thing about it was the size, it really was huge.

About Nile's love affair with lemons -- she eats them wherever we go. It all started at a restaurant one night, she kept grabbing at the lemon in a glass of water. We finally decided to let her have it, expecting the sour baby face. But instead, she just gnawed away at it and it's been lemons for the girl when we go out ever since. Lemons in water, lemons as garnish -- none are safe.

Quadruplets 'Came as A Shock As Much As An Amusement' to Delivery Doc

2011-05-13T22:59:00.000+02:00

And another gem. In the print edition, the photo was not cropped as it is here -- the woman is holding three of the babies and they are the CUTEST babies ever!

Mmegi Online
Thursday, May 12, 2011

Woman gives birth to four babies

KEABETSWE NEWEL
Correspondent

FRANCISTOWN: A 23-year-old woman has given birth to quadruplets at Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital (NRH).

Dineo Keetshepe, who hails from Mahalapye Village, on Monday became a mother of three baby girls and a boy at the NRH. Dr Tsaone Sekaname, a GP in the gynaecology centre, characterised the incident as "bizarre".

Having been Keetshepe's doctor during her labour, he said the incident was probably the first in Botswana. Dr Sekaname said it was his first time to witness and even to handle such a case in his career.

However, explaining the happenings, he said that usually people who bear multiple babies in most cases are the infertile who do not release ovaries. Due to their infertility, he said, they would be supplied with fertility pills to help accelerate the process of fertilisation, resulting in more than one egg being fertilised.

"In this case of Keetshepe, she was not given any medication. It is just a natural blessing, which, to us, came as a shock as much as an amusement," said Dr Sekaname. He further pointed out that situations like this are rare.

According to Dr Sekaname, in such cases, normally the mother's health may be jeopardised during pregnancy. "All the four children depend on their mother for minerals and everything. The mother may run short of blood and experience a condition called anaemia," he said. However, he said during pregnancy they are provided with Ferrous Folic Acid, which contains iron and more minerals to meet the needs of all the babies.

After birth, the mother may also experience a shortage of milk, but the more she breast feeds, the more she would be able to produce more milk. Dr Sekaname also mentioned that because Keetshepe's babies were tiny they had to be delivered by caesarean operation, to make sure they were delivered healthily. Sakhelabona John, a midwife who delivered the babies, said she had an experience of a lifetime. " I had never delivered more than two babies at a time. It was unusual, her abdomen could not allow for a normal birth, we had to operate but everything went smoothly," she said.

The babies, according to her, were all healthy. She said the boy came first weighing 2kg, followed by three girls weighing 1.7kg, 1.7kg and 1.4kg respectively. John said the three girls shared a placenta whilst the boy had his own. The mother of the quadruplets however, had tears in her eyes. "This came as a shock to me, I have however accepted the reality," she said. Keetshepe said she was unaware of the reality until her last days. The doctors wanted her to be scanned after saying that her tummy was larger than usual.

She said that their names are Tumelo (male), Tumo, Tumisang and Tumiso. Keetshepe said they are an addition to her four-year-old son. Her deepest worry is her economical status. She said her family is poor and cannot support her babies.

"I am unemployed so is my boyfriend. I wonder how I'll support my babies," she said. Her family does not have a history of twins but her boyfriend's cousins were twins. Keetshepe who swore never to bear children again, appealed to the public to assist her raise her babies, she asked for help of any kind.

Caiphus Gabana, public relations officer at NRH, said the quadruplets took the hospital by surprise and made the greatest history ever. Gabana said as the NRH they are elated by the experience. "The fact that our personnel managed to deliver the quadruplets safely, proves our capabilities as a hospital. We are proud to have handled this incident with perfection, our capabilities match international standards," he said. The NRH he said would organise some form of charity for Keetshepe by allowing people to give whatever they can to help her support her babies.

Public Flogging

2011-05-13T22:24:00.002+02:00

This is the kind of news you can't make up:

Mmegi Online
Thursday, May 12, 2011

Kgafela appeals High Court decision

LEKOPANYE MOOKETSI
Correspondent

Controversial Bakgatla paramount chief, Kgafela Kgafela and his co-accused have appealed against the High Court ruling in March that he has no powers to flog people indiscriminately.

The High Court made the decision in a case where Kgafela was challenging the constitutionality of trying him for floggings as a chief.

"Dikgosi cannot act outside the constitution and laws prescribed by Parliament when all other functionaries of the state act within the prescribed statutory limitations. To do otherwise would clearly be unconstitutional," the court had ruled. "This answers the question of go kgwathisa. The short answer to this question is that it has to be applied by a court acting in accordance with and within the parameters of the enabling Act of Parliament," the High Court said. The decision was made by a three-man bench of Chief Justice Maruping Dibotlelo, Modiri Letsididi and Isaac Lesetedi.

In their grounds of appeal, Kgafela's lawyers from Langwane Mmekwa Attorneys state that the judges erred in finding that he did not have authority to exercise the powers of a kgosi.

They state that the judges relied on evidence that was not before the court.

The attorneys fault the judges' ruling that the statutory enactments affecting bogosi restricted the scope of the powers of the kgosi under traditional customary law. It is their contention that the enactments have the effect of enlarging such powers.

They point out that the judges erred in holding that a kgosi cannot exercise his criminal and administrative jurisdiction under traditional customary law outside existing statutory enactments such as Bogosi Act and Customary Act. They said none of the enactments have such restrictions. The appellants are seeking relief from the Court of Appeal to set aside the High Court ruling.

They want the superior court to declare that under customary law, Kgafela had the power to impose corporal punishment and persons designated by him had the power to carry out the sentence imposed. They want the Court of Appeal to rule that they have not been deprived of this power by the statutory enactments upon which the state relied on. The state should also be ordered to pay the costs of the appeal.

Kgafela's attorney, Banyatsi Mmekwa confirmed that they have appealed against the High Court ruling. Kgafela and his co-accused have been charged with the unlawful flogging of members of the public in Mochudi.

Got My Car

2011-05-11T22:29:00.002+02:00

On Monday I got my car.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will have to take a picture with her, it makes me so happy to be reunited.

When I got in to drive home at the end of the day, I can't tell you how good it felt. I mean, physically GOOD. After years of driving this car, I feel like it is an extension of my body. I felt like I finally had a part of ME back. The way I described it to Neil is thus:

The loaner from work, although very nice and brand-new, felt like I was writing with my left hand with a cast on my arm (I am right-handed). I was driving a right-hand-drive car on the "wrong" side of the road, in very annoying traffic and through poorly designed parking lots. The car itself was a nice, big sedan, and I was used to driving a small high-clearance SUV -- 1999 Toyota Rav4, best car ever. It was hard to really see and harder to estimate the dimensions of the sedan; maneuvering around the road and especially parking lots was very frustrating and stressful.

In contrast, driving the Rav feels completely natural and, like I said, like an extension of my body. I know exactly what size it is and how much room I have to fit through spaces, maneuver, and change lanes. I love it!!! It really feels SO GOOD and it makes all the difference. I thought that driving a left-hand drive car here would make things difficult, but it is actually SO MUCH easier and one less thing I have to think about or be conscious of.

With the loaner sedan, I felt like I was a 15-yr.-old with my learner's permit. I felt like I was conscious of EVERYTHING, I could never go on auto-pilot and tune out -- you know how sometimes you go a couple (or more!) miles and then you have no recollection of doing so, you were lost in thought and functioning on auto-pilot? (This is actually a level and form of hypnosis, you learn about in HypnoBirthing :) Well it was a rare occasion that I did that driving the sedan around Gaborone, and it only happened in recent weeks and for a few seconds.

Once I was driving MY car on Monday, it was easy peasy, like second nature. SO NICE! I love it! I do have to say though, that although this will make me hate driving here a little less, I still think the Batswana (plural for people from Botswana) are horrible drivers. Driving in Buenos Aires was a pleasure, a fun game, like surfing in a car (though we've established I am afraid of surfing) -- it was like you entered the lane and swell of cars and you had to paddle fast to get up to speed and then you just rode the wave of traffic until you dropped out at your destination. Everyone drove at the same level of crazy, so it was cool and actually a LOT of fun! But here, it is willy-nilly, haphazard craziness. More like a roadful of annoying beginner-level drivers -- things like people taking 10 years to merge into your lane because they are so cautious, even while you flash your lights, motion with your hand, and give them 3 car lengths. Or the complete opposite where they run red lights. Hard to have patience.

But about my favorite car: The last time I saw her was our last day in Argentina, in the sunny, summery late afternoon, after a long morning of running last-minute pre-departure errands. We hastily dropped her off at my office, left the keys with someone to give to the shipping ladies and had a car and driver take us back to the house.

Ironically, she's been here in Botswana since shortly after we arrived in February. It takes THAT LONG to clear Customs, get registered, get insurance, etc. Always a cumbersome, convoluted process that I am SO GLAD I don't have to deal with directly -- there is someone at my work in charge of it and I just sign here and there and give them $ for whatever is required.

Sweet.

Motswana-Marine wedding

2011-05-10T17:27:00.000+02:00

On Saturday we went to the wedding of a lovely young lady from Botswana and her U.S. Marine sweetheart.

It was sunny and warm, until shortly before the event was to start, dark storm clouds stealthily moved in and thunder and lightning cracked through the suddenly cool air. Rain began steadily falling.

"What a day for a wedding!" I thought, as (I admit) some Alanis Morissette lyrics ran through my head. "It's like raiiiiiii-n/On your wedding day"

What I was reminded of by a matronly Motswana (an individual from Botswana) is that rain is VERY good luck here. In fact, the currency in Botswana is called the pula -- "'Pula' literally means 'rain' in Setswana, because rain is very scarce in Botswana -- home to much of the Kalahari Desert -- and is therefore valuable. Pula also means 'blessing' as rain is considered a blessing." (Wikipedia)

A really interesting reminder that you can't put your own cultural values on another. What would be considered at best unfortunate and at worst bad luck in the U.S. was welcomed as the best possible marriage omen on an otherwise sunny day; to have the thunderclouds roll in without warning and the skies open and pour down rain. A day for singing and jubilation, indeed.

'Post-a-Day May' Plagued by TIB

2011-05-09T17:49:00.000+02:00

Well, folks, my goal of posting every day for the month of May has been derailed for a few days, but I'm hoping I'll be able to get it back on track. And although I have been a sporadic poster in the past, this time it's not entirely my fault: The city, and perhaps the country, has had internet connectivity problems all weekend, across all internet service providers. Everyone I've spoken to either had no internet or very sporadic internet the past few days. I'm posting now at the conclusion of my workday; thank you work internet and however you are connected!

But never fear, once I can keep a home connection long enough to upload a short video to my Flickr account, I have a great cultural experience to share with you -- traditional singing at a Botswana WEDDING!

Shortly after arriving here, we had the missionaries over and one of them said that when things go unexpectedly, they just shrug and say, "TIB." He explained that it stands for "This is Botswana."

So, with that in mind, I won't get upset about not being able to post EVERY day in the month of May. I will just add that to the unique experience of blogging straight from the Land of the Kalahari, and say "TIB. This is Botswana."

P.s. for your veiwing pleasure, I offer the following taken this past weekend at the local grocery store. Nile loves animals, especially dogs and cats, and photos of same.

Farmer's Market

2011-05-05T21:27:00.004+02:00

Monday was a local holiday here in Botswana, so we went to this organic farm right outside of town that we'd been wanting to visit. The last name of the lady who owns it is "Farmer". How appropriate!

Ms. Farmer in the lettuce patch. These rows went on and on; she supplies lettuce to one of the most popular restaurants in town.

Neil and Nile with a market stall behind them.

You can see that the picnic table is charred. Also the market stall behind Neil and Nile is on a big clearing with burned poles around it. That is the spot where Ms. Farmer's house burned down a year ago last month. An electrical malfunction when they weren't home.

Her farm has truly been the story of the "Phoenix rising from the ashes" as she puts it. It's amazing: She had wanted to start doing organic farming full time, and after the fire, she built a tiny house elsewhere on the property and devoted all her energies to the farm. Much of the materials on the property and in the gardens are reused from the fire, to excellent effect -- there is something beautiful about turning such a tragedy into something so redeeming and healthy.

My favorite spot was the herb garden. See how all of the bricks are blackened? They were from the original house and were charred in the fire.

Even the pets were lovely creatures.

The ducks were so cute.

And the roses were gorgeous. She had a beautiful bouquet cut in a glass carafe at the market stall. I should have taken a picture, they were just so effortlessly pretty.

The property has so many quaint and unique features.

It was a nice way to spend a holiday!

Of Elegance and Hedgehogs

2011-05-04T23:33:00.006+02:00

p.s. I finished a book tonight. This is a major accomplishment. I have SO MANY books on my bedside table that I've started reading and haven't finished. Yes, even books I packed from my bedside table in BsAs that, upon unpacking, went back on the bedstand. The table is overflowing with Jenga-like stacks of randomly bookmarked volumes.

So to have finally finished a book is big. Especially this book: I got it at a book club book swap a month ago and determined to finish it before our next club meeting this weekend. I chose it simply because it takes place in Paris and I want to go to Paris for vacation next year (!)

Well let me tell you, it is a tough read. It goes off on nearly intolerable philosophical, existential, political, social, and intellectual tangents at times. Which is great if you are into philosophy, existentialism, etc. Mostly it just made me feel dumb a lot of the time. And then at other times it just really seemed implausible, simple, or lame. But it redeemed itself at the end. I give it 2.5 stars out of 5.

Of course, don't take my word for it: The inside and back covers are littered with rave reviews from serious names -- The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, international media outlets, etc.; each trying to best the next in their praise of the book's commentary and subtlety. But I think they just want to like it because of the difficulty of getting through it and, basically, to sound smart. Which makes me wonder at the author's motives, too ... :)

Double Thick Cream

2011-05-04T23:02:00.001+02:00

I bought "Double Thick Cream" (I would have called it "double-thick cream") at the store, thinking it was like heavy cream. I guess I was wrong?

I have never seen cream this ... well, heavy. Have you? I know my culinarily-inclined friends might be able to explain what this stuff is, so tell me! It definitely tasted like cream and was not cream cheese or frosting or anything. Weird.

I had to spread it with a knife into a measuring cup to get the 3/4 cup I needed to make creamed spinach! My first attempt at making one of my favorite side dishes. We bought fresh green and red spinach at a farmer's market on Monday and I saw it in the fridge tonight after work and I got inspired. The cream was on hand for making quiche (I have been on a quiche kick) but good thing I didn't use it for quiche, I have no idea how I would have used it when I would have needed cream in liquid form.

At any rate, everything seemed perfect as I started making the creamed spinach.

But as happens more often than not when I'm cooking, disaster struck and the dish turned out disgusting. :(

It seemed like it needed a little more wilting, so I let it simmer, covered, for several minutes beyond the 5 min. or so the recipe called for. And when I lifted the lid, instead of a creamy light green sauce with perfectly wilted leaves, pure brownish-oil soaked greens greeted me. Alas.

OK, so I'm clearly no cook, but I had an idea!!!!

While overseas, the thing I miss most are milkshakes. In Buenos Aires and here in Gaborone, too, what they call "milkshakes" are like chocolate milk. And the ice cream is either too soft (BsAs) or too icy (Gabs) to make a proper "double-thick" shake.

SO, do you think that I could make my own milkshake using that "Double Thick Cream"? Maybe add it to milk? How many calories would that be?!?

Royal Wedding-inspired Millinery

2011-05-03T22:20:00.001+02:00

At work on Friday, I watched some of the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton live before I took off (love half-day Fridays around here!). We then went to a friend's house who had DVR'd the event and who was hosting a wedding-watching party.

As this was one of the limited times I could really get away with it, I wore my very homemade fascinator. When we returned home and I was feeding Nile dinner, I kept it on just for fun. Nile kept looking at it, and then out of nowhere she looked right at me with a chunk of banana in her hand and placed the chunk on top of her head. She has never put her food on herself like that, so I really think she was trying to imitate my headwear!

TradeWorld, Mica and Around Town

2011-05-03T20:16:00.001+02:00

So I am working backwards a bit; here's what went down in Gaborone on Saturday, April 30.

As previously mentioned, we went to hardware store Mica. Well, first we went to TradeWorld, which is a lot like Costco. If I had been posting all along, I could refer you to a post with pics describing and illustrating just what is TradeWorld, but alas. But here is a pic from a TW run back in March:

Looks familiar, right? But where it departs a bit from Costco, there are things such as traditional (ENORMOUS) enameled serving bowls/wash basins:

So a little different, but with the same insanely frustrating lack of parking and crowds late on a Saturday morning. This caused me to get a little tense, which caused Neil to decide to go next door to Builder's World (Home Depot-like store) and then walk home. Fortunately he changed his mind about the walking home and a good time was had by all, though we both left our respective stores empty-handed.

We then ventured down the road to Game City shopping mall, another delight. It actually isn't that bad, and is much like lower-end malls in the States.

Here is the traffic circle right before Game City (ahead on the right). That's a Mazda or some other car dealership on the left and the famed Kgale Hill also on the right.

There are far too many traffic circles in the city. I don't like them/Neil does. He also hasn't driven here yet (he's not allowed to drive our loaner). We'll see what he says once we get our car from Customs (hopefully this week!) and he's behind the wheel, on the wrong side of the road, flying around a traffic circle o' horrors.

You will also notice that all the cars on the road are nice. I honestly can say that any time I am driving around Gaborone, I am hard pressed to spot a car that is older than 10 yrs. This has come as quite a surprise from the Africa I expected. Another very surprising thing is the number of not just nice, but luxury cars you see around here. The diamond trade has been very good to Botswana. I'm talking all-the-latest-model-Audis,-Mercedes,-and-BMWs good. Also of course lots of very nice Land Rovers, Forerunners, etc. My 1999 Rav-4 is definitely going to stand out for all the wrong reasons!

In Mica, we bought various home-improvement items, including the flower seeds I planted the other day. Here were some seeds I wasn't sure I wanted to sow:

Nile had a good time playing with some sort of brass fittings. I don't even know why we keep toys around the house for her, she truly finds the most amusement in bits of trash, electronic devices, keys, plastic utensils, and anything shiny. Also tubes of anything (diaper ointment, Neosporin, etc.).

The metal pieces on top of the cardboard box to her right are her selections.

We also stopped by Payless (here it's a grocery store -- unfortunately no shoes in sight). I made Neil take a picture of the following, because it was -- and still is -- still too disturbing for me to look at:

On a happier note, I saw this as we headed to our car in the parking lot:

Cute!

Call to Prayer

2011-05-02T22:43:00.010+02:00

This Muslim mosque is down the street from our house.

I've been meaning to post about it, and about our wonderful Muslim neighbors. Each evening we can hear the calls to prayer floating over our walls. Very surreal and beautiful; the sun is going down and the birds are chirping excitedly as they settle in the trees for the night.

It was a bit of an emotional experience tonight, reading the headlines and news stories of a man's "perversion of Islam", while hearing the beauty of that religion's pure form at the same time.

Sunday Funday

2011-05-01T22:13:00.031+02:00

We lazed around the house today. We didn't make it to Church ... it doesn't help that Nile will sleep 12+ hours from when we put her down, so if we keep her up late Saturday night, I don't have the heart to wake her up to make it to Church. Gotta work on that one.

Once she was up, she got to play in the pet's water dish in the kitchen though, so she was happy.

Don't worry, the bowl is new -- no pet germs in it yet!

Oh yeah, I haven't told you that OUR PETS ARE HERE, arrived last Saturday from the U.S. That is a story in itself ...

At any rate, lazing around the house was great. I made Forgotten Cookies last night. They are a childhood favorite of mine from my mom's kitchen. I learned, after a friend made the dessert "Pavlova" for Easter, that they are much like Pavlova, but with chocolate chips!

They also are made with brown sugar: We went to a friend's on Friday for a Royal Wedding-watching party, and we won a bag of brown sugar and a bag of Nestle Toll House semisweet morsels (unavailable overseas=expat delights!) during the trivia rounds (yes, she had games during the event!), hence the need to make Forgotten Cookies, of course.

I ate about half the pan by myself.

Then I took care of Nile while Neil caught up on homework. Another thing I have yet to blog about - - Neil is catching up on homework on the weekend because he GOT A JOB!!!! It is temporary for now, but we are hoping it will become permanent. More on that in a future post.

I think the thing I like least (OK it's not really that bad) about caring for Nile is feeding her -- it takes FOREVER for her to eat, play with the food, continue eating, dislike what she's eating, make a mess, eat again, and I am constantly and unnecessarily paranoid that she will choke.

Later in the day I broke up some dirt around the patio and around the back of the house with a shovel (I know, I know, first no Church, then digging in the yard. This is how it starts.). Yesterday we went to Mica, a local hardware store, where I bought some easy-to-grow flower mixes, some pansy seeds and some foxglove seeds. So I sprinkled the seeds around in the broken-up dirt and watered them. Let's hope they grow! I have a notoriously black thumb.

POST-A-DAY MAY!!!!!

2011-05-01T19:07:00.009+02:00

My humble goal for the month of May is to post one blog entry every day.

I always have so much I want to say and post but I don't get around to it, and every day that goes by generates more that I want to say and post, which makes for this repeating cycle that nags at me. And I want my blog to be a fun outlet in my life and personal journal of sorts, not another procrastinated "to-do".

SO.

Here's to blogging every day for the month of May!

(OK, I had to back-post these May 1 entries on May 2, but I won't call that a failure! :)

The Story of Nile's Birth

2011-04-30T17:07:00.003+02:00

I started drafting the following a couple weeks after Nile was born. I have spent the past year deliberating on pressing "publish post". Well, here it is:

As promised, the story of Nile's birth.

Nile was born on her due date, March 23, bright and early at 6:30 a.m.

While I was pregnant, I decided that I wanted to give birth naturally, without drugs of any kind. Neil was really supportive of my decision. I heard about HypnoBirthing and decided that was the method I wanted to use to labor. I also wanted a doula for labor support. I had heard wonderful things about how the presence of a doula increases the positive outcome of natural childbirths, and I wanted that.

We found a HypnoBirthing instructor here in AZ and we took a class with her and another couple. It was a great experience and we hired her as our doula, too. Because all hypnosis is self-hypnosis, HpynoBirthing teaches you relaxation techniques to manage pain. It is really great! It was nice having our doula there for the labor and delivery, and it helped me to feel like everything was under control.

We have the HypnoBirthing book and a couple cds that have relaxation prompts and imagery narrations that we listened to in preparation for Nile's birth. At first, I never knew how the "Rainbow Relaxation" imagery ended because I became so relaxed I fell asleep every time I listened to it. We put that and a few other HypnoBirthing tracks on an iPod, along with several hours of ocean wave sounds. I ended up looping the ocean waves and the Rainbow Relaxation during the labor. For a few hours it was Rainbow Relaxation over and over.

On Sunday, March 21, Neil and I went out to the desert to take maternity pictures. Good thing, since I went into labor the very next day.

I had been feeling fine most of the pregnancy, and hadn't gotten that feeling of "just get this baby out of me" like most people say they get during the last month -- I hadn't felt that way, that is, until the previous week. I was really feeling like I was getting all puffy (water retention), heavy and slow. I wanted to sit all the time. Even my face felt swollen. I had started to hope that Nile would be born on or near her due date!

My mom and I had an appointment to get pedicures at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, March 22. We went to do that and my feet and legs were swollen and gross. I do wonder now if the pedicure lady gave me some sort of reflexology pressure point techniques to induce labor. You never know!

After pedicures, I went to my sister-in-law Becky's house, where Neil was helping her with her computer. I laid down on the couch to rest and take a nap. I drifted in and out of consciousness. I started to not feel that great -- I kind of felt like I was coming down with something or was achey all over. I started to feel really mild pain in my lower back, like menstrual cramps. I didn't want to panic or rush things since Neil was still working on Becky's computer, but I went to tell him that I was tired and that I thought we should go. I felt almost on the verge of tears, you know how you feel when you are trying to hold it together but you really don't feel good and want to be alone? I wanted to go immediately, but I was embarrassed for Becky to suspect that I might be in the early stages of labor. Silly, I know. I obviously was feeling like maybe that's what was happening. I felt a little better once I got up to go talk to them, so I stalled for a little bit, but we finally went to leave.

As we were saying goodbye to Becky outside the house, we talked about getting together for lunch the next day, but we said we'd play it by ear; I think we both had a feeling our plans might change.

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at an Arby's for lunch. We got some random things off of their dollar menu. We then realized we didn't have enough time to go back to the hotel and then make it to our Dr's appointment at 4:20 p.m. So after lunch we headed over to the Dr.'s.

I highly recommend our Dr. if you are in the Mesa, AZ, area: http://www.drbullaro.com/. She delivered three babies (with another one on the way later this year) for two of my sisters-in-law and came highly recommended by them. Yes, that's us on her site, 4 weeks after Nile was born! http://anbobgyn.startlogic.com/photogallery/displayimage.php?album=3&pos=114. If it gives you any idea of how tiny she is, I am 5'7", Neil is 5'5 1/2", and she is holding a newborn baby.

At the appointment, the Dr. said everything looked good, and that I was dilated to 1 1/2 cm. But she said that I could stay at 1 1/2 for two weeks or have the baby tomorrow, you can never tell. So we set up a follow-up appointment for Wed. March 24, the day after I was due.

I had specified in our birth plan that the Dr. not "sweep the membranes" (technical term; doing that during the exam is supposed to encourage the body into labor) so I hope she didn't, but you also never know ...

So we went back to the hotel and honestly the rest of the afternoon and evening was a blur, as I went straight to bed. I woke up on and off as the cramps seemed to increase in intensity. At some point, around 7:00 p.m., I realized that maybe this really was labor, so I asked Neil to start putting things in the car. He was gone for a loooong time, which made me really annoyed, as I had started to write down what time it was when I started to feel each cramp. It would subside, but then another one would come, at regular intervals. When they are 3-4 minutes apart, you are supposed to go to the hospital. They were first at 9, then 7, then 5 minutes apart. I put on some of the relaxation tracks, but I felt chaotic and unfocused without Neil in the room. He finally returned from packing the car and at some point texted our doula to give her the heads up.

An interesting side note is that the week prior to this was Spring Break, and both our doula and Dr. had gone out of town! Our Dr. had not had a vacation with her family since before she started her private practice a few years ago, so although she promised she would deliver the baby since we'd come all the way from Argentina to do so, I had to try NOT to have the baby during Spring Break week! Kind of stressful. Especially because our time pre-baby was winding down but we didn't want to do anything that might cause me to go into labor ...

So we had made it this far and I think my body knew it was now "OK" to have the baby. And all systems were go.

Around 8:45 p.m. or so we carefully went out to the car and headed the 12 minutes to the hospital, a beautiful, state-of-the-art facility, which I also highly recommend if you are in the Mesa/Gilbert, AZ area. Along the way I ate a clementine orange, which I would see again later.

I had purchased a cute tank top, shorts and matching slippers from the Juniors section at Target. I had bought a Victoria's Secret bathrobe, and had envisioned myself donning this garb and walking around the halls and the peaceful hospital gardens while I labored. What I didn't realize is that the outfit was impractical: a hospital gown is infinitely more reasonable and is going to get messy anyway; and they sell you on the beautiful zen garden exclusively for use by the maternity ward, but you do NOT feel physically capable of walking to it when labor is in full swing and you can't barely get out of bed anyway.

But I'm skipping ahead.

At the hospital I felt OK enough to not be dropped off at the entrance, though the walk from the car to the maternity entrance was start and stop, with ginger steps.

The labor and delivery ward is high-security, so you actually have to show your pregnant belly at a closed-circuit camera to enter. We were let in and went through the whole "sitting in the waiting room for a bit till you get to talk to the triage nurse" that everyone complains about. They had warned us about this when we did a little birthing orientation class, so I didn't sweat it. They know if you need in NOW or not, and I was doing OK.

So when I was called in to talk to the pre-admittance lady, I kept it under control as she pulled out my file and asked me how long I had been having contractions. We were then good to go for a little inspection by the triage nurse. She did a quick exam and was surprised; she told me that I was "at a 6 with a bulging bag of waters, so once the water breaks, you will probably be at about a 5." WOW! That was encouraging to find out that after a couple hours of mild discomfort, I was already halfway there.

Needless to say, I was admitted.

I requested to be assigned a labor and delivery nurse who specializes in, or at least supports, natural childbirth. I was assigned Becky (not my sister-in-law), the kindest, gentlest, sweetest nurse you could ever wish for.

However, before I could focus on continuing labor, I had to get a Heparin, or "Hep-" lock, which is the start of an IV but without any tubing attached. A "just in case."

Since I desired a natural childbirth, I didn't want an IV line: Studies show that having an IV inserted is the first step to nurses or a Dr. convincing you to go with pitocin or other IV drugs, since the IV is already there. But my Dr.'s policy is to have an IV line; she won't attend a birth without one. Thus, we had compromised with the Hep-lock. I really was not happy about having to do it, but it turns out we were better safe than sorry: It took four different nurses to finally get it; eventually they had to call in an Emergency Room nurse from the IV team. They tried my wrist, my arm, my other wrist, and finally found success inserting the needle between my fingers! It was very uncomfortable as the contractions were coming and going. But I just made them try between contractions, waiting until a contraction subsided before they could try again. If, heaven forbid, I had not had the Hep-lock and had gone into an emergency situation, I don't want to know how many precious minutes would have been lost trying to get an IV line going.

So, Hep-lock taped to my hand, peace and quiet in the room, things started to get pretty intense from there. They kept the lights off, with only the soft glow of the bathroom light through the translucent door. I lay on one side or ther other, turning now and again, and had pillows tucked in all around my body.

I honestly have to say that labor is like REALLY intense menstrual cramps that come and go at regular intervals. The "discomfort" (HypnoBirthing discourages the use of words like "pain"; but let's face it, there I found myself, at the extreme limits of what I knew as "pain"!) was pretty exquisite.

My doula arrived and was a wonderful, calming presence. She was a wonderful complement to the nurses and to Neil. She rubbed my feet endlessly and talked me through some rough patches. At one point she went to lightly rub my hip, and the touch literally felt like she was going to crush my pelvis. My sensory perception was on overload. So she kept to my feet and calves. I had the Hypnobirthing track, "Rainbow Relaxation" playing, as well as ocean sounds, which were a recommendation from my natural-birthing, lactation consultant, RN friend Pamela. She had said that the waves mimicked the ebb and flow of the contractions. I kind of felt like they also went along with the controlled crashing of nature that was going on inside my body.

I went into what some call "Labor Land." Time was completely warped, and passed by quickly. It is hard to explain, but I felt really sleepy and kind of out of it. I think it could be because all the blood was rushing to the parts of my body that were working hard, and not to my brain. Or, nature's natural process was kicking in and my body's own birth-relieving hormones were being produced. At any rate, it is quite a blessing, to feel drowsy and to lose one's concept of time, during a time like this.

I felt like if I weren't so uncomfortable, I'd like to go to sleep. A contraction would come on, but I knew that I could ride it out; I envisioned myself riding it like a wave in the 'ocean sounds' I was listening to (never mind that I am afraid of surfing!). It didn't feel like it lasted very long, and then there would be a long pause between contractions, where I could recover and regroup. Toward the end, Neil, my doula and the nurse were discussing how the contractions were only 30 seconds to a minute apart -- that sounded crazy, because I would have told you that it felt like a good five-minute break between contractions. It's amazing how a reprieve from extreme pain, now matter how small, can be enjoyed fraction of a second by fraction of a second, just feeling grateful for even the most abbreviated moments of relief. At the same time, every time I looked at the clock, another 45 minutes or an hour had flown by. Very wild time distortion.

My back really hurt. It seemed like the contractions started deeply and ferociously in my lower back, roared up through my mid-section, and then slowly went back down my torso with huge claws scraping the whole way down. If you can envision that happening over and over every few minutes, you can imagine what labor is like. Or at least back labor -- I found out later that I was apparently experiencing back labor, as Nile came out face up, so they told me I had been in back labor. But during labor I thought "wow, this is pretty painful on my lower back, but it couldn't possibly be back labor because that is supposed to be excruciatingly painful." I still think I must've had a mild case, but I guess it's all a matter of perspective. I tried laboring on my elbows and knees, but it didn't help the discomfort at all, so I went back to laying on one side or the other.

A big part of HypnoBirthing is imagery, so I continually envisioned the baby descending through the birth path.

I had a baby heart rate monitor attached to my stomach, and I thought for sure that the heart rate would increase during the intensity of the contractions, but it never did. It had a regular rhythm and no increase in rate; it was somewhat soothing. I had heard you could turn the sound on or off periodically, but I wanted it kept on, because it provided a consistent sound anchor for my labor.

I also found myself counting things, mostly the number of lines on the plastic intercom built in to my hospital bed side rail. There were 13 of them. Somehow focusing on the counting helped to distract me, if only a little.

I told my doula and nurse how my back hurt, so someone got me a warm washcloth. I was laying on my side and they pressed it against my lower back. At the moment the heat seeped into my back, I felt a soft POP! feeling and then the flood of fluid as my water broke. I felt like I peed my pants with a pitcher of water. I exclaimed "Oh! I think my water just broke!" and that was fine with everyone in the room.

It was more of a problem getting a change of linens, and that is probably the one complaint I have -- you pay enough to stay in a hospital room, and then they told me they were having trouble finding more sheets, absorbent bed pads, and pillowcases. I'm sorry, but there were built-in cupboards around my bed which should have been fully stocked upon my arrival. That is the piece of advice I would give to anyone going in to have a baby -- insist that you have an endless supply of linens on hand, as soon as you get in your room.

I got up to go to the bathroom and change my drenched, clammy, clinging gown (and I had to wait till they found a new one) and then I had to come back to a cold, wet, soaked bed. I asked them to change it before I got back in, but that took time. If you ask him, Neil is still upset about that and that he didn't realize my need at the time. At any rate, as labor progressed, more fluid gushed out with each contraction, so I understand where they might want to hold back on doling out the linens, but as I said, ten thousand dollars should pay for extra linens on hand and laundry service.

I tried to take a hot shower, but the water temperature was fluctuating wildly (and my skin was hyper-sensitive anyway) and, sitting in a shower chair, the water only hit me on my back or on my front, not both, so I was freezing cold and very uncomfortable, so that attempt was short-lived.

They also sell you on a fancy Japanese soaking tub at the hospital. But labor and delivery nurse Becky didn't really encourage me to use it. After delivery she actually admitted that she thinks it's unhygienic. "Sure it gets cleaned between uses, but by regular janitors ..."

At one point as I labored I felt like things were so intense, I didn't know if I could continue naturally. I said this to my doula and Neil, partially hoping they would tell me "OK, let's get the drugs," but mostly hoping they would encourage me to keep going. To my slight dismay, they were like, "OK, whatever you think is best for you." We came this far for them to say that?!

But I have to thank my doula, because at that moment I think she went out to get Becky, to ask her to check me. Becky came in the room and said brightly but gently, "OK, let's see how you're doing." This was probably around 4:00 in the morning. She checked me and I was at an 8. Only 2 cm. to go! This was extremely encouraging, and gave me total newfound determination to keep going.

I don't know if it was shortly before or after that, but I suddenly felt waves of nausea. Remember that clementine orange I ate in the car? It came up into a plastic enema pan, undigested, in little chewed up wedges. They said that was a sign of the "transition" phase, supposedly the most intense time during labor, when the most cervical changes happen during the shortest amount of time. This also signals that the baby is almost here!

During labor, the nurses had kept me apprised of my Dr's whereabouts. She came to the hospital not long after I was admitted, maybe around 10:30 p.m., and had slept in another room. At some point shortly after the return of the clementine, my Dr. made her first appearance in my room, coming in to encourage me further. She leaned down and told me I was doing great, that "you've got this!" that I could do it naturally and it wouldn't be much longer. Well, she's the Dr.! So I was completely confident at that point.

I actually asked Becky how much longer she thought it would be. She said that based on what she'd seen from other women at my stage and progressing as I was, she predicted that Nile would be born after 6:00 a.m., maybe half-past. That was more than two hours away! I had a long haul ahead of me, though the thought of "only" two more hours was encouraging.

I started to feel like I had to go to the bathroom, so I went and sat on the toilet for a bit, where I nearly fell asleep except for the raging contractions periodically racking my body. Nothing happened on the toilet (hey, we're talking childbirth here, I think we've already crossed the line of TMI) but apparently if you feel like you have to "go" that is a sign that the end is near, as the baby is pressing on the same nerves that give you the "No. 2" signal. Becky said it was great if I could just sit on the toilet, because it would help the cervix to open and the baby to descend, so I visualized both of those things happening every time I got up to sit on the toilet, which I did a few times.

My Dr. had come in that one time to keep me going, but now I could hear muffled talking and laughter coming from down the hall. I felt a little bit irritated by that (pretty much anything irritates you when you're in labor) but Becky said it was my Dr., that she was up and talking to the nurses. "She always keeps them in stitches, we love her!" she added. That was a nice thought, and I was a little less annoyed, especially knowing that she was up and ready for action now.

Becky checked me maybe a couple more times, as she said I was at a 9 1/2 and then 9 3/4. How she can tell the miniscule difference, I don't know. By this point of course the baby's head was pretty far descended and she could feel it, but she said there was a little lip of cervix that was resisting. So she finally said, "let's do a test and see if you can push to melt away this little ridge". So I did, and it went away, and I was at a 10.

Things all started to speed up at that point, but the weird thing was, I was really real, fully conscious, feeling, hearing, sounds, sensations, and it was not softened by any drug or birthing fantasy that I may have imagined during my pregnancy. This was REAL and it was happening now.

In an authoritative, calm but urgent tone, Becky sent someone to get my Dr. and said "we're ready to push". My diminutive Dr. entered the room, and despite her petite size, her reputation as the boss of the delivery room held true. She owned that place. People were going here, doing that, prepping this, and she was in charge, in her enormous gown over her scrubs.

A tall wheeled tray table that had sat quietly against a wall was pulled out, the disposable sheet that was over it was removed, to reveal rows of benignly gleaming silver instruments.

It was time to push.

I didn't really feel the "urge to push" that all the books and HypnoBirthing materials had talked about. But if they said I was at a 10 and ready to push, well golly, I was going to push with all my might.

So push I did, starting at 6:00 a.m. I thought the baby would come right out, with how hard I was pushing. As instructed, I waited for each contraction and then pushed with it. My doula was counting for me, the classic "1-2-3 ... 10". But then I kind of lost my rhythm and with such intense sensations I couldn't really tell when I was having a contraction or not, so I pushed intermittently.

I remembered the advice of my ocean-waves friend Pamela, who has had two babies: push from the top of your stomach (like you're a belly dancer rolling your stomach), not from your nether regions (like you're going to the bathroom).

A side note here along the same lines: I had a fear that I would do something unpleasant (inadvertently go No. 2) during the pushing stage of delivery. Even though everyone says you won't care at that point, I still didn't want it to happen. And I felt like I WOULD care at that point. But it didn't happen (I even asked Neil, to be sure). So if any of you out there share the same fear, know that it probably(?) won't happen; maybe the pushing from the top of your stomach helps?

I didn't scream hysterically, curse, or wail in agony. I did not feel uncontrollable pain and above all, it was a natural process, so I knew I wasn't going to die. Movies and TV shows completely and inaccurately dramatize the labor process.

I asked the Dr. if there was a more efficient way of pushing; I would do anything they suggested. I was in the classic on-your-back, legs-spread position, but HypnoBirthing had suggested other positions, and I had thought maybe squatting could work. There was no squatting to be had; for one, the Dr. would not be able to see anything, but mostly I didn't really see myself trying to get into that position at this point.

At any rate, with each push, everyone was exclaiming that they were starting to be able to see the head! They said they could see a quarter-size part of the head. Then a half-dollar. I was pushing so hard I couldn't believe that was all they could see! Even the Dr. and the nurses said, "Wow, she's strong!" in reference to my PUSHing. I was really giving it all my might. I didn't care -- at this point, nothing really felt better or worse than anything else and I just wanted it to be OVER. My doula had promised me that I would feel better IMMEDIATELY after the baby came out, and if that didn't prove to be true, I could "punch [her] in the mouth". I didn't want to do that, but the thought of immediate relief glimmered irresistibly within my reach.

As I was pushing, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Becky was writing with erasable marker on the translucent bathroom door: "Happy Birthday, Nile!" followed by

Date:
Time:
Weight:
Length:

This was really happening!

Finally they saw more of the head with each contraction, and I think someone may have said that it would only be a couple more pushes, then one more push, and then SUDDENLY, exactly 30 minutes after I began pushing,

She was here!

At 6:30 a.m. on her due date, March 23, 2010.

And I IMMEDIATELY felt better. I mean, better than better; I felt like I had gone from feeling horrible, to feeling like I just woke up feeling great on the best day of my life. Neil still teases me because the instant the baby came out, I exclaimed "I feel so much better already!" It was incredible. I didn't even know what else to do or say. I just kind of watched, because the baby wasn't really making much noise. As soon as she came out the Dr. went into routine mode, suctioning her nose (which was something in our birth plan we had specifically stated we did not want -- too rough of a first greeting in the world). Ah well.

Then the baby let out this low "aghhhhh aghhhhh" sort of complaint of a wail. But it was a low, hoarse sound, not a piercing baby cry. The Dr. was holding her up, and she or someone else said, "we want her to make a good, strong crying sound" but I think her voice was naturally low and hoarse, because she did continue to cry, but in the same "aggghhhh" way. [A year later I can say that her cry has always been that way, to this day.] So I guess she checked out, and her APGAR was good.

I'm not sure if it was before or after that, the Dr. proceeded to clamp the cord for Neil to cut. Another thing we had specified in our birth plan: Please wait for the cord to stop pulsating before cutting it. This can be several minutes or longer. The Dr. said, "Oh, it had already stopped." I am actually pointing to it in surprise in a picture that was snapped, but it was already done before I could say anything.

When they handed her to me, I held her on my left side, looking into her eyes for the first time. They were like little slits, almost swollen shut, but she had them opened and was looking at me with these eyes that were dark blue, but light enough to convince me that I didn't think they would be brown. I was very happy with that.

Neil says I kissed her and said I love you, which I don't quite remember. They then took her over to be warmed up, weighed, and cleaned up.

During this time, the Dr. gave me some stitches. I did allow her to give me some local anesthesia for that! We had a conversation, and my doula asked me about the tiny (but stretched) laparoscopy scar she'd seen on my side from an appendectomy years ago. As I talked, I kept an eye on what was happening in the corner, making sure Neil was with the baby the whole time. It was really weird, and maybe no one will understand this, but I felt so strange, I was transformed into a mother in name only; I didn't feel a surge in pride or love. As the time passes, I see that it is something that grows and grows to infinite proportions. But at that moment in the hospital, making small talk with my Dr. and doula while I was given stitches, I really felt detached, literally and figuratively. It has taken time, but luckily not very much time, to feel completely attached to her, and [saying this now, a year later] I now feel incredibly attached to her and am totally a mother now. I have a complete bond with her.

We then got several pictures with the nurses and our doula, and I could tell the Dr. wanted me to try feeding her, which she then asked me to do. I did and she latched right on, to my surprise and relief.

Moral of the story: If you want a natural birth, I recommend HypnoBirthing as a method toward that end. I don't think you can go into labor without some way to get through it, whether it be HypnoBirthing, Lamaze, an epidural, or whatever works for you. Also, if you don't feel like mom material or transformed at the moment of childbirth, don't worry, it will likely grow on you, and it is the most wonderful feeling.

The Birthday Girl

2011-03-27T23:04:00.001+02:00