"Goora motuo go thebe phatshwa"

"There's no place like home."

While it may be a cheesy line, you have to admit it's very true. There is no place in the world like the one you were born, the house you were raised in, with the family that has supported you every step of the way. In less than 24 hours, I will be stepping onto a plane that will take me back to the wonderful land of Kansas. And I'm excited! I have missed my family and friends dearly while I've been here - I can't wait to tell you all my stories in person, to hear what you have all been up to in my absence.

But as time marches forward towards my departure, I can't help but feel sorrow. I don't think I expected to fall in love with Africa, with the people, the places, the animals. I didn't expect to feel so alive here, to feel free. I didn't expect to feel at home.

But over the past seven weeks, I have made a home here. I've made friends that I love more than anything, created memories with immeasurable worth. I've stood before one of the seven wonders of the world in one day and helped dress burn wounds the next. I've grown, so much more than I anticipated I ever would.

So while I may be traveling back to a home in Kansas that I will always know and love, I will be leaving behind a home in Africa. I know a little piece of Bots will remain with me forever.

There's no place like home.

The King of all Breads: Phaphata

If you know me at all, you know I am a huge fan of bread. In fact, it is probably my second biggest calorie source after chocolate (I'm a very healthy person, I know). I like French bread, Rye bread, white bread, whole-wheat bread, Pumpkin bread, bread with butter, bread with olive oil and herbs, bread with cheese, and just regular sliced bread too. So to declare a favorite bread is a pretty big deal for me. Usually it changes every few months, but  I believe I have found the best bread in the entire world in the most unlikely place. Allow me to tell you my journey with the world's most fabulous, versatile, and overall wonderful bread.

Selfies with the best bread ever!

My first week here, you may recall that I went to the Mokolodi Game Reserve (if not, check out my blog post here). While we were there, we were treated to a traditional dinner, full of meat and more meat. Obviously, my little vegetarian self had very limited options so I took the salad, porridge and a piece of very simple looking bread that they offered and ran. I started in on my feast, leaving the bread for last. I wasn't counting on too much - it looked like a bigger, squashed dinner roll. But once I took a bite - I was in heaven. It was toasted on the outside, but the inside was light and warm and fluffy. It was sweet too! It was absolutely the most perfect roll I had ever had. I proceeded to stuff it down my throat as quickly as possible and popped back in line to grab another one...or two.

Or three. I wasn't keeping a very exact count.

Either way, it was absolutely spectacular. But I figured that it was something they only made in Mokolodi, and since I stupidly forgot to ask for the name, I decided I would never taste it again. But that was not the case.

Two days later, I strolled into the Student Center in the morning with one of my friends and we walked up to one of the vendors to check out what they had. Lo and behold, the little piece of heaven was sitting right in front of me! After a small victory I dance, I proceeded to jab with gusto at the bin, asking for a piece and also inquiring what it was. Once they understood my message, they motioned up to the menu board, pointing at the name - Phaphata.

Naturally, I became borderline obsessed with this bread. I would visit the student center every day to purchase some and it became a normal topic of conversation. I'm pretty sure most of the locals thought I was a crazy person - mostly because this bread is so cheap and easy to make that it is just a part of their everyday lives (lucky them). They would always end up laughing that the little American girl was so excited about bread.

Luckily, most of the people in my program became similarly enthralled with phaphata. They introduced me to another version of this bread (I told you it was versatile) - the legwinya or fatcake. The same dough that is used to make the phaphata is simply deep fried. I'm really amazed (and minorly disappointed) that the U.S. hasn't come up with something like this yet.

Thankfully, this week in Kanye, my host mom was able to teach me how to make phaphata! She informed me that Batswana eat phaphata with everything - tea, beans, fries, and everything else. Apparently, it's much more common to eat phaphata with salty food than with sweet food, but I am convinced that it tastes good with both with sweet and salty flavors (although all of the locals think I'm crazy - I'm starting to think that I am mildly crazy).

Because I am such a generous person, I will now share with you the recipe for phaphata. Keep in mind that they aren't really into measurements here - keep experimenting until you find what works best for you!

Phaphata a.k.a. Heaven

Ingredients:
    ~ 3 cups of flour + 1/2 a cup used for kneading and cooking
    1 Tablespoon of yeast
    1/2 cup of lukewarm water (or enough to saturate the dough)
    Handful of white sugar (can add more or less depending on how sweet you want it to be)
    Pinch of Salt

Preparations:
     Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl
     Add the water (just enough to make the dry ingredients knead-able) and knead until there are no  
       large lumps.
       WARNING: The dough will get all over you. Use some of the water to take off your hands.
     Using a bit of the excess flour, create a large ball out of the dough and let rise for 20 minutes.
     Roll the dough into small balls - about the size of your palm in diameter.
     Squish the balls flat ~ 3/4 in. thick and sprinkle with flour

Ready to go in the skillet!

Cook:
     Put a skillet on the stove at a very low heat (should be able to still touch the skillet with hands)
     Sprinkle a bit of the excess flour on the pan
     Place in pan and flip occasionally
     When complete, the bread will be able 1/5 in. thick and will look toasted on the top and bottom,
       but the sides will still be a bit squishy.
     Eat warm!

 The final product!

I am so so so so happy that I know how to make it now! I can now die happy. My journey with phaphata is far from over though! I still have a ton of experimenting to do - how sweet to make it, what to eat it with, and on and on. This is a warning to my family to prepare for a phaphata invasion - you're all going to have to eat it until I leave for school.

This is just a reminder that you all just read an entire blog post devoted to bread. 

Obviously it is that good. 

Go make it.

My Week in Kanye!

Hello again!

I know it's been awhile! I'm so sorry! I really wish I was better at this but in between power cuts, clinicals, classes and whatnot, I hardly have time to sleep, let alone write! I promise I'm going to try to be better, so expect some more posts in the near future!

However, I do have an excuse for my absence this last week. I was in Kanye, Botswana, a small village about an hour and a half southwest of Gabs. On Sunday, all 27 members of my program loaded up a bus and we headed out to live with individual host families for the week!

Initially, I was a bit worried about my homestay. I had picked living in the dorms over a permanent homestay for the entirety of the program so that I wouldn't impose my vegetarian diet on a family, especially since meat is such a staple in most Batswana diets. However, I ended up loving the family I was placed with!

My mom and I on my last day in Kanye!

I stayed with Florence and S.B. Koosaletse during my week in Kanye. They were a very sweet couple and I am so thankful that I was placed with them! I didn't see S.B. (his nickname, never figured out what his full name was) a ton during the week. He actually works in Gabs so he commutes every day, waking up at 5 to get ready and usually not getting back until 7 or 8. Mom was great though! They have 3 grown children who no longer live in Kanye, so she enjoyed having someone to hang out with around the house every night.

 My room!

 I know you're all jealous of my super cool rug ;)

 Their huge kitchen! And it's not even finished yet!

The backyard - they're farmers too!

We were all assigned to work in a clinic while in Kanye. 3 other girls and I worked at Joosub and Aysha Dada Clinic. Since I have yet to really talk about my clinic experiences (I promise, it's coming), I won't say too much. These clinics were definitely smaller and nowhere near as busy as the clinics in Gabs though. They see about half the traffic of Gabs, so most of the patients are gone by noon. These clinics also suffer from severe shortages - both in staff and pharmacueticals. The doctor was only available on Wednesday for the patients - otherwise, a nurse would have to man the consultation room. They also had shortages in TB medication and other commonly prescribed drugs. The nurses would refer the patients to the other clinics, but informed us that when they have a shortage, usually the other clinics have a shortage as well. It's a rather terrifying prospect because these patients can't get their drugs, even though they've waited for hours to see the doctor.

 I spent most of my time in the pharmacy - or dispensary as they call it.

Besides working in the clinics, I also got to spend a lot of time hanging out with my friends! I was lucky enough to live next door to one of my good friends in the program. When we were done for the day, we would typically go back to her place and watch movies. Since I haven't watched TV at all since arriving in Bots, having access to American TV and movies was heavenly. It may be superficial, but it was so nice to have a little piece of home!

We also spent time soaking up the village and the culture! We got to go hiking in one of the gorges there which was quite the adventure. On Friday night, I also got to go to a funeral with my mom - or the beginning of one anyways. Preparations for the funeral typically last about a week, with the burial on Saturday. On Friday, the casket is moved into the deceased house and everyone gathers for a 5 hour funeral service that ends at 3am. Everyone then has a few hours to go home and bathe, then they return to bury the body at 6 or 7. I only stayed for a few hours, but it was definitely an interesting experience!

 The door at the house where the funeral was held - the craftsmanship is just incredible!

 Some people taking a quick nap before the funeral service starts

 Making the food!

Check out all the veggies!

On Saturday, I had the opportunity to attend a Seventh Day Adventist service with one of my friends and her host family. This was my first time attending a non-Catholic service and it was very interesting to see how they celebrate, preach and worship. I was not expecting it to be as long as it was though - almost 4 hours! I'm pretty sure the pastor preached for 2 hours straight. I'm just impressed he didn't lose his voice!

After church, I also got to go to two different weddings! Unlike in the States, most events don't require an invite. So my friends and I went with one of the host families to the first wedding. I didn't get any pictures, but it was a gorgeous set up! It's also a tradition that young women serve the food to all the attendees at the wedding, so we got to all line up to bring plates to the tables! It was a little bit awkward due to the language barrier, but several others were willing to help us out! Everyone was so overjoyed and happy at these weddings - they all seemed to be having the time of their lives dancing, singing, yelling and generally having a blast!

 A tradition where the bride's party and the groom's party meet each other in the middle!

A better view of the bride - she's the one in the blue skirt suit next to the guy in the white suit. This was her 3rd outfit of the day!

By the end of my time in Kanye, I wasn't sure I wanted to leave! It was nice having a laid back week to truly take in all the incredible things I've seen here in Botswana. I almost wanted to cry when my mom told me she would miss me! Hopefully I'll be able to go back and visit her someday!

Looking down on Kanye!

...and the one where I fling myself off a bridge!

WARNING: The following post is long and extremely picture heavy!

So when I left off, we had just finished our adventures in the Victoria Falls Park! Absolutely stunning, right? But what I did next was certainly the highlight of my day!

One option that had been brought up when discussing the trip was bungee jumping over the Zambezi, right next to the Falls. Typically, I'm not a daredevil person and I prefer to stay on solid ground. But something inside of me was just itching to do this bungee jump! I was extremely pumped about it, up until the night before we went to the Falls. I then learned that only about a year ago, a cord snapped and left a woman flying into the Zambezi, which happens to be home to some crocodiles (Sorry Mom, it had to be said). I spent most of the night contemplating if I would rather drown or be eaten by crocodiles (although it should be noted that the woman survived with only a broken leg).

However, I woke up the morning of feeling 100% sure about jumping and I was more excited than ever. Even when most of the rest of my group was feeling butterflies, I was leading the charge onto the bridge! I have no idea what came over me, but I was going to jump off that bridge!

 Victoria Falls Bridge a.k.a. the bridge I flung myself off of

We were scheduled to jump at 11 a.m. and we arrived at the bridge at about 10:30. We actually got to watch another group jump which was one part terrifying and one part thrilling. We then headed up to the headquarters to officially sign up. We all chose to do the "Big Air Experience" which consists of: a zipline across the Zambezi river (crossing from the Zambian side to the Zimbabwean side), a bridge swing, which gives the same free fall as the bungee jump, but you get to stay right side up for the entire experience, and of course, the 111 meter bungee jump!

You had to start with the zipline, so we all got into our little harnesses and headed out! I don't really have any pictures of the event since we had to leave our cameras at the shop, but it was just your basic zipline experience. A good warm-up for the main event!

Once we had all crossed back over, we took our positions on the bridge...

 The view looking out from the bridge!

 And the view looking down! Plus a pretty rainbow :)

In my excited state, I decided it would be fun to volunteer to be the first person in my group to do the bungee jump. And honestly, it was probably the best decision I could have made. I had absolutely no idea what to expect so it all got to be a pure adrenaline rush. When I got up there, I was expecting to have a little pep talk once I reached the jumping area but all I got was a "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, bungee!!" and pushed over the side! I wish I could describe what it felt like to do the jump. It was just beyond anything I could have expected. The adrenaline rush was just crazy. I couldn't really tell up from down or where I was in relation to anything. I just knew that I couldn't imagine doing anything more exhilarating than that in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Getting my harness on!

 Ready to BUNGEE!!

 

After my jump, I went back up onto the bridge to do my bungee swing! I really enjoyed my bungee swing because you had the same thrill as the bungee jump, but you got to see the Falls more. I felt like I was on top of the world! But, as much as I enjoyed the swing, I would have to say I enjoyed the jump more - nothing can compare to the feeling I got from that experience.

Watching closely as I got fastened in!

Swinging above the Zambezi!

After that I got to stand back and watch all my friends jump as well! I honestly loved every single second of it and would jump again in a heartbeat! It was definitely an experience that can't be beat and I highly recommend it to anyone that is even remotely considering it.

After that we crossed over into Zambia and went out for dinner for the night. We were planning on doing a few other activities in Zambia, but they ended up being closed due to the heavy volume of water. Oh well, just gives me more reason to return!

My trip to Victoria Falls has certainly been one of the highlights of my study abroad experience. I have certainly gotten hooked on traveling and I don't plan to stop anytime soon! We are already planning a trip to Mozambique at the end of our trip that I'm going to participate in. I can't wait to experience all that Africa has to offer me!

 Reppin' my Alpha Delta Pi letters during the jump!

My crazy group!

A special thanks to Janine for taking all of these spectacular pictures! You're the best!