Saturday, March 27, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Fat cakes finale
On our way home now. . . a "tuck shop" just around
the corner from our place. Drinks and snacks are
sold at the little red shed on the left; the proprietors
live in the adjoining house.
As we arrive back home, we are reminded that
no garbage truck has been seen in our neighborhood
for weeks.
The view of the Weiseth manor from outside.
Fat cakes 4
No fat cakes yet. Blast! We consoled ourselves
by watching this roach (near the edge of the glass)
help him or herself to the frosting of this cake.
Malena is less than enthused about our
choice of rolls. . .
Another combi stop. Faithful Batswana on their
way to church.
I have no idea what it is. But it certainly
looks like it was yummy.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Fat cakes 3
Crossing the tracks.
$4 haircuts any day of the week. A bargain at
any price, really - I now look like a shorn sheep.
A very typical view of our larger neighborhood -
electronics stores, car repair, furniture stores. . .
Fat cakes journey 2
Pete atop yet another termite mound.
A combi stop - how the preponderance of Batswana
get around.
Another awesome African playground!
Coke does brisk business in sub-Saharan Africa.
Hike for fat cakes
On Sunday morning, the Weiseth family decided upon the only logical pre-church
option. . . a hike for "fat cakes," which are fried balls of dough that never fail
to please. What follows is a brief photographic showcase of our quest.
Caleb makes his egress through our gate.
Walking down our road.
Can't wait for those fat cakes!
Strength. . . ebbing. Must. . . carry on.
option. . . a hike for "fat cakes," which are fried balls of dough that never fail
to please. What follows is a brief photographic showcase of our quest.
Caleb makes his egress through our gate.
Walking down our road.
Can't wait for those fat cakes!
Strength. . . ebbing. Must. . . carry on.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Botswana pics #3
Shelley standing in front of Villa Weiseth. This
should be home for the next couple of months
until we find a place of our own.
A baby vervet monkey at the little game park
just outside of town. We went swimming at a local
hotel last night, and there we a couple dozen of
these guys running around the grounds.
An impala at the same game park. We also saw
ostrich, kudu, warthog, blue wildebeest, and a
few others.
Botswana pics #2
Caleb and Malena do some geo-engineering
in the back yard with a new friend.
Security's tight at the Weiseth compound
here in Gaborone.
Our first wildlife encounter. This is a
millipede (or so my biologist wife tells
me) locally called a shangilolo.
The view after driving out of the gate at our
house.
First Botswana pics
The final moments of Pete's goatee.
Caleb makes his transport selection at
Heathrow airport.
Caleb and Malena make friends with the
British Airways 747 captain who took us to
Johannesburg.
Caleb at hour 13 of sleep post-arrival.
Monday, March 8, 2010
So, what is Botswana like?
Describing a new country taxes the skills of the best of writers, let alone a hack like myself, but here is a brief initial attempt.
After an all-night flight from London to Johannesburg, we walked the interminable distance across the Joburg terminal, smiling at the willowy 7 foot tall carved African figures, intensely colored beads, and Nelson Mandela figurines in the gift shops, and got in line for our transfer to Gaborone. The Asians are really flexing their financial muscles in Africa - probably two thirds of the people in the international transfer area were Chinese businesspeople, going to development projects all over sub-Saharan Africa.
We haven't figured out precisely what is at work, but having an African as a family member seems to be an enormous advantage while traveling here - we were, as often happens in our African travels, singled out by an airport official and escorted to the front of a very long line to clear customs and immigration.
Airborne and flying northwest from Joburg on a South African Airways Airbus, the land was atypically green. They've had good rain here the last couple of months, and the trees and brush make a verdant contrast with the predominant brown soil. It was mostly flat savanna on our 40 minute flight, with some rocky hills some 1200-1500 feet in height appearing as we were about halfway done with our descent into Gabs.
The city sprawls over a larger area than its 300,000 or so residents might suggest, with gleaming silver buildings downtown showcasing the country's relative prosperity due to its enviable position as the #1 diamond producer in the world. Temperatures were in the low 80's as we stepped off the plane into bright sunshine, with humidity mercifully lower than we remember from our days in Guinea and Mozambique. It is the beginning of autumn here, transitioning from hot and "rainy" (as rainy as you can call a place that gets something like 6-8" annually) to cooler and drier.
We had our entire lives packed into eight "action packers" - plastic boxes that push the boundaries of airline luggage allowances - and as expected only one of them showed up. We filed our missing luggage claim, prayed that they hadn't been torn into by ground handlers in South Africa, cleared immigration without a hitch, and emerged in the terminal to the warmest of Flying Mission welcomes. A full ten people showed up to greet us, from the CEO on down, and we were taken to a very ample guest house about 15 minutes away, stocked by our good hosts with food, bedding, and even toys for the kids.
Caleb slept 13 1/2 hours that night, and the rest of us weren't far short of that.
In our next entry, our first trip to the grocery store, and perhaps some pics of our stay in London.
One final note: We apologize that our posts thus far have been so meager. Internet connectivity has been a real challenge, and so far the connections we have found have been a bit dicey. I keep pushing the "send/receive" button for email, and to find half an hour later that all I have is an error message. We won't have internet at home for a month or two. And we've been encouraged to hold off on public photography. African officials are sensitive to it, and people have run afoul of the authorities for snapping away before the get the lay of the land. We'll do our best to get some images posted here shortly.
After an all-night flight from London to Johannesburg, we walked the interminable distance across the Joburg terminal, smiling at the willowy 7 foot tall carved African figures, intensely colored beads, and Nelson Mandela figurines in the gift shops, and got in line for our transfer to Gaborone. The Asians are really flexing their financial muscles in Africa - probably two thirds of the people in the international transfer area were Chinese businesspeople, going to development projects all over sub-Saharan Africa.
We haven't figured out precisely what is at work, but having an African as a family member seems to be an enormous advantage while traveling here - we were, as often happens in our African travels, singled out by an airport official and escorted to the front of a very long line to clear customs and immigration.
Airborne and flying northwest from Joburg on a South African Airways Airbus, the land was atypically green. They've had good rain here the last couple of months, and the trees and brush make a verdant contrast with the predominant brown soil. It was mostly flat savanna on our 40 minute flight, with some rocky hills some 1200-1500 feet in height appearing as we were about halfway done with our descent into Gabs.
The city sprawls over a larger area than its 300,000 or so residents might suggest, with gleaming silver buildings downtown showcasing the country's relative prosperity due to its enviable position as the #1 diamond producer in the world. Temperatures were in the low 80's as we stepped off the plane into bright sunshine, with humidity mercifully lower than we remember from our days in Guinea and Mozambique. It is the beginning of autumn here, transitioning from hot and "rainy" (as rainy as you can call a place that gets something like 6-8" annually) to cooler and drier.
We had our entire lives packed into eight "action packers" - plastic boxes that push the boundaries of airline luggage allowances - and as expected only one of them showed up. We filed our missing luggage claim, prayed that they hadn't been torn into by ground handlers in South Africa, cleared immigration without a hitch, and emerged in the terminal to the warmest of Flying Mission welcomes. A full ten people showed up to greet us, from the CEO on down, and we were taken to a very ample guest house about 15 minutes away, stocked by our good hosts with food, bedding, and even toys for the kids.
Caleb slept 13 1/2 hours that night, and the rest of us weren't far short of that.
In our next entry, our first trip to the grocery store, and perhaps some pics of our stay in London.
One final note: We apologize that our posts thus far have been so meager. Internet connectivity has been a real challenge, and so far the connections we have found have been a bit dicey. I keep pushing the "send/receive" button for email, and to find half an hour later that all I have is an error message. We won't have internet at home for a month or two. And we've been encouraged to hold off on public photography. African officials are sensitive to it, and people have run afoul of the authorities for snapping away before the get the lay of the land. We'll do our best to get some images posted here shortly.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
safe & sound
Bit of a rush today - here's a cut & paste from a quick email I just sent out. More details and some pictures should be possible in the next week or so
Hello everybody! We have touched down safely in Botswana, and have been welcomed more warmly than we could have imagined by the team here. We were met at the airport by what felt like the entire team, from the CEO on down. We are being extremely well taken care of, with every possible need anticipated and met, and are well settled with every single one of our bags and boxes accounted for in a very ample guest house.
Apologies for not getting word out sooner - we've had power supply problems with our laptop, and won't have internet connectivity at home until we find our own place to live in the next month or so.
Botswana is beautiful and mellow. The rainy season is just ending, so things are quite green, and while it feels hot to us (high 80's or perhaps 90 yesterday), it is well off it's extreme high of a couple months ago, and will be getting cooler. We've been out and about a bit for groceries, and people seem friendly.
I'm on a computer at the main office, and have to go back now to pick up Shelley for a day's worth of errands. Tonight will be dinner with my new boss, Mark, and his family. I think we are set to dine with different members of the team on 9 of the next 10 evenings, which should be a great opportunity to gel with folks here and get a lot of questions answered.
Thanks for your prayers and support!
Pete
Hello everybody! We have touched down safely in Botswana, and have been welcomed more warmly than we could have imagined by the team here. We were met at the airport by what felt like the entire team, from the CEO on down. We are being extremely well taken care of, with every possible need anticipated and met, and are well settled with every single one of our bags and boxes accounted for in a very ample guest house.
Apologies for not getting word out sooner - we've had power supply problems with our laptop, and won't have internet connectivity at home until we find our own place to live in the next month or so.
Botswana is beautiful and mellow. The rainy season is just ending, so things are quite green, and while it feels hot to us (high 80's or perhaps 90 yesterday), it is well off it's extreme high of a couple months ago, and will be getting cooler. We've been out and about a bit for groceries, and people seem friendly.
I'm on a computer at the main office, and have to go back now to pick up Shelley for a day's worth of errands. Tonight will be dinner with my new boss, Mark, and his family. I think we are set to dine with different members of the team on 9 of the next 10 evenings, which should be a great opportunity to gel with folks here and get a lot of questions answered.
Thanks for your prayers and support!
Pete
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