Village

Visits to Mochudi to see my friend Bessie continue to be some of the most refreshing and relaxing parts of my time here. Whenever I have the time to (which hasn’t been all that often lately) I like to take the bus-ride up to Mochudi. From the village center where the bus drops me off, I flag down the route 3 combi and ride it for a few miles to a little store, where I pay my 40 US cents, get off the combi, and walk another 20 minutes or so to Bessie’s house. I love walking through the village after the hustle and bustle of the city. Old women, sitting in their fenced-in yards under a tree or on their porch (if they’re lucky enough to have one), talk to the neighbors, prepare a meal, or just enjoy the afternoon. They nearly all greet me as I pass down the dirt road, and if there are children running around the yard they’ll stop to shyly wave or try out their English greetings. Here and there a donkey cart with a team of donkeys stand under a tree, lazily swinging their tales and not taking notice of much other than the flies on their backsides. If it’s later in the afternoon, groups of chattering school kids pass by, slowly making their way home (and giving me obvious looks, probably wondering what in the world a “lekgoa” like me is doing walking around their roads). It’s a much slower pace of life, and walking through it makes me feel a bit more in touch with Botswana and its people, many of whom still live in rural villages despite the rapid urbanization that is taking place here.

For those of you who helped out with Bessie’s house-building project, you should know that she is getting close to being able to break ground. When I visited her last week, she had purchased all of the doorframes and windowframes that she needs. She had been planning to buy a load of sand, but decided that with all the recent heavy rains it would probably be a better idea to wait for a bit so it doesn’t all wash away. The rains are slowly ending, though, so soon they should be able to start tearing down the little pantry-type building that now stands where the new house will go. I will keep you updated as things progress.