Time is now of the essence!

I leave for Botswana in about 3.5 weeks. It just hit me and it is finally sinking in that next semester I will not be here. There are so many things going on in my campus right now and I am trying to attend as many events as possible just to get a sense of my school I can hold on to when I leave.  Even though I am starting to be more excited, I have moments when I realize that I am leaving all my friends behind. I think the saddest are the friends who are seniors that I will neither see graduate nor lay my eyes on them ever again. Obviously there are people I might see again-which would be nice- but I do not think I will see the majority.

It is hard to discuss meeting and pickup places when I get to Botswana without snapping out of denial. My school closes on 22 December. Since the program starts so early- 5 January- I will not have much of a holiday but I am grateful for the 10 days I will get- it could be worse. I am not flying all the way to Botswana; I plan to fly to Johannesburg (South Africa) and then take a kombi (a mini bus) to Botswana. Then I will have to navigate my own way to the university because pickups are arranged for only those who are flying into Botswana.  Finding my way should not be a big deal –actually, I think it will be fun because I will get to interact with the Tswana people!

WORLD AIDS DAY..

 It comes every year without fail and each time it hits really close to home. On this day I am forced to think about Swaziland, my country of origin and the supposed number position of the country as far as HIV/AIDS infection is concerned. According to reliable sources, one in four people in Swaziland is infected. Let us do the math. There are a million people. This claim means suggests that a quarter of the population is infected. That is a lot of people! Deep down it hurts to know that if nothing changes, the infection rate will increase and who knows, this country that appears like a dot on the map might just PERISH.

I feel there is a need for some attempt at a solution. I cannot just stand and watch this pandemic wipe out my nation. However, I also feel change would come as a result of cooperation between the educated young generations. Yesterday I changed my Facebook status to a message about the problem of HIV/AIDS in Swaziland. I thought it was a harmless message and nobody will have issues with it because we all know there IS a problem. I was shocked by the number of Swazis who attacked me. They accused me of trusting sources that are not reliable and also of being brainwashed. It hurt me that instead of focusing on the issue at hand: the HIV/AIDS problem, these educated young people think the situation has been blown out of proportion by the rest of the world. I beg to differ. Besides, I do not even think it matters what position Swaziland holds in the ranking. What matters is THE PROBLEM. Unless the focus is shifted from proving that the world is blowing things out of proportion to fighting the disease, no change will occur in my beloved country. I wish I had a plan…

BOTSWANA BOUND!

I just got storage space for my things while away in Botswana! I am so grateful because that was one of my biggest worries. I also bought luggage for Botswana. Now that these two things have been taken care of, the packing begins! My school ends on the 22nd December and that means that packing really has to commence straight-away because I do not want to leave things for the last minute. 

Talking about doing last minute stuff, I am sending in a bunch of my forms today. My deadline is Wednesday and I am kicking myself for not sending them earlier, a note for next time. I am glad there is scanning and emailing because I find mailing things a bit inconvenient at times; especially when you cannot really send everything at once.

During thanksgiving I received my booklet from the University of Botswana and boy did it get me pumped up! You cannot read it and not be excited. There is just no way...now that I am thinking about it, I think it is designed to excite. I loved how everything was spoken of in such detail that you could almost see these situations in your head happening. Thumps up to the author!

Welcome!

My first blog. Mhhh. I just realised that this blog is being started on thanksgiving. Getting stuffed with turkey has made me realise the things I am thankful for. One of those things is the opportunity to go to Botswana for 5 months on the ACM Botswana Program. I can still vividly remember getting back to my room around midnight, logging into my school email and leaping into the air in excitement! My poor room mate was woken up but who is to judge when good things happen?
I am still debating which part is more exciting to me. Seeing Botswana for the first time? Learning Setswana? Going to an African university? Learning about HIV/AIDS and designing my own project?
This thanksgiving marks the start of most of my practical preparations for Botswana. These include finding a storage place for the belonging I can not take with me and packing for things to take with me to Botswana. In the next couple of days I need to come up with a list of all the things I need to take with me.
I AM SO EXCITED TO GO TO BOTSWANA! At the same time, I am a little anxious about how it is going to be like. I am a junior here in Colorado College and I went to high school in Singapore before coming to college here. I am used to leaving one place for another but I honestly think it is different each time. The experience is never the same and having left home and left one place for another only makes you ready for this new experience; it takes away the fear and gives you hope that everything is going to be alright. I wonder what this is going to be like...