So I'm in Gabs! That's Gaborone, the capital for those of you who aren't all in the know around here.
Last week I went up north where all the famous African wildlife is and it was awwwesome! We camped out for 2 nights in Savuti, where we couldn't leave our tent at night without a torch (aka, flashlight) and a buddy because we could get eaten by hyenas or lions. Needless to say, I just held my pee till it was light out again, especially after I heard all these growling noises the first night (though apparently they were just the elephants) and lions groaning the second night (that was confirmed - they were, indeed, lions). I got to see all sorts of crazy animals - more elephants than I could ever count, warthogs, which I LOVE and are my new favorite animal, hyenas, giraffes, some lions, hippos, and tons of antelope. We also got to go to Zimbabwe to see Victoria Falls, which is one of the seven wonders of the world! We walked along all these paths to see the falls and on one of the last ones, off a side path, we managed to get really close to a baboon and her cute, cute little baby. But then, people tried coming down the other side of hte path (where there were other baboons) and the mother growled at us and we literally had to sprint away from her and another mother and baby as they chased us down the path. It was terrifying at the time, but pretty awwesome now!
The trip back was pretty awful; we had to take a combi, which is like a utility van, with 11 of us plus a driver and "conductor" and all our bags for 6 hours from Kasane to Francistown, then on the overnight train, they booked us in a car that wasn't actually attached to our train, so we ended up with 9 of us in 6 beds and I slept head-to-foot with Laura. Then, we got to Gabs and moved in with our families.
And, oh! Has my standard of living gone through the roof! My house is huge and has an air-conditioning unit and more than one television channel and really comfortable couches and TWO toilets (it doesn't even HAVE an outhouse!) and a shower and a tub and I get my own room with a little bit of closet space! That and the first night, my mom bought me pizza for dinner (did I mention I'm not so vegan here - just Vegetarian? I'm actually really excited to go back to being Vegan when I get home) and the second night we had corn on the cob!
Other than that, all is well; I'm learning the city and all sorts of good stuff. Sending my love toa ll of you at home!
HEARTS
