First Day Off

I had my first day off after 9 days of tiring work. One day was enough time off only because it was an overload of experience. University students know a similar feeling, sometimes it’s a blessing when the weekend is over.

The difference is my perilous day off didn’t leave me tired due to drinking (well, just a bit). Also my day wasn’t really perilous, it only felt that way.

To get to Gabs from Mokolodi, there were several combi (small vans) and shared taxi trips to take. I had a package on my shoulder and a blind spot the size of a rhino. At 6 pm on a Friday, this meant maneuvering through a sea of African people. The looks I received were confused and entertained by me and my load.

That night we went for dinner and out to a club. It was a very, very intimidating experience in a way I forgot night life could be. We were with three local guys, it was me and 3 Canadian girls. There were many more people drinking and staying in the parking lot then ever went into the packed club. I was surprised by my very low level of comfort. Only more alcohol brought complacency with which to enjoy the night.

The next day Kaleigh (a WUSC volunteer) and I woke up early enough to go to Botswana’s biggest village Macudi. We went on a large bus for a 1 hour trip, costing 8 pula ($1.30 CDN). We visited friends of ours for a small hike, this is where the picture is from. The reaction to us in the village was strong. Many people approached and made us feel noticed from top to bottom. I was offered shake-shake (locally made alcohol) and setswana lessons from different groups of guys. There was a peace corps volunteer, Leslie, who has lived in this village for 18 months. She seemed a bit lonely and burned out as all novelty of being there was gone.

There were two times I felt fear on my day off. The first was at the night club, due purely to the whole experience and not any single event. The second was on the combi driving sporadically back. It is a feeling I now realize I haven’t felt in a while.

My fear was not irrational but my time off wasn’t perilous. All I did was have a night out and use public transport to visit another village.