Finally! I got the pictures to load (it may have taken a small pagan sacrifice) Here is Lesotho:
This is the view from our "hut" at the lodge

A typical house for the area, with rocks on the roof so it won't fly off in the wind (a real possibility, believe me!)

A traditional Basotho saddle

Yours truly, desperately trying to remember girl scout camp- the last place I rode a horse.

The end of the ride, after which my butt hurt for days:

Basotho Ponies & Awkward Americans

I apologize, images will not seem to upload to the internet, foiled again! So for a quick update to those who are feeling neglected by my blogging:
I just finished finals, which were surprisingly difficult and intense (again, that american grade inflation is totally going to get me) but I survived and I think that I can say I learned something (i.e. that being surrounded/ possibly infected by intestinal parasites does not equal applicable knowledge on an exam)But for those of you reading this who are concerned for my GPA (hi mom and dad) I did fine.

We leave for Maun in two days, the ultimate Botswana tourist destination where you can go days viewing elephants and lions without having to encounter a single local outside of the tourism industry. In the meantime I have to pack.....ashes to ashes, overfull suitcase to suitcase in the end. It is surreal; I am putting together a commemorative post for all of the things I will miss in Bots (stay tuned!)

Today is thanksgiving, I thought that I would be really homesick but since it is so incredibly hot and sunny it is really easy to pretend that it is August when there are no holidays to miss. Nevertheless, in an ironic twist all of the americans are going to an indian restaurant to celebrate tonight (don't worry, it took me like 4 days to get that one). I think, also in the american economic spirit, I shall usurp the traditional food in favor of cheap chinese food. We are even going to play "what are you thankful for?" and it has to be something in addition to God, Family, or congressional approval for the healthcare bill.

I will try again later to upload lesotho picture, until then practice patience, I hear it is a virtue. sala sentle!

Typing Fast while Thinking Slowly....Bear With Me

I apologize for having been so remiss in my blogging lately, I have been on another epic adventure. I will only attempt to describe it breifly, however, because a) I am at an internet cafe paying by the minute b) I cannot load the pictures (the best part) untill I am back in Gaborone and c) I have been on a forced march for the past 10 hours by a crazy woman (my friend angene, evidence of her insanity to come in photo form later) and I am so ridiculously tired that I cannot even devise a clever analogy to describe it (we have an overnight busride at 10pm and angene wanted us all to be tired enough to sleep. FYI I have drugs for that which do NOT make my feet hurt). In any case the last five or so days have been really awesome, if involving constant travel.

The trip out:
The second I ended my parasitology final (which I did fine on despite finding gossip girl for free online the night before) Pat and I booked it to the busrank to get onto a combi to Joburg; we then sat on the combi for 3 hours, waiting for all of the seats to fill before it would leave. We got to Joburg 15 minutes before our next bus connection and while Pat went and got food I convinced the bus to wait for us. As I checked in for the two of us, the driver kept demanding "where is your husband? We need to go!"

In which I tried to fake an accent:
We made it to Bloemfontain, where we saw one of the stadiums in which the world cup will be played in 2010 and we managed to find our third friend angene at Naval Hill Backpackers, who had come from Namibia. (Backpackers was nice, cute receptionist, altho there was some serious confusion because the owners were convinced that, since I booked the room under Dupont, they were waiting for three french students)

Local entertainment:
The next day, amid pouring rain and a really sketchy busrank, we managed to make it to our lodge in Malealea where we discovered that it is COLD in Lesotho and we were eventually given jackets by the staff, which I am pretty sure came out of the donations bin and had just not yet been distributed; we must have looked really pathetic (we were). Despite the very wet start, we had a fantastic time in Lesotho, we rode ponies (I discovered that a pony is harder to remain upright on than an elephant, the guide laughed) and we took in epic scenery.

Baboons in the mist & Sarah the attractive Liberian
Defying all odds, we also managed to make it to Durban, South Africa, in one day, 700km and 3 combi rides later (One of which was through a national park that rivalled Utah in my estimation of natural beauty.) We got to Durban, checked into one of the scuzziest backpacker's hostels at which I have ever stayed (there was a 60 yr old fisherman sharing the room with us, more lovely details to come, including the explanation for that title) and managed to sleep anyway.

Death March through the Miami of Africa
Today was the forced march; it included the beach, an indian market (Dad I got you spices), the largest mosque in the southern hemisphere, another 2010 world cup stadium, a glittzy casino, and this internet cafe.

Again, actual stories (not more dull chronologies) and pictures (worth at least 1,853 words each) to come in future posts. The short of it is: mom and dad, I am alive, I had a great time, I probably will be asking you for more money soon and I don't think that hostel had bedbugs. Untill later, keep it real yo!

Blogspot is taunting me/ stone tours guys

I don't know if anyone has gotten to see my recent pics from vic falls (or will be able to read this message) but when I log onto my blog lately I am missing the last three posts; they happen to be epic adventures that should not be missed too! I don't understand the internet so I may sacrifice a small animal to appease the internet Gods just in case.

In other news I just found out that those guys from Zimbabwe got their tour company website up and running. Because it is pretty slick (and I am still convinced that this is a very determined two-man operation) I want to give them a boost. So if you are going to Zimbabwe (please take me with you) check out this link:
http://www.stonetoursadventures.com/
and this unflattering picture of sarah after a 6 hour busride to the Zimbabwe border:


In yet other news I nearly dove across a desk today to do the world a favor and end the life of a petty bureaucrat. I have two exams scheduled at the same time and apparently one cannot just arrange to take the test early with a professor. Rather, at UB, one must report to the academic office by a certain date and make arrangements to take a different test in isolation under the watchful eye of yet another bureaucrat. I did not talk to them by a certain date so instead they yelled at me, told me that it was not their problem but mine, and that despite the fact I had already agreed to take the 2-hour test 2 hours early so that it would be impossible to share answers with other students I still had to take a separate test that the lecturer would have to submit for approval to the department. She then proceeded to keep lecturing me about not talking to her on time and told me to have the prof call her. I went to the prof's office and asked her to call he academic exam office (where she asked me the number and when I did not know then asked me to walk for 20 min back across campus to that office to ask for their number. At which point I looked at her, asked her if she had a directory, she said yes, and I looked up the number). When I gave her the woman's name and number she said, "Ugh! That woman is terrible! I don't want to talk to her. Forget it, take the test and we'll just slip it in with everyone else's afterwards." So many emotions ran through me at that moment after I had just spent 2 hours trying to sort out the mess that was solved by one woman bypassing the system on a whim. I settled on basic gratitude... you know, a little intra-departmental insubordination is all I ask of the world. The point is, don't EVER have a simple, legitimate problem involving the academic administration at UB. It won't be solved and you will spend hours in line in un-airconditioned hallways only to be yelled at by a woman who doesn't even put down the phone to do it. (no I am not resentful)

Finally, I just want to say I am still happy in Botswana; the offices do not detract from the sun, the people, and the awesome fact that I am in southern africa. So just avoid anyone behind a desk with a peeling nameplate and life will be sweet. Until later, peace out yo

Pirates of the Zambezi

The first night that we were in Vic Falls we signed up for a "sunset cruise on the Zambezi with animal viewing, drinks, and snacks" (read: booze cruise)There were only nine of us on the boat and we spent two hours exploring the zambezi where we saw crocodiles and hippos. (our guides later apologized that we saw so few animals and we were like "what?") Beautiful sunset and good company.

When we first arrived at the dock we were suddenly mobbed by traditional dancers (They literally jumped out of the bushes) who kidnapped a member of the group, decked her out in a headdress and preformed Ndebele dances for us all, and tried to sell us CDs. I later figured out that the 10-12 sunset cruises all stagger their departures so that these guys can perform for all of them. I tipped them for decent music and a good business model.


Our guide/pilot insisted that this boat was ours for the duration of the cruise and that we could go at any pace and stop to see anything we wanted. I said great, that I always wanted to try my hand at piracy and asked him to strike a course for the coast. He stared at me and my friends jumped in and insisted I was kidding (liars). Later I toned it down a little and asked if maybe we could just forcefully board another cruise ship and he again stared and then started talking about the eating habits of hippos. By the way, I think that there is an alarmingly strong correlation between the number of drinks sarah has had on a river and the frequency of pirate jokes she makes. (there were a couple of ARGGHHHs in there, oops)


Again, we saw a lot of hippos, which rocked, but my pictures all involve blurs in the distance and I refuse to be one of those people who have to swear that there is something in the picture. Just watch animal planet and you'll get the idea

A lot of the Zambezi reminded me of the bayous: humid and buggy but beautiful. I highly recommend everything in Vic Falls. I have to actually return to classes now so the crazier and miscelaneous stories will have to come later. So as always, details to come!

To the Alps!!!!

All of my friends decided to go bungee jumping off of the bridge over victoria falls. This may surprise you but I DID NOT HAVE ANY INTENTION OF JUMPING OFF OF A 400 FOOT BRIDGE WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE??!! So I had to find a way to amuse myself that day so I would not feel left out. I was perusing a billboard full of tourist activities and it turned out that for the same cost as 60 seconds of heart-stopping terror one could ride an actual elephant through the bush for an hour. OMG I was on that in a flash. I figured that elephant riding was only going to get more expensive and illegal as time goes on so I took advantage of it while I could.
It was a very well-designed system where one of the other guides took your camera and would act as photographer the whole time, hence the awesome pics.


For the life of him, my guide could not figure out why I kept dramatically pointing and ordering "To the Alps!!!"


Yes, I got to feed the elephants. Most of them would delicately pick up the cookies with the "fingers" on the ends of their trunks but my elephant lost a fight to a lion as a baby (read: tried to steal food out of its cage) and hence is missing about six inches off of the end of its trunk. Instead, it just vacuums up anything in your hand- weirdest feeling ever

Dr. Livingstone, I presume; Zimbabwe Part II (Victoria Falls)

(yes, this is a statue of Dr. livingstone and yes, upon seeing it I did say "oh! Dr. Livingstone, I presume!" and all of my friends yelled at me)

After a 12 hour-ish busride (with seats this time!) we arrived in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe (where the border agents are significantly less scary and suspicious). When we arrived at the hostel, a van was leaving and someone popped their head out the window and yelled "Sarah!" I jumped about a mile and turned around to discover my friend Chelsey from Gonzaga who was coincidentally sharing a room at the hostel with us. Smallest world ever! (She has been studying in Capetown, which I vaguely knew but nearly had a heart attack hearing my name yelled out in Zimbabwe)
In any case Victoria Falls ROCKED!!! And once again I have to gush about Zimbabwe. As pictures speak a thousand words and I can only upload 5 at a time, I will post stories from my weekend in three, 5,000 word segments. Here is number one (which is number three chronologically)

Vic Falls itself; one of those natural wonders one keeps hearing about





Coolest thing ever, before you can even see the falls you are getting wet from the spray (very humid, by the way) bottom line: Wonderful times had by all

Lessons from Abroad (Cultural and Otherwise)

The thing about being abroad is that there are moments of intense excitement; like that time that I visited the world's wealthiest diamond mine and tride to steal mining equipment, or that time that we were "casually interogated" at the border by what I am pretty sure was an undercover government agent fishing for reporters and international investigators, or even that time I got into a knife-fight with a polar bear (Have you ever played that game "two truths and a lie?". But there are also periods of intense boredom where you are sitting in your room, missing your friends and family while trying to feel close to them by updating your blog. This may surprise my acquaintances but I am not very good at doing nothing when I have no paints, books, kitchen, etc. Unfortunately, people stare at me enough without me digging through public rubbish in order to find materials for a grand sculpture that I will ditch in a public place (what I did in SLC the last time I was this bored, come to think of it in hopkins too). In any case I suppose it is good because at least I will come back, which is what I think was my mom's real intention when she mailed me "part of my paintset" with only one color (If anyone has seen the stalin piece you know how I feel about that)

In less complaining news I had what I assume was a cultural moment the other day when I was buying milk at the student convenience store and the cashier said to me "but you are getting fat!" I stared at her and thought, "a) I disagree b)Why does me buying milk elicit this opinion when the only other things you sell are pop and french fries? c) I don't really want that opinion from you either way and d)Who are you?." I related the story to my friends who, apparently convinced that I was insecure, insisted that I was quite skinny. My Motswana friend then jumped in, outraged, and said "No she is not! Sarah, you have a good body!" It was at that point that we all figured out that "skinny" in southern africa does not mean nearly the same thing as it does in the US. Either way, after some older women in my politics class also discussed how I look, while I stood there and could hear them, I decided that people here are inexplicably concerned with my figure.

As promised, I managed to finally load the picture of the traditional healer. Pretty cool guy although he keeps "dangerous medicines" in a coca cola can (I wonder if there is any connection with the spiritual healing church?)

Also, this is a combi (public transport around the city) with a bumper sticker on its side that, yes, says titanic. Needless to say, I chose to wait for the next one.