A month?

I have not written in a month? I greatly apologize for the lack of writing lately. I have found that my free time recently has been saved for naps, eating or reading. When I arrived at the University, none of the classes that I had intended on taking were available (go figure), so I had to pick all new classes. I had been contemplating for some time dropping my special ed minor, and picking up a different minor because although special ed is very interesting to me and would be very helpful in teaching, I do not want to specialize in special ed. So, I made the decision that I would drop the minor and use the semester to gain 12 credits towards my new minor, in order to catch me up. After battling between science and english, I landed on english. What does this mean? In Botswana I am taking all classes about english; poems, books and essays that I would easily be able to read in the states. Oh well. Why did I just tell you all of this? So that when I say my free time has been filled with reading, I really mean it! 4 English classes leaves me with a lot of books and essays to read! I am thoroughly enjoying it though, and find it very interesting to take the classes here. The way in which they teach students about books and styles of writing is far different from in the U.S., and I believe it will give me more knowledge about English as a language. I am still trying to get used to the British English.
Well enough about school! Who goes abroad to actually GO to school? I have been having an excellent time since the last time we spoke. I spent one weekend at a place called the Khama Rhino Sanctuary which was about 4 hours away in a city called Serowe. It was a fantastic weekend! We got to stay in a chalet within the park where we spent the day going out on game drives to look at animals, cooking very good potato-cheese-carrot-onion foil packets over the open fire, and swapping stories about experiences from home. The game drives were great! We brought our own car, so we were able to go on rides whenever we wanted (we even choose to do a sunrise drive!). To give you an example of how close we got to some of the animals imagine that you are standing on the sidewalk. The animals were standing on the other side of the road-SUPER close! We of course saw impalas, warthogs and ostriches (these tend to be seen in high number all over Botswana), along with Rhinos, Giraffes, waterbuck, wildebeest, and zebras! It still shocks me every time I see these animals. Although I have seen them all behind bars at the zoo, there is much more excitment in seeing the animals in their natural habitat. It also seems much more exciting because you are driving around looking for them: there are no guarantees. The Khama Rhino Sanctuary was set up a while ago when Botswana, and AFrica in general, started to lose a lot of their Rhinos due to poaching. They decided to find as many of the remaining rhinos as they could, and bring them to this nature reserve in order to protect them from extinction. Although the animals were brought there, there is a vast amount of land for them to roam, and  they still do whatever they please. They are not fed or taken care of, they are simply just protected from poaching. One of the nights that we were there, as I was heating my banana boat over the fire (slice a banana in half, the long way, add peanut butter and chocolate, put in foil, and cook), two of the guys I was with and I heard what sounded like stampeding coming from the high grass right by our chalet! I looked to the guys, who are from Botswana and are very familiar with the animals, with a look of "What the hell do we do now?". After we saw a set of eyes in peering over the grass, and some more stomping they told me to move as quickly as I could into the chalet. I thought I was a goner. However, as I fled to the safety of the chalet, they stayed outside and looked around with their flashlights. About 2 minutes later they told us all to come outside and look; there was a water buck about 10 feet from the door of our chalet-so cool! It is experiences like this, that make me so thankful that I decided to study abroad in a place where I was going to experience things that I really could not get in the U.S. Instead of having the chance to see bears or deer while camping, I have the chance of getting attacked by a rhino or visited by a waterbuck-How much better is that? The weekend that we spent there was a great experience. I not only got to learn a lot about the animals of Botswana, but I also got to get to know some of my friends a lot better, and got the chance to see another part of Botswana.
Since that I weekend, I have spent much of my time relaxing, getting to know the immediate area I am in, and hanging out with the friends I have made here. It is a crazy feeling to think that in about two months I will be saying goodbye to all of these people, and probably never seeing them again. For me it really saddens me that I will be leaving the local friends I have made. Although I will be able to keep in touch through facebook, it will be much different that actually being a part of their lives. As for American students, I can only hope that I get the chance to visit all of them at some point. I at least know that I have places to stay as I travel around the country! I have finally taken two tests here at UB. The first one was an english grammar test. How ironic huh? It is very interesting learning a language that is your native language, let alone form someone who has it as a second language. Unfortunately my professor for that class is very soft spoken and slightly hard to understand, so I miss about 50% of the information in that class. However I used the internet (and my gut instincts) and headed to the test feeling prepared. I have never been so confused by the english language! I spent the first 5 minutes staring at the test, trying to figure out what exactly the teacher wanted. AFter I picked which part I was going to do, I started the exam. I walked away from the test flabbergasted that had done so poorly; how poor of an American representative would I be?! Haha. I talked to my friends from that class and realized that they as well thought the test was ridiculous and very confusing, which was for some reason comforting to me.    We will have to see how I actually did on the test, but I am hoping I didn't bomb it! I took my second test this morning. Yes, it is a saturday, and yes I had a 9am test. I spent all last night quizzing myself and friends about HIV facts, the reproductive system, and Botswana health history, and felt very prepared for the test. However as I walked out of the lecture hall this morning, I was again VERY disappointed, only this time for a very different reason.  Every question was confusing. The wording, the mistyped words and sentences, the matching questions that had NOTHING sitting on the other column that remotely matched the term, and many other problems made the test impossible for me. I knew the information that every question was talking about, however I could not understand the questions or what the professor was looking for. I talked to my friend who is very good at science after the test and she reassured me that she had the same difficulties, and that the test was very confusing. It is hard to be a student at UB. Although the information that I am learning in all of my classes is fairly easy to understand, I find the hardest part about passing within the grading and expectations of the teacher. It really shows me that we become a student of the system we have been trained in.
Now for the big news: Fall Break! I traveled with three other friends to the coast: Ponta D' Ouro, MOZAMBIQUE!! We left last friday morning around 5 00, to catch an early bus. Our travel was a 6 hour ride to Joburg (In South Africa), a ten hour lay over there, and then a 12 or so hour ride to the Maputo, Mozambique! I will spare you the details about the ride, however I will tell you that we had some bumps along the way. Two of my friends arrived at the border of Botswana, very excited for a week of fun, and realized that they did not bring an ORIGINAL copy of their waiver (basically like our visa for Botswana). As Laura and I had passed through the border and were sitting waiting for the bus to leave, our friends Shannon and Jen came running onto our bus telling us that they were not able to get back on the bus. They had to go back to UB and catch the bus the next day! :( Laura and I traveled on saying goodbye to our friends, not knowing where or when exactly we would see them next. As we sat in Joburg having a drink and waiting for the many hours at the bus station, we heard HEY!!!!. Our friends had made it to Joburg! I was shocked! They told us about their adventures and how they had ended up hitch-hiking to bus station. We were finally back on our way! We arrived in Maputo, Mozambique around 9 30(an hour late) and went to find our ferry that would take us over to Catembe, a city across the bay. As we stepped off of the ferry, we wandered around searching for our ride to our resort. As we walked around, a truck with many people standing in the open bed in the back came around the corner with all of the people singing and dancing, dressed up in suits and dresses. It was a wedding party! It was a great welcome to Mozambique. Next we took a 3 and a half hour drive to our resort. The ride was through what they called streets, but what we would call sandy trenches in the U.S. The driver was very good though, and did a great job of maneuvering through the sandy bumps. When we finally arrived at the resort we were VERY ready to be there, and we were not disappointed! Our resort was very nice with a pool, bar/restaurant, outdoor upstairs bar/pool table area, a rooftop for star gazing, and the best part of all A 3 MINUTE WALK from the door of our room to the beach!!! It was truly paradise. The vibe was very relaxed and welcoming, and our room was great. We stayed at a backpackers, so we had a room for the 4 of us, with a bathroom, and a 2 person room attached. We also had a kitchen right outside our room, so we were able to cook our own meals. We spent much of our days on the beach. The beach was not crowded at all, and we were not in a very touristy area, so we pretty much had everything to ourselves. The water was some of the bluest water I have ever seen, with a crazy current and huge tumbling waves. When we were not playing in the ocean,  we were spending time getting to know the area. There was an awesome traditional style market within a 5 minute walk of our resort. So we would head there to buy tomatoes, onions, and fresh bread almost every day! The food was SO cheap, and the bread was fantastic. You walked through a little alley way behind the market, where there was a little opening to room where there was a stone oven built into the wall, a table with tons of fresh bread, and about 6 guys crammed in there making change and trying to get you to buy as much bread as possible. The market was probably my favorite part of the trip. It was not a tourist trap, or something set up for outsiders, it was a market for the locals, by the locals. There were families selling the crops that they grew, along with some other random bags of pasta here and there. I ate cheese and tomato sandwiches every day for lunch and I was very pleased. Another day, we decided to rent two ATV's and drive on a road down the coast, towards a spot called 360. We were told that here we would be able to get a 360 degree view of the area. The ATV's were a blast! None of us were experienced riders, so the the sandy trenches were very hard to maneuver at first. However once we got the hang of it, we were zipping along! The view on the entire ride was fantastic. On one side of you you had the ocean and some little houses, and on the other side you could see for miles and miles of fields, along with some little groupings of houses made of sticks and mud. I felt like I was in a movie. We got to see little villages where locals were living, and there were little abandoned huts that had names like "Beer here" on them, along with little stands where people sold their crafts. We got to 360 around lunch time and had the chance to grab some food there, in the shade (it was SO hot that day!!). The view was just as everyone had said, absolutely gorgeous. You were standing high up in the air, with a view of the entire area. Although we had somewhat of a hike to get up there, it was well worth it! We traveled for a bit longer after 360 and just as we were about to turn around and head home, we came across a little area with lots of crafts. There were wooden bowls, sculptures, trinkets, and most importantly DRUMS. For those of you that did not know, one of my main goals of this entire study abroad experience was to buy and african drum and learn how to play it! I saw a gorgeous drum right off the bat. It was not like many of the other drums I have seen here that seem like they were made in a factory somewhere. You could actually see that they were handmade: the carvings, the skin top, everything! I battled back and forth with the man about how much I was going to pay for the drum. I put 400 pula in his hand and said this is all that I have! He was still refusing to give it to me. I told him to hold on, as I walked over to my friend to see if she would lend me any money. When I returned he had pocketed the money and refused to give it back! He just smiled and said, just give me 100 more. I was shocked! So, I immediately picked up the drum off of the floor and said if you steal my money then this is my drum! I was so proud of myself for grabbing it right away, because there was then nothing he could do about it. He just laughed however and said sure, sure, and walked away. It was quite a funny interaction but I am proud to say that I am now a DRUM OWNER of a very great drum. Now, I just have to learn how to play. We then rushed back to the place where we rented the ATV's because we were a bit late, and headed to the pool for the evening. The rest of the week we just hung out, rented some boogey boards and attempted to swim with some wild dolphins (we went out for a ride, but now luck!). It was a great trip. Although school is not very stressful here, it was great to get away from school and its every day schedule and have a break, and a chance to explore more of the continent. At the end of the week I was incredibly sad to leave. I really believe that Ponta D' Ouro had some of the nicest people I have ever met. They were very giving, honest, friendly people. They wanted you to enjoy your time there, and they wanted you to see as much as you could. I really hope to go back there someday, it was really fantastic.
After leaving the beach and having to go back to reality not much has been going on. The lemons on the lemon trees around campus have become perfect for picking, the temperature has been incredibly high (with no ocean for relief!), and the classes have continued. I am half way through my experience already and I can't believe it! This next weekend I am headed on a Safari in south africa with Laura's family who are coming to visit. I am so excited! Another chance to see animals and explore another part of Africa. I have found that every country is very different from each other, and I wish I had the time to see them all! I hope that all of you are doing very well at home and that the sunshine is starting to come out. I am almost jealous of the weather you will have soon, as it has been a lot of hot sleepless nights for me lately.  It is 5 o' clock here right now and 100 degrees. It is WAY too hot in these rooms. I will give you all the link to my photos; I believe that they tell about my experiences much better than I can explain in words. I would love to hear from all of you, and miss you all very much. It's only about two more months and you will be able to see me face to face!
I will try not to wait so long for the next entry.
P.S. On the trip, I went with one other girl who burns very easily, and two people who do not burn. However, they got a bit cocky on the trip and guess who got the LEAST burned of everyone?!? Yes, it was me. I left the trip with sunburn only on my nose! If you have no reason to celebrate right now, let that be your reason.

Much love to all of you!