Maun- First Impressions

So I have been in Maun, Botswana for almost
three days now and have to admit that I am surprised by how different it is than I expected. When I walked out of the small Maun airport with Daniella (who I was extremely happy to see), I found myself looking at a small paved intersection lined with cafes and shops. There were no people walking around with baskets atop their heads or taxi drivers rushing up to us insisting on driving us somewhere, like in Accra in Ghana. In fact, Daniella actually had to bargain with a taxi driver (ironically after explaining that bargaining wasn't necessary here) to take us to her flat, which was only about a 5 minute drive away. The only reason we didn't walk was because I had luggage to drag around, and the sides of the paved streets are lined with sand rather than concrete. Daniella had to remind me that we were in part of the Kalahari Desert, which explained the dry heat rather than humidity I was accustomed to in Ghana. This was a whole part of Africa I had never experienced, and I cannot wait to see what else is in store for me.


I don't want to bore you with the details of how I got here, as the 20 hours of flying was spent either trying to sleep or distract myself with inflight movies or books I brought with me. I flew from San Francisco to Atlanta (4 1/2 hours), then from Atlanta to Johannesburg (15 hours) and spent the night in a somewhat cheap hotel nearby that provided a free shuttle service. I then woke up the next morning and returned to the airport for another short flight to Maun. Although I didn't really get to see much of South Africa yet, it was fun listening to people talk as they all seemed to have slightly varying accents.

After Daniella picked me up and took me back to her place to drop off my stuff, we walked to one of her favorite restaurants in town (a small cafe with vegetarian options set under a canopy in a small garden) and enjoyed each others company as well as some nice light food. We then headed to this American-style cafe (where I am currently sitting) to utilize the free wi-fi service for answering emails and so on. After that we stopped at the grocery store and headed back to her place to cook dinner. It was amazing how easily we fell back into our rhythm; like it had only been a week since our last cooking extravaganza rather than 2 1/2 years. It didn't even matter that we were in a completely different atmosphere. That was also when I got to meet Daniella's temporary roommate Amza, who is a youth that she has worked with extensively and to whom she has very generously offered her home. As is tradition here in Botswana, she assigned me the Setswana name Lorato, which means "love."

Yesterday and today Daniella has had to work, so I have spent the time catching up on reading, writing, and exploring. I walked along the Thamalakane River near her flat, which is flocked with grazing cattle and birds, and then into town today for some food and internet. The streets are so quiet and peaceful, and I find that I feel much safer walking around this town than I did in Accra where I was constantly being harassed by someone either wanting to sell me something or drive me somewhere. I can see why Daniella loves it.







Tomorrow is Daniella's last day of work (which she has promised to cut short so we can make afternoon tea and scones, hehe) before we head out on Friday for our first big adventure. A friend of hers has generously offered to host us at a safari lodge (for free!) in Chobe National Park and then take us the next morning on a safari drive followed by a sunset cruise on the Chobe River. I can't even express how excited I am for this. :D :D :D