Finally Serowe

March 5

Arrived at Tom’s place after a 4 hour bus ride during which we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn. Tom lives on in a ward that did not exist when I was here 39 years ago. He lives in the compound of a man he used to work with in the Framers Brigade when he was here in 1968. They became friends and kept in contact and when Tom returned he was given a space to build his house. I was expecting fairly primitive conditions such as we had before, but the new Botswana has electricity, running water, shower and toilets. He has two rooms and is talking of adding a kitchen/store room. The picture is of the main house with both thatch and corrogated iron.

Then today we went into town which is totally changed. I couldn’t find one land mark that I recognized. The center of town is now dominated by a large sprawling mall with many stores and vendors. It really does look totally unplanned and, I’m told, is the despair of all who care about where the town is going. There are many large government buildings and the old hospital which was close to downtown is being replaced this year by a huge facility beyond where the school I taught at is. The school, when I was there, was considered to be way out of town.

If there is any society that talks about the weather as much as Canadians do, this is it. The monetary unit here is called the Pula which is also the word for rain. The heat has been oppressive in the last month, but broke last week and in the 2 days I have been here the days have been overcast with sprinkles of rain. A good soaking at this time of year would be miraculous. It is time to think about planting the vegetable garden (tomatoes, beans, carrots, but not cabbage which does not do well). Of course I think the weather is great, a sentiment I keep to myself.