Wrapping Up Ramotswa

    

The crew--final farewells

      Today we left Ramotswa. In a whirlwind of disorder we rushed around the village fulfilling different peoples’ needs…we dashed to the District Health Office, finished creating our AIDS awareness pamphlets, packed, cleaned, tied up loose ends and finished unfinished business.

Yarrow, distributing pamphlets

This is the usual scenario for me when preparing to go away for a long period of time… usually my unorganized brain is too occupied with last-minute to-do lists that I don’t allow the sad feelings that go hand in hand with leaving to surface. Maybe it’s a tactic that I’ve developed over the years to help prevent my emotions from taking over—who knows? I am terrible at goodbyes… I would rather just evaporate and leave a happy memory behind. BUT, this time, I didn’t vanish mysteriously… I said my goodbyes… fighting back tears and allowing laughter take over. 

Mir with the finalized pamphlets

      Now we at a youth hostel in the Mokolodi Nature Reserve (just outside of Ramotswa). I saw white people for the first time in three weeks. It was initially shocking—trying to converse with my fellow white travelers. I began to get used to the Batswana way of life—the straight-forwardness, the honesty, the trueness of their nature. At first, to me, these cultural norms seemed ludicrous; now they seem customary. There are no social barriers between people in rural Ramotswa—there’s no bullshitting. If someone wants to be your friend they say, “I want to be your friend”. In the western world, there is a complex process behind building a friendship… you start from the bottom then work your way up. In Botswana, there’s a striking togetherness. People are accepting, loving, blunt and so honest. I started to forget about the strange taboos that exist in the Western world… ones that I’m now working to break away from. There are implicit undertones in almost everything that people say. We are expected to understand the subtle hints… everything means something else. 

Sunset in Ramotswa (photo by YarGnar)

         

I feel both accomplished and unaccomplished. I’ve achieved a lot in Ramotswa—I taught fifteen people the ways of Photoshop. I’ve created a pamphlet for the District Health Office that will help them build AIDS awareness. I’ve crocheted many hats for the sick people. I’ve given all my time, my money and my energy to the program. I’ve made some wonderful friends. I’ve learned so much about myself. At the same time, three weeks was too short… too short to see the fruits of my labors… too short to make long-term change… Yarrow and I were just beginning to understand how things work and now we are gone. I feel like we’ve helped a lot, but I wish we could have stayed longer. At the same time, it was mentally and physically draining—staying longer would have been difficult, but leaving is also difficult. There’s no easy way out of this one.  We’ve done our best and that’s all we can do.

Dancing in the moonlight

Memories--gettin' down African style.

My time spent in Ramotswa was enjoyable and disheartening. Frustrating and satisfying. Difficult and easy. Uplifting and depressing. It has brought me contentment… followed by sadness.  I’ve laughed and I’ve cried. There has been a complex array of emotions that I’ve felt. I’ve found that the only way to summarize my time in Ramotswa is by contradicting myself. It has been confusing and enlightening—a wonderful learning experience. 

Eating with our fingers

Back to Cape Town tomorrow… We met a couple in Botswana named Hillary and Willem. These two own a farm down the Garden Route in South Africa. They’ve invited us to come stay with them for a while. They have a dozen horses, a vineyard, a garden and a spare bedroom—what more could you ask for? We had an instant click with them and are looking forward to living on their peaceful farm in Villiersdorp. Making wine, riding horses and gardening sounds divine! Can’t wait…

Some of the work I did in Ramotswa:

THE FINAL PRODUCT, INSIDE

FINAL PRODUCT, OUTSIDE