Batswana Superwomen

Last week, the UN was kind enough to fly me back to Kasane for the final days of my internship to observe a women's leadership training. This meant I met seventeen impressive Batswana women, all while living it up in the lap of safari luxury.

The flight on Air Botswana was a significant upgrade from the drive to Kasane I'd made a few weeks ago--planes do not have to deal with monster potholes, nor livestock in the road. Instead of dealing with a tortuous drive, I got to relax in my seat and gaze at the vastness of the salt pans and unending lines of veterinary cordon fence crossing the landscape as I ate my complimentary beef biltong. This was the first of the week's many pleasant culinary discoveries, and I am slightly disappointed I did not opt to try biltong sooner in my time in Southern Africa. Similar, but far superior in flavor to jerky, biltong comes in many varieties: beef, or the leaner game (generally kudu) or ostrich. I've got a hunch I will get my protein fix from the stuff during my upcoming travels.

The conference was held at Mowana Lodge, which sits overlooking the banks of the Chobe River. The rooms have billowy mosquito nets encasing four-poster beds, balconies to watch the sunset from, and all the amenities you could want--I took all the complimentary toiletries for my backpacking trip, but opted to leave the slippers (not so practical).

The best part of the lodge, apart from the lounge where one could gaze at hippos playing in the river, was definitely the buffet...for all three meals. I restrained myself from going too crazy and went on a few afternoon jogs during the week to compensate, but took full advantage of the traditional Botswana taste treats. These included:


**panye**--grubs! These little caterpillars live on the leaves of the mopanye tree and are a favorite elephant nutrition source. Cook them up, take out their little pokey spines, don't think about the fact you're eating a bug, and pop it in your mouth. Crunchy and high in protein--Hakuna Matata!

**kudu**--an African ungulate (deer) with curly horns. The meat is gamey, lean and tasty!

**batata**--when I first saw them, I assumed they were Australian toaster biscuits--that's what they looked like. But the bread is doughier, chewier, and the perfect accompaniment to a creamy soup.

**root vegetables**--squash and beets, always delicious!

**Chobe bream**--my final night at the game lodge, the group ate outside by the bonfire, and I tried this regional fishy specialty. A dense fish, but delicious!

Besides gorging myself, I also enjoyed watching the training and helping out when needed. The UN Botswana director was running the training, and the participants included an impressive array of women. In attendance were: one of the Botswana Defense Forces' first female soldiers (she had to walk 120 km in 36 hours at the end of her basic training!), lawyers who have worked to pass legislation combatting gender-based violence in Botswana, a local chief that hears family law cases, a representative from DeBeers (the diamond company that has mining operations in Botswana), a woman running her own design company, women working in government ministries, the UN, human resources, the Botswana Police Force, and Botswana Prisons.

The sessions allowed time for the women to tell their life stories, discuss leadership challenges they face as women in a patriarchal society, and reflect on how to better balance their strenuous work lives with their families and individual time. These women are well-educated, motivated women, so many of their challenges echo those of women in the U.S.--one noted that in Botswana, a woman has to "work three times as hard as a man to earn the same level of respect". One could argue that these women are not the ones that need leadership training, but I think that alot of them appreciated time to think about how to better manage everything that is important to them in their lives. But yes, perhaps the next step would be to train women not in such high-powered positions how to take greater leadership roles in their communities (this is the former Peace Corps Volunteer in me talking).

The week's sessions ended with an afternoon of individual reflection time, during which many (myself included) opted to go on a river cruise. While I'd done one just a few weeks earlier, the experience is so peaceful, I couldn't pass up the opportunity--and I love seeing elephants! This cruise went further downstream than the one I'd done previously--we saw a lodge where Elizabeth Taylor had one of her many weddings. The women also loved the cruise--though I was reminded I was in a dry, landlocked country when one of them told me how much she is afraid of water and snakes (and spent a good portion of the trip holding onto my hand for dear life after we saw a lizard swimming near the boat).

On the last half day of the training, we were competing for space with the SADC Attorneys General conference happening upstairs. This actually turned out to be pretty cool though, because the president of Botswana, General Ian Khama, was there to open the ceremony and we got to see him come downstairs for a photo op--I was only 30 feet away! I know there was security there, but the atmosphere felt pretty relaxed. I guess in a country of less than 2 million people, with no international disputes, there's not much need for a Secret Service. Oh yeah, and the population doesn't elect the president...the party basically just chooses whomever the vice president is as president when one retires. I can offer more opinions on that later. But my internet time is running out...

We also got to observe the entertainment--traditional dancing and singing--on our tea break. The music in Southern Africa is beautifully harmonious and earthy in it's practicality. When I asked about the lyrics, the translation was: "Don't put this oil on your skin, or the insects will come bite you."

I will keep this in mind as I set out on my travels, especially in malaria zones. The little pearls of wisdom I gained from the super Botswana women I will keep for longer.

Pictures and tales of Namibia when I get a longer connection...

Picture update!: