September 30th was Independence Day and I
celebrated with the rest of the community by going to the Kgotla. Although I
have been to the Kgotla many times, this was the first time, I learned that
there was a male and female entrance and sure enough I used the male entrance…
oops! After living in Moshana for a year my village savvy told me if the event
started at 8am, 10am was a good time to arrive. I was not led astray by this
notion and instead had time to get a seat but did not have to wait long for the
festivities to begin. Soon after I
arrived, the women’s choir of Moshana started to sing and I was hit by a wave of
Botswana patriotism. My misguided notions of the peace corps before arriving
made me believe that this would be what my life was like; Immersed in a vibrant
community learning about another culture. Although these “vibrant” moments
exist, they can get lost in the day to day. I need to save this memory for a rainy
day when I forget why I want to be here, because in that moment, sitting next
to my friend, surrounded by my neighbors, and listening to the choir, I felt
like a part of the community that at other times I question the existence of.
Also fun fact our Kgosi (traditional leader) was videoing
the whole thing on his iPhone. Don’t worry at the same time I was
surreptitiously taking photos of my Kgosi.
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