Week 68: The Princess of Moshana

November 24^th-30^th

Thanksgiving is quite possibly my favorite holiday and I wanted to share it with my friends in the village.  Going the whole nine yards with a turkey and stuffing seemed a bit too complex so I settled for an apple pie (of the square variety).  A few of my teacher friends and my land lady came over to enjoy the pie which was the perfect way to celebrate with my Moshana family. I tried to explain the saying “As American as Apple Pie” which turned out to be more difficult then I thought so I settled by telling them that they were eating the most American food. The average Motswana doesn’t seem to have as much of a sweet tooth as the average American but luckily my guests all enjoyed the pie and asked me to wait till they arrive to start baking next time.

Earlier in the week I had a meeting with the clinic staff about how we are going to work together next year. Later in the meeting I was encouraging the women to come to the library and borrow books. One of the women claimed she couldn’t read because she didn’t have reading glasses. I asked if she had children, which she confirmed and I told her to have them read to her. She then said that they only watch TV and abuse her, I told her to turn off the electricity and in an attempt at a joke told her to abuse them back. Due to her look of confused horror, I do believe my joke bombed and I accidently encouraged violence…oops!

We had a road safety event in Moshana this week, which was supposed to begin at 6:30 am with a march through the village. Time is a lot more flexible here and thus the boy scouts and I were the only ones to show up at 6:30. When the event did start at 9:30 I was glad to be there because the Kgosi (traditional leader) called attention to my presence and introduced me as the princess of Moshana. I don’t think I have ever been called princess, however, after the event numerous people went out of their way to call me that and I am worried it will stick. However the nickname is a small price to pay for the acceptance and love I feel in the village.