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Back in Gaborone for part 2 of the project - a far more civilized trip over this time arriving at 8pm ( ok that was 2am Perth time from an 8am start) and the chance to sleep before going into the Ministry offices. Ash & Bruce might disagree with me, as their checked in luggage didn't follow us here from Jo'burg till the next day, reinforcing everything I say about any more than hand luggage...... Needless to say my checked bag with all the training gear got here fine.
The department we work with has moved since last visit, now in a building in town rather than at the Ag research station. Sounds good but two months since moving they still have a single landline to the entire office to serve 25 people, and many lights don't work..... We decided to get ourselves mobile connected without any attempt at an office network login etc. A bit of fun & games trying to get the iPhone happening, in the end the iPad is connected online and I have picked up a basic handset (calls only, and no keyboard to text, aaaagh it takes forever!) to be in touch.
Unfortunately things aren't terribly well organized re the courses we are supposed to be delivering, the office move has coincided with some people moves and the warmer weather has invoked Africa time - it all has a very familiar feel and I keep breaking out in Indonesian phrases. Course 1 starts today, it took all day yesterday to get the printing of course books done with the last docs running through a photocopier at 5pm last night with the printer, his contracted outsource and I all standing by and the big print machine idle, all jammed up. Just as well the G&Ts remain plentiful and cheap.
At least this trip has afforded the opportunity to sample the fabled pork spare ribs - last time there was a national shortage due to Foot & Mouth (FMD) restrictions. We visited one border checkpoint yesterday ( between visits harassing the printer) and see there is now a national restriction on fresh produce as the fruit fly (BI) that was the object of Bill & Sonya's work last time is now in South Africa as well as Zimbabwe and Botswana's northern production area - this may be the one that got away as far as the southern part of the continent goes. For the plant protection guys here, SA's affliction is actually a point in favour, as it means that for once a plant pest or disease demands recognition and some of the border controls that have been recommended since Adam was a boy are slowly being implemented.
Generally speaking all's well. Our assigned driver this time is very creative, which is not having too much affect on Ash & myself but provides us with entertainment watching Bruce's reactions - if he wasn't already grey he would be by December!
Not a lot of photo pops to date to illustrate this entry, but I have had the new camera out a few times and will be interested to see if the last few months frustration with the Lumix can indeed be reasonably attributed to the camera rather than operator as I suspect - maybe it was knocked around just a bit too much over the years. Problem is, this baby is not a pocket job (I did see a very appealing Olympus on the way out, speaking of pocket jobs) so if I get used to carrying something larger again it will probably be step 1 of a reconversion to an SLR......
- comments
Lyn And how much are the G & T's?
anita One bottle of Gordon's @102 pula - divide by 7 for Au$! but then add about 70c for each can of tonic - might start skipping the tonic......
Kristen Sounds like it's a good thing you are a patient person and a problem solver! Good luck!