Maroundas and other games

I was reminded this week about how much I love working with students.  Tuesday was my last day of antibiotics that had been making me nauseous since last Friday.  I had a big day, a morning double period with the students at GSS, a long period of waiting at school, hopefully implementing our project with my group members from UB, and then a 3:00pm history class.  I thought about waiting until after school to take the first dose of the day, but decided to stay on track and just get them over with as soon as possible.

For the project, each group had to choose a traditional game, go out into the community, observe people playing the game and then uncover the mathematics used in the game.  Our first mistake from a few weeks ago was choosing a game that is not played around here.  We thought we could read about it online and then discuss the mathematics and were thinking about choosing mancala . When we talked about it with the lecturer, he asked if others had written about the mathematics of this game.  I proudly thought “yes!” thinking that we had found a good one.  He said that others have already done the work that we needed to do for this project.  I was missing the whole point of the assignment, thinking he wanted a report of what researchers have said about the game.  No, he wanted us to experience the game and actually uncover the mathematics ourselves.  This makes total sense now and is a much better idea. 

My class at GSS ended at 10:00 and I told the students that I was looking for five or six volunteers to help with a group project for the university.   I’d been working with this class every day for two and a half weeks and I was thrilled that many of them were willing to stay after class and talk to me.  I had a list of three games from one of my group mates and they agreed to show us how to play maroundas at 1:00pm dismissal.  They said they would need a ball like a football (soccer ball).  One of the students walked me over to where we should all meet up later.  This will become important later in the story.

At 12:30, the running late texts from my UB group members started coming in and I was starting to get anxious because we had already missed many group meetings before.  I got to the spot a few minutes before dismissal.  The students have lunch from 1:00-2:00 and then various types of study and activities from 2:00-4:00, but classes are finished for the day at 1:00.  I was surprised that I didn’t see the students from my class because they seemed so eager to volunteer.  I began to question myself.  Are they here and I am just not recognizing them?  I walked up to random groups of confused students, who I’m sure were wondering what this lady with the football wants.  When of my group members arrived I told him I wasn’t sure where the kids from my class were, but maybe we could just go up to random students and ask them to help us out.  I must have been riding the high from the eagerness to volunteer earlier because the students that we didn’t know had no interest in helping us play a game.  Most were familiar with the game but said they would need many people to play, twelve or so.  This confused me because my students didn’t say anything about needing so many players.  At this point, I still had no clue how this game is played.  I think the students that we didn’t know felt like it would be a lot of effort and possibly socially risky to try to strike up a game on the spot for adults they didn’t know.  I was frustrated that no one wanted to help us, but I think I understand the reasons now.  Our third group member showed up at some point during all this.  They wanted to postpone for another time and I definitely was feeling the opposite, like I wanted to start bribing students if necessary.  It wasn’t working and Ivy said she could make a video of some younger children playing one of the other games that was suggested to us.  We agreed to meet the next day at 2:00 and I was disappointed and not feeling well.  Oh, and in the middle of all of this, one of our group members got a text that another group already chose maroundas and we couldn’t do it anyway.  This is why Ivy said she would find children playing one of the other games.  I was also very confused and frustrated by this.  How were we supposed to know that another group chose it?  There was never a process for groups choosing a game, it wasn’t written on the group sign-up sheet and the lecturer never said anything about this being a problem.  I set back into the school grounds, defeated, to find the owner of the football (who had driven home earlier in the day to pick it up for us) and return it. 

When I turned the corner of the big building that we had all been in front of for the past 45 minutes, I ran smack dab into my students!  They were at a different entrance to the building and were cheerfully wondering where I was.  It turned out that the student who showed me where to meet was not actually a part of our class and so she took me to the front entrance of the building, but my group was waiting for me at the side entrance that leads directly into the auditorium.  How could I have been confused about which students were from my class?  I recognized them immediately.  I did not tell them any of the drama of the past 45 minutes, we just went into the gym and played the game. 

The students had failed to mention they needed chalk to make the playing area, but I imagine that could be improvised if there was no chalk.  I happened to have a few pieces in my pocket from class.  A student made a playing area on the floor.

 

There seem to be many different variations, but this is is how a student explained it.

There are two teams.  A player from one team stands in the circle on the left and is the kicker.  A player from the other team stands in the other circle and is the pitcher.  It is basically a very simplified version of kickball.  The pitcher rolls the ball and the kicker must put the ball in play.  The pitcher runs after the ball and brings it back to the circle.  Meanwhile, the kicker is running back and forth between the two circles scoring points.  When the pitcher gets back to the circle with the ball, the kicker must be back on his/her own side of the centerline.  If the kicker is caught on the pitcher’s side of the centerline, the kicker is out.  The kicker is also out if the pitcher catches the kicked ball in the air or if the kicker didn’t kick the ball past the centerline (must kick it forward, not to the side, no foul balls).  The game is over when all the players from one team get out.  I asked about the points that were accumulating while the kicker is running back and forth.  They said you could also play according to points or that scoring can be used to get players from your team who are out back in the game.  Also, some of them said that you score a point each time you get to a circle and others said you score a point each time you get back to your own circle. 

When I left 45 minutes later, my mood was light and cheerful.  It has been wonderful taking a break from the classroom for the past four months, but there is something about working with students for the past month that has reminded me of how rewarding and grounding it is.  I’ve had a similar feeling after leaving some of the lessons I’ve been doing with them and am happy I chose an inquiry project that works directly with students. 

I’m still not sure what the name of this game is.  According to the GSS students, this is maroundas.  When I got home, I showed my housemates a video and they said that maroundas is played using four circles, not two, and this game is called “dila.”  This is interesting because if there were four circles, the playing would look much more like baseball, and “maroundas” sounds like “rounders.” So maybe that is the connection.   

Cape Town to Kasane

My mom’s comment on my last blog post was “uh.”  I assume she meant reading the mathyness felt like listening to adults in Charlie Brown talk, so I’m following it up with one full of photos of time spent with Courtney, Ali and friends.  Last month, I was extremely lucky because two friends traveled all the way across the ocean to visit for a week.  We made two amazing trips – one to Cape Town, South Africa and another to Kasane, Botswana.  

The trip started at a beach house with Drew and Rowan, two new friends I met though Courtney.  They live in Johannesburg and are both musical directors who often travel to Cape Town for work.  Rowan needed to be in Cape Town for a two-month run of Sweeney Todd and is staying at the beach house of a friend.  All I knew from Courtney was that we were staying at a “bungalow” with “bunk beds” and that it was small. I was shocked to arrive to a gorgeous house.  There were no bunk beds.  Courtney arrived the day after Rowan, Drew and I.  We kept asking if we should tell her how nice it was.  We decided instead to send her texts like “Well, at least there are towels.” 

These are some shots from the balcony and inside the house.  There are also some other random scenes from walking around town. 

I learned a little bit about the history of Cape Town.  On Saturday night, we went to see a musical about District 6, an area in the center of town that was established in 1867.  By the turn of the century it was a thriving, exciting, mixed neighborhood.  As the play described it, the harmony of the different working class people living in District 6 was an affront to the apartheid government.  In 1966 it was declared “whites only.”  In the following decade, 70,000 people were forced out of their homes and the people were racially separated.  This even included sending members of the same family to different places.  The play ended with the announcement that everyone had to move and did not get into what followed.  It was more a celebration of the utopia of the time period when District 6 was thriving.  Much of it was in Afrikaans, so Courtney and I didn’t understand all of the references and jokes, but for the most part we could follow along and loved it. 

We also got a chance to visit Robben Island, which is the site of the prison where Nelson Mandela served 18 of his 27 years.  The former prison now serves as a museum.  The guides are all former political prisoners and it was their idea to turn the site into to a museum. 

I did not hike up Table Mountain.  Instead, we took a funicular that magically transported us to the top at lightening speed.  It was fantastic. We got up there moments before sunset, took some photos, bought some wine and cheese at the store on the top and chilled out.  Literally.  I had no idea how much colder Cape Town is than Gaborone.  Sorry, Chicago, Cape Town is the real Windy City.  As a side note, a tour guide in Chicago once told us that “windy” actually refers to political gossip, not weather.  I’m not sure if that is true or not.  Anyway, the wind in Cape Town is no joke.  There are trees along the coast that are growing parallel to, okay maybe more like 45­⁰ angles from, the ground.  We did go on a beautiful hike at the end of the peninsula out to a shipwreck. 

Our friend Toni told us that kids call those little blue specks on the ground “blue bottles.”  They are washed up sea-creatures that make a popping sound when you step on them.  We also went to Courtney’s all-time favorite spot in Cape Town, a beach full of penguins.  I wonder if you can figure out from the photos which one she named “Judgmental Penguin.”  The rest of them had much more affectionate names, but I don’t know which is which from the photos. 

We spent the second half of the week in Kasane, which is in the north-east corner of Botswana. 

There is a place where the four countries of Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia all meet up in one spot.  We didn’t find this exact place. Kasane was absolutely gorgeous.  We stayed at The Old House and loved it not only for its beauty and convenient location, but because we also booked our activities directly with them.  For a slightly (and I think barely) cheaper price, we could have made arrangements with a separate tour company.  I saw some of those vehicles out on the game drives and they were packed with people.  On the other hand, we felt like part of a family for four days.  Albert, who we saw every day, picked us up at the airport, drove the boat on the Chobe cruise and took us on the all day drive.  We loved it all and his company so much that we booked a short morning drive on our last day there.  We found out on our last day, while hanging out the airport as we were leaving and he was meeting another guest, that when he told us he just started three months ago, he actually started only three weeks ago.  Jaw drop. We also went on a day trip to Mosi-ao-Tunya, also known as Victoria Falls.  Here are some photos, including some zip-lining.  And, no, we are not the fools sitting in the water at the top of the falls.  They were on the Zambian side, we were on the Zimbabwean. 

UB and GSS

March?  March?!?  What happened to February?  How is time going so fast?  How have I failed to write anything here for over a month?  Why am I being so dramatic about this? 

Classes at UB

In addition to the Mathematics and Society course, I’m taking the Land, Labour and Liberation history course.  In both of them, we are preparing for group presentations.  For M&S, the class was split into three groups – Egypt, ancient Babylon and Greece.  Each group will present on the society and what mathematics emerged from that society.  I’m in the Egypt group and learned that they used 256/81 (which is about 3.16) to approximate Pi.  At first I was surprised and thinking about how much closer 22/7 is to Pi, but we are talking about 4,000 years ago.  Also, the area of a circle with diameter 9 units is extremely close to a square with side lengths 8 units.  You’re welcome. 

In LLL, we have mostly been talking about Zimbabwe when it was Southern Rhodesia.  The professor, or lecturer as they say, broke us up into groups of four.  Each group chose one of these topics to present to the class.  Our group chose (8) and we are going to define colonial developments in terms of four categories – communication/transport, education, infrastructure and agriculture.  Each of us will take one of the categories, discuss some of the developments, try to name and quantify the colonial capital used, but ultimately argue that the work could not have been accomplished without the African labour.  (I guess I’ll just go ahead and add a “u” to labour and colour for the next few months.)

GSS

In the first week of February, my advisory brought me to GSS.  A senior secondary school is like 11^th and 12^th grades in the US.  Both the headmaster and the head of the mathematics department are former students of my advisor at UB and I’m lucky they are willing to help out their former teacher by hosting me.  The headmaster had read my proposal and saw that I was interested in working with a small group of students and pulling them out of class.  He suggested instead that I actually work with a whole class of students. 

From there the head of the department, brought me to the mathematics office.  There are 12 teachers and eleven of them are men.  They are welcoming and I am free to make arrangements with the teachers to visit their classes and come and go from the campus.  It is also just a short walk from UB.  In the past month, I’ve been visiting the school regularly and have made it to most of the teachers at least once.  The term began at the end of January, but only the Form 5 students (12^th graders) were there.  January is the beginning of the academic year.  It is summer here, so this is kind of like arriving back from summer break.  The Form 4 students do not arrive until after their Form 3 exams are marked.  Not all Form 3 students get to move on to Form 4, it depends on how they do on their end-of-year exams.  In January and February they wait to find out if they will continue with school.   So for the month of February, the campus was quiet because only half of the students were there.  Last week, the Form 4 students arrived but they spent the time in the auditorium having orientation.  Yesterday I observed a class where the teacher was seeing his Form 4 group for the first time.   They start with Algebra and it is likely that this will be the module I will use for my inquiry project, but more on that later. 

In February, the Form 5 students were studying transformations of objects in coordinate geometry – rotation, reflection, translation and enlargement (which we usually call dilation).  So that is mostly what I’ve been observing so far.  At first I thought enlargement seemed like a misleading word.  What if you wanted to shrink something?  Well, they use “enlargement” for making objects both bigger and smaller.  If they were making it smaller, they would just say it is an enlargement with a scale factor of ½, for example.  But here is what I really want to talk about…

The center of dilation

Why aren’t we making a bigger deal about it?  In all the problems I’ve seen back home, the center of dilation is the origin.  This seems to be such a norm that it is hardly worth noticing that there even is a center of dilation.  Maybe this is because it is just easier to multiply all the coordinates of the object by the scale factor to get the coordinates of the image.  Like in this example, the scale factor is 2. 

But until I was sitting in that class, I hadn’t thought about how we don’t have control over where the image lands if we always keep the center at the origin.  So there I was in class and the teacher drew a triangle on the board, marked a center and gave a scale factor.  The coordinates of the vertices were clear, but they were not labeled like (2, 1) on the graph.  In fact, in all the transformation lessons I observed, no one made a big deal about writing the coordinates like this at all.  I suspect it has something to do with more of an emphasis on the visualization of the transformation and less of an emphasis on a procedure such as (x, y) à (2x, 2y).  For example, during a rotation lesson, students had to rotate an object (about a point), and no direct method was given for how to do this.  The teacher did an example, and then gave a few more problems to work on.  I noticed many students holding up their hands like this and then rotating them, drawing a point then doing it again. 

But back to the enlargements.  The teacher was moving really fast and I was not following what he was doing to get the coordinates of the image.  He was counting from the coordinates of the object to the center and then using that information.  At the same time, he was also saying that if the scale factor is positive, the image will be on the same side of the center as object but if the scale factor is negative the object will be on the opposite side of the center as the image. 

           

He drew the image on a small board in the front a room with 43 students, it was extremely accurate and all the students were drawing it in their notebooks.  He asked for a volunteer to come to the board and do the next problem.  The room was quiet.  He waited.  I had been introduced in the beginning of the class, but wasn’t sure how much, if anything, I should say.  So, with all sincerity, I said it would really help me if someone could do another example because I have seen enlargement before, but not about a point.  The whole class started laughing.  My accent?  My question didn’t make sense?  There was something that had an unintended double-meaning?  No idea.  But a young man volunteered and explained with complete clarity how to count the vertical and horizontal distances from the object to the center and then how to manipulate those distances based on the given scale factor (including what to do if it is positive or negative) and find the image.  I totally got it.

I later asked the teacher if he knew why everyone laughed.  “Because a teacher said they didn’t know something.”

This has me thinking about dilation/enlargement questions U.S. geometry students encounter.  I took a look at the three most recent NYS Regents Common Core exam questions those that deal with dilation.  Then I looked at the enlargement section from the textbook they are using at GSS.  I’m not trying to make a comparison between the two countries and I’m definitely not trying to start a Common Core conversation.  I just thought it was really interesting to notice how much the visualization of the shape comes through in the questions they are using at GSS and how something seems to be missing in these Regents exam questions.  I mean, dilating a line?  What is that? 

US Embassy, trip to Gabane and some OCD

The University of Botswana hooked me up with a sweet office.  Here it is, along with some other photos from around campus.

Ok, but more important than an office, I got to meet my advisor on Friday.  We talked my inquiry project and he told me about schools here.  In the US, visitors can come into public schools any time.  I remember walking into Fannie Lou the first time, surprised to find Agent Jackson at the desk asking for an ID.  In New York City, school safety agents are strict about requiring an ID from visitors. It is nothing like that here.  There must be connections made with schools in advance and (possibly) research clearance for our projects, even just to visit. 

In the meantime, we will be able to visit some private schools that do not have these restrictions.  Our first visit is tomorrow.  The public affairs officer for the US Embassy is also one of the hashers (social running club).  She’s the one who invited us to our first hash last Sunday.  Her husband is a teacher and we will visit his economics class tomorrow.  Oh, right, how are we getting there? 

In addition to the inquiry project in schools, we can also take up to two classes.  In the Fulbright program guidelines, they say we can audit the classes.  But apparently, auditing isn’t really a thing here, so the university is saying it will likely be easier to actually enroll in the classes.  The exciting part is that we can choose from the entire catalog.  My advisor recommended a course called Mathematics & Society.  He described it as similar to a history of mathematics course, but with a cultural focus about how formal mathematics has developed on the continent.  It is one of the requirements for a bachelor of secondary education.  So for the second course, I am hoping to take something from either the history or mathematics departments.

Here’s what I’ve inquired about from the catalog:

Hist 414 Chiefs, Commoners and the Impact of Colonial Rule in Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland

Hist 416 Land, Labour and Liberation in Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe 

Hist 615 History and Religion in Africa (there may be a pre-req)

Hist 616 Religion and Power in Botswana 

Hist 446 Growth, Policy and Poverty in Africa, Latin America and South and South-East Asia 

Hist 412 20th Century South Africa 

Hist 202 Africa and the era of the Atlantic Slave Trade (C. 1500 - 1800)

Hist 201 African Cultures and Civilizations to C. 1500

Since the course catalog I have is from 2011-2012 (I’m told the listings don’t change) and also doesn’t specify in which semester these courses are offered, it is possible that the above, it is possible that these are not offered this semester.  I do know that these math courses are being offered by the graduate school:

MAT 658 Stochastic Mathematics 

MAT 645 Numerical Analysis 

(Also, Advanced Real Analysis and also Optimization, but I didn’t put those on the list.)

On one hand, yes, I could take math any time.  But I don’t and is not usually an opportunity that simply presents itself.  And there is also possible something interesting about taking it in another country.  Still, I am hoping that one of the history courses works out. 

We had our security briefing with the U.S. Embassy last Thursday.  Amanda, the pubic affairs officer, picked us up and after the officers thoroughly inspected the car and kept our passports, we went into the embassy.  We were supposed to have a meeting with the ambassador, but his schedule kept changing and eventually he couldn’t come into his office at all.  We got a message saying that since we already met him, he would see us again some other time.  Already met him?  Ok, yes, I did know that I already met him, but I could have easily missed it.  He’s also a hasher!  I noticed on our first Sunday that there was a man jogging in jeans.  Thankfully one of the hosts told me who he was.  I also later found out that the hash is supposed to bring everyone together as equals so it would not be appropriate to go shake his hand or address him as Ambassador Miller.  So when we chatted, I figured I’d just ask about the jeans.  He said he really likes the heat.  Hey Pete, this part is for you.  He was asking if any family was coming to visit and then followed it up asking what you do for a living.  Direct quote “I’m just a mailman out on a walk here, but we have many government programs here and can always use as much medical help as we can get.”  I said I’d try to bring you by.  Ok, back to the security briefing.  Three of us Americans were seated behind the desk of a regional security officer.  He begins in a soft, calm, reassuring tone.  I soon understand that we are here for a service that the embassy provides for its citizens in country.  I relax as I realize that we are here to get information, not to be questioned ourselves.  I am not the potential security threat.  Also, hey Mom, there are no guns here.  

Ok, so more about fun social things. 

On Saturday night, we had a big meal at the suite where I got to try pap for the first time.  It is a traditional porridge made from maize meal.  I’d heard it described many times in the first week.  Basically, it’s like whatever side carbohydrate (or maybe even main dish) – rice, potato, pasta – except has more of a grits taste from the corn.  What really stood out was the texture.  It was spongier than anything else I can think of.  The closest I can think of is mochi, except that is sweet and rice.  But the sponginess of the pap makes it good for picking up pieces of the meat.  I loved how the night went down.  We were at the Liquorama buying wine (more on South African reds in another post), and Bongy ran into a friend.  We also went to a butcher to get more of this delicious sausage we had last week.  On the counter was a big piece of something with a bone.  Bongy was ordering $4 of sausage and I was paying attention to how much you get for that.  So much.  Then the butcher brought down a huge hatchet through the middle of that big piece and the whole counter shook.  I thought, “I’m alive!”  So we were back at the dorm cooking the meat and some pork chops, the pap and some veggies when the friend we ran into at the Liquorama knocks on the door.  There were three of them, the other two were in the car, and she got sent in to ask if they could hang out with us.  So we threw on another pot of pap, pulled some chairs out of our room, had a feast and went dancing afterwards.  

Here are the four of us who were hanging out all day. 

After the dancing until 1am, I wasn’t sure we would all make it to the hash on Sunday morning, especially since it was out in Gabane, a small town half an hour or so outside of Gabs.   But somehow we did and I’m so glad.  People say this location is the best because it is way out in the hills, no traffic, good scenery and animals.  But, in fact, this is the perfect thing to do after dancing until 1am. I’ve noticed most of them wear t-shirts from various years of hashing.  On the back, they say “A drinking club with a running problem.” So I looked them up. 

From Wikipedia:

The objectives of the Hash House Harriers as recorded on the club registration card dated 1950:

• To promote physical fitness among our members
• To get rid of weekend hangovers
• To acquire a good thirst and to satisfy it in beer
• To persuade the older members that they are not as old as they feel

Here are some photos from Gabane.  Look who's a hasher now!  There's Bongy as we welcomed her (along with the new intern at the embassy) in the center of the circle.  

I'll end with quick note regarding our shopping adventures.  I just can't get over how orderly and well-stocked the shelves are.  So here are some photos of that.  

The photo of the juice above and the peanut butter below are from the campus store.  This is way more peanut butter than what I see in the grocery stores.  College is college.

And, finally, this.

Water and the internet

I've never paid attention to how much I use these.  It is hard to get both here.

Water

Even just washing a few dishes in the sink uses more than two gallons of water.  There are four of us living in this suite right now, but there should be six for the semester.  We share a kitchen with an electric stove, fridge and cupboards that were already full of the basic kitchen things.  We have an understanding that everything that we keep out in the common area is for sharing, but if there is something special that we don’t want to share, we should keep it in our rooms.  I like this.  After seeing how many flies are around, and sometimes lying awake with one in my ear, I think my stuff can just be in the cupboards of the kitchen.  We also share a room with a toilet and a sink and another with a shower and a sink.  I heard before I came that there are scheduled water outages each day.  From what we’ve seen here so far, there is no schedule.  There was a day where it did not go out at all, for more than 24 hours.  But on the other days, it just seems to come and go as it pleases.  So we keep big jugs of water in the kitchen for dishes.  Before I got here, I was afraid that “no water” meant “no water.”  But actually there is a spigot out in the front yard that always works.  This is how we fill up the reserve water.  Also, there is a bathroom on the second floor that is shared by all the suites in this building.  It has a tub with a hand shower, a toilet and a sink.  This bathroom always has water. Our housemates say they feel comfortable drinking the tap water, but that it is possible that it could upset our stomachs.  So for now, I am only drinking bottled water and, if there is an emergency, I would boil the tap water.

Internet

Oh, the internet.  This new MacBook is definitely designed for a wireless connection.  But I do have a SIM card in my phone.  I paid $15 for 800 MB of data and the 3G service is good for browsing.  I am more aware of how often I feel the urge to check social media and email for no reason at all and am coming up to alternatives to this like reading, writing, editing photos and making playlists from my iTunes library.  Why don’t I make more time for these things regularly?

A new friend just helped make Cristina's computer a hotspot, so I want to frantically say as much as I can about what else has happened before I lose the connection.  Ok, so what else?  I'll start with the last flight here, a quick jump from Johannesburg to Gaborone on Air Botswana.  The snacks!  Beef jerky!  I was so excited.  Beef is a big deal here, I've had steak twice already and beef sausage once and it is all amazing.  

I've spent most of my time with these two.  Cristina on the left is the other Fulbrighter. She's from South Carolina and is a teacher in rural Alaska.  Bongy is a PhD candidate who will defend her dissertation in sports management and physical education this semester.  

We all live together in graduate housing at the University of Botswana (UB).  In the first three days, Bongy drove us all around and helped us get set up.  She has given us much of her time, ensuring that we aren’t overcharged for our purchases and helping us even we make ridiculous mistakes (getting back a SIM card from the restaurant garbage after I dropped it on the floor, trying to talk down an angry man upset about his picture that I accidently took as his car pulled into the cloud shot, negotiating a fan return that somehow landed Cristina in a holding area of the electronics store, and much more).  But most of all, she has quickly become a friend as well.  

Today all three of us went to a run/walk with some of the people from the Kalahari Hash House Harriers.  Cristina and I went to our first official hash with them this past Sunday and are looking forward to this coming weekend when they will be hashing at a place outside of the city.  

Today, some of them met up at the Gaborone Dam which is almost completely dry.  We ran a 5k and then had happy hour and dinner at the Yacht Club.

Here are few shots of where we live in the graduate village.  We caught this beautiful (double) rainbow on our first day back from shopping.  

Thanks WFUV for this hat which I've hardly taken off when outside in the sun!  

And, finally, here a few shots of my (back to college life) room.

from the Atlanta airport

The past two weeks have flown by in a blaze of holiday magic.  Two weeks ago, I packed up my bedroom in Queens.  Another person will stay in my room while I am gone.  I left the furniture, but cleared out the closet and drawers for her.  I laughed at myself when I thought that I could put all of my clothes in laundry bags and keep them in my car while I am gone.  I underestimated the amount of clothes and shoes I have and overestimated the size of my car.  Fortunately, there is a large storage space above my closet.  Like, really large.  In New York City.  I love Queens.

So here's everything that didn't stay in my apartment, including:  stuff for Botswana, stuff for the following two weeks of winter in New York and stuff that wouldn't fit in the storage space.

And here it is in my tiny car.  Yeah, because all my other clothes would have fit in here, too.  It is kinda like that time that my brother and I were going to move two blocks away and I thought we could do it using this car, Pete's Honda Fit and no U-Haul.  Thanks for talking us down Dad.

Since Pete had to work on Christmas, we did our Belin Family Christmas on December 27.  So, instead of a traditional December 25th celebration, Janet and I had a quick road trip to Toronto via Niagara Falls.

And then spent the rest of the time with my family and tons of food!

So, here is the final stack of luggage, which was officially ready to go as of 4:30pm yesterday afternoon.

And this morning, I was off to the airport after a lovely breakfast with Pete at the Roots Cafe in Brooklyn.  They had good coffee and delicious breakfast wraps.  But what made it perfect was the artwork.  My dear friend Courtney loves sloths and has just returned from a trip to Costa Rica, since which she has been posting daily sloth videos.  And I'm the luckiest friend in the world because she actually bought a plane ticket to visit me in Botswana _two_months_ before I had my ticket.  So these pictures are for her and I knew the trip was off to a great start.  

Boarding in for Johannesburg in 20 minutes!