Exploring Botswana Through the 5 Senses

As this semester meanders through southern Africa, students will invite us into their experience through regular blog posts. Betty and Laila bravely jumped at the opportunity to recount their first week in Botswana through the five senses. Reading their words, elicited postcard image memories of sunsets as swirling reds, oranges, and yellows melting into the dusky horizons. Deep earthy smells – from burning leaves to burning trash to blooming marigolds to freshly cooked Nshima and peanut butter cabbage stew – brought those thoughts deeper. And, before I knew it, I was transported back to the campground at Chobe National Park, sitting in a circle of matching green chairs with my group recounting the chirps, growls, rumbles, barks, howls, and peeps that ricocheted through the canopy as baboons, birds, elephants, impala, lions, giraffes, hippos, and others cohabitated in the wild. Chobe alone is an unforgettable experience, and this was only three days of a TTS semester. Thanks Laila and Betty for bringing this moment alive and for reminding me, and all your readers, about the power of each sense and how they layer together to add depth and immensity to this semester.

We’re excited to see how this cohort brings the semester to life for all of us traveling through words and images alone. In the coming weeks, we will gather tales of classes, activities, culture, and community. We’ll sprinkle in photos as much as internet strength allows them to download and share. Welcome to the journey, as conveyed by those traveling, learning, and living together during this TTS experience. I can’t wait to see how they share their adventure!

Exploring,

Aunge

River Cruise in Chobe National Park

Hello friends and family! Welcome to the first student written blog of TTS41. We started in Livingstone, Zambia crossed the border and made our way into Botswana. In only two weeks (and two countries), we’ve had many interesting classes, safaris, and adventures. Now we want to share the beginning of TTS41 with you using the five senses. -Betty (CO) and Laila (MT)

Sight:

Shifting from our plush, colorful pillow pit in our Livingstone hostel, we’re now situated near Chobe National Park and the Thebe River surrounded by a variety of plants and a new landscape. Our matching tan and green tents form a small pod around our new “home” – a massive overland truck. The other day we emerged from our tents in the wee hours of the morning to climb into our canopy safari trucks. As the sunrise crept over the horizon, we were lucky enough to spot elephants, lions, giraffes, and various beautiful bird species. Later that afternoon, we set off for another safari, this time on a double decker boat. We scanned the river and found hippos, crocodiles, and a mongoose. Ale’a commented “I saw one of the prettiest sunsets on our boat cruise. The amount of colors in it was insane and I will always remember how it felt to watch it!” We have been so amazed with all of the things we have seen and we are so excited to use this sense to experience even more. 

Goodbye Zambia… Hello Botswana!

Touch:

Traveling School days are incredibly busy whether we are having full class days or going to markets and exploring, we experience so much in one day. We are so grateful to be able to feel the heat of the sun, or the handshakes of people we meet in the market but we are also grateful for the moments we get to feel peace and clarity. Before dinner every night we take a minute to express our gratitude, Taran recently shared “My favorite part of each day has been the time we get to just sit and take it all in. Feel the ground around you and recenter your thoughts and feelings.” Our teachers do a remarkable job making it so that we get the opportunity to slow down during the day. Sometimes this looks like 20 minute field journaling alone, feeling the grass, or the coveted hour-long siesta periods we take after lunch where we get to feel the heat of the day. We have learned so much through touch already we are curious how we can use it to experience more of the world around us.

Class under the trees

Smell:

“My favorite smell so far is the sweet scent of dry, sun-baked grass, because it feels so comforting and reminds me of big camping trips,” said Sophie S. Our sense of smell has taken us to memories back home and will project us into new places and experiences. We have been lucky enough to smell the spices of markets, fresh breeze of savannah air, and jungle plants of Victoria Falls. On the other hand we have also been exposed to some unfortunate smells such as elephant dung, fish markets, and our peers’ dirty socks. Luckily the good smells have out-weighed the bad and dirty socks are a sign of a good adventure!

Photo by Laila

Hearing:

“ROARRRRRR” *echoed through the quiet night at the new campsite*. This was definitely not the most comforting sound to hear, but bonding comes in different shapes and sizes. We have grown very close together through this experience and others, but some of the animals we have encountered haven’t felt the same way, during our safari Catherine commented “I loved hearing the elephants roar at each other while we were on our river safari.” This again was another bonding experience as we had never heard anything like it, and that sound will definitely never leave our memories. Our teachers have taught us how important it is to not over value sight as our number one sense, we have been encouraged to close our eyes and hear. Just a few of the sounds we have heard are birds, crickets, and a lot of laughter from yoga and water polo. 

Roar! Photo by Laila

Taste:

FOOD, FOOD, FOOD! Our shopping receipts might show that we have only eaten peanut butter but, we have tasted so many good things. For example we all tried traditional Zambian stew with Nshima. Grace, who lived in Zambia for the past two years, taught all of us how to mold the Nshima into a hand/spoon/stew eating tool so that we could ladle the stew into our mouths and enjoy the traditional flavor. We really have enjoyed tasting the cuisine of Zambia but we also have enjoyed the bits and pieces of home we get to see, Olive commented on the food saying “I got to taste the french fries here which are seasoned more flavorful and bring new excitement to a favorite food back home.” We have loved tasting new and old flavors and can’t wait to learn from our new chef Kingston aboard Big Blue. 

A cooking class with Kingston, can you see our tents in the background?

-Betty (CO) and Laila (MT)