antipodes

I am renting a car from Rre Malesu. He had the following to say about the land of Botswana:

We are not a contrary people. We are a nation of introverts. We keep quiet and don’t complain a lot. But people are becoming more opinionated. Our first President Khama had a proverb that sums up our people. He said, “Ntwa Kgolo ke ya molomo” which means, “The best way to fight is by talking”.

Khama had a way of bringing people together. To me that’s his greatest achievement. If you can bring people together, all the other problems just fall off. He was a traditionalist in that he had a good connection with his ancestors. As a result he was a visionary person and could see things others could not see. People respect you when you have good relations with your ancestors. People say he went to caves and saw massive snakes and with the snakes he would pray to his ancestors. Khama said, “Tshaba e e senang ngwao ke tshaba e e latlhegileng”, which I translate as, “A nation without culture is a lost nation”.

We are a politically stable, land-locked country that has never had a civil war, but we’ve had a few misunderstandings. We are the number one exporter of quality diamonds and the number one importer of beef to the EU. Education is free in Botswana and everyone can get a piece of land for free from the government. But you have to develop it– plant a crop or build a house on it– within three years or it will be taken back. I have three farms now, which helps to diversify my wealth and provides some security for my four sons.

The land is two thirds desert with interesting vegetation and animals. The Morula tree has a yellow juicy fruit that is very sweet. Some clever person, some white guy, made a proper, brewed, alcoholic drink from it called, Amarula, which is now very popular. The Mopane worm lives in the Mopane tree and you can eat it fresh or dried. It is full of protein and someone is now trying to can it. Dried, it tastes like a salty biscuit and it’s good when you are drinking.

Be careful when you are driving at night, since the animals are often in the road. People think elephants are nice, but when you see one, it’s so big it is terrifying. If an elephant gets in your way at night, don’t honk your horn, since the elephant will think you are stealing a baby elephant. Instead, flash your lights. The elephant will see it’s own enormous shadow and run away in fear.