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The University of Botswana is nearly the size of Utah State University (USU) and has a student population similar to USU, with about 15,000 students. Most of the students are from Botswana, although there are students from other countries in Africa and exchange students from the U.S., Canada, Europe and a few other countries.

I live in Block 480, also known as Las Vegas, which ironically shares the name of my hometown. Block 480 has both shared and private rooms and each block within the hostel houses men or women. Blocks A1, A2, B1 and B2 are for women and blocks C1, C2, D1 and D2 are for men. My room is about the same size as a shared room in Valley View or Mountain View Towers at USU, and comes with a bed, desk and chair and closet. There are community bathrooms, but each is not shared by many people per floor, which gives a more homely feel. And the bathrooms have hot water, which is a big relief after a semester of cold and lukewarm showers in Ghana. I am sharing a sharing a room with another exchange student who is from Finland. This allows a unique opportunity for me to learn about another culture that I was not already familiar and also houses me with someone who is also interested in learning and exploring the country. I’m glad that I’ve been housed with the local students rather than segregated to international student housing like I was in Ghana.

I am studying fourth year (senior level) marketing in the business block on campus. The classes I am taking this semester are: Managing Marketing Relationships, Marketing Management & Strategy, Marketing Ethics and Consumer Psychology (a class in the psychology department). The business block is three stories tall and is equipped with Wi-Fi, study rooms, computer labs, classrooms, offices and one of my favorite places hangout on campus, the Koffi Cabin (a coffee shop that has donuts, sandwiches, drinks, cake, cupcakes and other goodies). Although I do not study marketing at USU, I want to continue familiarizing myself with key business concepts, as I did while I was at the University of Ghana last semester. Classes here are taught in English (the official language in the country), although most local students speak Setswana (the national language in the country) amongst each other. I find the classroom atmosphere similar to that in the states. Teaching styles vary depending on my professors, but I’d say that I don’t find school here much different than in the states. As many say “school is school”!

All the students at the university that I’ve met have been welcoming and open to sharing their culture with me as well as allowing me to share my home culture with them. A large part of the culture within the college community is westernized. Many of the students watch American movies, listen to American music, and dress similarly to Americans, follow American politics and are familiar with American culture. Therefore, my social interaction with many of them is fluid.

Each day, I make a conscious effort to meet new people and to make new friends. Although I do hang out with international students occasionally, I put forth more effort towards being more immerged in the local culture, so I chose to hang out with locals. My efforts have paid off and I’ve been invited to local’s homes, churches, bible studies, to the local hot spots around town, to braais (barbecues), house parties, been taught some Setswana , shared many long meaningful and inspirational conversations about culture and life with locals and most importantly, begun to build friendships.

There are two cafeterias on campus for students as well as a student bar. The largest cafeteria is Moghul. The cafeteria food is good but they serve a lot of the same foods day-to-day so it only takes about two weeks to get tired of it. I’ll usually have a choice of either rice, phaletshe (grinded maize), bogobe (grinded sorghum), stempa (samp and beans) and occasionally matemekswane (bread- dumplings), followed by a choice of either chicken or beef and occasionally seswaa (pounded meat), a choice of soup, and a choice of either coleslaw, beets, cabbage, shredded carrots or pan-fried potatoes. A few of my favorite dishes are phaletshe, bogobe and matemekswane. I was actually relieved that the food here didn’t hurt my stomach when I first ate it. Many people usually experience traveler’s diarrhea, but that wasn’t the case for me. That’s probably too much information, but I’m just putting it out there!

I’ve settled into my new environment and I am looking forward to what the rest of the semester may bring.

Facts and background information about Botswana

Botswana is a landlocked country that shares borders with Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia and Zambia and is slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Texas. Botswana is semi-arid with warm winters and hot summers.

There are nine districts and 5 town councils*: Central, Francistown*, Jwaneng, Kgalagadi, Kweneng, Lobatse, Northeast, Northwest, Selebi-Pikwe, Southeast and Southern.

The chief of state and head of government President Ian Khama (since April 1, 2008) was selected by the parliament and is serving a five year term.

Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name upon independence in 1966. Four decades of uninterrupted civilian leadership, progressive social policies, and significant capital investment have created one of the most dynamic economies in Africa. Mineral extraction, principally diamond mining, dominates economic activity, though tourism is a growing sector due to the country’s conservation practices and extensive nature preserves. Botswana has one of the world’s highest know rates of HIV/AIDS infection, but also has one of Africa’s most progressive and comprehensive programs for dealing with the disease.

Botswana has maintained one of the world’s highest economic growth rates since independence in 1966, though growth fell below 5% in 2007-2008, and turned sharply negative in 2009, with industry falling nearly 30%. Through fiscal discipline and sound management, Botswana transformed itself from one of the poorest countries in the world to a middle-income country with a per capita GDP of $13,100 in 2010. Two major investment services rank Botswana as the best credit risk in Africa. Diamond mining has fueled much of the expansion and currently accounts for more than one-third of GDP, 70-80% of export earnings, and about half of the government’s revenues. Botswana’s heavy reliance on a single luxury export was a critical factor in the sharp economic contraction of 2009. Tourism, financial services, subsistence farming, and cattle raising are other key sectors. Although unemployment was 7.5% in 2007 according to official reports, unofficial estimates place it closer to 40%. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS is second highest in the world and threatens Botswana’s impressive economic gains. An expected leveling off in diamond mining production within the next two decades overshadows long-term prospects.

The Kalahari Desert covers a large percentage of Botswana. Although a dry area, vegetation such as grasses and acacia bushes grow in the Kalahari. The delta of the Okavango River, one of the world's largest inland deltas, is on the edge of the Kalahari.

The Kalahari Game Reserve and Okavango Delta are part of the system of National Parks. Other protected areas include Chobe National Park and the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans.

Antelopes, hyenas, elephants, giraffes, lions, leopards, cheetahs and zebras can be seen in the parks. A variety of birds, such as flamingoes and kingfishers, can be found around the Okavango Delta, the River Chobe and the Makgadikgadi.

Villages in Botswana were traditionally built around the meeting place (kgkota) and cattle kraal. Lekgaph, a traditional art form, was used to decorate the walls of houses and courtyards. Since independence, buildings such as schools, modern houses and shopping malls have been constructed throughout the populated areas.

Gaborone is a modern city with offices, hotels, blocks of flats and shopping malls. Some colonial buildings remain in the capital.

There are nearly 2 million people living in Botswana, 196,000 whom live in the capital city Gaborone, where I am attending college this semester.

The people of Botswana are called Motswana (singular) and Batswana (plural). The main ethnic groups are Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11% and Basarwa 3%. The main spoken languages are Setswana 78.2%, Kalanga 7.9%, Sekgalagadi 2.8% and English (official language) 2.1%. Christianity is the largest practiced religion (71.6%), Badimo (6%) second.

Millet and sorghum are staple foods in Botswana. Both are made into porridge with various additional ingredients. Maize and beans, although less drought resistant than millet and sorghum, are also grown.

The local currency is the Pula meaning rain and blessing in Tswana and is used as a greeting for good fortune. The Pula notes are in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 and a 5 Pula coin. The remaining coins are called Thebe, meaning shield, and are in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50. One U.S. dollar is equal to 6.7413 Pula.

Combis (same as “tro tros” in Ghana) are mini-buses that travel fixed routes within the city and are one of the most popular forms of travel here and cost three Pula ($0.45 USD) per trip. Taxis within the city are also common and more convenient but cost 25-30 Pula ($3.77- $4.50) per trip to most places around the city. Buses are popular for travel within the country and prices differ depending on the distance traveled.

The information in this post is provided by The World Factbook and World Info Zone. Please refer to the hyperlinks for more information about Botswana.

A new beginning- Botswana

I am about to begin my third and final semester of study abroad and I am looking forward to the educational opportunities, experiences, friendships, adventures and personal growth to come throughout the next four plus months. I am now in Gaborone, Botswana, located in Southern Africa, where I will be studying business marketing at the University of Botswana. I'm excited to learn about the country’s local culture, people, history and development.

One of my main goals this semester is to apply the eight months of knowledge I've gained about living and studying abroad towards this semester and take full advantage of this opportunity.

Please follow me throughout the semester as I take on Botswana!