Tidbits & Trivia Thursday - Gaborone, Botswana

In an attempt to 'keep up' with my cool Blogger buddies that have a weekly posting theme - I thought I'd share some of the interesting, weird, fascinating, quirky, unusual, just plain strange things that make you say "huh?" about life in Gabs.

I'll start with our selection of chips from the local grocery stores. NOTE: These 'chips' are not to be confused with the 'chips' (AKA 'fries') you might order at a restaurant here. Another note - something I learned from my South African friend - there are 2 versions of fries here: the long, skinny ones (like McD's) are called 'fries'; the thicker ones are called 'chips'. (Most restaurants here serve 'chips'.)

On to the potato chips! Plain potato chips are sometimes difficult to find in stores. Really! Folks here have some unique taste buds. Take a look at these chip flavors. WARNING! This might cause a craving for junk food - of which, I cannot be held liable.

My fav - Caribbean Onion & Balsamic Vinegar

#2 choice: Mozzarella & Basil


#3 choice: Sea Salt & Crushed Black Pepper

Honorable Mention: Thai Sweet Chilli
Not bad - just isn't in my Top #3

The pototo chip flavor you will not find? Barbecue.

Wanna know the kicker about the bags of chips here? They are sold in 2 sizes. Small and smaller. The 'regular' size bag is 125g (everything here is metric - remember?). That equates to about 4 oz. at a cost of P7.25 which equates to approximately $1.00. The smaller bag is the size my mom used to pack in my lunch box for school.

I think I'll be shipping some of the COBV chips to myself before we leave here for good.

Christmas in Botswana

This was our first Christmas, as a family, away from the United States. We'd been thinking about it for some time - and knew it would be 'different'. I mean, think about it.....Christmas in AFRICA!!! Where we're in a different time zone, different hemisphere, different season - different everything - from what I've always been accustomed to for Christmas.

When we arrived back in Gabs from our 5 week visit to NC, I proceeded to decorate our home with the items we had brought with us: tabletop tree (made by my mom, many years ago), nativity advent calendar, nativity set for the mantle, stockings and snowflake stocking holders.... It may have LOOKED like Christmas, but with the temps hovering around 100°F+ everyday, it didn't FEEL like Christmas.

To me, Christmas is supposed to be colder - not 120°F. You dress up in sweaters or turtlenecks - not shorts and flip-flops. You wear coats when you go outside - not sunscreen (unless you're going snow skiing!). You drink hot chocolate with marshmallows to warm up your insides. You do lots of baking to warm up the inside of your home. You play Christmas carols while you bake. You wonder if it will snow on Christmas Day. You drive around the neighborhoods and 'oooh' and 'aaah' at all the beautiful lights. None of those ‘things’ of what I’d always had were present.

THEN, my precious Savior, whose birth is the reason I celebrate CHRISTmas – oh so gently spoke to my soul. He reminded me - Christmas isn’t about the outward appearances, the weather or lights. Christmas isn’t about what the world tells me Christmas should be. Christmas IS about my soul’s celebration of God come down to Earth – in the form of a precious baby – to be born for my soul, to be crucified in my place – to conquer Death for me – and to be Resurrected because of His victory over Death. Jesus – Immanuel – God With Us – was born to die – so that I could live.

Oh, yes, Christmas was different for me outwardly this year – but my soul still rejoices in the birth of my Savior. That never changes, no matter where I am. Hallelujah!

Thank you, Precious Father, for the Gift of Your Son. The true meaning of CHRISTmas.

Look Out - Here She Comes!!!!

OK - I have to admit it - our girls have been somewhat 'deprived' in their young lives.......they've never seen the Star Wars movies! Well, actually, they watched just part of "Star Wars" sometime within the last year and decided it was "too boyish". Since then, we've rented "Phantom Menace" from Netflix - and they really liked it. B liked it so much she built her own 'pod racer' while in the pool. Just love her imagination! The girls didn't think the Sith was all that scary either..."it's just a bunch of makeup", they said. My, my, my how they grow up.

Dolls with Dolls

Our eldest daughter received this beautiful handmade African doll from a friend here. Most amazing is this doll is made of recyclable materials (glass bottle for the base; wire; scraps of fabric; beads; matchbox for the purse; painted sticks). The lady who made this doll is indeed talented. If you look closely, you'll notice a 'baby' on the back of the doll. The custom is for mothers to carry their young children this way - bundled up on their back so mommy can have her hands free.














A closeup of the doll. The lips are made from a shell, painted red. How clever!






















This is our other daughter with her handmade African doll. We purchased this doll when we visited Thamaga Pottery, back in September. This doll is made almost completely of fabric, except for the braided hair. B named her doll "Amogelang", after our housekeeper, which means "to receive".

The Greatest Place on Earth

The reason I haven't blogged since forever is because I was on another continent! We went to the most wonderful place on earth - to be with family and precious friends. Doesn't get any better than that!

Yes, I had access to the Internet....at lightening fast speed (compared to Gabs)....but I was having too much fun with family and friends...and eating out!!!!!

When we planned this trip - we also made our list of 'places we must eat'. (Sidenote: Gabs does not have ANY of the fast-food places we enjoy from the States. You don't realize how much you take McD's for granted until it is no longer an option.) At the top of my list was Chick-fil-A. At the top of the girls' list was a Happy Meal from McD's. Their choice won out for our first dinner in the US (but only because there isn't a Chick-fil-A nearby....my parents need to change that.)

R as she proudly poses with her Happy Meal box. The simple things in life.

B with her Happy Meal - and the MOST important part....THE PRIZE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our first weekend home, the girls attended our church's annual Fall Festival. Here they are with their best buds. Here we have a Cowgirl, Cheerleader, Glenda the Good Witch and a Monkey! Yes, we will embarrass our children years from now with these pics!

While home we were able to see many of our precious friends, go shopping!!!!!!!!!!! and spend time with family.

Taken just before the Thanksgiving feast began....complete with turkey, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, field peas, collards and biscuits.
For dessert: sweet potato pie, pecan pie AND key lime pie.

Our Thanksgiving Day tradition is to spend the day at my parent's house with family, enjoy a meal together, laugh A LOT, and decorate the house for Christmas. Here's the tree, which my mom and children decorated during the week. So, on Thanksgiving Day we hung wreaths on the outside of the house on the windows. Sorry - don't have a pic of that!

The Christmas Tree
Last year my mom had decorated her tree in just gold and red. It was beautiful. But, I LOVE the sentiment of the mismatched ornaments that each have a story to tell. I am so sentimental. I decorate our family's tree each year with the ornaments the girls have made at church through the years. They are a treasure to me.
For this year, mom decorated the tree with all those beautiful, one-of-a-kind mismatched ornaments. Beautiful.

Fall is my most favorite time of year. The vibrant colors just warm my heart. We don't have fall in Gabs. We have just 2 seasons: winter and summer. One is really hot, and the other not-so-hot and sometimes even cold. No such thing as fall colors in Gabs. This beautifully colored tree in my parent's front yard was like a gift to me from my Lord. Thank you, Lord.

More pics.......

These are the BFF girls. (Best Friends Forever) We are thankful to have their precious family in our lives.

And to go even further back in time on this blog post....to document the passing of my 40-something birthday....I had TWO surprise parties (in Gabs, before we left for the US).

Here is the beautiful cake made by a dear friend. My husband surprised me with this cake at a function I was attending. I didn't have a clue about the surprise. Well done!

'Happy Birthday' being sung to me by 30 or so friends. A great time!

My 1st surprise birthday party of the day. We had spent the afternoon with friends - the girls all played in the pool - while my friends from South Africa and Germany surprised me with a cake! The Lord has blessed me so much to have such precious friends here. I am truly thankful for and blessed by their friendship.