Dia and her Mom text almost every day using this little app on their phones.
We can't really speak with her by phone or Skype when she is in Sefphofe, where the signal is very limited.
But when she goes to the capital, Gabarone, the connection is pretty solid. Last week she was there for a training and we had a three hour conversation via Skype. (She looked great and was very happy to be in a place with running water for hot showers). She now joins the locals in referring to the capital city by its nickname - "Gabs".
Interesting fact about Botswana is that it was one of the rare countries, in fact the only one that I know of, to have the seat of its government located outside the country. Until 1965, the country we now call Botswana was the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, with its capital in Mahikeng, in the North West province of South Africa. This may come in handy one day when watching Jeopardy.
Upon independence, Botswana, a new country needing a capital of its own, chose to build one pretty much from scratch. They settled upon the place that was to become Gabarone, in part because there was a source of fresh water and in part because that area was not strongly identified with any particular tribal or ethnic group.
Most of the city's major streets and buildings were constructed within three years.Today it is a city of nearly a quarter million people, and is growing fast.
It's got malls, universities, night clubs, banks, a stock exchange. It is a modern city by any standard, or so we hear. On July 19 we will arrive on a flight from Johannesburg, landing at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, named for the first President of independent Botswana. More on him later - he seems like an interesting and in some ways visionary leader.
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