Shila Travels: Basketball & More

Hey lovelies!

So first of all, I want to send out a HUGE thank you to everyone for the birthday lovin! It was the biggest treat ever to get so many thoughtful and kind messages. You all certainly know how to make a gal feel loved :) Thank you thank you thank you! I'm the most appreciative!

Another week has passed. It's reeeeally strange that at home summer is ending and everyone is getting back into the swing of things. Here, summer is just beginning, and it's getting hotter and hotter every single day. In the span of literally two weeks, it went from chilly and cool to full on ROASTING! It's a liiiiiittle intimidating because apparently it's going to get even hotter. At the moment it's mostly doable if you're stationary and inside, but doing things outside in the afternoon? I MELT! I'm gross and sweaty 95% of the time now. Even the evenings are warm! My bed is a sauna.

This new temperature makes me miss the ocean even more than ever. The other day I laid there for ages listening to a track of wave sounds. All I want is to jump in the glorious salty ocean and cool off! Polar dip when I'm back? Absolutely. We've tossed around the idea of getting a kiddy pool so we can laugh at ourselves and get some relief from this heat. I kind of hope that ends up happening.

Some things this week:

- Milena has finally arrived! It's lovely to have some new company, and Kate and I have been showing her all the Mochudi ropes. It was Kate and I as the Bots Babes Duo, so maybe we're now the Three Botswana Musketeers? It's super interesting that Kate and I went from being total noobs to knowing the ins and outs of this place. We aren't experts by any stretch, but we certainly know a fair amount about Mochudi life.

The new roomie

- At work reading is still going really well. The interview transcriptions are on track and the work is

KILLING me, but luckily we're almost finished. As I transcribe I have more time to reflect on the interviews, and man, it has been SO interesting! I have one interview left, so I'm majorly hoping that it happens ASAP.

I love this gal

The leadership kids during rehearsal

- Even though we've been here for three and a half months, we're still figuring new things out. This week we discovered a new combi route which cuts a good 20-25 minutes of walking for us in the mornings. I don't know how we didn't find this out sooner, but anyway, I appreciate the extra sleeping time

- Speaking of combis, we had a super interesting combi drive to work early this week. The combi itself was falling apart, the door could barely open, but inside there was this massive screen with a random movie on about the initiation schools of Botswana! A ghetto combi with a TV screen?!?! Soooo awesome.

A screen?!?!?!!

- This Friday we had a games day with the kids, and it was such a blast! I was running the Monopoly table, and initially I was dreading it. I'm not a huge Monopoly fan and I thought it would be too complicated/boring/time consuming. But it was a lesson for me to never underestimate these kids- I was SO impressed with them! They were so committed to playing the game and figuring out all the rules. They took it far more seriously than I anticipated! It ended up being a GREAT Friday afternoon

These kids are so great

Monopoly, using the South African rand

Getting starting

The game of life

I was seriously so impressed with the kids

- Friday night was SOOOOOOO marvellous. It was Milena's first night with us, and it was a FULL ON rain/lightning/thunder storm! We haven't heard the rain in over a month, so we poured some wine, lit some candles, shut off all the lights, opened all the blinds, and watched the storm. The rain was SOOOO soothing, we even ran outside to feel the rain drops. It smells different when it rains here, I'm guessing since there isn't any grass. It was just so relaxing, and it was a perfect time to get to know our new roomie.

- This weekend we went to Gabs for Kate's first basketball game. It was awesome! And also insanity. I can't believe the players can run up and down a hot cement court in the middle of the boiling afternoon sun. SO hot! But Kate played like a pro and Milena and I were her proud groupies cheering from the sidelines. Following that we had dinner and drinks at an Irish pub (I know, such a weird thing to have in Bots), and took it pretty easy for the rest of the night. Sunday we went to Gabs for another fantastic yoga session. We had super bad luck getting a hitch into Gabs, so it took us almost two hours to get there. Finally, we made it, and got some groceries before the class. Milena is a fellow yogini (who even packed her mat) so I'm PUMPED for us to practice together and learn from each other. The class was lovely, and we even finished with a lovely glass of wine!

My epic new leggings, perfect for yoga

Kate is a basketball star!!!

Warming up is a hilarious concept when the court is already scorching

I KNOW HER!!!!!!!!!

Skilllllzzzzz

A piece of heaven

Yoga outside in the shade with a lovely breeze? I died and went to heaven

- There are no words for the wonder that is Magnum ice cream bars. Ohhhhh myyyyy god heaven. Kate and I have been indulging pretty often because of the heat, and omg, they are the most delicious thing on the planet.

- I miss comfortable couches. We sat on one last week and almost fell asleep it was so glorious. Comfy couches are the best!

- No cockroaches this week (YAYYYYY!) but I woke up and found a scorpion in the bathtub. Gross. This one was a lot smaller, but man, heart attack city all the time!

Here is a video of the leadership kids practicing. I wish I could get more involved with the music they're doing but with research and reading I dont have a lot of time. The plus side is hearing the lovely melodies while I work :)