Earlier this week I shared on Facebook that I used the word Savingram for the first time since I left Botswana. A Savingram is basically a memo that is sent to someone outside the organization. Maybe it’s an inter-government thing? I’m not entirely clear. In this case I was writing a “memo” effectively from the Ministry of Health to the Ministry of Local Government. As a PCV who worked in an office I wrote more Savingrams than I care to remember, but I still don’t completely understand the terminology. The term is so obscure that it’s not even included on Wikipedia. Can you believe that? And when I tried Googling it the 8th hit was of a document from a Government of Botswana website (gov.bw) So appropriate if you ask me.
Thinking about how long its been since I left Botswana reminded me that this weekend will mark the seventh anniversary of my arrival in Botswana. (BTW – if you’re paying close attention I went from 5 years last year to 7 years this year. Who knows that I was thinking last year. I arrived in 2005.) I can’t believe that that was seven years ago. It’s so cliche to say that it feels like yesterday and it doesn’t, but it does feel like only 2 or 3 years ago. Later this year I will probably exceed the time I lived in Botswana with living in Lesotho. That is also hard to believe. As I have gotten to know PCVs and RPCVs I realize how lucky I am that I feel a connection with Botswana. That I had a really good Peace Corps experience. Sure there were challenges. It wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns but overall I have always been very positive about my experience in Botswana and I feel the same way about my life in Lesotho.
Went through my pictures to find a new goodie to share. This was a drawing that fellow PCV Jane Lay did during training and that we had printed on the back of our t-shirts for COS. She was so talented. I still have a set of fridge magnets that she made me for my birthday. I wonder where in the world she is these days.
P.S. Earlier this week I added another About page with 25 (More) Things to Know About Me. It’s been over two years since I wrote the original list so I figured it was time for an update.
