I'm currently in Jwaneng, Botswana typing in this entry. i figured i'd better start or i'll have so much to write when i get back.

29 dec 2005 - 1 jan 2006
the first thing that happened to me straight away when i got up one of the local bus was to be harassed by some guy who said he's in love with me and wants to move to my country. i tried to be polite while he was trying to be charming and tried to offer me a ride to the lodge that i was going to, in kanye and hoping that we could have a good time in the bedroom. i was trying to fend him off for the longest time and finally he gave me his phone number, which i chucked away, asking me to call him. ha, fat chance.
before meeting the people from cheetah conservation botswana, i'd spent 2 days in a town called kanye where it was very quiet, surrounded by a vast grassland and many trees. it's summer here so the rain has sprouted many vegetation that wasn't here before.
the staff at motse lodge, where i'm staying, are pretty friendly since most of the motswana i've met are pretty stoned-faced. there're many goats, donkeys and cows at the roadsides as the farmers here generally don't keep such a close eye on them.
the 2 days were a little boring since there wasn't very much to do at the countryside and i rested alot. I did take a local bus down to gaborone or gabs as the locals call it. gabs is the capital of botswana and there is much more to do, like going to an internet cafe to check mail. i was quite annoyed at first because the lodge didn't have the facilities for me to make phonecalls back home but the staff sold me some pre-paid mobile phone cards and lent me their phones to call home for a while. i was determined to buy a sim card here the first chance i have but i didn't have the chance to since it was the holidays.
i didn't manage to have a very good new year's eve. i was hoping to join the locals for a new year's bash and i was quite lucky that the people at the lodge were celebrating since many motswana don't. i managed to meet two girls at the bar at the lodge and told them i'll join them for the party later. near the evening, as i was about to go wash up and change, a guy sat next to me and repeated all the 'i want to marry and move to your country' bullshit and he was so insistent that i slept with him, even though i'd told him that i have a boyfriend, that i kind of fled the scene and didn't want to return to the party. i mean, i seriously don't want to get raped or anything. i did hear the fireworks going off at midnight and everyone was shouting and having i good time while i was in bed and sulking.
on the third day, i trvelled to gabs again and stayed in gabs so it'll be easier to meet up with the cheetah people. of course on the local bus the same thing happens. two guys sat really close to me and tried to get me to marry one of them. this time i got a little smarter and told them that i'm married. then, they went on and asked if i was able to give them a job in singapore, they wanted me to bring them there and pay for their air tickets. i looked at them as if they were crazy which they are and told them how impossible it is to get a job there and they need to have a university degree and when they heard that, they gave up. i had a little peace for a while then one of them asked me for money. i told them i'm very poor and i'm only going to be a volunteer. suddenly they started to teach me setswana and we had quite a good time although i was constantly shifting in my seat trying to reclaim some personal space from the guy sitting really right next to me. when we arrived at the bus station, they asked for a drink and i thought it'll only be fair that i buy them each a coke since they taught me some local words and phrases.
i knew it won't be easy travelling alone when i'm female and quite a small one at that but the constant fending off from men got me really weary and all i wanted to do in gabs was to stay in my hotel room, eat junk food and watch tv, which i did.
beware, 5 hours of e! can turn your brain to mush.

2 jan 2006
i got up bright and early, excited to be meeting the cheetah people and hoping to see some cheetahs soon.
i took a mini bus which they call a combi to the bus station and from there, another to game city where i'm supposed to meet lizzy and the other volunteer, anna. i'm glad most people helped me on the way or i wouldn't have known which combi to take.
i manage to get to game city without much fuss and even got my sim card! i can finally call anywhere i want as long as i have enough credit in my pre-paid card.
we got to camp after a 2 hour ride or so and went to check out the 3 captive cheetahs they are rehabilitating till mid feb. The 3 of them are beautiful, a male called decu, 2 females called alice and gracie. we're to feed them a meal of donkey meat everyday except sunday. it was just mind-blowing, to be able to be in the pen with them, so near to them while they munch on their donkey meat.
at the end of the day, i was quite exhausted and fell asleep quite promptly, even without a mosquito net while the mozzies were buzzing round my ears the entire night.