Boma Bus

After two full days of travel, our Session II group traded in planes for a safari shuttle (which we have nicknamed our “boma bus”). This was only the first of many new exciting swaps for students. 

Students swapped their summer clothes for warm winter layers (although not quite warm enough for the coldest nights). They swapped their individual space for two large dorming halls and bunk beds. They swapped their English greetings and goodbyes with Tswana phrases, such as dumela and sala sentle (it's still a work in progress). They swapped their phone games for some traditional Botswana games and have already found some favorites games in mhele, morabaraba, suna baby, and wool. They swapped their high school classroom for a hut embedded in the Mokolodi Nature Reserve (the boma facility). They have swapped the comfort of their everyday life and have chosen to adopt new perspectives, ideas, and a global mindset. 

Students have committed to learning, exploring, and being curious, and new experiences are presenting themselves every hour. After the first game drive and boma bus ride to class, students have seen the following animals (with some rough estimates):

1 Ostrich, 1 Steenbok (Small Antelope), 1 Roan Antelope, 1 Swaison’s Spurfowl, 2 African Grey Hornbills, 2 Warthogs, 2 Chacma Baboons, 4 White Rhinos, 5 Zebras, 5 Oxpeckers, 9 Wild Boars, 10 Ilent, 20 Helmeted Guineafowl, 83 Impalas.

Through engagement with others, new environments and new cultures, students are bound to leave Botswana with a lifetime of memories.