im back from the bush!

after a few days out in the field, im back in town, to get supplies so i can do longer trips into the bush. today i drove around in the rover looking for tents that can withstand the rainy season that is approaching, for storage containers that are lion and hyena-proof and i just purchased a big fuel drum to attach to the truck bed since the villages i want to get to are far far away from any petrol stations...lots to plan and buy! somedays i wonder what exactly i have gotten myself into, and other days im just excited about all the possibilities.
but the trip out into the field went well, actually--i got a start on my interviews with the villages, and it was very interesting to walk around from house to house (well really from mud hut to mud hut) and sit and talk to people and hear their stories. they have absolutely nothing but as soon as I walked up to their gate, I received a big "dumela" (hello in Setswana)and someone ran behind the hut to get a plastic chair for me to sit it (which made me a bit uncomfortable at first, since they all sit on the dusty ground, but I think it is one of the few ways they can show hospitality and generosity to guests). I have to say though, by the end of the day, I was exhausted from the heat, the dust, and having conducted surveys for 8 hours straight! i think from now on, i may not try to do some many in one day...:-)

so there are no canopy beds, toucans and netted windows, but plenty of indiana jones-style adventures to be had! we'll see what mix of british-explorer and setswana phrases im come back to the states with.