Small Accomplishments

I am gradually getting adjusted to the slow pace of life here, and what seems will inevitably be the slow pace of my research in the Enclave. I have decided that as long as I accomplish at least two or three things a week that make me feel good about my work and progress, then I am satisfied. This past week, I had two such moments, though very different from each other.
On Wednesday, I drove to the village of Parakarungu with Mpho (my research assistant from last year), and Kaelo and Chiza (two female research assistants on a ‘trial run’ of sorts) to give a presentation on my research at the village kgotla, or meeting place. I brought the giant laminated posters I had trucked over from the U.S. and despite all the effort it took to get them here (insane amounts of money spent at Kinkos, then trying to fit them in poster tubes with mom’s help, then trying to check them at the Delta check-in counter, then having an Air Botswana customs official insist on inspecting them), I think it was well worth it. I had printed onto posters some of the PowerPoint slides I have used in previous academic presentations, simplified the accompanied dialog, and then tried to translate it into Setswana. I should say tried, because in the end, Mpho basically had to translate my bad Setswana into proper Setswana that could be understood by the audience. That part was humbling, but what felt good was that I actually got a conversation going about the topic of my research (rural-urban migration). At first, people were hesitant to talk, but when Mpho encouraged them to give their thoughts on what I had just said, a lady spoke up and started to explain why she thought it was that so many people leave the village and go to towns like Kasane. In the discussion that followed, reasons ranged from lack of shops in the village (many people from the village head to the Safeway equivalent in Kasane to buy their groceries) to a more depressing reason I hadn’t thought about before—there is no mortuary in the village. (Remember, this part of Botswana has the highest AIDS rate in the country, somewhere hovering around almost 40%). As people spoke, I began to think, hey, maybe this is actually going to work! As in, maybe I will manage to conduct some focus groups and interviews over the next couple months and actually learn something interesting and new that I can write about. The focus groups begin next week (people signed up at the end of the kgotla meeting, though mainly I think because I said lunch would be served for participant), and we will see how they go. I’ve never led focus group discussions before, but I guess there’s nothing like figuring it out as you go!
My second accomplishment of the week was very non-academic and non-cerebral—I learned how to change a tire on my very large Toyota hilux double-cab truck. I am so embarrassed to admit that in all my years of driving, I’ve never learned how to change a wheel, not in the U.S. and not even when I lived in Botswana previously. Pretty pathetic. I am determined this time around to be a bit more self-sufficient. So I enlisted my mechanic Ryan to give me a lesson. And I realized that it is not actually all that complicated. It requires a bit of arm strength that I don’t quite have, but Ryan showed me some tricks to make it a bit easier for me (like standing on the spanner with all my weight to get the bolts to unscrew, rather than try in vain to tug on them with just my arms). After I’d changed the wheel, he also took me for a driving lesson in sand and I tested out using the 4x4 in high and low range to get out of deep, deep sand. Afterwards I went to the hardware store and bought a spade for digging the wheels out, if necessary. I think I am ready for a safari now!
In a funny way, I felt just as good about learning to change the tire as I did after I delivered my research presentation in Parakarungu. I’m realizing that I should look at these next ten months as not just about getting research done so I can write my dissertation and finally get this crazy degree, but also as a chance to learn a bit more about myself and push myself in ways I might not normally do at home. Thinking in this way relieves a bit of the “phd fieldwork anxiety” and reminds me that my life here isn’t just about my research, it’s about trying to take advantage of an experience I might never have again.

Note: Speaking of experiences that I hope I may never have again…as I write this, we just found the largest puff adder I have ever seen curled up outside beneath my bedroom window. Yikes!