Settling in to Gaborone!

After our arrival Friday night we have spent the last three days orienting ourselves to the city. On Saturday morning we met our University of Botswana "buddies" - Rose, Botlale, Batusi, and Tsaone. These very patient and friendly nursing students gave us the grand tour of the city, including the government and parliamentary buildings, the Main Mall, the University, the main combi station, and the Game City Mall. Along the way we learned a number of valuable skills, such as how to buy airtime for cell phones or ask to be let off of the combi. On Sunday we went with our buddies to the national Trade Fair, where we enjoyed crafts, carnival rides, and multiple styles of sausage.

Today (Monday), we began our more clinical orientation, including a tour of the outpatient clinics at Princess Marina Hospital. We met with nurses and nurse managers in the med-surg clinic (orthopedics, GI, general surgery, dermatology), as well as the more specialized HIV/AIDS, TB and women's health clinics at the IDCC. Although few patients and providers were around we were impressed with how friendly and organized everyone was. We will start our clinical experiences tomorrow, with two of us attending the women's cervical cancer treatment (LEEP) clinic and others touring the in-patient wards.

We finished today with tea, joined by Mma Phetogo and Mma Magowe from the University of Botswana. They spoke to us at length about the nursing school and organizations in Botswana, and provided many tips for our clinical experiences. We are very grateful to them and to our buddies for all of this preparation.

Right now we are resting, exercising, and preparing for tomorrow. There is a lot to do but we will keep you updated as we visit more sites and begin our community projects!

Walking to the hospital down a dusty shortcut