Food/Health

Botswana is a middle-income country, so its actually a lot more up-and-coming than you would think. The food is actually quite good so far, but it may change when I enter my homestays and more remote villages. It has not been hard to be a vegetarian so far. A typical breakfast is corn flakes and warm milk, often with eggs, bread, and fruit. Lunch and dinner vary, but I've had heated veggies, delicious butternut squash, bean dishes, and potatoes/cornmealish stuff, pizza, and salads. Unfortunately there is not much dessert, but they do like kit-kat like bars at the grocery stores that are available. I have also been drinking water from the tap and I haven't gotten sick yet besides a basic cold. We've been warned that the water further up the country may likely get us sick but they recommended drinking it anyway so that we can adjust to it. Speaking of health, its interesting to see all of the HIV/AIDS awareness they have in the country. Many billboards and other ads are around regarding the issue, and today when I was withdrawing money from the ATM it even had an HIV statistic on the screen. Reports have said that anywhere from between 20-40% of the population is infected, but they have a lot of good facilities to help with research about this disease. The weather here is very warm. I don't know the exact temperatures, but I would guess the upper 80's. It is also the rainy season, so pretty much everyday there is a rain shower with no warning. That's all for now. I'll write back when I can!