Technology

As I start this posting it is just on 8:00 p.m. and I am at the kitchen table.  The others are in the front room either watching tv, reading or playing a traditional African game.

We had a lazy day in the sense that we did not leave the village, left the van parked and took it easy.

Mid-morning Binnie, Dave, Iain, Bella and I went for a walk to run a few errands. Gordon didn’t want to come because he was playing soccer.

Our walk took us to the post office to get some stamps for Bella’s post cards and to check Binnie’s mail box.   There is no mail delivery in Botswana.  Everyone has to go to the post office where there are hundreds of mail boxes.  Binnie’s mail address is Box 260 Thamaga Botswana.  No postal code. There was about 8 letters in the mail box all of them bills.  Luckily for us, all for other members of the family who share the box.

I have uploaded to Flickr a photo of the mail boxes at the post office.

From the post office we walked to a shopping area to look for a foam mattress to take with us as we prepare to head to northern Botswana tomorrow.  There were some but a bit pricey so we passed on purchasing anything.  From the shops we walked to the Co-op to buy electricity.

In Botswana to avoid the hassle of collecting electricity bills everyone has to pay in advance.  This means you have to go to the store that has the franchise to sell electricity.  You give them the number of your electrical meter and how much power you want to purchase (ie: how much you want to spend).

In return you get a print out with an access number.

Back at your house there is a keypad built into the electrical meter.  You input the access number you got from the store and immediately the digital screen on the meter will indicate the new total of power that you have available. 

I have uploaded a photo of the meter and electrical panel at Mma Binnie’s house.  The screen indicates 41 units.  The night before it read 56 units.  Thus you always have to keep the meter topped up or it could run out which means you would have no electricity and therefore no lights, no hot water heater and no television.

Talking of the electrical panel you will note that there are currently 5 breakers in use.  Most houses in Botswana do not draw power like a Canadian home for obvious reasons.

You will also note a wire connected right into the panel without the benefit of a breaker.  I believe this was done by Jan-bar Electric to run power to the entertainment centre (tv, DVD player and satellite receiver).  Not quite up to code in any country!

From the Co-op we stopped by the local pottery to check out what had been made.  The pottery was started in the 70’s as a way of providing employment for the women of the village (ie: development project).  It has been very successful and the pottery is well known.  We have numerous pieces back home in Trenton and will buy more before we leave this time.

From the pottery we headed home.  Altogether our walk took 3 hours, and Gordon was still playing soccer when we got back!

After a late lunch we went off to see Binnie’s sister’s house on the far west side of the village.

Not quite as nice as Mma Binnies and quite a bit smaller.

Thabang and her 2 sisters were there.

By way of family history, back when Binnie and I visited Botswana in 1999 we ended up bringing Thabang back to Canada with us.  Totally unplanned and doable at that time.  Thabang ended up staying in Trenton for 2 years and attended senior kindergarten, Grade 1 and half of Grade 2 when she was with us.  She brought out a pile of photos Binnie had given her when she came back to Botswana. Funny to look at photos from 10 years ago.  Gordon was only a few months old and Iain and Isabella were 5 and 6. 

[I seemed to wander completely way from the topic of technology although  I did mention how electricity is dealt with.[

The majority of houses in Botswana now have electricity and this invariably means every house also has a television.  No flat screen tv’s but your basic 21” tube tv.

On almost every house you will also see a circular satellite dish the size of a medium pizza.  Inside the house, near the tv will be the satellite receiver.  While you can pay for additional channels there seems to be about a dozen or so channels that are free.  These include BTV, the Botswana equivalent to the CBC or BBC, as well as SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3.  The South African equivalent of the CBC or BBC.  Then there appears to be about 4 or 5 religious channels both Christian and Islamic.  Quite amateurish from the limited watching I have done but each with a pretty fundamentalist message.

I should add that BTV along with the SABC channels show largely the worst of North American television.  Programs I wouldn’t deem worthy of watching back home but filling endless hours here.  I just wonder what ideas and values watching these programs instil in the Batswana?  Having said that, Survivor was on the other night, as well as Oprah, Dr Phil and several soap operas.

Everyone here seems to have a cell phone but with very little air time on it.  Thus everywhere kiosks and shops sell scratch cards with additional amounts of air time determined by value (ie: 10 pula, 20 pula, etc.)

A high percentage of these cell phones have internet capability since apart from schools, there seem to be very few personal computers.  Every one of the nieces and nephews we have met haves cell phones with email capability.  One nephew who is in 2^nd year university has the latest Blackberry (Torch??).

Apparently internet access via your cell phone is free from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. so if you are willing to stay up late you can do a pile of internet surfing at no cost.

Lastly, in terms of the internet, yesterday in Gaborone I bought a USB WIFI modem that plugs into the side of the computer and connects you to the same network as the cell phones.  Thus if this posting does make it up to the blog, the technology works.  According to the store, this modem will work anywhere that there is cell phone coverage.

So there you have it.

I must not finish this posting without noting that today is Don’s 50^th birthday.  As a result, without much prompting Dave and I went to the bottle store late this afternoon and got a dozen beer with which to celebrate your birthday.  (Beer is about $1.30 Cdn. per bottle).  Happy 50^th from all of us in Botswana!!

[The latest photos show Binnie’s house in Thamaga.  Currently rented out.

The “street” in front of Binnie’s house.

Binnie’s brother’s house in Gaborone.

Iain learning to cook fat cakes (donuts) from his new girlfriend, Cinnamon bun

Iain and Isabella learning to play a traditional Batswana game.

Gordon playing street soccer beside his uncle’s house in Gaborone.  The ball had gone over the wall into