Research Permits Part II

So the Lord definitely likes to give me opportunities to trust Him. After that post yesterday about finally obtaining the research permits we woke up this morning to walk to the Main Mall and make photocopies. We got ready to go...and couldn't find the permits anywhere. I carried them in my hand all last night as we traveled around and had dinner and headed back to our place, but this morning neither of us could find them, though we tore the room apart. I was freaking out. In the bustle of paying for the taxi back to our place and getting a receipt, I must have forgotten to grab the brown envelope off the floor in the dark. I called the taxi driver but he said he didn't have the permits. I planned to wait a little bit of time in case we remembered and found them and then call Dr. Taolo to see if we could get a new copy of the permit tomorrow.

As Chels and I were having lunch however, the waitress commented that tomorrow is a holiday. At the same moment Chels and I both came to the same realization...that means no one at DWNP will be working tomorrow! We had to get it today or else. We hurried around the mall, trying to find a taxi that could take us to the wildlife office but for once there was none in sight. We started back to our lodge and called a lady who had a taxi company and had given us rides before. She said she could get us in 20 minutes. We made it back to the lodge and searched once more for the permits...nothing! I called Dr. Taolo, feeling very embarrased about losing the permit the day I got it, he was very gracious and said that he understood that these things happened, however there was a problem...the whole area around the DWNP offices had been in a power outage all day so they couldn't make a copy for us. I asked if I could take the copy they had and make my own copy elsewhere. He said that it was against the rules...but then decided that because of the circumstances he would let me do it.

The taxi arrived and we were off! Traffic was terrible, probably because of the holiday tomorrow, but we finally made it. He gave us their hard copy of the permit and we set off for Game City...praying that the power would turn on (it had been out there too). We made it to Game City...and there were lights on and music and TVs in a store we passed. The power was back! We found a shop that makes photocopies and I got 5 copies made, just to be safe. Then it was back to the wildlife office to give back their hard copy. I made it back and noticed that the permit I had been given yesterday had a stamp on it but the one I made copies from didn't. Dr. Taolo said he didn't have the stamp but told me to sit down while he went and got it stamped. I waited and finally he came back, only to tell me that the secretary who has the stamp had gone somewhere and he couldn't find her. He told me to wait and that he'd look again. I waited another while and he finally came back with them stamped! Praise the Lord they are ready and I have copies. I have some in my pocket and some in our little backpack now and plan to put other copies in other places when we return to the lodge.

So all in all, things worked out well but I was definitely nervous and feeling terrible about losing the permits for a while. Thank the Lord that we were able to get them and to have everything together.
~Tim

Research Permits

Praise the Lord! We have the research permit for Chobe National Park and Moremi Game Reserve! Yesterday I met with Dr. Cyril Taolo, Assistant Director of Research and Statistics for the Botswana Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP). While in Botswana we work under DWNP and need their permission to do research. We have our main permit, but needed a supplementary permit to enter the parks, drive off-road, and camp without paying. Last year getting this supplemental permit was a huge ordeal that used up about a week that was supposed to be research time so I was a bit concerned that we didn't have one yet this year and yet were hoping to start next week.

I've met with Dr. Taolo several times on previous trips and always found him helpful. Yesterday was no exception. I gave him a brief report on last year's work and what we planned for this year, he asked some questions and that was that. He said to come back today to pick up the permit. I'll admit that after last year I wasn't really expecting it to be ready so soon. I was pleasantly surprised. I walked in and told the lady in the research office that I was here to pick up a supplementary permit. She asked if I was Tim and said it was in Dr. Taolo's office and to wait a minute. She left and came back about 2 minutes later with our permit! Everything was right with it, all our names and vehicles were included. And it was for both Chobe and Moremi, instead of just Chobe (originally we'd been told there would be problems getting a permit for Moremi but it looks like it worked out).

I know it may seem a little thing to get a goverment document back with the names and information correct but here it's a big deal because it's critical to our work and we've had problems with it in the past. Now we just need to pray that the permits for Namibia come in. We need a similar permit there and so far I've heard nothing, though I've sent out several emails. We'd like to start work there next week so hopefully we hear back on that soon.


Let's see...Chels covered most everything about what's been going on. Yesterday I took Chels for a little cultural experience. We walked around the Main Mall, an outdoor area with loads of vendors selling everything from shoes, to CDs, to carved animals, to dried beans and mopane worms (I was actually really excited, I'd heard about people eating mopane worms- large worms about the diameter of a dime and at least 2 inches long, see the picture below- but had never actually seen them here. I wanted to get some but for some reason Chels vetoed that idea). We went to the local museum and national gallery. They had some nice exhibits explaining the cultural history and development of Botswana going all the way back to the formation of the universe. They also had a number of neat displays of taxidermied wildlife, which I liked. Then I took her to the government buildings to see where the seats of power in the country are. All in all, a nice few hours.

~ Tim

No Words...

are needed to describe this picture.

English is a difficult language sometimes. And I'm actually impressed by how many people know English very well here. On TV, the anchors and game show hosts switch effortlessly between Setswana (the national language) and English. It's very interesting and weird to listen to because you only understand about a third of what they're saying (because half is in a different language and they have thick African accents which makes a bit of the English hard to understand). That's my very accurate mathematical equation. I know, I've got mad skillz. Ha, ha!
Not much else has been going on here in Gabs. There's not too much to do here. I'm sure there's plenty if you live here, but we find ourselves trying to find things to do while we're here. There are two game reserves that we might go to tomorrow, and we're going to watch Transformers 3 later on, but in the mean time, we sit at this adorable cafe that has free wifi and good food.
~chels


For those of you who don't know Africa or the British system I feel like I should point out that erections is most likely what we'd call building construction. Gotta love things that get lost (or in this case added) in translation. ~Tim

What's in a Name?

Our search for a jacket was successful. I found a perfect jacket in the men’s section in the (seemingly) last store in the mall. Yes, mall. I know on the side it says that we’re “roughing it” but that part hasn’t started yet. While we’re here in Gabs, there are actually 3 malls all of which I’ve been to now. They’re actually not bad either. We spent most of the day at the bigger of the malls because we were killing time before Tim’s meeting with a guy who’s in charge of research. We enjoyed a nice lunch and some shopping, then found wifi at a small café. We spent so long catching up on emails and such we had to rush to get to the meeting which was actually cancelled because the guy was in a different meeting. Oh well. We then went to a different mall where Green Lantern was showing. I liked it. When I saw the previews, I was not impressed by all the corniness, but it was actually good. And how can a girl not enjoy a movie with Ryan Reynolds?  And then we had a great dinner at an Indian restaurant. All in all, a great anniversary J We’ve got an interesting track record for anniversaries, they’ve both been spent out of the country, first in London, then in Botswana. We’ll have to figure something out for next summer…maybe back to London for the Summer Olympics?

I think one of the most interesting things I’ve observed so far has been the names of the stores. They’re pretty awesome, so be prepared.

Game – this was an everything store…except games. I couldn’t find any games there. Or  matches, which was what we were looking for.

Juicy Lucy – this was a juice store, similar to Jamba Juice.

Chicken Licken – Maybe because their chicken is finger “licken” good?

Mafia Soul – this was a clothing store. Not quite sure about this one.

Wimpy Burger – doesn’t inspire much confidence in their food, does it?

And lastly, Bimbo’s – no explanation required

We made it!

We're finally in Gaborone (the capital of Botswana)! It took us about 42 hours of travel and 16 hours, 7 minutes (yes I was timing it) in the air, but we're here. We'll be in the capital for almost a week before heading up north to start the research. For now it's preparing, meetings with officials from the Wildlife Department, and spending time together.

The flight out, though long, was fine...at least once we got going. As we were about to taxi out a big storm with lots of lightning hit Atlanta and we sat on the tarmac for 2 hours. Finally we set out...and stopped 500 feet later as we had to wait in a line of other planes that were also delayed by the storm. We eventually set off and must have made good time because we only arrived an hour later than we were supposed to. The movie selection on the flight was very good and we slept a little and watched a lot. The flight was VERY turbulent, however, more than I'd ever experienced. The seatbelt sign was on almost the whole time. The Lord kept us safe, though, and we made it to Johannesburg and the next morning to Gaborone (or Gabs). We found a place to stay in Gabs that is small but seems nice and is near where I've stayed before so I know the area. All in all it's nice...though the light bulb did burn out soon after we moved in and I had to climb up on the bed to change it, and we get mild electric shocks when the shower's running and we touch the handle, but all in all not bad.

~Tim

Ummm...cold! I did not expect it to be this cold here in Africa! I guess I was just thinking Africa is desert and therefore should be hot. Nope. When we landed in Joburg it was 46 F and windy. Coming from a hot and humid Florida, (where our AC was broken!) it was a shock! While we were freezing waiting for a shuttle to the hotel, we realized neither of us had packed my jacket. I do have a sweatshirt, but we're currently in the market for a heavier jacket because I get cold easily. Botswana has definitely been warmer than Joburg was, which is very nice, but its still cold enough to warrant heavy blankets at night. My first impressions of Africa have been great, even through the tired haze of jetlag. The people are very friendly and the countryside is beautiful. Like Tim described, our room is fairly nice. Especially the ceiling! I think I'm going to be doing some redecorating at home!

~chels

Tim replaces the lightbulb in our room. Note the beautiful ceiling decorations!

Where in the world?

Did you guys play "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego"? Growing up I had a computer game version and I would watch the TV game show too. Geography always has interested me and I've been pretty good at it. But I understand everyone isn't as nerdy as me, so I'm going to use pretty pictures to show you where we're headed.

Tomorrow we go on a LONG plane ride to Africa.

Then we're going to Botswana.

And Namibia.

Do you see that thin strip of Namibia smashed in between Botswana, Zambia and Angola? That's called the Caprivi Strip and we'll be going to two national parks there (You can see one in the picture, its called Mudumu National Park).

So now you know. You learn something new everyday.

~chels

*I figured that we're probably going to sign our posts because it could get confusing which one of us is saying "I".



On your mark...get set...PACK!

Welcome to our blog. We wanted to have a space to share our stories of our African summer with you, so here we go. We leave on Friday and will be in Johannesburg Saturday evening and then making our way up to Gaborone, Botswana on Sunday. We're both excited about this trip although currently the fact that we're leaving in less than 2 days is daunting. 

So what exactly are we going to be doing?
Driving (Lord willing!) around to different sites within national parks in Botswana and Namibia, and doing animal counts. Animal counts identify groups of animals, counting them and recording their location and what they are doing. This will let us look at how different types of animals use their habitat and interact with one another.

How long?
About 7 weeks total.

Where will we stay?
In our fabulous REI tent. Its a 2 person tent, so with us + our big backpacks + other junk = a lot of stuff and not much space. We're going to be cozy this summer!

What will we eat?
Grasshoppers, meal worms and grubs. Yum. 
I'm joking (I hope...). 

How you can be praying for us:
-Safe travels. We have lots of planes to catch and cabs and shuttles to get in between. Please pray for safety.
-Logisitics. There are still some questions about vehicles, where to stay, etc.
-Getting along. We generally play well together, but we'll be spending A LOT of time in very close proximity so we'll need to be understanding towards one another.
-Safety (do you notice a theme here?). Once we're out in the bush working we'll be around lots of potentially dangerous animals (and smaller things like parasites that are just as dangerous but much harder to see). Ultimately our safety depends on the Lord, so we'd appreciate all the prayer we can get in this area.
-That we use the time well. We will be working with some of Tim's fellow graduate students so please pray that we can set a good example for them and that the Lord will open opportunities to share as He will.
-For a really fun time. We're so very excited to get to go on this adventure together. While it will be a lot of work, please pray that we'll be able to enjoy ourselves too.

We'll be updating this when we can, though internet can be spotty at times. There will most likely be large amounts of stories all at once and then none for a while.