Another week begins...

Yesterday morning, while it was still dark I woke up to the sound of rain on the roof. I remember thinking that was odd for the desert, this being the dry season and all and then drifting back to sleep. When we arrived at church it was still lightly raining and there I found out how odd it actually was. It was strange to be greeted by the Africans commenting on "how great the weather is!" even though it was gray, drizzly, and cold. It turns out that rain this late in the year is almost unheard of but certainly still welcome.

And so we begin another week in Botswana. Last week was very laid back. We slept in, found our way around town, did some shopping for the necessities, and ate dinner with various FM staff and friends. This week is shaping up to be different. I have gotten all of my study materials for the Air Law Exam, which is the first step in converting my licenses to Botswana and I need to start hitting that hard. We are also needing to start looking seriously for a flat of our own and a vehicle or vehicles. The apartment and the vechicle(s) are strangely interdependant. If we live in the city there is no immediate need for a 4x4. However, if we live out of town any distance at all the dirt roads demand it.

We have looked around enough to know that we would like to get a bit out of town if we can. We are looking at a village immediately north of Gaborone a few miles called Mmopane. We like the location since it is bit out of town (but not too far away) and it is a much smaller community to be involved with. Additionally, Mmopane is a only a few miles from the airport if you have the ability to go overland. As there are no real roads from Mmopane to the airport the best way to get there would be on dirt tracks with a dirt bike. :-) We were thinking about a motorcycle anyway since it is cheaper to buy and run but if I got to commute to work everyday going through the bush on a dirt bike....well, how much fun would that be?! However, living in Mmopane would also require a 4x4 since there is only one paved road into the village and the dirt roads tend to be in rough shape. Time will tell.

The Gaborone area advertiser comes out tomorrow and we are praying for a listing in Mmopane.
(By the way, if you have access to Google Earth, just type in Mmopane, Botswana and it will go to it if you want to look. Otherwise, it is due north of Gaborone and due west of the airport just a couple of miles.)