Some things I love...

A list of some of the things that I love about Botswana:

• How excited people get when I try out any of my new Setswana words
  
• The sun is so bright and intense that it warms you to the core on the cool days (yes, I do wear sunscreen - no, I have not gotten sunburned yet)
• People's smiles are so wide that you can't help but feel welcome
• Relationships are valued more than efficiency - this means that people are unbelievably accommodating and generous (it also means a lot of waiting and patience)
  
• Brilliant flowers and fruits grow even in the middle of winter
• Soda is actually made with sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup
• In church I love watching people worship God with their whole body
• How proud people are of their peaceful, democratic, generous heritage and yet how humble they are in recognizing that the tragedies and corruptions in other countries (specifically in neighboring Zimbabwe and South Africa) could easily come here too