KalahariLog

Today I went to the US embassy for a third time since we arrived. This is the only place in Botswana where I have seen people with machine guns. Even at the border crossings with South Africa and Zimbabwe the guards didn't have machine guns. The embassy is often referred to as "the compound" and it has a very closed-in, barbed-wire, fortress kind of feel to it. Given the problems that the US has had with embassies in East Africa, I understand the need for extra security. What I don't understand is the unfriendliness. The first time I went there with our car to collect some boxes with textbooks that I had mailed in advance. It took half an hour to enter the embassy and the process was very confusing and unpleasant. The next time I had to go to collect a couple of more boxes that arrived late, i decided to park outside and carry them, hoping that it'll be less painful to enter the embassy without a car. I was wrong. Today, there were three of us going in for a scheduled "security briefing". As usual, the security guards didn't know who we were, couldn't find us "on the list", didn't know who we need to see. Phone calls were made, x-ray machines were walked through, phones and ipods were collected for safekeeping, i was even asked to drink from my water bottle in front of the guard! To make things worse, all the security people are unfriendly, unsmiling, uncooperative, and really unpleasant. Half an hour later (as always) we were given our security briefing. I didn't learn much that I didn't know before. Crime is low here even though the embassy ranks the risk as "high". Batswana are intolerant of crime. The best thing to do if someone is trying to mug or rob you is to shout "thief" and point to the thief. At this point, if there are people around, they will chase the thief, capture him, and often dispense justice right there. If the thief is fast, he'll be chased until the police catch him. This doesn't happen often as crime is rare but has been witnessed by several acquaintances. As Fulbright scholars, we are supposed to receive access badges, which would make entering the embassy easy. However, this "privilledge" has been revoked so now whenever we need to go to the embassy we have to endure the pain.

If any embassy in the world should be friendly it should the the US embassy. If any embassy in the world should be welcoming it should be the US. What happened with "give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..." It is probably a sign of getting old, but in the old days the US Embassy was friendly, welcoming, and open. I know, because I spent a good part of an year in the the US Embassy in Bulgaria, getting the addresses of the top 200 Universities in the US, finding out about applying to US Universities, scholarships and fellowships, and so on. This was in the early 90's, not so long ago. As Mary Schmich said in the Sunscreen Song "... when you get old, you fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders." I must be getting old.

On a completely unrelated note, here is one of my favorite pictures from Botswana. It is a seed-pod of a plant that I've never seen before.