Pancake Plate Trivia - Questions

Those who know me well, know I love to plan parties and events.  I will be hosting a Canada Day pancake breakfast this Sunday for about 30 people.  I will be using my dad's secret pancake recipe, and serving the pancakes with maple syrup (what else?).

I decided to write little Canadian trivia questions on the rims of the paper plates, with the answers to be concealed under the pancakes.

I would like to challenge you to answer the trivia questions.  Let me know what you come up with !  Answers to be provided July 1.

1.   List 3 Canadian NHL teams.

2.   List 3 uniquely Canadian terms.

3.   List the 5 Great Lakes.  Which 4 straddle the Canada / U.S. border ?

4.   List the 10 Canadian provinces and the 3 Canadian territories.

5.   What was the coldest temperature ever recorded in Canada ?  Where was this recorded ?

6.   List 5 famous Canadian musicians.

7.   What is Canada's national sport ?

8.   List 5 Canadian inventions.

9.   Which Canadian coin ceased to be produced in May, 2012 ?

10.  How old will Canada be on July 1, 2012 ?

11.  What food do Canadians consume more than any other nationality ?

12.  What was the last province to join confederation ?

13.  What does the word Canada mean ?

14.  Which territory is home to half of the world's polar bear population ?

15.  What is the name of the schooner (boat) depicted on the Canadian dime ?

16.  Approximately how many lakes are in Canada ?

17.  What percentage of the world's maple syrup is produced in Quebec, Canada ?

18.  What is the longest national highway in the world ?

19.  What is the longest street in the world ?

20.  How many time zones are in Canada ?

21.  How far is it from the Pacific to Atlantic coasts ?

22.  What is the shortest distance from Canada to Botswana ?

23   What is the approximate population of Canada ?

24.  What rodent had the greatest impact on the history and exploration of Canada ?

25.  What is the Canadian $1 coin called ?

26.  What is the Canadian $2 coin called ?

Merry Hashmas ! (Christmas in June - Part I)

On June 16/17, I joined the Kalahari Hash House Harriers for their annual 'Hashmas' weekend.
It is winter here, so it only seems natural to celebrate Christmas, right ?  

We were met with some strange glances as we hiked through the countryside with our Santa hats !

We returned to the Bahurutse Cultural Lodge to a turkey dinner, with all the fixings -- followed by mulled wine and Christmas carols by the campfire.

The next day, we visited some 2,000 year-old San cave paintings and the Livingstone tree, under which Livingstone taught the villagers.

I look forward to more outings with the Kalahari Hash House Harriers !

Hike through villages and valley - On, On !

The famous Hash Circle

Candlelight Christmas dinner

Turkey and ham with all the fixings

If you look closely, you can see an oryx

A cave that concealed a local princess during war time

2,000 year old San paintings at Manyana

What's new at BOCAIP ?

...So glad you asked !

BOCAIP is moving full steam ahead with implementing the Maatla Project.  I went with Mma Kwape and a team of advisors from FHI360, the American NGO coordinating the Maatla Project, on a site visit to the village of Molepolole.  We visited the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) day care centre and the HIV counselling and testing centre to see some of BOCAIP's projects in action.

FHI360 Advisors visit the OVC centre in Molepolole

Taking children home after a day of fun at the day care centre.
 I love this little guy's smile !

Health promotion posters on display at the counselling / testing centre.

Mma Kwape being interviewed at the May 10 launch

BOCAIP also launched a project funded by the South African Development Community (SADC),  through which support is provided via umbrella organization in Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe to develop the organizational capacity of 10 civil society organizations in each country working to address HIV and AIDS.  BOCAIP was selected as the organization to lead this project in Botswana.  I will be working with BOCAIP to ensure links are made, and lessons shared, with partners working on the Maatla Project. The umbrella organizations from Zambia and Zimbabwe, along with BOCAIP, are participating in Train the Trainer sessions this week in Gaborone.

Maun Weekend

Maun is a town that serves as the gateway to the Okavango Delta.  Some have compared Maun to a dusty Wild West frontier town.  Those who make a life there will tell you that a lot more goes on beneath the surface than it's sleepy exterior belies.  Maun is a town that is growing.  A few days before I arrived (May 18-20), the first traffic light was installed.  This photo is of the Maun International Airport -- complete with livestock grills to keep the donkeys, goats, and cattle off the runway.

It's my horse

It's now or never

I ain't gonna ride forever

I just want to ride while I'm alive...

I took a horseback safari just outside Maun.  On the back of Bon Jovi, I road alongside dancing giraffes, regal kudus, bouncing springbok, and prancing ostriches.  The zebra was the only animal that seemed to mind the presence of the horses -- too close a relative, perhaps?

My guide stopped to show me a nest of ostrich eggs.  There is a picture of me on the horse holding two strategically placed eggs, with giraffes in the background.  Sorry  -- but it is far too goofy / incriminating to post. You will just have to imagine the scene.

I am far from an experienced rider, but I did my best to steer Bon Jovi from thorn tree branches and aardvark holes.

The next day, my friend / colleague Gulner joined me from Gaborone for a mokoro camping trip into the Delta.  Each year, the finger-like channels of the Delta expand as the waters from Angola come to flood the Kalahari sands, giving life to reeds, lilies, and vegetation on which a variety of wildlife feast.  We traveled by mokoro - a dug-out canoe, poled by the local villagers. The guides bent down to scoop up handfuls of the clear, fresh water to drink.  Gulner and I were not so daring.  Other tourists swam in the deeper parts of the channels.  Again, we were not as daring -- Crocs and hippos live in these waters !

 

As our guides were setting up camp, Gulner and I went for a walk.  We found this lone bull elephant, grazing on grasses, just 100 metres or so from our campsite.  We were warned not to leave our tent at night.  While we weren't too concerned about a midnight visit from this gentle beast, the grunts of nearby hippos over-ruled the call of nature. 

We took one more mokoro ride to watch the setting sun.  As we glided along, we were serenaded by birds and bell frogs.  Later that night, our guides regaled us with local folklore tales while we listened to the call and response singing of polers from nearby camps.

The following morning, we went to a nearby island for a walking tour in the tracks of hippos and elephants.  We saw zebras, wildebeest, countless birds, and another lone elephant. 

May Mayhem

 (Okay, so not really "mayhem" per se,  in the destructive havoc-wreaking sense of the term...but May was a chaotic month, nonetheless.)

You may have noticed my entries for the month of  May and early June have been a little thin. It turned out to be a very busy time, for some of the reasons mentioned below, and I am a little behind in my blog posts.  I have already written about a couple of these events, and I am now trying to catch up on the others...so stay tuned !

In May/early June, I:

• moved into a new new house
• broke in a new housemate (just teasing, Erin)
• learned new routes, routines
• introduced a couple of newly arrived volunteers to some of my favourite places in and around Gaborone
• worked long hours (due to a couple of exciting projects)
• fought a bronchial infection (note to self:  do not self-medicate with Cipro -- ever agan)
• worked on my Serlo forms (that's the innocuous sounding acronym for the "selection for retention or lay-off" process many in the federal public service of Canada are now going through)
• long-distance managed a tree falling on my house
• ventured to the Okavango Delta for a weekend safari by horseback, mokoro (poled dug-out canoe), and on foot
• introduced some local friends to "Canadian cuisine" (I have to use the quotation marks, since I'm still not sure what that is)
• attended a funeral and a baby shower, in the same day (celebrating the end of one life, and the beginning of another)

Greetings

I have mentioned in earlier posts the importance of greetings here.  It is not at all uncommon for complete strangers to greet one another in passing -- in fact, it is expected. 

I have not once had a "Dumela" or "Good morning" go unacknowledged.

Even by teenagers.  Imagine that !  Anywhere else you would approach an unknown teenager, you would get a strange look, a stifled, awkward laugh, or be made to feel exceedingly uncool.  Here, you get a return, "Dumela Mma", a nod, a smile, and sometimes, the beginning of a conversation.  More often than not, they are the ones initiating the exchange.

The same can happen with even younger kids who may not have been taught the lessons of stranger danger.  Not everyone would agree with this method of raising children, but it seems to work here. 

Each day, I pass by a small house around the corner from my office  This house is usually unattended by people, but always has an assorted variety of sleepy dogs, and on a couple of occasions, horses and livestock (yes, in a city !).  We figure the residents spend most of their time at the cattle post.

Yesterday, I was surprised by the call of "Dumela Mma" emanating from a small boy in the yard.  He must have been about 3 or 4 years old.  He was picking up handfuls of sand and letting the grains sift through his fingers.  I answered, "Dumela Rra".  "Where are you going ?" he asked.  "I am going to work".  "Oh -- I am from the Village !", he announced proudly.  "Well, how very nice of you to come see us in the City !", I answered.  We wished each other good day, and went about our respective business.

Names

When I meet someone with a Setswana name I haven't heard before, I ask them what it means.  It is always something interesting.  I work with Lorato (Love) and Bonolo (Humility).  I went to Karabo (Answer)'s wedding.  I met baby Kamogelo (Accept) at a funeral.  I took a taxi ride with Kealebago (Thanks). 

There are also those I know who have standard English names:  Irene, Paul, Veronica, David.

But the names I find most charming are the ones that express character traits in English. I recently went to a meeting hosted by Beauty, and sat next to Polite.  We all know the name Precious from Alexander McCall Smith's No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series.  I have met a couple of women named Precious.  I also know Patience.  Karabo's groom Innocent is the brother of Gift. 

Whenever I hear names like these, in Setswana or English, I think about the kind of values and traits  that are held important by Batswana society -- or at least by the parents of these fine people.

Two White Doves

"Be ready at 4am".  I showed this sms message to my dinner companions, Friday night.  "I won't be going out with you after dinner, guys.  Have a good time."

At 3 am, just as my house-mate was getting in from the Big Night Out, I started to get ready for Emmah's arrival.  I was told to wear a dress, and to cover my head.  I borrowed a scarf from Erin as I was leaving the gang the previous night.  It is getting cold now, so I decided to dress in layers.  Under my skirt and suit jacket, I put on a pair of leggings and a long sleeved shirt.  As a last minute thought, I wrapped a wool shawl around my shoulders before putting on my coat.  I then wrapped my head in the scarf, and made a cup of coffee while waiting for Emmah and Rodwell to arrive.

"We are on the way over", the next message read, followed by "Let's go".

We stopped to pick up Rodwell's aunt.  The four of us then drove about 45 minutes to the village of Thamaga.

We parked on the road and walked a couple of minutes to the house.  There were already several cars there.  Rodwell went to join the men by the fire.  Emmah, Rodwell's aunt, and I joined the other ladies sitting in the courtyard.  Some were camped out on plastic chairs, wrapped warmly in blankets and shawls.  I could see steam and smoke rising from the floodlight lit outdoor kitchen, as women pounded corn and beef to make samp and seswaa.  Emmah and I huddled to keep warm.  Someone tried to tape a picture of a woman above the door to the house.  It took a couple of tries, but it finally stuck.  Soon more people joined us, and as the sun started to rise, the funeral began.

Following a viewing of the body in the house, the coffin was taken to the yard and festooned with flowers.  A minister delivered a sermon in Setswana, followed by speeches by select members of the crowd.

I looked at a brochure handed out to me, with pictures of a woman with her hands in prayer; in a uniform, tending to flowers; standing arm in arm with another lady.  A woman of faith.  A care giver.  A friend.  There was a picture of a crocodile -- her totem -- in the corner of the brochure.  I glanced at the section outlining her life and gleaned what I could from the Setswana text.  She was born in South Africa, trained as an Auxilliary Nurse, and later, as a Family Welfare Educator, serving families affected by HIV and AIDS. 

Mme Mangwegape was also a mother and grandmother.  She was the mother of Rodwell's sister-in-law, who herself, is a mother of 3 small children.  Tears streamed down my cheeks as someone read a letter from Rodwell's sister-in-law to her departed mother, written in English.  No matter how old you are, no matter what your circumstances are, it is always hard to lose a  mother.  I felt for her. 

She was taken quickly, in a car accident.  The same fate as her departed husband, not long ago. She was not yet 60 years old.

The funeral procession moved from the yard to the cemetery, where we were joined by hundreds more. Fellow villagers, paying respect to a dear family and a departed friend.  I have never seen such an overwhelming display of support. Following more speeches and hymns, the casket was placed in the ground. The crowd sang and clapped in rhythm as two men worked to cover the casket with soil. Clap, clap, shovel.  Clap, clap, shovel. 

As the casket was placed in the ground, two white doves swooped down, hovered above for a few seconds, then perched on top of the tent that was sheltering the family members.  Once the casket was fully covered, they flew away.

We returned to the house for the feast.  I asked Emmah, "Were the doves part of the service?"  She said, no.  They just happened to be in the area.  I explained that I have seen a lot of birds in Botswana, but never white doves.  In my culture, they symbolize peace.

I discussed this with Rodwell's aunt, and asked if doves symbolize the same thing in Botswana.  She said yes -- to her they do, at least. We agreed that the doves were sent by Mma and Rra Mangwegape, to let everyone know that they are now at peace.

Leaving the cemetary.  I didn't take pictures of the service, out of respect for the family, even though they said they didn't mind.

The women, waiting for the feast to begin.  Samp and Seswaa. The men were under a tent behind the house.

Rodwell's aunt, with the departed's granddaughter.  Her name means "Accept".  She will surely be accepted by many loving surrogate grannies.