Welcome Spring! - 2018

As we welcome the spring 2018 students, we begin their journey with the orientation week and get them ready for a spring semester. Even though they might be jet legged we have a long week of orientation to equip them with information that will help them navigate their new life for the next five months. 

Orientation Workshops: Workshop on being a UB student for the semester, and how they can benefit from this study abroad experience. During orientation week we go over being a homestay and dorm life, health and safety, community interactions and go shopping with the students to get some necessities. 

Botswana Culture and Dance workshop: The students learn more about the Botswana culture and our different dances. Dance and music are considered forms of communication and plays as functional role in the Setswana culture. The workshop also addresses  the evolution of dance and music in the Setswana culture.  Thabang  (the choreographer) also adds modern dance moves into the mix and show how batswana evolve with times, but still holding our setswana culture to heart.

Cultural activity: In one of the neighborhoods nearer to campus, we had lunch at one of the chill-spots  in Extension 12 and got  more of the cultural entertainment of storytelling through songs. After lunch we went on a city tour and got a chance to see the other side of Gaborone, the not so fancy side of the city. We went into the townships such as Old Naledi,  White city and Bontleng and our tour guide showed us a glimpse of the living situations in these areas, and  further explaining the type of people who settle in these areas aswell as how townships grow overtime.

Welcome dinner: Let’s dine, and yes the famous Avani stir-fry.

Amazing Race: Before students start their clinic visits, our volunteers (the heart of the program) go on a combi safari and teach the students how to use our local public transport. The main aim of this activity is too get students comfortable with using public transport and mainly how to stop the combi when you reach your destination “Ema mo stopong”.

Welcome to Botswana!