Botswana

By Indira Palmer of University of Vermont Botswana Student Program – Spring Semester 2020 My 5:45 AM alarm beeps from the watch tightly wrapped around my right wrist and wakes me up from a night of the strangest malaria pill-induced…

By Evan Olson of University of Vermont Like most people, when I wake up every morning, I like to eat food and drink something caffeinated. Here at camp, breakfast is a very personal experience. Everyone has their own way of…

By Dominic Noce of University of Montana As I’m writing this, we unfortunately are hearing the news that we must return to the U.S. early due to Coronavirus concerns. Since most of this week has been us preparing for our departure…

By Jenifer Torres of University of Vermont Every time it rains in Botswana, it is exciting for many reasons. Rain, pula in Setswana, is important culturally here as it is considered a blessing due to its scarcity. Botswana is currently…

By Patrick Heaton of University of Vermont It is the rainy season here in the Okavango and the roads are slippery and unpredictable.  Our trusty Land Cruisers try their hardest but sometimes the roads win. We are almost a month…

By Ian Foote of State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry The Okavango Delta is often known for two things: its mammals and its birds. The Delta is home to the highest density of elephants, large…

By Rachael Podtburg of University of Vermont February 16th, 2020 My usual birthday wake up is a phone call from my best friend at midnight on my birthday. We’ve had this tradition since we had our first phones, and it’ll…

By Adam Blachly of Middlebury College I’ve always been a believer that education is one of the best ways to connect with the natural world. Education is a tool for appreciation, for questioning, for research. While there is fundamental beauty…

By Madison Busacco of University of Vermont Here in Mababe, we’ve spent our first days learning how to navigate life in the bush. We are at this camp, Dizhana, for 19 days, so we’ve done our best to make it…

By Allegra Klein of the University of Vermont Botswana Student Program – Spring Semester 2020 Hello everyone! Or should I say, “Dumela!” in Setswana, one of the primary languages spoken in Botswana. Our first week here has felt like a…

By Elyse Ruthenbeck of University of Vermont When arriving in Botswana I was excited to continue to have warm weather and escape the Minnesota tundra back home. However, after weeks of relentless heat, I now find myself avoiding the sun…

By Martica Drury of University of Vermont Botswana Student Program – Fall 2019 Semester Thanksgiving in the bush started out like any other day. The radiant sun crested the tops of the Kalahari Apple Leaf trees, sending rays of orange…

By Mary Kuehl of University of Vermont We somehow only have one more month left here in Botswana. The time has been flying by because we have been busy doing transects and classes, playing cards, birding, fishing, and making gourmet meals….

by Jess Harkness, of University of Vermont Botswana Student Program – Fall 2019 Semester It’s almost midnight in Botswana, and we’ve been on the road for twelve hours straight. By “road”, I mean a well-traveled path in the sand through…

By Fiona Casey of Carleton College Do you know the scene in Lord of the Rings where Strider determines Pippin and Mary’s fate after the battle? No? That’s okay. I hadn’t seen Lord of the Rings before our campsite movie…

by Johanna Griggs, of University of British Columbia Botswana Study Abroad – Fall Semester 2019 – Week 4 Our group is almost 4 weeks into our semester! Being forever covered in dirt feels normal, scaring monkeys away from our food…

by Katherine Rigney, of Carleton College How do you begin to describe two weeks like the two weeks we’ve just had? I suppose as Julie Andrews once said, the beginning is the very best place to start. So we’ll try…

by Mariel Ferragamo, of Colby College Conversation on “wilderness” has predominantly connoted a place without conventional civilization, what remains are the exotic plants and animals so elusive and idealized to the everyday urbanite. Since as early as Hobbes’ “State of…