$money$money$

   
  Totaling the cost of my trip to Botswana is about $3,250. Over the past seven days I kept track of the cost of one meal, three tourist sights, and my hotel, but I didn’t include my transportation to places and other meals. On the first day I spend about $71.00 (hotel, food, and attraction). On the second day I spent fairly close to $116.99. The third day cost me $79.00. The price of my fourth day in Botswana was really close to the fifth. It cost $75.00. On day five I stayed in a run-down hotel, so the money I spent was a little bit less. It only cost about $61.99. Day six was by far the most expensive! The hotel is what really ran the price up on this day. The hotel alone was $212.00, and the total of the whole day was around $231.50. On my last day in Botswana I only spend about twenty dollars, being that’s all I had left. For my round-trip flight from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Gaborone, Botswana was exactly $1855.00.



Map of Botswana

 

Day 7

       When I woke up this morning thoughts of depression filled my head, because I realized this was my last day in Botswana.  I didn’t want to leave, but I missed everyone back home.  I forced myself out of my hotel with all my bags ready to go home, but before I left I had three more places to visit.  I first went to the Central Kalahari Game Resort.  It cost $5.00 to get in, but it was worth every penny.  I saw hundreds of different animals.  After that, I traveled to Gaborone.  The first thing I did in Gaborone was visit the University of Botswana. Just in case I would like to come back some day.  Then I went out to eat, my last Botswana meal.  I went to the Equatorial Café.  It was delicious, especially the homemade fruit smoothie.  It was $8.50.  Then I went the Oprapa House.  It is where they sort diamonds, from the biggest diamonds in the world to the smallest.  It was awesome.  After fantasying about diamonds, I went to the airport.  I wasn’t ready to leave, but I had no choice.  I loaded the plane and off  I flew back to the good United States.

Day 6

       When I woke up this morning, after wonderful night of sleep, I really wanted to see another crocodile farm.  I asked all around the village of Maun if there was one here. To my luck there was! It was called the Crocodile Farm and cost $7.00 to get in.  It was a community ran farm. The point of the farm was to try to encourage people to stay inside the mokoros (traditional dugout canoe), while flowing through the Okavango Delta.  After seeing the odd creatures, I visited the Matsieng Rock Carvings.  It was one of the few free attractions.  The Batswana people regard this spot as one of the four 'creation sites'. According to legend, the footprint and rock carvings belonged to Matsieng, who marched out of a hole followed by wild and domestic animals. Then after visiting one of Botswana’s most historical sighs, I went to get some lunch.  I went to Hillary’s to eat.  I had a baked potato, homemade bread, and a bowl of soup.  The price of my meal was about $12.50.  Next I traveled to Ghanzi, which is about two and one half hours from Maun.  I ran into a group of villagers doing a tribal dance. They only do this on rare occasions; when someone’s very ill or they need rain. It was pretty amazing!  Later that evening, after watching the villagers for a while I went to my hotel.  I thought since this was my last night staying in Botswana, I’d sleep in luxury.  I stayed at the Kalahari Arms Hotel.  It was beautiful!  The price spoke fro it at $212.00.

Day 5

     As soon as I woke up this morning I just knew it was going to be a good day!  I started off my morning by going to the Gababis Hill in Chobe.  It is the most famous sight in the area, which features several sets of four thousand-year-old rock paintings of San origins.  I had to climb up a tall hill to see the beautiful artworks.  It was a public tourist attraction, so it was free.  Then, I went to my favorite sight so far, the Kazungula Crocodile Farm.  It was only four dollars to proceed into the farm.  It was really scary, because you got up close and personal with these scaly beasts.   They were huge, like dinosaurs!  I next went to the Old House to have some lunch. There was a variety of choices, but it had many vegetarian foods.  It was also very nice because the price was very low.  It only cost $7.99!  It defiantly filled me up.  After that, I traveled to a nearby city named Maun. Where I went to the Nhabe Museum.  The price to visit the museum was five dollars. It housed many historical items from wars.  After all that excitement for the day I went to the Alfa Lodge to sleep.  It was a run-down hotel and was really cheap.  It cost $45.00.

Day 4

      I was completely adjusted to the time change when I woke up this morning.  This first thing I decided to do this morning was to visit the Nata Delta.  It is a located at the rock deposits at the beginning of the river.  Huge flocks of birds visit this area all the time.  Then, I went out to eat at the Fishmonger.  People from Botswana told me not to think about how far away the nearest ocean is.  It was a very classy restaurant. It was also very expensive, costing me eighteen dollars.  After that, I visited the Sawa Spit, which I still barely understand what it was.  It was a soda ash plant.  I took a tour, but didn’t really understand anything.  Then, I went to the small dust-bowl town of Gweta.  The name of the village is derived from the croaking sound made by large bullfrogs, which, incredibly, bury themselves in the sand until the rains provide sufficient water for them to emerge and mate.  Later that night, I went to Jack’s Camp.  It was a run-down motel! It only cost fifty dollars though.    

Day 3

  I’m finally getting use to the time change.  When I woke up this morning I was for an adventurous day!  The first thing I decided to do this morning was get some breakfast.  I went to King’s Takeaway, which was kind of like the American Burger King.  It only cost me about five dollars, fairly cheap.   After filling my stomach, I traveled to Gabatsadi Islands.  I was told that Prince Charles visited there to capture the beautiful view in watercolor, but it was so hot that it ran down the paper. After the magnificent scenic view, I went to Chapman’s Baobab.  It was historically used asa navigation beacon. It may have also been used as an early post office by passing explorers, traders and travelers, many of whom left inscriptions on its trunk.  After all the traveling I went to a relaxing place called Ntwetwe Pan.  It had many rocky outcrops, but the lunar landscape was beautiful!  It was really relaxing and got me ready for bed time.  I was staying at the Nata Lodge. It cost sixty-nine dollars per night, but was worth it. It had luxury tents and chalets, safari chic, and the open-air bar-restaurant and shady pool are perfect for unwinding after touring the nearby pans.





Day 2

       After tossing and turning in bed last night from all the time change, I woke up early this morning to start of a new day in Botswana.  The first sight I went to visit was the Nata Bird Sanctuary. It was fairly cheap to get into at three dollars.  Although it had over one hundred and sixty five birds, it was also home to many animals including; antelopes, zebras, jackals, foxes, monkeys, and squirrels.  After I was done spending time with all the colorful animals I went to Kuba Island.  It cost five U.S. dollars to enter.  Kuba means hippopotamus. It uses to be home to many of thee.  On one of the shore line’s it had a wall full of unknown ancient origin.  It was a really neat place to visit.  After visiting both extraordinary sights, my stomach got the rumbles.   I took my hungry stomach down to Milano’s Chicken and Pizza.  It was delicious!  Later in the afternoon, I explored the Makgadikgadi Pans Game Reserve.  It had one of the most spectacular views of wildebeest and zebras.  Amazingly it was free to attend!  After that I felt the need to go and crash at my hotel.  I stayed at a cheaper hotel for the area at one hundred dollars a night.  It was called the Leroo La Tau.  As soon as my head hit the pillow I was out for the night.

Day 1

Today is July 17, 2011, yesterday I left for the airport at five o’clock in the morning.  My flight left at 6:05 a.m. from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  The flight took twenty seven hours and twenty minutes, so I was on a plane for over a whole day!  Was it really worth $1,855.00 to sit on a plane for that long?  When I got off the plane at Gaborone, Botswana it was 9:25 p.m.  I was definitely feeling the affects of jet lag.  Originally it would have been 3:25 p.m. not 9:25! 

After realizing what standing on land felt like again, I traveled to my hotel to drop off my bags at the Gudigwa Cultural Lodge, so I could go out to eat.  I went to the Terrace Restaurant in Gaborone.  I ordered some type of grilled meat. It was like a rainbow in my mouth!  After filling my stomach with some traditional Botswana food I went back to my hotel to finally get some sleep.  I was exhausted, but was ready to see what adventure the rest of the week had in store for me!     

Botswana Beef Recipe

         Ingredients:

·                              125ml olive oil

·                              60ml soy sauce

·                              4 cloves garlic, crushed

·                              1 thumb fresh root ginger, peeled and crushed

·                              2 red chilies, seeded and chopped

·                              5ml paprika

·                              10ml ground peppercorns

·                              10ml coriander seeds, crushed

·                              4 x 225g fillet steaks

·                              45ml olive oil for cooking

·                              8 large cloves whole garlic, peeled

·                              Salt and ground pepper

To Serve:

·                              4 banana leaves

·                              Fresh chilies   

                                                                                

     Directions:

     In a deep ceramic dish combine the olive oil, soy sauce, crushed garlic, ginger, chilies, paprika, ground peppercorns and coriander.

Add the steaks and coat well with marinade. Leave for at least 6 hours.

Heat a large cast-iron pan. Add the olive oil for cooking, steaks and whole garlic.

Seal steaks for 3 minutes on each side, and then cook until ready.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To Serve:

Wrap each fillet in a strip of banana leaf and garnish with fresh chilies as per photograph.

Joan Burnt at the Stake

            I WAITED TO DIE, BECAUSE PEOPLE DO NOT SEEM TO UNDERSTAND THE TRUTH.  I was charged with three indictments. The first being which people claimed I used magic.  Voices from st. michael, st. Margaret, and st. Catherine were speaking to me.  Instructing me to dress as a boy and fight for the French in the hundred years’ war. They accused me of being likened to the devil. If I am not in god’s grace, may god put me there; and if I am, may god so keep me.   The second and third sets of accusations were for speaking out my faith and being pure obedient to god.

            When my sentence was to be carried out, I was tied down to a tall wooden pillar, and placed so everyone could see my flesh be burnt into ashes. A small peasant boy constructed me a little cross, which I placed on the front of my dress to show my dedication to god.  I asked to face the cross from the church. I also requested to hold small wooden cross until I had fully pasted on.  The time had come for me.  My body gushed to flames.  My skin melting, everything burning, I cried out, “Jesus, Jesus” to give me strength!  In giving up the ghost and bowing my head, I uttered Jesus one last time as a sign i was fervent in the faith of God.

Joan of Arc

          On January sixth around the year of 1412, Joan of Arc was born to Jacques d’arc and his wife Isabelle.  She was born in a little village of Domeremy, within the Barrios region on the border of eastern France.  She was christened “Jehanne” (“Joan” or “Joanna”), apparently after her mother’s sister Jehanne Lassois.  Her childhood was spent among the pastures and meadows of the Meuse River Valley, during a period in which events were already setting the stage for her later life.  Although she was born a peasant girl, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years’ War .