Blocked Sinks, Bureaucracy and Trips to the Hospital...

Friday 2/7/08
So I apologize that I still have not posted the safari events. I promise I am working on that entry, but it will take a while, and the literature review for my paper has monopolized most of my free time the last few days.
Today was a very eventful day, with many varying and unrelated events. To begin the day, I woke up at 6am in order to continue reading through and taking notes on my research for my literature review. Briefly, the lit review is a summary of the existing body of literature on my research topic in a broad sense, ie. as it applies to everywhere but Botswana. The purpose is to highlight pertinent debates and topics within my field and shape the context into which my specific research will be placed. I was interrupted by Globalization class at 8am, and then a trip to the maintenance office located in some obscure corner of the campus where Alyssa and I submitted a maintenance request form to unblock the drains in both our kitchen sink and shower. Apparently there's been too much hair and food going down into the pipes and they got a bit backed up! The man who collected the form from us did not seem interested in responding to our needs urgently, and I did not allow myself to hope that the problem would be addressed before the weekend arrived.
Back in my room, I spent the entire rest of the morning and afternoon writing my paper, which turned out to be two pages over the limit (7 instead of 5). I'm hoping that is a good thing because it shows that there is a lot of material out there on my topic and I will therefore have a better time finding information to include in my paper. While I was working on the paper, the maintenance guys actually stopped by and were able to clear both pipes of debris, so we are blockage free! My roommates and I discussed buying some sort of Drain-o-like substance to pour into the drains every few weeks, and I think we will probably invest in that to avoid future blockages. It was a great bonding experience though!
After finishing my paper (and subsequently nearly forgetting to submit it), Alyssa and I walked over to another student's residence where we were having a meeting regarding the fact that our passports only give us 90 days in the country, which means that as of April 6th, we will be illegally in this country and may not be allowed to stay! According to Charity, in order to extend our days, we have to apply for temporary residence permits, which in the U.S. would be a hassle, and in Botswana is next to impossible! In addition, it requires that we pay a fee of P500 (almost $100 USD) as well as $90 USD for three notary stamps on a copy of a passport, a passport photo, and our application for the permit. Needless to say, everyone is in an uproar, and there is much trepidation as to what will really happen in this situation. We are further discouraged by the fact that one student who is here outside of any programs has been attempting to complete this process for several weeks now, and the only result was that they lost his application which led to him being in the country illegally and having to pay a P500 penalty, at which point they told him to start the process again. I will get into this more in a bit, but the bureaucracy of this country is unbelievable! Please don't fret yet, I have more to add about this situation....
Feeling a bit frazzled after a day of paper-writing and the news about immigration hassles, Whitney, Alyssa and I walked to Riverwalk for our weekly night out looking forward to a relaxing, enjoyable evening. We ate at Spur again, and I thoroughly enjoyed my quesadillas with guacamole! After dinner we walked over to Pick and Pay (grocery store) so Whitney could pick up some food for tomorrow, and we were in the checkout line when a girl from the ACM program called me and requested that I come over to the bank at Riverwalk to help out with an American who had fallen at hurt himself. I couldn't determine much from the phone call, but I could here the urgency in her voice, so I headed over hoping that my limited EMT skills would be sufficient to handle the situation. When I arrived, the guy, Vip was sitting on the curb looking in one piece, but not well. I asked people what had happened, and apparently, Vip had been walking along with the group when he took a misstep and fell into a narrow drainage ditch that is near a fence on the walk to Riverwalk (Alyssa and I often discuss how dangerous the ditch is, especially in the dark because it is only about a foot and half wide, but at least six feet deep and not lit up at night), catching most of his weight on his arms, but also slamming his front into the cement. His friends pulled him out immediately and he reportedly lost consciousness for about forty-five seconds. When I reached him, he was oriented to the date and location, and could answer my questions fairly coherently although he seemed a bit dazed. He was complaining of dizziness, nausea, abdominal pain, and tiredness, which made me automatically suspect a concussion although he and other bystanders continually asserted that he had not hit his head. I palpated (touched) his head and torso to check for tenderness or bruising, but the only source of pain was his stomach. He didn't seem to be in shock, but I still felt very strongly that he should go to the hospital, so we called a family member of his that lives in Botswana to come get him, and I ended up accompanying him to the hospital. After an examination, the doctor decided to admit him and submit him for tests to check for internal bleeding because they suspected that the majority of the impact had been on his abdomen when he fell. A friend of Vip's relative that was with us took me home when they took Vip for x-rays, and I am anxiously awaiting an update, but I'm fairly certain that he will be alright.
While we were waiting for the doctor to explain the situation, I had a lengthy and very enlightening discussion with the friend about Botswana's bureaucratic government systems. He basically said that the reason that anything to do with the government is so difficult to manage is because the systems in place have been in place since before the end of colonization! He said that is one of the major pitfalls of Botswana society and must be addressed in the near future if Botswana wants to continue to open its doors to the world market. Furthermore, he clarified the issue of passport extensions, saying that our best option rather than applying for residence permits, is to go directly to the immigration window with a letter from UB explaining our presence here in UB (and our need to be continually present beyond the allotted ninety days), a letter from ACM proving that we have the financial means to support ourselves, and a copy of our airline departure receipt to show that we are intending to leave the country. With these things, we can then explain the situation and request for an extension of the days on our passport to the departure date listed on the receipt for only P100. Hopefully we will be so lucky as to have that work (fingers crossed) because although ACM is prepared to pay the P500 administrative fee for our residence permits, the notary costs are on our own, and $90 USD is a lot to spend for three stamps! So anyway, good news in that department.
The remaining hours of the evening have been thus far uneventful, and I am looking forward to tomorrow because a group of ACM students are going to a craft center called Odie where we get to learn about and make batiques (spelling?) which are wax-coated wall hangings (made out of fabric) that we can keep for only P100! Should be a lot of fun! I will get to my blog someday! And homework for that matter... TTFN!