My short story collection, In the Spirit of McPhineas Lata and Other Stories, is now available in print thanks to Hands-on Books. It contains a collection of my stories all set in Botswana.
Would you like to win a signed copy? Then leave a comment below telling me one obscure fact you know about Botswana, my lovely adopted home. The weirdest unknown fact gets the book.
Good luck!
a type of food unique to Botswana is Seswaa which is pounded and salted meat which is mostly eaten with pap which in Kenya is equivalent to Ugali. The Tswana are the majority in Botswana and the language revolves around prefixes Bo,Se,Mo. It sounds like a very bantu language.
ReplyDeleteWhen a child loses a tooth they throw their tooth on the roof and say, "kgwedi ntela ka leino le lesha kgwedi ntela ka leino le lesha"..
ReplyDeleteTranslation: Moon, please bring me a new tooth!
There are so many interesting tales about our country Botswana.......Having moved from a low income country to a middle level one,literacy among citizens has thus gradually improved. What boggles the mind though is that all toothpastes are called colgate,surf for all washing powders and sta-soft for all fabric softners!Ironically this cuts across all societal classes.
ReplyDeleteI'm really enjoying these facts. HA!! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteNeo and Boseyong are girl names in Botswana.
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ReplyDeleteBotswana is home to some of Africa's most famous persons: Sir Seretse Khama (former leader), Mpule Kwelagobe (1999 Miss Universe), Ruth Khama (ex- First Lady), and Amantle Montsho(athlete).
At the 2011 All Africa Games in Maputo, Kenya faced off against Botswana in the 4th Round in the Chess discipline. Botswana narrowly beat Kenya 2.5 - 1.5 with yours truly being main one responsible for Kenya's loss after messing up a won position.
ReplyDeleteAnother Botswana chess fact - it is the first African country to have been visited by a reigning World Chess Champion. Vishy Anand of Indian went for a chess tour in Botswana in 2009.
ReplyDeleteBill Clinton paid a state visit to Gaborone in 1998. He and Hillary Rodham Clinton came to Botswana on the six day of a 12-day journey through Africa. Like many foreign visitors, they visited the Chobe National Park and Mokolodi Game Reserve, a symbol of Botswana. It was the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the African nation in the past
I love your short stories. I'm glad you now have this in print as I still don't have an e-reader.
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1-Diamonds were "discovered" in Botswana for the first time only several months after independence.And now diamonds are 76% of all exports.
ReplyDelete2-There is only one place on earth where four countries meet. Botswana is one of the "Four Corners of Africa" as it meets with Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
3- The highest points in Botswana are in the Otse Mountain (1,491 m) and the Tsodilo Hills (1,489 m).
4- It is illegal to take pictures of Federal Buildings
5-The previous name for Francistown was Ghetto.
6- There is a custom of moms staying home alone/isolated with their newborns for 3 months to bond (no visitors, even family).
Botswana is a landlocked country in southern Africa, Botswana enjoys a mild climate in the east; the Kalahari Desert dominates the west and south. The Okavango Delta and Chobe National Park in the north are areas of outstanding natural beauty, rich in animal life. Elephants at Chobe are the largest in body size of all living elephants; they number about 120,000. Stable and prosperous, Botswana has blossomed since independence from Britain in 1966. It is Africa's longest continuous democracy and one of the world's biggest diamond producers.
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ReplyDelete•Being one of the worlds top African travel destinations
ReplyDelete•Political Stability
•The Okavango delta...which the worlds largest inland delta
•Having the largest salt pans in the world (the Makgadikgadi Pans)
•Having the largest Elephant population in Africa
•Being the largest producer of diamonds in the world (..by value)
•Last but not least the loving and friendly people of Botswana,...Batswana :-).
Botswana is the home of the famous private investigator Mma Precious Ramotswe.
ReplyDeleteBotswana is home to a group of metalheads who dress in cowboy style (think black leather, boots, studs and tassels). They've been featured in a Frank Marshall photography exhibition. You can see some of the images here http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/atlas-hoods-botswanas-cowboy-metalheads/
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