These likes and dislikes are based on my experiences living in Diphuduhudu (local language: Cua) and Mokgenene (local language: Sasi) in rural Botswana during my linguistic fieldwork. The locations I stayed at are called ‘settlements’, meaning that they were created as places where the ‘Basarwa’ (Khoisan population) could move to for access to amenities (e.g., school, clinic). I have no experience living in other kinds of rural villages in Botswana.
I am grateful to the people of these villages for their friendship and for supporting my research. Just to be clear, I love staying in the village and doing fieldwork. The likes and dislikes are presented in no particular order.
Likes
1. Seeing the stars and the Milky Way at night.
2. Doing fieldwork all day long.
3. Discovering something cool about Cua/Sasi.
3. Interacting with my elderly consultants.
4. Hot fresh baked bread from the bakery.
5. No e-mail, no TV, no Internet.
6. Giving clothes to children, and seeing them smile.
7. Listening to Stadium play his guitar.
8. Stadium’s song: ‘On the other side of the river, there is no honey.’
9. Hearing and practicing Cua/Sasi.
10. Hearing and practicing Setswana.
11. Using my solar panel for electricity.
12. Seeing six red bars (charged) on the inverter.
13. Sitting around a fire at night talking.
14. Eating motogo (sorghum porridge) in the morning.
15. Taking walks in the village after work, talking to people.
16. Taking a hot bucket shower, in my office.
17. Playing Morabaraba (advanced tic-tac-toe) in the sand.
18. Waking up to the rooster crowing.
19. Locating and buying local products (e.g., tomatoes, vegetables, eggs)
20. Driving to the nearest town for provisions.
21. Absolute quiet in the middle of the night.
22. Breathing the fresh country air.
23. Watching the sunrise and sunset over the desert.
24. Living outside my comfort zone.
Dislikes
1. Flies everywhere, all the time.
2. Sand on my office floor.
3. Walking on sand.
4. Getting sand in shoes.
5. Thorns in sand.
6. Seeing people living in abject poverty.
7. Seeing widespread alcoholism.
8. Using one small room for office, bedroom and shower.
9. Using the outdoor latrine.
10. The smell of the outdoor latrine.
11. Walking to the latrine in the dark in the morning.
12. Chickens defecating on my porch.
13. Goats drinking from my buckets.
14. Cloudy days when the solar panel does not work.
15. Seeing three bars (not charged) on the inverter.
16. No electricity (no fans or heaters).
17. No washing machine.
18. No indoor running water.
19. Getting skin cancer from being in the sun.
20. Getting out of my blankets in the frigid morning air.
21. Chickens crowing during recording.
22. Children crying during recording.
23. Worrying about my house in Gaborone getting robbed.
24. Living outside my comfort zone.
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