Fun Times in Gaborone

Over the last few weeks we have had many opportunities to have fun in Gabs (as Gaborone is affectionately called).  We discovered that karaoke is offered every Thursday night at a local bar.  The bar, called The Tavern, has an scandalous reputation late at night and on the weekends, but we have had only the best of times there on Thursday nights singing up a storm of 80s and 90s tunes!

So when we decided to throw a big birthday party for 4 different people's birthdays, we hired the karaoke guys to come to our house.  Once they got over their shock that we did not own a TV (they brought their own), they agreed to come for 2 hours of awesome entertainment.  Everyone had a great time and then the party turned into a dance party lasting until 3 am.

Shikata, Becca, Jay and Bri (the birthday people) and their cake. They just so happened to sit in the right order too ;)

Group Karaoke, we didn't let the fact that there were only 2 mikes stop us from singing along!

This past Friday, Ringo Madlingozi was in town for a concert at Botswanacraft.  He is a big star in South Africa and came to preform in Botswana for the first time.  It was a sold out concert (which in Botswana means 1,000 people).  It was also the night before Yom Kippur so for me was an interesting substitute for Kol Nidre.  The night began with the Botswana Jazz Quintet, which includes our friend Matt Dasco on the sax!  After only 2 months here, he was already in the music scene and now, after a year in Bots, he is playing with the top guys! 

Matt on the Sax

Then Eugene Jackson (a local Motswana star) and his band played.

Eugene Jackson

Then Ringo and his band took the stage.  He sings in Zulu, so I had no idea what he was saying but it didn't matter.  The crowd was so into it, singing every word, and it just felt so great to be there listening to his beautiful voice.

It felt like a very personal concert, because there are no assigned seats and the venue is very small by US standards.  So we stood and dance right in front of the stage all night.

Gelane, Premal, me, Bri and Parth during the break between artists

The rest of the weekend was spent fasting, relaxing, reading, swimming, and watching Gizmo climb trees.

For those who don't know, Gelane and her cat Gizmo, (a cat who she rescued when he was a tiny baby kitten starving in front of our clinic and because he is all black he is considered bad luck here so no one wanted him), moved in to my house in the end of June.  And though I have never been a cat person, I have grown fond of Gizmo (when he is not trying to attack my foot - for some reason he has a foot fetish).  He is a crazy cat, climbing trees and up on the roof, trying to attack cats who are bigger than him and stalking all sorts of things (though luckily, so far, he has only managed to capture bugs).  Despite his craziness, he is very cute and can often be found curled up in my lap (as he is right now) trying to redeem himself for all the times he has tried to attack our feet or jumped up on the kitchen counter during the day.
Happy Jewish New Year to all those who celebrate it, and may this year bring joy and redemption to us all!