Tsmaya sentle Tefo. Re tla go bona kgantele

   Over the past two days Thoralf noticed that a baby Kudu was stuck between two fence lines. The young ungulate had no access to water and was most likely 2-3 months old. In an attempt to free the baby Kudu, we took down the fence and left it down overnight in hopes that the baby would leave and be reunited with its mother.

Today we began the field work portion of our studies here in Ghanzi, Botswana. We started early, utilized skills from yesterday’s practice run and we were able to finish two plots before lunch. These plots were mainly composed of saplings and small acacias, therefore making them some of the easier plots. Future plots will be composed of larger trees and more time-intensive work. We are all eager for what is to come.

After lunch, we finished our last Setswana lesson with our new friend and teacher, Tefo. He will be heading back to Maun tomorrow; hopefully we can meet up with him later on in his hometown.

Finishing up today's transect.

Goodbye morutabana (teacher) Tefo.

Meet the researcher (student)!

   Hello everyone! My name is Michelle Gillenwaters and I am a third year International Relations and Global Studies and Japanese major. With my IRG degree, I am concentrating on the science, technology, and environment track of the major. After graduating UT, my immediate goal is to participate in the organization of the 2020 summer Olympics in Tokyo as a volunteer. Eventually, I am currently hoping to work with the International Olympic Committee to sponsor more sustainable methods of hosting the Games. During my study abroad experience in Botswana, I hope to gain a richer insight on enviro-cultural dynamics and the effects of sustainability practices on indigenous peoples. I have been privileged enough to take part of this study abroad experience because of the Rapoport Foundations scholarship and my parents, both of which I owe this very self fulfilling opportunity to.

Michelle in front of a baobab (Adansonia digitata) tree.

Work Hard, Play Hard

   Everyone was eager to get our hands dirty in the field today. We learned how to use new instruments such as densiometers and clinometers as well as the proper way to measure parameters like tree height and diameter of stems.  We set up practice plots to exercise our new skills. We are quickly becoming prepared to make our way out to Dr. Meyer’s transects and contribute to a growing dataset on Kalahari vegetation. For now, camp is quiet, the first day of field work calls for a post-lunch siesta.

Setting up our practice transect.



Natalie using circumference to find the diameter of the trunk; a tree hugger.


Francisco, our TA, overseeing the measurements along transects.

Ke kopa thuso… with Setswana

Dumelang from Thakadu Bush Camp! After today’s lecture on research design and sampling techniques, we had our first Setswana lesson from Tefo, our sixteen year old teacher from Maun. Setswana is one of the main languages spoken in Botswana. We learned basic greetings, verbs, and the Setswana version of the classic song “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes”. We are all excited to get started on field work tomorrow!


“Tlhogo, mahetla, nko le molomo, sehuba, letheka, mangole le menwana” (It's a song...)


Us learning Setswana in Thakadu.


Taking the classroom "outside."

Dear parents and Friends,

For this year we decided to put the students in charge of the blog. The intention is to make it look and sound a bit different from the older ones posted here. Our guess is that it will reflect THEIR perspective of the trip and not the teaching assistant’s or the professor’s. Here you go:

It’s a snake, it’s a slippery snake!

Today we went on a hike around our campsite in the Thakadu Bush Camp. Thakadu is in Ghanzi, a six-hour drive from Maun. Dr. Meyer showed us various plant and tree species and taught us how to identify each one. He led us towards a Leadwood, Combretum imberbe, a tree whose ash has a high lime content. As we all gathered around the tree, Stephanie commented, “Oh man, that’s a big snake”. “Where?” asked Dr. Meyer. “Right there,” Stephanie answered. There was a large African Rock Python, Python sebae, curled up in the shade of the leadwood. Darryl, one of our guides, neared towards it, before the 2-meter-long snake slithered back into its home within the tree. It was quite a special sighting. The African Rock Python is an endangered species, even Dr. Meyer has only seen it 10 times within the past 20 years!

We thought we were just going to see a neat tree…

 Wow, that’s a big snake!

The group arrived at Thakadu today

Howdy folks, after a long haul we finally arrived in at Thakadu Bush Camp, located about 3 km (from on, everything will be in metric units, since this is a science course) outside of the City of Ghanzi.

We stopped at our usual lunch spot along the road. The Baobab tree which provided shade in previous years has collapsed. Looks pretty cool.

                                                                        Hook'em!

Hungry Horns.

                                                         Tree collapsed right in the middle.

Everybody has arrived

As of today, all students and missing bags have arrived on site. The sun is setting and everybody is ready to hit the road tomorrow. We will be leaving for our 6 hour journey to Ghanzi at 9.00 am. We will post some photos tomorrow evening (pending internet availability).

We are up and running agian. Study Abroad Botswana 2018

Study Abroad Botswana 2018!

Hello from Botswana! As of today, students are beginning to arrive in Maun, Botswana for this year's study abroad.

The program officially begins Thursday, May 24th. On Friday, we will be heading to our base camp in Ghanzi, where we will be based for the first three weeks of the program. 

Students do have (limited) internet access and we will be in normal cell phone range.

In case of emergency, you can call Professor Thoralf or TA Francisco.

Calling from the US to Botswana: 011 + 267 + phone number

Thoralf: 72 67 08 36
Francisco: TBA

Cell phone service in Botswana does not work as well as in the United States, so you might have to call a few times to get through. We have also experienced power black outs in the past which also means you might not be able to get through.

We will have a satellite phone ready once the program starts, which will be turned on every night between 7-8 PM (Botswana time, which Texas is currently 7 hours behind). This phone will work in case of power black outs and when we are on safari (where there is no phone service coverage). This phone is for absolute emergencies ONLY.

The satellite phone number: 00881631627587

We are all looking forward to the start of the program and will be posting updates here on the blog every few days or so.

Stay tuned!