In true Botswana style I arrived home on foot. I didn’t get around to organizing a lift from a friend so I decided to just take a taxi to my house which I have done before successfully. Unfortunately my taxi driver got his undercarriage stuck in the sand and I dutifully tried to help him but mostly just crouched in the sand watching him sweat digging the sand out with his hands. Eventually a truck came by and stopped with two men who got out to help. I felt they were much more capable than myself so I left my driver with a bottle of water and double his fare. I grabbed my bags and started walking the rest of the way home.
A neighbor of mine passed me on his way to town and with my relief stopped. We exchanged greetings and I petted his adorable Jack Russell terrier who sits on his lap in car. “Well, at least you don’t have far to go now,” he said to me. Excuse me? I was horrified. I'm used to men offering to carry my bags. I appreciate the gesture endlessly even if I sometimes refuse the help. But I was half a kilometer away from home on a sandy track under the hot African sun with luggage. He drove off and left me swearing and sweating holding my bags. Who are these men? It’s no wonder there are so many aging bachelors in Maun.
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