Eating

Food is easy here, as long as you’re not a vegetarian--and even that is feasible with a little work. It’s pretty good, fairly cheap (especially locally made dishes), and I’ve never gotten sick. Supermarkets in Gaborone have almost everything that is available in the U.S., though odd things can be hard or impossible to find (e.g. can opener, non-sugar cereal, unsweetened juice, hangers, mac and cheese, root beer, measuring cup, maple syrup, hummus, ricotta—hardly the necessities of life). Drinking tap water is no problem, at least in the cities. For lunch I sometimes buy food from the women who sit at stalls all over the country with big silver pots, selling chicken or pounded goat meat or oxtail or other stews, served with stampe (sort of a white bean/corn mash), or pap/papa (cornmeal), or millet, or rice, plus spinachy sorts of vegetables, or cabbage, or beets or, my favorite, pumpkin. A big plate anywhere, even at the supermarket counter, is only 10 pula (about $1.60), including liberal dousings of hot sauce, a seat at the shared plastic table-and-chairs, and use of the communal water pitcher. More formal local restaurants often have funny English signs and menus (my favorite, in Francistown, says in big letters on the main sign: “If you marry me, I will cook for you.” Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?!) Gabs also has some Western-style restaurants that are pricier but good. McDonalds has not yet invaded the country (though there is a KFC, and plenty of South African chicken chains).