The Real World Gaborone...installment one.

This is the true story of five strangers, picked to live in a house, work together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when people stop being polite... and start getting real. This is the Real World, Gaborone.

Any MTV Real World Fans out there? Cause sometimes I feel like I’m living the tv show in real life, minus the tv cameras…although if MTV is reading, you really should consider us…

We’ve got all the right characters (names have been changed to protect their privacy).

Jr. – a mid-20’s Toronto boy, born and bred. Accountant by trade. On this project to travel and try something different. Nurse/student girlfriend at home.

Trevor – an early 30’s guy from the Caribbean. Completed a number of these types of projects before in different countries. Single

Tina – a late 30’s/early 40’s Caribbean woman who has lived and worked with Trevor on projects in different countries. Single

Jenny – a late 30’s/early 40’s woman from Vancouver. Common-law Life partner at home.

And me. LuckyCdnGirl. Accustomed to travel but never been to Africa.

For those of you who don’t know The Real World series, what basically happens is 7 strangers get thrown into an amazing location and are given a job. They live together for approximately 4 months. In our situation, none of us knew each other except for Trevor and Tina who worked together previously, we are all on the project for various lengths of time. We also have two other houses of people but “Real world Gaborone” will focus only on “Casa Maria” as we call our house (named after the owner of the house we’re renting).

This morning at Casa Maria…

After a run and yoga or a morning swim and shower, I come down the stairs and into the kitchen. I am met by Trevor and Tina who have just arrived from the gym.

“Hey LuckyCdnGirl!”, Trevor says, “I’ve got photographic evidence!”

I lean in and take a look at Trevor’s phone.

He’s got a photo of Tina being chatted up by the cute Chinese restaurant owner guy that she’s been interested in but will do nothing about.

Teasing of Tina ensues!

This only to be stopped by Jr’s arrival in the kitchen.

“My milk smells bad,” he says as he takes his cereal into the dining room.

Trevor and I continue teasing Tina, asking her if she’ll invite him to join us for the Valentine’s dinner we are having at Chinese guy’s family restaurant.

Jr. returns to the kitchen.

“Expletive! Expletive! Expletive! My milk is bad. There goes breakfast!”, he says as he throws the cereal in the trash and asks, “Why doesn’t milk last long in this country?”

Trevor pipes up something about the lack of preservatives while Jr. mentions how he keeps milk in his fridge at home for a month…(a month??? Where is he buying his milk?)

Cut to the arrival of Winnie. Our maid. She tidies our home on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. She cleans our rooms on a rotation and while she does have a salary, we give her extra money to do our laundry. Today is my day and Tina’s day to get our rooms cleaned and laundry done.

“So, really Jenny, you really let Winnie wash your delicate unmentionables?”, I ask, (til now I’ve been taking them to a local laundry mat).

“Yes. There is no problem. Winnie does a good job on them.”

“Okay…thanks…” I respond.

“…but, you never know, maybe she let’s Curtis play with them!”

“What?!”

Curtis is our “house boy.” He comes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to deal with the outside of the house, the plants, the grass, the pool. He is the cutest Motswana (singular for a person from Botswana) you’ve ever seen.

Just yesterday after work, I was considering jumping in the pool for a cool down.

Jr. was laying out by the pool reading (as usual) and sipping on a g&t (our regular drink – gin & tonic, mostly because someone said the quinine in the tonic fights malaria…not that Gaborone is a malaria area…). I went back in the house and chatted with Jenny…when Jr. came in saying it was a good I hadn’t yet jumped in the pool because Curtis had shocked it this afternoon and it wasn’t going to be ready for 5 days…5 days?! No way! I ran out to find Curtis…

“Curtis! Curtis!” I called.

Curtis appeared in only his shorts, arms crossed, covering his bare chest.

“Hi Miss LuckyCdnGirl.”

“Curtis, can we really NOT use the pool for 5 days?!”

“Not 5 days mma (how you address women in Setswana, kind of like saying miss). I put chemicals in the pool today.”

“So can I swim tomorrow morning?”

“…maybe no…”

“So tomorrow after work?”

“…I think maybe Friday.”

“Okay Curtis. Thank you! Have a good night.”

I think the best part of that interaction was Curtis standing there, with his arms crossed in front of him. Poor guy. I shoulda just let him dress and go home in peace…

And so ends this installment of the Real World Gaborone. Stay tuned for more.

I would definitely appreciate comments!

Thanks friends!