So I didn't really believe it when I first heard it, but seeing baboon's in my yard the other day was unbelievable. I woke up early, expecting to have a regular Monday morning when I decided to looked outside the window. They were running as a pack, and I nearly panicked. "Oh my gosh" I said to myself and ran for my camera. I started to take pics from the safe distance of in my house. I then decided I wanted to see this with my own eyes. So I searched for my glasses, but first I wanted to tell someone. So I searched for my phone. In between searching for my phone and glasses, I asked myself, "Why am I not just experiencing this?" Who knows when I will see them again. They looked so cute, until they started jumping fences. Then I realized I had another animal who is a pest in my yard. As cute as baboons look far away, there is something scary about them when they are in your yard.
I don't have to go far to be reminded of America. By simply turning on the radio I can hear some of the most popular songs that are currently in the states. House music, Pop, Hip Hop are very popular in Botswana, but outside of House Music and the Top 100 I wanted to highlight four types of music that is also heard in Botswana.
Kwasa Kwasa/Rumba: Kwasa Kwasa and Rumba can be easily be identified here because the beat encourages people to dance with their hips. It has more guitars in the music. Normally when people dance at parties and even traditional dancing there is a focus on the feet. I find this to be an interesting observation because in some West African countries there is a focus on the hips, and in some East African countries there is a focus on the shoulders. Beyonce's music video "Girls" is a great example of a mixture of various different dance styles that have originated in Africa. Kwasa Kwasa/Rumba originated in Northern Sub-Sahara Countries.
Disco: Disco has never left Botswana, and I strongly think it never will. There are many music classics in this genre. Evonne Chaka Chaka, a world renowned singer, can be heard on the radio.
Kwaito: Similar to Kwasa Kwasa, Kwaito music can encourages people to dance with their hip. It has more of a hip hop flavor when it comes to the sound. Check out some of Vee's music linked below to get a taste of Kwaito.
Artist: Vee Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Pw9f7-OE7Y http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtGWHq6YydA
Traditional Music: Traditional
Music is music unique to Botswana. It utilizes traditional instruments
but with modern technology Traditional Music can easily be mixed and
remixed to have a hip new flavour. Culture Spears is a popular
traditional music artist. Check out some of his video's below:
The contents of this blog are my original thoughts and opinions. In no way does it reflect the views or policies of the Peace Corps or the U.S Government.
So I didn't really believe it when I first heard it, but seeing baboon's in my yard the other day was unbelievable. I woke up early, expecting to have a regular Monday morning when I decided to looked outside the window. They were running as a pack, and I nearly panicked. "Oh my gosh" I said to myself and ran for my camera. I started to take pics from the safe distance of in my house. I then decided I wanted to see this with my own eyes. So I searched for my glasses, but first I wanted to tell someone. So I searched for my phone. In between searching for my phone and glasses, I asked myself, "Why am I not just experiencing this?" Who knows when I will see them again. They looked so cute, until they started jumping fences. Then I realized I had another animal who is a pest in my yard. As cute as baboons look far away, there is something scary about them when they are in your yard.
