'I do not remember a lot about the journey to Gabarone except that I had to fly to Johannesburg and transfer on to an Air Botswana plane from there.'

'I do not remember a lot about the journey to Gabarone except that I had to fly to Johannesburg and transfer on to an Air Botswana plane from there.'

Rosemary remembers travelling to Botswana to take up a job in college. She describes Francistown in Botswana which was where the college was located.

Rosemary McCloskey

Trinity College Dublin

1995

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Rosemary McCloskey

Work and Employment

Life Story

Gabarone, Botswana

1990's

The Botswana Government was paying my fares to Gabarone at the beginning of January and so I was home for Christmas.I do not remember a lot about the journey to Gabarone except that I had to fly to Johannesburg and transfer on to an Air Botswana plane from there. There were several expatriates on this plane from various countries. We were taken to the President hotel where all we wanted to do was get to bed and sleep. However this was not to be, for we were summoned to a meeting soon after we arrived, and then assigned to our various placements. We stayed the night, as far as I recall and the next day we left by coach for our destinations. I had no idea how far Francistown was from the capital, nor how long it would take for us to reach it. We travelled all day and it was late at night when we arrived in Francistown. Those of us destined for Francistown were last to vacate the bus. We were dropped at Thapama Hotel which was at the bottom of Blue Jacket Street. I enquired about Mass, because this was Saturday night and the following day was Sunday. It took time for the receptionist to find out about the local Catholic Church for there were not many Christians, never mind Catholics in Francistown.I located the church and the convent, attended Mass and returned to the hotel. Shortly after that I met up with some others and we went to have a look round the grand 'Metropolis' of Francistown. There was not a lot to see at that time. We visited a few supermarkets and checked on stock and prices, but since we had no Pula, we could not buy anything. The whole place was very dingy, dry and HOT!! Botswana is much hotter than Zimbabwe and I was always glad to return to Bulawayo to get cooled off for the weekend.Next morning, I presented myself at the college. I was brought into the staff room where I was greeted as is usual in Setswana 'Dumela Ma' and then promptly ignored. There was no other white face on site. I felt very lonely and out of place. I sat in a corner waiting for someone to explain routines etc. but no one did.Later on, after we had some tea, a black man came in. He was wearing a white dust coat and carrying a sheaf of papers. He greeted everyone and then extended his hand to me saying 'Hello, I'm an expatriate too!'My reply was, 'But you are black?''Yes' he said 'I am Zimbabwean'I asked him if he lived near Bulawayo and if he would mind taking me there at the weekend. He said he lived in Morningside, Bulawayo and had transport and would certainly take me back on the Friday.What a relief! At last I had found a friend, and so he is to this day.

Irish Research Council for Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (IRCHSS)

Dr Kathleen McTiernan (Trinity College Dublin)

Dr Deirdre O'Donnell (Trinity College Dublin)