Parents hardly see their children at home relaxing because the call of the ever eventful social scene beckons. The justification for spending excessive amounts of money on any and everything during that time of the year is always “Go Festive.” Is that really all there is to Festive Season- is there no deeper meaning? .

For Christmas last year, my family; parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews- took a short drive to the outskirts of our village, Serowe into the Khama Rhino Sanctuary. The Khama Rhino Sanctuary Trust, as the brochure will explain, “is a community based wildlife project, established in 1992 to assist in saving the vanishing rhino, restore an area formerly teeming with wildlife to its previous natural state and provide economic benefits to the local Batswana community through tourism and the sustainable use of natural resources.” After a long morning and previous late night spent preparing all the staple foods you will find at most Christmas day feasts the family sat down under trees in the picnic area of the sanctuary and bonded. .

Part of our day out at the sanctuary was spent on a game drive. As we drove around the park, my uncle pointed out and named all the wild animals we spotted like Rhinos, Zebras, Impala, Warthogs, and a whole lot more. Being with my whole family in our home village immersed in rugged nature was very real. “Could this be what the Garden of Eden looked like?” I thought to myself. .

Back at the picnic area after the Game drive, we ate, drank and were merry, or better yet festive. My father did a little “get down” with one of my cousins and aunts filled up their cups with their favorite festive drink “Nedeberg Barone.” The entire day was filled with laughter, music, family and above all- love. .

As I observed and felt all that was going on around me, I thought to myself that perhaps this was what the true meaning of Festive Season really is. I had arrived in Serowe on Christmas Eve and with the Gaborone Festive hype behind me, it occurred to me that Festive Season can be enjoyed without all the madness. That time spent with family, especially extended family happens all too rarely, especially as we grow older and our lives become more and more complicated. .

But when my grandmother asked me in a humorously sarcastic way if I didn’t get lost on my way to her house after getting off the bus (the bus rank is across the street from her house, by the way) I realized even more that it is the real things and the real people in your life who should be celebrated and life should be celebrated with during the festive season. So this one goes out to those who gave me the Real Festive Season experience. My entire family, real friends & my special friend; this year and in the years to come, I hope and pray for more realness. .