Hi everyone! My name is Cimone Woodard, and I am a rising senior Middle Blocker on the Bison Women's Volleyball Team.
 
Today, May 21, is the fifth day of our Africa trip. Our spring season officially ended yesterday, making today our first day without volleyball since August. Since arriving, today has been one of the slowest days all trip. We checked out of the hotel in Gaborone and began a four-hour long road trip out of the city. On the road, we stopped at the Tropic of Capricorn. There was a small landmark distinguishing it on the side of the road. The Tropic of Capricorn is one of three of the globe's imaginary horizontal lines and passes through 14 countries. I learned that the winter solstice happens when the sun is directly overhead the Tropic of Capricorn, on December 22nd, which begins the season of winter in the northern hemisphere.
 
We then drove to Palapye and stopped at a famous rhinoceros reserve called the "Khama Rhino Sanctuary." The place was absolutely gorgeous! As soon as we arrived, the staff had a beautiful lunch prepared for us with a view of a swimming pool and roaming animals. The reserve has many rhinos roaming its lands, including both the black and white species.
 
However, today we were only able to catch glimpses of the white ones. In fact, a group of three rhinos walked right in front of our van! They were so much larger than I anticipated and left behind footprints the size of a volleyball ball mark. We also saw several different kinds of other animals, including ostriches, zebras, wild chickens, antelopes, and giraffes. Getting the chance to observe animals in their natural habitat was absolutely incredible. My teammates and I couldn't stop marveling about how amazing it is that all of the animals live together in harmony. At Khama, the rhinoceros' population is expanding, and all of the rhinos have their horns intact. I learned however, that in other reserves, dehorning of the rhinos are allowed, even though killing them is outlawed. I found this really interesting and was really impressed by the preservation efforts implemented by the Khama reserve.
 
After the reserve, we loaded back up into the van and drove another four hours to our hotel in Francistown. We arrived around 8pm and went straight to dinner. After dinner, I grabbed a quick desert with some of my friends and went to bed.
 
I have loved our trip so far. It has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. I have met so many welcoming people and have made friends who live on the other side of the world from me. If I could describe today in two words, I would use "road trips" and "rhinos." Our long road trips gave us the chance to catch up on much-needed sleep, leaving us re-energized for the rest of the trip. I can't wait to experience where our Africa trip takes us next!!