My Bestest Friend in the Whole Wide World

Back in the U.S. one of my closest friends is named Brian.  When I moved to Botswana one of the first people I met was also named Brian.  Botswana Brian is my regular taxi driver.  The first week I was here I went to the store every day for four or five days in a row to purchase supplies for my new house.  Each day Brian would ask me if I needed a taxi.  I finally agreed to hire him to take me across town to purchase a bike.  Since then he is the only taxi driver I’ve ever used.

In addition to driving a taxi Brian is an aspiring musician.  He plays local Setswana music at restaurants and events with his twin brother.  They recently produced a CD, “Marimba by the Simpson Brothers.”  I bought the CD and listen to it frequently.  It has actually been great to listen to because it helps me practice my Setswana.

This afternoon I went to the mall to buy some groceries and was surprised to find Brian and his brother there playing their Marimba music.  Everyone in Botswana gets paid on the last day of the month, so the stores are overflowing with people for a few days right around the very end and beginning of each month.  Most people tend to spend their entire paycheck during these few days and then struggle to make ends meet the rest of the time.  Since the stores know they will have lots of customers around this time they often hire performers.  Hence, that’s why Brian and his brother were there.

Brian is always very excited to see me, probably because I am a loyal customer who pays him well.  When he recognized me you could see the excitement on his face.  He came over and gave me a hug (which he always does when he sees me) and then took me by the hand over to his brother to introduce me.  “This is Kelly. She is my bestest friend in the whole wide world.”  I’m not sure that’s entirely accurate, but I did appreciate his enthusiasm.  It was too noisy in the mall to take a decent video, but here is Brian (on the left) and his brother playing the marimba, which is similar to a xylophone: