problems & solutions

Problem: Drinking beer in the lunch hour makes you sleepy.
Solution: Mix beer with lemonade, wie ein Radler. Follow lunch with cappuccino.

Problem: Can't get an appointment with high muckety-mucks despite trying for over a year.
Solution: Visit the secretary. Beg, plead, whine, and practically bleed on the carpet, but make sure to do so in your most polite Setswana. Lie about -- ahem, gently fudge -- the truth of your affiliations. Drop names shamelessly.

Problem: The secretary makes an appointment for a date you'll be out of town without consulting you about the feasibility of the date -- despite the fact that you are sitting in front of her!!!
Solution: Thank her. Take a break. Have a beer with lunch. After lunch, go back to the office and reschedule the appointment for a more suitable day.