In the mid-morning stillness of the Commons, over the clanking sound of distant dishwashing, Nthati Phetlhu explained what drove her to leave Botswana’s bustling capital city of Gaborone in 2016, and move to the small-town tranquility of Bluffton, Ohio. Her daughter, now 19-year-old Theri, sat quietly as her mother told the familiar tale of their move across the globe.
Finally, Nthati paused, looked at Theri and said, “I really wanted to see how she grows to be a better person. I wanted a better education for her. Maybe it wasn’t more for me, but for her to come and study here.”
Nthati worked as a language instructor for over 20 years, teaching her native Setswana to expatriates and U.S. Peace Corps volunteers. Through her teaching, she became acquainted with Jonathan Larson, an American Mennonite minister working in Botswana. Impressed with his kindness, she recalled saying, “Whatever you are, I want to join that church.”
It was this relationship that allowed her to foster a connection with Bluffton University. In 2008, she began working with Bluffton students on their cross-cultural experiences, teaching Setswana and leading groups to the village of Pitseng.
Just two years later, Nthati said she decided, “Let me go and see where these children come from.”
She spoke of the warmness of the Bluffton community on her 2010 visit and her decision during that trip to one day return and study TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).
When her husband passed away in 2015, Nthati found herself at a crossroads.
“I was kind of overwhelmed and didn’t know what to do,” she said. “I was like, you know, this country doesn’t have anything for me anymore—I lost my parents, lost my husband, lost my only brother, lost my niece—so I applied and came here to study.”
Nthati is now in her second year at Bluffton majoring in TESOL—a lasting testament to her passion for language learning and instruction—and has a minor in youth ministry.
Theri and Nthati at Theri’s graduation from Bluffton High School. Photo provided
Theri graduated from Bluffton High School last spring. She described the process of beginning college at Bluffton University as a “new start,” and said the relationships she’s been able to build with other international students have been very important to her.
It is uncommon for a mother and daughter to be enrolled in college together, but Nthati and Theri make it work. The pair lives off campus in an apartment, but they are intentional about enrolling in separate courses.
“I feel good about it, because I’m always with her,” said Nthati about the dynamic of attending college with her daughter. “It’s more like home.”
Nthati laughed as she described how Theri often has to help her with technology but said their relationship has truly become closer since moving to Bluffton. They’re able to learn from each other and have grown to be more like friends, she said.
“We open up to each other more than we did in Botswana,” she shared as Theri nodded in agreement.
“Back home, we were living with my siblings. We’ve always had people with us,” said Theri. “Now, it’s just us two. We get to know each other more.”
Nthati has two adult sons, ages 22 and 28, who remain in Botswana. She and Theri stay connected to them by calling home regularly and making use of technology like Skype and WhatsApp.
When they’re not studying, working or keeping in touch with family, they enjoy shopping together.
“We like driving out to Lima and Findlay just to do a little shopping and get out of the house,” said Nthati, who also finds a break from her hard work through involvement with First Mennonite Church in Bluffton.
“I’m connected much more to the Mennonites than any other church—they have such a big heart,” Nthati explained. “They have welcomed me. Even when I have a problem, I know a have a family there.”
This May, Nthati and Theri will return to Botswana alongside Assistant Professor of English Kate Spike and seven Bluffton University students completing their cross-cultural requirement. This visit will mark the first time Theri has returned home since moving to Bluffton, and she has mixed emotions about what to expect when she arrives.
“I don’t really have much to look forward to—we’ve lost a lot of family members since coming here,” she said, “but I’m also happy I’ll get to see my brothers.”
Nthati described the process of working with the students in the Botswana cross-cultural group as a good experience, and Theri said she feels she’s able to provide her peers with a younger person’s perspective on what to expect.
Nthati shared, “I like [leading the group] because it really connects me to the students. We bond even before we get to Botswana—they get to know me, and I get to know them.”
She described how previous students have been humbled by their time in Botswana, and she spoke of the love she has for the stories that emerge from Bluffton students’ time spent in her home country.
“I really like the idea that Bluffton University is doing this cross-cultural program, because it helps students to view the world differently,” said Nthati, smiling warmly.
“Whenever they come back from the experience, really they’ll never be the same again.”
