I have gotten to go for a few runs now, which have been exciting, especially getting lost for a bit on my first run! It lets me see a lot of the area and greet and be greeted by many Batswana. Olefile also took us out to teach us to use the Combi (local bus) to get around town. They were not as busy as I expected, but I suppose that was probably because we went later than “rush hour”.

I just arrived in Maun Saturday morning to start my placement. I am looking forward to getting started and meeting all the people I will be working with!

Until next time –

Go Siame!

I am a 4th year undergraduate student finishing my BSc in the college of biological sciences at the University of Guelph. I am 21 years old and will be attending the University of Oxford on a Commonwealth scholarship starting in the fall of 2009 to begin my DPhil (PhD) in cardiovascular medicine. I enjoy all kinds of sports and was a competitive figure skater for 7 years and have been a competitive middle-distance runner since I was 12. My interest in Africa began alongside my running career, with many of my friends being from different regions of Africa and telling me amazing stories about their home countries. My passion for volunteering and working with others also led me to applying for a placement in Botswana. After having spent almost 6 weeks last year volunteering in Tanzania, I knew I wanted to come back to Africa to experience the culture and beauty of another region. I will be working to promote and support ongoing programs to protect the threatened and endangered carnivore species in the natural habitats of Botswana. I will also be training and mentoring the people of Botswana to be conservationists and wildlife custodians of the future, as well as training locals in sport and health education so they can become community youth mentors. I chose this placement because of my passion for both the environment and working with people. I hope to help increase self-confidence and self-respect in local Batswana as well as encourage them to be part of the environmental sustainability efforts. I believe this placement will help me grow as a person, as I will be given the opportunity to work amongst individuals in a different cultural and environmental setting. I know I will find it hard at times to get my message across and I am sure I will meet individuals and hear stories that may be emotionally taxing. Overall though, I believe this experience will reinforce my passion to one day work with Doctors Without Borders.