BRRRRRR IT’S COLD!!
Posted by Iman on January 29th, 2009
The life I created in Gabs seems like a distant dream. It’s been about a month since I stepped off the plane a breathed in the FREEZING cold Canadian air. Coming back home during the holidays was treat and definitely made re-entry much easier. Keeping busy and seeing friends and family is exactly what I needed.
Now, I’ve had a few weeks to reflect on my amazing time in Botswana. Looking back, the most memorable part of my trip, by far, was meeting so many wonderful people and building great friendships that I never would have though possible to build in such a short amount of time. Even my fellow SWB and Uniterra volunteers, my family away from home, were some the most wonderful girls I’ve met. I hope we all continue to keep in touch.
My experience working with the Gender Unit was also great. I learned so much from the three ladies that make up the Unit and I am truly grateful for that experience. I also feel that I am now able to compare my experience to what I have learned through out my academic studies. It is rare that a student gets to step out of the theoretical and get that first hand experience. One of the great benefits of working at SADC is the fact that the staff is composed of citizens from all 15 member states. We had some great chats about politics, family, history and much more during tea time. It was fun to learn about the similarities and differences among SADC member states directly from people from these countries. It also proved to be useful when the girls and I were traveling. For example, when we traveled to Zambia it was a Zambian colleague who helped us get information on the best ways to travel from Gaborone to Livingstone.
The three months I spent in Botswana feels like a million years ago, especially after a long freezing cold walk from downtown. This was definitely a great experience and I’m excited to know that this is only the first of my many work/ travel experiences in Africa.
Thanks SWB!
