First off, congratulations on becoming a participant of this
program! I hope you’re excited to go to Zambia.
This summer went by much quicker than I would’ve imagined.
I’ve never traveled outside the country before and this was my 2nd
time on a plane so to say I was nervous was an understatement. On the day we
were leaving, our flight got cancelled because a part of the plane needed to be
repaired so South African Airlines placed us all in hotels for the night. What
a great way to start the program. It was nice though because we all bonded by
playing multiple games of mafia. The day after we arrived, our homestays came
to pick us up and I was nervous to meet mine because she was the new addition
this year. Being in a homestay definitely put me at ease during the first
couple of weeks because I was in an environment I didn’t know and I was far
away from my family. My host mom really became my second mom and my homestay
family made those four weeks amazing.
Things started to become a routine very quickly. I woke up,
had eggs for breakfast, hopped on the minibus to SAIPAR, went to the SANI
Foundation (my placement), hopped on the minibus back to SAIPAR and went to my
homestay. Tuesdays and Thursdays were the hospital days and it was nice talking
to the medical students about their experiences since their schooling system is
different from ours in the US. This routine was something that I liked since
everyday life at Cornell is the opposite.
In terms of your research, you might not have a clear topic
to focus on for the first two or three weeks, or your topic might change, but
don’t worry if you don’t have a solid research question at the beginning. Marja,
at SAIPAR, was great at pointing us in the right direction so take advantage
and ask for help. Communication is key; if there’s an issue you need to deal
with, telling Tatyana, Marja or your research contact will make all the
difference.
During the last four weeks, try to do things together as a
group because it’s a nice break away from the research. We had group dinners
for most of the week and it was nice having all of us eat together. For our
last week, we closed off with having a prom (you guys don’t have to do this but
you should 😊 ).
Did I become a changed person after the program was over?
Not quite. Every situation I dealt with was new to me so I had to push myself
but I feel like for the most part I’m the same person. I’m an open minded
person but some situations tested me a bit. For instance, some stakeholders
said things that rubbed me the wrong way but I tried understanding things from
their perspective. Even going on the peace corps trip was a bit rough because I
don’t do camping and I thought it wasn’t gonna be fun for me but those four
days went pretty well.
Last few tips: get ready for the minibus rides (prepared to
be squished), the bargaining for taxi rides, bargaining for the minibus prices,
bargaining for souvenirs (yeah lots of bargaining) and definitely try the
fritters! If you can, I would suggest staying a few days after the program is
over. Whether you decide to go back to Livingstone (which is what some of us,
including me, did) or go to another country, enjoy the few extra days after
finishing the program.
Wishing you the best,
Linda ♥
No comments:
Post a Comment