Botswana It Has Been Unforgettable...Until We Meet Again

The students and I have all arrived safely back with our American families.  I say "American" families because our final days in Botswana and saying goodbye, or rather "see you later," reminded us all that we now have families in Botswana!  We came back to the city from the bush to spend time with our host families, wrap up loose ends, do final souvenir shopping and complete the mission of climbing Kgale Hill.  We shared the final evening together with our CIEE Botswana family and host siblings to showcase what we learned over the past few weeks.  When I watched the students all let loose with their siblings playing games, dancing and sharing stories at the farewell dinner, it was clear that they had fun.  We all came into this program not knowing what to expect or who we will meet, but we left as one, we are now family.  In the beginning some were shy, some were not, but after creating memories together we now have friends and family all over the world.  Some are even planning to meet up this summer, as they discovered they will be in the same area.  Traveling and studying abroad is not only about learning and discovering, but also about sharing and growing in these experiences by bringing people together.  We learned, we grew, and we have courage we didn't have before.  "We are together," as it would be said in Botswana.

When the students gave their final presentations at the farewell dinner it created a discussion with their local peers about the latest headlines in Botswana.  Because we had limited resources and time to create final presentations, we decided to get creative in presenting our findings.  This is what we got, everyone was impressed!