Living and Learning by the four corners of Africa

Background

“So I hear you’re going overseas again?!”
“Yup! I’m going on exchange..”
“Ah like University exchange with your studies? Where are you off to?”
“The University of Botswana …”
“Botswana?! Why would you choose Botswana?”

If I had a dollar for every time I had a similar conversation to the above, I wouldn’t have had to save up money for this trip. In any case, my answer to people would involve something about: 1) the fact I had been to Africa before and found Batswana people extremely friendly, 2) I wanted to get to know the culture more rather than just passing through as a tourist and 3) finally that I wish to work in ‘emerging’ regions of the globe (such as Africa) in the future – therefore it made sense to live there for a while to see what I’d be getting myself into.

Luckily for me, earlier this year I received a scholarship I was ultra-keen on with the engineering consultancy, Aurecon. The company works across a diverse range of markets and is present in 80 countries with strong operations in Australia and (yup, you guessed it) Africa. But better yet, despite already receiving an abundance of benefits from the scholarship, through the company I was also lucky enough to be given the opportunity for a short-term internship/work-placement in Botswana. Clearly this was perfect given my aforementioned desire to work in such areas in the future. The placement followed immediately after my UB exams and Gabs departure (previous post) until Christmas shutdown (mid December).It took place in Kasane-Kazungula, right by the corner of four African countries; Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Zambia.

The project

Kasane is a town in Northern Botswana, literally bordering the world-class Chobe National Park which, as a consequence of tourism and population growth, has expanded significantly over recent years. In 2009 a project was tendered to expand the current sewage network and treatment plant for the villages of Kasane and Kazungula (~10km away) as overflows of raw sewage flowing through farms and into the Chobe river were becoming increasingly common. The treatment ponds could not deal with the increasing amounts of sewage. Despite the critical nature of the project, the economic recession of 2009 meant that it was post-poned by the government and has only just now recommenced this year being set to run for about 2 years.  I joined this project with Aurecon for 3 weeks prior to the Christmas close-down.

Living in Kazungula

Having moved from a shoebox room in Gabs where summer nights were spent sleeping on the floor under the window (it was at least a few degrees colder than my bed) my house in Kazungula was sheer luxury. The interior was like any western house; I had my own kitchen, a double bed, air-conditioning my own bathroom and shower, a washing machine that worked and even a cleaner that would wash my clothes. Oh and did I mention that the house was situated on the lush green banks of the Chobe river with spectacular views? With the rains having started the day before I arrived, each day I stayed I saw the place getting greener and greener and mangoes and watermelons began to frequent the marketplace even more. Om nom nom! Incidentally, the rains also brought a biodiversity convention to my house -- within 5 minutes staring at the floor I would see various species of arachnids and insects scattering about.

I often took a daily walk to an open field from which I could see the meeting point of Zambia, Zimbabwe, Bots and Namibia -- also the ultimate tip of the caprivi strip.

I always kept an eye out for hippos, crocs and elephants, but dogs were my biggest problem. They would run up to me in packs barking ferociously (I even had my foot bitten – luckily it only got the shoe) and led me to carry a massive stick each time to ward them off. I occasionally walked the 8km to work instead during which I would frequently have Aurecon cars and other locals stop to ask if I needed a lift, getting really confused when I said I wanted to walk. One local expressed concern saying walking was dangerous with elephants and lions in the area, but I think this was an exaggeration given that a moment later I saw children playing by the side of the road and lions don’t exactly hunt in the heat of the day. 

 

Still, it was great to be living in an area so close to the real environment and wildlife where on weekends I went for drives into game parks, walks along country borders and through valleys teeming with life, take boat trips on the river with new friends or even just ‘pop’ over to Vic Falls in Zimbabwe.

The expat community, though small, was great fun (a mix of other engineers, NGO workers, misc business owners) and my greatest disappointment was that when I finally settled in developing new friends, it was time to leave -- 3 weeks flew by! It had taken me a while to re-adjust from having left all my buddies in Gabs that when I finally did so, it was over!

Learning in Kasane

My placement in kasane may have been short but it was definitely worthwhile. I was taken on numerous site visits with a variety of staff seeing different roles and faecets of the project from technical to managerial. Within the first week the country manager, global ISO auditor and regional HR head came to visit the site conducting large reforms across the project, so in effect I got to learn about and observe quite a few of the fundamental project components within a short time of being there.

Perhaps one of the key benefits for me was simply speaking to the staff and managers about their lives working as engineers across Africa. Ultimately this reaffirmed my desire to work in emerging regions of the globe (particularly in Africa) and made my objectives seem more 'real'. In fact, I often find the greatest struggle about studying engineering at University is really the lack-of-direction and understanding of what the real engineering world (ie one's future) will be like, so for me actually seeing where I'm headed (or could be headed) is one of the best possible outcomes. Furthermore, even in general off-the-record conversation everyone seemed very positive about Aurecon being a great company to work for which is good to hear when you have to sort through a myriad of engineering consultancies and all their key characteristics/differences. I won't lie, I do already feel ridiculously spoilt by the company with the abundance of things they have organised me, how liberally I've been able communicate and get in touch with staff (regardless of senior status or otherwise) and the way they have hosted me (particularly my stay in Kasane). In fact, they even let me host my family in Kasane when they came over just after shut-down.

Mission accomplished?

I could honestly do multiple blog posts about my thoughts, feelings, lessons and so on from my time in Botswana. In fact, there's too much going on in my brain right now about my time here, that I think I'll need some time to digest it all.

However, as I said, my original objectives coming here involved learning more about the country and its people (ie having been an expat rather than a 'traveller') and gaining an understanding of my potential future of working in such places. In this regard I can say I feel that mission is well-and-truly accomplished.

I have learnt an overwhelming amount within the last 6 months about the region, the country, the people, the struggles, the opportunities... and oh-so-so-so-much more.  In time I suspect all the information in my head will feel a little more ordered, less jumbled and more coherent, but until then all I can say about my experience is 'WOW.'

I guess my 'stay' is over. Time to let pure travelling begin!