I have always disliked the question "where are you from". Having lived in four different cities in my lifetime, a fifth for university, a sixth being in Shakawe, and being born in yet a different city makes answering the question difficult. Even traveling around Botswana and Southern Africa and for filling out forms at border crossings I carry both my Canadian passport and my Botswana residency permit.
Though all this moving around and traveling can be fun, it is also always nice to return to a place you call home. Here in Botswana, the feeling I get of coming home when returning to Shakawe, whether after being out of the country or just a few hours away on a bus or even just a few minutes away in a neighbouring village, has been stronger than in other places I have lived in my life. This may be because Shakawe is the most familiar thing in an entire continent that is (or was) unfamiliar, so I have held on to this place more strongly than I might have otherwise.
As cliché as it is, I am coming to realize even more that "home" is not necessarily a physical building. It is an environment where you feel comfortable. It can be temporary or permanent, can change often or remain the same forever, and can even exist in multiple places at one time.
Just as Waterloo became my home while spending the majority of my last three years there for school, Shakawe has also become my home for the past almost seven months. This sentiment has become a lot stronger lately as I realize that my time here is coming to an end. Driving and walking down the roads, taking in my surroundings, I realize how familiar everything here is and how used to it I am. This has become my new normal. I live here and feel comfortable here. I feel as integrated in this community as I have felt in other communities I have been part of. I have made this place my own.
I have often been told how incredible this opportunity is or how exciting my life looks or that it seems that I am off on so many adventures and having the time of my life. To me, though, it has all become so normal that I often forget that these people are right - despite all the ups and downs and the times that things are confusing or frustrating, there are so many more positives and sometimes I have to stop and appreciate the little things. I keep reminding myself how lucky I am to be here - how lucky I am to have the opportunity to be living and working in a whole different culture, to explore a new continent, to have the Okavango Delta as my backyard, to meet many diverse and exceptional people, and to learn about the world and myself. And until I have to leave Botswana in less than 4 weeks I will continue to appreciate and make the most of the home and the life I have made here. | "Desert Roads" Guitar and lyrics - myself Adapted from "Country Roads" by John Denver Reflecting half of my sentiments with less than 4 weeks left of placement. |