“It matters where you go, but if you’re on the bubble, just go somewhere.” — Lauren Goetze
I love when I interview someone and have to pull up the old maps to find out exactly where they went. That’s exactly what happened when I talked to Lauren about her trip to Botswana, which BTW is in the southern part of Africa.
This is now the third interview I’ve done with a student who studied abroad in this part of the continent, so they must be doing something right down there.
The dollar stretches a lot further in Africa, which means you can do a lot more with less. What you want to do is up to you if you decide to go, but Lauren’s interview is a pretty good example of what you can do.
You’ll also find out why it’s a bonus of if enjoy KFC. But that’s just me digressing. Seriously though, The University of Botswana soundsamazing and so do the stories that Lauren tells in her interview.
If you’ve come this far you now know where Botswana is. You can learn more about the country in the infographic below.
A BIG thank you to Lauren for taking the time from her busy schedule at Drake to do the interview. Give her website a look to see what she’s up to now.
“It always seems impossible until its done” — Nelson Mandela
SHOW NOTES
- Last-minute choice to study abroad in Botswana due to political unrest in South Africa 🇧🇼 [1:14]
- Scholarly details and studying abroad through CIEE 🎓 [3:40]
- Pushing through the uncertainty of living in an unknown country 🤷♀️ [6:15]
- Waking up for early classes due to the heat of the day and dealing with classes taught in Setswana (Botswana’s native language) ⏰[7:34]
- Camping in the desert and other travels to escape protests at the university ⛺️🏜 [10:21]
- Getting drenched at Victoria Falls 🏞
- Finding food as a gluten-free vegetarian in a land of beef and starch 🥦 [14:56]
- KFCs everywhere and other infrastructure 🍗[16:12]
- A new perspective from living abroad 👩🎓[17:08]
- Recommendations and final quotes 🙌 [18:13]
- The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith