No Longer A Zimbabwean
On Friday, after two years, I moved out of Zimbabwe flats on Stellenbosch. The deceptive feeling of having moved in “just the other day” is a harrowing reminder of the swift passage of time. That place saw some of the best and some of the worst of me, all within a total of less than 600 days. There were good times and some horribly bad times. But such is life! I close that chapter of my life only looking forward to new adventures, challenges and opportunities for growth.
I may have escaped Zimbabwe, but I am cautious to state that I have escaped all problems relating to electricity and running water. At least my experiences over the past two years have taught me to deal with them to a reasonable extent*.
I have moved out of the old place, but not into the new one yet – that is only going to happen next weekend. I am looking forward to settling into the new place, but I am going to have to make a few lifestyle adjustments to be able to cope with living in such a small place. But that is next year's worries; I am now back at home with my parents for the holidays. Early this week my brother and his wife will arrive from the UK to start their three month holiday. Everyone is looking forward to that. I have no special plans for the holiday: whenever I'm not going to be spending time with my family, I'll wing it.
I am still a prisoner of my year project. That feeling of guilt of not working on my project seems to have become a part of me. Much like a malignant growth. I doubt whether I'll be able to shake it off before the year's end, even though my promoter wants me to finish it now. A small problem is that I've lost a significant amount of motivation (I'm going to keep the reason for this as a surprise for later).
I have not yet heard from any of the places where I applied for part-time work for next year, but I'm still hoping to find something. I have decided not to work this December (even though I had a good opportunity), but I have landed a sweet job as a student assistant with the university for a short course (only a week) in January, which promises to pay very well.
* While there were some problems with the utilities, I must admit that I actually really enjoyed my stay in Zimbabwe. The flat was nice and spacious, it was very close to campus and, contrary to expectations, secure. I also had a great flatmate in my cousin. All-in-all, I'm very thankful for the opportunity to have been able to life there.
I may have escaped Zimbabwe, but I am cautious to state that I have escaped all problems relating to electricity and running water. At least my experiences over the past two years have taught me to deal with them to a reasonable extent*.
I have moved out of the old place, but not into the new one yet – that is only going to happen next weekend. I am looking forward to settling into the new place, but I am going to have to make a few lifestyle adjustments to be able to cope with living in such a small place. But that is next year's worries; I am now back at home with my parents for the holidays. Early this week my brother and his wife will arrive from the UK to start their three month holiday. Everyone is looking forward to that. I have no special plans for the holiday: whenever I'm not going to be spending time with my family, I'll wing it.
I am still a prisoner of my year project. That feeling of guilt of not working on my project seems to have become a part of me. Much like a malignant growth. I doubt whether I'll be able to shake it off before the year's end, even though my promoter wants me to finish it now. A small problem is that I've lost a significant amount of motivation (I'm going to keep the reason for this as a surprise for later).
I have not yet heard from any of the places where I applied for part-time work for next year, but I'm still hoping to find something. I have decided not to work this December (even though I had a good opportunity), but I have landed a sweet job as a student assistant with the university for a short course (only a week) in January, which promises to pay very well.
* While there were some problems with the utilities, I must admit that I actually really enjoyed my stay in Zimbabwe. The flat was nice and spacious, it was very close to campus and, contrary to expectations, secure. I also had a great flatmate in my cousin. All-in-all, I'm very thankful for the opportunity to have been able to life there.
posted by phantom-99w at 00:07
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