Unfortunately, everything must come to an end..or at least a pause. And so has my Namibian adventure. Although, in the last weeks it did not feel like an adventure, I settled in too well in the new way of life, and started to feel pretty comfortable. I met a bunch of amazing people, learned a ton of new stuff, laughed enough to beat the longevity records and managed to get fairly far with the task in hand. Or at least I like to believe that.
So 6 weeks later, a pair of sunglasses and a laptop lighter, a few kilos and a ton of ideas heavier, here I am, in the BA lounge (it is very handy to have clocked up some miles till now!). I have got here from the point of arriving in a new, absolutely unknown to me country without knowing a single person or even where I was goign to sleep that night. I ended up living with a friend I made through my "adventure" at her house, and having a farewell celebratory braai (BBQ) organised for me on my last night by 6 + 1 (you know who you are - lucky escape due to the alleged work commitments ;) wonderful people , who had become my social life in the last weeks +It feels a little weird, as always, I did not want to leave. I have been away for almost two months, if I combine all the trips before Namibia, so returning home is something that I might start calling adventure in the near future. I had just spent 6 weeks in the sun and palm trees, and now imagining myself getting on the tube every morning is...brrr...
I have had an amazing time spent on an absolute high. I do however realise that 5 weeks was nowhere near what one would need to put in place all the initiatives and ideas. I have built quite a few foundations, partnerships and inititated a number of tendering discussions. It is now a combination of a waiting game - for the sponsorship committee meetings, budgeting cycles, responses and generally someone's good mood, and further work in following up on leads. Now, that I have spent some time in the environment, and have spoken to various people who are in the know, I have a better idea of what is what and how things work. If only this was not 5 weeks, but 5 months... I guess, I will just have to make sure that I am careful enough to not drop the ball and lose momentum now at distance.
I think this is typically the part where one starts saying thank you's and credit all those along the way. I am going to thank my luck - I think that lady has been with me all the way! There is still so much more that I want to do and see, so I have to find a way to return...
