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Hello Canada, it's been a while

Guys! I'm back!

So today is Thursday December 5th, and it's kind of strange because right after I finish writing this I'll post it right away. I used to have to wait until work the next day for internet access to post, and it would take all morning to load pictures. The whole "constant internet" thing is such a treat! Things are SO FAST!

There has been immense transition and change coming back, so I won't write too much at this point. It's all very fresh and very overwhelming. Before, I was a soup of feelings. Now I am an ocean! I feel super exhausted in all senses, but also really happy.

So, a quick rundown of our final moments in-country.

Our goodbye ended up being very dramatic! Our last week in Bots was frantic, to say the least. We had to tie up every loose end, pack, and part with our beloved kids. Here are a few last pictures of things going on at Stepping Stones. 

A new volunteer taking part in a fun activity about effective communication

Presenting my research to our staff

We made more snowflakes, and I was AMAZED that the kids remembered exactly how to make them

Some awesome traditional dancing

The final tally of things we came across in our house: 22 cockroaches, 1 bird, 6 scorpions, and 1 lizard (although he was an honorary guest, obviously).

On our last day, the standard sevens had an "exams are over/farewell Shila and Kate" party, and although it was wonderful, the weather SERIOUSLY kiboshed our plans. In my mind, on my last day I would have time to talk to people, to get closure with things, to take a final walk through the place. This really didn't come to pass!

The party started and all was well. But following hilarious skits, dancing, and an eating contest, the power went out. This killed the DJ and made things hard to see. Fine. Power outages are totally commonplace, just inconvenient. We started the farewell portion, and kids read to us these amazing thank you cards they handmade for us. It was heart-wrenching beyond.

But then! In the middle of things, the sky opened up and LET LOOSE! I have never seen rain like it. It was WINDYYYY and POURING! Like REALLLY extreme. There was CRAZY thunder and constant lightning, and then CRAZY hail. In a matter of 10 minutes it went from calm to "okay, we've gotta clear out NOW!" The combi driver ran out, pulled the van right to the door, and in a flash the kids were  jumping in to get home safely. This meant some frenzied hugs and last-minute well-wishes, and before I knew it the hall was clear and I was in a car, driving away from Mochudi. 

To add to the drama, the village was SUUUUPER flooded. There were traffic jams, billboards that had fallen, downed power lines, and cars overturned on the road.

And.

THERE WAS SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It wasn't real real snow, but the hail left a white layer in some spots, and people were pulled over on the highway to throw snowballs!

How wild is that!?! 

Never in a zillion trillion years did I ever think I'd see snow in Botswana! ESPECIALLY during the intense summer heat.

Apparently in Botswana, if it rains when someone leaves, it means that the person was a blessing. We must have been something, because it SNOWED for us on our last day! 

Anyway, after many many many tears, and a lot of really heartbreaking hugs, it was all over. We didnt even get to distribute the 72 handmade thank you cards we made for the kids and staff. In many ways I wish I would have had more time to do proper goodbyes, but perhaps the whole "rip it off like a bandaid" thing was for the better. And it was VERY memorable, that is for sure.

Getting ready to start the show

Singing "You Raise Me Up"

A really entertaining skit

An eating contest that was probably a really dangerous idea.

Time for the farewell :(

No power, but us giving our goodbye speeches 

This picture does NOT depict the crazy weather

But this does

Flooded everywhere

SNOWWWWWWW!!!!

A downed power line

On Thursday we stayed at our director's place so we'd be close to the airport, and first thing Friday morning we were on a plane.

It was 25 hours in-flight, and 35 hours travel in total. Yiiiiikes.

But you know what, it was a MILLION times better than the way there! I got circulation socks, and we laughed our heads off about how unattractive they were, but sure enough my ankles looked just great after the haul. And the very very very best part was getting to reunite with other interns. We were four in Joburg, and in Ethiopia we were NINE! Almost half our cohort! So that was magical.

Our luggage. We left a TONNNNNNNNNN of stuff behind.

So little sleep, so many Gravol

Flying in to a BEEEAUTIFUL Toronto sunrise

SO HAPPY TO BE BACK ON CANADIAN SOIL!

First thing on the "to do" list: TIM HORTONS!

Saturday night I stayed with my family. I'm lucky to have family close by, the other interns had to go right back to Antigonish without lovely airport reunions. It was overwhelming to say the least, but my mom made lasagna, and it felt AMAZING to be in our insanely comfortable house. I had a warm shower (warm by choice, which was amazing), and relaxed. I have a really fantastic family. I didn't even turn on my laptop that night. All I did was catch up and pet my dogs. I really missed my parents, and I was CRAZY missing my brother. It was a short but lovely reunion.

The best reunion ever

I got to cuddle my baby doggies!!!!!!!!! 

Reunited with my X ring- WOOOO!

Sunday I drove back to the Coady, and my car broke down on the way, but honestly, the outpour of friendly Canadians pulling over the help was the greatest thing in the world. I felt insanely patriotic at that moment. My dad rescued me and I was back on the road in no time. I picked up Blake, we jammed out to some good songs and chatted about life, and we arrived in Antigonish.

Monday was our first day of debrief, and it was PHENOOOMENAL to have all the interns together and safe. Since then, we've had two days of cultural re-integration from the Centre for Intercultural Learning, and a few super interesting sessions on materialism and peace building within ourselves. We've been thinking critically about international development, and I have a lot of questions that remain unanswered. We're also looking a lot at our futures and where we go from here. 

Lots and lots of question marks. It's a little scary, but also a little awesome. 

Here's something you may appreciate. Today Adam, our 10/10 youth programs manager, shared with us research that was done with people who were on their death beds. Here are the top five things people who were dying wish they would have done in their lives:

1. Had the courage to live a life true to themselves, not the life others expected

2. Not worked so hard

3. Had the courage to express their feelings

4. Stayed in touch with their friends

5. Let themselves live happier lives

I'm grateful for the wisdom. As we settle back into Canada life, it would be pretty easy to revert back to the lives we had before our departure, but we also have a unique opportunity to change our days for the better. We're now equipped with a new lens to see the world, and we hopefully learned a thing or two while we were gallivanting, so if there was ever a time to change it up, now would be it! I find this very exciting.

I also think that having this two-week debrief with the other interns is the absolute best thing we could do. It's BEYONDDDDD amazing to feel the intern love, to cuddle non-stop (seriously non-stop), to share stories, to learn together. We're lucky to have this time. I'm anxious about us all splitting up.

Goodbye +38, hello amazing winter wonderland!

Meal hall has been a) delicious and b) an amazing space to continually catch up and share stories

Some of our first reflections

Maura Casey, my god, you got us matching friendship suits all the way from Cameroon and my life is now complete. You are amazing.

Tired but surviving our cultural reintegration classes
 

Overall, the debrief in itself has been great. But to add to the craziness of returning, Tuesday was X-ring day, a very special day at our university, and it was the two-year anniversary of me getting my ring. The X-ring at St. Francis Xavier is a REALLY big deal, and getting the ring in your last year is definitely more exciting than convocation itself (the ring is even mentioned on wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Francis_Xavier_University). We went to the feast and the party, and it was REALLY crazy to see old roomies (I love you guys), old friends, other interns, and so many light-skinned, fancy people in one place. It was so weird to be back in the university ritual I completed not too long ago. And I kind of forgot how to do super feminine things like get tights on and do nice hair and makeup. To the interns who basically Cinderalla-ed me, I love you forever. 

The X-ring feast

A really beautiful reunion with some roomies whom I dearly missed and LOVE

I forgot how to dress up. Thank god the other interns helped

Look at us cuties (and I definitely chose the best sign)

Live music for the win!

Sooooooo.

I miss: the sun (but omg, not the heat), ALL THE KIDS (I really, really miss the kids, a lot a lot), seeing the staff at Stepping Stones everyday, doing reading sessions, a less-frantic pace of life, the fries at Spar

I'm pumped about: people (or phone calls with people instead of emails), electricity (and the amazing simplicity of just plugging something in), snow (we went from +38 to snow storms and it feels GREAT), food, internet, zero sunscreen, zero bugs, clean and comfortable clothes, dogs, regular sweatiness after yoga, showers- actually, everything

I'm overwhelmed by: grocery stores, my own mobility (I literally cried a bit when I got in my car, turned on my music, and drove), texting, knowing where to start when catching up with people I haven't seen in a while, going from a tiny social life to a full-on, non-stop one (although in this case it's a good kind of overwhelmed)

Anyway. To those who have been here, thank you so much for the support and excitement about me getting home. I'm sorry if I'm a little MIA, but settling in will take a little bit of time I think.

More to come as things happen!

Peace and love!!!!!

Shila

It's winter alright

We seriously cuddle more than we don't

An epic (and hilariously educational) impromptu lesson about Newfoundland (from the future premier herself)

(I can't even believe how quickly these pictures uploaded!!!!!)