An Early Departure (in Chris’ words)

Well it’s four months earlier then we planned, but Shel and I are back in the US. As some of you know, Shel has a pretty bad ankle. Lately she has been spraining it while walking on almost completely flat surfaces. Recently she had it checked by our doctor to see if she needed surgery, he said that only one of the three lateral ligaments were functioning. After seeing a specialist and getting a MRI, her evaluation was sent to Peace Corps Headquarters in DC. We expected that she needed surgery but we assumed it would be done here in Africa. To our surprise, not only does she need surgery, but they said she has to return to the US immediately. Apparently her ankle is so bad they are afraid that further damage would occur because of its instability, if she stayed. We left Botswana two days ago (Friday, 02/25/11) and we arrived in Minneapolis Saturday afternoon. We tried to get an extension to give us more time to wrap things up, but they don’t grant extensions for these types of situations.

It’s a weird feeling. Mentally we were prepared for our service to end in June. We have been preparing our resumes, looking for jobs and working on handing over our projects. But we no longer have enough time to properly prepare for our departure from Botswana or our return to the US. We are a little overwhelmed with emotions, a mixture of excitement, uncertainty, sadness and anxiety.

We are happy to be back in Minnesota, two years is a long time to be away. We look forward to seeing all of our family and friends, having fast internet, a reliable water supply, eating seafood, watching sports other than soccer and rugby, starting a family, drinking American Mountain Dew (African Mountain Dew has a weird flavor), driving/owning a car and so much more. But we will also miss Botswana, our PCV friends, our Batswana friends, the culture, our big white house, the endless sky, the sunshine, the wildlife, our work, the salt pans, our basketball teams, livestock grazing in our yard, the languages and all of the things that make Botswana great.

Botswana will always hold a special place in our hearts; although we faced many challenges we have many fond memories of our time here. I’m proud to be able to say we’ve lived in a remote village in Botswana. We’ve learned a lot from our experience and we feel it’s changed us for the better.

Opportunities

If you know of any job opportunities, that you think would fit our qualifications please send either of us an email.

I have a degree in Marketing – Professional Selling. In the past, I had a sales internship and worked as an advertising assistant. As a Peace Corps Volunteer I worked with the Social and Community Development Department. I gave various health presentations, advised on workplace improvement committees and planned community health events. I’m interested in any marketing or sales positions, but I am open to all opportunities.

Shelly graduated with a degree in Organizational Management and minored in Marketing. Before serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer she worked as a Regional Marketing Coordinator and her main responsibilities were planning events, developing promotions, managing marketing funds and working with vendors to develop marketing plans. As a Peace Corps Volunteer she worked with a non-governmental organization. At her assigned organization she acted as a liaison between support groups and government offices, coordinated the planning and the implementation of events, helped strengthen organizational structure and conducted grant searches and monitored the implementation of awarded grants. She is interested in any job opportunities that align with her qualifications, but would prefer to work for a non-profit organization.

Thank you for all of your support!

p.s. Please do not send any more mail to our Botswana address. If you have recently please let us know and we will tell our post office in Hukuntsi to send it back.