I arrived in Harare on Tuesday, January 4th. All my bags arrived with me too, so that was a good start :) I was greeted at the airport by one of the VSO Zimbabwe employees - Sam. He took me to the guesthouse - my temporary home for the next few weeks, while I go through training with VSO and until they find me an apartment closer to my placement.
As mentioned before I'm the first VSO volunteer in Zimbabwe since 2002. VSO has been in Zimbabwe for quite a few years but the international volunteer program was discontinued in 2002 because of security concerns. Now that things are stabilizing again the program is being restarted.
I've been going through In-Country Training (ICT) with VSO the past several days. It's been a very helpful exercise for me since we are going through cultural, social and political issues as well as safety, security and health topics. Unlike in Maputo there isn't major risk of malaria here, so I won't have to sleep under a bed net while I'm in the city. I'll continue to take my malaria medication however until I can consult with my new medical advisor (who I will be meeting next week).
U.S. Embassy |
Harare Gardens |
Also today, I finally got to wander around Harare and take some pictures. It was a great walk. Harare is a well developed African city with good infrastructure. I was impressed by the many stores, shopping centers and banks, as well as the number of tall buildings in the city center. I also very much enjoyed the Harare Gardens - the main park with many trees, flowers and other plants.
I'm looking forward to experiencing all that Harare has to offer...
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