We landed at O.R Tambo in Johannesburg, where my family phoned me continuously, giving me advice. We then made our way to Budget Insurance Cars to receive our amazing car we received right after some admin work.
We welcomed our Toyota Avanza.
We had traveled quite a distance to Pretoria. We visited our first appointment, for which we were very excited. It was the Argentinean Embassy, where we were welcomed and treated like we “Members of Parliament”. All the embassies welcomed us very well, but I must also add that their security is extremely strict.
This experience of meeting ambassadors was a valuable and a well appreciated experience. It exposed me to learning about different countries, different cultures, their policies and languages. Most importantly it developed my knowledge base and molding me to be an expert in the topic. It developed my views and thinking on international issues. It has developed me holistically. This experience has inspired me to learn more about international relations, to the extent that I would work in that industry. In these meetings I have attained various skills, through observation of my facilitator, as well as professionalism from everybody around me. It also gave me a better understanding of how to conduct an interview and to listen closely to people. We completed two interviews that Tuesday. After the second interview which was with Netherlands we then headed off to the Garden Court Hotel in Hatfield to get changed. We then had a marvelous experience going to the Monte Casino. We really saw a different world. We had supper there and after that we made our way back home. Before going straight to the hotel, I visited my aunt Maud and this created a great amount of excitement in me, as I was in contact with people I had not seen often.
After an exhausting day at work we headed our way back to the hotel, as I put my head down on the pillow, I fell straight to sleep. I slept like a baby till the next morning, waking up early looking forward to the days new tasks. My colleagues said that they felt exactly the same, and welcomed a good sleep in a queen size bed, a beautiful room, a television and many more accessories to make your life comfortable. Thank You Garden Court Hatfield, you are beautiful hotel I will never forget. When we woke up we all met on the first floor of the hotel to have a remarkable breakfast. Good food, good people, and great weather. It was like a dream being away from the normal day to day routine back home. We then got all our bags and got on our way once again. Our next point of call was the South Korean Embassy. We met with an interesting and knowledgeable man, Ambassador Kim. I enjoyed listening to him as he was well informed and we had an in-depth discussion on topics. Ambassador Kim is a leader with great charisma.
We then went further to meet the Norwegian ambassador, Torr Hildan. He was another great leader bursting with knowledge on our research topics. It was great meeting Mr. Hildan, although he was extremely boring in his calm Norwegian setting. None the less I felt honored and appreciated the opportunity to meet him in person. We had a balance of varying cultures and personalities. We were thankful for this amazing opportunity to be exposed to this magnitude of people. I could not stop thanking Nirvana for allowing us to do this research with her.
After meeting all the ambassadors and gaining a vast amount of experience, we then traveled a long but happy road to Johannesburg airport. We all felt extremely satisfied and happy that our tasks in Pretoria had been successfully completed. It had been fun as well as the best learning experiences I have been involved in. I deem it an honour, and I thank Doctor Nirvana most profusely for involving me and my colleague in this project.
I am greatly thankful for this opportunity and hope that I may someday return the favour either to Nirvana or possibly another student.
The evening I arrived home, I was extremely exhausted, but still excited to share my experiences with my family, who were only too eager to listen to me. I then went to my headquarters where I fell asleep at once. The next day, I awoke to tell all my friends about my experience and what I have learnt. This is one of the greatest experiences I have ever had.
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