In addition I also managed to fully arrive in Gaborone – with own house, car and ‘weekend-get-aways’. As you see in the pictures I am not only driving an own car again – after ten years – with the wheel on the steering-wrong side but I also live in a small house in the suburbs of Gaborone. These are quite some changes from the small room in Singapore with its great public transport to this new adventure. But as you know I like challenges and especially if I have to adapt myselfs to new settings – that keeps fresh and was exactly what I was looking for. After these first weeks I feel also well introduced to the life of Gaborone with its braai-parties, cinemas, game drives and even theatre-performances (see article about No 1 Ladies theatre). In the end of this month the adventure is getting even more exiting, as Susi will join me here, and so I am looking forward for more great months to see and experience a piece of Africa together.

As I live again in a small room at a friend´s house, where I staid also last time it seems as I only left the country some weeks ago as it looks and feels all very familiar to me. But the GTZ office changed a lot, as more staff from Danemark, Canada and Germany joined the team and we are nowadays more than ten people working together with the SADC Water-Division and the fifteen water-ministries in Southern Africa. The team is amazing and on the first day I was already able meeting our SADC colleagues, second day was already project-planning and Friday I wrote the first PR concept. That is fast speed as I like it and I am quite exiting what the future brings. Besides work I am currently looking into car-buying and I hope finding one soon, as busses ar not very effective and walking produces a lot of sweet as we have over 30 degrees here. As I had my last car almost ten years ago and life in Singapore and Berlin do not needed one, that is quite funny situation but let´s see how I get ripped off by the car-shops.

As Eschborn is more an industrial-park then an ancient and beautiful city I use my weekends for some get-aways, last weekend to carnival-celebrations to the “Kölsch-Fest” in Cologne and this weekend to Aalborg in Nothern Denmark to visit some friends, whom I haven´t seen for ages. The last two weekends are dedicated for my hometown and maybe Berlin and afterwards I join a friend in Romania, before my flight leaves from Berlin on 1st of March to Gaborone. And it´s great having a girlfriend, who is traveling even more crazy than me, as Susi is currently backpacking in Latin America. You can follow her crazy adventures in magnificient mountains with pinguins and lamas here. So I have to day, that it´s great to be back in wonderful snowy Germany and to feel home with friends in Europe – hope seeing you all in Gaborone once a day.

From 1st February until 1st March I will be in Eschborn, near Frankfurt (Main) for my preparation in the GTZ headquarter. Afterwards I´ll leave icy Germany (currently minus 15 degrees in Berlin) for sunny Botswana. And I am very happy that also Susi, who is currently travelling for some months in Latin America, will join this adventure in June. So I have the noble task to find something to life in for us two: Maybe we can improve ourselves from our small fourteen square-meters room in Singapore – as a lot of guest already agree to visit. :)

Of course it’s amazing fast – as I decided this week to take the job, I will leave Singapore forever on 22nd December and will start the new challenge after a great christmas and ski-holiday from 1st February and most probably move to Botswana in March. I hope everything goes like planned, as no contract is signed so far, but the opportunity is extraordinary amazing and of course I took this small risk – as always. :) Life is great and I am awaiting the time in Africa a lot.

Download in German: Master-Thesis “Transboundary Watermanagement in SADC”
Executive Summary in English language: Master-Thesis “Transboundary Watermanagement in SADC”

After arriving in Arusha we were straightly integrated in the congress and I had to give a presentation in the Trade Committee but as well afterwards in the plenary and I was amazed about the support from the parliamentarians for our transboundary water-cooperation. Of course the region had and has conflicts but the leaders saw themselves as Africans and I was impressed by the calmness but straightness when it came to tricky questions like the war going on in the north of DR Congo or the political situation in Zimbabwe. I believe that a lot of EP parliamentarians could learn a lot from this kind of diplomacy – even if SADC PF is of course another level but ambitious and this gives hope for the future of Southern Africa. We managed also to have a little view on Kilimandjaro but it was unfortunalty always surrounded by clouds and I promised to come back and walk on top. After return to Josie (Johannesburg) we followed-up our interview session and I lost the charger of my notebook, which caused serious problems back in Gaborone but in Africa you find always a solution – it only takes time.

Afterwards we arrived at the water-commission for the Limpopo-river (LIMCOM) in Phalaborwa, where South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana and Zimbabwe met to jointly agree on their water-management. The meeting was organized by GTZ and was very interesting and I could arrange several interviews on the ground. Additionally we might went up in some days to Tanzania… but as Africa is a bit easy-going while organising we still do not know for sure – flights would go on Sunday so Friday is still too early. :)