“Getting There” – Reflections by Participant Claudine Chen

Made it, the Friday night bus to Berlin-Tegel airport. I’ve had a busy week, and I have not mentally prepared for the IDDS that I’ve been looking forward to for months. It feels strange, yet it is a release, to suddenly drop everything happening in my daily life for a completely new experience. There is little time to process what is about to come as I pack the day of my flight, and I as I hop my way towards Gaborone, I make each step closer with the awareness of an automaton. On the last leg to Gaborone, we are herded into a bus, and one by one we pass huge planes about to jet off to distant locations like Dubai or London. Nestled between two giants is our cute twin propeller, and I can’t help but smile. My rowmate joins me soon after I settle into my window seat, and we discover we are both going to D’Kar! Suddenly it clicks, we are going into the Kalahari desert, and the journey has begun.

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