Summer 2023

Being a part of this program, this summer has been the most influential yet intense experience ever. The adventure I have endured here has changed me, made me stronger and smarter, and given me opportunities I could have never imagined I would experience.
When I arrived here in Eswatini I had no idea what I was doing. Laurence, with the biggest grin on his face, picked Claire and me up from the bus station and drove us to a campsite literally in the middle of a game reserve and told us this is your home for the next 2 months. I was shocked I couldn’t do anything but laugh. At that point, I kept asking myself “Why are you even here”? Technically the answer to that question was to help the IRES students with their projects, eventually developing my own project through the team I felt the most pulled to. To my surprise, I quickly became intrigued with the parasite team and their work with rodents and parasites and ended up basing my project on it. However, over the past two months I have learned my purpose here was to do research for the then and now, absorb as much information as possible, and understand what it means to live life to its fullest. What happened here was only based on how hard I wanted to work and the choices I wanted to make. Even though fieldwork and research were a big part of this program, to me it was really about the bonds and connections I created with the land, the culture, and my team.

The students, the mentors, the cooks, Phum, Immi, and most importantly Laurence are why this experience was once in a lifetime. In the short time we were all together they became not only a team I knew I could depend on for the rest of my life; they became my family. Words can’t describe this experience; all I have to say is if you have a chance to be a part of something like this…do it.

Photos by Abbey Seivert