Polytechnic of Namibia Hotel & Tourism School

Hello World,

There are a lot of things that happen behind the scenes when it comes to studying abroad.  It can definitely feel overwhelming but it's a big step in the right direction so it will come with some hurdles.  This is when you'll see strength you didn't even know you had.  Since I studied in the summer, I had to depend on scholarships to get me there.  I applied for 5 and received 6 in total.  I guess it was meant for me to go.  In the meantime, I packed and did as much research as I could on the program I'd be affiliated with and the country I was traveling to.  With me the most was diligence; as long as I did what I was supposed to do, everything worked out in the end.

Once we were all there, we got to see where we were would be staying when we weren't at our placement sites. The director of the program, Dr. Sanders only puts us in places she would stay.  As you can see, she did us right!

Welcome to the Polytechnic of Namibia Hotel & Tourism school.  Everyone's service was amazing, you'd never know you were at a school.  These American girls love to eat and the chef, who was a woman by the way, made sure everything was great.  Quiet as kept, it wasn't until I came to Namibia that I tried so many different vegetables and fell in love.

The program consisted of a tour around the city of Windhoek, including the Prime Minister's office & garden, along with some historic sites.

It was finally time to head off to our placements sites.  One student was 1 hour away, another 3 hours always, but I was 8 hours away in a car and 1 hour on an airplane.  So, here I was being placed on another air plane.  Can't you tell how much I love flying?!

Next Stop, The SOS Children's Village, Ondangwa.  Until next time......Shauntay

Welcome One, Welcome All

Hello World,

My name is Shauntay and I'd like to officially welcome you to a blog tailored to expose each and every one of you to a program I participated in, Study Abroad to Africa.  Once I became a full-time student, one of my dreams came true and I traveled to the motherland, Africa.  I can't tell you my whole story in one post, but as you follow this blog, my story will evolve.  My dream is for you to see this and want to experience your own journey.  This is the time....your time.....

My whole journey was and is a unique one.  It started off from JFK in New York to Johannesburg, South Africa; a 14 1/2 straight flight.  The craziest thing about being on an airplane that long was that I had never been on an airplane before.  I also learned that I love to fly.

Before I ever stepped foot on the plane, I wrote essays and applied for scholarships because I was still an unemployed, full time student with great grades. Those same grades earned me an invitation to join PTK International Honor Society. I often tell others not to worry so much about the big picture just continue to take it one step at a time.  I used this same motto to keep me calm and low and behold, I received over $10,000 in scholarships.

3 of us started out participating in the program, and closer to the time we were supposed to leave, another young lady joined us.  We all came from different backgrounds, states and majors including nursing, business, journalism, and tourism & conservation.

The program also consisted of a tour around the city of Windhoek (pronounced Vind-hook), the Okapuka Game Drive, and time with the Director of the program, Dr. Deborah Sanders.

Stay tuned because there's more to come......Shauntay
StudyAbroadtoAfrica.org for more details on the program.