Field Course in the Kalahari Desert
It is a rather challenging task to 'tell my story' due to I have a long, bumpy road behind me how I got to the place I am today.
I come from a rather small country called Hungary. I grew up travelling around the world which made me addicted to explore the wonders of the world. Now, I use all my spare money to travel but I am not the four star hotel-suitcase on wheels type of person. My best experiences are the ones when I spent nights on city streets, train stations or at simple hostels. I am unable to justify getting a driver's license since I could travel to so many places from that money. Since I am drawn towards challenges, I like finding hidden paths to get to remote places and it would seem 'too easy' if I had a car ( which I do not believe I will be able to afford for many years).
I am fascinated by the world's creations and my dream was always to become a marine biologist. People thought that I would 'settle for less' after growing up but I believe that the dreams from childhood are the ones which bring true happiness. A child does not worry about paying the rent... Now I am worrying about a million things but it does not make the dream less wonderful.
So last summer I moved to Southampton to start my full-time marine biology course. Yet, after a month it became evident that it is just too expensive. Everything costs three times more in the UK than in Hungary... So I reapplied to another university while I was running out of money. Then in 2 weeks I started a part-time course at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge while working 30-40hours per week in a restaurant. Then in the summer I went back to the much loved CABI research institute where I was a 'research assistant' once again ( I worked there 2 years ago).
There aren't a lot of people who understand why I commited to a 6 year long BSc course while I could be studying Biology for free in Hungary.
But I believe that if it wouldn't be so hard then it wouldn't be worth it. Moreover, I just know that this is the right thing to do.
When someone does the hard and right thing I believe that good things are going to follow those actions.
Last November, I wrote a proposal to my university for the Anglia Foundation Scholarship which enables students to get more experience which contributes to their course.
20 minutes before the deadline I sent my proposal. My proposal was to go to a research camp called BRink (http://brink-namibia.com/techniques.html) in the Kalahari Desert, Namibia.
After a couple of months I received an email that I got the scholarship! (Only 10 people at the unviersity got it) I still cannot believe it to be honest :-)
The only obsticle in my African dream is again and again, the money. Though, I will receive one third of the trip's cost but just after my trip. Then I will have to find a new place to stay and - very likely - a new job..
When I finish my degree I will be in 27 000£ debt and I had to take out a personal loan in order to go to Africa.
So this is my story how I ended up on this website.
I am a 21 year old young woman who is trying her best to be a good person, a dedicated scientist, creative artist.
I am a passionate photographer and I believe you can take the best picture of every little thing that surrounds you, you just have to find the right point of view and attitude towards it. If you do not find something interesting or outstanding, than you just haven't found the right angle yet. Finding the right focus in life is challenging which makes life so much Fun!
I believe in the kindness of strangers and I hope that I will be able to raise some money which I would only spend on this 4 week field biology course and depending on the amount, I hope to also volunteer at this camp as a wildlife manager for two weeks.
Thank You for reading my story and I wish You an Amazing Day!! :-)
Juniper
PS. This picture is from the flight from Hungary to Dubai where I got to have fun with the crew on business class.. I asked them how they spotted me and they said it was 'my smile'... :-)
