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Ashleigh Chamberlain

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Ashleigh grew up in a small mining town in the Northern Cape and then moved on to Stellenbosch for High School and University. She studied BA Social Dynamics (Politics, Philosophy and English) and after completing her degree went overseas to Taiwan to teach ...

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18 Comments

on Coming Home To South Africa – Top 6 Things To Experience

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Teaching abroad is an experience that is so fulfilling on many levels. Being immersed in a culture completely different from your own allows for learning and understanding of an unfamiliar place, whilst leaving you to appreciate your home country. Sometimes we have to go away to truly know where we need to be. Your list is a good one and I would add the South African Kalahari as it is so different from the areas you mentioned. Actually, anywhere in South Africa is worth visiting and I always wish I had more time!

Hi Denise! Being abroad taught me exactly that (and so much more). The Kalahari is an epic place to visit- I went to the Namibian side of it when I was growing up- memories to last a life time.
Thank you for reminding me of them.

Dear Ashley, what can I say? One image and description after the other was my dream… leopards, whales and flowers in Namaqualand! I think the best pictures and documentaries I’ve seen were about this place. The garden route… one day I must do the trip. Thank you for this magical tale

Francesca! It is my absolute pleasure. My hope for the both of us is that we can tick all of the above off!

Hi Ashleigh!
As Denise mentioned, the Kalahari offers an entirely different landscape.
Traveling the coastline from the Cape of Good Hope to Cape Town offers a fantastic picturesque experience, and we loved visiting with the Boulders Beach penguins.

Vin!
I spent about a month in the Kalahari when growing up in the Northern Cape. My family and I travelled with a roof top tent and spent days on days playing in the red sand dunes. When you return I’ll show you a picture of me doing tumble turns down them!

A lovely story of self-awakening, Ashleigh. I hope the environment at Londolozi enables you to continue to learn and grow.

Thank you so much! Londolozi is proving to be another wonderful opportunity to become the best version of myself.

South Africa is indeed a beautiful and interesting country.
I have been to quite a few countries in this world, from Asia to the Americas and Europe, of course.
However, I have always liked being on safaris the most, maybe apart from a trip to Bhutan, which was nearly as rewarding and certainly as fascinating .

I will have to do some researching into Bhutan it seems! Thank you Christa.

One never realizes what you have until you don’t have it anymore. That also applies to places where you stay, gone away and come back to appreciate what you have missed being away. Londolozi is a place you would never want to leave, for everything is so beautiful there. Hope you stay at Londolozi and live to the fullest there.

Thank you Valmai! I am loving my time here.

A really nice blog Ashleigh. It is true, you do need to move away from home to truly realize how blessed you are. I think it is a great learning experience for young people to see “how the other half live” and to learn different cultures, try different foods and see dufferebt okaces, In the end, there really is no place like home. I am glad you found your calling at Londolozi – it is a very special place with very special people. Thanks for sharing with us.

“No place like home” is one of the truest statements around and I am happy to hear you are of the same opinion, Leonie.

Very good sharing!Taiwan is not a country, it is a part of China.Good luck!

Ashleigh, Welcome to the Londolozi family! We have been to most of your picks and will certainly add the rest to our list of must-dos in the future! We look forward to meeting you on our next visit!

Thank you, Michael and Terri!
Looking forward to having you here with us to share some stories of your travels which seem to parallel mine.

I met Ashleigh in Founders in October for one short day. We were at the end of a six day visit when she came back from her holiday. Would have been fun to talk about teaching English since I am still doing that in Hawai’i (ESL for adults.). Be well.

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