Laura Gordon

Laura Gordon (Survivor Corps in Burundi): Laura worked as an English teacher in Côte d’Ivoire in 2002 and Thailand in 2003. In 2006 she graduated from the University of Oxford with a 1st Class degree in Modern History. After graduating, Laura worked in Uganda as a research intern for the Uganda Human Rights Commission. At the time of her fellowship she was pursuing her master’s degree in International Affairs at The Graduate Institute, Geneva. After her fellowship, Laura wrote: “I'm more comfortable in my skin now, and after a couple of years of wondering where I belong, I'm now sure that it's overseas in the development world. I love Burundi and I'm desperate to go back.”



Bora Bora… no, not that one!

14 Jul

So, this weekend I finally made it to Bora Bora. No, not the mountains in Afghanistan – a beach restaurant a couple of kilometres outside Bujumbura that, as far as I can work out, has never been among Osama Bin Laden’s favourite hangouts. I was expecting some thatched roofing, tables and brochettes, maybe with a small pool (people generally don’t swim much in the lake because of hippos/crocs. I was not expecting a Cape Cod style open-fronted house filled with big comfy sofas with blue cushions, serving pizzas and cocktails. But it’s utterly awesome and I may be moving in there in future. They have internet so I can work there. Sort of. Hmm.

Ce weekend j’ai finalement arrivé d’aller à Bora Bora. Pas les montagnes en Afghanistan – un restaurant à la plage un ou deux kilomètres du centre de Bujumbura. Je ne crois pas que Osama Bin Laden l’a visité ! J’ai pensé de voir quelques petits abris avec les toits en chaume, les tables, et les brochettes, peut-être avec une petite piscine (les gens ne nagent pas beaucoup dans le lac à cause des hippopotames et des crocodiles). Je n’ai pas attendu une petite maison dans le style de Cape Cod avec les grands sofas et les coussins confortables, et un menu de cocktails et pizzas. Mais c’est magnifique, et je vais pratiquement déménager là bas pour le reste de mon séjour à Burundi ! Ils ont l’internet, donc je peux travailler là bas. Peut-être.

Bora Bora

View over Bujumbura and the mountains from the beach at Bora Bora

View over Bujumbura and the mountains from the beach at Bora Bora

Bora Bora poolBora Bora Sunset

Burundi is also great for kite surfing – but with the added element of excitement that you might end up in Congo!

Et le lac Tanganyika est aussi bien pour faire du kite-surf… mais avec le risque de finir en Congo!

Kite Surfing Lake Tanganyika


Posted By Laura Gordon

Posted Jul 14th, 2009

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