Hi, my name is Mike Puglisi and I have worked as an IT consultant for nearly the last 11 years. My work has allowed me to travel throughout the US. I have been given the opportunity to live and work internationally, in Nairobi, Kenya.
My "official" temporary work permit
Not only will it be an amazing personal growth experience, but it also gives me the opportunity to work in the non-profit space and to ultimately help others. I will be working within a division of my company called Accenture Development Partnerships, which are projects that we work on with developing countries on a not for profit basis. I will talk more about my specific project in a future post. I am really excited for Africa, since I have done very little travel there, having only traveled to Tanzania, which I did in 2009. I will be living in corporate housing, which will allow for easy access to other people in the same program as well as other expat's. Many people have asked me if I am nervous for my safety (violence and health) and so far I am not, but ask me in a month. My company has taken the extremely conservative approach and made sure that we are fully aware of the political instability and terrorism in the area. Although I'm not sure how much online training can do, I am supposedly versed in the ability to survive an abduction and kidnapping...hopefully it never comes to that. Most have asked if I am concerned for Ebola and as of now this is only a few small places in West Africa. Through doing some research, I really didn't know how large Africa is until I saw this picture which help put it in perspective.
I am excited for all of the adventures that I will get to see and all of the cultures and people that that I will be exposed to. I would consider myself a fairly seasoned traveler, having been to 36 countries to date, but not only with this increase the countries that I have been to, but it will also be much more of a dramatic set of experiences.
I leave tomorrow and can't wait to keep everyone updated on my adventures, my living situation, Nairobi, and most importantly the work I will be doing.
No comments:
Post a Comment