Zimbabwean student's first trip abroad takes him to the Glenkens

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A post-graduate student from Zimbabwe is enjoying his first time outside the country – among the people of the Glenkens. Natsani Brandon Dube will start a masters degree in statistical ecology at the University of St Andrews on Monday.

He arrived in Scotland on August 9 and since then has spent much of his time with Roland Chaplain and June Hay at their home in Balmaclellan.

Highlights included his first ever sight of the sea – and the warm welcome from everyone he has met. Natsani, 26, told the News: “The people are so amazing and the hospitality is par excellence. “And understanding the Scottish accent is really easy. “This is my first time outside Zimbabwe and I had never seen the sea before. “I went to Mossyard and thought how growing up at home we were told to always stay away from the river because it was very dangerous. “Yet here there were people playing and laughing in the water. “Also in Zimbabwe you can bump into elephants and lions but in Scotland you can move freely. “I really enjoyed visiting the sea and seeing all the bird life there.” In his remaining time in Galloway Natsani was keen to visit local enterprises or organisations to inform his studies.

He said: “I wanted to participate in any local environmental or nature projects in order to get some knowledge which I could use at some point.