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Inside/Out
with Juliet Gwenzi, meteorologist and physics lecturer
Kubatana.net
April 26, 2012
Read the full
interview with Juliet Gwenzi
Describe
yourself in five words.
Self-starter, innovative, hardworking, quiet.
What's
the best piece of advice you've ever received?
Even as a girl, there is nothing that can limit you as long as you
remain focussed and you know where you want to get to, and you make
sure that you have the right kind of friends who influence you on
the positive things.
What
is your most treasured possession?
Knowing the Lord because that has helped me to be what I am today.
What
do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
It's when you allow yourself to be looked down upon and you
develop an inferiority complex and you think that there is nothing
that you can really do in life. At the end of the day, you just
look at yourself as a loser every time and there is nothing to look
forward to in life.
What
are some of your hobbies and interests?
I'm an avid reader and also like knitting, sewing, baking
. . . yeah, for now, because others, as you become a mother just
fall away. And I also enjoy having time with friends and relatives.
What
is your greatest fear?
My greatest fear as a mother is having gone this far that I'd
find my kids failing to make it in life.
What
is your favourite journey?
Travelling with family, the whole family, and just having time out
together. I like home. I like Zimbabwe.
When
and where were you happiest?
I would say I was happiest when I discovered that I had gotten a
scholarship to go and study for my MSU, when I least expected it.
Because when I applied I said "its just killing time".
But when I discovered it I was just so happy. And more so to say
it was my first time to apply when others had applied three or four
times and been rejected every time.
What
were you like at school?
I was the kind of person who was very quiet, especially at high
school. Even here (at University
of Zimbabwe), I rarely talked to people. Somehow I just had
this fear in me of talking, so I was quiet most of the time. Such
that, even people who see me today, will be quite surprised to see
a great change!
What
is your biggest vice?
When I get annoyed or angry, I don't want to talk. I just
want to do things on my own, even at home. So, I won't ask
you to help me in anything. I will do it quietly and accomplish
things on my own. And I don't talk. And when asked anything
I will just give one-word answers.
What
is your greatest extravagance?
My father was a no-nonsense man. He was also taking care of a lot
of others, vazukuru and the like. So we were taught that whatever
you have you had to learn to share. And even as I speak right now,
I have got a lot of people that come to my house - others who are
staying there from my husband's side. So I have learned to
live with that. And every time I have travelled, my husband says,
"What did you buy yourself?" I don't have anything
for myself, but always thinking about others. Probably in terms
of time I would look at it and say the time that was spent so much
on travelling on work missions, sometimes when the family really
required me at home.
What
are your goals for the next 5 years?
I'm looking forward to having finished my PhD.
What
does International Women's Day mean to you?
To me, I see it as a day when women should recognize that we are
past the time when we look down upon ourselves, but it's time
to stand up and be counted. And show what it is that we are able
to achieve, not just by mere words, but it should be seen in reality.
And also show that we can match with men, when it comes to work,
and that should be on merit. Not that we are saying we are regarded
as the weaker side, so we should be given preferential treatment.
No! It's high time we stand up and say we have something to
show, something that is tangible.
What
did you do to celebrate International Women's Day?
I was just with a lot of work. As I told you, I started on my PhD.
So if I have accomplished all these other things, then I'm
thinking, "What else should I do?", because we are racing
against time. And with that in mind we are also saying, as a woman,
I am saying I should stand up tomorrow and be counted, so I have
to be doing something that will show that I want to be counted again
in the future.
Why
do you think you were nominated by members of the Kubatana community
to be interviewed for International Women's Day?
You know, I was quite surprised because it's something that
I least thought about, to say that someone would think of me, especially
along those lines. What I have also realised is when you interact
with people there is something that you impart to people. So I would
say, there is something that other people saw which I didn't
think I have, that they thought it was worthwhile. All I realise
is, I am the only lady lecturer in the physics department. So, many
a time you feel lonely, but you are saying, "How do I lure
more women, so that we are also counted?"
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