So far so good

So I am 1/3 through the program now. My thoughts? I'm loving it. 

The second required course "Justice, Peace and Development" has just begun. Here are some highlights from the first class:

• Course requirements include: this blog (anything about our learning and experience in the program), community service hours at The Working Center in Kitchener-Waterloo, and presentation on our host country (economical, political, and environment challenges, history, demographics...etc)
  
• Public speaking is a skill that comes with practice and can only be developed by doing lots of it. Being able to present confidently about our projects and tell stories of our experiences are very important
• People stop learning at age of 30 and only use what they already know (no good!). When you're frustrated, it means you're learning; if you're not frustrated, then you're doing what you already know how to do.
• "Hurt people, hurt people", especially individuals who have been alienated and isolated. 
• When we're overseas, we need to think, "am I making matters worse?" Learn to do little things that make little differences everyday. Be there for family, be nice to strangers, smile and respect people.
• Reverse culture shock is guranteed to be greater than the culture shock we experience when we arrive at our placements. When we come back, we will feel that we are not understood, we will question why people don't care, and we must be prepared for that. Our journal will be our best friends at times, take advantage of the support we have from other Beyond Bordians.
• Blogs are great for sharing experiences and practicing community outreach. At the same time, they are also useful for self-preservation. A lot of times there are situations when we can only react and do what we have to do, there isn't time to process until after the fact, and this can happen the next day, the next week, or even years after. 

For the last few days, I have been thinking long and hard about what I want to be posting on this blog. Here are some ideas:

• Research about my host country and my placement
• Stories from the Working Center
• Fundraising progress (email me if you would like to support me :) )
• Preparations for the summer (ie. immunizations, thinking about what to pack, enjoying warm showers while I still have them, worrying about everything...etc)
• Begging and harassing for emotional and financial support
• Other research, resources, links...etc about international development
• I am not sure? What do you think?

What's next?

• First visit to The Working Center tomorrow!
• Still waiting for a response from WUSC to confirm my placement.....(I applied to work with the Gender Unit of SADC (Southern African Development Community) but they haven't confirmed yet. Soooo wish me luck!)

Thanks for reading, and enjoy your evening.  =)