Hi,
I can't believe another week has come and gone. Time is going by here so incredibly fast. It was a tumultuous week full of highs and lows. The nature of being solitary and in a foreign land is like that. Lots of swinging up and down. Back and forth. Admittedly, I have had a hard time stilling my mind since arriving here. The school work is piling up now and I'm trying to cut through the clutter in my head and focus on the tasks at hand but it's often got it's own agenda and busy with thoughts. About what I'm seeing. Experiencing. Tasting. Doing. Feeling. Now. BUT I'm also preoccupied with what's next for me. In the closing of this chapter (which is merely weeks away!), another will be written. I just don't know the plot just yet....and that feels scary. The space in between can be an overwhelming, confusing, debilitating time.....despite the feeling of freedom and being airborne.
Lots to say. First, I wrote this update for the foundation which gave me a scholarship to support my work here. It's quite comprehensive if you would like to read it:
http://www.ucalgary.ca/md/PARHAD/studentships/student-2010-bstrumm.htm
The highs. Yesterday I attended this conference: http://www.kidsrightsmdgsconference.com/
It was incredible. Not only was the content extremely relevant to my work and long-term career goals, but the speakers panel was remarkable. Graca Machel (Mandela's wife and long-standing social activist), F.W. de Klerk (former president of South Africa and Nobel peace prize winner), and Desmond Tutu (no explanation required) were all there and spoke to open and close the conference. Wow. I was starstruck as well as deeply effected by their words. I left feeling uplifted and hopeful despite the disappointing facts regarding children's health, education and poverty around the world. The conference and time spent in the presence of Tutu will forever be a beacon of light in my life as I progress as a social worker. I went up to Tutu at the end of the day and spoke with him for a moment before someone snapped this:
Wow. GrateFULLness.
The conference also recognized Children's Peace Prize awards given out every year- there were 3 winners in attendance. The 2009 winner struck a chord with me, a young Congolese boy named Baruani Ndume who fled from the violence in DR Congo when he was seven years old. Both of his parents were killed during the conflict. Baruani has lived in the refugee camp in Tanzania for over nine years but converted his difficult life there into something powerful, including starting a radio show for refugee children. The radio show, called 'Sisi kwa Sisi' (Children for Children), airs on Radio Kwizera in Tanzania, Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi. In his radio show, Baruani discusses the problems and challenges refugee children face in the camp and offers an ear and advice. Here I am with this magnificent boy:
The lows. An old and dear friend of mine's mother suddenly passed away this week from an unstoppable cancer. I'm in Pretoria and she's in Calgary. I'm torturing myself over not being there for her physically. I know that you can't plan these things, and that the universe has placed me here now, but I've been unable to calm down. I take pride in the fact that I'm the 'go to gal' and I enjoy giving support to others. I think I get this from my grandmother who was tirelessly helping other people. I'm a way better giver of support than receiver of it. This experience has exposed just how much I shape my identity by this trait and how in being far away from the people I love, it is stifled. This is one of the many things I am learning about myself here. The learning never ends.
I think I'll close there. Too much clutter.
Love from me,
B
The highs. Yesterday I attended this conference: http://www.kidsrightsmdgsconference.com/
It was incredible. Not only was the content extremely relevant to my work and long-term career goals, but the speakers panel was remarkable. Graca Machel (Mandela's wife and long-standing social activist), F.W. de Klerk (former president of South Africa and Nobel peace prize winner), and Desmond Tutu (no explanation required) were all there and spoke to open and close the conference. Wow. I was starstruck as well as deeply effected by their words. I left feeling uplifted and hopeful despite the disappointing facts regarding children's health, education and poverty around the world. The conference and time spent in the presence of Tutu will forever be a beacon of light in my life as I progress as a social worker. I went up to Tutu at the end of the day and spoke with him for a moment before someone snapped this:
Wow. GrateFULLness.
The conference also recognized Children's Peace Prize awards given out every year- there were 3 winners in attendance. The 2009 winner struck a chord with me, a young Congolese boy named Baruani Ndume who fled from the violence in DR Congo when he was seven years old. Both of his parents were killed during the conflict. Baruani has lived in the refugee camp in Tanzania for over nine years but converted his difficult life there into something powerful, including starting a radio show for refugee children. The radio show, called 'Sisi kwa Sisi' (Children for Children), airs on Radio Kwizera in Tanzania, Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi. In his radio show, Baruani discusses the problems and challenges refugee children face in the camp and offers an ear and advice. Here I am with this magnificent boy:
The lows. An old and dear friend of mine's mother suddenly passed away this week from an unstoppable cancer. I'm in Pretoria and she's in Calgary. I'm torturing myself over not being there for her physically. I know that you can't plan these things, and that the universe has placed me here now, but I've been unable to calm down. I take pride in the fact that I'm the 'go to gal' and I enjoy giving support to others. I think I get this from my grandmother who was tirelessly helping other people. I'm a way better giver of support than receiver of it. This experience has exposed just how much I shape my identity by this trait and how in being far away from the people I love, it is stifled. This is one of the many things I am learning about myself here. The learning never ends.
I think I'll close there. Too much clutter.
Love from me,
B
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