A New Chapter Begins!

Well, we meet again!  Hello travel blog, my dear, old friend!  I am so excited to begin my 3rd installation of international musings as I prepare for another experience abroad, this time in a work type-setting for my Master's practicum.  Here I am, a 27 year old graduate student preparing for my first international work experience to take place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in South East Africa!  I am beyond excited, a little nervous and very grateful to have this opportunity.  It has been a long year of searching, decision-making and preparing and I can hardly believe the time has almost come for me to set off a new adventure.  In short, I'm ready and open to learning and growing from everything I can during my 7 month stay in Tanzania.

So how did this come about? A worthy question with a long explanation.  Well, I had been wanting to return to school after being out in the working world for a few years doing this and that yet not really finding anything that hooked me in.  With my BA in Psych/Soc I could really go where the wind took me and I've always enjoyed being on the move.  But I realized that I needed to go back to gain some necessary insight, another credential and make some important connections to advance my career to the next level.  Since my first experience abroad in 2011, I've been drawn to traveling and discovering new places and cultures.  I've also grown to understand that spending an extended amount of time in a foreign place allows you to appreciate and understand it more than a stop during a vacation ever could.  My experiences thus far have also opened up my eyes to some of the harsh inequalities present in the world that many of us have the privilege of not encountering in our day to day lives.

My fascination with a "bigger picture" led me to eventually let go of the hum drum issues I was encountering during my daily work life to pursue something that mattered more to me. I've gained quite an interest in policy making, and humanitarian issues, especially those concerning women and their place in societies.  Well last year around this time I landed myself back at school--The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts and I'm working towards getting my MA in Sustainable International Development.  I learned and grew quite a bit during my first year and it was also wonderful being in classes with individuals from all around the world--an unforgettable year, I'm not the same as when I started.  For our second year, the school allows us to either take another year of classes or conduct a practicum/internship experience and write about it in our Master's Paper.  Naturally I elected the latter option as I one day aspire to work abroad and to gain some connections the primary interest of mine when choosing to go to school and who wants to do two years of classes when you can be living abroad :)!

A few life lessons that I have learned up since last blogging that I hope will both influence and be challenged during my experience abroad:

Thankfully I’ve grown up a lot since previous years, I’m not just going on this trip for a fun soul searching journey.  I feel that in a lot of ways I've found my true self from many previous adventures.  I'm very comfortable with the person I am, I know my strengths and preferences, I know my flaws and limitations and I'm trying every day to continue to push myself to grow, but I am definitely grown at this time ;). 

Thank being said I have little patience and for inaunthenticity, incompetence and indecision.  I suppose I’ve developed this callous view after a few years out in the working world where I learned that no one is going to be there to hold your hand, politics reign supreme, and that often times things come down the pipeline based on how hard you hustle and cultivate your resources and opportunities.  I’ve adapted to be aware of the little things at all times, the subtleties that can often go unnoticed, also a sense of pragmatic professionalism is most necessary in any workplace setting--Trust your gut and keep your eyes open.

I also work hard. If anyone could tell you it would be bae who often gets frustrated when I work too much or get burnt out and crabby.  This is the only way I know how to function and I do so as I have been rewarded for my work, attention to detail and critical thinking from employers and professors alike.  That being said I cannot wait to give everything I have to something I care deeply about international women's issues.  I'm ready to be challenged and work hard and I’m hoping this will build a solid foundation for future work abroad and in my professional career.  I know what I want out of this experience, I want to better understand how local initiatives and advocacy for social issues can impact wide spread legislative change (more on this later).

Ok so enough of the back story -- about my trip…As mentioned previously I am heading into my second year as a graduate student at The Heller School for Social Policy and Management.  Our second year allows us to conduct a practicum aka internship for course credit and since September of last year I've been feverishly considering where to go.  I knew that I wanted to work in women's issues, and more specifically women's reproductive health as I have a year's worth of experience in that already.  I originally wanted to work in Latin America so I could use my Spanish and pursued that quite a bit.  However I also wanted to work at the community level, to get some real experience and working to build infrastructure for those who were needing access to services most.  After multiple interviews with a few different NGOs I gained the knowledge that Latin America's advocacy infrastructure is very much alive and well and many that I spoke with asked if I had considered Africa instead.  After realizing that the type of experience I am looking for is there, I decided to be open to the possibility for the best opportunity (I'm no nonsense now, remember ;) ), so why not Africa? 

Fast forward a few months and I had narrowed down my interest to one particular NGO located in Tanzania, the Africa Regional office of the International NGO Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights.  I settled on this opportunity because they are internationally active in Asia, Latin America and Africa.  They are active in the international feminist community and give regular statements to international governing bodies such as the UN etc.  The staff is working on a number of different projects and advocacy for women's health is one of their biggest priorities.            

So here it is in September, and I'm ready to jet over to my new home.  Within my two neatly packed knapsacks lies months of preparations, research, stress, and excitement.  Beginning this new journey I want to take a moment of self recognition and pat myself on the back for being able to pull this off.  The majority of my plans for this adventure were enacted for me, by me and through me with little structure as to how.  The fact that this is actually happening still somewhat boggles my mind.  A lot of this was spread out in quiet reflection where I really asked myself what I wanted out of this experience and making a lot of difficult choices along the way.  So here is a shameless shout out to myself that I've made it this far and made this happen for myself!  GO ME!  To those considering making a big life change for the better -- DO IT!

Now that that moment is over I would be misspoken to say I did this all by myself without anyone's help.  I had a huge amount of support from my parents, friends, family, university and my special person, Ian.  We all need to lean on each other once and a while to move forward.  And I am so thankful for those who have allowed me to do that.  My time at The Heller School and the inspiring individuals I have met have allowed me to further understand and learn about many different perspectives.  I am grateful for that and I hope to continue to stay mindful in knowing that there is a huge spectrum of viewpoints and realities that make up a greater understanding of a bigger issue.  So, my internship will hopefully be a creative outlet for good as well as a learning experience in another context.  I am looking forward to growing so much as well as exchanging some preconceptions for a more informed perspectives through doing international work.  Let's see what happens!  I’ve been extremely fortunate in my life to have had all of these opportunities and large amount of privilege to where many doors were open for me to discover and explore my passions.  I acknowledge this and I am grateful for these opportunities and I owe it to myself and to everyone else in my life to make this internship the best experience possible -- so cheers to another adventure!

As I have in the past I want to dedicate this blog to a few of the amazing women who have served as my mentors in my life thus far - I wouldn’t be the woman I am today without the wisdom I gained from learning about your own journeys and passions I am eternally grateful for the wisdom you have imparted on me and your willingness to listen.  Thank you to Darcee Anderson who encouraged me to follow my dreams in advocating for reproductive health, to Rakmi Shaiza who inspired me with the transformative power of personal purpose and the importance of kindness and respect, to Laura Sencion who taught me both another language and how to keep my eyes open for my own sake, and to Brenda Lowe who taught me the difference between running scared and running free.  I hope to make you all proud!  Bon voyage!