Thursday, August 4, 2011

last blog on here for a bit

Woah! It has been a while since I have posted anything on my blog...it looks pretty sad with most of my posts having been deleted as well.

This year has been insane. I had no idea teachers college could take up so much of a person's time. It feels good to be done and have some time to write back to emails, make phone calls i haven't made in a year and yes write on this blog.

When i started this blog last year it was because i was extremely frustrated with where i was at in my life. I felt that there were so many issues out there that i felt passionate about yet beyond signing petitions and donating when i could i didn't really know what to do about it. Then I got to know a group of people who had all read the book A Thousand Sister's by Lisa Shannon. Through these people I got to know Dominique Bikaba a wonderful man from DRC. Meeting Dom inspired me to organize a run/walk last summer (Run for Congo Women of course was also an inspiration!)...the run was a success and raised $3710 for projects in DRC (update email to be sent to participants very soon).

I gotta say, one thing i did learn from organizing an event is the drama and disappointment it does have the potential to create....it is stressful and scary and there is a lot of insecurity around it. You learn who will and will not support you and encounter some not so fantastic situations which i don't think anyone even considers when they try to fundraise for an organization or support a particular issue....but i think setbacks are apart of the process.

Before I knew it i was in teachers college and basically had to put everything regarding DRC or any other issues i care about on the shelf... there just wasn't any time or any space in my brain to give anything to the cause....it was hard watching everyone continuing to speak out and gain knowledge about issues facing DRC but i also knew that getting this degree was going to be my way one day to contribute something.

I then had the opportunity to teach for three weeks in Kenya which i learn a lot from... and i also got to see that Kenya is exactly what i pictured... i have deep attachments to the country because of the wildlife there and particular conservationist who live and died there....people kept saying "its a once and a lifetime thing"... but for me it was barely even an introduction...i know i will be having many "once in a lifetime" experiences in kenya for the rest of my life.

Going to Kenya also brought me the closest to DRC i have been thus far which was exciting. Eventually i will get there but at this point i am not sure if i have the right things to offer.

One thing i have thought a lot about is how difficult it can be to dedicate yourself to one cause or issue.... how do you pick one country, one region, one issue and dedicate your entire life to it? i envy the fact that some people are so certain about their passions...i feel like i am all over the place all the time and seem to physically always be at the wrong place when people like Dom, Lisa, etc are in Canada or are holding events.......i think it is hard to find that calling and to know how you can help...for me when it comes to wildlife i really feel i do not have a skill set to offer...i know there are lions and elephants in eastern DRC and i desperately want to know more about them...but how? i have no clue at this point.
I hope that i can offer something to women and girls through education....but i am new at this....i have a lot to learn....
and i do hope i can give something to Strong Roots (Dom' org)...that is my hope...we will see.

so next for me is moving to Kuwait...in one week and six days to be exact....Kuwait is not where i pictured myself to be for the next two years... but it is where i am going and i really hope i find my niche in teaching and start to become the type of educator i hope i can be.....

so that is where i am....stumbling my way through it all and all i can really say about it is....i love every minute of it....i feel that i am slowly letting myself live the issues i care about...i dont feel like i need a blog anymore to get the issues out of my brain because i have no where to place them... instead i feel like i am finding my way...by taking very very VERY small baby steps and learning from others along the way...and also learning when to let go of things i shouldn't have been hanging onto.......i do know im drawn to Africa (cheesy? yes i am aware)...and i am even more drawn to three countries within the continent... and i do hope going there will be one of the constants in my life... and i hope i can figure out what i have to give...but i am learning that there is a time for grabbing life by the horns and taking charge of my path and there are times when i have to sit back and see how it unfolds...

jason and i will be keeping a blog while in kuwait in case we aren't able to send as many update emails to ppl as we want to....we are going to try to stay on top of it and give updates the best we can!

the link is:

http://changeofpacechangeofplace.wordpress.com/

follow along if you would like!