Evening all,
My goodness, it really has been a seriously long time since my last post! And yet the time has simply flown by. I could get philosophical about this phenomenon but instead I shall just say that it's probably because it has been an incredibly busy time lately, not least because last weekend was the Festival of Festivals where we started a Creative Revolution!
I have a mere 46 minutes on the clock in which to write up 3 weeks so forgive me if I'm rather brief. Any further questions I shall try to answer in due course..... Perhaps send them on a postcard?! ;)
OK, so the Festival. I must admit that the week leading up to that mighty event I was my usually anxious self. Kassym and I were putting in long hours at work to try to make sure all the arrangements were in place for the GX team and exhibition, the mannequins, and various other details. Add to this the fact that Realife (the local charity we're tehnically volunteering at) was moving office over the course of that same week (which meant a lot of upheaval, lack of omputers and internet) and you'll get an idea of why it was a little busy.
Anyway, despite the blood, sweat and tears (a moment of weakness, I admit), I can proudly say that the Festival was a success! About 3000 people attended over the course of the weekend, enjoying 66 music acts, as well as many other ativities and impromptu performances. The weather was absolutely perfect on Saturday, and although Sunday was a little grey and windy (our tent seemed to be in danger of taking off!), the rain held which was an answer to many prayers methinks! Obviously the success of the weekend was not completely down to us.....in fact, the GX team were just a tiny part of the organisation.....but to have been part of it at all was definitely something I will never forget and I feel I've learnt a lot through the experience. I don't want to sound big-headed but it really feels like we, and also I personally, have achieved something which I didn't think we would. Maybe when I describe it here it won't sound like so big a deal but it's not something I would have seen myself doing had I been questioned about it 6 months ago.
So you probably want a run-down of what we got up to! Well, the main responsibilities of the GX team were to help with the publicity prior to the festival, and then to help out with stewarding duties on site. For the former, the whole team were involved as we all delivered flyers about the festival to some of the houses in Stortford on one sunny Sunday afternoon. I think this was completed rather enthusiastically as it quickly became evident that Kassym and I had underestimated the number of flyers we would be able to deliver in an afternoon when we had planned it all! Kassym and I also helped with publicity by getting posters up in the shops all over town, and also in giving a presentation at a language school, something I think we were both a little nervous about.
At the festival itself, GX was certainly noticeable! In addition to our bright green GX T-shirts (oh, what advertising we do!), we also all donned tricorn pirates hats, kindly bought for us by Tony, one of the directors of Realife. "Why on earth...?!" I hear you cry. There was a point, honest. Well, the theme of the festival was "Let's Start A Creative Revolution" so we wanted to look vaguely revolutionary. We also had our very own tent in which we displayed an exhibition about GX and about Kazakhstan, providing leaflets and chatting to anyone who happened to look vaguely interested. This also provided the setting for our first African drum and dance performance! It had all been a bit of a last minute arrangement, not without its hiccups....Efua and Kofi's car had broken down during the week so they had to make use of taxis. But also the costumes had been left in London so Efua kindly rushed down to the capital on Saturday morning in order to get them to us in time for our first performance. They made all the difference as we felt really special dressed up in the bright costumes. Awesome. Although our first performance left a little to be desired, our second one was a corker and we were all buzzing afterwards. :)
Other GX duties weren't so glamorous but they were necessary, and being volunteers, that's what we were there for. So, car parking, litter picking and entrance gate duties it was. But, in return, we also got plenty of free time to enjoy the festival atmosphere, watch a few acts (Squab, the human beat-boxer/rapper who was accompanied by two acoustic guitars was certainly memorable, as were headliners, Official Secrets Act, with the lyrics "I like her, She likes me" - catchy) and even take part in other ways. Kassym ended up carrying one of the performers on stage in a coffin as part of his act! And Kate and I took part in a performance of samba drumming, something we learnt in one of the workshops. You'd better watch out as when I return to Norwich, this might well be another activity I take up.
And what of the mannequins, banes of my life?! Well, we got them sorted, much to my surprise and relief. Again, a bit of a last minute effort but we had some great support. I'll try to get some photos up so you can get an idea of what we did. We were intially going to go for the traditional eighteenth/nineteenth century revolution look but with very limited resources, in the end we went for the general creative revolution-y look with a bit of punk, eighties, and army style going on. Thank goodness for St Mary's School costume cupboard in which I was allowed to rummage for 20 minutes and where we picked up most of the clothes. Ann (one of the other organisers) also brought along a fabulous blonde afro wig which really complemented one of the outfits! All a lot of fun, I must admit, especially when Kassym and I got to dress up these mannequins on the lawn in front of the Town Council offices. :) Oh, and transporting body parts about the town from the shops also got us a lot of funny looks!
Phew! By Sunday evening, when the festival closed, I was absolutely shattered and yet I was feeling euphoric as we got the bus back to Harlow. It had been a weekend about which I had mixed feelings of anxiety (that all the arrangements would fall into place) and excitement, but it was definitely all worth it. Long live the Revolution say I! I might just be back next year.....
OK, so enough festival talk. What of other things? Well, 14 mins on the clock so sorry this will be a bit of a list. Since I last wrote, we have had a brilliant day trip to London where we hurried round to see as many sites as possible. A few issues have also arisen in the team, but been dealt with. Probably the most significant of these is that one of our members has departed us to return back to Liverpool. And so we are down to 17. It feels a little odd - it's surprising what a difference one less person makes, but I think the team is pulling together well.
I honestly cannot believe that it is little more than a month until we fly to Kazakhstan! The other day, in our host home, we watched the episode in 'Long Way Round' (Ewan Macgregor & Charlie Boorman) where they travelled through Kazakhstan and I think it made both Grace and I even more excited about what's to come! It has been more challenging living here in Harlow and Bishop's Stortford than we had anticipated, and I'm sure it is going to be just as challenging, if not more so when we get to Shymkent but I know it's all worthwhile. Now that I feel like I've made a contribution I'm happier with the way things are turning out. And it sounds clicheed and cheesy but I am learning more about myself and the way I relate to the people and world (both local and global) around me. Not only that but I'm also enjoying getting so much learning from our Global Citizenship Days. The most recent have been about malaria, Christianity & Islam (a highlight was visiting a mosque where we were so warmly received and heard from the girls and ladies exactly what being a Muslim meant to them - it's not the oppressive religion that it's made out to be in the media!), and today was about individuals & society. As one of today's exercises, we had our faces painted and so yes, I'm sitting here in Harlow library with a couple of butterflies painted on my cheeks. I don't feel self-conscious! The point being that we should all be allowed to be who we are, and should be proud of that, so long as we don't encroach on society's natural rules of decency.
Argh! 4 minutes. No time to say more....
And so, with lots of love,
Beth x :)
Prayer points
Praise:
- Thanks that the festival went so so so well!!!!!
- Thanks that I'm really starting to understand and learn more about myself and my values, as well as about global issues.
- That the team is pulling together after Christian's departure.
Prayer:
- For the Mid-Phase Review. Tomorrow we are going to London for one night where we will evaluate how the programme is going for the team so far. Please pray that we will be able to be honest with each other and sort out any problems that we have.
- That Kassym and I will work out what we should do next now that the festival is over.
Thanks! God bless. :)
Monday, 27 April 2009
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
Musical mannequins
Hello hello hello!
I can't believe it's been coming up to two weeks since I last posted on here. Time has sped by and so I feel I should give a quick rundown of what's been happening lately. And there's been a lot.....
Following my last brutally honest post about how I was feeling about my placement, things have certainly changed! And it's all down to meeting Ann, the lady chairing the organising committee of the Stortford Music Festival. We met her just over a week ago, on the Monday. Her enthusiasm for the festival bubbles over and I'm now feeling much more positive about helping out. How busy we are has still varied between uber-busy (today) and relative quiet (latter part of last week), but I have a feeling it's going to speed up between now and the festival. So much to do, so little time.
Ann immediately gave us a nice long list of tasks to do and ideas to consider. So, since then, we've been brainstorming about ways to get the festival known throughout the town, and ways to make the festival site look quirky and interesting. This led us one day to walk round all the clothes shops in Bishop's Stortford to ask if they would lend us some mannequins, or give us some old ones, the idea being that we're going to have mannequins dressed in eighteenth century revolutionary costume, spiced up with some modern styles mixed in. The theme is "Let's Start a Creative Revolution" so we're hoping this will come across. Needless to say, it wasn't easy acquiring mannequins. We discovered that they cost about £500 each and so are like precious gold to shopkeepers.
Other tasks we've been working on include distributing posters, working out ways to get flyers through every door in Bishop's Stortford (thank goodness for a team of 18!), and writing Power Point presentations. We have our first one to give at an English language school next Monday morning. Hopefully this will get the message out to some of the ethnic minority groups but I'm just a little nervous!!!!
Ooh, before I forget, take a look at this link: Stortford Music Festival 2009 (thanks Kirsty!). It'll give you an idea of how exciting the event will be. Please do come along if you can! :)
I guess my only fear at this point is that post-festival our placement will revert back to uncertainty but at least we've still about 3 weeks until that point. Something might come up in the meantime, who knows.
Other stuff to report. We've certainly been kept very busy outside of our work placements. Organised social activities seem to come up often and it's great to relax with the team. So we have.....been to Harlow Town Park lots to play football and ball games and picnic (a birthday picnic for Kate on Easter Monday!), been to an impressive amateur production of The Nutcracker ballet, seen 'The Boat That Rocked' (bit of a laugh but not the best film on the planet) and patronised a Bishop's Stortford football match (alas, a 0-0 draw - I don't think it particularly impressed the Kazakhstanis). However, I think one my favourite activities so far has been the stroll we took in Epping Forest back the weekend before last. A couple of the guys on the team are staying in a host home in Theydon Bois, and their host parents took us to the Forest. We couldn't have wished for more beautiful weather. It was thoroughly refreshing to get out of Harlow and Bishop's Stortford and see a bit of countryside. Lovely. :)
I think that's one thing I have noticed about the programme. It's very intense living and working in one community. It has really made me appreciate how much independence I had back in Norwich when I could travel to see friends all over the country whenever I wished (well, work permitting). Sadly, I also miss my bicycle. Relying on public buses and on your own two feet does limite you somewhat! It's not a complaint, just a realisation of some of the things I take for granted back home and which I never realised I would be missing when on the programme. I suppose that's what this UK phase is all about. A definite learning experience.
OK doke. I think that's about all I'll say for now. I always remember stuff I meant to include after I put up a post but I think the pressure of restricted time on library computers has an adverse effect on my memory! Ah, the other thing is that I can't put photos online whilst in the library but hopefully I'll be able to do so soon when at work.
Anyway, signing off now, so toodle pip.
Take care, and with a lot of love to all,
Beth x :)
Praise points:
- That we now have more of a sense of purpose and an idea of what we are doing at our volunteering placement.
- For St Mary's Church, Old Harlow, and all who worship there. I have attended for the last two Sundays and have been made to feel very welcome.
Prayer points:
- I think I will probably end up asking this quite often, but please continue to pray for team relations. I think a couple of minor differences in personality have come up so far between some counterpart pairs. Everything is fine most of the time but please pray that any differences within the team will be dealt with and not disrupt the good team dynamic we have going.
- That the organising of the festival will come together well and that Kassym and I will be able to make a real contribution in this.
- For the organisation of the team's Mid-Phase Review. This will be the weekend of 9th and 10th May, but accommodation and transport has yet to be booked. Please pray that we will be able to sort this out very soon.
I can't believe it's been coming up to two weeks since I last posted on here. Time has sped by and so I feel I should give a quick rundown of what's been happening lately. And there's been a lot.....
Following my last brutally honest post about how I was feeling about my placement, things have certainly changed! And it's all down to meeting Ann, the lady chairing the organising committee of the Stortford Music Festival. We met her just over a week ago, on the Monday. Her enthusiasm for the festival bubbles over and I'm now feeling much more positive about helping out. How busy we are has still varied between uber-busy (today) and relative quiet (latter part of last week), but I have a feeling it's going to speed up between now and the festival. So much to do, so little time.
Ann immediately gave us a nice long list of tasks to do and ideas to consider. So, since then, we've been brainstorming about ways to get the festival known throughout the town, and ways to make the festival site look quirky and interesting. This led us one day to walk round all the clothes shops in Bishop's Stortford to ask if they would lend us some mannequins, or give us some old ones, the idea being that we're going to have mannequins dressed in eighteenth century revolutionary costume, spiced up with some modern styles mixed in. The theme is "Let's Start a Creative Revolution" so we're hoping this will come across. Needless to say, it wasn't easy acquiring mannequins. We discovered that they cost about £500 each and so are like precious gold to shopkeepers.
Other tasks we've been working on include distributing posters, working out ways to get flyers through every door in Bishop's Stortford (thank goodness for a team of 18!), and writing Power Point presentations. We have our first one to give at an English language school next Monday morning. Hopefully this will get the message out to some of the ethnic minority groups but I'm just a little nervous!!!!
Ooh, before I forget, take a look at this link: Stortford Music Festival 2009 (thanks Kirsty!). It'll give you an idea of how exciting the event will be. Please do come along if you can! :)
I guess my only fear at this point is that post-festival our placement will revert back to uncertainty but at least we've still about 3 weeks until that point. Something might come up in the meantime, who knows.
Other stuff to report. We've certainly been kept very busy outside of our work placements. Organised social activities seem to come up often and it's great to relax with the team. So we have.....been to Harlow Town Park lots to play football and ball games and picnic (a birthday picnic for Kate on Easter Monday!), been to an impressive amateur production of The Nutcracker ballet, seen 'The Boat That Rocked' (bit of a laugh but not the best film on the planet) and patronised a Bishop's Stortford football match (alas, a 0-0 draw - I don't think it particularly impressed the Kazakhstanis). However, I think one my favourite activities so far has been the stroll we took in Epping Forest back the weekend before last. A couple of the guys on the team are staying in a host home in Theydon Bois, and their host parents took us to the Forest. We couldn't have wished for more beautiful weather. It was thoroughly refreshing to get out of Harlow and Bishop's Stortford and see a bit of countryside. Lovely. :)
I think that's one thing I have noticed about the programme. It's very intense living and working in one community. It has really made me appreciate how much independence I had back in Norwich when I could travel to see friends all over the country whenever I wished (well, work permitting). Sadly, I also miss my bicycle. Relying on public buses and on your own two feet does limite you somewhat! It's not a complaint, just a realisation of some of the things I take for granted back home and which I never realised I would be missing when on the programme. I suppose that's what this UK phase is all about. A definite learning experience.
OK doke. I think that's about all I'll say for now. I always remember stuff I meant to include after I put up a post but I think the pressure of restricted time on library computers has an adverse effect on my memory! Ah, the other thing is that I can't put photos online whilst in the library but hopefully I'll be able to do so soon when at work.
Anyway, signing off now, so toodle pip.
Take care, and with a lot of love to all,
Beth x :)
Praise points:
- That we now have more of a sense of purpose and an idea of what we are doing at our volunteering placement.
- For St Mary's Church, Old Harlow, and all who worship there. I have attended for the last two Sundays and have been made to feel very welcome.
Prayer points:
- I think I will probably end up asking this quite often, but please continue to pray for team relations. I think a couple of minor differences in personality have come up so far between some counterpart pairs. Everything is fine most of the time but please pray that any differences within the team will be dealt with and not disrupt the good team dynamic we have going.
- That the organising of the festival will come together well and that Kassym and I will be able to make a real contribution in this.
- For the organisation of the team's Mid-Phase Review. This will be the weekend of 9th and 10th May, but accommodation and transport has yet to be booked. Please pray that we will be able to sort this out very soon.
Friday, 3 April 2009
Getting stuck in, or trying to...
I've a meagre 20 minutes to write a quick update because, as usual, this Essex library computer is being temperamental. But here's a rundown of how things have been going. Actually, I managed to bag another 25 minutes so this is quite a long post!
Last Monday was a momentous day in the programme as all of us toddled off to the local charities and projects where we will be volunteering for four days a week for the next two and a half months. I turned up bright and early at 9am at the Realife Trust in Bishop's Stortford (I had to leave the house at 7:30am in order to get there in time) to find that nobody was in the office. I waited a while before wondering off for a hot chocolate and returned to wait some more, by which time Kassym had also turned up (he has to travel up from south of Epping every day so was allowed to be late). Eventually at just after 10am, Tony, a director of the Realife Trust appeared and we got let in. Admittedly it had just been a mix-up over timings but according to Ali, and from our experience over the last week, the Realife Trust is flexible in all respects regarding time, and the projects it gets involved with. So long as it sees a need within the community then it will try to meet this need. But specifically its remit is with disabled people and those with learning difficulties.
Over a cup of tea, Tony sat us down and filled us in a bit on what he had in mind for us to do. We knew that it would have something to do with the 11th Stortford Music Festival which happens on the Saturday and Sunday of the 1st May Bank Holiday weekend, and of which the Realife Trust is the primary organiser. So, Kassym and I have two main aims: to organise some "community outreach" to schools and the different ethnic minorities within Bishop's Stortford in order for them to be included in the music festival, whether by taking part or by just attending. Our other aim is kind of bound up with this but also goes beyond the music festival in that we are going to produce a "community map" of Bishop's Stortford, listing details about any local activities/groups/venues etc to do with music, arts and leisure.
It all sounds a bit wishy-washy, which it is, so over the last week Kassym and I have been having difficulty getting our heads around this and working out how we will go about it and actually make a contribution to the community. It's not what we had been expecting as we are being left to take our own initiative. I suppose I'm just worried of the danger that by the end of 11 weeks we won't have achieved very much at all. This week has been very slow but then again, as it's our first, maybe we're allowed some time to find our feet. We wrote a letter to the local secondary schools (six in all) asking if we could give them a presentation about GX and the Stortford Music Festival, and sent out two and delivered four by hand. We've also been involved in producing our GX team's fortnightly newsletter. And we've been researching a few ethnic minority contacts but as yet, have not contacted any of them as we're still unsure exactly what we'll say! Tony says that the leaflets and other publicity for the music festival should come back from the print office very soon so maybe it will be easier once we have something on paper to give the people we meet. As for the schools, well, today they break up for the next 2 weeks so we're not expecting to hear anything from them very soon.
On Monday we also met a couple of the social work students who are on placement at the Realife Trust. One of them, Joel, chatted to us about the work of the student unit which is primarily involved in one-to-one support with people with disabilities and learning difficulties. It was really interesting to hear about how they get involved and the different models of social work which are followed by statutory bodies and by independent social enterprises (of which the Realife Trust is one). Whilst statutory bodies classify people as "able" and "disabled", independent organisations often agree with the principle that it is society itself which sets up barriers which make people disabled - people aren't classified as "disabled", it's just that they are less able to do certain activities etc because we have made it difficult for them. Definitely a point for consideration. It was encouraging that even on our first day of placement we were being challenged in our ideologies.
Joel also explained how Realife works from his point of view. He explained that we would quickly realise just how easy-going and flexible it is so the onus is most definitely on us to make of our time here what we will. I think we will definitely need to take some time to think carefully about how we will progress. At the moment I feel that maybe there is something bigger for us to tackle, maybe with the same aims as outlined above, but which really will make an impact. It's time to get creative! Any ideas, let me know!
Yesterday, we attended a meeting of the Inclusion Partnership, kind of the umbrella organisation under which the Realife Trust, along with a load of other mini-projects which work in the same office, operates. For the most part (it was 2 and a half hours long!) it was pretty boring chat about financial matters although it did give us a better idea of what else is going on around us. When we finally gave a very brief speech about who we are and what we are doing here, we had a few awkward questions about what resources we were using (demand for the computers in the office is very high) which Tony fielded but which made it sound as though we'll be more of a burden than a help....?! I'm probably being far too sensitive about this and reading back, I am sounding rather negative about our placement but I'm not entirely!!!!! Just still a little unsure about whether we are really needed there... I think the next couple of weeks, and especially the music festival will reveal how things will work out. I have another idea about what I would like to do in Bishop's Stortford but it doesn't really have anything to do with either the music festival or disabled people/people with learning difficulties so I'm not sure if it would be OK to follow it up under Realife. Anyway, chat about my placement will end there!
As for life outside the placement, for the most part it's going well. A few of the others are also taking a while to get used to their placements - it sounds like a lot of our expectations were very different from the way things have ended up. Socially, there've been a couple of minor tense moments within the team but I think those are inevitable within a group of 18 as we try to make decisions and all rub along together! Today we decided on different sub-committees within the team. I am on the Mid-Phase Review committee which will be responsible for organising a couple of days where the whole team leaves the community to evaluate how things are going so far and whether anything needs to be changed. I'm looking forward to doing this and I think it will also be a bit of a break from the norm so I want to help make it a positive experience!
OK, 8 minutes left now so news in brief now. We had our first Global Citizenship Day today where we learn about different development issues. Usually it would be led by different couterpart pairs in the team but as it was the first one, Ali and Malika, our two programme supervisors led it. It was on the topic of HIV and AIDS which, for me, was very educational - I never realised just how ignorant I was about the topic so I definitely feel it was worthwhile and interesting to discuss our different attitudes towards it.
Life back in our host home also continues on well - Efua and Kofi are always loving and friendly. Our African drum and dance lessons are a lot of fun as well as good exercise. We've had two now and have learnt a whole dance and the drum accompaniment!
I think that's all I can say right now. A few prayer points for those interested, many thanks as usual:
Praise:
- For all that I, and others on the team have learnt so far - I definitely feel that I'm gaining new perspectives on issues which perhaps before, I had assumed I knew my own mind about.
- For the friendship between Dinara and myself - we're getting on really well which is such a blessing when we're in each others company so much!
- For the potential opportunity of mine and Kassym's placement. I might not be sounding too convinced at the moment but I really think we can make something of it if we get the inspiration.
Prayer:
- For team relations - the novelty of the experience is wearing off and the reality is setting in so it's not always easy for all 18 of us to make decisions. Please pray that all will continue along on peaceful and friendly terms.
- For Kassym and I as we try to work out what we should be doing.
More next time, but thanks for reading! Much love, B xxx :)
Last Monday was a momentous day in the programme as all of us toddled off to the local charities and projects where we will be volunteering for four days a week for the next two and a half months. I turned up bright and early at 9am at the Realife Trust in Bishop's Stortford (I had to leave the house at 7:30am in order to get there in time) to find that nobody was in the office. I waited a while before wondering off for a hot chocolate and returned to wait some more, by which time Kassym had also turned up (he has to travel up from south of Epping every day so was allowed to be late). Eventually at just after 10am, Tony, a director of the Realife Trust appeared and we got let in. Admittedly it had just been a mix-up over timings but according to Ali, and from our experience over the last week, the Realife Trust is flexible in all respects regarding time, and the projects it gets involved with. So long as it sees a need within the community then it will try to meet this need. But specifically its remit is with disabled people and those with learning difficulties.
Over a cup of tea, Tony sat us down and filled us in a bit on what he had in mind for us to do. We knew that it would have something to do with the 11th Stortford Music Festival which happens on the Saturday and Sunday of the 1st May Bank Holiday weekend, and of which the Realife Trust is the primary organiser. So, Kassym and I have two main aims: to organise some "community outreach" to schools and the different ethnic minorities within Bishop's Stortford in order for them to be included in the music festival, whether by taking part or by just attending. Our other aim is kind of bound up with this but also goes beyond the music festival in that we are going to produce a "community map" of Bishop's Stortford, listing details about any local activities/groups/venues etc to do with music, arts and leisure.
It all sounds a bit wishy-washy, which it is, so over the last week Kassym and I have been having difficulty getting our heads around this and working out how we will go about it and actually make a contribution to the community. It's not what we had been expecting as we are being left to take our own initiative. I suppose I'm just worried of the danger that by the end of 11 weeks we won't have achieved very much at all. This week has been very slow but then again, as it's our first, maybe we're allowed some time to find our feet. We wrote a letter to the local secondary schools (six in all) asking if we could give them a presentation about GX and the Stortford Music Festival, and sent out two and delivered four by hand. We've also been involved in producing our GX team's fortnightly newsletter. And we've been researching a few ethnic minority contacts but as yet, have not contacted any of them as we're still unsure exactly what we'll say! Tony says that the leaflets and other publicity for the music festival should come back from the print office very soon so maybe it will be easier once we have something on paper to give the people we meet. As for the schools, well, today they break up for the next 2 weeks so we're not expecting to hear anything from them very soon.
On Monday we also met a couple of the social work students who are on placement at the Realife Trust. One of them, Joel, chatted to us about the work of the student unit which is primarily involved in one-to-one support with people with disabilities and learning difficulties. It was really interesting to hear about how they get involved and the different models of social work which are followed by statutory bodies and by independent social enterprises (of which the Realife Trust is one). Whilst statutory bodies classify people as "able" and "disabled", independent organisations often agree with the principle that it is society itself which sets up barriers which make people disabled - people aren't classified as "disabled", it's just that they are less able to do certain activities etc because we have made it difficult for them. Definitely a point for consideration. It was encouraging that even on our first day of placement we were being challenged in our ideologies.
Joel also explained how Realife works from his point of view. He explained that we would quickly realise just how easy-going and flexible it is so the onus is most definitely on us to make of our time here what we will. I think we will definitely need to take some time to think carefully about how we will progress. At the moment I feel that maybe there is something bigger for us to tackle, maybe with the same aims as outlined above, but which really will make an impact. It's time to get creative! Any ideas, let me know!
Yesterday, we attended a meeting of the Inclusion Partnership, kind of the umbrella organisation under which the Realife Trust, along with a load of other mini-projects which work in the same office, operates. For the most part (it was 2 and a half hours long!) it was pretty boring chat about financial matters although it did give us a better idea of what else is going on around us. When we finally gave a very brief speech about who we are and what we are doing here, we had a few awkward questions about what resources we were using (demand for the computers in the office is very high) which Tony fielded but which made it sound as though we'll be more of a burden than a help....?! I'm probably being far too sensitive about this and reading back, I am sounding rather negative about our placement but I'm not entirely!!!!! Just still a little unsure about whether we are really needed there... I think the next couple of weeks, and especially the music festival will reveal how things will work out. I have another idea about what I would like to do in Bishop's Stortford but it doesn't really have anything to do with either the music festival or disabled people/people with learning difficulties so I'm not sure if it would be OK to follow it up under Realife. Anyway, chat about my placement will end there!
As for life outside the placement, for the most part it's going well. A few of the others are also taking a while to get used to their placements - it sounds like a lot of our expectations were very different from the way things have ended up. Socially, there've been a couple of minor tense moments within the team but I think those are inevitable within a group of 18 as we try to make decisions and all rub along together! Today we decided on different sub-committees within the team. I am on the Mid-Phase Review committee which will be responsible for organising a couple of days where the whole team leaves the community to evaluate how things are going so far and whether anything needs to be changed. I'm looking forward to doing this and I think it will also be a bit of a break from the norm so I want to help make it a positive experience!
OK, 8 minutes left now so news in brief now. We had our first Global Citizenship Day today where we learn about different development issues. Usually it would be led by different couterpart pairs in the team but as it was the first one, Ali and Malika, our two programme supervisors led it. It was on the topic of HIV and AIDS which, for me, was very educational - I never realised just how ignorant I was about the topic so I definitely feel it was worthwhile and interesting to discuss our different attitudes towards it.
Life back in our host home also continues on well - Efua and Kofi are always loving and friendly. Our African drum and dance lessons are a lot of fun as well as good exercise. We've had two now and have learnt a whole dance and the drum accompaniment!
I think that's all I can say right now. A few prayer points for those interested, many thanks as usual:
Praise:
- For all that I, and others on the team have learnt so far - I definitely feel that I'm gaining new perspectives on issues which perhaps before, I had assumed I knew my own mind about.
- For the friendship between Dinara and myself - we're getting on really well which is such a blessing when we're in each others company so much!
- For the potential opportunity of mine and Kassym's placement. I might not be sounding too convinced at the moment but I really think we can make something of it if we get the inspiration.
Prayer:
- For team relations - the novelty of the experience is wearing off and the reality is setting in so it's not always easy for all 18 of us to make decisions. Please pray that all will continue along on peaceful and friendly terms.
- For Kassym and I as we try to work out what we should be doing.
More next time, but thanks for reading! Much love, B xxx :)
Saturday, 28 March 2009
A few extras
A few of you have mentioned that you'd be interested in prayer points and I stupidly forgot to put them on my last post as the library was about to shut! But here they are - thanks so much, I really appreciate your support. :)
Beth x
Praise points:
- For a wonderful team of both English and Kazakhstanis. We all seem to be getting on so well.
- For a welcoming host home. Efua and Kofi are also Christians and I am going to church with them tomorrow. It has also been great to learn more about Ghanaian culture too!
- For this whole opportunity. Although we haven't started our placements yet I am very excited about the work which we will get involved with and for how much I have learnt already through our cross-cultural exchange.
Prayer points:
- That I will be an effective help in my volunteer placement at the Realife Trust.
- That team relations will continue to be good and that the friendships which have been started will continue to grow ever stronger.
Thanks! More soon...
Beth x
Praise points:
- For a wonderful team of both English and Kazakhstanis. We all seem to be getting on so well.
- For a welcoming host home. Efua and Kofi are also Christians and I am going to church with them tomorrow. It has also been great to learn more about Ghanaian culture too!
- For this whole opportunity. Although we haven't started our placements yet I am very excited about the work which we will get involved with and for how much I have learnt already through our cross-cultural exchange.
Prayer points:
- That I will be an effective help in my volunteer placement at the Realife Trust.
- That team relations will continue to be good and that the friendships which have been started will continue to grow ever stronger.
Thanks! More soon...
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
Essex girl greetings
Hello to everyone!
Since my GX adventure started last Thursday it feels like I have withdrawn myself from normal society and entered a little bubble of GX - only now are we being properly let loose on Essex and Hertfordshire! It's my first time on the internet in a week but finally we have managed to get registered at the local library and are able to make use of their uber-slow computers...
Anyway, I'll give you a quick rundown of the last week. So so so much has happened that I doubt I'll be able to mention all the highlights! Everything kicked off last Thursday when I travelled to Stratford-upon-Avon and met up with the rest of the British contingent of the team. I hadn't met everyone before but I can safely say that we have an excellent group of people from all sorts of backgrounds and locations. The Kazakhstanis joined us on Friday when we gave them a British welcome consisting of our own introductions, some Cadbury's chocolate and Kendal mint cake, a brief history of England by Rory, and some English country dancing (not very elegant on our part though!). Meeting the Kazakhstanis for the first time was a little daunting and I think we all behaved rather awkwardly as we tried to suss out what was culturally acceptable behaviour. However, over the last 6 days we have become firm friends. They also gave us a welcome on the Saturday which was also a celebration of "Nauris" - traditionally New Year as it is a national holiday in Kazakhstan. It was so much more impressive than our welcome but perhaps that's because Kazakhstan has traditions which are far better defined than any British ones. They sung us the national anthem, showed us traditional dress and symbols, and did a traditional dance. We also tried "kurt" (a bit like our word "curd" I think) which is dried, salted balls of goat's cheese. Sarah ate hers all in one go by accident and ended up drinking about a litre of water straight after! I can't say many of the team were particularly taken with these but I managed to finish mine which is more than some of the others did! I can also report that Kazakhstani chocolate isn't quite up to Cadbury's in my reckoning but it's certainly nicer than I was expecting. Just so you know, our team consists of me, Kate, Catherine, Sarah, Anne-Marie, Grace, Christian, Rory and Ben (all from the UK), and Dinara, Dina, Nina, Gulnara, Olga, Aigera, Baurzhan, Kassym and Misha (all from Kazakhstan). I haven't got much time now to tell you about them all but they are all truly awesome and we are having a lot of fun and laughter together (as well as hundreds of photos!).
We had a couple of days training in Stratford-upon-Avon at the Youth Hostel before hitting the road and arriving in Herts & Essex where we are now living in twos (or in a four in my case) in host homes. We have been made to feel so welcome, it really is lovely. The host hosts are also very diverse in background and location. Some people are living in Bishop's Stortford and some in Harlow - they are about 20 mins away from each other and also a county border separates them (BS is in Herts, Harlow is in Essex). Along with Grace, Dinara and Aigera, I am living with a Ghanaian couple in their 50s called Efua and Kofi who are very friendly. Efua teaches African dancing and drumming and I think we are going along to one of her lessons tomorrow evening so more on that next time! I'm sharing a room with Dinara which is great as we get on really well and are fairly similar, especially as we both say "sorry" a lot. And I mean a lot! Our room is quite small and we have a rickety metal bunk bed but everything is comfortable.
Oh gosh, I'm running out of time now so I can't give many more details. Since we arrived we have had a lot of training which consists of discussion sessions, role playing, and other similar activities to do with the practicalities of being on GX as well as starting to think about global issues. Already we are gaining new perspectives by listening to ideas from both the UK and Kazakhstan. I have also found out a little about my volunteer placement but that won't start until next Monday when I will know a lot more. It's working with the Realife Trust in Bishop's Stortford. I'll be there along with Kassym and we'll be involved in organising a 2 day music festival for the first May bank holiday. Exciting stuff.
A quick note, if anyone does ever want to write (I love post!), my address until 11th June will be 11 Lower Meadow, Harlow, Essex. You'll have to find out the postcode yourself as I don't know it yet, sorry!
Big apologies (I said I say sorry a lot!) for cutting this entry off quickly but the library's about to close. But big love to all. Let me know your news too - I don't want it to be all about me!
Da sveedanya (good evening),
Beth xxx :)
Since my GX adventure started last Thursday it feels like I have withdrawn myself from normal society and entered a little bubble of GX - only now are we being properly let loose on Essex and Hertfordshire! It's my first time on the internet in a week but finally we have managed to get registered at the local library and are able to make use of their uber-slow computers...
Anyway, I'll give you a quick rundown of the last week. So so so much has happened that I doubt I'll be able to mention all the highlights! Everything kicked off last Thursday when I travelled to Stratford-upon-Avon and met up with the rest of the British contingent of the team. I hadn't met everyone before but I can safely say that we have an excellent group of people from all sorts of backgrounds and locations. The Kazakhstanis joined us on Friday when we gave them a British welcome consisting of our own introductions, some Cadbury's chocolate and Kendal mint cake, a brief history of England by Rory, and some English country dancing (not very elegant on our part though!). Meeting the Kazakhstanis for the first time was a little daunting and I think we all behaved rather awkwardly as we tried to suss out what was culturally acceptable behaviour. However, over the last 6 days we have become firm friends. They also gave us a welcome on the Saturday which was also a celebration of "Nauris" - traditionally New Year as it is a national holiday in Kazakhstan. It was so much more impressive than our welcome but perhaps that's because Kazakhstan has traditions which are far better defined than any British ones. They sung us the national anthem, showed us traditional dress and symbols, and did a traditional dance. We also tried "kurt" (a bit like our word "curd" I think) which is dried, salted balls of goat's cheese. Sarah ate hers all in one go by accident and ended up drinking about a litre of water straight after! I can't say many of the team were particularly taken with these but I managed to finish mine which is more than some of the others did! I can also report that Kazakhstani chocolate isn't quite up to Cadbury's in my reckoning but it's certainly nicer than I was expecting. Just so you know, our team consists of me, Kate, Catherine, Sarah, Anne-Marie, Grace, Christian, Rory and Ben (all from the UK), and Dinara, Dina, Nina, Gulnara, Olga, Aigera, Baurzhan, Kassym and Misha (all from Kazakhstan). I haven't got much time now to tell you about them all but they are all truly awesome and we are having a lot of fun and laughter together (as well as hundreds of photos!).
We had a couple of days training in Stratford-upon-Avon at the Youth Hostel before hitting the road and arriving in Herts & Essex where we are now living in twos (or in a four in my case) in host homes. We have been made to feel so welcome, it really is lovely. The host hosts are also very diverse in background and location. Some people are living in Bishop's Stortford and some in Harlow - they are about 20 mins away from each other and also a county border separates them (BS is in Herts, Harlow is in Essex). Along with Grace, Dinara and Aigera, I am living with a Ghanaian couple in their 50s called Efua and Kofi who are very friendly. Efua teaches African dancing and drumming and I think we are going along to one of her lessons tomorrow evening so more on that next time! I'm sharing a room with Dinara which is great as we get on really well and are fairly similar, especially as we both say "sorry" a lot. And I mean a lot! Our room is quite small and we have a rickety metal bunk bed but everything is comfortable.
Oh gosh, I'm running out of time now so I can't give many more details. Since we arrived we have had a lot of training which consists of discussion sessions, role playing, and other similar activities to do with the practicalities of being on GX as well as starting to think about global issues. Already we are gaining new perspectives by listening to ideas from both the UK and Kazakhstan. I have also found out a little about my volunteer placement but that won't start until next Monday when I will know a lot more. It's working with the Realife Trust in Bishop's Stortford. I'll be there along with Kassym and we'll be involved in organising a 2 day music festival for the first May bank holiday. Exciting stuff.
A quick note, if anyone does ever want to write (I love post!), my address until 11th June will be 11 Lower Meadow, Harlow, Essex. You'll have to find out the postcode yourself as I don't know it yet, sorry!
Big apologies (I said I say sorry a lot!) for cutting this entry off quickly but the library's about to close. But big love to all. Let me know your news too - I don't want it to be all about me!
Da sveedanya (good evening),
Beth xxx :)
Friday, 6 March 2009
Beginnings
I never thought I'd ever be the type to keep a blog (mind you, this being just one post doesn't exactly count as "keeping a blog" yet). Although I respect others who are able to divulge a portion of their personal thoughts and feelings on the limitless world wide web, and I enjoy reading their contributions, I've never felt able to, partly as I keep things to myself most of the time, or at least, just amongst my closest friends.
Nevertheless, with an exciting new era dawning, and the prospect of a 6 month volunteering exchange programme which will take me to places as diverse as the Stansted area (Harlow and Bishop's Stortford) in the UK, and Shymkent in southern Kazakhstan, I feel this is the best way to do things and keep people in the know with how things are going. Last time I went abroad for an extended period of time I would send stupidly long emails round to everyone. Now I know from personal experience that that's not what people want cluttering up their inboxes so this here blog is the solution! I'll try to update it from time to time, with a few details about what I'm up to, how I'm feeling, and thoughts and "musings" on what I'm experiencing. I'm certainly not the world's best writer but I'll try my best!
For info, I'm leaving Norwich on Thursday 19th March, first heading to Stratford-Upon-Avon where I will meet my team (there are 18 of us, half from the UK and half from Kazakhstan) for a few days preparatory training. Then we're travelling across to Harlow and Bishop's Stortford where we'll live with local families and volunteer with local charities. Then in mid-June sometime we'll make the trip over to Kazakhstan, to do the same kind of things (albeit the Kazakh way, and in charities appropriate to the local issues) in Shymkent. I believe our return is scheduled for 4th September but it's all a bit vague at the moment.
Many of you know that I have to contribute £600 to this programme (the rest being subsidised by the British Council who jointly run it with VSO). I am almost there - about £80 short at the moment so I will use this space for a cheeky plug for my fundraising page - http://www.justgiving.com/bethwilliams_gx_march2009. Please do take a look and contribute if you can - I appreciate all contributions, big and small as every little helps (thanks Tesco)! Just Giving accepts donations from as little as £2 - the mere price of a drink. I'll be on the volunteering programme when my birthday comes around so perhaps you might consider donating instead of buying me a birthday drink?! A big thanks to all those who have donated already. :)
OK, money plug over. There's loads more general information about Global Xchange available about http://www.globalxchange.org.uk/ - well worth a look. The first time I checked it out I knew immediately that I wanted to get involved. Who knows, maybe the same will happen to you?!
Nevertheless, with an exciting new era dawning, and the prospect of a 6 month volunteering exchange programme which will take me to places as diverse as the Stansted area (Harlow and Bishop's Stortford) in the UK, and Shymkent in southern Kazakhstan, I feel this is the best way to do things and keep people in the know with how things are going. Last time I went abroad for an extended period of time I would send stupidly long emails round to everyone. Now I know from personal experience that that's not what people want cluttering up their inboxes so this here blog is the solution! I'll try to update it from time to time, with a few details about what I'm up to, how I'm feeling, and thoughts and "musings" on what I'm experiencing. I'm certainly not the world's best writer but I'll try my best!
For info, I'm leaving Norwich on Thursday 19th March, first heading to Stratford-Upon-Avon where I will meet my team (there are 18 of us, half from the UK and half from Kazakhstan) for a few days preparatory training. Then we're travelling across to Harlow and Bishop's Stortford where we'll live with local families and volunteer with local charities. Then in mid-June sometime we'll make the trip over to Kazakhstan, to do the same kind of things (albeit the Kazakh way, and in charities appropriate to the local issues) in Shymkent. I believe our return is scheduled for 4th September but it's all a bit vague at the moment.
Many of you know that I have to contribute £600 to this programme (the rest being subsidised by the British Council who jointly run it with VSO). I am almost there - about £80 short at the moment so I will use this space for a cheeky plug for my fundraising page - http://www.justgiving.com/bethwilliams_gx_march2009. Please do take a look and contribute if you can - I appreciate all contributions, big and small as every little helps (thanks Tesco)! Just Giving accepts donations from as little as £2 - the mere price of a drink. I'll be on the volunteering programme when my birthday comes around so perhaps you might consider donating instead of buying me a birthday drink?! A big thanks to all those who have donated already. :)
OK, money plug over. There's loads more general information about Global Xchange available about http://www.globalxchange.org.uk/ - well worth a look. The first time I checked it out I knew immediately that I wanted to get involved. Who knows, maybe the same will happen to you?!
Also, I appeared in a recent article in the local newspaper so if you want to take a look and laugh at my self-conscious-looking mugshot then go here: http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/content/LocalLife/story.aspx?brand=ENOnline&category=LocalLife&tBrand=enonline&tCategory=locallife&itemid=NOED03%20Mar%202009%2016%3A05%3A28%3A580
Please do watch this space if you wish to keep updated and to learn some fascinating stuff about Stansted and Kazakhstan (did you know that apples originate from Kazakhstan?)! I've also a facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gid=72064335866) if you're interested and I'll try to respond to personal emails/phone calls/letters as well as I'd love to hear how you are getting on too (it's not all about me!). But this has been a very long start to this new blogging chapter in my life. I'm incredibly excited about the next 6 months, but there's a little time to go before things start kicking off good and proper, so for now, I shall bid you farewell, and until next time,
Beth x
Please do watch this space if you wish to keep updated and to learn some fascinating stuff about Stansted and Kazakhstan (did you know that apples originate from Kazakhstan?)! I've also a facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gid=72064335866) if you're interested and I'll try to respond to personal emails/phone calls/letters as well as I'd love to hear how you are getting on too (it's not all about me!). But this has been a very long start to this new blogging chapter in my life. I'm incredibly excited about the next 6 months, but there's a little time to go before things start kicking off good and proper, so for now, I shall bid you farewell, and until next time,
Beth x
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
