Moment of Reflection in La Roberval Hotel

I arrived in Montreal a few hours ago. My roommate Clair is from Vancouver and seems really awesome. She’s going to Malawi for 15 months. Compared to many others, my 3 months is nothing.

I have met so many people in the past few days and done so much that it is difficult to catch up. To be around people that have such a powerful grasp of the big picture is refreshing to say the least. Many of these people have done overseas volunteer work before and all share a history of education through travel.

One man took off for volunteer work 20 years ago to the Middle East and has since come back for only a couple of years in total. Some are doing urban planning in South America; Some are doing finance in Nepal; Others are doing AIDS awareness in Lesotho. Everyone is confident, intelligent, welcoming and interested in making a difference.

I like what the fellow who has been in Afghanistan said. When he was interviewed in 1986 by CIDA they asked what his expectations for his project would be and he said to create a relationship with 5 people. Since then he has affected laws and approved the building schools and other reconstruction in Islamabad, Kabul and Cairo. But in the beginning his only object was to make 5 friends! He is still in close contact with all five.

I thought that was great advice because the millennium goals are quite a daunting task for the small group of people for the West who are actually taking affirmative action to try to achieve them. For example, they include "ensuring environmental sustainability," "eradicating extreme poverty and hunger" and "achieving universal primary education"

Today I spoke with a country delegate named Milan. He confirmed much of the information that I had learned about Sri Lanka but also gave me some new advice & info. One of the things that he said was that with the political system the way it is now, where the government will make all kinds of promises to stay in power, there can be no foreseen end to this civil war.

Those in power stand to benefit if the military has a war so they will support the war, even if it is a compromise that is what is needed for the people. As long as the LTTE and the gov’t stand on opposite sides there will be no resolution and everyday civilians will continue to suffer.

Wired & Tired in La Plaza Hotel, Hull

I went to the cusins house tonight to check out their place and go out for coffee. Coffee at a regular time after eating a full meal normally sends me through the roof but for some reason tonight I decided to go for the gusto at 9:30 pm after only eating a pear for dinner. Anyway, perhaps taking a break from trying to deep breath myself to sleep will help, so I'll tell you a little bit about today's training.

In some ways the training is bringing up even more questions. It was only recently that after asking a few times I discovered that I will be picked up at the airport and given a cell phone in case of an emergency. Phew!
To be involved with an organization of this nature an organized person is likely to have to adapt to this underlying motto: ask many questions but expect no answers. I think of it as an exercise in learning to let go and trusting in the universe's insistence that things will fall in to place- even if your itinerary has you leaving from Sydney instead of Sidney the week before you leave. But it is good for us because when you are traveling in the global South, especially where people don't speak much English, you are probably going to encounter these kind of communication barriers so you might as well get used to it.
What I am getting from this training is not specifics about my position, my country, or my partner organization. The logistics will present themselves soon enough.
But, I am beginning to have my idea reinforced that there are some people that have an grasp of the big picture- people who see the difference between taking other cultures in as piecemeal & Being that culture. People who know that the world is both bigger and smaller than we think.
An organization like this creates the space for people like this to congregate.

Meeting Some Fam - Ottawa Airport & Hull, QC

I arrived in Ottawa last night and was greeted at the airport by my cousin Dave, his wife Lynn and his baby Marc. Lynn is super warm & friendly and has a great bubbly personality! I also got to be the first in the family to see Marc, and I can attest to the fact that it's not just the pics- he is soooooo cute!
We had some pizza at a nearby pub and then they dropped me off at my hotel. The hotel is oldish but REALLY fantastic! Considering the last time I was on a trip I was following the advice from a book called "Traveling on a shoestring" I was basically blown away when I saw the king sized bed and the mini-office!
Anyway, my first day of training was really good. I have covered many of the concepts already ie. Iceberg theory, different cultures concepts of time, etc. in school but the class is so interesting because of all the people attending the training are major resources as they have come from, and are going to, many different places.

Contemplation in Toronto Airport

Well, I am in Toronto right now on my way to my training in Quebec. In two weeks I leave for Sri Lanka. I am so excited, especially now that I know that my soul sister Andy and I will be arriving the same day- what a crazy universe!

Getting together with Hugh and Fiona (Graeme’s parents) also got me really energized because looking through their scrap book gave me visuals that can now accompany my imaginings. I have been reading Lonely Planet & Discovery Channel books on Sri Lanka but am trying to be careful. I want the books to inspire ideas and questions not to create any expectations about how things will be. Having no clue what to expect is what makes the experience a journey.

A lot of what I saw and heard did remind me of my trip to Costa Rica & Panama, but I think the devastation in this country is going to be huge as the entire South coast was so greatly affected by the Tsunami.

I just read Eat Pray Love and found it really resonating with me. Elizabeth was looking for Balance between Pleasure, Divinity, and Balance. I’ve also often found myself in a quest for balance. In this case a strike between Presence and Action...

Accept vs. Change

Feel vs. Do

I do not expect to have some great epiphany about how to live life while I run in tea fields and meditate on salt drenched sand.

Three months will probably be a struggle.

But in the end I will hopefully come out with a fresh sense of balance, derived from learning not to fight my intellectual mind’s nammering but to wrap the thoughts up in a blanket of compassion under which I might just discover mind and heart together.