Update from Jane Kellum (Mayo 2009)
Rotary World Peace Fellow Class VI
Universidad del Salvador
Buenos Aires, Argentina
The last year and a half have passed me by so quickly that I am having a hard time believing that I will finish my Master’s degree in just over a month. Back in February 2008, I arrived to Argentina as a new Rotary World Peace Fellow eager to learn as much as I could from the Master of International Relations program at the Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires, yet ready to show that I also came with solid experience in the field of international relations. As I prepare to finish, I still possess that same eagerness to learn, but with much more humility, maturity, and questions about what “is” or “is not” or what “should be” or “should not be” in this world. The course work and the process of writing my thesis have challenged me to look beyond what I see on the surface of the complex issues of development, economics, cooperation, and conflict resolution. Furthermore, I have learned that as a political scientist and sociologist, I have a responsibility to challenge normative approaches to analysis and to instead approach analysis in terms of phenomenon in an effort to avoid the trap of thinking that I have all of the answers and the ability to say what is “positive” or “negative” in this world.
Since January, I have been endlessly working on my master’s thesis. As many of you may know, I came to Portland in March of this year to conduct field research for my thesis. This may sound strange and you may even be asking, “She came back to Portland from Argentina to conduct research on some issue related to international relations?” The answer is yes. I went back to study an international phenomenon that has an impact in our own community of Portland: immigration. In particular, I was interested in examining the intervening factors in the processes of acculturation y assimilation of second generation students (typically defined as children of immigrants born in the United States or who arrive before the age of five). Since being back to Argentina after this research trip, I had the opportunity to present my thesis at the Rotary Center for International Studies Annual Seminar to nearly one hundred Rotarians from Argentina and Brazil as well university faculty and students.
After I submit my thesis on June 19, I will head off to Dakar, Senegal for the Applied Field Experience that is part of the World Peace Fellowship. While in Senegal, I will be conducting a needs assessment, specifically related to education and training needs, with adolescent women who have left their villages to work in domestic service in the capital city of Dakar. During my stay, I will be immersed in two new languages, French and Wolof, and will live with a Senegalese family. This short experience will be yet another life changing one as a result of the Rotary World Peace Fellowship. The completion of my three-month stay in Senegal will mark the official end of my time as a Fellow. However, this experience has already impacted me in an irreversible way and will lead me to continue working in the areas of development and peace, thus, contributing to the mission and fourth object, in particular, of Rotary.
Please feel free to email me at janekellum@hotmail.com. I would be happy to answer any questions or receive any comments that you may have. I will keep you posted of the developments in Senegal as well.
Thank you for your generous support of the Rotary World Peace Fellowship.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Saturday, February 28, 2009
World Peace Scholar reports to Rotary International
Academic Activities & Progress
The first year in Argentina as a World Peace Fellow has been full of academic activities. It began last February in 2008 with the Intensive Spanish Course (CIE, according to the Spanish acronym) offered by the Universidad del Salvador (USAL) for which I received a “10” on a grading scale of “1-10”.
Immediately following the CIE, the master’s program began in March of 2008 with a full load of classes that consisted of required core courses as well as classes from not only my chosen specialization, the Economy, Development, and Cooperation track, but also the Peace and Conflict Resolution track. The courses were Systematic Approaches to International Relations, Ethics and International Relations, Theories of Conflict & Development in the Social Sciences, Causes and Resolution of Conflict, Structure and Process of International Cooperation. Some of the topics in which I focused my research in these classes were multilateral education and the existence of two concepts of education at the international level, evangelicalism in Guatemala as a form of Christian fundamentalism, and the emerging conflict in Mexico related to narco-trafficking. According to the same grading scale mentioned above, I received three “9”s and two “10”s in these courses. It was a very successful first quarter in which I began to build the academic foundation for the next two quarters.
The second quarter was extremely rigorous and enjoyable. The courses for this quarter included International Public Law, International Political Economy, International Security, and Development Models and Processes in Latin America. My areas of focus for research consisted of the recent draft Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights that will provide an avenue to bring claims of violations of rights such as the right to education. The study and promotion of the right to education and the guarantee of education as a basic human right have been priorities in my studies in the master’s program as well my participation in extracurricular activities that have consisted of volunteering with the Global Campaign for Education here in Argentina (see below for more information). I received two “10”s and two “8”s for these second quarter courses.
During the break between the second and third quarters in September of 2008, I participated in the Centre for Applied Nonviolent Action & Strategies (CANVAS) training during the Peace and Justice Studies Association (PJSA) annual conference in Portland, Oregon in September 2008. This was the first CANVAS training presented in North America and provided me with another opportunity to hone my skills in the areas of peaceful conflict management. I received a full scholarship to participate in this training and was one of only 30 participants chosen to take part in this unique experience.
The last quarter that began at the end of September 2008 was extremely busy due to taking four courses and placing a strong emphasis on developing my thesis topic. The courses that I took were Social Organizations in Latin America, Conflict, Development, and Cooperation in Latin America, Formulation and Negotiation of International Projects, and Research Methodology
1. Formulation and Negotiation of International Projects was of particular interest to me because of its practical focus. I learned a great deal in terms of learning the entire international project cycle and having the opportunity to compose a feasible international project proposal. Research Methodology was useful because of the time that it provided for developing my thesis problem. I have gone through a very long process of reading, changing ideas, and learning that one has to follow her heart and passion when making final decisions about a thesis. After spending nearly two months developing one thesis project idea that focused on education and conducting a case study on Argentina, I finally came around to my original idea of focusing on education, but incorporating the immigration element and doing a case study on Mexico where I plan to focus my professional endeavors in the future.
I am now working on my thesis, which focuses on education, immigration of children, and bilateral cooperation between the United States and Mexico on the subject of education of immigrant children. The objective of the thesis is to evaluate the Binational Migrant Education Program (BMEP), one component of the bilateral cooperation policy on education between the United States and Mexico, by conducting process tracking analysis of the program, interviewing key actors in the development and management of the program, and most importantly, utilizing data collected through interviews and other investigative techniques with children from three communities of Oaxaca still living in the communities with high levels of immigration and those children from the same communities who have emigrated to the Portland Metropolitan area of Oregon in the United States. As a concluding exercise in the thesis, I will provide a policy prescription based on the information gathered, indicating strengths and weaknesses of the bilateral cooperation policy on education between these two countries and proposing recommendations for its improvement. At the end of March and beginning of April of 2009, I will travel to Portland, Oregon and Oaxaca, Mexico to conduct primary research.
Rotary Involvement
I have had the opportunity to participate a great deal in Rotary activities during the first year of my fellowship. The following is a chronological list and description of these interactions:
Montserrat Rotary Club Meeting: February 21, 2008.
My first Rotary Club visit was to my host club, the Montserrat Rotary Club of the City of Buenos Aires with my Rotary counselor, Roberto Tarzi. The Montserrat Rotary Club is one of 42 clubs in District 4890, which comprises the clubs within the Federal District of Buenos Aries. During this meeting, I briefly presented my background, proposed course of study, and hopes for my time while Argentina. After attending this meeting, I wrote a brief summary of my professional/personal background and overall expectations of the fellowship.
La Lucila Rotary Club’s Día de las Mujeres Cocktail: March 10, 2008.
The La Lucila Rotary Club invited me to sing during its annual Día de las Mujeres (Women’s Day) Cocktail. I sang Gracias a la Vida, a song made famous by Argentina singer, Mercedes Sosa, and one of my original compositions, Charming You Are. It was an honor to have been asked to participate in this way during the event. The goal of the event was to recognize the achievements of women in Rotary, in particular, and in Argentina and the world, in general.
Welcome Lunch for World Peace Fellows: April 5, 2008.
Hugo Zeyen, World Peace Fellowship Coordinator, and the Rotary Center in Argentina hosted a welcome lunch for the new Peace Fellows as well as the second year fellows at his Café in Lomas del Palomar. The lunch provided us the chance to meet the host counselors of other fellows and continue fellowship-building with our counselors.
District 4890 Annual Conference: April 19, 2008.
I attended the annual conference, which was held at the Universidad del Belgrano, with two second-year Peace Fellows, but did not present as time constraint was an issue. However, the other Peace Fellows spoke on the importance of continuing to promote the fellowship in Argentina and other countries outside of North America and Europe with the goal of diversifying the scholar base. This is an important issue because, for example, four of the six peace fellows from my cohort are from the United States. There needs to be an effort to strengthen this aspect of the fellowship because its uniqueness resides in bringing scholars from all over the world together to study International Relations and Peace Studies.
District 4890 Annual District Planning Assembly: May 17, 2008.
I spoke about the World Peace Fellow requirements and my professional profile as a World Peace Fellow during the break out session related to Rotary Foundation programs during this annual planning assembly for new Rotary officers.
Montserrat Rotary Club Change of Authority Dinner: July 2, 2008.
My host counselor became the new Montserrat Rotary Club President and invited me to sing several songs during this special event.
Montserrat Rotary Club Meeting: July 24, 2008.
I gave a presentation to my host club about becoming involved with the Global Action Week and the Global Campaign for Education in Argentina. While some support emerged from the meeting, the Club made no formal commitments.
Catedral del Sur Rotary Club Meeting: November 20, 2008
I gave a presentation to this very small and friendly club about the Global Action Week and the Global Campaign for Education in Argentina. They were very enthusiastic about my participation in the project and provided me with contacts to obtain discounted printing for the 2009 Global Action Week.
Buenos Aires Rotaract Meeting: November 26, 2008
Together with a fellow World Peace Scholar, I gave an informal presentation with a question and answer session to Rotaractors and their guests who are interested in the Rotary World Peace Fellowship. We provided information about the application process, eligibility requirements, and our overall experience as Peace Fellows.
Montserrat Rotary Club End-of-the-Year Dinner: December 3, 2008
I attended my host club’s end-of-the-year celebration where I had the opportunity to meet visiting Rotarians from Canada.
Planning Meeting for Rotary Centers for International Studies Seminar: December 10, 2008
I participated in the first planning meeting for the annual seminar that Peace Fellows organize each year in the Rotary Centers for International Studies Seminar. We have submitted several ideas for the seminar theme to our Rotary contacts here in Argentina. All of the proposed themes have some type of relationship to the concept of the “Power of ideas and understanding cooperation, conflict, and development in the world.”
Villa Don Bosco Rotary Club Meeting: December 17, 2008
I gave a general presentation about my past professional and personal experiences and my current work as a Rotary World Peace Fellowship to this extremely laid back and welcoming club. The club members were extremely interested in one of my research focuses this year: the existence of two concepts of education in the international sphere (education as a human right and education as an economic input).
Volunteer/Internship Activities
Since February 2008, I became involved with the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), an international non-governmental organization charged with the task of monitoring the fulfillment of the Education for All goals established with the United Nations system by 2015 in alignment with the Millennium Development Goals. One of its main initiatives is the Global Action Week (GAW), which takes place in countries throughout the world, including Argentina. The purpose of the GAW is to raise awareness about education rights for all people of the world. The folks at the GCE headquarters put me in contact with the organizations that coordinate the GAW in Argentina.
My support has focused on writing a detailed funding proposal for my sponsoring Rotary district and a participation proposal for my host district here in Argentina. I have been working closely with individual Rotary clubs back in Portland as well as the leadership at the district level for District 5100 in garnering support for the Argentine education rights campaign. In addition, my host counselor and I have been collaborating on forming a plan for the participation of Argentine Rotary Clubs as well. The attached proposals explain the campaign in more detail.
Besides fundraising, I participated directly in the GAW during the week of April 21-27, 2008 by facilitating two lessons with three sixth grade classes in a struggling public school in the outskirts of Buenos Aires. The lesson focused on encouraging students to think about the value of education and education rights. The lesson concluded with students making collages and written requests to government figures to provide everyone with a quality education. I will be accompanying these same students to the International Book Fair of Buenos Aires on May 7, 2008.
After the 2008 Global Action Week of the Global Campaign for Education, I continued to develop the strategic partnership among District 5100, District 4890, and the Argentina education campaign. Unfortunately, I ran into challenges with obtaining official support from Argentine clubs. Besides the fundraising, I worked with the planning committee of this event on evaluating the 2008 campaign to improve it for the next year. I currently have stepped out of an active role in the planning for the 2009 campaign due to my large commitment to researching and writing my thesis. However, I have maintained contact with the various representatives of the participating organizations in the campaign by writing a final paper about the campaign as a social movement for the third quarter course, Social Organizations in Latin America.
Successes & Challenges
With the purpose of providing information that spans the entire first year of the fellowship period, I have included the successes and challenges that I mentioned in my first Rotary report, which covered the period of February-April 2008. I have marked the new successes and challenges by using the triangle-shaped bullet point.
Successes
My successes during my first year as a World Peace Fellow have been many. They are the following:
Overall high performance in both the Intensive Spanish Course and the master’s courses. As I have noted, my grades have been excellent in all courses taken in the Master’s program. More importantly, however, is the academic growth that I have gained during the first year. My research and analytic skills have improved greatly as has my overall knowledge base of particular topics of interest related to the International Relations field such as education multilateralism, human rights and international law, and project formulation, negotiation, and management.
Successful participation in Global Campaign for Education in Argentina. I have been successful in starting a partnership-building process between Rotary and a dozen education-related organizations in Argentina through my work with the Global Campaign for Education.
Identification of a thesis topic that is relevant. When I write “relevant”, I want to emphasize that the topic is not only relevant to the field of International Relations, but also to my sponsoring Rotary community (Portland) and to my own professional aspirations. Making the decision to do my case study about immigrant children from Oaxaca, Mexico that have immigrated to the Portland Metropolitan area was a success for me because I followed my heart and made a decision to do a case study on Mexico despite the myriad challenges that may arise. It is a topic that is more relevant to my life and home community than the previous topic that would have entailed a case study on Argentina.
Challenges
There have been some key challenges in the master’s program thus far. They are the following:
Lack of a Pre-Master Prep Course: Given the various academic backgrounds of the Peace Fellows due and the professional experience requirement, many Fellows do not have theoretical knowledge in International Relations and Sociology, or have not applied it for many years due to having worked in other sectors prior to starting the USAL master’s program. A pre-master prep course of approximately 3 months prior to the commencement of the master’s program would prepare Fellows for this adjustment. Currently, we are extremely overwhelmed and frustrated by our overall lack of International Relations and, in my case specifically, sociological backgrounds.
Course Overload: Part of the goal of being a Rotary World Peace Fellow is to take part in cultural activities while in the host country. Unfortunately, the recent changes to the USAL program, requiring students to be in class Monday-Friday and, at times, on Saturday, prevents us from fulfilling this cultural aspect of the fellowship because when we are not in class, we are reading the required text or writing papers, literally spending on average 12 hours per day in the library, at the university, or at home studying and in class. Of course, a master’s program should be rigorous. However, a course load of four courses instead of five is a more realistic expectation of the fellows. One should take into account that only two years ago, the Fellows at the USAL were only required to take two to three courses. While this may have been too few, the program has gone to the other extreme of expecting an overwhelming course load.
Majority of Text in English: Surprisingly, the majority of course text is written in English. While this is an advantage for native English speakers, it is an obvious disadvantage for those Fellows whose first language is neither English nor Spanish. The professors should put as much effort in finding translated versions of the text because as Fellows at USAL, we chose the program assuming that not only the courses, but also the text would be in Spanish. Of course, we expect some text to be written in English as the vast majority of current literature in International Relations is published in this language.
Course Material/Photocopy System: The system for obtaining the course materials through photocopying is an extremely disorganized. Fellows waste, on average, two-four hours per week searching for text that is missing from the library or photocopy store. I suggest that each course comes with a text packet already made up and is included in the price of the course or at least have the text packets pre-made for each course for the entire quarter.
Lack of Materials for Thesis Research: It has become evident already that obtaining books and other written material for our thesis research will be a challenge. Because the majority of up-to-date research in the field of International Relations is conducted in English, we will need access to these books. Unfortunately, our options in Argentina are limited. Therefore, we will have to spend, I am anticipating, hundreds of dollars to buy and ship books for our thesis. Some solid brainstorming is needed to resolve this issue that appears to have affected USAL fellows for several years now.
Too few practical courses and opportunities to apply theoretical knowledge. There appears to be a gap between the very theoretical master’s degree program offered at the USAL and the type of more practical international development careers for which the Peace Fellowship is meant to prepare its Fellos. One way to remedy this would be to offer courses that entail a more practical component. Another way would be to take advantage of the many international development agencies operating in Argentina through the establishment of internships opportunities for the Peace Fellows to complete during their time studying. However, to make this feasible, the master’s program would need to return to the less intensive 2-year version. I believe that Peace Fellows would be much better prepared professionally if they were able to apply the theoretical aspects of the master’s program courses to the practical experience of an internship. This internship would not replace the Applied Field Experience, but would rather make the master’s program more applicable to the assumed career path of Peace Fellows.
Few opportunities for mentorship by professors. The reality of professors in Argentina is that they generally have a full time job during the day and give university classes in the evening. As a result, an institutionalized environment for the professors to mentor students does not exist because of lack of time, space, and willingness. While most professors go out of their way to meet with students when needed and provide as much guidance as possible, they are not able to do so at the level that master’s students should receive. While I may be mistaken, this is quite different from the other Rotary Centers for International Studies. I suggest that more resources from the Rotary Foundation be destined to the USAL Rotary Center for International Studies for the purpose of developing the master’s program more, taking into account the importance of supporting the only Center in a non-economic North country and recognizing that access to institutional resources are probably more limited in Argentina than in the United States, Great Britain, Australia, and Japan. It is vitally important to support Rotary Centers that are located in developing countries because they provide more opportunities for qualified candidates in developing countries to learn about the Rotary World Peace Fellowship and they provide distinct approaches to studying international relations and international conflict resolution.
Overall Impressions
As I mentioned in the first Rotary report, I have been very impressed with the faculty/staff and the overall course offerings of the USAL master’s program. In particular, the professors have very diverse academic and professional backgrounds and provide alternative views to international relations to which most people from the United States are exposed. It also still continues to impress me that in any given class there are students from at least 11 distinct countries. This provides a unique richness to the classes.
Living, working, and studying abroad are always times when the best and the worst of me come out. The last year has been no different. It has given me a chance to reflect continually on my interactions with other people and evaluate how I can improve those encounters and relationships. This is the type of experience that allows Fellows, or at least me, to grow and gain new skills outside of the classroom that will benefit me as much personally as professionally.
1 Final course grades for the third quarter have not been released as of February 2, 2009.
2 To provide a comprehensive overview of my Rotary involvement during the entire first year of the fellowship, I have kept all activities listed in the First Rotary Report from February-April 2008.
3 Please note the first three paragraphs of this section are taken from my First Rotary Report. The remaining paragraphs provide updates to my participation in the Global Campaign for Education in Argentina.
The first year in Argentina as a World Peace Fellow has been full of academic activities. It began last February in 2008 with the Intensive Spanish Course (CIE, according to the Spanish acronym) offered by the Universidad del Salvador (USAL) for which I received a “10” on a grading scale of “1-10”.
Immediately following the CIE, the master’s program began in March of 2008 with a full load of classes that consisted of required core courses as well as classes from not only my chosen specialization, the Economy, Development, and Cooperation track, but also the Peace and Conflict Resolution track. The courses were Systematic Approaches to International Relations, Ethics and International Relations, Theories of Conflict & Development in the Social Sciences, Causes and Resolution of Conflict, Structure and Process of International Cooperation. Some of the topics in which I focused my research in these classes were multilateral education and the existence of two concepts of education at the international level, evangelicalism in Guatemala as a form of Christian fundamentalism, and the emerging conflict in Mexico related to narco-trafficking. According to the same grading scale mentioned above, I received three “9”s and two “10”s in these courses. It was a very successful first quarter in which I began to build the academic foundation for the next two quarters.
The second quarter was extremely rigorous and enjoyable. The courses for this quarter included International Public Law, International Political Economy, International Security, and Development Models and Processes in Latin America. My areas of focus for research consisted of the recent draft Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights that will provide an avenue to bring claims of violations of rights such as the right to education. The study and promotion of the right to education and the guarantee of education as a basic human right have been priorities in my studies in the master’s program as well my participation in extracurricular activities that have consisted of volunteering with the Global Campaign for Education here in Argentina (see below for more information). I received two “10”s and two “8”s for these second quarter courses.
During the break between the second and third quarters in September of 2008, I participated in the Centre for Applied Nonviolent Action & Strategies (CANVAS) training during the Peace and Justice Studies Association (PJSA) annual conference in Portland, Oregon in September 2008. This was the first CANVAS training presented in North America and provided me with another opportunity to hone my skills in the areas of peaceful conflict management. I received a full scholarship to participate in this training and was one of only 30 participants chosen to take part in this unique experience.
The last quarter that began at the end of September 2008 was extremely busy due to taking four courses and placing a strong emphasis on developing my thesis topic. The courses that I took were Social Organizations in Latin America, Conflict, Development, and Cooperation in Latin America, Formulation and Negotiation of International Projects, and Research Methodology
1. Formulation and Negotiation of International Projects was of particular interest to me because of its practical focus. I learned a great deal in terms of learning the entire international project cycle and having the opportunity to compose a feasible international project proposal. Research Methodology was useful because of the time that it provided for developing my thesis problem. I have gone through a very long process of reading, changing ideas, and learning that one has to follow her heart and passion when making final decisions about a thesis. After spending nearly two months developing one thesis project idea that focused on education and conducting a case study on Argentina, I finally came around to my original idea of focusing on education, but incorporating the immigration element and doing a case study on Mexico where I plan to focus my professional endeavors in the future.
I am now working on my thesis, which focuses on education, immigration of children, and bilateral cooperation between the United States and Mexico on the subject of education of immigrant children. The objective of the thesis is to evaluate the Binational Migrant Education Program (BMEP), one component of the bilateral cooperation policy on education between the United States and Mexico, by conducting process tracking analysis of the program, interviewing key actors in the development and management of the program, and most importantly, utilizing data collected through interviews and other investigative techniques with children from three communities of Oaxaca still living in the communities with high levels of immigration and those children from the same communities who have emigrated to the Portland Metropolitan area of Oregon in the United States. As a concluding exercise in the thesis, I will provide a policy prescription based on the information gathered, indicating strengths and weaknesses of the bilateral cooperation policy on education between these two countries and proposing recommendations for its improvement. At the end of March and beginning of April of 2009, I will travel to Portland, Oregon and Oaxaca, Mexico to conduct primary research.
Rotary Involvement
I have had the opportunity to participate a great deal in Rotary activities during the first year of my fellowship. The following is a chronological list and description of these interactions:
Montserrat Rotary Club Meeting: February 21, 2008.
My first Rotary Club visit was to my host club, the Montserrat Rotary Club of the City of Buenos Aires with my Rotary counselor, Roberto Tarzi. The Montserrat Rotary Club is one of 42 clubs in District 4890, which comprises the clubs within the Federal District of Buenos Aries. During this meeting, I briefly presented my background, proposed course of study, and hopes for my time while Argentina. After attending this meeting, I wrote a brief summary of my professional/personal background and overall expectations of the fellowship.
La Lucila Rotary Club’s Día de las Mujeres Cocktail: March 10, 2008.
The La Lucila Rotary Club invited me to sing during its annual Día de las Mujeres (Women’s Day) Cocktail. I sang Gracias a la Vida, a song made famous by Argentina singer, Mercedes Sosa, and one of my original compositions, Charming You Are. It was an honor to have been asked to participate in this way during the event. The goal of the event was to recognize the achievements of women in Rotary, in particular, and in Argentina and the world, in general.
Welcome Lunch for World Peace Fellows: April 5, 2008.
Hugo Zeyen, World Peace Fellowship Coordinator, and the Rotary Center in Argentina hosted a welcome lunch for the new Peace Fellows as well as the second year fellows at his Café in Lomas del Palomar. The lunch provided us the chance to meet the host counselors of other fellows and continue fellowship-building with our counselors.
District 4890 Annual Conference: April 19, 2008.
I attended the annual conference, which was held at the Universidad del Belgrano, with two second-year Peace Fellows, but did not present as time constraint was an issue. However, the other Peace Fellows spoke on the importance of continuing to promote the fellowship in Argentina and other countries outside of North America and Europe with the goal of diversifying the scholar base. This is an important issue because, for example, four of the six peace fellows from my cohort are from the United States. There needs to be an effort to strengthen this aspect of the fellowship because its uniqueness resides in bringing scholars from all over the world together to study International Relations and Peace Studies.
District 4890 Annual District Planning Assembly: May 17, 2008.
I spoke about the World Peace Fellow requirements and my professional profile as a World Peace Fellow during the break out session related to Rotary Foundation programs during this annual planning assembly for new Rotary officers.
Montserrat Rotary Club Change of Authority Dinner: July 2, 2008.
My host counselor became the new Montserrat Rotary Club President and invited me to sing several songs during this special event.
Montserrat Rotary Club Meeting: July 24, 2008.
I gave a presentation to my host club about becoming involved with the Global Action Week and the Global Campaign for Education in Argentina. While some support emerged from the meeting, the Club made no formal commitments.
Catedral del Sur Rotary Club Meeting: November 20, 2008
I gave a presentation to this very small and friendly club about the Global Action Week and the Global Campaign for Education in Argentina. They were very enthusiastic about my participation in the project and provided me with contacts to obtain discounted printing for the 2009 Global Action Week.
Buenos Aires Rotaract Meeting: November 26, 2008
Together with a fellow World Peace Scholar, I gave an informal presentation with a question and answer session to Rotaractors and their guests who are interested in the Rotary World Peace Fellowship. We provided information about the application process, eligibility requirements, and our overall experience as Peace Fellows.
Montserrat Rotary Club End-of-the-Year Dinner: December 3, 2008
I attended my host club’s end-of-the-year celebration where I had the opportunity to meet visiting Rotarians from Canada.
Planning Meeting for Rotary Centers for International Studies Seminar: December 10, 2008
I participated in the first planning meeting for the annual seminar that Peace Fellows organize each year in the Rotary Centers for International Studies Seminar. We have submitted several ideas for the seminar theme to our Rotary contacts here in Argentina. All of the proposed themes have some type of relationship to the concept of the “Power of ideas and understanding cooperation, conflict, and development in the world.”
Villa Don Bosco Rotary Club Meeting: December 17, 2008
I gave a general presentation about my past professional and personal experiences and my current work as a Rotary World Peace Fellowship to this extremely laid back and welcoming club. The club members were extremely interested in one of my research focuses this year: the existence of two concepts of education in the international sphere (education as a human right and education as an economic input).
Volunteer/Internship Activities
Since February 2008, I became involved with the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), an international non-governmental organization charged with the task of monitoring the fulfillment of the Education for All goals established with the United Nations system by 2015 in alignment with the Millennium Development Goals. One of its main initiatives is the Global Action Week (GAW), which takes place in countries throughout the world, including Argentina. The purpose of the GAW is to raise awareness about education rights for all people of the world. The folks at the GCE headquarters put me in contact with the organizations that coordinate the GAW in Argentina.
My support has focused on writing a detailed funding proposal for my sponsoring Rotary district and a participation proposal for my host district here in Argentina. I have been working closely with individual Rotary clubs back in Portland as well as the leadership at the district level for District 5100 in garnering support for the Argentine education rights campaign. In addition, my host counselor and I have been collaborating on forming a plan for the participation of Argentine Rotary Clubs as well. The attached proposals explain the campaign in more detail.
Besides fundraising, I participated directly in the GAW during the week of April 21-27, 2008 by facilitating two lessons with three sixth grade classes in a struggling public school in the outskirts of Buenos Aires. The lesson focused on encouraging students to think about the value of education and education rights. The lesson concluded with students making collages and written requests to government figures to provide everyone with a quality education. I will be accompanying these same students to the International Book Fair of Buenos Aires on May 7, 2008.
After the 2008 Global Action Week of the Global Campaign for Education, I continued to develop the strategic partnership among District 5100, District 4890, and the Argentina education campaign. Unfortunately, I ran into challenges with obtaining official support from Argentine clubs. Besides the fundraising, I worked with the planning committee of this event on evaluating the 2008 campaign to improve it for the next year. I currently have stepped out of an active role in the planning for the 2009 campaign due to my large commitment to researching and writing my thesis. However, I have maintained contact with the various representatives of the participating organizations in the campaign by writing a final paper about the campaign as a social movement for the third quarter course, Social Organizations in Latin America.
Successes & Challenges
With the purpose of providing information that spans the entire first year of the fellowship period, I have included the successes and challenges that I mentioned in my first Rotary report, which covered the period of February-April 2008. I have marked the new successes and challenges by using the triangle-shaped bullet point.
Successes
My successes during my first year as a World Peace Fellow have been many. They are the following:
Overall high performance in both the Intensive Spanish Course and the master’s courses. As I have noted, my grades have been excellent in all courses taken in the Master’s program. More importantly, however, is the academic growth that I have gained during the first year. My research and analytic skills have improved greatly as has my overall knowledge base of particular topics of interest related to the International Relations field such as education multilateralism, human rights and international law, and project formulation, negotiation, and management.
Successful participation in Global Campaign for Education in Argentina. I have been successful in starting a partnership-building process between Rotary and a dozen education-related organizations in Argentina through my work with the Global Campaign for Education.
Identification of a thesis topic that is relevant. When I write “relevant”, I want to emphasize that the topic is not only relevant to the field of International Relations, but also to my sponsoring Rotary community (Portland) and to my own professional aspirations. Making the decision to do my case study about immigrant children from Oaxaca, Mexico that have immigrated to the Portland Metropolitan area was a success for me because I followed my heart and made a decision to do a case study on Mexico despite the myriad challenges that may arise. It is a topic that is more relevant to my life and home community than the previous topic that would have entailed a case study on Argentina.
Challenges
There have been some key challenges in the master’s program thus far. They are the following:
Lack of a Pre-Master Prep Course: Given the various academic backgrounds of the Peace Fellows due and the professional experience requirement, many Fellows do not have theoretical knowledge in International Relations and Sociology, or have not applied it for many years due to having worked in other sectors prior to starting the USAL master’s program. A pre-master prep course of approximately 3 months prior to the commencement of the master’s program would prepare Fellows for this adjustment. Currently, we are extremely overwhelmed and frustrated by our overall lack of International Relations and, in my case specifically, sociological backgrounds.
Course Overload: Part of the goal of being a Rotary World Peace Fellow is to take part in cultural activities while in the host country. Unfortunately, the recent changes to the USAL program, requiring students to be in class Monday-Friday and, at times, on Saturday, prevents us from fulfilling this cultural aspect of the fellowship because when we are not in class, we are reading the required text or writing papers, literally spending on average 12 hours per day in the library, at the university, or at home studying and in class. Of course, a master’s program should be rigorous. However, a course load of four courses instead of five is a more realistic expectation of the fellows. One should take into account that only two years ago, the Fellows at the USAL were only required to take two to three courses. While this may have been too few, the program has gone to the other extreme of expecting an overwhelming course load.
Majority of Text in English: Surprisingly, the majority of course text is written in English. While this is an advantage for native English speakers, it is an obvious disadvantage for those Fellows whose first language is neither English nor Spanish. The professors should put as much effort in finding translated versions of the text because as Fellows at USAL, we chose the program assuming that not only the courses, but also the text would be in Spanish. Of course, we expect some text to be written in English as the vast majority of current literature in International Relations is published in this language.
Course Material/Photocopy System: The system for obtaining the course materials through photocopying is an extremely disorganized. Fellows waste, on average, two-four hours per week searching for text that is missing from the library or photocopy store. I suggest that each course comes with a text packet already made up and is included in the price of the course or at least have the text packets pre-made for each course for the entire quarter.
Lack of Materials for Thesis Research: It has become evident already that obtaining books and other written material for our thesis research will be a challenge. Because the majority of up-to-date research in the field of International Relations is conducted in English, we will need access to these books. Unfortunately, our options in Argentina are limited. Therefore, we will have to spend, I am anticipating, hundreds of dollars to buy and ship books for our thesis. Some solid brainstorming is needed to resolve this issue that appears to have affected USAL fellows for several years now.
Too few practical courses and opportunities to apply theoretical knowledge. There appears to be a gap between the very theoretical master’s degree program offered at the USAL and the type of more practical international development careers for which the Peace Fellowship is meant to prepare its Fellos. One way to remedy this would be to offer courses that entail a more practical component. Another way would be to take advantage of the many international development agencies operating in Argentina through the establishment of internships opportunities for the Peace Fellows to complete during their time studying. However, to make this feasible, the master’s program would need to return to the less intensive 2-year version. I believe that Peace Fellows would be much better prepared professionally if they were able to apply the theoretical aspects of the master’s program courses to the practical experience of an internship. This internship would not replace the Applied Field Experience, but would rather make the master’s program more applicable to the assumed career path of Peace Fellows.
Few opportunities for mentorship by professors. The reality of professors in Argentina is that they generally have a full time job during the day and give university classes in the evening. As a result, an institutionalized environment for the professors to mentor students does not exist because of lack of time, space, and willingness. While most professors go out of their way to meet with students when needed and provide as much guidance as possible, they are not able to do so at the level that master’s students should receive. While I may be mistaken, this is quite different from the other Rotary Centers for International Studies. I suggest that more resources from the Rotary Foundation be destined to the USAL Rotary Center for International Studies for the purpose of developing the master’s program more, taking into account the importance of supporting the only Center in a non-economic North country and recognizing that access to institutional resources are probably more limited in Argentina than in the United States, Great Britain, Australia, and Japan. It is vitally important to support Rotary Centers that are located in developing countries because they provide more opportunities for qualified candidates in developing countries to learn about the Rotary World Peace Fellowship and they provide distinct approaches to studying international relations and international conflict resolution.
Overall Impressions
As I mentioned in the first Rotary report, I have been very impressed with the faculty/staff and the overall course offerings of the USAL master’s program. In particular, the professors have very diverse academic and professional backgrounds and provide alternative views to international relations to which most people from the United States are exposed. It also still continues to impress me that in any given class there are students from at least 11 distinct countries. This provides a unique richness to the classes.
Living, working, and studying abroad are always times when the best and the worst of me come out. The last year has been no different. It has given me a chance to reflect continually on my interactions with other people and evaluate how I can improve those encounters and relationships. This is the type of experience that allows Fellows, or at least me, to grow and gain new skills outside of the classroom that will benefit me as much personally as professionally.
1 Final course grades for the third quarter have not been released as of February 2, 2009.
2 To provide a comprehensive overview of my Rotary involvement during the entire first year of the fellowship, I have kept all activities listed in the First Rotary Report from February-April 2008.
3 Please note the first three paragraphs of this section are taken from my First Rotary Report. The remaining paragraphs provide updates to my participation in the Global Campaign for Education in Argentina.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
November Updates
Life has been a whirlwind of activity since my last blog post. I finished my second quarter and am one class away from finishing the third. My thesis production is in full swing and will be my full-time activity during the summer break that will officially begin on December 20th.
The following is a short description of my thesis:
The objective of my thesis is to question the claim proposed by key authors, such as Connie McNeely, in the field of education multilateralism that ideas and conceptions of education that are diffused by international organizations have a homogenizing effect on national education policies and practices by analyzing 1) to what point two overlapping ideas of education that are disseminated by the World Bank and UNESCO and not just one idea exist, 2) how these two overlapping ideas of education converge and diverge, and 3) how these two ideas of education manifest themselves in the education policy and practice in Argentina between 2001 and 2008.
I will be taking a constructivist theoretical approach (i.e. the approach that "ideas" matter in international relations and the behavior of States) to my thesis and will employ more constructivist investigative methods such as discourse analysis.
In addition, my time has been busy with various Rotary presentations about the World Action Week for the Global Campaign for Education in which I became involved last year. Unfortunately, my life has gotten a little too busy so I am not going to be participating as actively with the Campaign from here on out. However, I am staying in contact with the Campaign and continuing to link Rotary with the education rights efforts of the Campaign. The picture is of me at the Catedral del Sur Rotary Club in Buenos Aires. They meet in the famous Café Tortoni that was founded in 1858 and is where some of the most famous Argentina writers and artists would spend their time.
Apart from these endeavors, I have been doing a lot of yoga and trying to find time to write new songs and sing. On December 21, I leave for Brazil for the holidays and then will receive a visitor from back home in January. I'll post pictures upon my return.
The following is a short description of my thesis:
The objective of my thesis is to question the claim proposed by key authors, such as Connie McNeely, in the field of education multilateralism that ideas and conceptions of education that are diffused by international organizations have a homogenizing effect on national education policies and practices by analyzing 1) to what point two overlapping ideas of education that are disseminated by the World Bank and UNESCO and not just one idea exist, 2) how these two overlapping ideas of education converge and diverge, and 3) how these two ideas of education manifest themselves in the education policy and practice in Argentina between 2001 and 2008.
I will be taking a constructivist theoretical approach (i.e. the approach that "ideas" matter in international relations and the behavior of States) to my thesis and will employ more constructivist investigative methods such as discourse analysis.
In addition, my time has been busy with various Rotary presentations about the World Action Week for the Global Campaign for Education in which I became involved last year. Unfortunately, my life has gotten a little too busy so I am not going to be participating as actively with the Campaign from here on out. However, I am staying in contact with the Campaign and continuing to link Rotary with the education rights efforts of the Campaign. The picture is of me at the Catedral del Sur Rotary Club in Buenos Aires. They meet in the famous Café Tortoni that was founded in 1858 and is where some of the most famous Argentina writers and artists would spend their time.
Apart from these endeavors, I have been doing a lot of yoga and trying to find time to write new songs and sing. On December 21, I leave for Brazil for the holidays and then will receive a visitor from back home in January. I'll post pictures upon my return.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Travels with Jane
About three weeks ago, I had a short break from school so I decided it was time to get out of the city. I'd been feeling overwhelmed with the pace of Buenos Aires and, well, feeling lonely as well. Regardless, I thought that some time in the small town of Colón on the Rio Uruguay would do me some good. This trip was sort of a whim so I purchased my bus ticket the night before I left and didn't bother to make any hotel reservations...I thought to myself..."last resort...I'll just sleep along the river". ha ha.
The next morning I settled into my seat, already more relaxed just knowing that I was headed into the "interior" de Argentina. I took out my journal and wrote this to myself: "What I need is emotional homeopathy...treat lonliness with being alone". I convinced myself that that was what I needed.
Content with my myself for being so insightful (ha ha), I took out my thermos with hot water to have mate (kind of like tea, but drunk from a gourd with a metal straw and usually shared with others). There was a girl sitting next to me, Deborah, so I decided that it would be nice to offer her mate. She accepted and we started talking about the usual first time questions (Where are you from? What are you doing here? etc.). Deborah was also headed to Colón, not for vacation but to go back to school there after her vacation. She then asked me where I would be staying in Colón. I, of course, told her that I had no idea and she became very concerned, telling me that everything would be booked with it being winter break and all. I laughed and told her that I was going to camp along the river. She responed by saying, "oh no, you can stay with me and family." I didn't really take it seriously, but then 20 minutes later she says to me, "my brother said it would be okay if you stayed with us". Wow...she was serious...hmmm...I still wasn't convinced...I mean, after all, I need my "emotional homeopathy."
We arrived to Colón a few hours later. I accompanied Deborah to her house since she was going to take a taxi into town from the bus station. Of course, upon arriving, her sister-in-law, Gisela, invited me to drink mate with them. By 6 p.m. Gisela and Deborah told me to just to stay with them just like it were a hotel. I still wasn't convinced so I told them that I would go look for a hotel and would come back to get my things after I found one. I left and began to walk around town. As I made my way into the center, something said to me..."why are you going to refuse such generosity?" So I didn't even bother to look any further, I returned and ended up staying the entire four days with Gisela, Deborah, Sergio (Deborah's brother), and Orly (the dog).
There generosity was so, to say the least, amazing and touching. Deborah gave me her room and slept in Gisela and Sergio's room while Gisela and Sergio migrated to the kitchen and slept on a mattress there for four days. We ate together, had an "asado", drank mate, laughed, and had a wonderful time together. It was funny because I got exactly the opposite of what I convinced myself that I needed. In other words, I got to be with family, which is what I needed more than my stoic "emotional homeopathy". ha ha
I did have some important moments alone, though, as well. The first morning I woke up early to a day that was wonderfully sunny. I got up, put my bathing suit (hey...it didn't matter that were in the middle of winter...if it's sunny and there is a river...I am going to be in it. ha ha) and running clothes on and took off. I ran for about a half hour until I got out of town on the part of the river where the forest was left to its own devices. I came this amazing the little beach hidden away behind trees and bushes. I thought, yep, this is my spot. I rushed to take my clothes off and get in the water. I felt really alive (maybe the near freezing temperature of the water confirmed this. ha ha) swimming in the cold water with the sun blazing down on me making it bearable. :-) I ended up being gone for nearly three hours...lost in thought and prayer and meditation and just being there...
The other days I went to some nearby thermal baths and just sat by the river. The last night the family had a huge "asado" (kind of like a bbq) with every type of meat imaginable. The next morning they sent me off with good-bye gifts and hugs at the bus stations.
So, in the end, I got exactly what I needed, in spite of myself. And I think this beautiful family maybe got a little something of what they needed from me being in their home. We have to have faith that we do, indeed, get what is best for us in life if we keep our hearts (and minds..which gets in the way sometimes) open.
More info about Mate: http://www.noborders.net/mate/
The next morning I settled into my seat, already more relaxed just knowing that I was headed into the "interior" de Argentina. I took out my journal and wrote this to myself: "What I need is emotional homeopathy...treat lonliness with being alone". I convinced myself that that was what I needed.
Content with my myself for being so insightful (ha ha), I took out my thermos with hot water to have mate (kind of like tea, but drunk from a gourd with a metal straw and usually shared with others). There was a girl sitting next to me, Deborah, so I decided that it would be nice to offer her mate. She accepted and we started talking about the usual first time questions (Where are you from? What are you doing here? etc.). Deborah was also headed to Colón, not for vacation but to go back to school there after her vacation. She then asked me where I would be staying in Colón. I, of course, told her that I had no idea and she became very concerned, telling me that everything would be booked with it being winter break and all. I laughed and told her that I was going to camp along the river. She responed by saying, "oh no, you can stay with me and family." I didn't really take it seriously, but then 20 minutes later she says to me, "my brother said it would be okay if you stayed with us". Wow...she was serious...hmmm...I still wasn't convinced...I mean, after all, I need my "emotional homeopathy."
We arrived to Colón a few hours later. I accompanied Deborah to her house since she was going to take a taxi into town from the bus station. Of course, upon arriving, her sister-in-law, Gisela, invited me to drink mate with them. By 6 p.m. Gisela and Deborah told me to just to stay with them just like it were a hotel. I still wasn't convinced so I told them that I would go look for a hotel and would come back to get my things after I found one. I left and began to walk around town. As I made my way into the center, something said to me..."why are you going to refuse such generosity?" So I didn't even bother to look any further, I returned and ended up staying the entire four days with Gisela, Deborah, Sergio (Deborah's brother), and Orly (the dog).
There generosity was so, to say the least, amazing and touching. Deborah gave me her room and slept in Gisela and Sergio's room while Gisela and Sergio migrated to the kitchen and slept on a mattress there for four days. We ate together, had an "asado", drank mate, laughed, and had a wonderful time together. It was funny because I got exactly the opposite of what I convinced myself that I needed. In other words, I got to be with family, which is what I needed more than my stoic "emotional homeopathy". ha ha
I did have some important moments alone, though, as well. The first morning I woke up early to a day that was wonderfully sunny. I got up, put my bathing suit (hey...it didn't matter that were in the middle of winter...if it's sunny and there is a river...I am going to be in it. ha ha) and running clothes on and took off. I ran for about a half hour until I got out of town on the part of the river where the forest was left to its own devices. I came this amazing the little beach hidden away behind trees and bushes. I thought, yep, this is my spot. I rushed to take my clothes off and get in the water. I felt really alive (maybe the near freezing temperature of the water confirmed this. ha ha) swimming in the cold water with the sun blazing down on me making it bearable. :-) I ended up being gone for nearly three hours...lost in thought and prayer and meditation and just being there...
The other days I went to some nearby thermal baths and just sat by the river. The last night the family had a huge "asado" (kind of like a bbq) with every type of meat imaginable. The next morning they sent me off with good-bye gifts and hugs at the bus stations.
So, in the end, I got exactly what I needed, in spite of myself. And I think this beautiful family maybe got a little something of what they needed from me being in their home. We have to have faith that we do, indeed, get what is best for us in life if we keep our hearts (and minds..which gets in the way sometimes) open.
More info about Mate: http://www.noborders.net/mate/
August, 2008 updates
Yes..it's official. I am coming home to Portland on September 8 and I can't wait to see everyone!!!!!!! Although I will be, of course, spending lots of quality time with my loved ones, I will also be participating in a two-day Centre for Applied Non-Violence Action and Strategies (CANVAS) training as part of the Peace and Justice Studies Association annual conference. Back in March, I applied for one of only 30 slots in this training, which has not been offered in North America previosly. The CANVAS approach was successfully applied in South Africa, Ukraine, and Serbia. You can learn more at http://www.canvasopedia.org/. It is an honor and an exciting opportunity to be able to participate in the training.
I successfully finished my first term in the master's program. Although I have not received my final grades, I feel very good about the outcome. The new term has begun with four classes:
Public International Law,International Security,International Political Economy,Development Models and Processes in Latin America
I have a lighter load this semester, which is good because I hope to get a headstart on my thesis (To be determined shortly).
I successfully finished my first term in the master's program. Although I have not received my final grades, I feel very good about the outcome. The new term has begun with four classes:
Public International Law,International Security,International Political Economy,Development Models and Processes in Latin America
I have a lighter load this semester, which is good because I hope to get a headstart on my thesis (To be determined shortly).
Thursday, July 24, 2008
July updates from Argentina
Let's see...
it got a little bit crazy at the end of my because the first term ended and I had four 5000-7000 word papers to write. However, I got them all written and one of them may well turn into my thesis. I have thinking of writing on the topic of the existence of two concepts of education that exist at the international level: education as a human right and education as a commodity, the inherent contradiction that exists between the two, and the impact it has on implementing the Education for All goals in developing nations. Anyhow, that is a very general explanation. As it develops, I will keep you posted. The new semester has begun and is proving to be a bit more relaxed than the first semester. I think that the more relaxing feel has more to do with my being accostomed to student life once again. I am taking four courses: Public International Law, International Security, International Political Economy, and Development Models and Processes of Latin America. With regards to Rotary involvement, I have been working with my counselor on coming up with strategies for involving Rotary here in Argentina in the education campaign that I proposed to Rotary back home. I hope that having Rotary on board in Argentina will prove useful in obtaining support back in the U.S. I also am working on getting more funds for some projects that the Argentine Campaign for Educational Rights is trying to realize. Recently, I sang along with my roommate at the change of presidential authority event for my host Rotary Club. My counselor became president, which made the night very special. You can go to my blog to see pictures and a short video of me singing. In October, I will be presenting on the World Peace Fellowship at a Rotary conference in Mar de Plata. In other areas, I will be coming home in September to Portland to attend a unique training provided by the Centre for Nonviolence Action and Strategies (CANVAS) as part of the Peace and Justice Studies Association annual conference. I applied for one of only 30 slots of this training that is being offered for the first time in North America. The CANVAS approach was successfully employed in Serbia, South Africa, and Ukraine. It is a unique opportunity to be able to participate in this training and doubly so in my own home town. Let's see...my acting career ;-) is also coming along...we'll see how famous I become in Argentina before leaving next year. I have been writing songs and singing whenever I have the chance. I am glad that you have so many qualified applicants. Was it helpful to be able to send more than one Peace Fellow candidate to Rotary Foundation this year? It sounds like they were having a hard time getting enough qualified applicants. By the way, congratulations on retirement. Are you looking forward to it, not really, or having mixed feelings. Well..it's really late so I best be going.
Un abrazo fuerte, Jane
You can read more and see pictures on Jane's personal blog at:
http://janespeaceoftheworldforum.blogspot.com/
it got a little bit crazy at the end of my because the first term ended and I had four 5000-7000 word papers to write. However, I got them all written and one of them may well turn into my thesis. I have thinking of writing on the topic of the existence of two concepts of education that exist at the international level: education as a human right and education as a commodity, the inherent contradiction that exists between the two, and the impact it has on implementing the Education for All goals in developing nations. Anyhow, that is a very general explanation. As it develops, I will keep you posted. The new semester has begun and is proving to be a bit more relaxed than the first semester. I think that the more relaxing feel has more to do with my being accostomed to student life once again. I am taking four courses: Public International Law, International Security, International Political Economy, and Development Models and Processes of Latin America. With regards to Rotary involvement, I have been working with my counselor on coming up with strategies for involving Rotary here in Argentina in the education campaign that I proposed to Rotary back home. I hope that having Rotary on board in Argentina will prove useful in obtaining support back in the U.S. I also am working on getting more funds for some projects that the Argentine Campaign for Educational Rights is trying to realize. Recently, I sang along with my roommate at the change of presidential authority event for my host Rotary Club. My counselor became president, which made the night very special. You can go to my blog to see pictures and a short video of me singing. In October, I will be presenting on the World Peace Fellowship at a Rotary conference in Mar de Plata. In other areas, I will be coming home in September to Portland to attend a unique training provided by the Centre for Nonviolence Action and Strategies (CANVAS) as part of the Peace and Justice Studies Association annual conference. I applied for one of only 30 slots of this training that is being offered for the first time in North America. The CANVAS approach was successfully employed in Serbia, South Africa, and Ukraine. It is a unique opportunity to be able to participate in this training and doubly so in my own home town. Let's see...my acting career ;-) is also coming along...we'll see how famous I become in Argentina before leaving next year. I have been writing songs and singing whenever I have the chance. I am glad that you have so many qualified applicants. Was it helpful to be able to send more than one Peace Fellow candidate to Rotary Foundation this year? It sounds like they were having a hard time getting enough qualified applicants. By the way, congratulations on retirement. Are you looking forward to it, not really, or having mixed feelings. Well..it's really late so I best be going.
Un abrazo fuerte, Jane
You can read more and see pictures on Jane's personal blog at:
http://janespeaceoftheworldforum.blogspot.com/
Thursday, February 21, 2008
First Report, First Impressions from Buenos Aires
In the Beginning...
Argentina has aleady been an extremely interesting experience already. After 28 hours of flight from Portland to Denver to New York to Buenos Aires, I arrived in a surprisingly good mood to the International airport located on the outskirts of B.A. The first thing to hit me upon entering the city was...the noise. Yes, it´s loud, active, and home to about 3 million people in the core city and this doesn´t count the other millions that live in the suburbs. Let´s just say if I thought my hearing was bad before, it´s going to really really bad now. ha ha.However, I am in love. This city is vibrant, friendly, safe, and very inviting. The family with which I live is extremely relaxed and they are obvious experts at hosting foreigners. All in all everything is going well. I do have what may be sad news for some of you. I am going to be staying for longer than I thought because the M.A. program changed so that we do our Applied Field Experience after completing all course work and thesis. Therefore, I will be moving to another country in June 2008 until September 30, 2009 to complete my internship. This is good in that I will now get my entire summer break (December 2008-February 2009) to conduct research for my thesis, host visitors, and take a little bit of vacation. ;-)
If you wish to read more about Janes impressions and her prepartions to begin the Peace and Confict Program her personal blog is http://janespeaceoftheworldforum.blogspot.com/
Argentina has aleady been an extremely interesting experience already. After 28 hours of flight from Portland to Denver to New York to Buenos Aires, I arrived in a surprisingly good mood to the International airport located on the outskirts of B.A. The first thing to hit me upon entering the city was...the noise. Yes, it´s loud, active, and home to about 3 million people in the core city and this doesn´t count the other millions that live in the suburbs. Let´s just say if I thought my hearing was bad before, it´s going to really really bad now. ha ha.However, I am in love. This city is vibrant, friendly, safe, and very inviting. The family with which I live is extremely relaxed and they are obvious experts at hosting foreigners. All in all everything is going well. I do have what may be sad news for some of you. I am going to be staying for longer than I thought because the M.A. program changed so that we do our Applied Field Experience after completing all course work and thesis. Therefore, I will be moving to another country in June 2008 until September 30, 2009 to complete my internship. This is good in that I will now get my entire summer break (December 2008-February 2009) to conduct research for my thesis, host visitors, and take a little bit of vacation. ;-)
If you wish to read more about Janes impressions and her prepartions to begin the Peace and Confict Program her personal blog is http://janespeaceoftheworldforum.blogspot.com/
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