Preparation Seminar III

Dear Readers,

Yesterday, we had our third of four all day preparation seminars. There was a different feel to this seminar compared to the first two. I think there are two main reasons for this. First, it was the first seminar since we found out our placements. We all had a month to digest where we were all actually going. Second, and perhaps a consequence of the first, we focused on a lot of the more practical aspects of our adventure.

The morning consisted of two sessions. In the first, we discussed some of the issues we will face when we encounter the culture of our host country/region/family. There are many overt cultural signs that we will pick up on immediately, and hopefully comply with! For instance, language, or how people talk at the dinner table. My strategy for these types of things is to observe and just do what they do. As for language, I'm trying to get a head start with my Ukrainian. Моє ім'я Михайло! And then there other more subtle things I'll have to pick up on as I go along. Say, how one ought to dress in a given circumstance, or how close one should stand when speaking to another person. To be quite honest, I have never thought about these kinds of things, but I have suddenly become more conscious of how my actions and behaviours are shaped and governed largely by the culture in which I live. When I get to Ukraine, I'll have to always be aware of the way I act and how people react so I know when I'm doing things right and when I'm not.

After this, Marilyn from St. Michael's Chaplaincy spoke to us about the services chaplaincy provides in general and what they provide for the Intercordians specifically.

After lunch, Melanie from Intercordia spoke to us about reflections while on placement. While we are there, we will be required to write a series of reflections both for Intercordia Canada and for the academic component of the program. These reflections will help Intercordia record our progress and ensure that the program is accomplishing what they want it to. They will also help us gather our thoughts so that when we come back, we can write the final integration paper.

Following this session, two Intercordia alumnae, Ilinca and Lisa, were able to share some of their stories and answer any questions we had. It was very interesting to hear their stories. Ilinca worked at a medical clinic in Honduras and Lisa lived on a farm in Ecuador. At one point, Lisa's town had no running water for two weeks because it didn't pay the water bill. They had to use the well instead. And at the medical clinic, Ilinca helped treat a bullet wound. There had been a fight between two men which turned violent, and tragically one was shot dead and the other wounded.

In the last session, we talked about safety. We focused mainly on sexual assult and sexual harassment and what to do if any of us encounter it. While this information may apply more immediately for the women, it is also good for us men to know. During this session, my male instinct to protect kicked in and I began to feel a bit more worried for our women going over. I know that the chances of anything serious happening are remote, but I couldn't help it.

After this, the next three people gave their life stories, as I did last seminar. The content of these stories has no place on this blog, so I will say no more about it.

I felt that we didn't get as much done this time compared to last, but what we did do was still very valuable. Everything now is happening so fast. We leave in just four months. Four months! Early May seemed so far away back in September when I applied, but it's creeping up on us. I haven't had too much time to think about all of this so far however. My studies and other more immediate duties have kept me distracted so far, but these will eventually cease and I'll be on a plane to Ukraine!

Our next seminar will be on March 7th. I will be sure to report on that one at that time.

Also, we begin the academic classes on January 19th. I will write about those as well.

Until next time,
Michael