Week three, already? How do they arrive so quickly? In our first week back to school we had a seminar for Beyond Borders. At this seminar we spanned from a personality assessment to a self-defense lesson. During the personality assessment I discovered that I am equally tied between Authentic Blue, Inquiring Green and Organized Gold, that’s awkward. So in a situation such as this though, I am clearly an Organized Gold. This means that I require, and even desire, “clear and specific feedback on behaviour and efforts”, “definite regulations, rules, procedures, and constraints”, and “opportunities to organize people and things” (as quoted from the handout received). And do I ever! That is why I am trying to take up space by explaining why I have no idea what to write about. Similar to last term’s critical response papers we have been told that “[t]he format, style and content of the blogs are entirely up to you as long as it deals with your experiences as a Beyond Borders student”, thanks for the definite regulations, rules, etc Joanne! I don’t know what can be classified under my Beyond Borders experience! Everyone else is lost on fundraising or wondering what their placement entails and here I am panicking about what I’m supposed to write in my weekly blog when not much happens that week. You may be wondering why I am subjecting myself to a program and career that involves the most unpredictability anyone could ever predict. Truth: I never considered this problem before; and at this point it’s probably best I just don’t consider it at all. As for things related to Beyond Borders, I accomplished a few menial tasks this week...
1. I took a bus adventure to downtown Kitchener! After my second time I think this could turn into a relaxing pastime. After class on Wednesday I grabbed my most beloved article, my iPod, and it’s only beloved because it has music – not because I’m materialistic (blech), and hopped on the Ainslie Terminal iExpress. It was a crisp, cool day – but I was equipped with my handmade, fluffy, green, and in support of Beyond Border-er Jacquelyn’s SCARF ($13 each – I’d recommend one). I made a stop at The Bead Bazaar to pick up some supplies. I invested in some nice new beads for Bracelets Beyond Borders, which are producing some very lovely new additions to our collection. Then I leapt back on the bus and continued on my journey to Kitchener. I got off at Charles St. Terminal and found my way to the KW Multicultural Centre, which really isn’t that difficult as it is a block away – but if anyone else who is directionally challenged can relate, it was a nerve racking experience. I successfully dropped off my application to be a One-on-One Tutor – mission complete! Now I just have to wait to hear from them so that I can start my volunteer hours. I then found my way back to Charles St. Terminal while only being slightly confused and made my way back to sweet home St. Jerome’s. As a bonus it was certainly a productive day of people watching.
2. Oh AL. For those of you non-UWers, this is a building on campus called Arts Lecture and therefore its short form is AL. This is where the Arts Student Union (ASU) is located and they allow us to sell our articles for fundraising. Jacquelyn managed to book us Monday and Thursday so that we could sell our bracelets, her scarves and Lara’s 50/50 tickets. However, as per typical with fundraising, it wasn’t as easy as it sounded. On Monday morning I loaded myself up with boxes full of bracelets, scarves, money, donations containers etc and head off to AL...the wrong way. I took the wrong bridge and had to walk the long way to the building. Then once I arrive, the ASU had forgotten they were going to give out free apple cider, hot chocolate and cookies that day so they booked us anyways. Not too much of a big deal, except for the loss of sales from those who we had told about the occasion. So I walk back to St. Jerome’s (and take the right bridge this time) and by the time I get back my arms feel like jell-o. I think it was a curse because I didn’t go to the gym that morning. If you can imagine, my arms were sore for 2 days afterwards – just from carrying bracelets and other miscellaneous objects! However, Jacquelyn worked some magic and we were able to sell some product on Tuesday and a few more on Thursday. I am hoping to set up a table in the St. Jerome’s cafeteria to sell some bracelets, so keep your eyes open!
So that is what happened in Olivia’s world of Beyond Borders this week. If anyone (especially Beyond Borders persona) would like to give me some advice as to what I should write about (especially since you saw my mental breakdown with the response papers last term) it would be much appreciated!
Mucho amor mis amigos!
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Thank-you for the advertising! And I know how you feel about blogging. I was sitting there forever trying to think of things that I was thinking of in the past week. Then is the question of "does this relate to the program?" This is harder than it sounds!
ReplyDeleteI often don't know what to write about either. My life just isn't that exciting I suppose! But what I do find helpful (and you may as well) is to just focus on one small event/item/person in your life that you believe would be relevant (or not) to BB and write about that. Because many of the things we experience in our everyday lives, we take for granted (whether we are aware of it or not) and how accessible they are to us. You could talk about how you might make adjustments to your routine, how you might react to your adjustments, how the change might change YOU, etc.
ReplyDeleteYou can also talk about things that you will miss when you leave, things that you WON'T miss when you leave, etc. I think the important thing here is to talk about things that are relevant to who you are and what it is your about to embark on.
So far I have been enjoying your posts, so I think your on the right track :)
Krista, you took most of the words right out of my mouth! Something that I hadn't thought of was your idea about what we will/won't miss when we're gone. That's a good one! You should definitely try that one, Olivia :)
ReplyDeleteGood post!
THANK YOU!
ReplyDeleteI am so blog illiterate that I didn't realize I had comments until tonight. I was feeling very isolated from you all but you were here the whole time!