*Smiling* In approximately 15 hours I will be on a plane to Chile. Finally the date is here and I couldn’t be more ecstatic. I have done my research, I have gotten my shots, I have packed my suitcase. All I need is to get through this last day of school and I will be set free! Sure, my mental list of things that can go wrong continues to grow: kidnapping, loosing luggage, robbery, food poisoning, forgetting to pack a necessity, homesickness exc. However all that pales in comparison to the things I’m just itching to do once I land.
The past week in a word, was hectic. While maintaing my increasing work load, I had no less then three meetings with my fellow ambassador-Abiba and one of our chaperons- Sally. We finished off our presentation about America, as well as worked through the final details of our itinerary. Thank god that part is over! There is nothing like planning for a trip, when all you want is to actually be on it. One upside to this, though, was five days ago finding, to my astonishment, a page long article about the program in the CNY Women magazine. Sure I had posed for a couple of pictures and talked to a woman about the organization, but I thought nothing of it. It was quite a surprise to see my face smiling up at me from the bottom of a page. Of course I instantly posted a pic to Instagram and Facebook. But, upon thinking about it I became even more elated. The article really proved to me that what I am doing matters, its something that people care about and will stop and admire. I guess the acknowledgement that my ideas of women are in fact important, really meant a lot to me. Ironically the next day a reporter from the New Times called me for an interview. That was pretty crazy! So I expect to be in another article by the time I get back! Its funny, even after doing a magazine project for english, seeing how easy it is to write an article in that format, I still feel pretty psyched to be in an actual one.
I have come to realize that the program has consumed my life. In addition (to everything for mentioned), I organized a bowling date on Sunday with the other girls from the program who were not picked to go on the trip. What I thought was going to be lame attempt by me to get to know the girls, instead went surprisingly well. No one seemed to resent the fact that I was picked instead of them (a huge weight off my shoulders). They opened up, congratulated me, gave me advice as well as told me things they wanted the other ambassadors to know. In the end, Abiba and I came away with a newfound sense of their personalities outside the structured dialog sessions we’ve had. This, will prove invaluable, for as this “Girl Ambassador for Human Rights” I am suppose to represent my country as well as girls my age. “How am I suppose to do this accurately?” I thought. Well now I believe I can not only show who I am and what I believe to the Chilean girls, but also my other Syracuse counter-parts. My only hope is that I will be able to do this while maintaing my class and learning about what their girls believe- (so I can relay it back to our girls in America). So I guess all I have left to say is wish me luck! I can’t wait to share my experiences with you all!
Pictured above is six of the girls who attended my
bowling event. Top left to right= Rachel E., Caroline C.,
Bryanna P., Janna P. Bottom= Mikayla C-H (me) and Abiba S.
The past week in a word, was hectic. While maintaing my increasing work load, I had no less then three meetings with my fellow ambassador-Abiba and one of our chaperons- Sally. We finished off our presentation about America, as well as worked through the final details of our itinerary. Thank god that part is over! There is nothing like planning for a trip, when all you want is to actually be on it. One upside to this, though, was five days ago finding, to my astonishment, a page long article about the program in the CNY Women magazine. Sure I had posed for a couple of pictures and talked to a woman about the organization, but I thought nothing of it. It was quite a surprise to see my face smiling up at me from the bottom of a page. Of course I instantly posted a pic to Instagram and Facebook. But, upon thinking about it I became even more elated. The article really proved to me that what I am doing matters, its something that people care about and will stop and admire. I guess the acknowledgement that my ideas of women are in fact important, really meant a lot to me. Ironically the next day a reporter from the New Times called me for an interview. That was pretty crazy! So I expect to be in another article by the time I get back! Its funny, even after doing a magazine project for english, seeing how easy it is to write an article in that format, I still feel pretty psyched to be in an actual one.
I have come to realize that the program has consumed my life. In addition (to everything for mentioned), I organized a bowling date on Sunday with the other girls from the program who were not picked to go on the trip. What I thought was going to be lame attempt by me to get to know the girls, instead went surprisingly well. No one seemed to resent the fact that I was picked instead of them (a huge weight off my shoulders). They opened up, congratulated me, gave me advice as well as told me things they wanted the other ambassadors to know. In the end, Abiba and I came away with a newfound sense of their personalities outside the structured dialog sessions we’ve had. This, will prove invaluable, for as this “Girl Ambassador for Human Rights” I am suppose to represent my country as well as girls my age. “How am I suppose to do this accurately?” I thought. Well now I believe I can not only show who I am and what I believe to the Chilean girls, but also my other Syracuse counter-parts. My only hope is that I will be able to do this while maintaing my class and learning about what their girls believe- (so I can relay it back to our girls in America). So I guess all I have left to say is wish me luck! I can’t wait to share my experiences with you all!
Pictured above is six of the girls who attended my
bowling event. Top left to right= Rachel E., Caroline C.,
Bryanna P., Janna P. Bottom= Mikayla C-H (me) and Abiba S.
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