Where in the World Is Emma Glofcheski?

The BIG question everyone has.... WHERE AM i GOING?

unfortunately this question still stands unanswered, BUT I have submitted my top 4 preferences. 

and they are.... (drum roll)

1. Peru (a major shot in the dark as you have to speak Spanish.. which I would happily learn.. but currently know nothing of)

2. Uganda

3. Kenya

4. Dominican Republic (quite close - and I have been there before but a worth while destination as the placements are really amazing). 

I should have an answer as to where I will be going in the next couple of weeks! :D 

Tis the Season

While it is the season to be jolly, with friends, family, food and gifts a plenty, I have been frequently thinking about how I will view the Christmas holidays following my return from volunteering abroad.
The materialistic nature of Christmas will surely become even more distainful, while we are given so much EXTRA while others lack even the basic supplies.
Christmas is an inescapable tradition... (not saying I want to escape entirely)... as Everyone seems to get involved. Christmas will be around for ever - but I believe how I celebrate it will have to change as my eyes open the the inequality that exists in the world. I hope my Christmases can become more about helping others and spending time together than material gifts.. and I am confident my family and friends will be happy to make this a new tradition :)

none the less... I am very thankful for the gifts which I have received to assist me with my travels abroad! :)
- hiking backpack
- backpack gaurd
- collapsible bowls
- compact cutlery
- towels
- collapsible water bottles

:)

some quotes I have grown to love

the following quotes were from readings in our first beyond borders class that stuck with me


Try find some meaning in them yourself 
Enjoy!




"I have one great fear in my heart, that one day when they are turned to loving, they will find we are turned to hating."
-Cry, The Beloved Country


"Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that is the inheritor of our fear. Let him not love the earth too deeply. Let him not laugh too gladly when the water runs through his fingers, nor stand too silent when the setting sun makes red the veld with fire. Let him not be too moved when the birds of his land are singing, nor give too much of his heart to a mountain or a valley. For fear will rob him of all if he gives too much."
- Cry, The Beloved Country


“undo the knots in us and permit life to flow again”
-Jean Vanier, Becoming Human


"This is the treason of the artist: a refusal to admit the banality of evil and the terrible boredom of pain. If you can't lick 'em, join 'em. If it hurts, repeat it. But to praise despair is to condemn delight, to embrace violence is to lose hold of everything else."
- Ursula Le Guin, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

Authentic thinking, thinking that is concerned about reality, does not take place in ivory tower isolation, but only in communication. If it is true that thought has meaning only when generated by action upon the world, the subordination of students to teachers becomes impossible.

- Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Hey There! and welcome to my Blog

welcome to the emotional roller coaster that is THE BEYOND BORDERS EXPERIENCE.

I'm sure you will come to know it as this in no time by following my blog

I might still be 4 months away from my departure date but a lot has already happened! 

First, here is a quick look at what has happened with the beyond borders program and myself thus far. 

- I was accepted into the program last winter (quite a while ago!) after an interview with program director Dr. Joanne Benham Rennick and outreach coordinator Elyse Redden.
- last term the Beyond Borders group (13 other students and myself) were enrolled in the Current Issues Class
- the class of course focused on current issues - but did so through our analysis of various pieces of material, written and video. We drew connections between these and the United Nations Millennium Goals set in the year 2000.
- It was in this course that we began to: 1) learn a lot about ourselves 2) get to know our peers (who have become our closes allies in this program) 3) learn about the issues faced by the developing countries 4) discuss what AID work should provide and how it should be provided
- we have started to raise money through group initiatives (pancake breakfast, fair trade, and our music with a mission night)
- and now were approximately HALF WAY to our departure goal, and our placement abroad.

keep following my blog and witness the changes - excitement - terror and new discoveries I come across from now until the end of my placement! :)