impressions
Another Friday, how did I get here?
The ups and downs of this week are impressive. It all began on Monday night, when, leaving my Yoga class I discovered three missed calls on my mobile from Iván. Finally home I received the news: our project Alcance Social was approved the way we proposed it. 40 interns (20 international and 20 Colombian AIESEC members), 2 national conferences, 3 regional conferences, and the interns spread across 10 Colombian cities rotating on projects of Acción Social, the part of the Colombian government that manages national and international resources reserved for social projects. The interns will all focus on socio-economic stabilization of the vulnerable communities of displaced people - more than 2 million people in Colombia have lost their homes due to the internal war. A sad record in the region.
I was flabbergasted. Utterly. They approved all the travel allowances for the interns, the TN fees, the monthly payments to interns and LCs... in short: un éxito!
Then of course followed the crazy hours of tough decisions, putting together the Organising Committee... a group of AIESEC members from across Bogotá. Responsible for this project of some € 68500, risks are considerable, and of course more partners need to be won to round up the learning experience.
Honestly, I just want to be an intern participating in this project. The topic includes my interests of sustainable livelihoods and conflict resolution, the project allows interns to share their experiences with each other and various communities in Colombia...
The days since then seem like months in retrospect because of the amounts of communication, the coordination from my desk and through meetings has been fascinating. Resisting the temptation to get into operational tasks of the project (!) I am staying focused on my planned priorities (which of course did not take into account an explosion of the project), and support Leandro, the project manager, to take decisions, build the organising committee... I have a few more rather conceptual support tasks directly for the project, and will spend many more hours in meetings structuring events, learning activities, and others, but the project will not need me. This is my pride. I want to see Leandro leading an empowered organising committee, I want to see our LCs innovating around the elements of the Learning Environment, taking advantage of the endless opportunities, and individuals enjoying the eye-opening learning experiences that they will have. Yes, this is my vision for this project, and the others up my sleeve.
Oh, and I want to learn about forced migration.
The downs have been similarly complex. One issue is the International Congress. Coming from an AIESEC world in which the MC's participation in IC is budgeted and then financed, I have troubles understanding a different system in which funds have to be raised apart from everything else. It does not look good for us. Without a year of lean living and saving in Switzerland I would not come to IC in Poland. It hurts me to see the disappointment of the Dream Team when another proposal for funds is rejected, when another meeting does not bear fruits. When airlines are difficult. I want my Dream Team in Poland.
And then finally, today, we received notice that we will have to leave our appartment by Sunday because the owner wants to sell it. So basically we are homeless, just on the weekend when Jenn is moving out and I would finally have my own room.
Let me just call it ironic.
We did have an appointment with a landlady of a cheap flat just up the road (up the beautiful mountains) but about one hour ago received a call that someone just rented the place.
Tips for finding cheap flats in Chapinero (perferably Chapinero Alto) in Bogotá to move in on Sunday are appreciated.
