Editorial

Twice a month, we interns have to write two articles for a Canadian online journal, regarding work we are doing in our organisations and the situation in our respective countries. Most of us dread these articles and write them as quickly as possible. I usually just end up recycling old blog entries and then forget about it.

However, we each have to take a turn as editor. Myself, Kat in the Gambia and Naseem in Kenya were given the task of writing the last editorial. It was initially difficult for us as we were in three different countries with three different cultures and three different jobs. We each wrote a section and Kat did a wonderful job at editing them all together.

In the beginning, we were Young Professionals. Bags packed, and country profiles in hand, we set out upon what we hoped would be the ultimate experience. But did we have any idea what we were in for?

On the one hand, we had some vague notion of the internship we were undertaking, but on the other hand we were sketchy on the details regarding our work environment, our new countries of residence and so forth. That feeling may have stayed with us for quite a while. Most of us probably didn't come with any notions of drastically changing the world, but rather were probably concerned with being useful and being engaged in something worthwhile. The definition of “worthwhile”, however, was altered with time to better reflect our circumstances.

Throughout the first couple of weeks (and for many, months) we spent our time struggling to orient ourselves on both the personal and professional front. At times we found ourselves basking in giddy wonderment in the fact that we were actually here, in this exotic locale, living an experience that many at home found enviable. Other occasions, by contrast, found us frustrated and asking ourselves: “Is this it?” Whether positive or negative aspects dominated our placements, many of us realized that “human rights” and “development” function very differently in the classroom than they did in practice. However, there were many lessons to be drawn out of the ashes of our disillusionment.

On the personal front, our internships also included realizing to what degree we could assimilate into our communities, learning how to balance this barrier of being a foreigner with being a resident of this new society. Whether in Europe, Africa or Asia, part of our experience was based on living in a new country and new culture. Most of us had to deal with languages, customs and institutions very different from our own. Sometimes it was quirky and cute. Sometimes we wanted to lash out irrationally.

There were times where it may have felt as though we were making no progress, either at work or in our daily lives. Whether due to cultural shock or just plain exasperation, we wondered if and what we were really contributing.

As time passed, however, adjustments were made. Perhaps it was when we could finally have a simple conversation with a shopkeeper in the local language that didn't involve just nodding and smiling politely, or when we could pay for something without analyzing every piece of money and counting every zero. Progress was slow at times. But progress it was, nonetheless.

This progress is also echoed in our professional lives. Perhaps we asked ourselves if our work really was worthwhile, if it was worth it to leave our former lives and live half way across the world. Now, at the end of experiences, we realize how far we've come. Whether it was setting the foundations for a renewable project, completing two books or teaching our boss with multiple professional degrees how to use the “save as” function properly on the computer, each of us contributed in our own way.

As that last day of the internship comes and goes, and bags wait – packed and ready – near the door, are we ready to reflect on the passage of the last six months? What kinds of words will we use to paint our portraits of experience to those waiting for us back home? Will we be able to do justice to the highs and lows, or will something get lost in the translation?

We leave with local language greetings still tripping on our tongues. Sights, smells and sounds once foreign are now inextricably woven into our realities. Whatever (and whomever) we have loved, hated, or noted in passing has been added to our story book – whether it be a chapter or a mere footnote. Some of us were moved to tears by the injustice we found in our corner of the world, and some of us were moved to tears by the sheer boredom in our corner of the office.

Whether our position has helped us figure out what we want to do with or lives, or simply helped us figure out what we never want to do with our lives, we have learned a little bit more about life outside Canada, and a lot more about ourselves.

And perhaps for some of us, we are not only heading home, but leaving home as well…