My Week.5 at Home

I have been home since the 20th of December, a 7.5 hour turbulent cold flight from Boston on United...not fun!

Then I got back to Atherton and got right back into the old living here routine. Had some doctors appointments to get out of the way before seeing friends and hanging with the fam. Callan was so excited for me to be home, every other sentence was Love you Dev! It was cute, I think he misses having siblings around, he is getting so much bigger now, 10 and in 5th grade! The day after I got home, Tuesday, I took Bart up to the city headed to Global Exchange my old job. I felt like I was right back in the commute, about an hour usually more, there and back everyday. It was so great to see my old coworkers- everything was the same. I missed them but it made me glad to have chosen to go to school and keep learning. I had Mexican food with Beth, a good friend from DC who did grad school like me a couple years ago- it was great to hear office chit chat and talk about my experience in grad school. Then I saw some friends and had dinner on Divisidero at Little Star a yummy pizza place. Throughout the week I ate at my favorite places: the Cheese House (possibly the best sandwiches in CA!), Applewood with Lenore a family friend, and of course cooking at home in a real person's kitchen is great. I made stir fry for my family christmas eve, though I don't think they were too fond of the vegetarian tofu I put in. Christmas eve was traditional as always. We went to the our old neighbors and childhood best friend's house the Hohls. After the party with amazing appetizers and the same families each year, we catch up, they go to church, and then come back to their house and the mom of the family always reads The Night Before Christmas, even though us kids are now 27, 23, 22, and 18. Love the traditions. Christmas morning was great, we enjoyed our tree (that callan waited to decorate with me for when I was home), and did gifts with just the four of us, MJ, Dad, Cal and myself.

I also went out for drinks for the first time in Redwood city with my friend Heather, it was fun but no San Francisco, and I saw my good friend Ryan at her new apartment in San Jose. After Xmas I did some exchanging of gifts and got some cute summer tops for the GALAPAGOS! Change of plans, I couldn't get a Brazilian Visa in time for my trip so I had to change my flight and go to Quito earlier. It will still be good, but so now I will be in Quito for 5 days then to the islands for 10, then back to boston on the 16th!

You will be seeing pictures!

Goodbye to Waltham

I had a great weekend after finals. Kristina and I had our Christmas Party- a themed ugly sweater party, on Thursday night to celebrate the end of finals and a really hard and great semester. I have to say my friend Aaron probably had one of the best sweaters, then there was Julie who wore an awesome red kids sweater with her red hair, and Luke, Kristina's guy had a great grandmas sweater.





Friday night was great as well, Kristina, Sam (our other roommate), and Luke and I all watched Chevy Chase's Christmas Vacation- very funny! And Saturday Kristina and I went out in cold Boston to our friend Ross's restaurant with our other friend John who are both in our program and had a drink then went Christmas party hopping. First to Ross' friends' place that had a big sign on the door- THE PARTY IS HERE, and then to a girl from CA in our program's party, Jessica. Then to another place in Cambrige. Good fun to meet new people and get out after studying hard core for two weeks straight.

Friday I went ice skating with my friend Ross at the Boston Common, it was beautiful!


Then Kristina and I flew out on United 6am Monday morning the 20th only to take a 7.5 windy and turbulent flight home to find out we missed to first snow in boston!! We were so bummed, but we know there will be plenty when we fly back mid January.

Presentations..then Finals!

This week was craziness! 15 hour days at school, presentations, papers, and bears oh my! It started on Sunday when I have 6 hours of class in NGOs: Strategic Planning because the director of SID, my program, who teaches the class was in China for two weeks so we had to make up the sessions. Then Monday I had a Geographic Information Science presentation about mapping indicators like % of GDP spent on education in peru, then Tuesday we had class and group meetings to prepare for presentations. Wednesday I worked in the morning then had our big Planning and Implementation of projects class presentations based on our group project proposals we have been working on all semester- it went really well and the donor committee evaluating us had great comments and suggestions. Then Thursday morning I had NGOs: Strat planning presentation based on our recommendations to improve an organization, we chose Akili Dada, the organization I worked for in Kenya- then I had a final in Ecology right after. Friday- was a nice break, I had a little work meeting and have been hanging out since. Now I just have to finish and Economy final, a Poverty final which are both essays, a website for GIS presenting my work/maps then a final version of our group project proposal and a speech for Communications for Impact then I can dream of Christmas, California and the Galapagos.

Yes- I am headed to the Galapagos Islands right off the coast of Ecuador with MJ's mom, Mary Ellen for 10 days! And right before I will be flying to Rio de Janeiro before for a couple days just to see it! I can't believe I studies Latin America and will be working there hopefully next year and I have never been there...crazy right!? Anyways...I gotta power through this work then I am off....

Pictures from Latin America and Caribbean Cultural Night!

This is my friend in the program Binta's daughter, Binta is from the Gambia.




A group of us students who worked in Latin America.

The Last One...Then Finals Nov. 30- Dec 4

What a week! Four great days so far. I will have to do a breif recap from the week trip home next post.

Monday: I worked on a policy memo on how to conduct a Sustainable Livelihoods Approach to a project on rural irrigation in Africa. Then did some computer research on community partners for an Aging in Society undergrad class for work at the Office of Experiential Learning. Then did some reading and writing for other classes catching up still from the week before. And checking emails- I swear we get so many emails from our program Heller. Then I took the bus to school (I live about a mile and half away), froze my butt off, and had class from 6:40-9:30 with Kristina- Geographic Informations Science- basically using computer software to visually map data about anything I choose. Dean Ravi (from India) teaches the course and it is great- he is passionate about data and displaying information to persuade the audience about your message and he is funny (and bring us Dunkin Donut holes every class!). Then I came home and worked on stuff for Tuesday- reading for class and whatnot.

Tuesday: I had Climate Change (which consists of economics and ecology) from 9-12. Then from 12-2 I had meetings with my colleagues for class projects. From 3-5 I had Poverty, Inequalities, and Development where the ending of the class went over how we need to decide where we stand on all the issues we covered in class (like labor trends, globalization, the Human Development Index, and Washington Consensus and structural adjustment all impacting development) and how to be innovative in our approach to development in our projects being leaders in the field.

Wednesday: My supervisor picked me up on by my house and we drove to work (its the new Mandel Humanities Center across from Heller where my classes are) and we did a brainstorming marketing meeting with stakeholders involved in our office like students, community partners, and faculty at 8AM!!! Then I worked until 12 and had an NGOs and Strategic Planning meeting for my group presentation for class. Then I went to a student presentation for work of undergrads who did sustainable campus and community projects- very cool to see a great/close student teacher relationship in the class with an amazing professor Laura Goldin. Then I read and caught up with Kristina- we always have stories of the day to tell each other- great fun! This includes anything little from Kate if dating Dan to this is what we discussed in class and what is your theory of change or development. We are so on the same page, actually hoping to boost the education emphasis in the program, in which we are both interested, and work together to bring a course to heller on Education and Development. Then I had planning and implementation from 6-9 and did group work with 2 Indians, a Ghanaian, and myself- a funny mix. We definitely laugh and have fun together. I also had a nice conversation with some second year students who made me realize the positive and negative aspects of the Heller school and our program. (one good thing is the free beer and wine they give out on the first Friday of the month in the on campus bar!)
Then I came home and did work on a group project to submit the draft on Thursday. And 1:30am comes around and I am off to bed...

Thursday:
A great day that started with a class with the Director of my program, then I went to a work meeting to talk about research on community partners and it was great to meet with the professor and make that connection (she is really big in a consulting firm that touches on development work which I would love to be a part of!). It was so great being with Audra my supervisor and Lexi the other undergrad assistant who is a senior and super cute. I am definitely glad I have this job, even though it is only 10 hours a week. Then I had a great meeting with the Dean of the school who is also interested in education like I am so we talked about past students who have the same interests and I do. Then I had lunch with Kristina at my office (they always have leftover catered food for us poor grad students!) and talked about what we like about the program. Then I had my climate change lab where we talked about global hegemony of the US in the context of the economy and then we talked about green leasing.

Friday:
I worked in the morning at the EL office then went to the Poverty, Inequalities, and Development lecture we have every week by an outside lecturer. Then I had a Planning and Implementation group meeting for my class, reviewing our proposal to address malnutrition in Peru where I went straight to a Heller event called the Philosophy Cafe where a professor leads an informal discussion on some development topic like the role of institutions in development at some bar. There were about 12 of us from the Conflict and Coexistence and Sustainable International Development program, it was great. From there I went home to meet my couch surfer who stayed on my couch for 2 days, he was from France and we met some friends at a bar for a beer! Very fun.

Saturday
What a day- after such a long week, I woke up early to do Yoga with my supervisor/friend Audra, but it was cancelled- so I did a little work in the morning then went grocery shopping for rice, beans, cilantro, onions, and peppers to make Gallo Pinto. I made Gallo Pinto (black beans and and rice) for about 40 people and was cooking all day until the Latin American Cultural night at school where we celebrated the region, which was put on by people who worked and are from LA. It was a great night and we all danced and had a great time.

The typical week of a grad student in Heller...

Saturday November 20th Celebrating Mary Davey

When I was with my grandmother all day Friday and Saturday, I was holding her hand.

Dear Friends,

As you know, long time enthusiast and wonderful friend of Committee for Green Foothills, Mary Davey, passed away of heart-related illness October 2nd.

Please join the family of Mary Davey, the Committee for Green Foothills, and Hidden Villa on November 20th 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. to honor the recent passing of Mary Davey with a “Wonderful, Marvelous Celebration of Life”. There will be light refreshments served and an open mike for “short” memory sharing.
November 20th
2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Holbrook-Palmer Park
150 Watkins Avenue
Atherton, CA 94027

Car pooling is highly recommended as parking is extremely limited. For more information please contact the Committee for Green Foothills at 650-968-7243 x 314 or info@greenfoothills.org. Mary and her family request that donations be made to Committee for Green Foothills and Hidden Villa in lieu of flowers.

- The folks at Committee for Green Foothills
________________________________________________
Committee for Green Foothills

Our mission is to protect the open space, farmlands, and natural resources of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties through advocacy, education and grassroots action.

You have received this action alert because you are subscribed to Committee for Green Foothills' email alert list. To be removed from this list, please reply to this message with REMOVE in the subject line. To be added to this list and receive alerts about local open space issues, just send your name, address, and email address to info@GreenFoothills.org.

Novemeber 11th- A Great Day!

Thursday the 11th was such a good day. Honestly, it was a day I was dreading for about 5 days. But it turned out really well.

In the morning I had to wake up at 7 to take the 7:30 bus to school, since it was rainy and cold and I am not biking anymore, to get to a community partner coffee hour for my program assistant job at the Office of Experiential Learning for undergrad students at Brandeis. It was great, I was tired but got muffins and coffee- Dunkin Donuts is so popular out here, it's madness. After talking to some great community organizations and some new professors, I ran to class- NGOs: Strategic Planning with the director and founder of the program who teaches it. It was a good class, then I went to the first Education Working Group Meeting at my school- which is great to be a part of since I want to focus on education. Then I stopped by a development symposium where some experienced development practitioners gave us some really great advice- asking questions is free, don't fear yourself, develop passion in others and whatnot-- very encouraging. After my 2 hour lunch break I had an ECON TEST! I was really not looking forward to this, but it paid off all the studying and I feel good about it. Then I went straight to a talk on Brazil by a man named Larry Rohter who is a Times correspondent and wrote The Rise of Brazil. Wow, did I learn a lot- like Brazil is the world's 7th largest economy and their major export to the US is planes. Also that 200 million people in the country are almost all formally incorporated into the formal economy which is why it has been growing so rapidly, and they now have a female president. Brazil is also holding the next World Cup and Olympics! Ok enough about Brazil- but I definitely want to learn portuguese now! Then I went straight to Planning and Implementation where we were doing an activity I did already in another class, so I left the class to see NOAM CHOMPSKY who was speaking on our campus. Then After P/I class I went to the Watch City Brewery by my house on the main street called Moody for a friend in the programs birthday and had a great time- then woke up and got to work at 9am the next morning!

A good day....

Colonization in a Visual

In my International Development program we talk a lot about poverty and colonization. From my Geographic Informations Systems/Science course I am taking, I am learning to map on the computer different issue over time for a visual data representation. Here is a very cool data visual of colonization over the years- and Brittain is the villain in this story.

Check it out: http://bit.ly/bWNyQz

Noemie from France Visits and Halloween

Alright, I need to put up pictures from the last month. Noemie, my good friend from France came and visited me while on a business trip from her French company and I was sooo happy to have her.









Also here is a little Halloween in Salem with Bree and Kristina and her brother in from NYC!

Parlez Vous Francais?

I just have to say I love my program at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. I am taking a Communications for Impact module class, 7 weeks long, and am learning about different ways to advocate for your cause through op-eds, PSAs and whatnot and during break one of my Ukranian friends was speaking French to a Moroccan guy talking about the weather. I love the languages and people in my program! Not to mention in my Planning and Implementation class another friend, Hama and this American Amy were speaking the native language of Niger called Fulfulde (one of 8 main languages). LOVE IT!

And I am excited to say that I am taking an intro to French class this spring (hopefully I will not confuse it with my spanish!)

Salem and Halloween in New England

Kristina, her brother Jonathan and our friend who lives in Boston Bree who is doing a Masters in Public Health at Boston University, and I went to Salem on Friday night after a long week of midterms and quizzes Monday through Friday. We picked Kristina's brother up from the T in Boston who came in from NYC (he is an actor) and headed to the witch town. After searching for parking in a crowded little town, we started off seeing many witch hats and very funny costumes. Tina and I dressed in black with witch hats and were enjoying the fruit basket group dressed as fruit, vampires, creepy killer guys from movies that I didn't know because I don't watch scary movies, and the ghosts too. We walked around the little downtown and then decided to do a haunted house tour- IN 3D!! Edward Cullen invited us in and I was laughing the whole time, it was not very scary but a big part of the experience. then we did a salem witch history tour and saw the big cemetery. Then we went to a bar and experienced some locals and spooky Halloween dancing- very fun! Definitely a good New England Halloween experience.

Saturday night one of the ladies in our program had a halloween party at her place and all the international students loved it celebrating Halloween for the first time. They were taking tons of pictures and loved the candied apples they made themselves. Then we went out into Cambridge and saw all the crazy costumes...again, fun!

Waltham Colors

It has been unseasonably warm here in Waltham the last couple days, in the 70s- and here are some pictures from a walk I took the other day in my neighborhood. There is a beautiful church a block away from me called St. Charles Church and there are three beautiful yellow trees...there are also a few pictures from our decorations in my apartment- Kristina and Sam were very enthusiastic!

A Little Taste of My Program

Take a look at an article in the Boston Globe last Sunday about some of my friends and colleagues in the Sustainable International Development program I am in, especially my friend Mahi from Ethiopia...that New Year's celebration was great.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/10/24/total_global_living/


WALTHAM — I’m not the first person to entertain dreams of moving in with the roomies on Winthrop Street, and I won’t be the last.

Their place isn’t all that spectacular — the barely-furnished top half of a green two-family near Brandeis University. But the roomies are a different story.

There are seven of them, from seven countries: Ethiopia, Nigeria, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Afghanistan, and Russia. The youngest is 27, the oldest 40.

They’re all students at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis — that’s the place where people who are already saving the world go to learn how to save it more. Even by Heller standards, this group is remarkable. It includes three doctors, a human rights campaigner, two children’s advocates, and a diplomat.

In a few years, master’s degrees in hand, they’ll be shaping policy around the globe — heading government departments or NGOs.

Right now, they live in a household that is a cross between a PBS documentary and a network sitcom.

“It’s not what we planned,’’ said Linda Arogundade, a Nigerian doctor who helped put the group together. “We came to see the house. Before you knew it, we were seven.’’

On a recent Monday, they sat around a small table off their large, hospital-clean kitchen. Farhad Farewar, a 38-year-old doctor from Afghanistan, had made a giant bowl of pulao, an Afghan pilaf with chicken. Everybody scooped piles of the steaming rice onto their plates.

Sam Hat Khim, a Cambodian doctor with the World Health Organization, and Van Ta Ngoc, a lawyer who works with street children in Vietnam, squeezed pools of Sriracha sauce onto their plates.

After five minutes here, everything starts to look like a corny metaphor for global understanding.

In the couple of months they’ve been together, the seven housemates have learned a lot from one another. They talk about politics and history, culture and food. They don’t discuss religion.

There have been no major arguments, because they’re careful. At lunch, Farewar was talking about Afghanistan’s problems, but he was mindful not to offend his roommate Dmitry Zaviralov, a youth worker from Russia:

“People keep imposing themselves on Afghanistan. First it was the British, then — sorry Dmitry — Russia, and now any country that comes wants to impose its ideas.’’

Around that table, the roomies ponder many mysteries. Some of them have international implications. Some do not.

“What does this ‘organic’ mean,’’ Farewar asked. “What characteristic does it have that costs so much?’’

“This word ‘free,’ ’’ said Maheder Dachew, who worked as a diplomat in Addis Ababa and organizes many of the household bills. “You can find it everywhere . . . but it’s just a word. Nothing is free.’’

Zaviralov’s quandary stopped the conversation briefly. “If I have sex in my country, it means relationship,’’ he said. “Here, it is maybe just sex, or maybe a relationship. Should you ask before, or after?’’

After the laughter subsided, members of the group began to excuse themselves. They were due in classes aimed at solving less daunting problems, like global poverty.

I wanted to stay. We’re in the middle of a particularly ugly election season, in which a bunch of privileged politicians are ripping one another to shreds in the name of making people’s lives better. This Waltham household is a glorious respite from all of that posturing. They are the change we can believe in.

The students threw a party recently, to celebrate the Ethiopian New Year. A few guests noticed there were a couple of vacant bedrooms, and wondered if they were accepting new roommates.

Hey, the line forms right behind me.

Yvonne Abraham is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at Abraham@globe.com.

Midterm, Finals, Halloween OH MY!

Last week and this week have been crazy. Not only is it getting much colder here (and my roommates won't let me turn the heat on yet) but I have midterms in my 3 core semester long classes (Planning & Implementation, Climate Change, and Poverty, Inequalities & Development) but I also have had 2 finals in my module classes (which are 7 weeks long- Rights Based Approach to Development and Gender & Development). And that is all in addition to signing up for more modules (I am auditing NGOs:Stategic Planning as well as Communications for Impacts and taking a Geographic Informations Systems class). Then there are the readings and group project work- needless to say it is a crazy time, especially now that Halloween is coming up!

I am going to be a Zebra and you will definitely see pictures no worries! But Kristina and I are going to Salem on Friday night and going to see and learn all about the infamous witch trials and apparently we have to wear hats- so I have to find an awesome witch hat which shouldn't be a problem because there are awesome costume and thrift stores around. Then Saturday night some of our friends in the program are having parties so we will be stopping by those. Very fun! I am excited. I will have to put up pictures as well of our halloween decorations and our pumpkins after we carve them on Friday!

Ocotber 2nd 9:45pm 80 Wonderful Years

At 80 years old my grandmother Mary Davey passed away in Kaiser Hospital. I am fortunate enough to say I was with her, my aunt and uncle, and she passed peacefully. She had a heart annurism that lead to heart failure among other problems. She went the way she wanted to and with relatively no pain. We were all with her for the three days she was in the hospital, where prayers, flowers, and good wishes were left. I was holding her hand most of the time I was with her and am not wearing her black watch she always wore. She was such a strong, charismatic, compassion, loving, and empowering woman. I am extremely lucky to have had her in my life for 23 years. Her memorial service is November 20th at Hidden Villa in CA and you are more than welcome to come.
As she always said "Goodbye for now" and the world's greatest granddaughter- well I was her only granddaughter!

Having always influenced my life direction and travels, she was a global citizen and worldly educated. She is traveling onto a better place.

Her is one of many articles about her, on page 13:
http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/morguepdf/2010/2010_10_08.paw.section1.pdf

A Week Full of News

Alright, I either have to start posting everyday or these posts are going to be very long! After the redsox, which was a blast, I had my birthday party where 25 or so of my friends from Heller, my program, came to my apartment, and all dressed in red- because that is my favorite color and it was a red themed party! So my friend Ahn brought a red velvet cake, Alex brought chocolate, I made a yellow cake, Carolina brought red wine, my roomie Kristina made red margaritas and Travis had vodka cranberries just to name a few. It was a great 23rd celebration- though I am not sure how I feel about that number- its somewhat obsure. And all my friends from SF called or wrote to me on Facebook which was very sweet.

Then this last week of September has been a week of news. My good family friend Mikey Horowitz, who has been like a brother to me growing up (I used to go to their house when I was little every week for dinner and homework help, and a swim in their pool)- but he told me he and Michelle, his adorable Venezuelan wife, are PREGNANT! HE called on my bday and said "Devon- you are going to have a nephew!" I am soo excited, because who know when I will be an auntie when John has kids and I adore Mikey and MIchelle. So the baby will be born in March and maybe I can sneak away from reading and writing constantly here at Brandeis to be there for the birth.

In other news, my good friend Noemie from France, who I studied with at AU in DC for a semester and also spend New Years 2009 with in Paris, is coming to visit. She loves the US and is soo excited to see Boston and just found out her work is sending her here, so I get her for three whole days!

Som sad news as well....I just found out my Uncle Tom (My dad's brother-in-law, Kit's husband) has kidney cancer. He had surgery last week and is recovering okay but it is still really scary. LOVE YOU UNCLE TOM! THis last year at home has been really nice to spend time and get closer with my Aunt Kit and Uncle Tom. THey are such fun, vibrant, beautiful people!

I am really excited to this weekend to go to the biggest and oldes fair in New England! It;s called the Deerfield Fair and I think this is the 134th fair in history- and there will be everything from hay mazes to swine contests to fair rides! I will post pictures next time!

A month and a half into my 2 year Master;s degree in Sustainable International Development and I am proud that I have done great New Englander things like Apple picking and going to sox games and staying on top of work!!

HEYO Redsox

I am so excited to being going to one of the last Redsox games of the season! They are playing the Toronto Jays. I have heard so much about the Fenway Park-- apparently since its always sold out for all games since its such a small stadium, it supportsed to be a great atmosphere and super fun! So, you will see pictures after the fact. I am going with my friend/roommate Kristina and her friend from the Peace Corps Bri and then we are meeting other friends from the program in Harvard Square for a be-ahr!!

I do feel a little guilty not doing my loads of reading for next week...but a girl's gotta have fun too!

Week 3 in MASS!

My day started out with breakfast with my rommie Kristina and a nice cool day in Waltham. Now that we have a floral yellow couch that is clean of bed bugs, yes there is a huge issue with that here and I know we don’t have them, I feel at home after a week and am now exploring the transportation system. Today I am headed to Cape Cod to visit some of MJ’s family, her cousin Jo-Ellen in Chatham. It’s been beautiful weather, cool at night, especially after Hurricane Earl- yes I did survive it! All it really entailed was some sudden heavy rains and my bike getting a little wet outside- it was nice. So after my 2nd week of classes, I am enjoying Heller so far and my SID program. Though I do think a common theme will be reading and writing and its always a challenge to stay on top of things since I have about 100 pages of reading a week per class and I am taking 5 classes right now!

Anyways, I am having a great time with my housemates, Sam and Kristina and cooking is nice in our big kitchen. I will have to put a video up of out place so you can get a real feel and of course there are pictures up on facebook!

New Adventures in Boston

This three day weekend was awesome! It started out meeting a group of friends in the program at this horrible restaurant like Applebees called 99 right near campus, but we wanted somewhere a little more original so we went to Main and Moody to a pub called Mad Raven and had about 12 of us sitting around a table with the typical sports playing around us on the screens. Good fries and Hefeweisen! Then we headed to play pool on Moody street, the main street by our school and checked out the dance scene at Club Waltham nearby! I tell you those Africans from my program are good dancers!

Then Saturday, Kristina my roommate and I went to our place at 81 Cushing (because we are still subleasing) and met our other roommate! His name is Sam Slater and he is super nice, from Baltimore, and likes camping, exploring cities, skiing and sports- so we are happy! His family moved him in which is really cute too! So we met all of them and our landlord is really a nice guy, in the army reserves and super accommodating. After unloading Ktina's car into the basement (yes, the first place I have lived with a basement!!!) we picked up some friends- Ellen and Lindsay in the Coexistence and Conflict / Sustainable International Development program and headed into Boston to meet my friend Vessi. Vessi is from Bulgaria and has a great accent, and we studied together at American University in DC three years ago! So she showed us around and we walked from Park Street around the Boston Common and the State House to the main touristy street to the wharf and then to the North End where an awesome Italian festival was going on. We had really yummy pizza at this corner place then went out to see the night life back near Harvard!
It's fun too because Kristina is all about taking jump shot pics (she did it all over the US on her road trip a few weeks ago) and its fun...when we are settled in our apartment you will see them when I have time to put them up!

Then today, Sunday, I just read and applied to some jobs- just part time! Though I have to say, I am subleasing an apartment where 3 chinese ladies who go to Brandeis live and it is quite entertaining- well I don't know if that is the right word. One moved out at 9am this morning- not cool! Another has long black hair which ends up all over the apartment and I never know when I will hear them yelling at each other in Chinese- which sounds very angry as it is.....yes, entertaining!

My first week in Boston

A lot has happened since I arrived a little more than a week ago when i arrived- its seems like ages since that flight got in and my roommate picked me up! We had Orientation from Friday to Sunday all day, then academic advising from Monday to Weds. and have been into Boston a couple of times- once to Charles Street and another to walk around and explore Campbridge and do some work at a cafe near Porter Square. Thursday was my first day of classes, I had Rights Based Approach to Development from 9-12 and really enjoyed it, especially after working at an International Human Rights organization for the last 6 months. My classes next week are: Gender and Development, Threats to Development: Climate Change, Poverty Inequalities & Development, and Planning and Implementation. I am really excited to be taking a full load of 16 units and I am going to try and audit an undergrad Spanish conversation class if there is enough space! It is awesome being in grad school which such interesting people from all over- Nigeria, Kenya, Belize, Peru, Mexico!

Boston, Brandeis, and Beyond

I arrived Wednesday night and my housemate Kristina picked me up from the airport, and this was the first time I had seen here since we met in March at the interview at Brandeis and it was sooo good to see her again. We drove around (getting a little lost here an there) saw davis square and Waltham and by the time we got home, we were so hot- it was in the 90s or so, so we decided to get fans at the 24 hr CVS. Our first investment for our apartment!

Then we hung out on Thursday getting groceries, new beds since our apt is unfurnished and running around getting to know the area. Kristina is from San Diego and did a cross country trip with her older brother from NYC who is an actor and they had a blast in the car, which I am super glad especially since she has it with her now and it makes life that much easier. Then we met up at a mexican (I know its hard to compare to CA mexican food but it wasn't horrible I suppose) place called Margaritas for dinner with some Americans in our program- John, Travis, and Lauren. They are great and surprisingly there are already about 6 people from CA in the program out of about 25 Americans while the other 80 or so are International.

Then orientation began on Friday and we met everyone in the morning and took our lovely student ID card pics- its soooo good to be a student again, I just missed that. We had a welcome speech by the founder and director of the program Larry Simon who is an awesome older jewish gentleman (yes, Brandeis is historically jewish but the graduate school program at the Heller school is nonsecular and actually a lot of people are muslim in it!). He gave some great advice and guidance for this upcoming year and each day my goals and work path motivation are renewed being with such likeminded people! Everyone in the program- people from Ghana, Jamaica, the Congo and Gambia, the Phiipines, Cambodia, Uzbekistan, Mexico, Vietnam, the US, and India are so interesting, just to be surrounded by such great cultures and people- it will be hard to get to know everyone but I definitely want to. It's natural for me to group together with all too similar individuals so I look forward to branching out and learning as much as I can about other people.

The second day of orientation was good too. We did an NGO creation project based on my groups skills (there is going to be a ton of group work in the next year since development is so much about relationships and working together) and then we also did a case study analysis of a development project and are getting into some good surface level issues this week. We met our Advisors and also were spoken to by second year students in the SID (Sustainable International Development program- my program) about advice for this year and they were a funny, close, corky group which made me look forward to growing and learning with my classmates- who range from me, most likely the youngest, to 45 or so in age.

Tonight we have a program party with teh second years full of fun and dancing and chatting where everyone will be wearing their traditional dress- which for me is jeans and a shirt and a bunch of jewelry!

Classes start the 26th and thats when it all begins!!!!!

Kenya and Beyond...

Well I am definitely taken with Kenya. I cannot say I am in love- I don't know if that's possible in ten days, but I am definitely taken with the country and now by default the continent. A whole new work has been opened up for me and I am excited to see what my future brings as far as working in either Latin America or Africa....

Duabi to Doha to Nairobi to Mombasa

Wow, so much has happened and so little internet access- what do I do!!

I spent 2 days in dubai because Turkish Airways changed my flight without me knowing and I missed my flight to Nairobi, they couldnt rebook me so I was stuck! It was a nightmare!

But I made it to Nairobi okay with a great welcome from Ann the program coordinator in Kenya for Akili Dada and we got right into work after a little sight seeing. We went to a bead cooperative where women make beautiful necklaces that are importated to the US and all over- the place is called Kazuri. Then we saw giraffes at a conservative park and go to feed them, it was so amazing and they are tall spunky little things!

Then we got right to work doing interviews at the schools to decide who to take on as an Akili Dada scholar based on financial need and potential to be a leader. This lead into our mentoring conference which was all day for our scholars, mentors, and people interested in AD who want to support us. We has some great group dinner and explored an ihub space in Nairobi and have had great opportunities to connect with others. Kenyans are so great!!

I will right more alter but now we are in Kilifi doing our strategic planning session on the beach at this beautiful rented Swahili home!!

I never want to leave!!!

My Days in Odessa

After coming in Friday night and having a wonderful Ukranian dinner with everyone in John's hostel, Saturday I got to sleep in a little bit and then we took the bus to the commercial center for a little shopping for the hostel. Then we headed to the market to try all sorts of interesting cheese and cherry juice. Masha Johna and I walked around and saw everything one can see and buy in a market.

Saturday John took me to a park near the beach in a wooded area where we barbequed- well Rob, John's American friend who speaks Russian very well cooked a bunch and meat and some veggies for me. All the hostel goers- a dutch couple, some french guys, John, Rob, a German man and I saw the beach and at some good food!

Saturday night Masha sang at the jazz club on the second story of an old building in the town center by the park. All her friends including Slava and Nastia the russians on their honeymoon, Alex the Ukranian dentist, and the dutch couple and some other friends came to support and we sipped campagne while listening to beautiful songs in French, Spanish, and English- all the classics!

Sunday we walked around the flea market with John's friend Deema. It was like one big garage sale. We started from his hostel and saw a good part of the city stopping in a little grocery store to get some iced tea since it was crazy hot! Then saw all this old soviet influenced parafanalia including old coins, clothes, guns (out of commission no worries!) and all sorts of crazy cool things. My Aunt Kit and Grandmother Mary would have loved looking through everything. I bought some pins and an old kids book in Russian. That little market on the broken sidewalks and next to the cracked painted buildings was so neat to see.

From there the flea market turned into people selling animals in cages and in the trunks of their cars. It was somehow not cruel but normal for them. To see kittens next to their siblings being purchased right there on the road lined on each side with all sorts of animals- though categorized according to animal type. So after the blood hounds and german shepards in the old car trunks came the kittens, then the chickens and rats! I saw the biggest water rats of my life that were bigger than the fattest cat I knew.

Then John and Masha and I walked all around. He took me to see the Ptumpkin steps and the bouncing bridge with love locks on it, the town hall, the main square and water fountain with art being sold around it. We stopped in at this French patisserie for tea (very common in the Ukraine) and desserts. We met John's friend Katya who met him in an english speaking group I think John facilitated. She was adorable and by this type the harsh Russian accent in english turned into an adorable accent easily understood on any occasion. We had strawberry cheescake and chocolate round puff thing and just picked it all out. Mind you John was paying for everything practically this whole trip and wouldn't once let me take out my wallet (until sushi!). Then the 4 of us walked around some more and I saw the Mexican restaurant where John bartended when he first arrived- very funny, especially since no one in the place speaks better spanish than john and when john came to visit me in spain I almost had to translate everything for him! That night we went to the Opera on a whim and very much enjoyed though got a little bored and left at intermission. But since Masha loves singing and music, she had been there a hundred times, but wanted me to see it. The opera house was beautiful and we had our own private balcony with red seats and could see the whole place from our view. I listened to a song in Russian and thought it was so beautiful.

From there the weather started to get muggy and birds were flying all around signaling the supposed rain that was upon us. We walked through town and ended up at a sushi restaurant John and Masha never go to because its expensive, though not compared to crazy American standards. So I treated them to a nice sushi dinner which left us stuffed! It was really good though. Then we ended up in Arcadia on my last night. We went to a bar beforehand though and someone conned me into doing a flaming shot...I have no idea but I guess that is what they do in the Ukraine. Then we took a cab to Arcadia, which was new for me for a couple reasons. Many people who have cars in Odessa pick random people up on the road who want rides to get somewhere and you may a couple dollars and that is that. People do this because petrol is so expensive and its a good way to compensate in a nice friendly city! So Arcadia is an interesting place- like a theme park for adults, but not that big. There are places to dance and bars with all different themes. We came with a bunch of people from Johns Hostel and his friends but ended up leaving them to have pizza with just Masha, John and myself- it was sooo good!

After meeting Masha and being with john for a couple days, it was hard to leave. Masha was adorable and cried a little- she doesnt like goodbyes. But I am sooo glad I went and will hopefully be back soon!

Istanbul to Odess

Who would have thought that so much could happen from one place to another! I landed in Istanbul and took the metro into town and met this really nice older Australian gentleman who i went shopping with in the Grand Bazaar. it was awesome, he works in an oil rig every other month in Kazakstan and we had turkish ice cream, sesame seed bagels, cold lemonade and bought bracelets, pashminas and bath towels that are beautiful. I wish i could type more byt he way but I am on a foreign keyod board that keeps jumping from plaec to place/. Biut I arrived in odessa to see john and masha johns gf with flowers and we had such a feast at the hostel where mashas mom made some od the best dishes i have ever had. we had rice stuffed peppers, eggplants cheesy tomatoes, delicisou fish, cole slaw stuff, a white estonian drink and really good creamy cake....more to come when i find a normal computer!

Heat, deserts, Camels- O MY!

What do those three things compose? DUBAI!!


I am in Dubai having come from DC and headed towards Istanbul, Turkey! My journey over here was, well, nerve wracking. I never know if I am going to make a United flight since I fly stand by, as most of you know, but I have not been this worried about making flights in a long time. I really didn't want to miss my Turkish Airline flights to Istanbul then Odessa because then my plans to see my brother would either be much more expensive or nonexistent.

But I made it in 14C from SF to DC in the row right behind first class...I know bummer, but at least there was an empty seat next to me and white older government fellow trying to learn Mandarin. Then on my flight to Dubai (where I have never even been remotely close to in my life) I got o go business class-- only because there was space. So I started off with some celebratory champagne that I made the flight and then opened my little travel bag with my favorite lotion in it, took a deep breath and thought about my next few days. I always love listening to music on planes because they have all different great stations. I usually listen to country but it does get a little repetitive. After a little tortellini I thought I would try some port since they offered- um gross!!! too strong, I am not a fan. 4.5 hours to DC and 12 hours later we descend into the United Arab Emerites. As I look across the row of sleepy white men (mostly at least since they seem to be the only ones whos business account paid for their expensive seats) I see a very hazy skyline, but not smoggy or foggy but just unclear. You can almost feel the humidity and thickness in the air just from the sign of the brown haze.

This is the tallest building in the world!



I always heard that the Dubai airport was beautifully elegant because of all the oil money the country has. It is nice. A lot of moving walkways, some fake really tall palm trees, high high ceilings, interesting almost alienlike light fixtures, and most noticeably the women are in black coverings from hear to toe (only with their eyes peeping out) and the men are in white clothes with drapings over their heads usually with a little red crown holding it up top. Now, not everyone is dressed like this but it is hugely eye catching watching people speak Arabic and walk in the traditional dress. Of course there are many Europeans and others wearing their skinny jeans and tank tops but I do have to say I have also not really seen anyone foreign or domestic showing too much skin. Which takes me to the metro, which is super easy to get around and only about 6 dirham for a round trip ticket to the Deira center. So in the metro there are designated train cars for women and children and for men. These lovely asian women are usually the monitors and peep in each car to make sure the rules are abided by. In addition to that, the monitors speak English and make sure the cars stay pristine by telling poor little girls that they cannot eat chocolate on the metro (that only happened once).

Taking the metro at night, there is really not much to see. There are a lot of comercialized centers and tall tall buildings all next to each other but there was nothing super attractive to me. Though I read about souks, old traditional markets that sell goods which are supposed to be interesting to see. I spoke with one of the American flight attendants and she gave me pretty grim picture of Dubai based on her experience, but to me, it was interesting. Who knows if I will come back. Well, I would love to do a camel ride! Something unappealing to me is how much Western Culture is influencing this area. All the advertisements and retails stores from Cold Stone to Claire's to H and M are here which just seem out of place given the history and conservative culture....also it is interesting how all the ads, signs, store names and whatnot are in English and right beside it in Arabic.

This is the tallest and supposedly most luxurious hotel in the shape of a sail on a fake island!


Well, there is a little taste of Dubai for you. Next, I am off to Istanbul to spend the day and then see my brother in Odessa!!!!

Devon to Kenya!

I have had such a good send off!!
From Sunday morning watching the world cup final and celebrating Spain's win at my supervisor's baby shower in Alameda it was a great start to the day. I got to hang out with a friend and coworker Beth and then meet other friends for a glorious day at Dolores Park- Cecily who just moved back from Kuwait and Tini who I have not seen in ages...good times catching up. Then I met Kate for and Indian dinner at Dosa's on Valencia and 21st.

Monday was great as well I went to Frijtz and had a yummy tuna salad with two coworkers and then dinner with my former supervisor Veronica from when I was a Resident Advisor- we had pupusas at La Oxaquena, mmmmm. So good to catch up with these people. Then Today I had lunch with Beth at Cha-Ya a Japanese Vegetarian place with yummy sushi and seaweed salad (but no onions right beth!) and worked late with Corey in our office and came home to pack for such an exciting trip.

People- I AM GOING TO KENYA AND THE UKRAINE!!!

I am so excited so see my brother for a couple days after one and a half years! Then I will be participating in the strategic planning conference with Akili Dada, an organization I have been interning for since september that funds secondary education for impoverished brilliant girls in Kenya!

I have my converter, my flip camera, my passport, immunization (I won't be getting Polio in this lifetime), undies, malaria pills and I AM SET!!

more to come...

Happy Freedom!

Surprisingly this holiday weekend has turned out pretty well, despite a few key factors. Let us begin with a horrible day for me on public transportation starting Friday morning with a 2 hour, 4 transfer ride, and door jam on Caltrain and Bart to get to 16th and Mission for work. Then once at work I left early to catch a flight that I did not make. Since I fly standby, there is a chance that I cannot get a seat. So trying to fly out to Kansas for the long weekend to see my Aunt, Uncle, and cousin sadly enough did not happen- who knew all these people were flying to Kansas!? After waiting 3 hours and 2 flights that i missed later, I took Caltrain home once again. I thought to call my aunt and uncle in redwood city to see what they were up to this weekend since my parents are out of town in Montana with my Aunt and Dad's brother. So lickity split invited me over for veggie pizza and a movie (based in Sweden called As It Is In Heaven- it's really good!) and that was the start to a good weekend. Saturday I got up and went for an hour long hilly hike around the dish in the hills north of Stanford (man am I sore today!) and then did stuff everyone catches up on during the weekend...emails, calls, tv you know, then had a date Saturday night which was fun! OMGosh I watched the Spain Paraguay game too which was FABULOUS!! Go Spain!! Sunday morning, today, I went to the Glide Celebration (the multi-service organization in the tenderloin I worked for last year) where they preach unconditional love and acceptance. Love it! I am going to do a little work watch some fireworks and probably venture our into nature again tomorrow! Definitely a good weekend so far, but I cannot help missing my family! Especially you john!

As a side note you all know the song America the Beautiful right (it has been proposed many a time to replace the Star Spangled Banner)!? They will be playing it across American in churches today, some churches that ironically don't believe in gay rights, but Katharine Lee Bates, an English Professor at Wellesley College, in 1895 wrote the song and she was actually gay!!

So yay to the song American the beautiful!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiHS1M-FVbs&feature=related

BP's MASSIVE oil spill

Not only am I deeply disgusted by the oil spill that continues to leak 60+ days after the start of it, my organization, Global Exchange, has a full campaign against our dependence on oil fighting Chevron headquarted here in the bay area. While so many human rights and nature based rights are being violated continually and all these issues are very heavy, there are times when you have to take a step back and laugh. Point being- we are criticizing and holding BP and our government accountable but also laughing at how horribly wrong this is going. Because if you cannot laugh at the way life is and ourselves....why do we laugh at all?

check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AAa0gd7ClM

Kings of Odessa

As I read the novel Kings of Odessa written about Issac Babel, the great Odessan writer, and his life, I prepare to go to Odessa to see my brother. With names like Nadya and Natasha I am excited to see a whole new culture in eastern europe- one of the many places I have not been. I cannot wait to see my brother. I leave July 15th and will be with him for only a couple days but I am sure I will cry when I see him. I am so excited to meet his girlfriend Masha and all his friends that he opened his hostel with.

From Odessa I will head straight to Nairobi to meet up with my mentor Wanjiru and other interns and members of Akili Dada's Board of Directors for our 10 day strategic planning conference on where to take the organization in the next 5 years.

I can't wait! See you August 1st when I come back!

www.akilidada.org

Waimanalo with Jane, again!

The second time I got to go to Honolulu in 6 months...I know what you are thinking. Yes, yes but thanks to my mom and her 25 years she dedicated to United Airlines (which is now merging with continental and will have their ugly logo by the by) I can fly standby. So Jane let me sleep in, relax, and have such a great time after the last week of May where I worked about 75 hours up until the Human Rights Awards. We went horseback riding with her friends, we got mochi, went to Lucy's for the Ahi Tower (that Obama got when he was in Hawaii), had a 2 hour yoga session, went swimming, baked in the sun on her waimanalo beach, saw hot surfers at beach park, went to a hula party, shopped for Jack Johnson's new CD, did girly make up shopping, cook amazing food, saw peal harbor on memorial day, and went out for drinks, in addition to one of the greatest things- Jane counseled me on my decision to go to graduate school since I was so torn whether or not I should defer for a year or just go. I had such a fabulous time Jane- thank for taking me under your wing, loving me, and not letting me worry about a thing!

Global Exchange and the Human Rights Awards

It has been a while I know, but I think I will pick up where I left off at work. I have been at Global Exchange in the mission now for about three months and I am feeling right at home. Not only is my supervisor, Corey, really great to work with (he is about 1 of 6 guys I swear, that works in the office of about 25+ women!) but I am really liking the work I do to support the organization. I am getting the experience I wanted and getting to know some really great people. My department, Devo as we call it, short for the Development Department, is truly the best in my department (sorry Reality Tours you are cool too!). Last month Corey, Anne, Ashley, and myself put on our 8th Annual Human Rights Awards Gala and it was a huge SUCCESS! With over 330 people in attendance, we had a silent auction, Fair Trade wine and beer, a great program with three great human rights honorees: Van Jones, Raul del Aguila, and Mu Sochua from Camnbodia. Great organizations such as the Global Fund for Women, the Rainforest Action Network, CODEPINK, and Food First were among many of our progressive and dedicated attendees. I ran the silent auction which was quite the experience and coordinated all the donations to GX. With the positive attitude and strong team work and support- it felt like a breeze-- though we did work about 75 hours+ the weeks of the event. For a recent college graduate, that was quite the experience! I really enjoyed and am happy I did it and it is over- now we are preparing for next years!

Since the HRA, my work has transitioned to other supportive needs of the department. We have a great Grants Coordinator who I have really connected with, and a funny Membership Coordinator, and a kick in the pants for our Major Gifts Officer. These three individuals, including my superviros, Corey, and the Director of the department who hired me, and I have been working most closely together and have really made my time and work great in many aspects. From the stories to the travel experiences shared to talking about everyday things in life and just laughing at ourselves- it's great. I don't mind the commute of an hour in the morning because one I get to read and adjust mentally that I will be in a great city coming from the burbs and two because I work for a really strong and amazing NGO. My current project I am working is researching foundations along with the support of the grants coordinator and a fabulous intern, Molly. This will last until my last day August 13th!! Everyone at work, especially Corey, Ashley, and Beth have been sooo supportive with such great life advice so....

That's right I said it- I am leaving after almost 5 months at GX because....

I AM GOING TO GRADUATE SCHOOL IN THE FALL!!!

I got accepted to Brandeis University in Boston ad I will be going for my Masters of Arts in Sustainable International Development with hopes of working for an international nonprofit dealing with providing education and working again social injustices for kids. I am really happy to have taken this year off from school. I learned more about myself in Europe, my family and my relationship with them at home, and developed my skills and built relationships and networks at work. I will miss the city soooo much and all my friends who stayed after we graduated but I know I will be back to the Bay Area because its where I want to end up. Having tutored and babysat this whole year, I have loved spending time with kids and being a positive role model and as much as I want my own kids, I want to be an aunty first (John get on it!) and have my career established! But babysitting for Audrey and Courtney and Georgia and Charlotte has been so much fun but now its time to get serious (and cold!) Boston HERE I COME!!

A Good Week

Thursday of last week was a really good day. I had breakfast with my good friend Kelsey in the city. We had a nice big cup of coffee with cereal and strawberries. I took the 33 line that goes through the Richmond District, Haight, Castro and then the Mission, and has a great view of downtown. I was listening to music and just enjoying the sunny morning. Then I got to work and had a very productive day. I had a check-in with my supervisor and talked to the executive director and had a very positive conversation about my work and my three weeks at GX! I love starting out my days with friends and enjoying my work!
Then Friday Happy Hour at work was a nice end to the week! A nice cold corona with lime!
I am really enjoying working at Global Exchange (GX) and getting to know my coworkers and our human rights work.

Something Shocking from Iraq

Okay, I know this is a mixed blog, about my travels and interesting experiences, and some political and opinion pieces. This post is disturbing, but good to be aware of.


The leaked video of US helicopter pilots shooting unarmed Iraqis (including children) and two Reuters journalists.

http://www.collateralmurder.com/en/index.html

Is there any question why they hate us?

Callan and His Cuteness

When I came home from work I was catching up with Callan and he tells me that he and mom (MJ) went to lunch with a long lost family member. Mj has been following Geni, this online family tree site that sends a million updates via email, so she decided to finally meet some of her family our here. And Callan says, mom and I met her "double cousin," it was hilarious!

Callan is sooo cute, he is such a big 9 year old (ten in May).


Here is Callan in Ireland.

Wanjiru's Blog

My former professor, mentor and friend Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg has a blog called "Can? We? Save? Africa?" and cover so many great topics about politics, development, awareness and much more.

check it out: http://savingafrica.wordpress.com/

Boston March 26th

I started my first day yesterday at Global Exchange in San Francisco. It has been really good so far, the staff is doing really amazing work in human rights, grassroots movements, international education and so much more. My supervisor and the director of the development department are really great to work with and we have great work chemistry. I am taking Caltrain to Bart in the morning and the commute isn't bad and I get to catch up on reading.

Also, Happy Cesar Chavez day on Weds!

Happy Spring

March 20th at 10:32 marks the first day of spring and I officially want to be the first to wish you a HAPPY SPRING!!

March 19th, 2003- Iraq

An attack on Iraq that Bush ordered 7 years ago TODAY marked the war we are STILL in. It is easy to forget this living our day to days in our own world, but halfway around the world 9 THOUSAND and 600 Iraqi civilians have died. In addition, 4 THOUSAND and 400 soldiers and service people have died. While I did not live through Vietnam or any world war, this war seems just as bad. So, I just want to make a point to remember what we as Americans are in and to remind myself not to forget many people who have died under potential circumstances that could have been different...

Monday March 15th....A Good Day for the Daveys

A good day started at the DMV. Hard to believe, I know right! But it starts with my aunt buying a scooter that we are sharing while I am living at home, so you actually need a motorcycle liscense to ride a scooter and I was at the DMV waiting for 3 hours in line, after line, after line. After my experience at the RWC DMV when I was 16, having to take the permit again because they thought I cheated (when I actually ran into a friend there and I took the test first and said something like good luck to her and they failed me for "cheating") then when I took my license test, I hit a curb in my stepmom's minivan (hey it's a big car ya know) and so after that I am still not happy with that place nor do I think anyone is. Anyways, I took the M class permit test, and by the by they make you take the driver's permit test too that you have to pass if you have not taken it in the last 12 months, and after much review, thought, and double checking answers I PASSED! So who would have thought but now I can legally drive a motorcycle (or scooter!).

Then I get a call from the Development Director at Global Exchange, in regards to the Development Assistant position I applied to in the city. So she starts out, we loved meeting you, you had a great interview and you are definitely qualified for the position- and then my heart sinks- but it was a really tough decision and we decided to hire internally. So, what can I say, its hard to beat experience and knowledge about the organization, when I don't have that. How can you fault an organization for being loyal and hiring from within. But now the upside is that I was actually offered a contract position in the same department until summer. So, I am super excited to say that Global Exchange hired me and that I will be in the city working full time really soon. This is definitely what I have been looking for-- a great organization to work at that matched my long term career goals and that is in the city.

Check it out: www.globalexchange.org and support me by becoming a Global Exchange Monthly Sustainer and donating!!

While my plans to visit my brother in the Ukraine are canceled for now, I hope to see him in the summer and do some intense traveling then!

To top off the day, my little brother got his report card back with all As and Bs and we had a family dinner at Applewood!

Definitely a great day-- oh the luck of the Irish!! ps Happy belated St. Pattis Day!

Prayers for Kaky March 2009

Growing up around family friends- the Simonsons, I had a lot of great women in my life. Kathy is the sister of one of my many mothers, Janet Simonson. She passed last year in March and I went to the memorial service with Mary Kane and Annie, other close friends who I was introduced to through the Janet. Janet knew my mom and I knew Kaky (Kathy Anne Belding).

http://prayersforkaky.squarespace.com/

Here is an amazing rememberance site. When Mary Heffernan, Janet's daughter, a close friend, and Kaky's god-daughter talked about her at the church last year, I thought a lot about my mom and the pain of losing someone. I could see what Emmy, my childhood friend and Kaky's daughter, was going through.

Here is Mary Heffernan, her mom Janet Simonson, and Kathy.

So the least I can do is post something about a great person.

February 23rd was my mom's bday and it is this time where I miss her the most.