Over the course of my Leadership in Action project, there were certainly many lessons I learned through being immersed in an unfamiliar community, and this experience has allowed me to develop and put into practice some of the key Laidlaw Changemaker Values. 

To begin with, determination was a key aspect of this project, specifically because of the language barrier. When I first arrived in Paris for the project, I was feeling incredibly nervous about the prospect of trying to speak French – although I studied French at A-level, it had been over 2 years since I had really practiced, and I remember feeling incredibly disheartened at the beginning of the project about my lack of confidence when speaking French. Therefore, it definitely took some determination in order to feel confident speaking to others in French, ordering in French in restaurants, etc. - even when I knew my French wasn't perfect, I really tried to just give it a go! 

One environment which I thoroughly enjoyed being immersed in was the Make Sense community, our host NGO. Make Sense are a global NGO who really value the building of an inclusive and sustainable society, therefore I found it incredibly enriching to be immersed in this environment. I found that this experience getting to know the staff at Make Sense, their values and the way that they do things developed the value of curiosity, as Emma and Jade, our project leaders were constantly encouraging us to apply our critical thinking skills in a curious way. Through our weekly group coaching sessions, Emma and Jade were incredibly helpful in pushing us to think deeper, consider other options and find new ways to do things. 

Another key changemaker value which I feel I developed when immersed in the unfamiliar environment of the retirement home we worked with (Les Jardins d'Haïti) was 'good'. This can be defined as striving to create meaningful, sustainable progress. This was something I really learned the importance of when working with Les Jardins d'Haïti, as the staff really emphasised the importance of making sure that our project was meaningful in the way that it could continue after our departure for Marseille. Furthermore, spending so much time in a retirement home is certainly an experience which was unfamiliar to me, however it really taught me the importance of being open-minded and letting go of pre-conceived notions, as the space was so incredible and certainly not what I would expect from a retirement home. 

Overall, I believe that the greatest lesson I learned over the course of my immersion in an unfamiliar environment is not to underestimate myself, as I did a lot more than I believed I was capable of. For example, towards the end of the project, myself and my group were brave enough to do some field research on the streets around Les Jardins d'Haiti, in which we interviewed people passing by in French – I was really proud of myself for this, as the prospect of this made me so anxious, but I did it and managed to have some conversations in French, therefore my skills certainly developed as the time went on!