makesense re-action for impact week 1
My opening week in Medellin, Colombia could be summarized in a a single word: whirlwind. Being my first time in Colombia and even South America in general, the ever-present sense of culture shock had yet to wear off by the end of Week 1. The activities hosted by makesense, the team of enthusiastic and socialable fellow university students, and constant reminders of my shoddy Spanish skills were all features of the first week of the experience. It took some adjustment, but in reflection this hectic week taught me some valuable lessons about exploring things beyond my comfort zone.
I would like to specifically focus on the experiences during the introduction to the partner organizations we were working with. When I initially recognized the organization, Derecho a no Obedecer, I was assigned to work with for the duration of the project, I was thrilled to note their focus on civil society engagement, political activism, and peacebuilding initiatives (all of which overlapped with subjects of study in university). Ideas began bouncing between our small group of three students about how best to assist the organization in their efforts. But after hearing from the organization themselves about what was expected of our team of student volunteers, I had to admit that I was disillusioned: they expected us to simply help with an existing project of theirs in the form of a one-day trip of physical labour—no original ideas necessary.
Thankfully, with some clarification and the reliable translation of Lia (thank you so much for carrying our project so far), we were able to clarify some things and come up with a new approach to the problem and discover novel ways to help our organization.
Week 1 was a lesson in overcoming culture shocks and redrawing my expectations for the project. I'm hoping that the coming weeks will also be valuable learning experiences as the first week has.
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So cool to hear the lessons you've learnt from experiencing a new culture and how that has personally stretched you. Your insights in discussions on peace processes have been invaluable!
Excited to work with you, Je Ho! Thank you for trusting my translations (hoping they were accurate!!!), I am sure we'll manage to bring about a meaningful impact in El Faro by merging our different skills :) !