Final Days in Nova Scotia

I’m actually in the Paris airport trying to wrap-up my thoughts on my orientation. It was a really amazing experience that I’m having trouble putting into words. So I’m just going to concentrate on the last day and hope it gives you some idea of the wonderfulness that was orientation (somewhat shockingly since I had expected to be bored shittless).

We started the day off with evaluating the program. For me, I felt my facilitation skills had improved the most in the past three weeks. We had talked a lot about adult education and, to this day, I find these ideas simmering in the back of my head. The biggest adjustment in the adult education model is seeing each of your learners as someone with experience upon which you have to build. It becomes about creating a safe environment for each learner to come to a better understanding of the subject matter by themselves. Then we had the pleasure of working with facilitators who followed this teaching method. It was nice to be able to draw on one’s experience in the learning process. They also taught through games that encouraged us to understand concepts on an intuitive level, rather than just on paper. I found it a wonderful way to learn and a way that I want to emulate in the future.

At lunch, I had the pleasure of delivering a gift to the Antigonish Women’s Centre. All of the Coady participants, development workers from all over the world who have come to study at the Coady, and youth associates were invited to the annual women’s picnic during our second week of orientation. The women of Antigonish rolled out the red carpet by cooking wonderful food and providing great conversation. The female associates re-wrote the lyrics of “I am your Sunshine” to represent solidarity, as well as brought a piece of fabric for every woman to sign a message of solidarity. It turned into a collage of messages in all languages. We gave the fabric to the Women’s Centre as a gift, while at the same time receiving a tour. I found out that they do innovative programming, especially around sexual assault/abuse. The Antigonish community became as much a part of my orientation experience as the Coady Institute itself.

During the afternoon, we spent the day strengthening our relationships with the other youth associates. We had all become very close in the last three weeks. But the best, and saddest, part of the day was yet to come. We went to a farewell supper with all the participants at Cristal Cliffs. This place once again highlighted for me the beauty of Nova Scotia. It was a beach right on the ocean with trees lining the shore on either side. At this point, I said good bye to all of the participants, including the Kenyans who had already welcomed me to Kenya. They had taught me some Kiswahili, shared about their country, and shared contacts in country for me. In fact, tomorrow morning I will be welcomed by two women from the organization of one of the participants who has no stake whatsoever in the Youth in Partnership Program. From my experience with the Kenyans, I have found people to be consistently welcoming. At this time, I also said good-bye to my fellow youth associates with the promise to keep in touch.

The party was bittersweet, but the bus ride to Halifax was sheer excitement. My boyfriend, Kevin, came to spend the weekend with me in Halifax. We had a bit of a pirate theme going on actually. We took a harbour cruise, labelled pirate cruise, on a sailboat. My very first sailboat ride! I even helped raise one of the sails. I say help because it gets heavy and Kevin kinda took over near the end. But I have the pictures to prove that I did most of the work. But I have a better “ARGH, Matey.”Then we ate some lobster for dinner, or at least I did. And to continue with our pirate theme we went to the local theatre festival to watch an adaptation of Treasure Island. I love outdoor theatre and it was definitely a winner. We said our goodbyes at the airport since we happened to be taking the same flights home. And now I’m halfway to Kenya more excited than ever.