Do you know what sucks about the nutritional aspect of healthy living? Eating healthy is not enjoyable. Exercise can be enjoyable. You get to exert yourself, and the act of putting your all into it can give the sense of emotional expression. It can make you feel like you're directly combating your issue. After you're finished, you feel good.
Eating healthy only feels good in a long-term kind of way that your brain never directly associates with the act of eating. Even if you can make healthy food taste as good as unhealthy food, it takes planning, and you're always limited in what you can eat. After eating a healthy meal, you feel bad. Unhealthy food gives short-term benefits that allows your brain to associate with the act of eating. Eating healthy actually makes you feel deprived of these good effects, even if you know they're false.
Jumping around on topics today. The government's killing the penny. There will no longer be any one-cent coins. Honestly, I don't feel as effected by this as I did about Katimavik. Mom's not happy about it, though. She called that this would happen, too. She told me that she was afraid that they were going to cancel the penny, because she hadn't seen any pennies from 2012.
We collect pennies, and Mom tries to get a penny from each year. She's got a calender with pennies taped to various years.
If we cancel the nickel, we're going to end up like Mali. Mali's lowest form of currency was a ten franc coin, but that was worth about two cents. I did the math.
I remember one time, this guy didn't have the right change, so instead of giving me a 25 franc coin, he gave me three ten franc coins. So I made my purchase at five francs off!
Just a few days ago, I found a little baggy of Malian change. I'd gotten one of each of the coins (they turn into bills once you hit 1000 francs) for Mom, since she's into coins. Once I got back to Canada, though, I couldn't find them. I was sure I'd packed them, and I went through my luggage again and again, to no avail.
It was in the pocket of one of my pairs of shorts. I hadn't worn shorts since coming back, because this is Canada in winter, but because of the early spring, I've switched over to shorts again.
We're also changing our bills from paper to plastic. I just saw a new plastic $50 bill today. Honestly, I don't know what to make of it. I don't think I care. It's got a transparent bit, that I found sort of tacky, because it feels like it's showcasing it's nature of being plastic. Nobody's going to be all that excited about that in a couple years, so there's no real reason to emphasize the novelty of it on a bill that's going to be with us for many years. I'm also betting that I'll feel nostalgic for paper after I've handled plastic for awhile, but that will just be because of the nostalgia factor, not because paper's better. Plastic's probably more durable and economical or something. It's probably a good overall change, but I don't really care.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
Katimavik Died
The government cut Katimavik's funding entirely, and the program has been cancelled. I feel like I'm a whirlwind of destruction, leaving everywhere I go damaged or destroyed. First it was Mali, and now it's Katimavik.
Right now, the program is more important than ever. In this recession, you can't get work unless you have experience, and you can't get experience unless you have work. Poverty is on the rise, and less people can afford post-secondary. Katimavik was an inexpensive way for youth to get job experience, volunteer experience, and education. After Katimavik, I was playing an entirely different game in the working world than I was before I did the program.
This has happened before, and it's come back. I don't know why Katimavik always seems to be the program that's given a hard time. Canada World Youth is more expensive to the government, less well-known, and less excessible to the public, but nobody seems to ever consider cutting it.
Katimavik is a more important credential to impoverished youth trying to get their foot in the door, too. Canada World Youth is a better high-end credential for if you want a job that has to do with international relations, or something. You just can't fill a resume with the stuff you do in CWY like you could with Katimavik.
I'm going to be voting for the first time this year. So far, I've really hit the stereotype of an apathetic youth, and an ignorant blue-collar worker. Two groups that are known for not voting, while being effected by governmental changes more harshly. I knew I was living up to these stereotypes, and I knew it was bad, but I just didn't pay a lot of attention to politics, and didn't feel invested in things like news.
Maybe youth and blue-collar people don't vote because they're so used to getting screwed over, and learning to accept it is a learned skill, so it doesn't really occur to us that we can make a difference, or it doesn't give us the same feeling of empowerment, because we're not used to making successful contributions.
Maybe youths don't vote simply because they haven't lived long enough, and haven't had enough experiences that have deeply effected them. This may be a sign that I'm starting to leave the "youth" category, as I'm going to be voting, and the reason is because of a past experience.
I'll be voting against the fools who cancelled Katimavik, obviously. I wish I could just give them an anti-vote, to detract from their total post count, instead of voting for another party.
We were going into our third Katimavik group in Guelph. We didn't get the full worth of our five year contract!
There goes my goal of becoming a Katimavik Project Leader.
Right now, the program is more important than ever. In this recession, you can't get work unless you have experience, and you can't get experience unless you have work. Poverty is on the rise, and less people can afford post-secondary. Katimavik was an inexpensive way for youth to get job experience, volunteer experience, and education. After Katimavik, I was playing an entirely different game in the working world than I was before I did the program.
This has happened before, and it's come back. I don't know why Katimavik always seems to be the program that's given a hard time. Canada World Youth is more expensive to the government, less well-known, and less excessible to the public, but nobody seems to ever consider cutting it.
Katimavik is a more important credential to impoverished youth trying to get their foot in the door, too. Canada World Youth is a better high-end credential for if you want a job that has to do with international relations, or something. You just can't fill a resume with the stuff you do in CWY like you could with Katimavik.
I'm going to be voting for the first time this year. So far, I've really hit the stereotype of an apathetic youth, and an ignorant blue-collar worker. Two groups that are known for not voting, while being effected by governmental changes more harshly. I knew I was living up to these stereotypes, and I knew it was bad, but I just didn't pay a lot of attention to politics, and didn't feel invested in things like news.
Maybe youth and blue-collar people don't vote because they're so used to getting screwed over, and learning to accept it is a learned skill, so it doesn't really occur to us that we can make a difference, or it doesn't give us the same feeling of empowerment, because we're not used to making successful contributions.
Maybe youths don't vote simply because they haven't lived long enough, and haven't had enough experiences that have deeply effected them. This may be a sign that I'm starting to leave the "youth" category, as I'm going to be voting, and the reason is because of a past experience.
I'll be voting against the fools who cancelled Katimavik, obviously. I wish I could just give them an anti-vote, to detract from their total post count, instead of voting for another party.
We were going into our third Katimavik group in Guelph. We didn't get the full worth of our five year contract!
There goes my goal of becoming a Katimavik Project Leader.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
LGBTTIIQQ2SAAP
I just got an email from Canada World Youth requesting my presence at a focus group for people who are of a non-dominant sexuality or gender identity/expression...
Okay, it went out to Toronto area alumni, and it says "if" I am of a non-dominant sexuality or gender identity/expression, plus I'm not sure I know the lady who forwarded it to me, so it's not like somebody eyeballed me and made a decision about my orientation/identity/expression, but like the job offer, it's not like it was sent out from a mailing list, either...
What the hell is going on? First I get that job offer that would be "more suited for a woman", then a couple days ago, some gay guy hit on me, and now, my presence is being requested to represent people in sexual minorities...
By the way, the strand of letters that used to represent people in sexual minorities was LGBT. It stood for Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgendered. But they kept adding more labels and categories, and the workshop I got invited to was the LGBTTIQQ2SA Workshop. Let's see how many of those I can name:
Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgendered Transsexual (don't know) Queer Questioning (don't know) (don't know) Asexual.
That's not bad. Of the ten letters (and one number), I was able to name eight. I didn't know what the "I", the "2", or the "S" stood for.
Oh wait, "S" would be for "Sisgendered". I don't really remember what that means, but I've heard it. I think it means somebody who is mostly heterosexual, but who doesn't mind walking the other side of the fence every once in a while. It can't be a too widely-used term. It's the only word in this post so far that the spell check doesn't know.
Wait, the email's got a list of categories that are spelled out. They are: "lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, queer, questioning, trans, intersex, genderqueer, and two-spirit"
Okay, yeah, that's 11 terms to fit the 11 letters. I guess the "I" stood for "Intersex" and the "2" stood for "Two-spirit". But they have "Pansexual" and there's no "P" in the list of letters, and there's nothing in the full-word format that starts with "S".
Okay, I'm going to look up some definitions.
Okay, using wordnet....
Pansexual: "A person who participates in (or is open to) sexual activities of many kinds."
Intersex: "One having both male and female sexual characteristics and organs; at birth an unambiguous assignment of male or female cannot be made."
Wordnet's not giving me anything for "Sisgender" or "Two-spirit" (And yeah, I tried two-spirit, two spirit, twospirit, 2spirit, 2-spirit, and 2 spirit).
Let's try a generic Google search.
Using Wikipedia...
Two spirit: "Two-Spirit People (also Two Spirit or Twospirit), is an English umbrella term for Indigenous North Americans who fulfill one of many mixed gender roles found traditionally among many Native Americans and Canadian First Nations communities."
Cisgender: "A class of gender identities where an individual's gender identity matches the behavior or role considered appropriate for one's sex."
Okay, so Cisgender turned out to start with a "C" and just means that you fit the definition of what your society thinks is appropriate for your gender. Still don't know what the "S" stands for. Let's do a Google search on the original strand of letters. Maybe there's a list...
Looks like it's a Canada-exclusive list. Here's a list:
“LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER, TRANSEXUAL, INTERESTED, QUEER, QUESTIONING, TWO-SPIRITED and ALLIES.”
Okay, so "I" stands for "Interested" instead of "Intersex", and "A" stands for "Ally" instead of "Asexual". Oh yeah, I remember this lesbian woman saying that I could have some kind of association with the gay community because I'm an "Ally".
Well, then why can't I go to this workshop? I'll just be like "Yo, I'm an ally." But they seem to the the "A" stands for asexual, and the "I" stands for intersex, since those were on their list.
And where's the "S"? They have eleven figures, but drop the "S" when they spell them out. Let's try somewhere else.
Ohhhhhhhh... I just checked another list, and it bolds what each one stands for. "Two spirit" is "2S" They get two figures instead of one, and the "S" stands for "Spirit".
Okay, now to judge the accuracy of the CWY list:
-They lumped "Transgendered" and "Transsexual" together under the term "Trans"
-They replaced "Allies" with "Asexual" and "Interested" with "Intersex"
-They added "Pansexual"
My God, if you included the CWY-exclusive terms and added them to the already 11-character term, you could add another three figures (Asexual, Intersex, Pansexual)
So it would be LGBTTIIQQ2SAAP.
Look, I'm all for being inclusive, but if I have to memorize this entire list to prove it, I feel like the assumption is that people are going to be discriminatory, and if you want to be accepting, you have to complete some fucking challenge to be accepted as accepting. That's kind of messed up. If you want people to respect you, why are you making it so inconvenient?
Okay, it went out to Toronto area alumni, and it says "if" I am of a non-dominant sexuality or gender identity/expression, plus I'm not sure I know the lady who forwarded it to me, so it's not like somebody eyeballed me and made a decision about my orientation/identity/expression, but like the job offer, it's not like it was sent out from a mailing list, either...
What the hell is going on? First I get that job offer that would be "more suited for a woman", then a couple days ago, some gay guy hit on me, and now, my presence is being requested to represent people in sexual minorities...
By the way, the strand of letters that used to represent people in sexual minorities was LGBT. It stood for Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgendered. But they kept adding more labels and categories, and the workshop I got invited to was the LGBTTIQQ2SA Workshop. Let's see how many of those I can name:
Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgendered Transsexual (don't know) Queer Questioning (don't know) (don't know) Asexual.
That's not bad. Of the ten letters (and one number), I was able to name eight. I didn't know what the "I", the "2", or the "S" stood for.
Oh wait, "S" would be for "Sisgendered". I don't really remember what that means, but I've heard it. I think it means somebody who is mostly heterosexual, but who doesn't mind walking the other side of the fence every once in a while. It can't be a too widely-used term. It's the only word in this post so far that the spell check doesn't know.
Wait, the email's got a list of categories that are spelled out. They are: "lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, queer, questioning, trans, intersex, genderqueer, and two-spirit"
Okay, yeah, that's 11 terms to fit the 11 letters. I guess the "I" stood for "Intersex" and the "2" stood for "Two-spirit". But they have "Pansexual" and there's no "P" in the list of letters, and there's nothing in the full-word format that starts with "S".
Okay, I'm going to look up some definitions.
Okay, using wordnet....
Pansexual: "A person who participates in (or is open to) sexual activities of many kinds."
Intersex: "One having both male and female sexual characteristics and organs; at birth an unambiguous assignment of male or female cannot be made."
Wordnet's not giving me anything for "Sisgender" or "Two-spirit" (And yeah, I tried two-spirit, two spirit, twospirit, 2spirit, 2-spirit, and 2 spirit).
Let's try a generic Google search.
Using Wikipedia...
Two spirit: "Two-Spirit People (also Two Spirit or Twospirit), is an English umbrella term for Indigenous North Americans who fulfill one of many mixed gender roles found traditionally among many Native Americans and Canadian First Nations communities."
Cisgender: "A class of gender identities where an individual's gender identity matches the behavior or role considered appropriate for one's sex."
Okay, so Cisgender turned out to start with a "C" and just means that you fit the definition of what your society thinks is appropriate for your gender. Still don't know what the "S" stands for. Let's do a Google search on the original strand of letters. Maybe there's a list...
Looks like it's a Canada-exclusive list. Here's a list:
“LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER, TRANSEXUAL, INTERESTED, QUEER, QUESTIONING, TWO-SPIRITED and ALLIES.”
Okay, so "I" stands for "Interested" instead of "Intersex", and "A" stands for "Ally" instead of "Asexual". Oh yeah, I remember this lesbian woman saying that I could have some kind of association with the gay community because I'm an "Ally".
Well, then why can't I go to this workshop? I'll just be like "Yo, I'm an ally." But they seem to the the "A" stands for asexual, and the "I" stands for intersex, since those were on their list.
And where's the "S"? They have eleven figures, but drop the "S" when they spell them out. Let's try somewhere else.
Ohhhhhhhh... I just checked another list, and it bolds what each one stands for. "Two spirit" is "2S" They get two figures instead of one, and the "S" stands for "Spirit".
Okay, now to judge the accuracy of the CWY list:
-They lumped "Transgendered" and "Transsexual" together under the term "Trans"
-They replaced "Allies" with "Asexual" and "Interested" with "Intersex"
-They added "Pansexual"
My God, if you included the CWY-exclusive terms and added them to the already 11-character term, you could add another three figures (Asexual, Intersex, Pansexual)
So it would be LGBTTIIQQ2SAAP.
Look, I'm all for being inclusive, but if I have to memorize this entire list to prove it, I feel like the assumption is that people are going to be discriminatory, and if you want to be accepting, you have to complete some fucking challenge to be accepted as accepting. That's kind of messed up. If you want people to respect you, why are you making it so inconvenient?
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Courage Sharing
Okay, so it looks like the last update was the proper 300th.
Even though I don't have cutaneous leishmaniasis anymore, and haven't for some time, I still have some red markings around my ankle. They have the same quality as the rest of my skin, and they haven't decreased in size for quite some time. I think it actually may be residual scarring from the infection. Oh well, it's a nice souvenir to have brought back from Africa. Kind of cool, actually.
In my rejection letter, the guy said that they still need male volunteers for the next CWY assignment. That's funny, in Katimavik, they also have an over-abundance of female volunteers. They tried to balance out based on gender, but every group had at least one extra female at their starting point.
CWY has female-exclusive groups, in addition to ones with a gender balance. They say that it's to promote awareness of gender issues, but it looks to be more likely a way to deal with the disproportionately large number of female applicants.
In Mali, they believe that if you have enough courage, you can do anything, and they believe that it's the type of thing that can be passed around. If someone got sick, all their friends would visit them to "Give them their courage", which would help the sick person heal. When I was crying when I was about to leave the village, tons of Malians told me that they "Gave me their courage".
Courage-sharing was a nice tradition, that the Canadians picked up.
Even though I don't have cutaneous leishmaniasis anymore, and haven't for some time, I still have some red markings around my ankle. They have the same quality as the rest of my skin, and they haven't decreased in size for quite some time. I think it actually may be residual scarring from the infection. Oh well, it's a nice souvenir to have brought back from Africa. Kind of cool, actually.
In my rejection letter, the guy said that they still need male volunteers for the next CWY assignment. That's funny, in Katimavik, they also have an over-abundance of female volunteers. They tried to balance out based on gender, but every group had at least one extra female at their starting point.
CWY has female-exclusive groups, in addition to ones with a gender balance. They say that it's to promote awareness of gender issues, but it looks to be more likely a way to deal with the disproportionately large number of female applicants.
In Mali, they believe that if you have enough courage, you can do anything, and they believe that it's the type of thing that can be passed around. If someone got sick, all their friends would visit them to "Give them their courage", which would help the sick person heal. When I was crying when I was about to leave the village, tons of Malians told me that they "Gave me their courage".
Courage-sharing was a nice tradition, that the Canadians picked up.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
The Actual 300th Blog Post
Okay, so now it says that THIS one is the 300th blog post.
I spoke to the woman from the logbook today over Skype. She says that I'm the first participant that she'd spoken with, everyone else having been a supervisor. She said that she is also going to contact the other person who has been most active on the logbook since completing the program, other than me. This is because, of all the CWY groups, apparently, our logbook was the most successful. The logbooks had been a pilot project and she said that the goal was to introduce technology to participants of host communities, as it's become a topic that is continually becoming more associated with North American culture, and something that people in host communities see as something they would like to be exposed to during their time in Canada. She had another goal, but it slips my mind for the moment. Maybe something like enhancing awareness of the host community.
Anyway, I told her that the Malians may not have expressed interest in the logbook, but they had expressed interest in things like Facebook. I said that this is probably because Facebook is a community-based media, whereas the logbook is more individualistic. I said that one thing the Malians grappled with in Canada was something that they called "Canadian individualism", and I told her that it's possible that the success of our logbook may have been a positive result coming out of a negative quality of my group. I told her that the Canadians in my group had difficulty operating as a group, and with the communal quality of Karadie, but that they showed real competence and insight working individually or pairs. I said that the reason our blog may have flourished with the Canadians is because it's an individual-based media, and that's where they shined. Kind of a prelude to the difficulties they'd have adapting to a cultural-based society.
I told her that the Malians were all interested in experiencing different cultures, and that they would be interested in being exposed to other host communities in CWY, so if it could be formatted to better emphasize communication, rather than individual articles, and interlink the different communities, it might be more successful with participants from partner communities.
Technology-wise, I had a few quibbles with their method for publishing photos, and how they do the log-in.
She asked me a bunch of other stuff, like whether or not I thought it could be made a general assumption that there would be at least one Canadian with the technical skills to operate the logbook, and that there would be at least one participant from the partner community interested in learning about technology, but I won't go into detail. All in all, I thought it was a pretty successful little chat.
I caught an old friend from Katimavik on Skype after I finished talking with this CWY person. I spent about 45 minutes talking to her, just like I did with the logbook lady.
Unfortunately, the good feel of the day ends here. I got burned for the CWY job offer. I was mistaken in thinking that the interview was a sure thing. I had thought that because I had been sent the email specifically, as opposed to from a mailing list, and because they had stated the time and place that they would be interviewing, that I basically had my foot in the door, at least up to the interview point, but I was wrong. The person in charge replied to me, and he said that they got my application, but that they were only interviewing a few people. He said that they will have future openings, he encouraged me to continue applying, and said that he will keep me in mind for future openings in the Toronto area. He sent me a link to the CWY alumni network with positions associated to Canada World Youth, so that I can see when positions open up. It was a nice enough letter, but still a rejection.
I spoke to the woman from the logbook today over Skype. She says that I'm the first participant that she'd spoken with, everyone else having been a supervisor. She said that she is also going to contact the other person who has been most active on the logbook since completing the program, other than me. This is because, of all the CWY groups, apparently, our logbook was the most successful. The logbooks had been a pilot project and she said that the goal was to introduce technology to participants of host communities, as it's become a topic that is continually becoming more associated with North American culture, and something that people in host communities see as something they would like to be exposed to during their time in Canada. She had another goal, but it slips my mind for the moment. Maybe something like enhancing awareness of the host community.
Anyway, I told her that the Malians may not have expressed interest in the logbook, but they had expressed interest in things like Facebook. I said that this is probably because Facebook is a community-based media, whereas the logbook is more individualistic. I said that one thing the Malians grappled with in Canada was something that they called "Canadian individualism", and I told her that it's possible that the success of our logbook may have been a positive result coming out of a negative quality of my group. I told her that the Canadians in my group had difficulty operating as a group, and with the communal quality of Karadie, but that they showed real competence and insight working individually or pairs. I said that the reason our blog may have flourished with the Canadians is because it's an individual-based media, and that's where they shined. Kind of a prelude to the difficulties they'd have adapting to a cultural-based society.
I told her that the Malians were all interested in experiencing different cultures, and that they would be interested in being exposed to other host communities in CWY, so if it could be formatted to better emphasize communication, rather than individual articles, and interlink the different communities, it might be more successful with participants from partner communities.
Technology-wise, I had a few quibbles with their method for publishing photos, and how they do the log-in.
She asked me a bunch of other stuff, like whether or not I thought it could be made a general assumption that there would be at least one Canadian with the technical skills to operate the logbook, and that there would be at least one participant from the partner community interested in learning about technology, but I won't go into detail. All in all, I thought it was a pretty successful little chat.
I caught an old friend from Katimavik on Skype after I finished talking with this CWY person. I spent about 45 minutes talking to her, just like I did with the logbook lady.
Unfortunately, the good feel of the day ends here. I got burned for the CWY job offer. I was mistaken in thinking that the interview was a sure thing. I had thought that because I had been sent the email specifically, as opposed to from a mailing list, and because they had stated the time and place that they would be interviewing, that I basically had my foot in the door, at least up to the interview point, but I was wrong. The person in charge replied to me, and he said that they got my application, but that they were only interviewing a few people. He said that they will have future openings, he encouraged me to continue applying, and said that he will keep me in mind for future openings in the Toronto area. He sent me a link to the CWY alumni network with positions associated to Canada World Youth, so that I can see when positions open up. It was a nice enough letter, but still a rejection.
Monday, March 26, 2012
300th Blog Post
Sorry I haven't updated for the past couple days. I know that I'm pretty bad about updating, so that usually doesn't need to be said, but life's gotten more interesting lately, so I thought I might as well say it. I was in Toronto visiting some relatives.
I decided to apply for the internship position. It's only three months long, but it would fit nicely into the space of time before I start college, if I wind up going in September. It's $16 an hour, and 35 hours a week. I did the math, and it's still a raise from Linamar at 40 hours a week. I'm guessing they made it a scratch less than 40 hours to avoid having to give me benefits or something, but that's fine by me, since working through an agency never allowed me to have benefits before, anyway. I've found a place I could stay for a little bit while I found somewhere else, if I do land the position. This would be a good job, because CWY is a non-profit organization, and it's relevant to the social services.
Here's my cover letter. I edited out the names because I don't even know.
"Dear ____,
I am sending this email as a letter of application for the Digital Skills Youth Intern position. I feel that I would be a good fit, as I have successfully completed three youth programs, including Canada World Youth and it's sister program, Katimavik. As such, I am very passionate about the organization to which I am applying, and deeply believe in the benefits that youth programs offer both participants and associates.
I possess all the skills that were stated as desirable on the Job Posting, those being familiarity with computers, good organizational skills, demonstrated ability to work in a team, experience doing research, and intuition for handling problem situations. I also have an interest in reaching out to communities with access barriers, as one of my rotations in Katimavik was a First Nations community, and I have remained in contact with members of the community post-completion of the program. I am able to communicate in both English and French, as my Canada World Youth assignment's official language was French.
I have an interest in learning and look toward this program as an opportunity to acquire new skills and to improve myself in areas of which I am already proficient. Attached is my resume, I have full availability.
Best wishes,
____"
I called my family doctor and asked for the results of my skin sample test. Apparently, it came back negative. There was nothing to imply that anything was ever even a little bit wrong. That's reassuring in a way, but in another way, not really, because I know there was something wrong, and whatever it was, the test failed to pick up on it. Oh well, maybe my body killed whatever it was, since I was on the path of recovery at the time I got tested, and what was left was just the recovering after-effect, while the infection was already gone.
I'm probably going to be Skyping with the logbook authority tomorrow morning. I'm scared!
This is my legitimate 300th blog post. I didn't prepare anything special.
I decided to apply for the internship position. It's only three months long, but it would fit nicely into the space of time before I start college, if I wind up going in September. It's $16 an hour, and 35 hours a week. I did the math, and it's still a raise from Linamar at 40 hours a week. I'm guessing they made it a scratch less than 40 hours to avoid having to give me benefits or something, but that's fine by me, since working through an agency never allowed me to have benefits before, anyway. I've found a place I could stay for a little bit while I found somewhere else, if I do land the position. This would be a good job, because CWY is a non-profit organization, and it's relevant to the social services.
Here's my cover letter. I edited out the names because I don't even know.
"Dear ____,
I am sending this email as a letter of application for the Digital Skills Youth Intern position. I feel that I would be a good fit, as I have successfully completed three youth programs, including Canada World Youth and it's sister program, Katimavik. As such, I am very passionate about the organization to which I am applying, and deeply believe in the benefits that youth programs offer both participants and associates.
I possess all the skills that were stated as desirable on the Job Posting, those being familiarity with computers, good organizational skills, demonstrated ability to work in a team, experience doing research, and intuition for handling problem situations. I also have an interest in reaching out to communities with access barriers, as one of my rotations in Katimavik was a First Nations community, and I have remained in contact with members of the community post-completion of the program. I am able to communicate in both English and French, as my Canada World Youth assignment's official language was French.
I have an interest in learning and look toward this program as an opportunity to acquire new skills and to improve myself in areas of which I am already proficient. Attached is my resume, I have full availability.
Best wishes,
____"
I called my family doctor and asked for the results of my skin sample test. Apparently, it came back negative. There was nothing to imply that anything was ever even a little bit wrong. That's reassuring in a way, but in another way, not really, because I know there was something wrong, and whatever it was, the test failed to pick up on it. Oh well, maybe my body killed whatever it was, since I was on the path of recovery at the time I got tested, and what was left was just the recovering after-effect, while the infection was already gone.
I'm probably going to be Skyping with the logbook authority tomorrow morning. I'm scared!
This is my legitimate 300th blog post. I didn't prepare anything special.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Coup in Mali!
Holy crap! After 20 years of democracy, there has been a coup in Mali! After two months of fighting, soldiers returned from the North of Mali and overthrew the government in Bamako. They complained that the government had not supplied them with proper food or weapons to hold their own against the Tuareg separatists.
After the fall of Gadhafi, Malian Tuareg soldiers that he'd recruited went back home heavily armed. With their newfound military might, it seems they came back with a greater ability to impose the change they'd been angling for before they'd left. They started causing trouble in the North of Mali, and the government in Bamako responded by sending their own force out to counter them.
I used to joke that Mali would lose any war they got into, because, with their relaxed attitude toward work obligations, none of the soldiers would show up.
Yeah, well, it looks like that's more or less what happened. The soldiers weren't prepared for war, and neither was the government. With unrealistic views of what resources were necessary, they supplied soldiers with inferior weapons, and little to no living resources.
The coup happened one month before a democratic election, that would have forced the current president to step down. The soldiers claim that this isn't a coup, just a mutiny, and that they will allow the democratic election to take place and will step down their own influence in favour of the newly elected president.
It sounds to me that the soldiers simply panicked, and they came up with the idea that they couldn't defeat the Tuaregs, but they could defeat the Malian government. They didn't want to spend another month getting slaughtered before the next election.
The coup seems pretty bloodless. The presidential guards didn't even bother to try and guard anyone. There are some descriptions of Bamako civilians boarding themselves in or fleeing their homes. There are descriptions of soldiers patrolling the city, firing their guns into the air. Apparently the soldiers have done some looting in the presidential quarters.
I'm quite skeptical of the accuracy of international news, now that I've seen so much published information that was simply incorrect on the basis of what I saw, but this doesn't sound like something that would just be made up.
One Malian participant from the North of Mali has contacted us through Facebook to decry the soldiers that abandoned Northern Mali. He called them a "Failed generation."
I posted a status update on my concerns regarding the current conflict. I wanted to say so much, but I had to grill my brain just so that I could conjure a sentence that I could be sure said what I meant, and that also made sense.
I said "Pour mes amis au Mali. J'ai vu les nouveaux problèmes au Mali. J'ai vu les médias. Je prie pour la sécurité du Mali et mes amis." which tranlates to "For my friends in Mali. I have seen the new problems in Mali. I have seen the media. I pray for the safety of Mali and my friends."
I should have said "Conflict" instead of "Problems" thinking back on it, since I know the two words, and I wanted to express a concern for the safety of my Malian friends without taking a political standpoint, but I don't think it should be a problem.
My Northern Malian contact must feel sore, because now the Tuaregs have full reign over his land, but the people of Bamako may prioritize the safety of it's citizens, with the inclusion of their soldiers who were being slaughtered out there.
I know at least one person from Northern Mali, and I can think of at least three participants who were native to Bamako. Plus, I had a few friends who I met in Bamako, too. Hell, most of the Canadians in the group got to meet the (former) president of Mali!
Bamako looks stable enough. I don't know if the soldiers will follow up on their claim to hand back control of Mali, and this might cause future problems for the African government, but for the time being, it looks like the worst is over.
Northern Mali looks bad, though. There is nobody out there to protect civilians. Sounds like most of the fleeing, boarding up and bloodshed is happening out there. And the thought that the soldiers preferred to fight their own government to the Tuaregs makes me feel uneasy concerning the future of Mali.
We were forbidden to enter North Mali during our program. We were forbidden to leave the village area, but we were ESPECIALLY forbidden to enter North Mali. The reason being that they are xenophobic and more inclined to violence out there. My North Mali contact confirmed this statement. At the time, it was hard to imagine any Malian acting in a seriously violent manner.
It's funny, because Timbouctou is in North Mali. It's Mali's most touristic place, and more people know Timbouctou than know Mali. During the program, some tourists were kidnapped in Timbouctou, and apparently, they were eventually killed. Mali's got all it's tourists funneling into it's most dangerous, most xenophobic place.
That news had made us nervous, because Timbouctou is far more heavily guarded than our village, and we were pretty visible. If somebody had taken it onto themselves to kidnap us... they probably could have.
I think my friends in the village will be okay. I used to say that, if World War broke out, there'd be no safer place than Karadie. Not much reason to move so far inland in Africa, and not so much reason to move into that region of Mali. The Malians didn't even know that World War 2 had happened. They didn't know who Hitler was. Not much of a World War, if it missed that chunk of the world, if you ask me.
Anyway, somebody countered that we'd probably be raided by roaming soldiers as an afterthought eventually. I countered with this military strategy: "Take the sign down that says 'Karadie' next to the road."
Only thing that concerns me is that they might not know what's going on, since they rely mainly on word of mouth for their information, and therefor, they might not act accordingly to any new danger. I still think they'll be fine.
It's funny, all this controversy over how to spread information to the next CWY group going to Mali. I'm willing to bet they won't send another group out there.
In other news, the CWY office sent me an offer for a job interview, to be a paid intern at their office in Toronto. I didn't apply for this position, they're apparently contacting alumni. I haven't asked if anybody else in the group has gotten this offer. Apparently I'd be working under the guy who put me in the Mali rotation, who I met again in the CWY offices in Montreal, and who hosted the mass, voiced online seminar and program participation interview.
I've been asked to speak over telephone or Skype to give my insight on how to improve the CWY weblog format. I've also been contacted by the ministry of Canadian overseas volunteering to give them feedback on the effectivity of Canada World Youth.
I feel important.
After the fall of Gadhafi, Malian Tuareg soldiers that he'd recruited went back home heavily armed. With their newfound military might, it seems they came back with a greater ability to impose the change they'd been angling for before they'd left. They started causing trouble in the North of Mali, and the government in Bamako responded by sending their own force out to counter them.
I used to joke that Mali would lose any war they got into, because, with their relaxed attitude toward work obligations, none of the soldiers would show up.
Yeah, well, it looks like that's more or less what happened. The soldiers weren't prepared for war, and neither was the government. With unrealistic views of what resources were necessary, they supplied soldiers with inferior weapons, and little to no living resources.
The coup happened one month before a democratic election, that would have forced the current president to step down. The soldiers claim that this isn't a coup, just a mutiny, and that they will allow the democratic election to take place and will step down their own influence in favour of the newly elected president.
It sounds to me that the soldiers simply panicked, and they came up with the idea that they couldn't defeat the Tuaregs, but they could defeat the Malian government. They didn't want to spend another month getting slaughtered before the next election.
The coup seems pretty bloodless. The presidential guards didn't even bother to try and guard anyone. There are some descriptions of Bamako civilians boarding themselves in or fleeing their homes. There are descriptions of soldiers patrolling the city, firing their guns into the air. Apparently the soldiers have done some looting in the presidential quarters.
I'm quite skeptical of the accuracy of international news, now that I've seen so much published information that was simply incorrect on the basis of what I saw, but this doesn't sound like something that would just be made up.
One Malian participant from the North of Mali has contacted us through Facebook to decry the soldiers that abandoned Northern Mali. He called them a "Failed generation."
I posted a status update on my concerns regarding the current conflict. I wanted to say so much, but I had to grill my brain just so that I could conjure a sentence that I could be sure said what I meant, and that also made sense.
I said "Pour mes amis au Mali. J'ai vu les nouveaux problèmes au Mali. J'ai vu les médias. Je prie pour la sécurité du Mali et mes amis." which tranlates to "For my friends in Mali. I have seen the new problems in Mali. I have seen the media. I pray for the safety of Mali and my friends."
I should have said "Conflict" instead of "Problems" thinking back on it, since I know the two words, and I wanted to express a concern for the safety of my Malian friends without taking a political standpoint, but I don't think it should be a problem.
My Northern Malian contact must feel sore, because now the Tuaregs have full reign over his land, but the people of Bamako may prioritize the safety of it's citizens, with the inclusion of their soldiers who were being slaughtered out there.
I know at least one person from Northern Mali, and I can think of at least three participants who were native to Bamako. Plus, I had a few friends who I met in Bamako, too. Hell, most of the Canadians in the group got to meet the (former) president of Mali!
Bamako looks stable enough. I don't know if the soldiers will follow up on their claim to hand back control of Mali, and this might cause future problems for the African government, but for the time being, it looks like the worst is over.
Northern Mali looks bad, though. There is nobody out there to protect civilians. Sounds like most of the fleeing, boarding up and bloodshed is happening out there. And the thought that the soldiers preferred to fight their own government to the Tuaregs makes me feel uneasy concerning the future of Mali.
We were forbidden to enter North Mali during our program. We were forbidden to leave the village area, but we were ESPECIALLY forbidden to enter North Mali. The reason being that they are xenophobic and more inclined to violence out there. My North Mali contact confirmed this statement. At the time, it was hard to imagine any Malian acting in a seriously violent manner.
It's funny, because Timbouctou is in North Mali. It's Mali's most touristic place, and more people know Timbouctou than know Mali. During the program, some tourists were kidnapped in Timbouctou, and apparently, they were eventually killed. Mali's got all it's tourists funneling into it's most dangerous, most xenophobic place.
That news had made us nervous, because Timbouctou is far more heavily guarded than our village, and we were pretty visible. If somebody had taken it onto themselves to kidnap us... they probably could have.
I think my friends in the village will be okay. I used to say that, if World War broke out, there'd be no safer place than Karadie. Not much reason to move so far inland in Africa, and not so much reason to move into that region of Mali. The Malians didn't even know that World War 2 had happened. They didn't know who Hitler was. Not much of a World War, if it missed that chunk of the world, if you ask me.
Anyway, somebody countered that we'd probably be raided by roaming soldiers as an afterthought eventually. I countered with this military strategy: "Take the sign down that says 'Karadie' next to the road."
Only thing that concerns me is that they might not know what's going on, since they rely mainly on word of mouth for their information, and therefor, they might not act accordingly to any new danger. I still think they'll be fine.
It's funny, all this controversy over how to spread information to the next CWY group going to Mali. I'm willing to bet they won't send another group out there.
In other news, the CWY office sent me an offer for a job interview, to be a paid intern at their office in Toronto. I didn't apply for this position, they're apparently contacting alumni. I haven't asked if anybody else in the group has gotten this offer. Apparently I'd be working under the guy who put me in the Mali rotation, who I met again in the CWY offices in Montreal, and who hosted the mass, voiced online seminar and program participation interview.
I've been asked to speak over telephone or Skype to give my insight on how to improve the CWY weblog format. I've also been contacted by the ministry of Canadian overseas volunteering to give them feedback on the effectivity of Canada World Youth.
I feel important.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Logbook Might Not Come Down
Wow, am I glad I held myself back from breaking out into rage when I saw that the logbook might be coming down. I had thought that the last active moderator (fellow participant in my group) was pulling the trigger on the blog, deleting the work of others, while simultaneously using it as a platform to plug his own informational projects regarding the experience. I was ready to turn this blog into a smear campaign, but I forced myself to wait a few days to cool off, and in the mean time, simply try to figure out the reason behind this.
He responded to me by email, and it turns out, it's not a matter of this specific blog coming down, but of this entire generation of CWY logbooks, since this is the first generation of blogs done like this, and we'd be wiped out to make a clean slate for the next group. He even made an attempt to get a backup of the blog. So, you see, my anger was completely misplaced.
Not only that, but my inquiry reached even further, and I got a response beyond that of the local moderator. Turns out, someone in the CWY offices, a former participant of CWY, who did Quebec-Mali herself (apparently we're only the third generation of Quebec-Mali for this specific series of groups) from years back, and she assured me that the logbook will probably stay up, and she requests my further involvement with the program, spreading awareness to further groups and giving input on how the program might be improved.
I have such an adrenalin rush right now. But I'm gonna wait a bit and cool off. First I was too angry to think straight, and now I'm too excited. I feel like my writing doesn't even make sense right now.
I got responses from all three of the colleges I've applied to, too. Just to tell me they have received my application. Two of them have given me college emails and profiles on their websites, even.
He responded to me by email, and it turns out, it's not a matter of this specific blog coming down, but of this entire generation of CWY logbooks, since this is the first generation of blogs done like this, and we'd be wiped out to make a clean slate for the next group. He even made an attempt to get a backup of the blog. So, you see, my anger was completely misplaced.
Not only that, but my inquiry reached even further, and I got a response beyond that of the local moderator. Turns out, someone in the CWY offices, a former participant of CWY, who did Quebec-Mali herself (apparently we're only the third generation of Quebec-Mali for this specific series of groups) from years back, and she assured me that the logbook will probably stay up, and she requests my further involvement with the program, spreading awareness to further groups and giving input on how the program might be improved.
I have such an adrenalin rush right now. But I'm gonna wait a bit and cool off. First I was too angry to think straight, and now I'm too excited. I feel like my writing doesn't even make sense right now.
I got responses from all three of the colleges I've applied to, too. Just to tell me they have received my application. Two of them have given me college emails and profiles on their websites, even.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Check Beneath the Karadje Info Post
Okay, that last post wasn't my daily update. If you want to see it, go to the one previous. I applied to college and linked an article on shea butter. The reason I posted a copy of my instructional guide for Mali living is because, according to a new post on the logbook, it's possible that the logbook will be erased shortly. Whether that's because it requires maintenance and wouldn't last on it's own, or because the only moderator that's currently active has his own motive for closing it, I don't know. My update will not receive the same attention as it would have, had it stayed on that logbook (I don't think it will be the #1 hit on Google) but I want it to still be around, somewhere, which is why I've adapted it here. Formatting doesn't work so well.
All the photos have to be updated manually, so reposting the gallery update won't be simple. But, for the time being, at least I got the guide up.
All the photos have to be updated manually, so reposting the gallery update won't be simple. But, for the time being, at least I got the guide up.
Karadjé Info
Hi all, it's Gryphon again, here to steal the last word. Since my plea for info on Karadjé to be published over the logbook is now the first result when researching Karadjé, I guess it would be kind of uncouth of me to hang you all out to dry, especially now, when I have the means to answer my own plea.
So, first thing's first. Don't research Karadjé. Research Karadie. That's how it was spelled on the sign next to the highway, on the sides of the donkey carts, and in the school. They pronounce it "Karadjé", but it's not the correct spelling, and if you research "Karadie", you get better results. Canada World Youth either misspelled the name, or it has a different spelling in French than it does in Bambara. Okay, go! I was wrong about us being a necessary research tool. All you needed was this bit of information, and now you don't need me anymore.
Slight exaggeration. I'm willing to get a bit competitive with the other sources. Might as well not put CWY's misspelling to waste.
I want to start off with a little precaution: Quebec-Mali is THE most difficult Canada World Youth Exchange. And not only is it the hardest exchange, but you're going into the harder of the two groups in that exchange. You will be living in a smaller village than the other group, with a population of 800 adults and a total population of 2000, and you will not have access to electricity.
Don't let this discourage you, though. The greater the challenge, the greater the reward. This specific exchange may just be the best Canada World Youth has to offer in terms of developing cultural awareness and diversifying perspective, which makes it incredibly relevant to the vision of the program. And don't let your imagination run away with you. CWY wouldn't send you somewhere you couldn't handle. It'll be difficult, and worth bragging about, but it will be manageable.
Climate
There are three seasons in Mali: wet season, cold season, and hot season. The Quebec-Mali exchange is designed so that the Malians are in Canada at the hottest time of the year, and the Canadians are in Mali for the coldest time of the year. In this way, nobody is taken too far out of their comfort zone. Difference is, the Malians start during the hottest point in the Canadian phase, and get weaned into the colder temperatures as they adapt. You will start at the hottest point of your exchange, without getting an opportunity to adapt. You start your phase at the tail end of wet season, and move into cold season.
Coming into the program, I thought that there wouldn't be much difference between seasons, because Mali is so close to the equator. I was wrong. When you arrive, it will be humid, rainy, and always hot. As you progress, it will become dry, it will never rain, and at night, you will be cold.
Be prepared to drink a lot of water, especially at first. It's recommended that you drink four to eight litres every day. I averaged five or six, and more than once got up to nine. But don't worry, you will have as much water as you want. Just make sure you bring a lot of water purifier.
Now, on the other end of the scale, and as weird as it sounds.... Pack for cold weather. When I said cold season got cold during the night, I didn't mean pleasantly cool. I meant, you'll be wearing a sweater, sitting by a fire, and complaining about how cold it is. You'll still be wearing shorts and a T-shirt by day, though. The night-time temperature fluctuates far more with the changing season than the day time temperature.
Food
As far as the food goes, don't worry about quantity. Just like with the water, there will be more than you can handle.
For our breakfasts, we got instant coffee with little triangle breads. We also got this porridge made from corn while it was in season, and then millet later on.
For lunch, it was either rice and sauce, or something called toh. The rice would come with a gumbo sauce, green sauce, or peanut sauce. Toh is sort of a pastry that you rip pieces off of and dunk in sauce. Toh would come with a fish sauce, gumbo sauce, or red sauce.
For dinner, you could get rice or toh again, but you might also get spaghetti, potatoes with a sort of sweet sauce, or... French fries. Apparently French fries are a traditional Malian dish.
Malians eat with their hands, but we were provided with our own plates and utensils. Generally, Canadians had a difficult time adjusting to the food, and almost everyone lost weight during the Malian phase. You might consider taking some Canadian food with you to the village, to eat sparingly, which makes the adaptation process easier.
Language
Bambara is the dominant language by far, but there are people that speak French scattered here and there. French has had some influences on Bambara, so you'll hear French words and phrases now and then when you're listening to conversations, but it doesn't mean they understand French, and it won't really help you understand Bambara.
You will be expected to greet everyone you pass by, and if you're eating, you are expected to invite anyone who passes by to eat with you. You can learn the basic phrases through the Bambara lessons posted on this logbook.
Religion
Mali is a largely Muslim country, and with one exception, every Malian participant in both groups was Muslim. However, Karadjé is a mainly Animist village. There are some Muslims and Christians, but the vast majority are Animist. They describe Animism as being "Similar to not having a religion", and non-religious Canadians were considered Animists by Malian participants and villagers. Agnostics were considered more traditional Animists, and Atheists were described as "non-practising Animists". However, the practising Animists of the village do have traditions and beliefs in common with others of their community, so it isn't quite the same as Agnosticism as we know it.
It depended a little based on the individual, but generally, there was very little tension surrounding the concept of religion. A common Malian perspective is that everyone has an individual reality, and that two people with contrasting realities can live harmoniously.
Work
In the Malian phase, all the participants work together on a daily basis. There is no guarantee that you will do what we did, but here were our work projects:
Tilling rows of earth with hand tools to divide land for the village women.
Preparing soil and planting seeds. Harvesting potatoes, cutting out the eyes, and distributing them to the village women.
Tending trees and placing fences around them.
Building mud stoves for families to reduce fuel consumption.
The work is physical and exhaustive. Our largest project was tilling the earth. You will have a three hour break from 12:00 to 3:00 during the hottest time of the day. There was no work on Sundays or Thursdays.
Toilet and Shower
The toilet and shower are surrounded by low, mud walls. Depending on the family, they may or may not be in the same room.
Your toilet is going to be a hole in the ground. You squat over it when you do your business. Malians don't use toilet paper. They use their left hand to wipe and wash themselves with water afterwards. Because of this, they use only their right hand to eat. It isn't a problem if you bring toilet paper, so pack some if you want it.
Your shower is going to be a bucket. You should bring something like a cup, which you can use to splash water on yourself. It depends on the family, and on your preference, but it's possible that you will shower up to three times a day.
We were warned by a past participant that we should wash our underwear in the shower. Male, and oftentimes female participants had their clothes washed for them, but apparently underwear is an exception. A Malian confirmed the validity of the warning, saying that if you give your underwear to the family, they won't complain, and if you ask them, they will say it's fine, but in reality, it's an insult. Most Canadians mimicked the behaviour of their counterparts, which meant some people washed their own underwear and some people didn't. We still don't know if it's an insult or not, but you might want to play it safe.
You should wear your sandals in the shower, as they pee in the shower.
Sirakorola
The group that you shared an orientation camp with at the beginning will now be stationed in Sirakorola, which is a neighbouring village 5 kilometres away. There is a weekly market there every Thursday, where you will be able to meet with them, and there should be occasional activities shared between the two groups.
Sirakorola has electricity, and it was possible for us to charge our electronics at the mayor's house. There were stores that sold pop, including Coca Cola (cold!). We could also buy mayonnaise and mustard, candy, biscuits, and occasionally other treats. Even ice cream!
You can buy batteries here, too. We were told to bring lots of batteries, as they don't have ones that are compatible with Western electronics. This was mainly true, but over the course of the trip, I did find both double and triple A batteries. No consistent source, though, and only once for each, so I'd say it's a good idea to heed the warning anyway.
Communication
Don't expect Internet access, even in Sirakorola, but there are cell phone signals that you can catch, even in Karadjé. The reception is generally not great, but it is possible to call home. You should be able to use your Project Leader's cell phone, and purchase credit inside the village.
Cultural Trivia
Every one of you will be given a Malian name. In Mali, it is common for someone to have more than one name, and you might consider giving your counterpart a Canadian name as a kind gesture.
They have a concept called "Cousinage", which means that certain family names have special relationships with other family names. In Karadjé, there are three families: the Coulibaly, the Diarra, and the Traore. All three names have cousinage with each other.
Cousinage is commonly expressed through joking. Some examples are:
"The ___ are bad! The ___ are good!"
"The ___ eat beans and then they fart!"
"The ___ are the slaves of the ___!"
"You are my nephew/niece! I am you uncle/aunt!"
"Your name is (given name of the recipient followed by the surname of the speaker's family)!"
But even if the joking seems mean-spirited, it's actually very positive. People with cousinage will look out for one another and seek each other's company. There are stories behind the jokes, too, and asking into them might help demonstrate an active interest in their culture, which will be well-received.
Tea is another large part of Malian culture. If any kind of social gathering takes place, it shouldn't take long before someone pulls out a tea set. They use these little tea sets, fill shot glasses with strong tea, and pass them around. Another thing that will probably appear is a deck of cards. The most popular card game in Mali is named 151. I won't put the instructions here, but I'll at least tell you that it's a little bit like Crazy Eights. Maybe I'll make another instructional post, just for this game, but at any rate, you'll learn it fast enough when you get to the village.
Soccer is very popular, and there is a village game every day in the late afternoon. Likely, you will be pretty fatigued after a hard day's work, especially at first, but on days off, or if you ever have the energy after work, you can take part in these games.
Well, this concludes my little letter. I hope it was helpful. Good luck, and maybe you'll write an even better guide letter than this one after you return.
So, first thing's first. Don't research Karadjé. Research Karadie. That's how it was spelled on the sign next to the highway, on the sides of the donkey carts, and in the school. They pronounce it "Karadjé", but it's not the correct spelling, and if you research "Karadie", you get better results. Canada World Youth either misspelled the name, or it has a different spelling in French than it does in Bambara. Okay, go! I was wrong about us being a necessary research tool. All you needed was this bit of information, and now you don't need me anymore.
Slight exaggeration. I'm willing to get a bit competitive with the other sources. Might as well not put CWY's misspelling to waste.
I want to start off with a little precaution: Quebec-Mali is THE most difficult Canada World Youth Exchange. And not only is it the hardest exchange, but you're going into the harder of the two groups in that exchange. You will be living in a smaller village than the other group, with a population of 800 adults and a total population of 2000, and you will not have access to electricity.
Don't let this discourage you, though. The greater the challenge, the greater the reward. This specific exchange may just be the best Canada World Youth has to offer in terms of developing cultural awareness and diversifying perspective, which makes it incredibly relevant to the vision of the program. And don't let your imagination run away with you. CWY wouldn't send you somewhere you couldn't handle. It'll be difficult, and worth bragging about, but it will be manageable.
Climate
There are three seasons in Mali: wet season, cold season, and hot season. The Quebec-Mali exchange is designed so that the Malians are in Canada at the hottest time of the year, and the Canadians are in Mali for the coldest time of the year. In this way, nobody is taken too far out of their comfort zone. Difference is, the Malians start during the hottest point in the Canadian phase, and get weaned into the colder temperatures as they adapt. You will start at the hottest point of your exchange, without getting an opportunity to adapt. You start your phase at the tail end of wet season, and move into cold season.
Coming into the program, I thought that there wouldn't be much difference between seasons, because Mali is so close to the equator. I was wrong. When you arrive, it will be humid, rainy, and always hot. As you progress, it will become dry, it will never rain, and at night, you will be cold.
Be prepared to drink a lot of water, especially at first. It's recommended that you drink four to eight litres every day. I averaged five or six, and more than once got up to nine. But don't worry, you will have as much water as you want. Just make sure you bring a lot of water purifier.
Now, on the other end of the scale, and as weird as it sounds.... Pack for cold weather. When I said cold season got cold during the night, I didn't mean pleasantly cool. I meant, you'll be wearing a sweater, sitting by a fire, and complaining about how cold it is. You'll still be wearing shorts and a T-shirt by day, though. The night-time temperature fluctuates far more with the changing season than the day time temperature.
Food
As far as the food goes, don't worry about quantity. Just like with the water, there will be more than you can handle.
For our breakfasts, we got instant coffee with little triangle breads. We also got this porridge made from corn while it was in season, and then millet later on.
For lunch, it was either rice and sauce, or something called toh. The rice would come with a gumbo sauce, green sauce, or peanut sauce. Toh is sort of a pastry that you rip pieces off of and dunk in sauce. Toh would come with a fish sauce, gumbo sauce, or red sauce.
For dinner, you could get rice or toh again, but you might also get spaghetti, potatoes with a sort of sweet sauce, or... French fries. Apparently French fries are a traditional Malian dish.
Malians eat with their hands, but we were provided with our own plates and utensils. Generally, Canadians had a difficult time adjusting to the food, and almost everyone lost weight during the Malian phase. You might consider taking some Canadian food with you to the village, to eat sparingly, which makes the adaptation process easier.
Language
Bambara is the dominant language by far, but there are people that speak French scattered here and there. French has had some influences on Bambara, so you'll hear French words and phrases now and then when you're listening to conversations, but it doesn't mean they understand French, and it won't really help you understand Bambara.
You will be expected to greet everyone you pass by, and if you're eating, you are expected to invite anyone who passes by to eat with you. You can learn the basic phrases through the Bambara lessons posted on this logbook.
Religion
Mali is a largely Muslim country, and with one exception, every Malian participant in both groups was Muslim. However, Karadjé is a mainly Animist village. There are some Muslims and Christians, but the vast majority are Animist. They describe Animism as being "Similar to not having a religion", and non-religious Canadians were considered Animists by Malian participants and villagers. Agnostics were considered more traditional Animists, and Atheists were described as "non-practising Animists". However, the practising Animists of the village do have traditions and beliefs in common with others of their community, so it isn't quite the same as Agnosticism as we know it.
It depended a little based on the individual, but generally, there was very little tension surrounding the concept of religion. A common Malian perspective is that everyone has an individual reality, and that two people with contrasting realities can live harmoniously.
Work
In the Malian phase, all the participants work together on a daily basis. There is no guarantee that you will do what we did, but here were our work projects:
Tilling rows of earth with hand tools to divide land for the village women.
Preparing soil and planting seeds. Harvesting potatoes, cutting out the eyes, and distributing them to the village women.
Tending trees and placing fences around them.
Building mud stoves for families to reduce fuel consumption.
The work is physical and exhaustive. Our largest project was tilling the earth. You will have a three hour break from 12:00 to 3:00 during the hottest time of the day. There was no work on Sundays or Thursdays.
Toilet and Shower
The toilet and shower are surrounded by low, mud walls. Depending on the family, they may or may not be in the same room.
Your toilet is going to be a hole in the ground. You squat over it when you do your business. Malians don't use toilet paper. They use their left hand to wipe and wash themselves with water afterwards. Because of this, they use only their right hand to eat. It isn't a problem if you bring toilet paper, so pack some if you want it.
Your shower is going to be a bucket. You should bring something like a cup, which you can use to splash water on yourself. It depends on the family, and on your preference, but it's possible that you will shower up to three times a day.
We were warned by a past participant that we should wash our underwear in the shower. Male, and oftentimes female participants had their clothes washed for them, but apparently underwear is an exception. A Malian confirmed the validity of the warning, saying that if you give your underwear to the family, they won't complain, and if you ask them, they will say it's fine, but in reality, it's an insult. Most Canadians mimicked the behaviour of their counterparts, which meant some people washed their own underwear and some people didn't. We still don't know if it's an insult or not, but you might want to play it safe.
You should wear your sandals in the shower, as they pee in the shower.
Sirakorola
The group that you shared an orientation camp with at the beginning will now be stationed in Sirakorola, which is a neighbouring village 5 kilometres away. There is a weekly market there every Thursday, where you will be able to meet with them, and there should be occasional activities shared between the two groups.
Sirakorola has electricity, and it was possible for us to charge our electronics at the mayor's house. There were stores that sold pop, including Coca Cola (cold!). We could also buy mayonnaise and mustard, candy, biscuits, and occasionally other treats. Even ice cream!
You can buy batteries here, too. We were told to bring lots of batteries, as they don't have ones that are compatible with Western electronics. This was mainly true, but over the course of the trip, I did find both double and triple A batteries. No consistent source, though, and only once for each, so I'd say it's a good idea to heed the warning anyway.
Communication
Don't expect Internet access, even in Sirakorola, but there are cell phone signals that you can catch, even in Karadjé. The reception is generally not great, but it is possible to call home. You should be able to use your Project Leader's cell phone, and purchase credit inside the village.
Cultural Trivia
Every one of you will be given a Malian name. In Mali, it is common for someone to have more than one name, and you might consider giving your counterpart a Canadian name as a kind gesture.
They have a concept called "Cousinage", which means that certain family names have special relationships with other family names. In Karadjé, there are three families: the Coulibaly, the Diarra, and the Traore. All three names have cousinage with each other.
Cousinage is commonly expressed through joking. Some examples are:
"The ___ are bad! The ___ are good!"
"The ___ eat beans and then they fart!"
"The ___ are the slaves of the ___!"
"You are my nephew/niece! I am you uncle/aunt!"
"Your name is (given name of the recipient followed by the surname of the speaker's family)!"
But even if the joking seems mean-spirited, it's actually very positive. People with cousinage will look out for one another and seek each other's company. There are stories behind the jokes, too, and asking into them might help demonstrate an active interest in their culture, which will be well-received.
Tea is another large part of Malian culture. If any kind of social gathering takes place, it shouldn't take long before someone pulls out a tea set. They use these little tea sets, fill shot glasses with strong tea, and pass them around. Another thing that will probably appear is a deck of cards. The most popular card game in Mali is named 151. I won't put the instructions here, but I'll at least tell you that it's a little bit like Crazy Eights. Maybe I'll make another instructional post, just for this game, but at any rate, you'll learn it fast enough when you get to the village.
Soccer is very popular, and there is a village game every day in the late afternoon. Likely, you will be pretty fatigued after a hard day's work, especially at first, but on days off, or if you ever have the energy after work, you can take part in these games.
Well, this concludes my little letter. I hope it was helpful. Good luck, and maybe you'll write an even better guide letter than this one after you return.
Submitted My College Application
I submitted my college application. BOOM! Done. Now I can leave the doubting for after I get accepted.
Check out this article on shea butter.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/fashion-and-beauty/beauty/beauty-features/turning-butter-into-financial-independence/article2370775/
Ha! I knew it could improve appearance, texture, flexibility and strength on both organic and inorganic substances, and make food taste better, but I didn't know it could cure injuries and illnesses, and waterproof houses! That stuff is just way too good!
Check out this article on shea butter.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/fashion-and-beauty/beauty/beauty-features/turning-butter-into-financial-independence/article2370775/
Ha! I knew it could improve appearance, texture, flexibility and strength on both organic and inorganic substances, and make food taste better, but I didn't know it could cure injuries and illnesses, and waterproof houses! That stuff is just way too good!
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Library Post, Charity People
Posting from the library. Don't know if I said it last time, but since I've gotten back, they've increased the amount of time per day each person is allowed to use their Internet. It used to be 45 minutes, and now it's an hour. That also means that people have to wait longer, but I think the reason they did it, is that now they have two more computers that give Internet access. I didn't realize it at first, because they still have the same number of computers, they just switched a couple from being catalogue computers into Internet computers. So the first couple times I came here, I just waited in line like a chump, while there were two computers free. I don't know if one of them is normally for Internet use, though. Somebody from Information just brought someone over here, telling him that that one does have Internet access, but they usually reserve it for people who need word processors. It's a little bit removed from the other Internet computers, too.
I wonder if these computers they've attached Internet use can still be used for catalogue purposes. Doesn't look like it. Kind of sad, if they're beginning to prioritize their free Internet over books. They also have a television facing the waiting area for Internet access now. It's set to the news, and is muted but has captions. Kind of a nice new feature. The library's getting pretty swag. Must be a really new feature. I don't remember seeing that the last time I used the library computer, and that was after I got back. Maybe I was just unobservant.
I always try to look like I'm primarily doing something kind of official business when I'm on the library computer. I know blogging isn't really official business, but it looks a grade better, than, say, Facebook. A lot of people will jump on and go to FB, but for me, I never feel comfortable looking like I'm doing something that is probably of less importance than what the person waiting wants to be doing. The atmosphere of the blog isn't so widely recognized, and doesn't hold as large a stigma as Facebook.
I also don't feel comfortable going on for just a short little bit. They've got quick access computers, that you can use for 15 minutes (unless they've increased those, too) and so, if I use a regular computer, I want to use it for over 15 minutes or else I feel like I've made a mistake. Part of the reason I'm writing this. I also don't like to spend less time on the computer, than I spent waiting for it.
Do you remember how I said that, before doing Canada World Youth, I loved telling those charity people that I couldn't subscribe to a monthly donation plan, because I was about to spend three months in a subsistence village in West Africa? Well, I can't use that excuse anymore, but I also don't find it so easy to ignore them. They'll be like, "Hey sir, what's up? Gotta minute to chat?" And I'll be all "Sorry, in a hurry" and they'll be all, "Won't take a minute of your time" and I'll be all, "Nah, I'm not gonna stop-- Oh, hey, you're that women's rights organization for third world communities? I just got back from Mali, West Africa, listed in the bottom ten countries for quality of life for women, and I was DATING a local woman there! Well, now, wasn't that something..."
And I get their hopes thrumbed up, and then I'm like "Sorry, I don't see your organization as making very practical steps. Have a nice day!"
Gotta stop doing that. I never see the same people more than once. Are they bringing in people from outside Guelph? Are they not reusing the same people? They're always in the same places. You'd think I'd see them repeat.
Now I'm going to have to dodge using the main route back home, to avoid the guy I jilted.
I'm still dominating in Scrabble for some reason. I have no idea why I've become such a monster at it.
I wonder if these computers they've attached Internet use can still be used for catalogue purposes. Doesn't look like it. Kind of sad, if they're beginning to prioritize their free Internet over books. They also have a television facing the waiting area for Internet access now. It's set to the news, and is muted but has captions. Kind of a nice new feature. The library's getting pretty swag. Must be a really new feature. I don't remember seeing that the last time I used the library computer, and that was after I got back. Maybe I was just unobservant.
I always try to look like I'm primarily doing something kind of official business when I'm on the library computer. I know blogging isn't really official business, but it looks a grade better, than, say, Facebook. A lot of people will jump on and go to FB, but for me, I never feel comfortable looking like I'm doing something that is probably of less importance than what the person waiting wants to be doing. The atmosphere of the blog isn't so widely recognized, and doesn't hold as large a stigma as Facebook.
I also don't feel comfortable going on for just a short little bit. They've got quick access computers, that you can use for 15 minutes (unless they've increased those, too) and so, if I use a regular computer, I want to use it for over 15 minutes or else I feel like I've made a mistake. Part of the reason I'm writing this. I also don't like to spend less time on the computer, than I spent waiting for it.
Do you remember how I said that, before doing Canada World Youth, I loved telling those charity people that I couldn't subscribe to a monthly donation plan, because I was about to spend three months in a subsistence village in West Africa? Well, I can't use that excuse anymore, but I also don't find it so easy to ignore them. They'll be like, "Hey sir, what's up? Gotta minute to chat?" And I'll be all "Sorry, in a hurry" and they'll be all, "Won't take a minute of your time" and I'll be all, "Nah, I'm not gonna stop-- Oh, hey, you're that women's rights organization for third world communities? I just got back from Mali, West Africa, listed in the bottom ten countries for quality of life for women, and I was DATING a local woman there! Well, now, wasn't that something..."
And I get their hopes thrumbed up, and then I'm like "Sorry, I don't see your organization as making very practical steps. Have a nice day!"
Gotta stop doing that. I never see the same people more than once. Are they bringing in people from outside Guelph? Are they not reusing the same people? They're always in the same places. You'd think I'd see them repeat.
Now I'm going to have to dodge using the main route back home, to avoid the guy I jilted.
I'm still dominating in Scrabble for some reason. I have no idea why I've become such a monster at it.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Weird Job Offer
Yesterday, I got a potential job offer via email through that employment agency that had me host a workshop, and which has been helping me through this college application. The job description wasn't given in the email, but it did have a forwarded list of the confused thread of emails that brought the offer to me. So I looked through them until I found the original offer. It was a pretty standard general labour position, moving orthopedic supplies. The one differentiating feature? "This position would be better suited for a woman".
Ehhhh, they all think I'm a woman!
Winter's done. It was going between total spring and total winter for awhile, but all of a sudden, about three days back, it just decided to turn late spring, and it's hard to imagine it changing back to anything resembling winter at this point. Maybe early spring, but not winter.
Yeah, one day I put on my coat, headed outside and got a blast of hot air. People were wearing shorts and T-shirts. Yesterday I wore a light sweater, and that was way too hot. It moved from coat weather to T-shirt weather overnight.
I know I've said it the past two times it came to this season, but I sure do hate spring. I don't know why. Something bad must have happened to me in spring when I was a child, or something...
Ehhhh, they all think I'm a woman!
Winter's done. It was going between total spring and total winter for awhile, but all of a sudden, about three days back, it just decided to turn late spring, and it's hard to imagine it changing back to anything resembling winter at this point. Maybe early spring, but not winter.
Yeah, one day I put on my coat, headed outside and got a blast of hot air. People were wearing shorts and T-shirts. Yesterday I wore a light sweater, and that was way too hot. It moved from coat weather to T-shirt weather overnight.
I know I've said it the past two times it came to this season, but I sure do hate spring. I don't know why. Something bad must have happened to me in spring when I was a child, or something...
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Finding Shivon
I started writing the Fried Green Tomatoes review, but I'm not commited enough to finish it tonight, so I'll make a regular blog post. I want to post about my life as it is currently, but honestly, most things that have happened since I got out of CWY have either been too uninteresting, or have not complied with my policies as to what I should publicize on this blog. Therefor, I'll tell you another story about Mali, and if my writer's block continues, I might even be pushed into speaking on some of the stuff there that I wasn't sure I should publicize.
So, one time I was in Sirakorola. One of my Canadian friends, whom I was hanging out with, told me that, should I pass another Canadian participant's house, ask her to come visit the place where the rest of the Canadian participants were. The name of the Canadian I was supposed to find was Shivon (It's not a Canadian name, I know, but it's not a Malian one, either).
So, they told me she lived in a big yellow house. I passed by there, and even been inside, but, I'm ashamed to say, my sense of direction was bad enough that I wasn't sure of the exact location. So, after passing every house in the direction I was informed her's was, I asked a local woman who resided in the biggest, yellowest house in the neighbourhood, for Shivon.
She started asking neighbours and people who walked by a variety of questions in Bambara. A huge number of village women showed up, and eventually they presented me with a woman that they referred to as Shivon. She was certainly a local, so I asked, "This is Shivon?" They said "Yes" and I explained that I wanted "Tubabu Shivon" or "White Shivon". We all laughed and they brought me on a walk.
We moved far away from the village as I knew it. We moved by a variety of exotic structures and through some really cool-looking places. I wondered why Shivon would be so far out, and in such an interesting place. I also began to wonder, since so much time had passed, and since I'd troubled so many village women, and since I'd moved so far out, if this was even worth it for the offhand request I'd received. If I'd known she was so far out, I wouldn't have bothered asking for her, and once I met her, I would probably play down the importance of her needing to visit her friends, since she was probably out here for a reason. But since I came out all this way, I thought I might as well complete my search and not devalue the efforts of these women.
Eventually they brought me to a halt, and one of the women moved on ahead. She brought back some raw eggs and offered them to me, for a price. I said "No thank you." They all looked confused. I said, "I just want to meet with my friend Shivon."
There was a moment of confused silence. Then, suddenly, I got hit with an idea, and I asked the woman who could speak French, "What is the name of these eggs in Bambara?" She said, "Shivon".
I told them that, when I'd asked for a "White egg" I had meant a white person with the name Shivon. They said they understood. I told them that I was sorry to waste their time, and offered to buy their eggs, but told me that it had been a misunderstanding and that they weren't bothered at all.
It was awkward at the time, but a lot of good came out of this experience. I learned that, even if it wasn't market day, I could ask anyone for anything and it would be found for me. I also made lots of new friends in the community. It was awkward at the time, but I shared enough time with them on the trip and the return that I made friends with the women I'd traveled with, which would stand until the end of the program. And after telling this story, the woman that I'd tried to find would be nicknamed "Egg".
So, one time I was in Sirakorola. One of my Canadian friends, whom I was hanging out with, told me that, should I pass another Canadian participant's house, ask her to come visit the place where the rest of the Canadian participants were. The name of the Canadian I was supposed to find was Shivon (It's not a Canadian name, I know, but it's not a Malian one, either).
So, they told me she lived in a big yellow house. I passed by there, and even been inside, but, I'm ashamed to say, my sense of direction was bad enough that I wasn't sure of the exact location. So, after passing every house in the direction I was informed her's was, I asked a local woman who resided in the biggest, yellowest house in the neighbourhood, for Shivon.
She started asking neighbours and people who walked by a variety of questions in Bambara. A huge number of village women showed up, and eventually they presented me with a woman that they referred to as Shivon. She was certainly a local, so I asked, "This is Shivon?" They said "Yes" and I explained that I wanted "Tubabu Shivon" or "White Shivon". We all laughed and they brought me on a walk.
We moved far away from the village as I knew it. We moved by a variety of exotic structures and through some really cool-looking places. I wondered why Shivon would be so far out, and in such an interesting place. I also began to wonder, since so much time had passed, and since I'd troubled so many village women, and since I'd moved so far out, if this was even worth it for the offhand request I'd received. If I'd known she was so far out, I wouldn't have bothered asking for her, and once I met her, I would probably play down the importance of her needing to visit her friends, since she was probably out here for a reason. But since I came out all this way, I thought I might as well complete my search and not devalue the efforts of these women.
Eventually they brought me to a halt, and one of the women moved on ahead. She brought back some raw eggs and offered them to me, for a price. I said "No thank you." They all looked confused. I said, "I just want to meet with my friend Shivon."
There was a moment of confused silence. Then, suddenly, I got hit with an idea, and I asked the woman who could speak French, "What is the name of these eggs in Bambara?" She said, "Shivon".
I told them that, when I'd asked for a "White egg" I had meant a white person with the name Shivon. They said they understood. I told them that I was sorry to waste their time, and offered to buy their eggs, but told me that it had been a misunderstanding and that they weren't bothered at all.
It was awkward at the time, but a lot of good came out of this experience. I learned that, even if it wasn't market day, I could ask anyone for anything and it would be found for me. I also made lots of new friends in the community. It was awkward at the time, but I shared enough time with them on the trip and the return that I made friends with the women I'd traveled with, which would stand until the end of the program. And after telling this story, the woman that I'd tried to find would be nicknamed "Egg".
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Nearing the End of the College Application
Well, the college application form is completed, with the only part left to do being payment. It wants me to pay via credit card, which reminds me why I wanted one of those, but there's a place that I can pay in-person in Guelph. Unfortunately, I can't get there by bus, and by this time I'm feeling quite limited, but I've got a ride to go down there next week.
I also got my income tax return, which surprisingly, got me $2000. I now officially have more money than I've ever had in my life. Turns out, I got some kind of worker's benefit, because I was working, and not on Welfare or Disability. And for once, Mom's Disability isn't going to touch it, which means that in the end, I actually did make money from working. I just didn't know it for about seven months after I stopped working for pay.
Also, when I went to deposit my cheque, the machine said that I could withdraw $200 in advance to the cheque being verified. Apparently, this means that I've got a good enough credit rating that I've been acknowledged.
Anyway, I can finally both reach the application place, and pay for my application, so that's good.
I'm applying for two programs, at three colleges. One form allows you to make five applications, with a maximum of three at any one location. So I'm applying for a two year Social Service Worker diploma program, and a one year Human Foundation Services College Certificate program at the three closest colleges. I'm aiming for the Conestoga course, because it's got the highest rate of employment post-program for SSW than any other college, but it also has some fancy prerequisites like an 80% average in high school English and a reference form from a social services organization that I've volunteered at. Since I took University Prep classes in high school (in Canada, those are the more advanced ones) and they give a 10% bonus for having completed those, I'm safely above the 80% English prerequisite, and since I've done extensive volunteering between Katimavik and CWY, I'm good for a reference.
The Human Services Foundation program is a preparatory program that moves into any course in the community services field. Often, people who don't fill the prerequisites to enter one of those courses will use this program as leeway, since it involves you doing extensive volunteer work in a variety of areas. The reason I'd take a course like this is because I'm past the date of equal consideration, and the SSW program is in much higher demand than HSF, so basically, I don't want to have to wait over another year to get into college. Plus, if I take HSF, then I won't be required to do as much work as is normally expected for SSW. I also hear that it's good for if you've been out of school for some time, and need a refresher on how to do research, write essays etc.
For Social Service Worker, women outnumber men by about ten to one. Whatever. My mother did an electronic engineering program where the men outnumbered women by the same ratio. Didn't really cause her any grief once she got into it.
Apparently, they're really looking to pull men into this field. It's like how when you see advertisements to join the police force, it always shows five times as many women as men, but in reality, men outnumber women. I know someone who's male who did this exact same program. Same courser and same location. He was definitely positive about the experience.
I also got my income tax return, which surprisingly, got me $2000. I now officially have more money than I've ever had in my life. Turns out, I got some kind of worker's benefit, because I was working, and not on Welfare or Disability. And for once, Mom's Disability isn't going to touch it, which means that in the end, I actually did make money from working. I just didn't know it for about seven months after I stopped working for pay.
Also, when I went to deposit my cheque, the machine said that I could withdraw $200 in advance to the cheque being verified. Apparently, this means that I've got a good enough credit rating that I've been acknowledged.
Anyway, I can finally both reach the application place, and pay for my application, so that's good.
I'm applying for two programs, at three colleges. One form allows you to make five applications, with a maximum of three at any one location. So I'm applying for a two year Social Service Worker diploma program, and a one year Human Foundation Services College Certificate program at the three closest colleges. I'm aiming for the Conestoga course, because it's got the highest rate of employment post-program for SSW than any other college, but it also has some fancy prerequisites like an 80% average in high school English and a reference form from a social services organization that I've volunteered at. Since I took University Prep classes in high school (in Canada, those are the more advanced ones) and they give a 10% bonus for having completed those, I'm safely above the 80% English prerequisite, and since I've done extensive volunteering between Katimavik and CWY, I'm good for a reference.
The Human Services Foundation program is a preparatory program that moves into any course in the community services field. Often, people who don't fill the prerequisites to enter one of those courses will use this program as leeway, since it involves you doing extensive volunteer work in a variety of areas. The reason I'd take a course like this is because I'm past the date of equal consideration, and the SSW program is in much higher demand than HSF, so basically, I don't want to have to wait over another year to get into college. Plus, if I take HSF, then I won't be required to do as much work as is normally expected for SSW. I also hear that it's good for if you've been out of school for some time, and need a refresher on how to do research, write essays etc.
For Social Service Worker, women outnumber men by about ten to one. Whatever. My mother did an electronic engineering program where the men outnumbered women by the same ratio. Didn't really cause her any grief once she got into it.
Apparently, they're really looking to pull men into this field. It's like how when you see advertisements to join the police force, it always shows five times as many women as men, but in reality, men outnumber women. I know someone who's male who did this exact same program. Same courser and same location. He was definitely positive about the experience.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Couple of Short Dreams
It was my Dad's birthday yesterday... Or... two days ago. I know, I'm up really late tonight. I'm counting this as Sunday's post. Don't know why I didn't mention it, since it was the day of my last post. I gave him a call. He's fine.
Did my taxes a couple weeks ago, and I should be getting a tax return sometimes this week. Turned out to be more than I thought...
Last night I had a dream that I was stuck inside an apartment with my family and couldn't escape. Two days passed, and our supplies were running low. I decided nobody was coming for us, so I picked up an axe and said I was going to chop the door down. Then I lost the axe, but I found a machete. At first I was frustrated and kept looking for the axe, but along the way, started wondering if I might prefer to chop the door down with a machete. I found the axe, but was still undecided between the two weapons. I think I chose the axe. I woke up when I was in mid-swing to knock the door down.
I remember that we were locked in the apartment because of an electrical failure, although that doesn't make sense. We didn't chop the door down at first because it felt like the government was obligated to rescue us, and that by taking matters into our own hands, it was a symbol of mistrust in our government. Even a sort of betrayal.
I also had a dream that I was on a train. Somebody walked by me and sort of nodded for me to look at the next car over. I get up and take a look. The rest of the train has been detached from ours, and is falling away from view. The guy had severed the connection of that part of the train from ours. I think to myself "Thank you" and return to my seat silently, trying not to show any sign of reaction, because the people in this car aren't meant to know what's happened yet.
Those were some crazier-than-average dreams.
Did my taxes a couple weeks ago, and I should be getting a tax return sometimes this week. Turned out to be more than I thought...
Last night I had a dream that I was stuck inside an apartment with my family and couldn't escape. Two days passed, and our supplies were running low. I decided nobody was coming for us, so I picked up an axe and said I was going to chop the door down. Then I lost the axe, but I found a machete. At first I was frustrated and kept looking for the axe, but along the way, started wondering if I might prefer to chop the door down with a machete. I found the axe, but was still undecided between the two weapons. I think I chose the axe. I woke up when I was in mid-swing to knock the door down.
I remember that we were locked in the apartment because of an electrical failure, although that doesn't make sense. We didn't chop the door down at first because it felt like the government was obligated to rescue us, and that by taking matters into our own hands, it was a symbol of mistrust in our government. Even a sort of betrayal.
I also had a dream that I was on a train. Somebody walked by me and sort of nodded for me to look at the next car over. I get up and take a look. The rest of the train has been detached from ours, and is falling away from view. The guy had severed the connection of that part of the train from ours. I think to myself "Thank you" and return to my seat silently, trying not to show any sign of reaction, because the people in this car aren't meant to know what's happened yet.
Those were some crazier-than-average dreams.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Mentally Handicapped Pony
Wow, it's been five days, and I don't have much to say.
I finished the book Fried Green Tomatoes. I don't want to write a whole review right now, but it was good. Somebody told me it had a feminist "Stigma" associated with it, which I can't tell whether or not is a good or bad thing, but I don't care. I'm guessing most of it's reputation came from the movie, which I haven't seen but I'm betting was more famous, since that's sort of a trend.
I think I told you guys that I used to play online Scrabble against someone who's probably bordering on professional levels. I just finished my first game since coming back, and surprisingly, I won. I thought that learning all that French and Bambara may have pushed my English skills back, but maybe doing so much studying into linguistics actually helped me. I did have the first turn advantage, though. She's got it this time, and is currently leading... though only by a single point.
Did some shopping for my brother's birthday today... This Monday he's hitting the big 20! Kind of weird knowing my little brother's a 20-year-old, but I guess it was weirder when I went through it. Now that I think about it, didn't I complain about leaving my teenage years on this blog, near to when I started? Guess that makes sense. I knew this blog was about a couple years old.
Do you remember me talking about that show, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, that is all the rage among 20-something males nowadays? Didn't wear off when I was in CWY, and it looks like the show's marketing to this audience now.
In one episode, a pony with crossed eyes was seen inside a crowd of ponies. It was probably an art error, but the character took off, and online she became widely known with the fan-given name of Derpyhooves. She became so popular, in fact, that the show acknowledged her by giving her several more background spots and brief interaction scenes, eventually leading up to a full episode segment where she got to talk and was spoken to by name. Yes, they used the name that fans gave her.
In this episode segment, they gave her a voice typically associated with mentally challenged people, and played up her dumb antics in a slapstick way. See, this was aimed toward the 20-something male viewers, or "Bronies" (for "Bro" and "Pony"), and the show forgot it's other target audience... You know, little girls.
They got a lot of complaints by angry parents, and the creators redid the episode, giving Derpy a normal voice, and without referring to her by name. Now, the Bronies weren't cool with that. There were wide complaints on that end that My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is about love and acceptance, and by sweeping a character under the rug, because a speculated intellectual disability made viewers uncomfortable, was going against the spirit of the show.
I saw a Save Derpy video. In it, Derpy is apologizing that she made people angry, and that she doesn't mean for her voice to sound the way it does, or for her eyes to look the way they do. She says she only wanted to make friends, but she'll still be there for us, in the background. And she cries. I really couldn't tell if the video was serious or satirical.
There were also a number of complaints that accusations of Derpy's name being offensive, for the reason that "Derp" is a derogative term for the mentally disabled, are false. The counterclaim is that "Derp" is just a term used for stupid or goofy people in general.
Well, it's kind of evolved into that meaning, but I remember when I was in middle school, people would push their upper lips out, bang on the chests and say "Herp, derp, derp" in an attempted mimicry of mentally disabled people. Every time I've heard the term "Derp" I've considered it as a derogative to mentally challenged people, used in a slightly different manner, eg saying "That's so gay" to something that has nothing to do with homosexuality. I was surprised that so many people seemed to not think of the term in the same context as me.
Still, even by new context, naming a mentally challenged pony "Stupidhooves" might not be the brightest move, even in a world where many characters are named affectionately after personal challenges, such as Fluttershy.
All in all, I'd have to say editing out the mentally handicapped pony is really offensive. It falls into the habit of segregating disabled people from "normal" society that breeds the insecurity that people have around them. Once you've introduced the disabled pony, she'd better be there to say.
But at the same time, if you're going to introduce her, give her a full episode. Don't just slip her in, have her cause a mess, and make her look stupid for cheap laughs as a first impression. Also, Derpyhooves isn't such a hot choice for a name. It arguably stems as a slur against disabled people, and at best it's still making fun of her for her disability.
I swear I only know about all this from news articles (yeah, it's making news), and watching the original and the edited scenes of Derpyhooves's introduction.
I finished the book Fried Green Tomatoes. I don't want to write a whole review right now, but it was good. Somebody told me it had a feminist "Stigma" associated with it, which I can't tell whether or not is a good or bad thing, but I don't care. I'm guessing most of it's reputation came from the movie, which I haven't seen but I'm betting was more famous, since that's sort of a trend.
I think I told you guys that I used to play online Scrabble against someone who's probably bordering on professional levels. I just finished my first game since coming back, and surprisingly, I won. I thought that learning all that French and Bambara may have pushed my English skills back, but maybe doing so much studying into linguistics actually helped me. I did have the first turn advantage, though. She's got it this time, and is currently leading... though only by a single point.
Did some shopping for my brother's birthday today... This Monday he's hitting the big 20! Kind of weird knowing my little brother's a 20-year-old, but I guess it was weirder when I went through it. Now that I think about it, didn't I complain about leaving my teenage years on this blog, near to when I started? Guess that makes sense. I knew this blog was about a couple years old.
Do you remember me talking about that show, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, that is all the rage among 20-something males nowadays? Didn't wear off when I was in CWY, and it looks like the show's marketing to this audience now.
In one episode, a pony with crossed eyes was seen inside a crowd of ponies. It was probably an art error, but the character took off, and online she became widely known with the fan-given name of Derpyhooves. She became so popular, in fact, that the show acknowledged her by giving her several more background spots and brief interaction scenes, eventually leading up to a full episode segment where she got to talk and was spoken to by name. Yes, they used the name that fans gave her.
In this episode segment, they gave her a voice typically associated with mentally challenged people, and played up her dumb antics in a slapstick way. See, this was aimed toward the 20-something male viewers, or "Bronies" (for "Bro" and "Pony"), and the show forgot it's other target audience... You know, little girls.
They got a lot of complaints by angry parents, and the creators redid the episode, giving Derpy a normal voice, and without referring to her by name. Now, the Bronies weren't cool with that. There were wide complaints on that end that My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is about love and acceptance, and by sweeping a character under the rug, because a speculated intellectual disability made viewers uncomfortable, was going against the spirit of the show.
I saw a Save Derpy video. In it, Derpy is apologizing that she made people angry, and that she doesn't mean for her voice to sound the way it does, or for her eyes to look the way they do. She says she only wanted to make friends, but she'll still be there for us, in the background. And she cries. I really couldn't tell if the video was serious or satirical.
There were also a number of complaints that accusations of Derpy's name being offensive, for the reason that "Derp" is a derogative term for the mentally disabled, are false. The counterclaim is that "Derp" is just a term used for stupid or goofy people in general.
Well, it's kind of evolved into that meaning, but I remember when I was in middle school, people would push their upper lips out, bang on the chests and say "Herp, derp, derp" in an attempted mimicry of mentally disabled people. Every time I've heard the term "Derp" I've considered it as a derogative to mentally challenged people, used in a slightly different manner, eg saying "That's so gay" to something that has nothing to do with homosexuality. I was surprised that so many people seemed to not think of the term in the same context as me.
Still, even by new context, naming a mentally challenged pony "Stupidhooves" might not be the brightest move, even in a world where many characters are named affectionately after personal challenges, such as Fluttershy.
All in all, I'd have to say editing out the mentally handicapped pony is really offensive. It falls into the habit of segregating disabled people from "normal" society that breeds the insecurity that people have around them. Once you've introduced the disabled pony, she'd better be there to say.
But at the same time, if you're going to introduce her, give her a full episode. Don't just slip her in, have her cause a mess, and make her look stupid for cheap laughs as a first impression. Also, Derpyhooves isn't such a hot choice for a name. It arguably stems as a slur against disabled people, and at best it's still making fun of her for her disability.
I swear I only know about all this from news articles (yeah, it's making news), and watching the original and the edited scenes of Derpyhooves's introduction.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Old Drafts and Medical Consultation
This is something you've probably never thought about, but every draft I've written and abandoned on this blog shows up on my post counter. I don't think you guys get to see one, but I do, every time I log in. I just went through the archives and deleted every one of these drafts. The actual number of published posts on this blog is 286. Not completely positive on the number before I cleaned up, but I'm going to say it was something between 300 and 305. So that's maybe 15 to 20 drafts.
They all seemed to take one of two themes. They were either only one or two sentences long, and the first couple sentences that would start the following post, usually fairly closely spaced in time from one another. These came about from me being distracted in the early stages of writing an entry, and when I came back, found that it would be quicker or more convenient to just start from scratch instead of looking for the draft so I could edit it.
The other main type I found was when I'd been upset about something, oftentimes on topics that I, as a policy, don't publish. They're of me venting into the draft, having a second thought, deciding to put it off a bit and judge after I've cooled down, and then after I'd cooled down I would always decide to play it safe and not publish it.
Kind of a depressing read, actually. I hadn't realized that I'd gathered a number of those.
Today, I went to see that specialist for my appointment concerning the potential African parasite. I'd waited over a month to see this guy, and he cancelled at the last moment. Like, literally, the nurse was apparently informed that he wouldn't see me within ten minutes of my appointment. I was in the waiting room when it happened. Now they want to reschedule, for April 15th!
To be fair, it sounded like a pretty legitimate family emergency. They went so far as to tell me that his wife had just been in a car accident. In my head, I still tried to make him sound at fault "Yeah, well, HE wasn't in a car accident, now was he?" but honestly, I can't imagine myself prioritizing my workaday life over the sudden news that my wife was in a car crash. Especially when all he was preparing to say was that everything was fine.
It's pretty annoying, though. This Cutaneous Leishmaneasis thing would have gotten into my system well before today. It's easily curable with antibiotics if caught in the early stages, and I was supposed to get it seen as soon as possible. Let me tell you, it's not in the early stages anymore.
That being said, it's almost gone, now. It stopped multiplying, and I only have a few red spots where the old ones used to be. I wish they could have at least told me how the skin sample test came out. I don't know why I need to have some formal meeting for that. Just leave me a paper at the front desk, or tell me over the phone, or send me an email. It would be better than nothing.
They all seemed to take one of two themes. They were either only one or two sentences long, and the first couple sentences that would start the following post, usually fairly closely spaced in time from one another. These came about from me being distracted in the early stages of writing an entry, and when I came back, found that it would be quicker or more convenient to just start from scratch instead of looking for the draft so I could edit it.
The other main type I found was when I'd been upset about something, oftentimes on topics that I, as a policy, don't publish. They're of me venting into the draft, having a second thought, deciding to put it off a bit and judge after I've cooled down, and then after I'd cooled down I would always decide to play it safe and not publish it.
Kind of a depressing read, actually. I hadn't realized that I'd gathered a number of those.
Today, I went to see that specialist for my appointment concerning the potential African parasite. I'd waited over a month to see this guy, and he cancelled at the last moment. Like, literally, the nurse was apparently informed that he wouldn't see me within ten minutes of my appointment. I was in the waiting room when it happened. Now they want to reschedule, for April 15th!
To be fair, it sounded like a pretty legitimate family emergency. They went so far as to tell me that his wife had just been in a car accident. In my head, I still tried to make him sound at fault "Yeah, well, HE wasn't in a car accident, now was he?" but honestly, I can't imagine myself prioritizing my workaday life over the sudden news that my wife was in a car crash. Especially when all he was preparing to say was that everything was fine.
It's pretty annoying, though. This Cutaneous Leishmaneasis thing would have gotten into my system well before today. It's easily curable with antibiotics if caught in the early stages, and I was supposed to get it seen as soon as possible. Let me tell you, it's not in the early stages anymore.
That being said, it's almost gone, now. It stopped multiplying, and I only have a few red spots where the old ones used to be. I wish they could have at least told me how the skin sample test came out. I don't know why I need to have some formal meeting for that. Just leave me a paper at the front desk, or tell me over the phone, or send me an email. It would be better than nothing.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
CWY Logbook Photo Gallery
Well, I made my photo gallery contribution to the CWY logbook, just like I said I would. It covers both La Pocatiere and Karadie. I was surprised in that I managed not to have the Mali photos dominate the post by too much. I posted 18 Quebec photos, and 22 Mali ones. If you want, you can glance over it. I only published eight Quebec pictures in my Gallery blog, five of which I reposted to the logbook, so that's 13 new Quebec photos. Most of the Mali photos on the logbook have been seen here, but I posted some new ones of just random villagers, and I think a couple of the animal pictures are new.
I tried not to post images that gravitated around my specific experience, and instead attempted to give an idea of the program in general. I only posted images in groups of two or four, to help spacing, and tried not to concentrate on any one area too heavily.
Mama made it into two photos. Don't know how I feel about that, but I thought they were the best combination of photos, given the format, so I let it slide.
Here's the link: http://logbook.cwy-jcm.com/maliquebec1/2012/03/03/photos-of-la-pocatiere-and-karadiekaradje/
I actually got a message from my CP today, asking me how Canada and my family are, and telling me that all is well in Mali.
I tried not to post images that gravitated around my specific experience, and instead attempted to give an idea of the program in general. I only posted images in groups of two or four, to help spacing, and tried not to concentrate on any one area too heavily.
Mama made it into two photos. Don't know how I feel about that, but I thought they were the best combination of photos, given the format, so I let it slide.
Here's the link: http://logbook.cwy-jcm.com/maliquebec1/2012/03/03/photos-of-la-pocatiere-and-karadiekaradje/
I actually got a message from my CP today, asking me how Canada and my family are, and telling me that all is well in Mali.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Continuing the Application
Okay, so I got the college application form working. Turns out, sometimes when you press "Save" it decides to save your info, and sometimes it decides to delete it. It wasn't hiding what I'd put in it before, it never processed it. So I just saved the info in a word processor, and kept plugging it into this form until it decided to take it.
I wound up dividing Katimavik and CWY into their separate stations, because there was no way to put multiple locations. I'm lucky that none of the smaller communities I've worked in took place in Ontario. If you select another country or province, they allow you to write down the name of a community, but if it's in Ontario, you have to select from a drop-down menu. There's no way that Chisasibi or Karadie would have made it onto a list like that. Probably even La Pocatiere is too small.
Check how I buffed out my work station descriptions. Each one required a description of up to 500 characters.
Ways2Work Participant
Successfully completed the Ways2Work program, a self-development and pre-employment program held at 2ndchance employment counseling. Acquired skills and information on values and self-esteem, balancing life, survivability, job retention and employer expectations. Received certification in Smart Serve, First Aid, Safe Food Handling and WHMIS.
Support Worker (Katimavik)
Acted as full-time volunteer for Katimavik, the youth travel-volunteer program. Was stationed at Community Connections, a non-profit organization which provides a range of employment, residential, and support services to adult persons with intellectual disabilities. Attended additional workshops and volunteer events on evenings and weekends.
General Labourer (Katimavik)
Acted as full-time volunteer for the Katimavik program. Was stationed at the Regional Food Distribution Association, an organization dedicated to the distribution of food to a wide variety of charities. Checked for due dates and damages, transported, stocked and inventoried food donations. Aided with the distribution of food donations. Attended additional workshops and volunteer events on evenings and weekends.
Katimavik Volunteer
Acted as full-time volunteer for the Katimavik program. Participated in various volunteer events in a traditional First Nations community, with the inclusion of several larger projects. These included assisting in the construction of traditional housing, preparing traditional meals, maintaining living facilities, enforcing regulations at ceremonies, and overseeing the well-being of local youth.
Horticulturalist (Canada World Youth)
Acted as full-time volunteer for the Canada World Youth program. Acted as horticulturalist under Pierre Saindon, working for the town of La Pocatiere. Took an active role in the development of a healthy environment by preparing soil, planting and maintaining flowers and trees and sorting and transporting equipment. Increased awareness on environmental concerns by hosting a tree-planting workshop. Attended weekly Educational Activity lessons and workshops.
Agriculturalist (Canada World Youth)
Acted as Canadian Ambassador for the Canada World Youth travel-volunteer program. Performed various tasks to increase quality of life for the residents of a subsistence community. These included constructing a garden for local women. Developing, dividing, and distributing potatoes for cultivation. Constructing stoves out of subsistence material to reduce fuel consumption. Preparing soil, planting seeds, tending trees, and assembling fences.
I was so tempted to put "Canadian Ambassador" as my title during my time in Mali. That's what they called us, and I like to call myself that when I tell people what I did, but it sounds so powerful that on a form like that, the person is probably going to be disappointed by whatever I follow that statement with. I still put it in my description, though.
I added images to my logbook instructional guide for Mali. I already posted it on this logbook, but if you're interested in eyeballing it, than here's the link again: http://logbook.cwy-jcm.com/maliquebec1/2012/01/01/karadje-info/
I'm pretty pleased with it. I didn't add enough images for it to be a significant instrument in evaluating my statements. I only added enough to give it a little visual appeal and to help stimulate the attention of the reader. All in all it seems like a pretty tidy little article. I wish I'd written something on Bamako and the bartering system. Maybe I'll add something to it.
I think I'll make another post, which will be devoted to images. I'll give captions for a variety of images, like I've done here, and I'll cover both Mali and La Pocatiere.
I just read my joke of a journal, which I was trying to keep during my Mali exchange. Basically everything in here is about what I've eaten, or what I've purchased and for what price, and my interactions with the local women. Is that all I cared about when I was overseas, money, food and women?
I wound up dividing Katimavik and CWY into their separate stations, because there was no way to put multiple locations. I'm lucky that none of the smaller communities I've worked in took place in Ontario. If you select another country or province, they allow you to write down the name of a community, but if it's in Ontario, you have to select from a drop-down menu. There's no way that Chisasibi or Karadie would have made it onto a list like that. Probably even La Pocatiere is too small.
Check how I buffed out my work station descriptions. Each one required a description of up to 500 characters.
Ways2Work Participant
Successfully completed the Ways2Work program, a self-development and pre-employment program held at 2ndchance employment counseling. Acquired skills and information on values and self-esteem, balancing life, survivability, job retention and employer expectations. Received certification in Smart Serve, First Aid, Safe Food Handling and WHMIS.
Support Worker (Katimavik)
Acted as full-time volunteer for Katimavik, the youth travel-volunteer program. Was stationed at Community Connections, a non-profit organization which provides a range of employment, residential, and support services to adult persons with intellectual disabilities. Attended additional workshops and volunteer events on evenings and weekends.
General Labourer (Katimavik)
Acted as full-time volunteer for the Katimavik program. Was stationed at the Regional Food Distribution Association, an organization dedicated to the distribution of food to a wide variety of charities. Checked for due dates and damages, transported, stocked and inventoried food donations. Aided with the distribution of food donations. Attended additional workshops and volunteer events on evenings and weekends.
Katimavik Volunteer
Acted as full-time volunteer for the Katimavik program. Participated in various volunteer events in a traditional First Nations community, with the inclusion of several larger projects. These included assisting in the construction of traditional housing, preparing traditional meals, maintaining living facilities, enforcing regulations at ceremonies, and overseeing the well-being of local youth.
Horticulturalist (Canada World Youth)
Acted as full-time volunteer for the Canada World Youth program. Acted as horticulturalist under Pierre Saindon, working for the town of La Pocatiere. Took an active role in the development of a healthy environment by preparing soil, planting and maintaining flowers and trees and sorting and transporting equipment. Increased awareness on environmental concerns by hosting a tree-planting workshop. Attended weekly Educational Activity lessons and workshops.
Agriculturalist (Canada World Youth)
Acted as Canadian Ambassador for the Canada World Youth travel-volunteer program. Performed various tasks to increase quality of life for the residents of a subsistence community. These included constructing a garden for local women. Developing, dividing, and distributing potatoes for cultivation. Constructing stoves out of subsistence material to reduce fuel consumption. Preparing soil, planting seeds, tending trees, and assembling fences.
I was so tempted to put "Canadian Ambassador" as my title during my time in Mali. That's what they called us, and I like to call myself that when I tell people what I did, but it sounds so powerful that on a form like that, the person is probably going to be disappointed by whatever I follow that statement with. I still put it in my description, though.
I added images to my logbook instructional guide for Mali. I already posted it on this logbook, but if you're interested in eyeballing it, than here's the link again: http://logbook.cwy-jcm.com/maliquebec1/2012/01/01/karadje-info/
I'm pretty pleased with it. I didn't add enough images for it to be a significant instrument in evaluating my statements. I only added enough to give it a little visual appeal and to help stimulate the attention of the reader. All in all it seems like a pretty tidy little article. I wish I'd written something on Bamako and the bartering system. Maybe I'll add something to it.
I think I'll make another post, which will be devoted to images. I'll give captions for a variety of images, like I've done here, and I'll cover both Mali and La Pocatiere.
I just read my joke of a journal, which I was trying to keep during my Mali exchange. Basically everything in here is about what I've eaten, or what I've purchased and for what price, and my interactions with the local women. Is that all I cared about when I was overseas, money, food and women?
Thursday, March 1, 2012
College Application
Yeah, so I'm just gonna bite the bullet and do these college applications. They only charge you for the first application, and afterward, you can make as many as you want, free of charge. The sooner I apply, the greater my chances of getting in. I have no obligation to accept an offer, so I might as well make a bunch. Let's do this.
...Okay, so I've got the forms for Personal Information, Contact Information, Second Consent, Citizenship and Residency, Education and Financial Support filled out. Now, onto experience. It's got Job Experience, Test Information, and Activities. Are CWY and Katimavik work experience or activities? Should I list every station, or just make an entry for each program?
Okay, let's call them activities. Activity Name: Katimavik. Country: Canada. Province or Territory: ...
How do I fill this one out? It took place in three different provinces. There's no "Various" option, and it won't let me write my own entry.
Okay, so let's try putting them down as Job Experience. Fill out a separate form for each station, so each has one location. Okay, Community Connections... Alright, got it filled out.
Wait, where'd it go? Is there any way to review what I've submitted? Is there any way that I can even tell that it's processed what I've sent? It just disappeared.
Maaaan, this is a bad form. Every college and university website is built in the most illogical way possible. I don't understand it. Don't they have a school full of people studying this stuff? I guarantee if they took any half-decent student in their last year, they'd do a better job than whoever they have doing this stuff now. It's like, the first challenge in completing post secondary is managing to apply for the program in the first place.
Okay, let's go to "Help". Alright, select a topic concerning your question. "Activities". Okay, so this is just definitions for some of the areas "City" "Enter the city that this activity took place in".
Let's go to "Frequently Asked Questions". Okay, so they just show the top ten, none of which are relevant to me. Type in your own question, "What if my activity took place in more than one location?" It gives the closest match "What programs are available at Ontario Colleges?" Okay, that's not anywhere near what I was trying to ask. They give ten other possible questions, but they're all way off.
Okay, they give me a way to contact them. I sent a message. It guarantees that I will receive a response within three business days. I don't even want to wait that long.
A big chunk of Ontario lost power the other day, expanding into Guelph. We lost power, but only for like, an hour and a half.
...Okay, so I've got the forms for Personal Information, Contact Information, Second Consent, Citizenship and Residency, Education and Financial Support filled out. Now, onto experience. It's got Job Experience, Test Information, and Activities. Are CWY and Katimavik work experience or activities? Should I list every station, or just make an entry for each program?
Okay, let's call them activities. Activity Name: Katimavik. Country: Canada. Province or Territory: ...
How do I fill this one out? It took place in three different provinces. There's no "Various" option, and it won't let me write my own entry.
Okay, so let's try putting them down as Job Experience. Fill out a separate form for each station, so each has one location. Okay, Community Connections... Alright, got it filled out.
Wait, where'd it go? Is there any way to review what I've submitted? Is there any way that I can even tell that it's processed what I've sent? It just disappeared.
Maaaan, this is a bad form. Every college and university website is built in the most illogical way possible. I don't understand it. Don't they have a school full of people studying this stuff? I guarantee if they took any half-decent student in their last year, they'd do a better job than whoever they have doing this stuff now. It's like, the first challenge in completing post secondary is managing to apply for the program in the first place.
Okay, let's go to "Help". Alright, select a topic concerning your question. "Activities". Okay, so this is just definitions for some of the areas "City" "Enter the city that this activity took place in".
Let's go to "Frequently Asked Questions". Okay, so they just show the top ten, none of which are relevant to me. Type in your own question, "What if my activity took place in more than one location?" It gives the closest match "What programs are available at Ontario Colleges?" Okay, that's not anywhere near what I was trying to ask. They give ten other possible questions, but they're all way off.
Okay, they give me a way to contact them. I sent a message. It guarantees that I will receive a response within three business days. I don't even want to wait that long.
A big chunk of Ontario lost power the other day, expanding into Guelph. We lost power, but only for like, an hour and a half.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)