Olga with her class in Namibia

By Olga Tymejczyk, Program Advisor - USA

Hi, I recently joined the New York City office as a Program Advisor and was asked to introduce myself to the Projects Abroad community on the blog. Here is the story of how I became fascinated with international exchange.

As I child, I quickly developed a keen interest in atlases and maps. I was desperate to find a theory behind the assignment of colors to different countries on a map (Do the green countries have a lot of trees?). Crushed by the realization that country colors vary by map, I started to collect postcards sent by family friends from abroad, looking up countries in an encyclopedia and trying to imagine the people of those unknown lands. I vividly remember my disbelief, as I was gazing at pictures of a huge stone city high up in the mountains. This memory came back to me years later, taking my breath away as I saw Machu Picchu with my own eyes after a 5-day trek through the Andes.

My upbringing in a Ukrainian family living in Poland, as well as high school education in a German high school, made me very sensitive to the subtleties of history and identities. Having studied the Polish-Ukrainian conflicts both in a Polish and a Ukrainian school, as well as World War II in Poland and in Germany, I became interested in the diversity of perceptions and cultures around the world. In an attempt to learn more about the world, its peoples, and their worldviews, I followed my sister’s advice and sought scholarships to American colleges.

Olga on a recent trip to Arizona

At the age of 19, I arrived in the US to start my freshman year at Harvard. I was thrilled to share a suite with a Muslim girl born in India, a daughter of Chinese immigrants, a girl of Jamaican heritage, as well a roommate from the exotic shore of New Jersey. Harvard and the US provided the thrill of learning about people different from me, eavesdropping on conversations in languages I couldn’t understand, and tasting foods I never imagined existed.

I chose to be a Latin American Studies major, because it promised to be an exposure to a yet another reality that I never got the chance to experience. My first trip while in college, however, was to Namibia. I traveled to that beautiful country as a volunteer English and IT teacher, but it was me who probably learned the most. While trying to share my knowledge with local children and teachers, I received an invaluable lesson about the value of international exchange. I was changed forever by living the life of a community that showed me how to do the best out of one’s circumstances and how to keep working for a better tomorrow.

Olga near Lanquin, Guatemala

I also had an amazing experience in Peru, whose kind people gave me a chance to become their friend despite my command of maybe 200 words in Spanish at the time. Encouraged by the openness of those strangers-now-friends, I decided to spend a semester in Argentina, at the University of Buenos Aires. Although the language barrier and differences in educational systems made for a rough adjustment period, I became fascinated with the passionate student body and the outspoken Argentinean population, not afraid to go out to the streets to make their voices heard. Long discussions about history and society with my wonderful host family revealed the side of Argentina I could have never experienced as a tourist. I left after 6 months with a pain in my heart, but also with a passion for tango, dulce de leche, and even the rhythms of cumbia villera (mate and famous Argentinean steak - not so much).

A recent experience that made me even more eager to explore the world was an internship with a Brazilian NGO. For two months, I did field research in public policy and lived with a family who were part of Brazil’s large Japanese population. This mixing of two different worlds at first gave me a headache, but turned out to be a wonderful lesson of diversity.

I’m very excited to join the Projects Abroad team! I look forward to getting to know everyone and helping make international experience happen for many more people around the world!

Dear loyal readers,

I just wanted to update everyone that I will be flying to Peru on this escorted flight from New York -JFK with an excited group of 2 week summer special volunteers this Saturday. Besides helping with the escorted flight I will be visiting our different programs in country, meeting staff members and speaking with volunteers which won’t leave a lot of time for the blog. But don’t fear I will update as often as I can and I will schedule several posts over the next week or so to keep you entertained and informed. Plus you can expect a flurry of activity when I return in two weeks.

This also gives me the opportunity to post a couple of photos from Rob, our Director in Canada. After reading through Scott’s trip report to Jamaica and his recreation of Laurens’ now infamous waterfall picture, he sent along these photos of him at Machu Picchu where he tried to recreate a photo that has been widely used in our promotional materials and fair stands. Below is the famous photo:

And here are Rob’s recreations. He “claims” that Machu Picchu is 100% behind the clouds but I am a little skeptical……

Take 1

Take 2

Not only will I be exploring a new country but I will also try my hand at recreating this photo. Hopefully there will be no clouds when I visit Machu Picchu, fingers crossed!

Safe travels,

Will

Partnership Workshop in Mandeville, Jamaica

The work of Projects Abroad in Jamaica has been explained in an article published on the Jamaican Information Services Governmental website, link here

Project Abroad Jamaica will be undertaking a number of programmes in Jamaica for the 2009/10 period, as the organisation continues its voluntary work in the island.

“Projects Abroad Country Manager, Bridgette Barrett, speaking at a partnership workshop in Mandeville Manchester yesterday (June 4), said that these include undertakings in the areas of culture, medicine and health care, conservation and the environment particularly in disaster management and agriculture. Residents of the parishes of St. Elizabeth, St. Ann and Manchester are expected to benefit from these initiatives.

The workshop, held at the Golf View Hotel, was attended by more than 40 representatives from various fields and disciplines such as sports, academia, community development, health, child care, parenting associations, local government, among other areas.

Participants in the workshop were introduced to and updated on the work of the local arm of the organisation over the last year. They also made suggestions about ways in which projects in Jamaica, undertaken by the group, can be strengthened.

Ms. Barrett said that the aim of her team is to make the organisation “the best” and added that the participants have made some very valuable suggestions.”

View of Old Brasov from Mount Tampa

By Armando (Chava) Salvador, Web Designer

I’ve been working with the Romanian IT Team for almost four years now, and I used to think since Romania was straight from the Communist Block that people there had no sense of humor, but that idea disappeared as soon as I left the plane in Bucharest with a massive coat at 89.6 ºF (32 ºC), obviously I’ve asked to someone from the IT Team about the weather and he took the chance to play a little joke ..

I was so tired since it was a very long trip from Mexico to Romania. Alexandru Parasca (Para) picked us up at the airport and the trip from Bucharest to Brasov took us more than three hours since there was a lot of traffic. After some traffic we started to move faster and I really wanted to sleep but the landscapes were so beautiful. The mountains, the houses, everything looked so different from anything I’ve ever seen that I just couldn’t stop enjoying the ride.

Tom at Bran Castle

As soon as we started to have contact with the local people we noticed they were so warm and nice, even more than my fellow Mexicans! I’m used to shaking hands, hugging and kissing people but nothing like in Romania, amazing, just amazing!!

I really loved everything about Romania, the people, the food, the architecture, everything. There is a mountain named Tampa with a “Brasov” sign at the top just like in Hollywood and we went on a hike up it one day. It was easy to see where the old Brasov ended and the new Brasov began. The old Brasov was covered in red because of the red tiled roofs while the new Brasov was more gray colored because of the concrete apartment blocks all around.

Chava by the Brasov sign on Mount Tampa

I made some great friends with the IT Team and the Romanian Staff, they are such nice and warm people. Mircea, the Country Director, invited us all to his apartment where we ate homemade bread and black olives. We had a really great time there and a few days later his mom invited us to dinner. She is the most adorable woman ever. Besides the amazing traditional Romanian food we had a nice chat about a lot of things including Mexican soap operas.

Dinner with the Romania staff

In regards to the Mexican soap operas, the only contact many Romanians have with Mexico are these soap operas, so every time people heard my real name (Armando Salvador), not my nickname (Chava), they said “Oh telenovelas name”. Every place we visited people would ask me “Are you Mexican?”, and I used to answer “Yes, how did you know?”, and they would say “It’s obvious!!! All Mexicans looks pretty much like you!!”, so suddenly I became exotic and “The only Mexican in the village”, which was so fun!

Ok, this isn’t everything, my mind never forgets, but I think this is enough to express a clear idea about my recent trip there.

Catch you later, or how Romanians say “La revedere” (Good Bye)  or “pa pa” (bye bye)…

By Harry Kent, Programme Advisor - UK

Anyone who has ever worked in India has always said how different it is from anywhere else in the world, but no one could have prepared me for life in the small town of Sivakasi in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. In the back of my mind I was expecting a very similar experience to my time spent in Sri Lanka, but the ricshaws and saree’s is where the similarity ends.

My main preconceptions of India came from the award winning film Slumdog Millionaire which I feel paints an accurate picture of city life in India. I arrived to Sivakasi and soon realised that it is a country steeped in tradition, a country of aromatic spice, and a country of diverse religion.

Wherever I have been with Projects Abroad I have noticed an aspiration for the Western world, mainly the Ghanaians and their passion for the English Premier League, but India for me is so rich in its own culture that it does not aspire to the wealth of the west thus making it such a fascinating country to volunteer in.

Living in Sivakasi is like nothing I have experienced before and perhaps like anything I will experience again. The colourful temples, the spicy aromas, and the constant echoing sounds of horns are just some of the things that make this country such a rich cultural experience.

I look forward to meeting all the volunteers coming to India this summer.

To learn more about our programs in India click HERE

Verge Magazine is holding a travel photography contest in several categories with a couple different prizes for the winners. Just be sure to submit your entry by July 1, 2009- 6pm EST. The one caveat is that the contest is only open to Canadian nationals and international subscribers.

More information about the categories, submission and rules of the contest can be found here: http://www.vergemagazine.ca/photocontest/

Good luck!

Craig with his work colleagues at ‘The Daily Voice’

By Craig Ferriman, Programme Advisor - Projects Abroad UK

I’m Craig Ferriman and the newest member of the UK office in Sussex on England’s beautiful South Coast. I’m here over the summer period in the UK recruitment team working on various things including the development of the Projects Abroad Groups website and will be attending many of the school and college fairs to attract interest in students thinking about volunteering abroad.

My association began with Projects Abroad about eighteen months ago when I booked to travel to South Africa as the first Journalism volunteer. I spent two months in South Africa’s mother city, Cape Town, and it was an incredibly life changing experience. My host family were victims of the oppressive apartheid regime and spent the majority of their lives in the grim Cape Flats saving up in the belief that they may one day be allowed to live where they chose. Their wish came true and they now live in a leafy, suburban part of Cape Town. The stories they told me were extraordinary. I spent my days with reporters on the province’s only tabloid – ‘The Daily Voice’ – covering all manner of hard news. I scooped a front page story and a double page exclusive in my time as well as twelve other articles. My notions about the ethics of Journalism were challenged and my writing style was honed but more than that my eyes were considerably opened to the corruption of Southern African politics and the extreme poverty with which so many Capetonians live in.

Craig ostrich riding

I was originally born in Newcastle but relocated to Southampton at the age of eleven and spent the duration of my secondary school there. I took a year out after school working and travelling (including my time in South Africa with Projects Abroad). When I returned from travelling to the UK, I started my first of three years at Queen Mary College, University of London doing a BA in English Literature.

Since last October I have been attending fairs and giving talks at schools, colleges and universities attracting attention and interest in volunteering with us overseas. It is my pleasure to be spending time in the UK office this summer with a friendly and warm group of individuals who have been most welcoming. No two days are ever the same with the Ghana and Bolivia Directors, Tom Davis and Daniela Viljoen having already passed through and Recruitment Directors, Tom Pastorius, Rob Levine and Frank Seidel joining us in the office. Who knows who’ll pop by next?