'your mountain is waiting.'

In a few hours, I'll FINALLY be en route to Ternopil, Ukraine.

Rather than try and sort out all of my mixed up feelings and overwhelming sense of excitement right at this very moment (which would be nearly impossible), I'm sharing the wise words of a wise man... Dr. Seuss. Fitting, no?

Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
Dr. Seuss

Congratulations! Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places! You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes,
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

You’ll look up and down streets, Look ‘em over with care.
About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
You’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any you’ll want to go down.
In that case, of course, you’ll head straight out of town.

It’s opener there in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen and frequently do
to people as brainy and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew.
Just go right along. You’ll start happening too.

OH! THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!
You’ll be on your way up! You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.
You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.
You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.


Wherever you fly, you’ll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don’t... Because, sometimes, you won’t.
I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true and hang-ups can happen to you.
You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You’ll be left in a Lurch.


You’ll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then, that you’ll be in a Slump.
And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.


You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked.
A place you could sprain both you elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?
And IF you go in, should you turn left or right…or right-and-three-quarters?
Or, maybe, not quite? Or go around back and sneak in from behind?



Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.
You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.


The Waiting Place…… for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to goor a bus to come, or a plane to goor the mail to come,
or the rain to goor the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a sting of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.


Everyone is just waiting.
NO! That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying.


You’ll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing.
With banner flip-flapping, once more you’ll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!



Oh, the places you’ll go!
There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored.
There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.

Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.
Except when they don’t.
Because, sometimes, they won’t.
I’m afraid that some times you’ll play lonely games too.
Games you can’t win 'cause you’ll play against you.
All Alone!


Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something you’ll be quite a lot.
And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance
you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.


But on you will go, though the weather be foul
On you will go, though your enemies prowl
On you will go, though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.
On and on you will hike and I know you’ll hike far
and face up to your problems, whatever they are.
You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know.
You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go.


So be sure when you step.
with care and great tact
and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)


KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby
or Brayor Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea,
you’re off to Great Places!


Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!

it's the final countdown.

As always - I've been procrastinating. I haven't had a problem keeping up with this blog until recently... between finishing exams, submitting overdue assignments, working at the bistro, moving back to Caledonia from Waterloo, and finalizing Ukraine details, I've hardly had time to breathe, let alone blog.

So this is me checking in... I'm taking it day by day - of which there are only four until D-Day --- DEPARTURE!

Despite all my running around, that to do list of mine is still far too overwhelming. Somehow I know it will all fall into place in the nick of time. At this point, I'm not even worried... I'm beyond excited and am thinking back to a conversation I had with Joanne, about being a ball of restless, impatient energy. As if I'm on the edge of something bigger than I can understand right now, on the cusp of some major (yet positive) changes. I have high expectations for the unexpected, for what is to come in the days and weeks ahead!

I'm ready.

quote of the day, v. IV

'Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved,

clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness,

humility, gentleness and patience.'

- Colossians 3:12

[Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and especially patience are characteristics that will benefit all of us as we depart for our placements in the next few days... All the best!]

Photo Credit: Adbusters

why service learning matters.

· “Faith without deeds is dead.”

· What’s the point of learning if you are not going to USE it?
· Responsible citizenship

· Action = good, reflection = better...
· Humanity – connections – relationships

· ‘Working towards a more peaceable world’

– Beyond Borders tagline

· What we OUGHT to do (Ought vs. Is)

· Morality
· Calling, purpose
· Sense of duty

· ‘Once you know what justice is, you have the obligation to act.’

· Idea of a social contract, norms, values...

· Belonging (greater sense of community?)

· Tasks of ethics (describe/prescribe)

· Taking time to understand a problem, better able to arrive at an appropriate solution... ?

· Engaging in dialogue, finding your own voice. allowing others to do the same

· Solidarity

(a note to Joanne... these are some initial thoughts and ideas, please do not consider this my 'final!' Thanks/dyakuju.)

because it's good for us.

quickly checking in before I call it a night...
so much to do, so little time! (see list above. yiiiiiikes.)
forty six days til departure. eeeeeeee!

I met with Ruby this morning to film (as if she doesn't have enough on her plate right now - she is putting together a video for the BB program...!), and we both realized that we're grateful for the eight-months-plus of preparation that we gain through our classes at St. Jerome's as well as the seminars.


By this point, most of us just want to board that plane and GO. Myself included. But looking back, I think that the coursework of this program really is an important ingredient (I can hear my class groaning as I write this... uh huh), providing us with the tools for making sense of, and making the most of, our volunteer placements abroad this summer. We have been challenged and surprised this far - without leaving home. Personally, I've come a long way since Scott intially terrified us with lectures on lifeboat ethics, The Plague, and the dreaded Pedagogy of the Oppressed... and am trying to find the proper words to describe the growth (academically and otherwise) I've experienced over the last few months.


Simply put: think of those lectures and readings as Buckley's cough medicine... tasting nasty but working like a charm, doing their job to make us better (responsible) students and citizens. (How's that for a plug?! ...SJU Development Office - watch out, here I come!)

let me be naive.

Others involved with Beyond Borders may have questioned their motives and reasoning for applying by this point in the game. I honestly haven’t doubted my commitment (yet), while there are a few ‘what ifs?’ worrying me, I strongly believe that I will not regret my BB experience. I initially applied to the program because I had always wanted to participate in some sort of international exchange while in university, and it seemed like the perfect combination of education, travel, and service opportunities. In addition to a personal curiosity towards social action and justice (I’m an SDS major, after all), I figured I would learn more in a three month placement overseas than I could ever gain in a classroom.

I can safely assume that we all hope that our experiences this summer will make a difference, and that we will in turn be positively changed. Maybe even have a significant impact on a community that is not our own. I joke about wanting to save the world, and there is truth in that. I realize that I am just one person, I will only be a part of Internat life for a mere three months, and that I will not be able to overcome the intense social stigmatization of the disabled that exists in Ukraine. Who am I to think that I can move mountains?! I have high hopes, and I fear that they will come crashing down while in Ternopil.

I know better than to assume that I can single-handedly save the girls of the Internat, let alone the rest of the world. I know that I will become angered by and frustrated with the strong stigmatization existing in Ukraine, so strong that anyone with a disability is not to be seen in public. I know that my heart will break, while I am in Ternopil and again when I return home, for those who have been abandoned and who lack a family. I know that I will become attached to some of the girls more than others, and that there will be days when I will not want to go to my placement because of my frustrations. I know that I will feel like I am not contributing, that my time there is pointless. While I know it is going to help me, expecting the negative aspects ahead of time, I occasionally want to ignore this awareness – just let me be naive, let me go into this with the best of intentions and high spirits, intent on positive change. Let me be naive, assuming that my work will be valued and that others will find it beneficial.

But – Myroslaw told Jessica and I that we are ‘building on success’ (...No pressure, right?!). Since his first visit to Ternopil a few years back, progress has in fact been made. Myroslaw is personally responsible for the existing partnership between the pedagogical university in Ternopil, the Internat, and Beyond Borders/St. Jerome’s University. He has been a source of invaluable encouragement and advice, for which I am incredibly appreciative (as is Jessica!). In the four years that BB students have worked in the Internat, social stereotypes have taken baby steps forward. Ukrainian students at the pedagogical university were stunned that Canadians had come to love the ‘unlovable,’ and according to Myroslaw, are slowly beginning to work together with the Internat staff. This is absolutely huge in a society where parents intentionally abandon their disabled children – simply for being born imperfect, 'defective'.

I only hope that I will make the most of my time and in Ternopil, that I will not be discouraged, and that Jessica and I will be able to assist the Internat staff. I pray that my heart will have enough room to fall in love with each child of the Internat!

let the countdown begin.

After meeting with Myroslaw Tataryn

(the dean and vice-president of St. Jerome's), Jessica and I now have a departure date set in place. We will be on our way to Ternopil in 62 days! The plan is to fly out of Toronto on May 9th, and we will stop in Vienna and Lviv before finally arriving in Ternopil to meet our host families on May 10th. Our language classes at the Hnatiuk Pedagogical University will begin immediately on the Monday (May 11th), and continue for three weeks. I feel that now that we know the 'official' departure date, a huge step forward has been taken. It's strange that having a set date makes the entire journey seem more realistic or believable; now we're able to put a deadline on those pesky to do lists and circle the date on our calendars as it is no longer up in the air. The trick now will be attempting to manage the anticipation (and nerves) for the next 62 days... trying to focus!

wondering.

One thing you may or may not know about me: my patience levels are extraordinarily low. I claim I was just 'born this way,' I was premature after all! But still, I typically look at what is ahead of me rather than focusing on the present. I'm big on anticipation.

Marissa pointed out that we have only 10 (10!) weeks before we depart for our placements. That being said, I'm getting antsy... I want to know when I'll be leaving, who I'll be living with, and whether or not I will have some time to travel and explore before coming home for a wedding mid-August.

Details are slightly up in the air, as my placement at the Internat with Jessica is now seperate from Intercordia Canada. From what I've been told this far, it is because the staff at the Internat prefers that we have Ukrainian language training; the language classes that we will take in Ternopil are not typical of other Intercordia placements. St. Jerome's is now in charge of booking our tickets, travel insurance, etc., rather than Intercordia.

I'm not sure what kind of other changes or alterations this means as of yet, as Jessica and I have to meet with Elyse (our wonderwoman at St. Jerome's), Joanne (our fearless leader and professor), and Myroslaw (dean of St. Jerome's) next week to sort through the details.

checking in.

I feel guilty for not posting something incredibly informative or thought provoking as of late. 'Overwhelmed' feels like an understatement right now - my to do list is a monster that has taken on a life of its own. As soon as I am satisfied by crossing off one or two items, four or five seem to spring up out of nowhere in their place. Aaak.
[Insert Joanne's start of term advice here: "It is okay to be frustrated. It is through frustration, that we learn..." And boy, am I ever learning!]


Some bits and pieces:

• Sure, I'm fairly chatty. But in front of a church congregation? I totally froze during my initial presentation at my fundraiser. I literally stood at the podium, smiling. Smiling goofily at a lot of people for a few minutes. Just hanging out. At the podium. And managed to squeak through the presentation and recover with a speech prepared once the movie was over. My in-class presentation wasn't quite so awkward. Let's hope that I'll eventually get better at this part.


• My passport has been renewed. One less thing to do!


• Current Ukrainian anxieties: the food, language and communication barriers, loneliness and isolation, potentially feeling like I'm useless at the orphanage?


• I've been trying to do background research on the Internat where I will be volunteering. So far - not much luck! I have so many questions - ...how do the girls end up at the Internat? How long have they been there for? What happens when they are no longer considered 'children,' where do they go? Are they able to be adopted? Are they a part of the education system? Why do orphanages seem to be common in Eastern Europe?

• This semester has been one of my most difficult while at UW... My concentration and efforts in other classes have been slip-sliding lower and lower as I've put most of my time and energy into preparations and plans related to Beyond Borders. Next time you see me, please remind me to focus... ? ['Dyakuju!]