Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Taking Chances

“What do you say to taking chances? What do you say to jumping off the edge? Never knowing if there’s solid ground below or hand to hold or hell to pay…”

At sixteen you decide on courses for CAPE with an idea of what you what to do in life, two years later you’re thumbing through university prospectuses hoping you’re making the right choice for the career path that you’ve decided upon.

We take so many chances everyday hoping and praying that they’ll work out for the best and sometimes they turn out far better than you ever could have dreamed.

Just about a year ago I took a chance. I accepted an eleven month placement in Badulla, Sri Lanka. I agreed to pack up and move clear across the globe to a city I’d never even heard about before where they spoke a language I didn’t know for almost an entire year.

Well that year is almost over…and it wasn’t always an easy year. Then again nothing worth having comes easily but it was worth it. I speak enough Sinhala to not get lost and I also know my way around the south of Sri Lanka so I’ve come a long way since I arrived here in the wee hours of July 28th 2010.

I helped write an annual work plan and a semi-annual report; I’ve participated in Tracer Study analysis and facilitated a workshop on monitoring and evaluation; I’ve scaled some pretty ridiculous hills in terrible footwear to speak with beneficiaries and I’ve had my world view challenged more than once. I went outside of my comfort zone and instead of breaking am now stronger for it.

So what do I say to taking chances??? I’m all for it and I’m looking forward to taking some more in the Fall.

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