So while I was in Ottawa and staying with my friend Matt I found out that his mom knew a woman who worked for Medeciens Sans Frontier who worked in the DRC. Sherry agreed to bring me up in a conversation with this individual and see if she would be interested in talking to me. As it happened she was and I was told to be expecting an e-mail from her, which never arrived. Concluding she simply had not had time I followed up with her in an e-mail last night in which I introduced myself and my thesis. She replied that if we were to speak it would have to be within the next 5 days and as it happened the best time for us to speak was right when I got her e-mail. So I quickly gathered my questions and opened my consent form and called this woman up, I did not expect to have my first interview today (or even this week!) All in all the interview went very well, although she was not able to speak to all of my questions she provided some really interesting insights into the conflict in addition to problems surrounding the large number of internally displaced people in North Kivu where she was, which was not a topic I had given much thought to. Although it was a bit rushed and I was very anxious throughout the e-mail I feel like it was successful!
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Run-on Paragraph
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Updates Smupdates
Yeah so its been a while. I assume I'll feel more inclined to write once I'm out of my element and experiencing some real adventure but until then you have to put up with my rambling.
Ottawa:
So I realize this is a bit delayed, partially because I was trying to determine how much I could write about Ottawa without becoming boring. In any case I spent most of the first three days with my mom and aunt which was a combination of fun and not so much. The evenings were spent with various people including my cousins, Sarah and Adam (at Karaoke... one word/ band name: Journey ;)) The following 4.5 days of my trip were spent galavanting around Ottawa with various people including: Sarah, Taylor, Adam, Tricia, Steph, Joe, Matt and Josh. Of particular note was a fantastic night arranged by the lovely Josh in which I drank with a certain news anchor which was very cool. On Saturday we went to Moonie's Bay and celebrated Tricia's 23rd Birthday and on Sunday we headed to Dunn's for our usual Sunday morning Goodbye Brunch.
Before leaving Ottawa both in the physical sense and in the literary sense a thought: Given that these Sunday morning goodbye brunches have become such a tradition I shudder to think what I'll do if my visit to Ottawa ever ends on a day other than a Sunday. Goooo Eggs!
Last Month in Halifax:
Ben came back with me to Halifax from Ottawa and he was one of a number of visitors who came to Halifax in the month of August also including Kristen and Joe. Again I indulged them in fairly touristy activities inaddition to incessant tournaments of Mario Kart and movie watching, particularly with Kristen who arrived sick.
Outside of my visitors I found my last few weeks somewhat stressful with trying to get everything done in preparation for my impending trip. Among other things I needed to meet twice with my supervisor and co-supervisors and once with my second reader (who I hadn't been in touch with since May), saying goodbye to friends, having a myriad of appointments (including dental in which I discovered I needed my wisdom teeth out and they're impacted JOY!) getting a grant application in and occassionally reading and practicing my French (which will be very important in Geneva and for my interaction with my Congolese Research Participants). In other news I continue to find it difficult to e-mail contacts who are supposed to be able to help with my research as it inevitably results in me checking my e-mail 2,000,000,000.5 times a day only to hear 5 days later when I've already given up hope of ever hearing back. (Although I'm also discovering that obtaining a response sometimes requires a follow-up e-mail, apparently the people I'm dealing with also have busy lives).
On a Cheerier note (I guess) August was significantly more favorable than my other months spent in Halifax. Having discovered Manhunt, my trips to various locations throughout Halifax to play hide and seak on Tuesday nights. The weather improved significantly and I think for the first time there were actually more sunny days than cloudy ones (which apparently for Halifax is a feat!) and the temperature warmed up slightly. Also my social calendar was at its fullest of the entire summer as people began to return from research trips or crawled out from under the rocks where they had apparently been hiding. But thats how it usually goes right? You find things you love about the place you live right when you're leaving?
My last week in Halifax was certainly eventful. With Joe still there on Monday I came down with quite a sore throat which prompted me to cancel a dentist appointment (what a tragedy) and seek medical attention to try to stave off some kind of bacterial infection of doom. Unfortunately the doctor who at the time only observed a sore throat informed me I had a virus and I would have to live with it despite my Friday flight. In any case after two nights of not sleeping I then had to move which became somewhat disasterous when I moved all of my items (they were 7 in all but none weighing under 30lbs) down two flights of stairs in hope of receiving a price break from the movers which didn't happen, having to walk back to the Storage facility where I had my stuff dropped off which took 30 minutes because I had forgotten I needed a pad lock, discovering upon arrival that the movers hadn't put my objects in my storage unit in any form of order and having to reorganize everything and on top of everything being happy I reorganized my things because 5 minutes later the mover phoned to inform me that he had failed to offload my chest of drawers which is pretty much my prized possession (its solid wood) which had a space in my locker thanks to my reorganization (I realize that was a run on sentence but it was also a run-on incident). After a couple of more hicups I went to meet Andrew for coffee and stopped in to a pharmacist for a recomendation of a decongestant which worked better than the nasal spray and advil cold and sinus I was taking because its didn't seem to be working. When I told the pharmacist about my flight and told her about the ineffectiveness of the two medications (both of which she said she'd normally recomend) she ordered me back to the doctor. Given it was 9 o'clock the appointment had to wait until the next day and after a THIRD sleepless night, the doctor finally confirmed I had a sinus infection (and possibly the beginnings of bronchitis since he muttered something after listening to my chest) and gave me some antibiotics which have upset my stomach but seem to have cleared up most of my problem (thank god). So its Thursday at this point and my last day in Halifax so I of course have a number of social obligations to meet so I did in a heavily caffinated manner, the most important of which included a potluck in the evening in honour of my departure which included Marzipan cake which I haven't consumed since Holland (Its soooooooooooooooooooooooo good!)
So other than that my voyage home was relatively uneventful other than on the radio on the way to the airport I learned that I had some how missed a Tornado in Toronto by a day and was missing Hurricane Bill hitting Halifax by 2. This was fine by me.
Return to Ontario
So upon my return to Ontario the socializing started as soon as I got off the plane. Waiting to greet me at the airport was my friend Lukas who was visiting Canada from Germany who joined me for his last weekend in Canada. With him I attended a highschool get-together and the Great Big Sea Concert with Kristen and Joe (which was awesome by the way!) Sadly he left me on Sunday, but not for long as I will be visiting him in Germany over my first of two weekends in Europe! Hooray! Other than that I've had the occassional rendez-vous with friends and have been trying to recouperate from this whole sinus business and get caught up on some back logged work.
A Random Thought
As you've probably noticed I've been writing a bit about my pre-departure feelings a bit on the blog, which is boring for you I'm sure, but helps me keep track. Although as I previously announced I'm now feeling more excited than worried an additional feeling has been creeping up on me. As most of you know I left an emotionally abussive and very dysfunctional relationship over a year and a half ago. While I tried casual dating and even had a boyfriend for two months in the first year after our breakup I feel like it really took me that year to get over it. Now that I am over it I find myself somewhat frustrated with my relationship status, aka singledom. In the past few months I've seen friends breakup and get together, I've watched terrible romantic comedies and hoped to meet someone who felt right. Unfortunately my situation is feeling pretty stagnant. I will meet a guy, think he's great and then things won't work out. Or I'll be approached by friends seeking me out as a romantic partner with whom I feel a relationship would be inapropriate for a myriad of reasons (including of course that I'm about to leave the continent for 4 months but whatever. Don't question my feelings :P) In any case its got me wondering whether there really is someone out there for me or whether in 9 or 10 years I'll become a burnt out workaholic or worse yet a CAT WOMAN. Now I know I've been worried about being a cat woman before but this is different. Before I felt like no one would ever be interested in me or even consider dating me (a very immature, insecure belief I might add), now I know there are men interested but I don't want to waste my time with the wrong guy or worse screw it up again. (it of course being my generalized long term relationship)
I know this must seem weird in combination with the other topics of this post, but I think it pretty much amounts to a deeper concern for what I might experience on my trip, and scarier yet what exactly will come of me following the completion of my M.A. Not to mention the fact that my biological clock has always had a particularly loud Tick.
Why I shouldn't wait so Long Between Posts
1. You guys get tired of continually finding nothing when you check my blog
2. It tends to create monster posts like the one here tonight.
Until Next Time:
Cheers!
Ottawa:
So I realize this is a bit delayed, partially because I was trying to determine how much I could write about Ottawa without becoming boring. In any case I spent most of the first three days with my mom and aunt which was a combination of fun and not so much. The evenings were spent with various people including my cousins, Sarah and Adam (at Karaoke... one word/ band name: Journey ;)) The following 4.5 days of my trip were spent galavanting around Ottawa with various people including: Sarah, Taylor, Adam, Tricia, Steph, Joe, Matt and Josh. Of particular note was a fantastic night arranged by the lovely Josh in which I drank with a certain news anchor which was very cool. On Saturday we went to Moonie's Bay and celebrated Tricia's 23rd Birthday and on Sunday we headed to Dunn's for our usual Sunday morning Goodbye Brunch.
Before leaving Ottawa both in the physical sense and in the literary sense a thought: Given that these Sunday morning goodbye brunches have become such a tradition I shudder to think what I'll do if my visit to Ottawa ever ends on a day other than a Sunday. Goooo Eggs!
Last Month in Halifax:
Ben came back with me to Halifax from Ottawa and he was one of a number of visitors who came to Halifax in the month of August also including Kristen and Joe. Again I indulged them in fairly touristy activities inaddition to incessant tournaments of Mario Kart and movie watching, particularly with Kristen who arrived sick.
Outside of my visitors I found my last few weeks somewhat stressful with trying to get everything done in preparation for my impending trip. Among other things I needed to meet twice with my supervisor and co-supervisors and once with my second reader (who I hadn't been in touch with since May), saying goodbye to friends, having a myriad of appointments (including dental in which I discovered I needed my wisdom teeth out and they're impacted JOY!) getting a grant application in and occassionally reading and practicing my French (which will be very important in Geneva and for my interaction with my Congolese Research Participants). In other news I continue to find it difficult to e-mail contacts who are supposed to be able to help with my research as it inevitably results in me checking my e-mail 2,000,000,000.5 times a day only to hear 5 days later when I've already given up hope of ever hearing back. (Although I'm also discovering that obtaining a response sometimes requires a follow-up e-mail, apparently the people I'm dealing with also have busy lives).
On a Cheerier note (I guess) August was significantly more favorable than my other months spent in Halifax. Having discovered Manhunt, my trips to various locations throughout Halifax to play hide and seak on Tuesday nights. The weather improved significantly and I think for the first time there were actually more sunny days than cloudy ones (which apparently for Halifax is a feat!) and the temperature warmed up slightly. Also my social calendar was at its fullest of the entire summer as people began to return from research trips or crawled out from under the rocks where they had apparently been hiding. But thats how it usually goes right? You find things you love about the place you live right when you're leaving?
My last week in Halifax was certainly eventful. With Joe still there on Monday I came down with quite a sore throat which prompted me to cancel a dentist appointment (what a tragedy) and seek medical attention to try to stave off some kind of bacterial infection of doom. Unfortunately the doctor who at the time only observed a sore throat informed me I had a virus and I would have to live with it despite my Friday flight. In any case after two nights of not sleeping I then had to move which became somewhat disasterous when I moved all of my items (they were 7 in all but none weighing under 30lbs) down two flights of stairs in hope of receiving a price break from the movers which didn't happen, having to walk back to the Storage facility where I had my stuff dropped off which took 30 minutes because I had forgotten I needed a pad lock, discovering upon arrival that the movers hadn't put my objects in my storage unit in any form of order and having to reorganize everything and on top of everything being happy I reorganized my things because 5 minutes later the mover phoned to inform me that he had failed to offload my chest of drawers which is pretty much my prized possession (its solid wood) which had a space in my locker thanks to my reorganization (I realize that was a run on sentence but it was also a run-on incident). After a couple of more hicups I went to meet Andrew for coffee and stopped in to a pharmacist for a recomendation of a decongestant which worked better than the nasal spray and advil cold and sinus I was taking because its didn't seem to be working. When I told the pharmacist about my flight and told her about the ineffectiveness of the two medications (both of which she said she'd normally recomend) she ordered me back to the doctor. Given it was 9 o'clock the appointment had to wait until the next day and after a THIRD sleepless night, the doctor finally confirmed I had a sinus infection (and possibly the beginnings of bronchitis since he muttered something after listening to my chest) and gave me some antibiotics which have upset my stomach but seem to have cleared up most of my problem (thank god). So its Thursday at this point and my last day in Halifax so I of course have a number of social obligations to meet so I did in a heavily caffinated manner, the most important of which included a potluck in the evening in honour of my departure which included Marzipan cake which I haven't consumed since Holland (Its soooooooooooooooooooooooo good!)
So other than that my voyage home was relatively uneventful other than on the radio on the way to the airport I learned that I had some how missed a Tornado in Toronto by a day and was missing Hurricane Bill hitting Halifax by 2. This was fine by me.
Return to Ontario
So upon my return to Ontario the socializing started as soon as I got off the plane. Waiting to greet me at the airport was my friend Lukas who was visiting Canada from Germany who joined me for his last weekend in Canada. With him I attended a highschool get-together and the Great Big Sea Concert with Kristen and Joe (which was awesome by the way!) Sadly he left me on Sunday, but not for long as I will be visiting him in Germany over my first of two weekends in Europe! Hooray! Other than that I've had the occassional rendez-vous with friends and have been trying to recouperate from this whole sinus business and get caught up on some back logged work.
A Random Thought
As you've probably noticed I've been writing a bit about my pre-departure feelings a bit on the blog, which is boring for you I'm sure, but helps me keep track. Although as I previously announced I'm now feeling more excited than worried an additional feeling has been creeping up on me. As most of you know I left an emotionally abussive and very dysfunctional relationship over a year and a half ago. While I tried casual dating and even had a boyfriend for two months in the first year after our breakup I feel like it really took me that year to get over it. Now that I am over it I find myself somewhat frustrated with my relationship status, aka singledom. In the past few months I've seen friends breakup and get together, I've watched terrible romantic comedies and hoped to meet someone who felt right. Unfortunately my situation is feeling pretty stagnant. I will meet a guy, think he's great and then things won't work out. Or I'll be approached by friends seeking me out as a romantic partner with whom I feel a relationship would be inapropriate for a myriad of reasons (including of course that I'm about to leave the continent for 4 months but whatever. Don't question my feelings :P) In any case its got me wondering whether there really is someone out there for me or whether in 9 or 10 years I'll become a burnt out workaholic or worse yet a CAT WOMAN. Now I know I've been worried about being a cat woman before but this is different. Before I felt like no one would ever be interested in me or even consider dating me (a very immature, insecure belief I might add), now I know there are men interested but I don't want to waste my time with the wrong guy or worse screw it up again. (it of course being my generalized long term relationship)
I know this must seem weird in combination with the other topics of this post, but I think it pretty much amounts to a deeper concern for what I might experience on my trip, and scarier yet what exactly will come of me following the completion of my M.A. Not to mention the fact that my biological clock has always had a particularly loud Tick.
Why I shouldn't wait so Long Between Posts
1. You guys get tired of continually finding nothing when you check my blog
2. It tends to create monster posts like the one here tonight.
Until Next Time:
Cheers!
Friday, August 14, 2009
Anticipation
Its been a while. Although not much has changed since the time of my last update, at some point in the last week my mood has gone from anxiety and anticipation to excitement and anticipation which certainly comes as a relief. Instead of having trouble sleeping worrying about all that's left to do, what life's going to be like abroad and whether I'm going to find the answers which I seek, I now wake up with a great deal of excitement and anticipation about what's to come. I can't wait to visit the Small Arms Survey, UN and ICRC in Geneva and am excited about my weekend trip to Germany. Better yet, the adventure of my first trip to the African continent has me itching for adventure. To be honest I'm also really looking forward to being at home in Mississauga for 2.5 weeks before I go.
So now I just have to get through the last week in Halifax, which shouldn't be too hard since its already been filled up with meetings, coffee dates, moving and a potluck. Unfortunately I am still under the impression I should try to keep reading but the excitement and plenitude of things to do is making that difficult.
In other news I may have finally met a guy who I really like here. Bad timing. Luckily he'll still be here when I get back.
So now I just have to get through the last week in Halifax, which shouldn't be too hard since its already been filled up with meetings, coffee dates, moving and a potluck. Unfortunately I am still under the impression I should try to keep reading but the excitement and plenitude of things to do is making that difficult.
In other news I may have finally met a guy who I really like here. Bad timing. Luckily he'll still be here when I get back.
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