My last days at DFAIT were interesting. I completed a 50 page standard operating procedure for the program I was working for and said my goodbyes. My director thanked me for the "Thankless work" I had done for the group.
When I started at foreign affairs I was really excited to be working with a programming unit. I thought that working for a program would expose me to fewer of the elements I disliked about working as an assistant policy analyst, which I had (incorrectly) identified as relating to policy analysis. I felt that by working with a program I would be able to see the tangible impact of my work. And to an extent I did, I saw the photocopies I made and sat in on the meetings I arranged, but as it turned out, it was the administrative components both part of my positions at Foreign Affairs and Public Safety that I found most uninteresting.
Also, being exposed to the programming environment also regularly caused me to return to questions raised in my course work at Dalhousie. Is it adequate to use standard formatting for tasks such as monitoring and evaluation? Was the work that was being done actually meeting the needs of the program beneficiaries, or was Canada the real beneficiary? and what role is any should the political branch of the public service play in programming (in my opinion this should be close to none but it doesn't always work that way). However, I can definitely see value to these questions being raised in an employment setting and so it was an interesting experience.
I'm also glad to have had that experience because it made me realize I would prefer to work in a policy setting rather than a program setting (at least while I am still working at the assistant or officer level). Further, I feel like working at Foreign Affairs was possibly the first time where I successfully developed strong (and perhaps lasting) professional relationships.
So in the end I suppose the experience was not time wasted.
For the last two weeks of August I am back to canvassing for Amnesty International with Public Outreach. This may surprise you to read but I actually quite enjoy working for Public Outreach. I am happy to have an opportunity to talk to the general public about issues relating to Human Rights. I also love the people who I work with, many of whom are students. My colleagues are from many different educational and professional backgrounds, all of whom have at least a passing interest in the issues we talk about on a daily basis.
There are some things about working with Public Outreach that discourage me as well. I feel that there is a startling amount of disengagement in issues which people view as third world problems and I have met more than a few people who seem to feel no obligation to support human rights and dignity for people outside of their immediate circles. I also am a bit discouraged about the way some people treat canvasser, particularly those canvassing on the street rather than door to door. Street canvassers put a lot of themselves out there to try to get people's attention and engage in meaningful conversations but many people react abrasively. Perhaps they feel guilty that they cannot help, they are disinterested or just really busy, but it would seem to me that the decent thing to do would be to politely acknowledge someone rather than ignoring them or being rude.
Also you should know that you may think that you don't have $10 a month to give to charity, but neither do the people who live in houses with 3 car garages.
Meanwhile, I'm also packing up and getting ready to go to Mississauga before I come back to Ottawa and move on to Uganda. Should be easy right?
Not a chance.
To give you an idea I have had 2 dentist appointments 3 optometrist appointments, a travel doctor appointments, multiple goodbyes, packing, attempts to give away and sell my things and even trying to secure Christmas presents for my family.
All that on top of my normal activities (swing dance, running, friending etc.)
So it's been interesting and continues to be.
But as always, I'm moving forward.
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