"Learning" in Toronto

Hi Everyone,

I write to you today sitting in the EWB house in Toronto. I have been here for the past couple of weeks participating in EWB's month long intensive "learning" program.

Photo: Levi busy at the blackboard

There are 9 of us living and learning together at the moment. We hail from various parts of the country, from BC to Quebec, with one genuine Frenchman in our midst. We come from a range of backgrounds and experience; there are a few fresh grads like myself, one from industry, a few from consulting, an academic, and an elementary school french teacher. We're all heading to one of the 4 countries in which EWB currently works: Malawi (the coolest of the 4), Zambia, Ghana, and Burkina Faso.

The 9 of us live in the EWB house with 4 National Office interns. It is surprisingly manageable! On our first weekend we got kicked out of the house and shipped off camping to clear out some space for the 25ish Professional Chapter exec members that were here for their annual meeting, so the place is practically empty in comparison! Here's a photo from our camping trip at Emily Provincial Park:

From Left to right: Alanna (Burkina Faso), Me (Malawi), Simon (Burkina Faso), Trevor (Ghana), Heather's forehead (Malawi), Melissa (past volunteer), Boris (Ghana), Levi (our fearless leader - otherwise known as the Director of Overseas Programs), Sarah (Ghana), Thulasy (Zambia), Jason (past Volunteer).

**new**
and here's a whole album of the weekend


We have covered a wide range of topics during our learning sessions, ranging from basic development theory to health and safety issues.

The sessions are pretty intense, but we take time out of our busy days for the occasional yoga or hand stand session.

I'm leaving in less than two weeks . . . CRAZY! I'll post more about the joys of "learning" soon.

Cheers,
Kim