Assignment 2 - What has changed?

Hi Folks,

I love that some of you are really getting into the blogging. Some of my favorites have included seeing what crawled up Amy's shorts in Kenya, the poetic writings of Graham in India (check May 20th), Hani's reckoning with international diplomacy, Joëlle's funky posts in the Philippines, Juan Z making the ladies squeal in Costa Rica, fotos of beautiful Madrid from Madalina, the great pic of Marcel on Natali's blog, Sandra's birthday celebration, Sarah G's coining of a new term, the incredible blues of Russia from Sofiya, and Sunthar for the best use of gratuitous expletives.

Most of you are a good month into your internship and are likely well on your way to adapting. What I am interested in this week is how you have adapted. What have you changed in yourself to become more effective in your host culture? Often these changes are quite subtle and may require some introspection. Start with the easy stuff. How do you greet people (kiss on the cheek, more formal with names)? How do you eat your food (chopsticks, fingers)? Do you barter when you want to buy something or just pay the posted price like Canada? Have you forsaken your jeans and flipflops for the smartly professional look?

Then move into the less tangibles and think about why you have had to change and how effective that change is. For example, have you changed the way that you communicate? Perhaps you don't look people directly in the eye. Do you moderate the language that you use to sound less opinionated or definitive? Do you speak softer or louder?

Then dig a little deeper. Have you had to change your behaviour based on gender roles and rules applied to you by your host culture? How does that feel? For women, it can be a challenge because you can't go out after dark without an escort, you feel your opinion isn't taken as seriously as your male counterpart, you get given the up and down rather intently. For the men, it is can be challenging as well seeing creepy guys leer at your female counterparts. What do you do about that?

These are just some suggestions of things to examine. You will of course have your own good answers. I look forward to reading them and to you giving each other advice, or at least condolences and understanding.

Dig deep! No low hanging fruit. Happy blogging.

Blog of Note

Anyone celebrating their birthday while on internship? Check out how Sandra Elvin celebrated hers in Kenya last week - http://wildlifegirladventures.blogspot.com

Assignment 1 - Set the Scene

Are you there yet? I think just about everyone has boarded a plane and made their way to their internship. Congratulations! You are now in the trusted arms of our partner organizations. I am very much looking forward to hearing how it is going.

Your first blog assignment is just that. Paint a picture of the scene for us. Where are you? What are you doing? What does it look like? How do you feel? Start with the basics and go from there.

I have been loving the blogs that people have been writing. Natasha and I live vicariously through them for the summer. I have noticed some trends as you express your first impressions around people, food and traffic.

Part two of first assignment - think about the differences or similarities between where you are and back in Toronto. If the traffic is different, how is it different? Easy enough. Now, what does that difference mean? How does something as simple as traffic impact how society functions and/or culture interacts with transportation. How do the line ups for the bus or subway differ? Is there a bus or subway? Are the roads paved? If no, what does that mean in a wider relation to the society you are visiting? Compare and contrast this to Toronto.

How does the food taste? Better or worse than Toronto? Are the fruits and vegetables more fresh and flavorful? Why is that? Do you have access to the same variety of foodstuffs and restaurants as you do in Toronto? If no, what does that mean? How is food a reflection of the society you are visiting? How do locals interact with food? Is it fuel or do you dine for hours on end? Is there tradition or habit attached to eating? Think about food in your host culture and again, compare and contrast to what you know in Toronto.

Finally, I am so happy to hear that generally people are SO NICE! I love that. Children love you, parents trust you, co-workers welcome you, friends are easily made and deep, intimate friendships develop quickly. Is it different than Toronto? Are you different or are the people different? What is the difference and how does it manifest? Do people look you in the eye when you pass on the street? Are you greeted with a good morning from complete strangers? How does that feel coming from the Toronto "keep you head down and move" context? If they are so friendly, why? Does that mean we aren't? Dig around in there and see what you come up with.

I am so looking forward to you blogs. Remember, you are to take a look at five other blogs of your colleagues in the program and make comment. This is a global conversation.

Helpful Hints

Hi Folks,

Wow! Already over 40 blogs are up and ready to go. Most interns are on their way or leaving shortly so expect the first blog assignment early next week. In the meantime, I want to share with you some helpful hints on writing an effective blog from our friends at the Institute for Research and Innovation in Sustainability. For many of you, this is your first time blogging so I thought it might be of use.

Hi, welcome to the IRIS blogging tutorial! Whether you are new to the blogging sphere or are looking to sharpen your skills, I hope this guide will provide you with some helpful guidelines that can enrich your writing and reach out to a growing audience.

ANATOMY OF AN EFFECTIVE ENTRY

1. A snappy title

Think of newspaper headlines. Your title should capture the reader’s attention as well as the topic and argument of the entry.

2. Main-point appetizer

Put your main point in the first paragraph. Following your eye-catching title, this acts as the “hook” that sustains your reader’s interest in reading on.

3. Simple and informative body

Provide details on your topic in the following paragraphs. To avoid overwhelming your reader (and yourself), try to stick to the point and get it across with just an adequate amount of words.

4. Background in closing

Give the background information in the last part of your post.

STREAMLINING YOUR POST

• Lists

Information in lists is much more easily digested than a large wall of text. However, remember the mantra of “quality over quantity”; too many points or lists may prove to be counterproductive.

• Keywords

Think about the keywords that would be used to search for your post and include them in your headers and body text. Make sure they are placed naturally and are consistent with the flow of your entry.

• Links

Support your post with links to relevant web sites that provide the context of or further information on your topic.

ENGAGING YOUR READER

• Use first person “I” and feel free to refer to your personal opinions and experiences.
• Describe, rather than tell.
• Provoke thought and elicit responses by questioning the reader.
• Try to be consistent once you have settled on a style in your writing.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST…

• Make your opinion known.
• Respect other contexts and perspectives.
• Edit before submitting.
• Find inspiration
• What issues have given you food for thought?
• What articles, books or websites have you come across that you’d like to recommend or discuss?
• How have you been progressing in your current projects? Is there anything you would change in your approach thus far or from here on?
• What useful tips or activities can you share with others?
• Explain something that you learned recently. What new insights have you gained (if any)? How would you incorporate this in your thinking and/or work?

FOR REFERENCE

• Ten tips for writing a blog post

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2005/12/30/tens-tips-for-writing-a-blog-post/

• How to write a good blog

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/help/how-to-write-a-good-blog

Welcome!

Welcome participants of the York International Internship Program 2010! I want to start by saying how excited I am for all of you as you embark on your international endeavour for the summer. You have been a really fantastic group to work with and I look forward to seeing what you make of this opportunity.

This blog will be where you can find the topics for your blogs as well as the links to the other intern's blogs. We talked about the blogs a bit at the pre-departure orientation and I just want to reiterate why we are doing this. It is one thing to go abroad and have an amazing experience and have your world vision shift. It is another to be able to understand how that shift is happening and be able to articulate the changes that you are experiencing. The blogs are intended to give you the time and space to pull back from your day to day activities and reflect on a wider landscape about your international experience. It is also an opportunity for all of you to have a conversation while on internship in different corners of the world.

The blogs are not meant to be academic but more about your thoughts and reflections. For this reason, there are no right or wrong answers but be prepared to be challenged. Blogs are an electronic conversation and there is naturally a give and take. I ask that when you post, check out at least five other blogs and post your comments about what they have to say. That will get the conversation going.

Recognizing that access to internet is wildly varied around the world, I can only encourage you to do the best you can. If you have the opportunity to put up pictures, I will be very thankful as I LOVE pictures. Natasha and I will be living vicariously through you for the next three months.

I encourage you to have fun with this and see it as a new challenge if you have never blogged before. Take pride in your writing and push yourself to make it sound good. Don't go for the easy answers or what I like to call the low hanging fruit. The good stuff is when you dig deep and really question yourself and your surroundings.

If you have any questions, just drop me a line:
email - lastrong@yorku.ca
skype - lahlissa or Larissa Strong
and yes, I will be your friend on facebook.

The first blog topic will be up shortly.

Larissa