Coming Full Circle

I’m still reeling over how time flew by these past few months. While the actual internship itself passed by quickly, it’s going to be a challenge redirecting my thoughts seeing as I spent months beforehand reading and researching my country. I think that’s what makes this harder. Letting go and moving onto the next experience when I’ve become so immersed in this one. But it is the end, and in times like these, all we can do is reflect on the good, the bad, and the lessons we’ve learned.

I’ve learned a lot about myself: what I need in terms of support, where my limitations are, what skills I wish to develop in the future and so much more. I’ve also learned how to better cope with this work from home life. The end of this internship marks a year of me moving my workspace from the downtown core, out into the suburbs. In this year I’ve had to figure out ways to structure my day and create separation between work and personal life – in my personal life. I tried out schedulers, alarms throughout the day, extensive to-do lists, and even pushed my work hours from 4 am-12 pm at one point!

By the time I began this internship, I figured out what did and did not work for me. In a way, I hope that when we return to normal life, we can hold on to the flexible aspects that work from home has offered us (I’ve become quite attached to my slow mornings and at-home lattes). It would be nice if remote work became a global norm so more students like myself could have access to international experiences without all the barriers that traditional ones have i.e., high personal expenses. Because this did feel like an international development experience. I learned a lot about the culture, norms, and overall work environment from the individuals who supported me throughout my mandate.

Here I get a little sad because there’s still one more skill I need to better develop: keeping in touch. I’ve never been great at it – but I wish I was. I’m so lucky to have met such wonderful people from the Rwanda team. Even though our time was cut short, I know how much they appreciated my work with them and wish circumstances allowed for things to be different. As for the Nepal team, they quickly took me in and placed me with the perfect partner organization. There wasn’t a day where we weren’t busy working on the next assignment and I loved every second of it.

Thanks to everyone for their help throughout this whole process and I’ll do my best to keep you all updated on the next chapter in store for me!