17:15

Wow I have no idea how the time passed since the last time I wrote!! I didn’t have any sleep last night, and so instead of running I just went walking in the morning before breakfast.

At around 9:45, right after breakfast, we had a “general meeting”, which I actually really liked; the idea was for anyone who had anything on their minds to step forward and share it with everyone… so Petra started with two comments, one of which was that she and the Finnish group felt very offended by the fact that everyone was always late for meetings and activities. One of the girls was like “I even managed to arrive FIVE MINUTES late today and people were still not here”! I guess you kind of feel it when you interact with them; how so nicely disciplined and organized they are, I honestly wish I could change and make this a new habit! Her remark reminded me of something that I’ve known for a long time, just hadn’t paid the right kind of attention to… which is that time is very fluid in our society… you always have a delay margin and everyone knows it so there would be no point arriving on time since you’d just end up waiting for everyone.

The main activity for today was the presentation of the “Action Projects”, basically the youth work or community projects that each one of us is involved in back home. We had to reflect on these projects through a set of questions, and let me tell you, it wasn’t easy… when you have to think how you see your project, how it is seen by others, how do you assess the results, who it targets… and a whole bunch of questions like that, it makes you realize that sometimes we get so caught up in the actual work that we forget to pose, remember WHY we’re doing it, and evaluate it!

So many creative and wonderful projects were presented, I felt I was swimming in a pool of ideas; I particularly loved what the South Africans are doing; Bush Radio… a community youth radio initiative. I’m seriously thinking of how I can take this idea back home. I also found the WIMPS project to be inspiring, and the idea of the shadow parliament… I also really liked what the Serbs and Croats are doing... well, actually, I could go on and on with this. What I would love to have is some kind of a booklet with all of these projects and experiences to keep as a reference and resource, and I think Ross and Christine did mention a plan to do something like that!

I have to make a confession though, that I wasn’t fully focused the entire time, because the lack of sleep was starting to take its toll…

00:19

I went with the group to a pub tonight and had a Guinness. Most people warned me that it would be better to share it with someone because it’s too heavy and not very pleasant, but I actually liked it I loved the music at the pub, so soulful and so warm and full of spirit… At one point though I leaned my head against the wall and surrendered to the sleepiness!! I think I looked so funny sleeping in the midst of all the noise and vibe I’m starting to look like a zombie so I’m getting myself some decent sleep tonight. I want to maintain the energy because we still have an intense week left; and I want to enjoy it and make the most of it!