Caribbean Mist (Love), Portland (Pray) and Spanish Tapas(Eat)

A year has passed since I returned from the Caribbean. Originally I was suppose to stay there for just three months and ended up staying 11 months. But one should always leave space for falling in love...........right ;-)
After finding my way back to the Danish "way", which is somewhat a more organised way of living compared to the one of the Caribbean, I decided upon making a return to the world of academia, to broaden my horizon and develop on a new field of interest. My stay and work first, in Namibia, and second, in the Southern Caribbean, had sort of in natural way generated  a personal interest in developmental processes. 

After a bit of research I settled on Aalborg University  and consequently I started on a Master in Development and International Relations in September 2011. Having heard from someone who lives here that "Aalborg is like a dog that has been run over and just waiting to die", I was slightly dreading the perspective of actually  moving there. I found comfort in the fact, that after all it would only be for one year, as we on the second year would go abroad on an internship. So that is how, I ended up in a city I never thought, I would end up in.

I admit that Aalborg has started to grow on me. The city is a strange mix of unique characters, old smoked filled pubs (sailor style), china grills, bleached women with orange skin, bodybuilder types, pizzas with fries, and an occasional tractor or two in the city picture.  As with regard to my master program, I am of a split opinion. Two things are for sure, I am very happy that I chose to enroll in a specialization program on Latin America and that half of the1st and 2nd semester is devoted to project work.

Instead of talking about my course, I would rather prefer to talk about my work for Save the Children Youth. We are currently taking the first tentative steps in establishing a pilot project in Kenya. Named the Dream-Catcher, the project aims at fostering interest among students in Kenya to participate in volunteers work, and increase their awareness in the betterment of children in marginalized areas in Kenya. 

Aware that attempts from western NGOs to foster a civil society in southern countries often fails when the donations stops, we were cautious during the identification process of a local partner. This was done to ensure the viability of the project. And so far the cooperation between us and our identified partner seems promising. Next step, was the to write the application for funding for the project. This was a long but very interesting process. The application for funding was handed in early February and during this coming week we will know, whether we will receive the donation or not.......prayer time! 


After having handed in the application for funding, I took off to Spain together with Julian to devour tapas. Bringing all my readings for the coming semester, I found time to unwind, study, enjoy the sun, occasionally practice my Spanish, and perhaps gain a kilo or two from eating tapas.............  Enough talk, enjoy the virtual part of our stay!