The current buzz around Y-Global is the partnership meeting, there is about 9 different patners present. The main purpose for this meeting is to evaluate 2008-2009 part of the program, to talk about what has been done right and what has been done wrong. Its also an opportunity for Y-Global to bid farewell to 3 partners who wont be part of the next interval of the proram. The program now has an overall theme peace and reconcilliation and South Africa, Armenia and Bangladesh do not fit into that theme and are therefore no longer going to be part of the program. For me personally its good to see the direction and the new approuch the program is taking, and its also good to see South Africa bow out of the program and giving other partners an opportunity. As one of the GoCy i have been tasked with putting together a presenation to the new and existing partners where i will talk about my experiences in the program and advise them as to how they can handle having a GoCy ect.
Well i am sure all of us can see that time is moving faster then we expected and i have only 35 days left in Norway. This obviously comes with alot of mixed feelings as i have created a life and a network for myself in Norway. But it also comes with the feeling of accomplishment, pride and excitement about going back to my country and building my life for the long term. Its strange how during all my time in Norway i have always had it at the back of my mind that my motherland is calling for me and that when the time comes i will not be hesitant about packing my bags and heading home. I have experienced Norway to the best of my ability and i feel like the end of my road has come and its time for me to move on. So what am i taking from Norway, for me personal Norway has given me self realisation and personal growth. Being in a foreign country makes you interact with people who either dont know you country or have their own perception of it which in turns make you get out of your comfort zone and dig deep inside yourself. I am taking the below points with me back home:
•Ideas and Suggestions
• Love for scouting
•Leadership skills
•Passion for youth development and community development
• Memories and friendships
Its a great feeling to have been in place like this and i will tresure every moment i have spent here, but its an even greater feeling to be going back to where you belong and where your heart(Sthe) is. I hope that most of us as GoCy have come to the same realisation, and feel like we have achieved what we set out to do and we are looking forward to going back home. Lastly i have always reminded myself and emphasized to myself that coming to Norway was not about having a holiday and the time of my life for 9 months, because if i wanted to take a holiday i would have waited and saved enough back at home and definetly would not have made it 9 months. So as great as Norway has been for me it has never been about, going to another place and seeing people as weird or making comparison between Norway and my own country. Coming to Norway was not about me complaining about the place being extra cold because before leaving home i already knew that, it was not about the diffrence in culture because i already knew that also, It was not about living in a country that is one of the richest in the world because before going home i already knew that.
I came here for more then that, and if you watch this space i will eleborate on what i mean about coming for more than that. So as GoCy, i hope we will not turn out to be one of those people that make continuos comparasons, complain about this and that and get carried away while speaking about other peoples countries because i am sure we knew almost all the things we found before setting off to those countries but yet we still decided to leave. I have always tried to stay away from complaining and being negative about a place i knew was going to be home for me for 9 months. I hope all the people in Norway who have intercted with me can agree on that because its always been important for me to not become a predictable nag. Lets be shining examples for next GoCy and spread the message of ' If you are going to another place to compare, complain, be sad, cry about the diffirences and ache for home then you are certanly going for the wrong reasons because it will be easy to do all the things i have mentioned BUT they will seem unimportant to you if you had a visison before leaving your country and knew what you were leaving home for. Being a GoCy is about yourself and the international YMCA YWCA family we are all part of. Not about the weather, the people, the country you are in, and i do know that all those elements play a major part but the main is myself and the YMCA. So for me Norway has given something diffrent and personal and for that it will always be in my best books.
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