Worldwide Friends - Iceland
Worldwide Friends is a non profit organization that promotes nature protection, peace-oriented activities, friendship, and international understanding among people. The organization hosts short and long-term volunteers who are passionate about preserving the environment and helping others.
Camps
Culture
I have learned one of the biggest differences in culture is through communication. Language barriers can often lead to a more aggressive tone or phrasing that may alter the message. From my personal experiences, I have found myself worried that some of the people I am working with, don’t like me or are judging me when really they are just focused on translating to English. When language barriers are involved, it is especially important to be direct and make everyone comfortable with asking for clarification. Having the self-awareness to adjust some of my mannerisms was helpful for others, but I still struggled on a personal level to adjust to some of the different communication styles among other camp leaders. I found it difficult to not take offence when other people would be very direct because I am used to that language being considered aggressive. I coped with this by continuously stepping back from the situation to critically think about what they were saying rather than how they were saying it. This has shifted the way I interact at home because I try to be more conscious of how other people may be interpreting what I say so I try to avoid any miscommunication
An aspect of my worldview that was impacted by this experience was my diversity lens. I have used the knowing self and others learning outcome to reflect on some of the visible differences I have experienced. The people in Iceland are primarily white which allowed me to realize the amount of diversity in Canada. I feel very privileged to be able to see so many different people every day and learn about their cultures. Because I am used to such diversity, I was quite taken aback when I encountered racism from the Icelandic people. After taking a critical perspective on this, I began to understand how the people in Iceland see this as normal because they have fewer experiences of people with different cultures. This practice of reflection taught me how to listen to what others were saying and make observations without judgement. I have a gained insight on how to have educating discussions that are productive for both parties rather than getting defensive of my own perspective and causing an argument. I have used this with many of the contraversial discussions that I have with family, friends and even strangers.
An aspect of my worldview that was impacted by this experience was my diversity lens. I have used the knowing self and others learning outcome to reflect on some of the visible differences I have experienced. The people in Iceland are primarily white which allowed me to realize the amount of diversity in Canada. I feel very privileged to be able to see so many different people every day and learn about their cultures. Because I am used to such diversity, I was quite taken aback when I encountered racism from the Icelandic people. After taking a critical perspective on this, I began to understand how the people in Iceland see this as normal because they have fewer experiences of people with different cultures. This practice of reflection taught me how to listen to what others were saying and make observations without judgement. I have a gained insight on how to have educating discussions that are productive for both parties rather than getting defensive of my own perspective and causing an argument. I have used this with many of the contraversial discussions that I have with family, friends and even strangers.
My Role
As a camp leader, my responsibilities include, facilitating workshops, creating the weekly chore schedule, creating a safe space for connections among volunteers, and leading the team to reach our common work goals. Aside from the duties associated with being a camp leader, I was also responsible for participating in regular volunteer work such as beach cleaning, gardening, carpentry and more. Between the duties of camp leader and volunteer, I found myself very busy but still prioritized building connections and making the most of my experience. Another key aspect of our roles as camp leaders was to facilitate education on climate change and encourage eco-friendly practices. While living at the camps, we were practicing these ways of life to see how attainable it is to minimize your impact. As a camp leader, I was also responsible for maintaining a safe space at the camps and encouraging everyone to make the most of their experiences.
Connection to learning outcomes
Every leadership experience comes with challenges that need to be overcome in order to be a stronger leader. There were multiple challenges that I was dealing with during my ten weeks abroad. One of the biggest challenges was learning how to cope with the lack of timeliness and communication within the organization. I learned how to communicate with my team the information that was most relevant to them and be open and honest about changing circumstances. This was a huge social interaction learning moment because I had to be cautious of my interactions with the volunteers while dealing with my frustrations on the organizational level. Additionally, I had to remember to compose myself and speak professionally with my boss even when all I wanted to do was scream. Taking time to breathe and embrace the moment for what it is was one of the wellness practices that helped me maintain my social interaction skills and keep a positive attitude in stressful situations.
I had to learn how to deal with was my mental and physical health. I kept a wellness journal and because I was good at keeping a positive outlook I was able to make the best of the situation but if I’m being truthful, my physical health was very bad during my time in Iceland. Although this trip was lifechanging, I found that my physical health was at an all-time low because I was not in control of my diet and ate foods that I was allergic to every day. This took a toll on my body and made me both physically and mentally drained. Since coming back home, I have been resetting my diet and have seen many specialists to help me recover. This experience taught me about my limit and how to take my health as a priority. I have since been on the path to recovery and have seen progress in my overall health.
One of the biggest life lessons that I took away from Iceland was living in the moment and taking in everything life gives me and I would not have gotten this lesson without the disorganized leadership that I was working with. I learned that everything is happening for a reason and that there is a positive to combat every negative.
During my international internship in Iceland, among many things, I learned about the importance of a positive outlook and direct communication. Volunteering in Iceland came with many challenges, such as harsh weather, physical strains from work activity, creepy critters, and lack of sleep. I was keen on keeping an open mind and embracing challenges as opportunities to try new things. For this reason, this internship taught me through experiential education what can happen when you have a positive mindset. Some of my peers did not have a good experience with this because they were unable to expand the situation and seek out areas for growth. By recognizing how positive my experience was, and how negative it was for others, I have learned that the mind is a powerful tool in promoting productive leadership.
Direct communication was another skill that I learned to master over my internship in Iceland. Because I was working with people from many different languages, there was a consistent language barrier between myself and the other volunteers. It was a house rule that English was spoken in the common spaces, and I had the privilege of having English as my first language. To try and make it easier for other volunteers and reduce confusion, I had to eliminate any slang from my vocabulary, use direct phrasing, and reduce filler words. This is a technique I have adopted in my transition back to Canada because it leaves less room for individual misconception, and clear expectations among the group.
I had to learn how to deal with was my mental and physical health. I kept a wellness journal and because I was good at keeping a positive outlook I was able to make the best of the situation but if I’m being truthful, my physical health was very bad during my time in Iceland. Although this trip was lifechanging, I found that my physical health was at an all-time low because I was not in control of my diet and ate foods that I was allergic to every day. This took a toll on my body and made me both physically and mentally drained. Since coming back home, I have been resetting my diet and have seen many specialists to help me recover. This experience taught me about my limit and how to take my health as a priority. I have since been on the path to recovery and have seen progress in my overall health.
One of the biggest life lessons that I took away from Iceland was living in the moment and taking in everything life gives me and I would not have gotten this lesson without the disorganized leadership that I was working with. I learned that everything is happening for a reason and that there is a positive to combat every negative.
During my international internship in Iceland, among many things, I learned about the importance of a positive outlook and direct communication. Volunteering in Iceland came with many challenges, such as harsh weather, physical strains from work activity, creepy critters, and lack of sleep. I was keen on keeping an open mind and embracing challenges as opportunities to try new things. For this reason, this internship taught me through experiential education what can happen when you have a positive mindset. Some of my peers did not have a good experience with this because they were unable to expand the situation and seek out areas for growth. By recognizing how positive my experience was, and how negative it was for others, I have learned that the mind is a powerful tool in promoting productive leadership.
Direct communication was another skill that I learned to master over my internship in Iceland. Because I was working with people from many different languages, there was a consistent language barrier between myself and the other volunteers. It was a house rule that English was spoken in the common spaces, and I had the privilege of having English as my first language. To try and make it easier for other volunteers and reduce confusion, I had to eliminate any slang from my vocabulary, use direct phrasing, and reduce filler words. This is a technique I have adopted in my transition back to Canada because it leaves less room for individual misconception, and clear expectations among the group.
Aesthetic Engagement Project
This piece is a demonstration of upcycling old items and waste into art. The goal of this piece is to recreate the glacier lagoon in Iceland through broken glass and trash that I found on the street. By doing this project I was given the opportunity to clean up my local community and explore my art abilities through a hands-on learning experience. Seeing the glacier lagoon was a very transformative experience for me as a leader and a climate activist because I saw how quickly things around us are changing but also experience the beauty of changing environments. In a way, this was a summary of how I coped with my internship experience because it consisted of slow changes over time that lead to a big impact on my life. The impact of Iceland on my life was much more positive than the impact of the glaciers melting but I couldn’t help but notice some of the similarities.
This assignment was in direct relation to the aesthetic literacy indicator where I learned how to execute a vision. While this is nothing like pictured, it is what I needed to embrace creativity and become less fearful of judgement. I learned how to use physical items to create artistic pieces and embrace the. imperfections that come with it.
This assignment was in direct relation to the aesthetic literacy indicator where I learned how to execute a vision. While this is nothing like pictured, it is what I needed to embrace creativity and become less fearful of judgement. I learned how to use physical items to create artistic pieces and embrace the. imperfections that come with it.