decision made

After weeks of conversations with friends, family and mentors, coupled with intense sessions of deliberation inside my head, I came to the decision of working in the United States for my next two years off. My reasoning is as follows:

1. It seems as if the trend in international development is to get away from sending Westerners overseas to "develop" the resource poor nations; but rather, in order to promote sustainability and feasibility, to have people living in those nations do it. It does make sense to have people living in the "resource poor" countries come up with their own plans, agendas, etc... to develop their own country in a culturally appropriate, sensitive and feasible way.

2. So what is the role of us "Western" folk from the developed countries?...It is to provide support to our counterparts in the developing countries; to do the politicking and manipulating of resources on behalf of those in developing countries so that they can do their job.

Both of those reasons above made me lean more towards a US based firm because the company will enable me to gain skills regarding the management and administration of big grants, and give exposure to the less romantic job of the paper pushing work that goes into development aid projects. I think that this job will provide me with the contacts, networks and knowledge that will help me navigate the world of international development. I will also be provided the mentorship and training needed during these next two years...because lets be real...it would be extremely exciting to move to another country and "do" development work, but I think it would be like taking shots in the dark (even with a Masters degree)...rather, I believe my time spent these next two years will shed light onto field, and when the time does come to "take the shot"....it won't be in the dark, at the expense of others. One thing that my education and experience has taught me this far is the importance of the process or the journey, rather than just focusing in on the end result.

. . .

So now that the decision has been made, my to do list:

1. Find an apartment--ugh! The online searches are extremely frustrating...I will resort to an agent to help me find one. My goal is to have an apartment by this time next week. Will post pictures when that happens. Also, rent is extremely high! ~$1,200/month

2. Buy furniture and housewares (dishes, glasses, bedding, etc...) for my non-existent apartment--The search began today at Target. Unfortunately, West Michigan does not have an IKEA, Crate&Barrel, or CB2 on hand, so Target had to do...I got some stuff, but will wait to get the furniture and remaining things when in Boston. {picture above is of items I bought today}

3. Get some work clothes--unfortunately, my casual J.Crew clothes are not going to fly...well, not all the time.

4. Pack & catalog my belongings for the moving company.

And finally...since I am trying to be more environmentally conscious these days, I made the decision not to bring my car up to Boston, but rather, ship my bike and use the public transportation instead!