Look out, Charlotte, here I come!

It's official folks! I'm going to Rwanda. I still didn't official word yet but I got an email today confirming it and so I can breathe a small sigh of relief. I was getting so excited. Almost too excited. I had even ordered the Rwanda guide from Amazon and, in true 21st century fashion, I risked mentioning it on...wait for it....Facebook. We all know the power of Facebook after all. So apparently the Facebook gods were smiling down on me.

On the drive out to Airdrie after our basketball game (a slim victory with a few elbows and less than kind words that led us to the finals) I had the radio tuned, as I always do, to CBC. (When someone tells me of a new song or band, I usually counter with "Is it on CBC?", to which they inevitably respond "No.") Ideas was on and it's been a while since I've had a chance to listen to it. Well, friends, as if the unmistakeable voice of Stephen Lewis coming through the AM dial wasn't a sign of things to come, then the topic sure was. Paul Kennedy was playing a debate from last month in Toronto where big, fancy pants thinkers got together to talk about foreign aid in the developing world. Interestingly, the two "pro-aid" debaters were from the West (Stephen Lewis being one of them) and the two "anti-aid" debaters were from the developing world (Hernando De Soto and Damisa Moyo). 

Where do I stand? Not a clue - yet. I do feel that sending money to corrupt governments is less than helpful but that aid is not always lost to the red tape and government officials with fancy cars and security guards. My experience in the developing world is zilch - so really, who am I to say? So, listening to these thinkers gave me food for thought and a task that I have given myself.  I know, for sure, that I support the CUSO-VSO mandate of sending trained people to the developing world. That's why the money that you donate goes to send volunteers as opposed to governments in those countries. 

Either way, I feel 100% about the choice I'm making to go abroad. I know I'll have up days and down days but I'm making a good choice for me and my values. And now the little problem I have with spiders. I'm terrified. Yes, let the world know that I have been known to call my parents from my apartment to have them coach me into killing a spider. I'm embarrassed to admit that to you now but I have grown. I was golfing today with some students and one of them said he saw a really gross spider so I actually walked over to look at it. So, Charlotte..... you can spin your web all you want but I'm ready for you. Oh yes, I'm ready for you and I'm coming. ( I figure if I refer to all spiders - big, hairy, ugly, spiders - as Charlotte, I might be able to find endearing qualities in them.) And if I'm not ready, I'll get a cat.