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“Fumblerules”

Elegant list of grammar mistakes; succinct examples of themselves:

  1. Remember to never split an infinitive.
  2. A preposition is something never to end a sentence with.
  3. The passive voice should never be used.
  4. Avoid run-on sentences they are hard to read.
  5. Don’t use no double negatives.
  6. Use the semicolon properly, always use it where it is appropriate; and never where it isn’t.
  7. Reserve the apostrophe for it’s proper use and omit it when its not needed.
  8. Do not put statements in the negative form.
  9. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
  10. No sentence fragments.
  11. Proofread carefully to see if you words out.
  12. Avoid commas, that are not necessary.
  13. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
  14. A writer must not shift your point of view.
  15. Eschew dialect, irregardless.
  16. And don’t start a sentence with a conjunction.
  17. Don’t overuse exclamation marks!!!
  18. Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents.
  19. Hyphenate between sy-llables and avoid un-necessary hyphens.
  20. Write all adverbial forms correct.
  21. Don’t use contractions in formal writing.
  22. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.
  23. It is incumbent on us to avoid archaisms.
  24. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
  25. Steer clear of incorrect forms of verbs that have snuck in the language.
  26. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.
  27. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
  28. Never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
  29. Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing.
  30. If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times, resist hyperbole.
  31. Also, avoid awkward or affected alliteration.
  32. Don’t string too many prepositional phrases together unless you are walking through the valley of the shadow of death.
  33. Always pick on the correct idiom.
  34. “Avoid overuse of ‘quotation “marks.”‘”
  35. The adverb always follows the verb.
  36. Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; They’re old hat; seek viable alternatives.
  37. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
  38. Employ the vernacular.
  39. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
  40. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
  41. Contractions aren’t necessary.
  42. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
  43. One should never generalize.
  44. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.”
  45. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
  46. Don’t be redundant; don’t use more words than necessary; it’s highly superfluous.
  47. Be more or less specific.
  48. Understatement is always best.
  49. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
  50. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
  51. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
  52. Who needs rhetorical questions?
  53. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
  54. capitalize every sentence and remember always end it with a point
from Lists of Note, one of my favourite sites.
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global community

One of the 15 5-year-old kids we enrolled in our Busolwe summer Kindergarten trial classes recently died. He was too weak to fight off some kind of virus because he already had severe anemia and was quite malnourished. We found out through a phone call to the village confirming the progress of the community projects, and to catch up with the family. We hope that he got the package of clothes, scrabble pieces, stationary, that we sent to the library school for Christmas. He probably didn’t. 

The UBC Go Global International Service Learning program connects students who are passionate about global issues, and brings together people who truly care about people and love to grow as individuals. I reconnected with a girl I met two years ago through a random classmate, because we were both in Africa at the same time. She recently connected me to a girl she knows, who is preparing to go to Uganda this summer. This girl happened to be doing a research project on how the Go Global ISL Program prepares/challenges/changes the way students think about power and privilege in the world. We had an interview this evening. 

A lot of my stories and recollections came flooding back to me during the interview conversation we shared. I recalled them so vividly; it was like I was watching a video of my experience. She asked a lot of really thought provoking questions, and I had the chance to collect my thoughts. It was actually a huge relief knowing that she really was listening to my stories, that she has done enough preparation and is willing to understand the situations that I described. Many of my friends have not (cannot) understand my experience to the full extent that I wish they could. I don’t blame them. 

One of her questions was, “Who do you think gained the most: you, the community, or UBC?” If I were to personally answer the question, I would say I have, because I will never forget the conversations I shared with people I met in the communities, students I met through the program, the things I’ve written in my reflections.. this whole opportunity has definitely changed me, and I am grateful for it. In the long run, though, I hope that the community has gained most. That through the many students who have lived there with the community, the “backward” story of Africa will not be the only story of Africa. Through our experiences and stories, our family, friends, and future coworkers will know about a community in Africa. They will hear the happy and the sad stories. A lot of people who go to the different placements are students hoping to pursue a career in the field related to the placement theme. Ours was centered around Literacy, so many aspiring educators choose our placement. Some are centered around health, so many future doctors choose those placements. Perhaps one day when we are professionals, we will have enough of an influence to connect our communities with communities like Busolwe, so that there is a cultural exchange and partnership. 

 

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note: development

Browsed through a blog of the UBC students who have replaced us in Busolwe this term, and I realize that she is experiencing a lot of the same things I did. She is faced with the same disappointments and struggles as I was, even though each of us left behind a report outlining all the challenges we faced along with suggestions to overcome them. I think that the inefficiency of development work is similar to the inefficiency of the service projects we try to implement and sustain there, in that specific African town. Even if she has read all the challenges we listed out, there is no way for her to understand exactly what our suggestions mean, until she comes to them herself. It was the same cycle for us, when we were dealing with our culture shock and settling in, etc. It’s like the cohorts of students that are sent over experience their own individual growth, but the community bears witness to a rewind and replay of the same progress each season..

Perhaps UBC should send over masters students for a few years, rather than just a few months, so that they can actually do some work and continue the project until it is truly stable and sustainable enough to stand on its own. So that students have a chance to experience their individual struggles, grow from them, and become well informed enough to be truly community- focused and cater to the community’s needs. Because truth be told, it’s not easy to not be selfish for the first 1.5- 2 months, when students like me had to deal with a culture and environment very different from the ones we are so used to and take for granted here at home. We are too busy making first-off judgments of the community, understanding them through the existing schemas in our mind, to really deliver projects that are not selfish, either. It’s like the projects we develop in the three short months we are there are really to fulfill our sense of service, to accomplish “what we were there to do”, rather than addressing the true needs of the community.

Though for what the ISL program is, at least we raise awareness for the community, share our stories and broaden the understanding of our friends and family. Stef, Hanna, and I have connected an elementary school in Gibsons, B.C. to our newly established school in the library we worked at. We started a fundraiser that will run from Monday to Friday next week, not just to raise money, but to educate students of the reality that is on the other side of the world.

So far, we have raised $425 with generous donations from their Valentine’s Day fundraiser and the local Rotary Club, to kick start the fundraising. This money will go towards constructing a playground for the school, as well as to invest in renovations and materials for students.

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