Author Archives: eleo

Weeks are flying by and we are getting closer and closer to our departure for Williams Lake. It feels like we have done a lot and yet at the same time not enough, and we are realizing now that a bulk of our work will have to be done when we are on site.

For our last week of class, we will attempt to call some more of our stakeholders to solidify more of our doubts and at the same time also plan for our trip while we are there. Considering the time constraints, we are attempting to plan an effective schedule, splitting up tasks to interview and find a way to gather and share information with each other. Our meetings have been more productive, with clear splitting up of tasks. After a couple of tough conversations, I think we finally found a work dynamic that is efficient and suitable for our group, which is always a good news.

I’m still personally really worried that we may not deliver the expectations of our partner, there is a lot to be done and we have very little time in between our visit and submission of the project. At the same time, I do believe that the way the project is going, it will be a dynamic report which will continuously evolve as more information come together, and that’s a relief to know that there is always room for improvement and that nothing is final. I have also started to appreciate more the trust that has been given to us, a group of undergraduate students, in the decision making of our community partner. The realization creates both a sense of pride and humility at the same time.

I’ve decided to take on the theme of both Humans of Vancouver and First World Problems by looking at things that come up daily in student conversations as we navigate the demands of the different aspects of our lives; personal, social, and “future” development. I wanted to see our commonly accepted and normalized statement from a different perspective and really trying to understand the motivation behind the things we say daily. Why do we say certain things, what are the unseen forces that is pressuring us, how do we connect with each other and create community through these “first world complaints”

“My usual aesthetic isn’t working with these cherry blossoms”

Coming back from a study session, realizing that the first day of Spring is here, N had to take a picture of the cherry blossoms blooming around the neighbourhood. However, this picture is not looking too cute with his usual Instagram aesthetics. Not only is Instagram a sharing tool or a form of self expression but it has become a way to signal social worth and self validation- is this hipster enough? will this post make me cool?

“Man, I should’ve gotten dominos as well”

M came back from a job interview after a long week of paper writing and midterm cramming. She had finally gotten an interview for the many applications that she has submitted. After a long day, M went to buy some treats for her ‘treat yourself night’ and soon after realized that the treat is incomplete. The conversations on mental health and wellbeing is something that has recently gotten a lot of attention. The discussion rose alongside the increasing pressure to be productive, to be getting jobs and getting As, to learn to be a holistic adult.

“This WiFi hates me right now”

Rainy weekend, cozy cafe vibes, supposed productive study dates, and the sound of clicking keyboards. In balancing the holy trinity of social, academic, and wellbeing, cafe study sessions seemed to be the ideal spot for all three to converge.

Jobs, papers, exams to cram for, a million quizzes due, months of not seeing this friend or that.

Cafe keeps you hip, cafe makes you work..

until the internet decides to ruin your productive plan and all hell breaks loose

Reading break is almost here which is a sure sign that we are going to be getting down and doing a lot of grunt work soon! I’m really excited so far, as it seems like we have been meeting with more people, having more conversations, and getting a clearer picture as to where this project is going. We met with Cathy, identified some stakeholders, and are getting in contact with them. We are also looking at maps and are getting different perspectives introduced to us during lecture times.

I’m really enjoying the diversity each class brings and how each one seems to weave itself into the bigger goal for us right now, which is the project, yet at the same time manages to inspire and make me think about a lot of issues that have been in my mind at some point.

I really liked May’s talk on participant observation and the assignment that followed because it allowed me to first, notice my own bias, but then to also look for things that I would have missed if I hadn’t consciously looked for it. I was able to analyze my workplace; the interactions, the relationships, the gestures, power dynamics, and so much more that I never stopped to think about. I felt like a lot of issues we talked about in terms of its pros and cons, as well as the following activity on focus group really brought back the idea on positionally that we discussed a couple of weeks earlier. It made me realize the complexities that come into someone’s position, the possible conflict between the personal and professional, and the constraints that people might be in that will limit how much someone can say about a certain issue. It also helps me to step back and remove my very reactive judgements on people or situations, a bad habit that I will need to keep in check while doing a lot of the community based research that we’re doing with the project.

To close the week nicely, I was really glad that Joey had come in and spoke about mapping and technology literacy in such an inspiring way. I had always been very insecure with my less than savvy technology skills and I had been worried that I will bring the group down as the only person who hasn’t done any GIS ever. While realistically, I can’t expect to be an expert over reading break, I now know that there are plenty of ways to learn and that there are so many opportunities to utilize these tools for good. It reminded me to work harder, and to seek further because there are a lot of things available out there, both in terms of information and support, as long as I am willing to look for it and to keep trying.

I came into the course in the middle of chaos that is the first two weeks of school. In between navigating courses, jumping from admin to admin, cleaning the house post winter break, and hyperventilating from speaking in front of a donor appreciation event, I found myself waltzing into GEOG 379 for my first class ever. Having a presentation on community based experiential learning and the kinds of relationship that these experiences foster became a good reminder of the kind of work that I wish to be doing in the future

The lecture on community based experiential learning reminded me of the International Service Learning program that I did last semester, and this class is a chance to do something locally, for communities closer to home. Remembering how I felt during and after my summer placement turned into motivation for giving this class my best effort. I also feel better about being in this placement then when I had gone for ISL. I had felt very under qualified for the kinds of things that were expected of me in the summer, the same daunting feeling is there for our forest community project at Williams Lake. However I have a great team, who had been more than welcoming to the new kid, and who are all very capable in so many areas. Seeing our group dynamic, there is a natural flow of work with everyone literally doing the most really motivates me to do the best I could to. After our Skype meeting with Cathy and getting a feel of the current situation at Williams Lake, I realize the importance of bringing about our diverse experiences in both the technical and the theoretical aspects to complete this project. In particular, I feel that the need to understand the relationship patterns and the power relations in the next couple of weeks will help us identify the stakeholders we need to talk to and the information we’ll need.