my journey contines

… is funny how it works. sunshine every day and then it rains on your wedding date. always have change in your pocket but short 50 cents at the toll booth. and live with people for 8 months and then realizing how awesome they are (not that i didn’t know before), but realizing most and having some of the funniest/most fun, etc. conversations ever right near the end. better late than never.

it’s just funny.

it will be awesome to have a network of people all over the world. i think i’ll up and go to…… haha. but it’s been good guys. good times. you will be missed. a lot.

break is over already and i got back in Philadelphia around 7:15… ready to jump right in tomorrow! 9am class tomorrow - Introduction to Microfinance.

this semester is shorter though - middle of may to the end of june.

in store: lots of reading, more papers, volleyball, live music, possible road trip to David Letterman… etc

and i got my marks! hard work pays off. yay.

done and done!! group project was finished around 3:30am last night/this morning. go team go!!! it’s such a great feeling! we did a community disaster-preparedness project, whipped up a proposal, etc. it looks AWESOME - could really be submitted.

that liquid that so many people line up at tim hortons for… or for non-Canadians, Starbucks… although yea that’s EVERYWHERE in Canada too. i never understood why people drank it. it’s bitter. you get stinky coffee-breath. lol… it stains ur teeth (and clothes).

well let me tell you that grad school brought everything into perspective. lol… or at least brought coffee into my life. it’s true… i STILL think it’s bitter. i STILL don’t particularly like it. but i had my first cup of coffee here. and have had several since. they do a great job at keeping me awake when i need to work haha (note: i am writing this at 2:30am). mind you i add this GREAT flavoured cream and more than a little sugar. haha… but it does its job.

maybe i can have coffee make a graceful exit from my routine when school ends on thursday. lol…

right.

it’s almost over! it’s been great. i think my mind is reeling a little bit from information overload. buttttttt now i just have a few things left to do.
- research paper for final submittion
- project proposal
- project proposal presentation
- cultural orientation research paper for final submittion

as of thursday (that’s the goal), i’m officially done the first semester of grad school!!

William Easterly was speaking tonight at UPENN. For those of you who aren’t familiar with who he is:

He’s an economics prof at NYU. He’s got a long resume I’m sure, having worked at the World Bank for 16 years amongst other things. He’s also the author of two well known books in the international development field: The Elusive Quest for Growth and The White Man’s Burden.

It was an interesting lecture and I’m sure there’ll be some quotes I can pull out of there for a paper at some point. If anybody is interested in hearing it, I did tape record the session.

I found an article written by Amartya Sen title “The Man Without a Plan”, hence the title… He feels that Easterly is far too hard on the concept of aid and suggests that as long as it’s done right, aid can do great things. Obviously Myers (the author of a previous book mentioned in posts “The Road to Hell”) would get along better with Easterly… however I really have the feeling that Easterly’s book will not be nearly as depressing.

The problem is that there are extremes and it’s not always easy to find a happy middle. But there’s definitely common ground - the goal, the reason these people write about the issues and one of the reasons I’m here in this program and want to be involved…. it’s not whether or not we want to help. There are a lot of good intentioned people pouring money and resources and time into trying to change the lives and futures of the poor. The problem isn’t really even lying directly in Aid or lack there of or organizations, etc. (I mean, yes they have problems…) But the money isn’t getting to the people. You can raise billions of dollars but unless it’s being put to good use, avoiding corrupt governments and actually being put to good use - it’s useless. In fact, not even that it’s waste. And for too long money has been mismanaged.

So the differences show themselves in terms of how to solve this dilemma. I’m not sure where I stand on that yet. I’ll let you know when I have all the answers hehe…

does anybody know a good place for blogger templates? i could make my own, i’m familiar with html and all… but likely i’d get sucked into it and spend too much time creating one.

for those of you that keep checking, thanks! i haven’t posted lately cuz this week was kind of crazy… but tomorrow is “the weekend” come 4:30pm… so I’ll post more soon.

this weeks readings consisted of:
- Naked Economics - Wheelan (good book - read it; wish I read it prior to my other economics text books).
- Preferential Option - Amy Sherman (neoliberalism)

I’m doing my research project on cross-cultural orientation and preparation. it’s still in the works but I think it’s going to be really interesting! so there was also the research proposal draft, a paper for Biblical Faith & Economics (Stapleford was on a roll this week, picking on the Canadians. ahaha… poor baby seals.), Logical Framework online course + readings, and tonight finishing up the readings and paper for Economic Development of Developing Countries class tomorrow.

Thanks for reading
Shannon

i officially finished my bachelor degree on friday - my last exam! hard work has paid off as well. so far, out of 4 courses, the 2 of which I got my marks back, i got A- on both!! =)

i am waiting on my student visa to come. please pray that everything goes smoothly when i cross the border. there are still a few things that need to come together but God has been good. He’s opened the doors and I believe He’ll continue to do that…

also wanted to share with you 2 of my course descriptions (i don’t yet have the other 2):

Biblical Faith & Economics
An examination of diverse methodologies, hermeneutics, and conclusions about the meaning of Biblical principles for economic life today. Special attention will be given to careful exegetical analysis of relevant Biblical material. Students will be expected to understand economic concepts relevant to developing countries, to apply these concepts to disparate development issues, and to evaluate alternative applications from the perspective of Christian ethics.

Books:
- The Cost of Discipleship
- The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good
- The World is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century
- Walking with the Poor: Principles and Practices of Transformational Development
- Christ and Culture
- The Soul of Development: Biblical Christianity and Economic Transformation in Guatemala
- Economics and Ethics: An Introduction to Theory, Institutions, and Policy.
- Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science

Economic Development of Developing Countries
This course reviews the evolution of international economic development theory and practice. While it draws most heavily on development economics, it adopts an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the multiple actors, ideologies, and practices that make up the field of development, and the relationships between them. In particular, it looks at the history of policies designed and implemented by multilateral and governmental aid agencies; the rise and praxis of the non-governmental sector and its relationship with the official sector; and critical insights from academia that help shape the debates and practice, especially on issues of power, race, gender, class, and North/South relationships. This course is underpinned and shaped by a constant reflection on theology of development, looking at the problems of the inherent sinfulness of human beings, the limits of knowledge, and ways that Christians and Christian organizations can and have contributed to engaging in international development in a way that is obedient to the two main commandments laid out in Scripture (Matthew 22:37-40).

Books:
- Pedagogy of the Oppressed
- Gender, Development, and Globalization: Economics as if All People Mattered
- The Spirit of Development: Protestant NGOs, Morality, and Economics in Zimbabwe
- The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good