I have found it very difficult to find the time to blog here in Washington. My days have been action packed with work, WIP events and of course the socialising after both of the aforementioned. As Lenore my host mum commented to me one morning when I complained of tiredness one morning: ‘you’ve been burning the candle at both ends dear’. I don’t regret it however as there will be plenty of time to sleep when I get return to Ireland. I will maybe even have the time to reflect more profoundly on the summer’s events.
The best thing about the programme has been without a doubt the people I’ve met – Megan, JC Senior, The Management Team, Fellow Wipper’s, The South African 7, my work placement crew (a couple of whom better come good on their promise of coming to Ireland soon!), my host family… The list is endless!
The WIP team is made up of 26 very different and unique people – the loud and the quiet, the religious and not so religious, those politics obsessed and those not so much and of course those of us like a few drinks and those who abstain (unfortunately I can’t claim to be in this latter group!).
To be honest it was a challenge at first. Throughout our lives so far in school and university you pretty much choose the people who are you are friends with so naturally one chooses those who are of similar persuasion. The list of my friends at home that I could count as either religious or pioneers is very small, maybe even non-existent. I originally thought that I would learn the most from the leadership curriculum, and while it has been extremely useful it has been my 25 colleagues who have taught me the most.
They have challenged me on so many different levels that I have re-evaluated my own beliefs. I have learned that while with some people you can have the banter and discuss everything from Igloos to the Irish situation openly, others will not be so comfortable. It is about being able to adjust accordingly. It has been a great glimpse into the ‘real world’ and the experiment of throwing 26 people who don’t know each other together has worked incredibly well. I feel I have grown up as a person and become much more mature. I want to thank my colleagues in the WIP class of 2008 for a fantastic summer and bring on the final week!
