The next step after France

Hi there reader :)

I'm starting a new blog now under the username faceofasia to talk about the next step in my life!

So basically a follow up from where I stopped in my Jessica en France blog. 

Exchange, of course, was amazing and the first big turning point in my life that has made me realise that simply; I love being an Australian overseas. In France I reached ecstatic high point in my existence and entered the world of being happy. Truly happy.

And I personally feel that I must contribute back to the world that has given to me so much - so. truly. much.

So I knew, standing in that Parisien hostel during my last day of the exchange trip with tears pouring down my face that I would be an expat worker who would also give back to those, in some place, in some way or form, who are less fortunate than me.

So since Feb 2012, after lots of thought, and dialogue, and chats and searching around on the web (and considering joining the army at some point here...) I have decided with much clarity that I want to pursue a career in International Development.

I mean, since Feb 2012 I already knew my next destination would be Cambodia. I know it is a troubled country, one of the poorest, but the younger, less aware Jess would have never wanted to go to Cambodia, or know anything about it. She would have been more interested in boys and shoes and going out to clubs to get drunk and feel like an adult and other things that teens tend to think about.

Now I have graduated (and am now a Bachelor of Arts & Commerce yewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww *happy dance*) and as I had planned more than 1.5 years ago I will be going to Cambodia this November !

There I will do a 6 week volunteering with NGOs program through International Volunteer HQ where I will work in one of the following in a local NGO:

-community and rural development,
-democracy development
-gender issues
-capacity building opportunities
-organizing advocacy for the reconstruction of the country.
-fundraising and proposal writing
-organizational development
- administration
-research
-Community development
-Health/ HIV/Aids awareness prevention and rehabilitation
-women and Child issues
-advocacy and working with NGOs Issues
-environmental issues
-education.
-arranging campaigns/meetings/public forums
-implementing new projects
-developing the internal structures and new initiatives within the Working with NGOs programs
-develop a newsletter or a website.

This will be my first foray into international development volunteering and I am quite excited to get started just to DO something!

In this period I will try to learn as much as I can about working in an NGO in a developing country and network as much as possible. After my six weeks is up, I will branch off, hopefully find other NGOs to volunteer with and just continue on. For I don't-know-how-long. At least 6 months I am hoping. I really, really, really, really want to get some field experience in the sector I would like to work in after so many years of education and not knowing exactly what it is I wanted to do!!

Oh and the French connection isn't lost. Cambodia was once under France's rule - which means a potential opportunity to further exercise my French with any French NGOs about.

So this blog will be a travel blog as well as a blog documenting my interests in International Development. I'll be posting things on here that I find interesting and that I want to refer back to when thinking about the work I am thinking about spending my life on.