We shall always remember...:)

When I woke up this morning and hectically looked at my watch thinking that I was late for a coordinators' breakfast meeting, it took me a couple of minutes to realize that not only was I no longer required to show up for strangely early meetings, but also that I was in fact not going to run into any of my Short Course team members or participants today. Not today, not tomorrow and probably not for a rather long time. And while the prospect of attending fewer meetings didn't necessarily make my heart ache, the second realization certainly did!

How do you describe an experience like this Short Course now that it is over? Do you tell people about the amazing presentations and workshops facilitators designed regarding various aspects of development? Do you talk about global health matters and economic policies? Or do you mention the way in which community projects truly pushed both participants and facilitators to engage with development matters on a grassroots level? Do you recall the amazing discussions you witnessed and took part in? Or do you describe how lovely your co-coordinators, team members and participants were? And how much you loved seeing your diverse array of participants question and explore and grow together as a group? I guess ultimately you would have to mention all of the above elements for outsiders to get even an inkling of what this Short Course was about, and yet it would never be able to capture the full experience!

Because at the end of the day, at least for me, this Course was more about a feeling than about specific skills. Don't get me wrong, the topics we evaluated, the questions we asked and the practical skills we all acquired are incredibly crucial for anyone who wants to work in development. But it has been the encounter with true motivation and hope from every corner of this world, for every corner of this world, that has led to the aching in my heart that I mentioned earlier. The sincere concern for our fellow humans and our planet that surrounded me for two weeks, the infinite willingness to understand and work with each other that we all bathed in, that's what I miss most of all. And I miss all those wonderful people who contributed to creating this atmosphere so much that I would agree to have meetings at six a clock in the morning for the next ten years, if we could all get some more time together.

But here is the thing: my mom said something really wise today (she has the annoying habit of doing that a lot;) ). She said "its understandable that you miss each other and that you all want to be surrounded by people with similar ideals and hopes for as long as possible. But that's not really the point is it? The point is that people like your Short Course participants and your team members spread all over this planet to share the things they learned and that feeling of understanding and unity you talked about with the world!" I know she is right, she tends to be:)

So here is the thing, let's try to meet up as much as possible and stay in touch as best as we can! But let's keep in mind why we do things like this Short Course; not to live in our own perfect bubble within this world but to gather new motivation and hope to help transform this world as a whole into a place that is in itself more perfect!

You all did that for me and for each other! And I will remember that every day. I hope you will as well!

All the love in the world

Sandhya