China Residency

I am a Masters student. There I said it. And officially insane, it’s true. After returning home from Cameroon, I decided to take on the seemingly impossible task of getting my Master’s degree - in a subject nonetheless that usually generates puzzled looks from people whenever I tell them what I am studying (to tell the truth I don’t really understand it myself and have yet to figure out how this is going to be in any way conducive to finding a job in the future…).

The logic behind applying for the program of Intercultural and International Communication at Royal Roads University was that communication is an essential component of good leadership and sustainable community development – and in particular the ability to communicate cross-culturally and in various contexts outside of what is familiar and comfortable to some is a valuable skill.  My hope at the time was that this degree might help me make sense of some of my experiences working for an NGO in Cameroon and give me the skills and knowledge to do better next time.

Technically, I am studying communication however in practice it is more like a degree in interpersonal relationships, cultivating awareness and open-mindedness. While that might seem a bit intuitive and not worthy of study, I can still say that I am learning a lot and acquiring new skills particularly in terms of research processes which are also applicable to project development and evaluation.

As a part of my program, my class (all 43 of us – 40 women and 3 men plus three of our professors) got together for a fun ol’ time in Hangzhou, China. For three weeks we enjoyed classes, group field trips and plenty of “intercultural learning”. Throughout our residency we were paired with Chinese buddies who assisted us with our assignments, answered our incessant questioning, and supported us in any way possible. Some of our assignments including watching a Chinese movie with our buddies and discussing it afterward, doing “field study” visits and preparing an exhibit (in teams) that was presented at the end of residency in the cafeteria plaza (of our partnering university with a student population of approximately 35 000 – that’s the entire population of the Yukon in one university!).

Another assignment included doing a kind of blog, photo essay, podcast, or video of some sort on a particular subject during our residency. So here it is, putting my education to practical use and at the same time sharing all that I have learned and experienced with others.