Could this be a generational thing?

Someone contacted me out of nowhere to ask what options her cousin who studied French and had just graduated from university had in terms of work. 

She also mentioned that some other people they knew who studied French ended up teaching. Then she ended her message with this question: 'What can she do with the French?'. What I drew from her message was that she didn't want her cousin to teach.

I asked her what her cousin's interests were and if she had asked her cousin the same question. She seemed to be getting frustrated with my questions but I didn't see how I could help, because in reality, my thinking was that her cousin would be in a much better position to know what her options were and what she might like to do.

I told her teaching was one option (and what if that was what the cousin wanted to do?!) but there were other things to do. Another thing was that I didn't know her cousin or what she liked so I was unsure how to respond. She was contacting me obviously because I studied French and was not teaching I suppose...

Rounding up 2019

My biggest lesson in 2019 has been that it is not and should not be all about you!

It's not like I have not always known this but it has hit home so much harder through the year.

I lived in Central African Republic all of 2019 where the country has been totally run down by selfishness. I cannot and may not have accurate analysis so I'm stating very clearly that this opinion is personal.

The sun setting over Bangui

When people speak of the good old days...(I wrote a little about that here), I always ask what changed. When you dig deep, it boils down to selfishness; the need for power and control, people thinking only of themselves and what benefit they can get. I'm sticking to the everyday little things that have led to me draw this conclusion.

Sharing pictures

“The ethics of using pictures of people, especially children who don't have the power to decide whether and how their image is used in the press is complex but they must be treated with sensitivity and dignity”…seeing this as a facebook friend’s status accompanied by a naked crying girl, running along with other children in a conflict situation struck a chord deep in me. 

The issue of pictures being taken and published without consent especially with people who might not be able to challenge that action tends to keep getting a reaction from me. A colleague and I were discussing this topic and she mentioned a post that went viral of a fellow European who went to Africa as an aid worker but the person was all about taking selfies in the midst of 'suffering' Africans. That was certainly not the motive for this person being sent to Africa.  In portraying the picture of suffering Africans, how about showing pictures also of the nice places where these selfie crazed people eat, live and hang out…pictures of those places should equally fill the internet, because in the midst of the suffering, these workers find places that remind them somewhat of home where they feel safe.