Welcome to the IEDP blog! The new academic year brings a lot of novelty for the 2019-20 cohort of IEDP students in different ways: a new city, a new country, new homes, new concepts, new challenges, new perspectives, and new bonds. Despite our varied backgrounds (which span across multiple countries, areas of expertise, and personal, professional, and educational experiences), we are united by our interest … Continue reading New, New, New across the IEDP Blog
My internship experience in Roatán was a rollercoaster ride zooming in slow motion. I definitely embraced its celebratory peaks, and screamed at its falls. But overall, I am happy with the experience, as I can confidently say it was a major learning experience for me. I have been going through a chronic medical issue for months now, and it was uncertain that I could actually … Continue reading Hasta Luego Roatán
Pre-Roatán The first two weeks of my internship were in Washington D.C, where an IEDP cohort-mate and I were introduced to the English program we were going to be working with and prepared for the field work. I not only learned more about Interactive Audio Instruction (IAI), but also observed how this specific nonprofit organization functions. I was able to sit in on other meetings … Continue reading Roatán Adventures
My internship at the UNESCO Office in Brazil has ended! It’s a cliche, but that doesn’t make it any less true: time has absolutely flown by. Not just this summer internship either. This time last year, I was returning home from Peace Corps to start my master’s at Penn. Now I’m one semester away from finishing. (And to those of my cohort who have finished, congratulations!) During … Continue reading Tchau, Brasil!
Some of my favorite work activities in Brasília so far have been official meetings, especially interagency meetings. UNESCO in Brazil being just one part of a larger organization, and UNESCO itself being just one of many agencies in the UN system, our office in Brasília communicates and collaborates a lot with other offices and agencies in Brasília, in the region and in the world. This … Continue reading Meetings
“Attendants please prepare for landing.” I slowly turned my head to the right to see the sun glisten the ocean through the plexiglass – blinding me. We were hovering the immense body of water, and still I didn’t see the landing strip. I had to trust the plane wasn’t going to be gulped by the water but instead touch land with it’s — THUD. Welcome … Continue reading Roatán Reflections
Greetings from Kampala! I am in Uganda this summer, doing my internship with an international organization. Uganda is not very close to the U.S. (obviously!). I left Philly for the JFK airport at 5:30 AM and flew to Doha. After a one-hour quick break in the Middle East, I took another flight to Entebbe, Uganda. It took almost 20 hours, but in fact, I did … Continue reading Settling in Kampala, Uganda
I can’t believe my 5ish-months internship at UNESCO section for Teacher Development/International Teacher Taskforce for Education 2030 has come to an end. My last assignment was to provide support to the Secretariat of the Teacher Taskforce during the 11th Policy Dialogue Forum which took place just last week in Jamaica. Getting to see our work come to fruition during the Forum was one of the … Continue reading Wagwan educators?
There is only one month left before my internship ends but it feels like I just started – time flies when you enjoy what you are doing! Time also flies when you are super busy and Paris in the fall is a very busy city. August was bliss, streets were empty and it was easy to find a table in a restaurant. With the start … Continue reading Happy (late) World Teachers’ Day!
This marks the end of my internship. This is it. Going back to Philadelphia to complete my last semester. Today as I reflect back on this internship experience as a whole – I really think I have come out with some great working and personal relationships. Unlike my fellow IEDP classmates, I really did not think too much about having an ideal internship. I had … Continue reading Au Revoir La Suisse
The International Educational Development Program 