Change Yourself…Change The World.

Hi friends!

I know some of you have been waiting with bated breath to hear of news about how training for the Kiva Fellows program went, and I’m sorry I haven’t written sooner. This past week has been SO INTENSE, but in the best way possible! In my last post I talked a bit about how I was taking a step into the next phase in my life. Forget step, I was shoved into the pool! But (metaphorically speaking), learning ‘to swim’ with Kiva has been a challenging task- but I don’t think any other group could have made it more interesting, fun, and absolutely magnificent. I am astounded by the caliber and intelligence of all of the other fellows, and the Kiva fellow staff are phenomenal. I have never felt so well taken care of and, and I feel very proud to be welcomed with open arms into the ‘Kiva’ family.

So basically what I’m trying to say here is, Kiva is one of the coolest organizations in the world, the staff are amazing, the fellows are unbelievable, and you should either apply to be a fellow or lend to them!

So now that I’ve made that announcement, ALL things related to my Kiva fellowship from this point on will be on the Kiva Fellows Blog- yes, I’ll let you know on here when I’ve posted!

So quite suddenly the training is over, and I’ll be heading off to New York tomorrow before EGYPT! on Tuesday. I absolutely can’t wait to start the traveling again. My skin is just ITCHING for bed bug bites, my hair is PLEADING for dry and brittleness, my muscles are just ACHING to lug a huge and heavy suitcase throughout Africa- and my soul- my lonely soul is pining for that special ‘worldly travel’ part of me that I’ve been longing for months and months to reunite with, to pop out and say hello again.

More updates soon friends! Expect at least one more post before Egypt.
Much love,
Brittany

Happy 4th of July, everyone! It is so nice to be in the United States, and at home, for this holiday. Last year I was in Bangladesh. I find that I appreciate US holidays so much more now that I’ve traveled abroad. I’ve been around so many different cultures and holidays and rituals in the past two years that when an American one rolls around I can happily think ‘this one is MINE.’

For those of you that read this blog that aren’t American, 4th of July, or Independence Day, is a day where we celebrate our sovereignty from Great Britain and the adoption of our ‘Declaration of Independence,’ which was signed on July 4th, 1776. It’s a day where we commemorate ‘all things American’- we wave American flags, have American flag themed plates and cups and decorations- usually family or friends get together for a big cook-out, which can comprise of American food like hot dogs, hamburgers, and chips- usually Americans then go and see a 4th of July parade, where they camp out on lawn chairs and watch people walking by dressed up in Independence Day attire- and then finally at night time, people gather in hordes (usually on lawns) to watch spectacular fireworks, all over the United States.

And so today, my family is going all out, true American style. I’m so happy that I’m home with family for the 4th of July- just like old times. All four of my brother and sisters are home; my parents are grilling hot dogs, cheeseburgers, sausage peppers and onions (a family recipe- yes, my parents will not be eating these as they are vegan, they also made rice and black beans), brie and guacamole and chips– we are all having friends over for a big cook-out, followed by a few hours of comatose lounging while we digest everything- and then off to the beach to see fireworks.

I am proud to be American today. Let the celebrations commence!

Much love and happy 4th,
Brittany

Dearest friends,

I am currently relaxing at home in Florida, in a stationary place for the time being. My time is currently being divided up into a number of categories: lots of Bikram Yoga, which I love- outings with my family, which I also love- unpacking all of my boxes from New York, which I don’t love SO much- and pre-training for Kiva, which has been an incredibly interesting and rewarding experience.

I’ve spent the past week going OVER and OVER this UNDCF Microfinance Distance Learning Course, as a requirement for my pre-training. FINALLY. I am learning about the FINANCIAL background of micro-finance institutions. If you peruse the ‘links’ section of my blog (or generally read the blog at all), you’ll probably realize that I have quite an extensive amount of work with micro-finance. However, the vast majority of what I’ve studied (and this includes a huge research project, by the way), are the SOCIAL aspects of micro-finance, rather than whether an MFI (micro-finance institution) is financially viable and why.

So basically, this course has been kicking my ass with a lot of completely new concepts- calculating APRs (annual percentage rates), PARs (portfolios at risk), learning to read balance and income sheets, and even doing some work in Excel! And SO MUCH more. This is the education I have always wanted but haven’t learned- and finally I am learning, just in time for me to go work with an MFI in Nairobi for four months. I feel that the things that I’ll learn about micro-finance with this fellowship will be paramount.

This makes me seriously excited. Kiva’s fellowship pre-training documents are SO AWESOME, and I can only imagine how great their actual training will be in San Francisco.

If you REALLY want to learn about micro-finance, apply to be a Kiva fellow! Or at the very least, take this online micro-finance course. It is amazing.

This is all for now. Stay tuned.

Much love,
Brittany

Dear friends,

Another reason why I’ve been a bit MIA from this blog these past few months is because I’ve been doing a bit of guest blogging on Acumen Fund’s blog. I wrote two articles for them- a report on the Unite for Sight Conference at Yale, which you can find here, and an account on the amazing volunteer position I had with Acumen Fund this semester, which you can find here. Hope that you enjoy it nearly as much as I enjoyed my experience with them.

Much love,
Brittany

Hello friends,

My brief stint in New York is soon to be over. I graduate from Global College on Thursday, and leave on Friday. Yesterday, I spent all day packing up most of my possessions to ship home- scarves, hats, winter clothes, a large variety of books, kitchen utensils, little odds and ends– and now most of them lay boxed up in a corner of my room, leaving my dormitory as blank and dismally vacant as when I first arrived. Now I merely have the bare essentials– my computer. My camera. My phone. A week’s worth of clothes.

And I couldn’t be happier.

I don’t think it quite hit me until today how little I had really settled into living in New York. I always had an intuitive feeling that I would be leaving again the moment I had the chance. I didn’t allow myself to be taken in by the city: I didn’t spend my time traversing the streets like I so often and fondly do in other countries. I didn’t take in the new sights or new experiences. I let everything wash over me without feeling wet. I didn’t feel comfortable being ‘settled.’ I didn’t venture outside to fully explore my neighborhood; the promenade right next to the Brooklyn bridge is within 2 minute’s walking distance, and I haven’t been there once. Just today a friend of mine came over and asked where a nice nearby coffee shop was. I didn’t know. I had never taken the time to look.

And now that all of the material possessions I surrounded myself with to try to make me feel ‘settled,’ to make me feel that I was in a more permanent place, is packed up and out of sight. And I feel completely free again. Completely free to throw all of the things that I REALLY need into one bag. Completely free to go wherever I want, to not be tied down to rent, to a car, to a 9 to 5 job in a cubicle. I am going to China. I am going to Africa. I am going to Latin America.

This weekend I’ve realized how much of a subconscious fear I had- this fear that once I settled back into the United States, the nomadic part of me will become buried beneath new opportunities, new responsibilities, new relationships and connections- and that I wouldn’t be able to find that part of myself for a long time- maybe not even again. But as soon as my dormitory walls were rid of posters and pictures and were left as blank as the day I had arrived, my favorite self that had been absent for what seemed like an eternity, jumped right back out, eager and excited to get back on the road.

I am not ready to settle. I am ready to go back out into the world again, where it’s just me and my wits and my trusty documentation to record it all. I am traveling again. And I am ready to go.

China in one week.

Faithfully yours, brittanygoesglobal,
Brittany