Asalaam Maalekum from Dakar

Marhaba from Amman

Hi IDS'ers!!!

"Ahlanwasahlan!" Greetings from Jordan! I hope you are all enjoying your summers in your respective places. I have been living in Amman for exactly one month and I'm really happy here!

I'm interning with USAID's Sustainable Achievement of Business Expansion and Quality Program (SABEQ) until late August - this is a continuation of my internship with the DC-based consulting firm, The Kaizen Company, where I have been working since October. SABEQ is USAID's economic development program for the entire country - it's very broad-based and touches a range of industries, sectors and regions. Specifically, I am assisting in the implementation and improvement of a concept called "Professional Communities" which involves organizing a variety of in-person and online activities in which like-minded professionals from the private, public and non-profit sectors can come together and share best practices, experience, ideas and network. I have heard that it is one of the most successfulful and innovative components at SABEQ! So far I have been focused on CRM (customer relationship management) - or, trying to improve the experience of our Professional Community have members. I have written action plans, drafted a newsletter, listened to member's feedback, created a database, hired consultants, managed our website, and written three surveys. My most important long-term task while in Amman is to develop a manual that provides a detailed account of how to replicate these communities elsewhere in the Middle East (we're looking to Egypt, Palestine and Pakistan next). More info about the project can be found at http://www.sabeq-jordan.org/.

Aside from work, I have been traveling a lot - to Syria, the Dead Sea, the ruins of Jerash, some villages in southern Jordan, etc. Jordan is such a beautiful country with so much to see and do. I really have to plan every weekend carefully as to maximize my limited time in the region. I plan to visit a colleague in Ramallah next weekend and hopefully sight see in Jerusalem. Fortunately I've met a bunch of Peace Corps volunteers who have invited me to their villages and on trips out of Jordan. The weather is perfect for me - hot, sunny and dry everyday! And I cannot get enough of the food - falafel, hummous, shwarma, yogurt, olive oil, and sweets all the time!

I'll leave you with a few pictures. My email is brooke.olster@gmail.com and my Skype ID is brooke.beoxc - keep in touch! If you can swing the trip, you're welcome to visit! Have a safe and happy summer!

Masalaameh (goodbye),

Brooke

Where In The World Are We?

As summer arrived, the new second-year IDSers scattered all over the world for jobs, internships, and to study languages. We can now be found in the U.S., Central and South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. We are working for a variety of organizations, companies, and governments. This blog is meant to help us keep track of what each other are up to as well as to provide insight for the newcomers into what may await them in their life as an IDSer.

Aside from those working and studying hard in the States, here is a glimpse as to what the others are up to:

Allie McGonagle - Uganda, VOLSET Foundation

Amanda McKeever - Senegal, 10,000 Girls

Ambler Mauger - India, Teach For All

Ashley Warriner - Mexico,

Brooke Olster - Jordan, USAID and The Kaizen Company

Colleen McMillan - Cambodia,

Georgie Almon – France, Bridge Abroad (studying French)

Kate Hamann - Paraguay,

Kristin Smith - Rwanda,

Lisa Bower - Nepal, ECCA

Lizzie Weber - Dominican Republic, Tourism Class at ESIA

Mary Liz Mann - Nicaragua, U.S. Department of State

Rachel Flynn- Haiti, Pact

Ryan Evans – France, Bridge Abroad (studying French)

Sarah Boeckmann - Cameroon/Ghana, Reforestation Project

Shannon O'Rourke - Senegal, GENSenegal and 10,000 Girls

Sheila Leonard - Ghana/Burkina Faso, GlobalGiving

Apologies if anyone is missing from this list or if details are wrong/missing, but if that is the case, please comment on this posting.

Kick-off

I will give you the view of a soon-to-be graduate finishing his degree a little behind curve and trying to move from part-time employment to a full time job related to development in these troubled economic times. Other current and former IDSers will share their various global experiences with you. My classmates have a diverse background and are going in a variety of directions. Hopefully this blog will give you a sample of what we can do.

Location: Washington, DC

I'm one of the few, the proud, the unable to finish the degree without a summer course or two. I'm taking two fantastic classes this summer: War in Africa and Quantitative Analysis. They are great for completely different reasons. Quantitative Analysis is wonderful because I can work with numbers and graphs...things I have a bit of a knack for. War in Africa is great because the professor (Williams) is one of the most engaging and thought provoking I've had. I never zone out as he explains something and he never answers questions that he asks of us. As a former educator (for realz!), I appreciate that. It doesn't hurt that he constantly says "in a nutshell" in his British Accent.

For those who know nothing about the IDS program, it is a Masters of Arts degree from the George Washington University focused on training practitioners in international development. Part of it includes a Capstone Project where students work together to find an organization, plan a consulting project, and work in the field.

For my first post, I'll leave you with a video: