The glass is half-full
This working full-time hours gig isn’t so bad. Sure, it helps when the environment you’re working in is relaxed and the work you’ve been given is engaging. But I’ve grown accustomed to rising at 7.30am (after being woken at 6.30am by the guy in the apartment above me every morning without fail) and strolling to the PDC to do a full day’s work. Those days are currently a mix of several ongoing tasks, which means if I feel like I need to change up what I’m working on after spending a couple of hours doing research then I can.
The major project that I’ve been part of over the first month of interning here has now gone public in the form of a website. Basically it’s designed for anyone with an interest in social entrepreneurship to be able to view the range of programs and support organisations there are here in the Maritime region of Canada (that’s New Brunswick, Nova Scotia & Prince Edward Island). We’ve also included a page on the typical journey a social entrepreneur would take, so that depending on what stage they’re at the correct resources and links are made clearly available. I could ramble on about what it is, but instead I’ll invite everyone to check it out for themselves; www.socialenterpriseecosystem.com
Now that the ecosystem has been mapped, my attention has been turned towards helping establish Social Innovation Labs here in New Brunswick. I’m currently researching the various social innovation labs there already exist around the world to find out what similar projects are doing and how they are going about their business. Aside from that I’ve been spending time writing an article for the British Council’s online magazine named Voices. I’m writing about the ways that social entrepreneurship can be nurtured at the macro level, in other words what I think needs to be in place for the social enterprise movement to move forward.
But enough about work. The past few weeks have been top notch. Firstly there was a weekend spent over in Prince Edward Island (about a 4 hour drive from here and across one of the largest bridges in the world) and a pretty significant study abroad reunion. To meet up with 4 Canadians and 4 Americans that I spent the best part of 5 months with in Malta all in one go was surreal.
A couple of people have since asked me if I saw much of the Island, but all we really had time for was drinking and catching up. Although we did stroll around the harbour area and had some ice cream from Cows, a shop that has been deemed to produce the best ice cream in the world.
Then came a trip across the Canadian/US border to visit my pal Sam in Minneapolis. It was a jam-packed week that included; a baseball game, visiting the Mall of America (which makes Union Square look like an Asda), playing Bocci ball, hiring out pontoon boats and chilling out on a lake, visiting General Mills where Sam works, a night at the casino and incorporating a Slip’n’Slide into drinking games. I’m really glad I went, and am very grateful for the PDC allowing me some time off to go.
Two weeks on Friday I’ll be flying back to Scotland before heading to the conference in York. The past 7/8 weeks have gone by at a ridiculous pace, and I’m sure everyone else on the program is feeling the same.
But the glass is half-full, and that means I still have over two weeks to enjoy the Canadian summer.
