Kamp Kaleo: Nebraska – serene, moving, and transformational.
The Retreat at Silver Springs: Florida – loving, passionate, and tight-knit. I cannot thank you all enough for welcoming me so fully into your lives. I felt God here in a way that I’ve never before experienced.
Camp Caroline: North Carolina – lively, beautiful, and nurturing.
Cane Ridge West: Montana – active, thoughtful, and comforting.
I’m in my fifth week as a Peace Intern now. At this point, I’ve been to Nebraska, Florida, North Carolina, Montana, and am currently in Northern California. The latter four camps have all been since my last blog post, so I wanted to give an update on those experiences (more detail to follow in a photo diary post).
At the camp in Montana, we read a Daoist text as part of a morning reflection. A portion of it follows.
The Master has no mind of her own.
She works with the mind of the people.
Lao Tzu
As I reflected on this portion, I felt like it connected to my own experiences as a Peace Intern. I have gained knowledge through this journey, but I have also gained wisdom. I gained knowledge through researching topics, gaining background information, and applying various lenses to the topics. Wisdom is different though. Wisdom is, I believe, less able to be qualified than knowledge.
However, much like the Daoist text suggests, I need a community to help me find that wisdom. So far, this summer has provided the perfect community for this growth. If you give a youth an opportunity to be thoughtful in a space that they feel safe to do so, you will be swept away by what you can learn.
Take, for instance, a young woman in Florida who shared that “forgiveness is for finding peace within yourself,” and then went on to talk more about the damaging nature of holding on to anger. Another example is the camper who, after learning about toxic masculinity, allowed himself to get emotional at campfire and clapped back at a negative comment about it by saying “it’s okay for me to cry, even if I’m a boy.”
There are countless opportunities every day for us to engage in difficult, meaningful, civil conversation with young people, old people, any people. Let’s do so, it’s worth it.
The world is so often judgmental, be different. The world is dismissive of young voices, be different. Be better.
For those of you who don’t know, I’ve been accepted as a Disciples Peace Fellow this summer. It means that I’ll be spending my whole summer traveling to various summer camps across the nation – spreading ideas about social justice and peace to young people all over the United States. Part of the reason I chose to pursue this opportunity is because I have so much faith in the power of youth to positively impact the world. The past week has only served to solidify that belief, and I’m sure that the weeks to come will continue to bolster my faith in the next generation.
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.
1 Timothy 4:12
I am a preparer. I was prepared to present my workshops. I was prepared to deal with any backlash I could have received. I was prepared to sleep less, to be more energized, to constantly be out in nature. I made lists. I packed carefully. In my opinion, I had done everything that I could think of to be prepared for this journey.
I was not prepared, however, for my first week of camp. I was not prepared to be loved, and to give love, so fully this past week. I was not prepared for the joy I would feel when campers connected to the workshops I was giving. I was not prepared to bond so readily with strangers, only to have to leave when the week was over. I was not prepared to let go, knowing that I would likely not be back soon. Overall, I was not prepared for the emotional rollercoaster that would be my first week, and I don’t know if it will get any easier to leave each camp. These campers are astounding individuals who are thoughtful, who care about others, who have a passion for peace.
I feel honored to be able to do the work that I am this summer, it’s already been so transformational. Thank you Kamp Kaleo, for making sure that my first ever week at camp was one to remember. Here’s to feeling a little more prepared for the end of this week, with the understanding that there are some things you can’t prepare yourself for.
I’m a little bit late on this update, but it will be concerning the previous week. Last week at Philips I was able to learn about compliance subjects within legal. Last week, I was able to sit in on a training about export control regulation, which is one of the compliance domains at Philips. Other areas include anti-trust, anti-bribery, etc.
This included a deep-dive into the General Data Protection Regulation, which came into effect on May 25th of this year. The intent was to harmonize the data protection laws across the European Union, and to strengthen the protections of data subject rights. Although it’s an EU regulation, it also has an impact on any company which does business or has customers in the EU even if they’re not located within the EU. Making sure that your company is compliant with the new regulation is extremely important. The fines associated with a breach are 20,000,000 euros, or 4% of your annual global turnover.
Apart from my week at Philips, this weekend I was able to take the train and spend a couple of days in Belgium. Saturday, I spent a while wandering around the center of Brussels. I also stopped in at a chocolate museum to watch a demonstration, and to sample the free chocolate as well. Also on Saturday, for those who don’t know, was the third place World Cup match between Belgium and England. I went to a square where they were showing it on an outdoor screen, and I was able to watch the match with a bunch of people.
Sunday, I went to Ghent, which is about a half hour train ride from Brussels. It was one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever seen, and I had such an enthusiastic walking tour with one of the locals. All in all, a great trip.
I began my mentorship at Philips this week, and it has been a lot to take in so far. As a multinational business, Philips has an extremely intricate web of operations. I spent the first couple of days in and out of meetings, but in my down time I read up on how Philips is organized, their goals, and the way that all the pieces fit together to create a successful company. I also learned how the mergers and acquisitions process takes place from start to finish, since I’m mainly with the M&A and Innovation legal team.
In between meetings and readings, I was able to join members of the legal function on interesting calls, workshops, and even a debate exercise. I’ve learned a lot in the first week, and luckily Greg is willing to answer my questions before and after work for the things I haven’t learned yet (of which there are many).
Thursday, I got to explore Amsterdam by canal with some of the members of the legal team. It was a great way to see the city, and the people have been so welcoming.
This weekend, I set out to explore some of the museums that the Netherlands has to offer. I was able to get a museum card which allows me access to over 400 museums all across the country. Saturday, I started with Museum Speelklok in Utrecht. This museum was home to a variety of musical clocks and self playing instruments, like street organs and musical robots. Then, I got on the train and headed to the Van Gogh Museum.
On Sunday, I took a day-trip to Leiden. It was a beautiful city, and not as busy as Utrecht or Amsterdam. I walked around for awhile to take everything in, and then I headed to the museum quarter. First, I went to the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden. The Rijksmuseum van Oudheden is the national archaeological museum. Then, I went and enjoyed some of the gorgeous weather that the Netherlands has been blessed with these last couple weeks at the botanical gardens in Leiden.
I arrived at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam last Thursday, the 21st of June. Since I don’t start my mentorship at Philips until this upcoming Monday, I’ve spent the last week exploring and settling into my home for the next month.
Greg and Ursula welcomed me on the 21st, and I was able to get a few hours of sleep before getting up and heading back to Schiphol for a 7 a.m. flight to Paris. The following couple of days were spent navigating the Paris train system, and the city on an extremely limited French vocabulary. I gained a small, but impactful insight into what it must be like for people to leave their home country and move somewhere where they do not understand, or have any training in the dominant language.
The sites were beautiful, but my favorite part about a new place is being able to wander, watch, and listen. I watched pigeons and people go about their day, and just let my mind rest in the buzz around me for awhile.
Eventually, it was time to head back to Utrecht, where I will live for the next month. I headed back from the train station and wandered the city on my own for the first time. Ever since then, I’ve been getting more familiar with my new place. Ursula and Greg have been extremely welcoming, and I’m thankful that I’m able to live with them and their children while I’m here. They also lent me a bike, which I used to ride to the koffieshop I’m writing this blog at. I’ve learned you have to be careful when trying to find an espresso, since a coffeeshop sells drugs, and a café is a pub.
On Monday, I start my mentorship with Philips legal department. Philips is an international company, with their headquarters in Amsterdam. I’m eager to begin learning everything I can from this experience, and I’ll keep you updated on that progression.
I will also likely include many photographs, like the ones below, in my posts. I enjoy taking them, as well as sharing them.
Vaarwel!
Thanks for joining me!
One’s destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things – Henry Miller
As the Crow Flies 