human as to human.

i'm going to write about this more, because it hasn't happened in a while, and i'm not sure how long it will last (fingers crossed). but, i really really like my job right now. i'm in london at the moment, taking a training class about working with NGOs in developing countries. today i basically had a breif global history of the past 200 years, clumped into about 4 hours. everything from the slave trade, to colonialism to the WWs to globalization to iraq was discussed. and i emphasize discussed, it wasn't 'taught', it was discussed. there were about 7 of us in the class and not a single ppt slide...seriously, no ppt, crazy.

so after some talk about how we got to where we are in the world, who was involved, and who was affected, we did some role play. we each played a different country in the 'trading game'. we then talked about the meaning of development, and what disadvantaged really meant - economical, political, social. who is the judge of 'disadvantaged' really. it was interesting to realize how complicated and how vast the problems in this world actually are and what the impact of change would actually be. as we obviously know, from everything that's happening today, it's not always good to impose change, even if it seems "right" at the time; the repercussions of one solution may cause massive, and not always positive, effects in the long run. this seems obvious, as everyone has different beliefs, cultures and ideas of what is good. but it makes it very difficult to figure out solutions for things that are in critical need. and the economics of it all are just as, or eve more, complicated.

basically, i got about 4 hours of sleep last night and am incredibly jet-lagged, but after 9 hours of training, i logged on to hold a conference call with some clients, and am now doing more work, and after that will hopefully get to the bookstore before it closes so i can buy some books on the subject (in particular i'm thinking of Confessions of an Economic Hitman, and some others...anyone have recommendations?) i just haven't been this enthused about work, in a long time. i met a girl in my class, who read The World Is Flat and the premise made her so mad, that she got a grant to write a book counteracting it. she's from NY, but now she's getting her MBA in London and says an international MBA program is amazing bc you get the chance to meet people from all over the world with incredible backgrounds and stories. i thought that sounded like an interesting possibility...

i feel like a bit of a dork, but i can't help it. there is endless opportunity to solve the most real and most difficult problems facing todays world. things that many people can't imagine are happening everywhere on a massively destructive scale. it's incredibly complicated, and when aware, it's hard to turn away.