Ahh the laptops. I am always surrounded by laptops. This new phenomenon began when I became an inaugural class member of the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock, AR. All 14 class members had laptops. Now, sitting in the 3rd story office of the Advocacy Project in Washington DC, preparing for my field work in Sri Lanka, I am once again surrounded by laptops as all 16 of the Advocacy Project’s field consultants are typing away on their laptops.

Though I do not know the other field consultants well and will only get to know them somewhat superficially during the 4 day training, everyone seems dedicated, prepared, outgoing, and extremely smart. People in this group are from all over the United States and will be working in such exotic locales as Afghanistan, Guatemala, Nigeria, India, Malaysia and Fiji. Me, well I will be heading to Sri Lanka (my daddy knows it as Ceylon) on June 2nd and am honored to be included in this special group of people.

I am extremely excited about my work and really haven’t given much thought about my 22 hour travel time to Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. What is the focus of my thoughts is how my projects will unfold over the course of the summer. I found out that 2 of the 6 Tamil villages the Advocacy Project (AP) has projects in are currently not accessible due to safety concerns. This is due to the low intensity civil war which has reemerged recently. I am not at all concerned about my safety; I am concerned that the conflict will escalate and I will be forced to evacuate.

Now, I have 11 days before I leave to get everything ready and I believe that the AP has prepared me well for this adventure. They are extremely professional and I feel good about the work they are doing all over the world as well as the support they are giving to me. Until next time…