So we are back now and what a ride. Sorry about the wifi it made it really difficult to keep up to date. Although again it just shows you how much we take for granted in the UK. Super fast WIFI seems to be everywhere these days. So to find a 4 star hotel struggling to keep their WIFI going and having to explain how to reboot a router to a confused staff member seems almost insane to us.
Something else we take for granted in the UK is the respect we get as a woman in everyday business life. We could spend hours arguing about equality of pay (which I agree still does not exist even in the UK) but compared to how I was treated by men in Turkey in terms of business I really do feel we are more empowered in the UK. I found it sometimes belittling and infuriating that they could not believe that a woman could have so much control over a project and in fact it made them feel really uncomfortable and caused them to act out like children when I was very straight talking and professional with them. When I came back and discussed this with one of my bosses she said she had been experiencing this for so many yeas every time she worked abroad. I think this is something we definitely need to address in the future and the wider world needs to catch up with the fact women are just as good as men in business. Have you ever experienced anything like this? If so I would love to hear about it. The experience made me feel a little isolated at times so it would be good to share experiences.
However I found the trip a huge learning curve. Although 6 people ended up getting sick, we almost lost luggage and disrespecting business men aside from that everyone came back alive, with lots of footage and a new perspective. For my first international project I think that it really set me up to be able to handle future projects. I feel stronger as a woman and stringer in management skills. The most rewarding thing for me of YTV and me would always be there to support them as much as we can .It is moments like that that remind me why I love my job so much.
the whole trip other than seeing beautiful scenery and learning about a new culture was genuinely watching and helping young people to blossom.. For some of the group this really was a life changing trip and this is exactly why projects like this are so important. Taking inner city kids to a new part of the world tooled with new skills. A large majority of the group cam back more focused, more open and more willing to understand that if they need someone to talk to
Working for somewhere that really makes a difference in so many different ways. So follow YTV on Twitter and Facebook to stay updated and hopefully I will be able to share the finished footage with you soon. Keep an eye on the You Tube page.
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