Lori Merrill's Sabbatical
I am in the middle of an incredible experience at the United States Institute of Peace, where I am taking a course entitled "Economics and Conflict."
Check out the attached videotape of Dr. Willene Johnson, Course Instructor.
I love DC! This class is unbelievable. Right now my brain hurts from the volume of materials we've covered. I have no idea why they let me in this class, but it has been amazing. There are no mere mortals in this class other than me. My fellow classmates include a retired US Marine Corp Lt. Colonel who served as a commander for NATO forces in Kosovo, and who now teaches at US Army Command and General Staff College; a guy from the Department of Homeland Security; an Australian from the World Bank; a professor from Kenyatta University; and a Belgian from International Alert. On the first day we had to introduce ourselves and after hearing the bios of everyone else I humbly introduced myself as a teacher from Minnesota who is currently on sabbatical studying conflict resolution. At that point the Lt. Colonel interrupted telling everyone that he's from Minnesota too, and that the school I teach at is one of the best in the country. He's been my buddy ever since! I have to admit that the complexities being discussed regarding problem solving in conflict regions is "just a little" overwhelming. The World Bank guy is brilliant, and in spite of the messes he constantly deals with in South East Asia--he was their point guy on East Timor--he's still an optimist. This characteristic is present in everyone else, too, which is reassuring. We live in such a screwed up world, and the people I am here with know all the disturbing details. I consider myself well informed, but the back room agreements and wheeling and dealing being done, and the small successes in comparison to the chaos is mind boggling.
After the course ended yesterday afternoon I had the privilege of interviewing Padraig O'Malley, a peace facilitator who was born in Dublin. He was educated at University College in Dublin, and at Yale, Tufts and Harvard Universities. He calls himself a conflict resolution consultant, and he has played an instrumental role in the peace settlement process in South Africa and Northern Ireland. He is currently engaged in the reconciliation process in Iraq. I will be writing more about Professor O'Malley in the near future. For now, I will say that meeting him has been one of the best parts of my sabbatical adventure to date!
Check out the attached videotape of Dr. Willene Johnson, Course Instructor.
I love DC! This class is unbelievable. Right now my brain hurts from the volume of materials we've covered. I have no idea why they let me in this class, but it has been amazing. There are no mere mortals in this class other than me. My fellow classmates include a retired US Marine Corp Lt. Colonel who served as a commander for NATO forces in Kosovo, and who now teaches at US Army Command and General Staff College; a guy from the Department of Homeland Security; an Australian from the World Bank; a professor from Kenyatta University; and a Belgian from International Alert. On the first day we had to introduce ourselves and after hearing the bios of everyone else I humbly introduced myself as a teacher from Minnesota who is currently on sabbatical studying conflict resolution. At that point the Lt. Colonel interrupted telling everyone that he's from Minnesota too, and that the school I teach at is one of the best in the country. He's been my buddy ever since! I have to admit that the complexities being discussed regarding problem solving in conflict regions is "just a little" overwhelming. The World Bank guy is brilliant, and in spite of the messes he constantly deals with in South East Asia--he was their point guy on East Timor--he's still an optimist. This characteristic is present in everyone else, too, which is reassuring. We live in such a screwed up world, and the people I am here with know all the disturbing details. I consider myself well informed, but the back room agreements and wheeling and dealing being done, and the small successes in comparison to the chaos is mind boggling.
After the course ended yesterday afternoon I had the privilege of interviewing Padraig O'Malley, a peace facilitator who was born in Dublin. He was educated at University College in Dublin, and at Yale, Tufts and Harvard Universities. He calls himself a conflict resolution consultant, and he has played an instrumental role in the peace settlement process in South Africa and Northern Ireland. He is currently engaged in the reconciliation process in Iraq. I will be writing more about Professor O'Malley in the near future. For now, I will say that meeting him has been one of the best parts of my sabbatical adventure to date!
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