Teresa's ASSESSMENT course with Tom ... SUCCESS!!

Hi Everyone,

I finished up my ASSESSMENT course with the Ascham Girls College year 8's and I have news of my SUCCESS :) At the end of our final debrief/wrap-up circle yesterday morning, Tom announced to me & our group that he would be signing me off for my assessment course ... YIPPEE!!

So, while I am waiting for Tom to put the finishing touches on his assessment report, I have a chance to share this quick update with you. Once we meet up to discuss his report, he'll also sign me off in the various sections of my logbook pertaining to my assessment course, plus a few other expedition related sign-offs.

Overall, this course went very well, ...

* I was quite comfortable with all that I needed to do to deliver this program,

* we had a great group ... we had 12 young womyn and an excellent teacher, Johann, who had done a few OB courses as a teacher before,

* Tom & I worked really well together ... we were T 'n' T (Teresa/Tess & Tom) ... Tom's mentoring style and his relaxed approach were great,

* we had a few weather related challenges including gale force winds in the Orroral Valley on our first afternoon while we were trying to issue the girls their OB gear and frosty overnight temperatures most of the nights but I/we were able to deal with it in good form and the group was not too phased by these weather challenges, although they likely would have been had we experienced more rain or more severely cold nights,

* I was able to share a few of the Work that Reconnects practices that I have learned from Joanna Macy & Molly Young Brown's work during our Enviro Day (Systems Game, Open Sentences, Mirror Walk, & the Web of Life Meditation) and ...

* on another day when we explored some of the massive boulders that have special significance to the indigenous peoples here in the Orroral Valley ... we experienced this sacred space in silence and circled up in the main chamber (which is quite large, yet under a variety of massive boulders that are all supporting each other above this large space) and I shared the Gaia Meditation with them, separating each section with a few notes from my clay okarina that I brought with me from Canada (if I remember correctly, this was a gift from Evon, thanks friend :) Johann, the Ascham teacher was quite pleased with how respectful and attentive the girls were during this activity, especially with the colder temperatures and winds blowing through this cave-like space. Tom & I were quite pleased with how this activity went as well.

* all in all, I was very pleased with how the course went, the progress each of the young womyn made from the beginning to the end of the course, the connect I had with their teacher, all that we did, and the all the catch up chats I had with Tom throughout the course ...

more soon ...

I'll hop into cyberspace again, likely tomorrow to post a more fulsome update of my course & pic's of course, since what I most need to do after I meet up with Tom & Marcelo the intern training manager is sleep, stay warm, and give my feet a good rest. I am looking forward to catching up with a bunch of you over the phone this week-end, please feel free to post a comment on my BLOG or send an e-mail to my sherpadoginoz@care2.com e-mail address with a time it would work out best to call you.

Tom's just given me my copy of my assessment report, so I have to sign off now & post this update. I'll be in touch again real soon.

Until then, be well,

For the Earth,

Teresa