Mosaic

For the past two days, I assisted the workshop on maternal health Ipas with a focus on abortions. I entered the room with some trepidation on the first day, as not knowing what to expect and a fear of unknown. Hola, buenos dias! I was welcomed by other delegates from Central and South America, ashamed by my little knowledge of Spanish, I replied to them in English 😛 The other delegates were very welcoming and they made sure that I comprehended what they were expressing. As the workshop began, we presented ourselves and discussed about the access to safe abortions in different countries. At first, I was shocked to hear that in certain countries, abortion is undeniably illegal and regardless of the circumstances; while in others, the access to safe abortion is permitted under specific cases. As the workshop progresses, the trainers conducted a survey anonymously about our opinions on abortion and its policies. Upon the completion, the surveys were mixed and each person picked up a survey of someone else’s. I had to defend certain positions that were not part of my beliefs. I was surprised to see that even against my will, I had been able to find reasonable points of view. I had come to the realization that our opinions are merely a tiny fraction of a multicultural mosaic, and our strong beliefs might fall apart in a fraction of second when hearing others’ points of views. I had the chance to discuss with delegates from all over the globe. Furthermore, I began to put myself in their shoes and realized that our cultural backgrounds, our social-economic environment and our beliefs have a predominant influence on our opinions. I am having a wonderful time at the pre-RM workshop with IPAS and it’s a journey that I certainly am grateful of embarking on. Next objective, learn at least 7 phrases in Spanish that could help me to interact with other delegates. adiós amigos! 🙂

Peiyin