Floodies 8.0
Floodies 8.0
Embedded Files
Hi,
We are the Erasmus Mundus Flood Risk Management students a.k.a. the Floodies (Batch 2019 - 2021). Through our journey we will have had lived across the historic city of Dresden, Germany, the cycle-city Delft (or Den Haag), the Netherlands, the amazing Barcelona, Spain and the breath-taking Llubjana, Slovenia. Interestingly enough, as things stand, we would be living through the time of plague across Europe as never seen in modern history.
This is our story.
Take a look on our posts:
Take a look on our posts:
A Full Journey of Firsts
A Full Journey of Firsts
Mark Bryan Alivio
Have you ever experienced a moment where your mind is ready but your heart is not? Well, I did. Cliché and cheesy as it sounds but I think everyone will agree that leaving the place what you call home was hard and you have to prepare yourself big for it. Be prepare emotionally, physically and of course mentally because let me tell you a secret that most of the first timers in abroad will surely experience. You ready? This, "be ready for sepanx” (separation anxiety). Time to time, I think this reason haunts everyone of us who is away from their family. Make your heart and mind strong! Nevertheless, studying abroad is for sure what everyone dream of, where travelling and expanding ones network are of course attached to it! Well, on my perspective, I was always eyeing for a scholarship to study abroad (at least to earn MSc degree) and experience what kind of life awaits for me in the foreign land as a student where everything is different from what I am used to.
This is it! My first stamp!
Mactan-Cebu Int'l Airport, Philippines
It was April of 2019 that all these became possible thru Erasmus+ scholarship programme. While I was giving myself time to decipher and absorbed the good news, there was a moment that I asked myself, “Wait! Am I really ready for this? Am I?” I left it unanswered and prepared everything except for a flight ticket. Nervous as I was that my anxiety outweighed my excitement! There was no direct flight from the Philippines to Germany (first country of our mobility) and if there is, this is going to be very expensive, so I decided to book a flight that will benefit me the most – both experience and money! Though, I was skeptical at first because aside from the fact that I am a neophyte traveller in international setting, for sure this is going to be exhausting, I still pushed through to my planned flight path. I booked my flight and starting to realize the sayings that is always on my mind for so long which is “It’s about pushing your limits and venturing beyond your comfort zones.” So, I embarked on this journey and been to 5 airports in economy class just to get to Dresden, Germany.
I know getting through an airport security check is one of the most frustrating aspects of flying and can be anxiety-inducing especially with a very long queue. I had a lot of firsts in this travel and it began in Mactan-Cebu International Airport in the Philippines. The airport has a very good air-conditioning system but I don’t know why I was sweating so much the moment I was interviewed by the immigration officer and asked for every documents I had to support my travel. I told her that this was my first time venturing overseas and I am going there (Germany) to study and I had my lay-over in Singapore. At last, she let me passed through (insert rolling eyes HAHA). Since, I still have time before boarding, I roamed around the airport and so far this was the best airport I’ve been to in the Philippines in terms of architecture and interior. As clock ticked really fast, I unknowingly had only 1 hour before the boarding time and I still don’t know where the boarding gate is! I was lost at the airport! My brain couldn’t recognized the signs anymore because that time, I was worrying too much that I’m going to miss the flight (can’t afford to)! I paused for a moment and restarted to navigate towards the boarding gate. I found it and just right on time (I realized that I’ve been here already but because I was too filled up with nervousness and worries, I didn’t notice that this was it).
Mactan-Cebu Int'l Airport, Philippines
WELCOME to Singapore!
Anyway, I finally hopped on the plane and excited to get the first stamp in my passport which was in SINGAPORE! I heard a lot of good things about the Jewel Changi Airport in Singapore and I have to experience it myself! I arrived late at night in Changi, had my longest lay-over here and it left me in awe until now! It was my first time to spend overnight in the airport and it did not fail to impress me! Goosebumps galore! Long airport lay-over is not a problem when you are in Changi! I felt like I was not in the airport! I paced up and down the airport while carrying a 30-kg luggage, backpack and tote bag, feeding my eyes with the plethora of things to see (the waterfall in the nature reserve of the airport is so captivating!). Finally, I found a place where I can relax and sleep! First time to wake up in an airport and felt rejuvenated, to freshen up in an airport's wash room, to change your OOTD for the next flight, and eat breakfast with a Singaporean-style noodles. The airport is very welcoming with a vibe of freshness giving me a sense of relief and I’m so glad (happiest during this moment) that I’ve got a chance to explore and marvel at the most beautiful airport in the world!
Oh, wait! There’s still more. From Singapore, I have to transfer flight again in Doha, Qatar and from there to Berlin. In this part of my trip, I had my first ever meal in an airplane while watching John Wick 3 with myself wrapped in a blanket (well, at least the airline provided blanket for us who easily feel cold during the flight HAHA). Fast forward! I got my second stamp in Berlin-TXL airport smoothly as soon as I presented them the scholarship agreement from Erasmus+ (this saved me from a rapid heartbeat moment). First time to be in another continent with 4 seasons, with different cultures, foods, languages, and attitudes - EVERYTHING is different! It took time for me before it sink in! I decided to spend my first night in Europe in Berlin! It was autumn! It was my first and I just daydreamed this before! OMG! The gorgeous colors of red, orange and yellow shine in every trees around you but it was very cold tho! A bus from Berlin will take me to my destination which is Dresden and I don’t know where the bus terminal is. No cellular data and cannot connect to the public Wi-Fi. Hesitant at first, but I have no choice but to ask strangers the route to the terminal.
These things will welcome you to Changi!
Doha, Qatar Int'l Airport
It was in Berlin that I first experienced how rude and unhelping the people from here are (I am not generalizing. Sorry) but I met a very nice lady who really helped me in reaching the bus terminal. At last, I arrived at Dresden, Germany and luckily their public Wi-Fi works on my phone already. Yey! And with a little tap and search, I easily got to navigate for my next destination and that is at Fritz 16 where I stayed for 6 months! Dresden is a beautiful city. It defines beauty itself, from its history to the things it could offer, this is mostly what captured people from visiting this beautiful city. Although I was exhausted and shocked at the same time because the whole trip was indeed a quite challenging for me, I find myself having fun and enjoying my lots of first experiences abroad and having that thought, made me realized "Well, you deserved to enjoy self, its your reward for coming this far." Arriving at your destination safe and sound really matters but making the journey worthwhile and memorable is another part of the story that we should all be willing to participate at because if you asked me if I would do it all again, I certainly would without having a second thought. Now, remember this, “make your own path”, and discover a lot of firsts for yourself because experiencing them first hand will truly put your soul in awe. It may not be as same as what I experienced, but I promised you this you will find yourself afresh and motivated. What are you waiting for? Start leaving footprints in Europe!
Treat yourself with a hike to this majestic throne above the Elbe River
Treat yourself with a hike to this majestic throne above the Elbe River
Mark Bryan Alivio
Elbsandsteingebirge (Rocks in the Elbe Sandstone Mountain)
Bastei Bridge (Basteibrüccke) in Saxon Switzerland National Park, Germany
As Michel Struhárová says, "Nature is brilliant and creative. Often it creates something that even in the wildest dreams one cannot imagine."
This picturesque sandstone-layered rock formation is considered to be the majestic throne above the Elbe River in Germany which was formed through the deposition of marine sediments for over a million years ago. Having this kind of view after months of studying and exam is very relaxing and will take away your stress (well, if you allow nature to do so).
I was specifically amazed and overwhelmed with this attraction that a sandstone Bastei Bridge connects these spectacular towers of rock formation which is originally a wooden bridge and spanning 76.5 meters so people can enjoy a wonderful panoramic view of the surrounding area - and yeah, it really does! There is really something special in this place that one visit isn't enough to appreciate how breathtaking and beautiful it could offer especially the panoramic view! So, I visited it for the second time but still the feeling was the same as if it was my first time! But, in this moment something came up into my mind while I was walking through the bridge (reflecting and having a conversation with myself, perks of being alone).
This made me realized that "Nature itself is amazing and superb, no one can argue to that but adding/incorporating more details to it with man's work will give more views and options to enjoy it and have a unique experience. So why destroy it?” Nevertheless, since it was winter when I came to visit this (but no snow), it made me curious how stunning will it be during spring and autumn season where everything is just so colorful. It has its own charm in all seasons of the year that captivates ones eyes and heart. One more thing, all the trails are well marked and there are steps going up so it wouldn’t be that hard for the hikers to reach the bridge and during your journey up, you can marvel at the rock formations too and capture candid photos (isn’t it amazing?)! Indeed, it's one of my most favorite moment and experience I had during my stay in Dresden, Germany! When engineering structure meets nature! It is truly worth a visit while you are in Dresden, Germany! Also, enjoy the solitude and serenity of the little beautiful village in Kurort Rathen which is located just at the valley floor of Elbe Sandstone Mountains. Every experience is unique so see it for yourself!
P.S. Saxon Switzerland National Park was one of the filming location of several movies, to name a few - The Chronicles of Narnia and Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters.
A more international women day then ever
A more international women day then ever
(Paula Santandreu, 8/3/2020)
As you may know every 8th of March is the international women day. In Europe is a day largely celebrated, with mass strikes done by the female workers, who spend all that day in the streets participating in activities, protests, events, etc. to increase the citizens awareness about the gender gap. In the last years, in Spain, this day is celebrated not just with your female (and every year more male) friends, but a day to celebrate with your mother, grandmother or daughter since the generation differences are not relevant in this fight.
So, as a woman who since I have been a kid has been part of this movement, this year (2020), even being doing this master I wanted to celebrate it. I was especially interested since for the first time I was having the opportunity to know how it is celebrated in different counties and cultures. That is why, my female classmates and I organised a round table at the IHE canteen to discuss gender related issues.
Personally, I have done previous debate tables about feminism and I offered myself to organise the topics that we would discuss, and act as moderator.
When the day arrived, I was thrilled for our small event. After classes, all that students that were interested to be part of it stayed in the canteen. My first positive surprise was the participation of male classmates. The first topic that I planned to discuss was how this day is celebrated and how is the gender gap situation in each country. As soon as we started, I realised that I had been living in my little European bubble until now! All the issues I had planned to discuss were completely out of topic. Debating about micro-sexism does not have any sense if your family have to pay a dowry to your husband-to-be. From that moment we decided to do not follow any of my pre-arranged debate structure and to just discuss everything that bother us and ask each other questions about how the same problem was solved in different countries. Before that meeting, I could never had expected talking about almost any of the topics we discuss like dowries, dress codes at work just for females, family and social pressures to marry or have kids, lacking of professional opportunities due to your gender and thousand more problems that for my reality were already solved.
Looking back to this event, I could easily see the added value of this master and the great opportunities that it offers to be introduced to other realities have a reality check popping our bubbles of previous knowledge in how the world works.
Year 1 Reflection
Year 1 Reflection
(Nadia Jethoo, 28/09/2020)
We’re not gonna start at the beginning -- September 2019 -- because 2020 changed everything. Everything.
From March 2020 onward we have been experiencing the FRM program from a whole new perspective, and dare I say it, a new normal. We have just wrapped up the second semester, which was done almost entirely through virtual learning. It was a tough curve for all of us, the gravity of the situation was felt amongst our peers, our professors, and supporting staff at IHE Delft.
One of the most challenging parts was not just learning from a distance, but coping from a distance. Since the first semester in Dresden, we were learning ways to cope with homesickness, and learning how to support one another. (Take a look at the Blog by ____ about Semester 1 here)
But this was different. Unlike the last semester, we were scattered across Delft and The Hague. In quarantine.
I think during the semester we all sighed a big sigh of relief and thanked Big Blue Button, Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts and other apps for just keeping us connected! It made the summer all that sweeter as restrictions across the Netherlands started to reduce and finally restaurants and bars reopened in June. Although the semester wasn't complete until the end of July, the uncertainty of CoVid-19 was starting to lift -- and we began to adapt.
I say the word “adapt” purposefully. This running theme through the masters seems to be guiding my focus. Surprisingly, in this reflection, I look forward to the future me: She is strategic, informed, and part of the hustle and bustle of a thriving Natural Hazard or Emergency Management team in public service. Her goal is to champion the shifting FRM paradigm of citizen involvement.
But I wonder how she -- or society as a whole -- will cope with the changes her Department will suggest.
Looking at CoVid-19 unravel, it became so clear in the past months how uncertainty can be used to politicize and weaponize information, to just confuse otherwise logical, rational people.
We put a lot of trust in one another to make sure the system works -- but 2020 was testing our ability to rely on one another. Turns out CoVid-19 was just a breaking point. It boiled to the surface heated movements for reform, justice for Black Lives, LGBTQ rights, economic security, etc. Almost everything that can go wrong has -- but 2020 isn’t over yet so I don’t want to speak too soon.
I want to be ready to one day fill those shoes. But the pandemic left me wondering if I had what it takes to be like our current decision-makers. They handle the weight of what it really means to adapt when it all seemingly goes wrong. How do you even begin? Where do you turn? What more can you ask people to do? What more are you willing to do?
I think what this past year has taught me is that adaptation isn’t just about asking the hard questions. The answers aren’t as vital to the people as the affirmation to the ultimate question: what are we doing this for?
I wanted to capture this feeling in writing just to make sure I never forget it:
You do this for a better future. Always.
Information, specifically sound scientific evidence with a little dose of “heir with the side of caution,” has been the backbone of plain common sense. But to have common sense, we have to have a unanimous guiding purpose and clear leadership to this purpose.
Time and time again, I feel even within the batch, we lose this focus as things become unclear. It can be frustrating, intense, and it reveals our selfish tendencies as our shortsightedness focuses on ourselves only. I’m sure most of my batchmates would want nothing more than to go back to the way it used to be -- honestly, me too. But, this is not an option. So, in this chaos, I feel the need to hold onto my affirmation closely. It keeps me at ease, it keeps me grateful the program presses on, and it keeps me focussed on the big picture as we approach the long-awaited semester 4: The Thesis.
I am now more equipped than ever to venture through the fog of 2020. Let the learning lessons from lockdown be the light to lead us through. And with a good look around me, I see my peers ready to unveil the next adventure too. I am ready to go along with them, my affirmation guiding my tenacity and patience. Hola Barcelona, we’re ready for you. #Floodies #FRM8
The first time I cooked for almost 20 people
The first time I cooked for almost 20 people
Minh Nguyet Le
Cooking and experiencing different cuisine have become an inseparable part of my Erasmus journey, but not in my wildest dream could I even imagine that one day I would cook something that I have never cooked before for... 16 other people. I guess that’s how the Erasmus spirit got to you. Before going into that story, let me go back a few days.
Dare I say that I have the most special birthday date in our Batch (yes I am not shutting up about this even in the batch blog xD). I arrived in Dresden on 17/9/2019 and our tentative date for graduation ceremony is 17/9/2021. This year, the legendary 2020, my friends decided to throw me a surprise birthday party that somehow I did not suspect anything. I was just hanging out and having dinner with my flatmates in a Vietnamese restaurant when suddenly one of them had an “accident” that we needed to go home for a bit. Upon returning, I thought it was strange that the common area was kinda empty, then I realized the dining table was missing. Still wondering, I then looked out to the terrace and then I saw some candles, and oh my god who knew that even friendship could be so romantic! Everybody was super thoughtful and considerate: the candles, the lovely decoration, peanut punch, and my most favorite cake red velvet! Surprises actually don’t really work for me, I can always find something suspicious, but I was honestly taken aback cause I never thought my friends would organize the party on the exact day of my birthday on a Wednesday. I felt warm and giddy all inside. We chatted, played some games and had a great time together. It was definitely one of my best nights during this Master journey.
Now moving to the next story: I wanted to cook some dessert because I was homesick for home food, and also as a way to thank my friend for the birthday party. The dessert seems simple enough: floating cake made of glutinous rice flour, filled with black sesame or mung beans inside, served in a hot soup of black sugar, ginger and with some black sesame, crushed peanut and coconut string sprinkled on top. The Vietnamese name is “Bánh trôi tàu”, and when the cake is cooked, it will float, thus explaining the English name. One serve usually comes in 3 pieces of floating cakes, so I would need to make roughly 50 pieces, plus the soup. Ok let’s nail this then!
Authentic Bánh trôi tàu
Nguyệt's Bánh trôi tàu
Finally to the main event, dining time xD Everyone was requested to bring their own cup (preferably bowl) and spoon for the dessert. I remembered staying in the kitchen to prepare the dessert for everyone, and when I came out to call the next person, I found it so endearing and hilarious that everyone was standing in the line with their cup and spoon, ready to be served. Someone even shouted “Communist”, which was so funny, and it surely seemed like the subsidy phase. I also felt like a mother bird feeding her hungry children that have been waiting long for the food xD Although I was not entirely satisfied with what I cooked, I couldn’t buy fresh coconut to scrape, something was still missing in the soup, but in general, making “Bánh trôi tàu” was more successful than I thought, and seeing how my friends enjoyed the dessert gave me tremendous joys and pride. It was also a good occasion for all of us to gather and spend quality time together. My fellow Floodies had better remember that night fondly, cause for sure it was such a unique experience for me xD Maybe if I feel confident enough, I might cook for the batch again, but this time I will make sure that I have tried to cook that dish before haha. Thank you everyone for trusting me enough to be my experiment rat…, it was great pleasure cooking Vietnamese dish for you xD
Queuing up selfie time!
Get your cup and spoon and stand in the line
My children
Family gathering
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!”
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!”
Tharindu Manamperi
“FROM ‘Gute Geburtstag’ (Dresden), THROUGH ‘Gelukkige Verjaardag’ (Hague/ Delft), TO ‘Feliz Cumpleaños’ (Barcelona) AND UNTIL THE NEXT...”
A room full of silence and dark!!! The door opens!!! Here enters the birthday girl!!!……. Surprise!!!!!!!!!
“HAPPYYYY BIRTHDAYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Room goes lightened, full of shouting and Music!!!!!
It was Nowrina, from Bangladesh got the first lucky surprise birthday party from “Floodies 8”, in October 2019, after we started our Erasmus Journey for 2019-2021. From then, it became a colourful, joyful tradition among the group of Floodies, which brought us together in each month for a cheerful evening.
Nowrina's Birthday at Dresden
Faisal, Paula, Siamak & Manoel Jr' Birthday at Dresden
Jia Yue's Birthday at Sophienkeller in Alstadt, Dresden
Daniel's Birthday at Alberto's place, The Hague
Nguyeth's Birthday at FRM Headquarters, Barcelona
Obviously, it always got colorful with birthday cakes for everyone who had the birthdays in the month, enlightened with candles. But why to limit ourselves? We are a proud batch of 28 coming from 19 countries, east to the west of the earth. Let the cake become only the bridge that connects different cultures at our birthdays!!! We had expert chefs on different cuisines, from different countries. Our tables have always been filled with vivid and tasteful traditional cuisines (Lemon chicken, tacos, pastas, salads and so many), yummy sweets and candies. Why not the drinks?? From chai tea to mescals (adios Mexicans!!! Ha ha), along with wines (still loves the Gluehwine) and cocktails were there for the toast!!!
Yummy dishes
'The cakes are ready'
Tea experts
Apart from all, we have a professional party planner (unless she becomes a flood risk manager by her choice). So why not to make the rooms decorate a little bit!!!! Even we had our own sponsors for the decos (thank you Aldi and Lidl!!!!! ;-) ). Balloons, ribbons and strip chains made it more cheerful. Actually we spent hours & hours in planning the surprise, shopping, decorating, making our own cuisines and hiding them until the party time!!!. Those times of planning, arrangements are really becoming more & more cherishing memories, now.
Our Party Planner (Omg, is she not or what?? Ha haa)
We sang songs, sang for karokes in different languages, (English, Spanish, Hindi, Persian, Portuguese…..OMG sometimes we didn’t even notice) we danced, played games, expressed ourselves in these nights at birthday get-togethers throughout the past 12 months. Most importantly, even this pandemic couldn’t stop us!!!! The start we made from fritz common room extended and extended through IHE Cafeteria, at Hague, Alberto’s room, at Delft Mina, until here at Barcelona FRM headquarters.
Karaoke show
Mezcals (Shots of friendship)
Rod, one of the two lucky fellows to celebrate it at IHE Cafe
The other, Steve with his mother's warm wishes
Daniel, the Silent Birthday boy
Even our celebrations reached Mina at Delft
With the warmth wishes from summer, at The Hague
The trend continues at Barcelona, Nguyeth's B'Day
To make a highlight, some of our Birthday parties were organized, not only at difficult circumstances, but in an environment, where government had imposed strict regulations on gatherings, (Number of people allowed was 5, 8, 10, 20 and we had to keep an eye on this number every night). Even, we were aware about the risk, (and also the fine, ha haa). Hats off to the fellows who organized (the organizing committee), fellows, who accept the risk and invite all to their places, and who joined to make them more enjoyable nights!!!!!
We took the risk (with sanitizers) of gathering even in this hard time as we have already became a family (love that experience)!!!. Yes, we are thousands of miles away from our loving families. It is giving a such hard and disappointing feeling, that even some of us are not allowed to enter our countries then and yet due to this pandemic, so we needed these gatherings to give ourselves some room of affection and companionship!!! Ease ourselves among the stressful academics!!! Get rid of the emotions of isolation, particularly in the virtual academic environment in past few months.
Therefore, we wish to continue our birthday partying tradition. Get ready, cycle begins from October!!!!!!!
-Tharindu, FRM 8 (from Barcelona)
Copernicus Hackathon Barcelona 2020
Copernicus Hackathon Barcelona 2020
Amin Shakya, Daniel Eduardo Villarreal, Siva Rama Krishna Reddy Chidepudi & Javed Ali (FRM Batch 6), October 2020
Our team Floodies - Amin Shakya, Daniel Eduardo Villarreal Jaime, Siva Rama Krishna Reddy Chidepudi and Javed Ali, participated in the Copernicus Hackathon Barcelona 2020 organised by CRAHI - UPC and Kajo, and won the third prize. The hackathon was under the theme of “Integrating Copernicus services and state-of-the-art tools within Weather & Climate-induced emergency management chain”. We developed an integrated framework with innovative solutions to deal with the compound impact of natural hazards and Covid-19 with the ability to increase disaster preparedness using early warning systems and humanitarian aid assessment.
The standard disaster risk management practice still does not take cascading disasters or concurrent disasters much into account. With our product, we intended to develop a multi-hazard disaster risk communication service. For the prototype, we focused only on floods and Covid-19. Further we wanted to incorporate the private hospitality sector - hotels, hostels, Airbnbs, etc, which would see reduced business than in normal times, to offer their resources for the flood shelters, should they choose to sign up for the service. The collaboration is intended to be made in a way that makes a business-sense to our private partners, either in terms of possible tax deductions for Corporate Social Responsibility or goodwill from a company working for social good. The idea for the prototype was powered by the EFAS flood map services and OpenStreetMap data for the private businesses, using Google earth engine and python applications, whereas the refined product is supposed to have forecasting and machine learning capabilities as well as sign-up provisions for the private partners.
The event overall was a good learning experience, with mentorship available from top practitioners and business personnel in the field of Copernicus data application. The troubleshootings offered for the technical development and the counselling offered for the business proposal development were invaluable. The best part about the event was getting to collaborate with a fellow Erasmus Masters in Flood Risk Management alumni, to interact with other participants from IHE, as well as to get to try to solve real-world problems using satellite data along with other participants from diverse backgrounds.
The coverage of the same in the IHE blog can be found here: Copernicus Barcelona Hackathon - IHE Delft teams awarded 2nd and 3rd place
Floodie Winter Drinks 2020
Floodie Winter Drinks 2020
Amin Shakya, December 2020
It’s that time of the year again: the holidays. We’re in the final phase of our coursework now with the University of Ljubljana, getting clarity on our thesis semester, the topics, the supervisors, and the cities we get to re-acquaint ourselves with.
I remember last Christmas well, with the big celebrations in Dresden, a few crazy European trips, some going home to visit their family - and a lot of Gluewein! This year, it is a bit different. We’re still in the middle of the pandemic. Online classes have meant that some have managed to go home and be with their family for the period. Many chose to be based remotely within Europe while a significant number did make it to Ljubljana.
With the holidays comes the longing - for home, for family, and for familiarity. With the floodies spread out across the globe and within Europe, we decided to have virtual drinks, and further invite the other FRM batches and the faculties. Thanks to Nadia and Nikos for coordinating the invitations, and to Nikos for experimenting with a cool new virtual platform: spatial chat.
This was also our opportunity to acquaint ourselves with many of the Batch 9 and the previous batches - big Christmas drinks, albeit virtually, with the floodies spread across geographic locations as diverse as our roots.
On behalf of FRM8 and the larger FRM family,
Seasonal Greetings
Wrapping it up
Wrapping it up
Manuel Alvarez, September 2021
Resilience is a very important concept in Flood risk management and it’s something that I have kept thinking about throughout the programme and especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. A common definition states that resilience is: “the ability of a system to maintain its most important processes and characteristics when subjected to disturbances”. What is a greater disturbance than choosing to leave your home country and study abroad for two years? Add to that having to deal with lockdowns and restrictions during the process and I believe that our group has shown great resilience in our capacities to persist, adapt and transform.
We had a lot of help getting in being able to finish the programme. In this short writing I would also like to express my gratitude to the professors and supporting staff in each of the academic institutions we were part of. This process has also been a challenge to them and they did their very best to be able to reach the objectives. Even though some say that “it is impossible to work like this”, we did it, with your help.
But coming back to resilience, there are two aspects that I would like to highlight which I believe were key in being able to reach this final stage for all of us. First, we never lost focus on what our main goal was. Yes, there were distractions on the way, some of them very positive and others not so good, but always keeping our mission of fulfilling the objective we set to ourselves as the main priority.
And second, but I believe more importantly: this group, this community, FRM8. In each other we found empathetic and understanding people who also shared our passions and reminded us that we were not alone in the midst of difficulties. We kept each other going and we also got to share beautiful and happy experiences that will be unforgettable memories for each one of us.
With the logo and the design that includes the flags for each of our home countries I wanted to make something that reminds us of this time and this community. In this day and age photographs might do a way better job at that than this project but hey, I think it will look very nice as a part in an album cover. I’m proud to be a part of this community and I’m very much looking forward to what the future has in store for us.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse