There are many reasons why I joined the Global Faculty. I really believe in its mission, 'thinking globally, acting locally', and I was very attracted to how they put that mission into practice. What I didn't realise, is the added bonus of joining the Global Faculty, is that while lifeguards are doing patrols, and social justice members were waking up in the middle of the morning to rush off to sessions, we had a faculty trip to Bristol.
The trip was three days long, and a time not only to meet and help new organisations, but also a chance for the faculty to bond as a year group before our first years arrived. The programme went something as follows. We set off at about 8ish from campus and embarked on a three hour plus trip to Bristol. upon arrival, we then checked into our hotel, found our rooms, etc. before gathering again to start our galavanting. The first organisation we visited was The Bristol Cable: a people's media co-operative, created, owned and produced by people in the city. It was fascinating to listen to views on popular media and the negative influences it could have on its readers. Moreover, the engaging way in which the organisers conducted the workshop meant that most of us had means to give our two cents worth as well. This of course made the workshop very interactive and assisted in allowing all the members of the faculty, both students and staff, to get to know each other that bit better. Personally, the most interesting activity we did was to carry out interviews with pedestrians on the street. We were meant to find stories on discrimination, inviting our interviewees to share personal views and experiences. This led to many different opinions being expressed, including workplace discrimination.
The following day we went to a drop-in shelter for sex workers, called One25. They are an amazing organisation who are committed to providing assistance to the street workers of Bristol. What is interesting about their approach is that they do not actively try convince such women to come off the streets, they believe that such a decision should be the woman's own choice. Instead, they are keen to provide everything needed in the interim to ensure such workers are protected.
After visiting their centre, we left for the Julian Trust Night Shelter where we were to spend the rest of the day and some of the night. As it's name suggests, it is a shelter for the homeless people of Bristol and is the only such shelter that not only provides them with a hot meal and clean facilities, but the first twenty people to arrive at the shelter get a bed to sleep in for the night. We arrived sometime in the afternoon, because there was much to be done in preparation for our guests, and we were also attending a follow-up session to an earlier course that had been done by the same people who helped at the shelter.
The course is called Alternatives to Violence Project (or AVP for short) and it is about reflecting the ways in which we react to situations. After that session, we began cooking dinner for ourselves in the kitchen since helping at the shelter meant we weren't able to get dinner for ourselves. Those that weren't busy in the kitchen busied ourselves outside of it by preparing the beds and other necessities for the night. This was a lovely time for all of us in the Global Faculty to bond and it was good fun eating the fruits of our hard labour.
Before we knew it, our guests were arriving. My job was to serve them dinner, more specifically tea and coffee, behind the counter. It was an eye opening experience, meeting people from all walks of life. The stereotype I had for a homeless person were quickly eradicated, especially when I went to interact with our guests. Most of them were eager to engage in conversations with us and many shared their personal experiences willingly. It was fascinating to hear their stories, and as I mentioned, the reasons attributing to why they were currently homeless were so unlike what I had expected to hear. Many of their stories were heart wrenching, and it was challenging to speak to them with a face of neutrality (which we had been advised to uphold) while feeling like I was falling apart inside. This was probably my favourite experience from the whole trip, because I felt like I learnt so much from it.
Finally, on the last day we went to another centre where we used their community kitchen. The main learning takeaway being awareness on how our global food sources are produced. With our diverse origins, we had rather fascinating conversations, especially with everyone chipping in in areas that concerned their native countries. We then finished the session with another communal kitchen session and it was great to finish the trip with a big bonding and eating session.
I feel like the trip definitely strengthened the bonds within my Faculty and it was also great getting to explore the city of Bristol, even if it was only for a few days. Also final fun fact, apparently Bananarama is considered as having origins in Bristol and so, 'Venus was her name! She's got it, ooh baby she's got it!'
