My Degree in International Relations

I am currently completing the last term of my Undergraduate Degree in International Relations (IR) at UBC and wanted to share what I have been learning over the last four years.

What is IR?
IR is the study of the global interactions between sovereign states, inter-governmental organizations (IGO), multinational corporations (MNC), and non-governmental organizations (NGO). At UBC, IR is an interdisciplinary program that combines four different fields: Economics, History, Languages and Political Science.

Why did I choose to study IR?
I have always been fascinated by the work of the United Nations, interested in global history and loved learning languages. I wanted to choose a program that would challenge me and would enable me to take a variety of courses. I believed it would equip me with a solid and well rounded foundation because I would learn how to interpret detailed economic models, why lessons from history are relevant today, how to communicate in two additional languages, and how to understand different systems of governance. 

IR students are required to take the following courses:
1. Economics
-Microeconomics 
-Macroeconomics 
-International Finance 

2. History
-World History from 1500 to the 20th Century
-World History from 1900
-International Relations of the Great Powers in the 20th Century

3. Languages (2 years in addition to what is already required by the Faculty of Arts)
-I am bilingual (French & English) so I decided to study Spanish to fulfill this requirement

4. Political Science
-Introduction to Global Politics 
-Security Studies 

5. IR Seminar 
-Comparative Law and Politics 

My specializations are:
-International Diplomacy, Security, and Peace Studies
-International Economy and Development 

Being in IR has allowed me to take courses from many different faculties at UBC. My favourite electives have been: 
-International Nutrition                       (FNH 355)
-Canadian Government                        (POLI 101)
-Applied International Nutrition        (FNH 455)
-International Peacekeeping               (POLI 374)
-Psychology                                             (PSYC 100)
-Business and Entrepreneurship        (COMM 240)

I have had some outstanding professors at UBC, my favourite include:
Patricia Cochran- PhD Law
Gerald McIntyre- PhD International Finance
Judy McLean- PhD Human Nutrition 
Elizabeth Newton- PhD Social Psychology 
Allen Sens- PhD Political Science 

Summer Highlights

I had an amazing four months in Ottawa and wanted to share some of the best moments!

1. Working with 39 other amazing Parliamentary Guides in English and French. I made some incredible new friends through this experience 

2. Being hosted at Rideau Hall by His Excellency, the Right Honourable David Johnston

3. Going up to the dome of the Library of Parliament and then around the entire structure on the outside

4. Attending a reception at Kingsmere and meeting the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Honourable Andrew Scheer

5. Meeting the Speaker of the Senate, the Honourable Noel Kinsella

6. Visiting the National Gallery of Art and the Museum of History

7. Celebrating Canada Day on Parliament Hill

8. Giving tours of our nation's Centre Block in English and French to groups of 50 people. I was also able to give tours to my family which was very special.

9. Guide BBQs in Wakefield, Quebec 

10. Hiking in Gatineau Park, Quebec

11. Pizza - luck dinners with other Guides

12. Exploring great stores and restaurants in the Byward Market

13. Going to Montreal

14. Attending a lecture by Mellissa Fung at the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat

15. The Guide Ball we had at the end of the season to celebrate our accomplishments this summer 

16. Watching Question Period in the House of Commons and in the Senate Chambers

17. Meeting my MP, Justin Trudeau and Thomas Mulcair

18. Enjoying the view of Parliament from Major's Hill Park

19. Practicing my French with my colleagues and visitors 


20. Working in one of the most important buildings in the country 

Interesting Facts about Canadian Parliament

Here are some interesting details I learned as a Parliamentary Guide!

1. People

-Agnes Macphail was the first woman to be elected to Canada's House of Commons (1921)

-Cairine Wilson was the first woman to be appointed to Canada's Senate (1930). The Persons' Case of 1929 is one of the major achievements by Canadians for Canadians. The Famous 5 succeeded in having women defined as "persons" and thereby eligible for appointment to the Senate. This victory symbolized the right of women to participate in all facets of life

-William Lyon Mackenzie King was Canada's longest serving Prime Minister- 21 years 

-Sir Wilfrid Laurier was Canada's first Francophone Prime Minister 

-The first Canadian Governor General was Vincent Massey in 1952. Since his appointment, the Governor General has always been a Canadian citizen and we traditionally alternate appointments between Anglophones and Francophones.

-Jeanne Sauve was the first female Cabinet Minister from Quebec, first woman elected as speaker of the House of Commons, and was the first female Governor General. 

2. Place
-Construction of the Parliament buildings began in the 1860s. There was a fire in 1916 which destroyed all of the Centre Block except for the Library of Parliament. The library is extremely different from the rest of the Centre Block and it was completed in 1876.

-There is a Long-Term Vision Plan underway which is updating and restoring the historic parliamentary buildings: the triad of the West Block, Centre Block and East Block, followed by the rehabilitation of the other buildings within the Precinct.

-All 13 provinces and territories are represented in two specific areas of the building: the official entrance to Parliament (the Rotunda), and on the oak doors of the Senate chamber.

3. Process

-Our form of government is called a constitutional monarchy. This means that we have a Head of State and a Head of Government; the roles are separate and distinct. Our Head of State is Queen Elizabeth the 2nd of Canada, her powers are limited and defined by the Constitution and she is represented in Canada by the Governor General. Our Head of Government is our Prime Minister.

-Representation in the House of Commons is by population, each MP represents 110,000 Canadians. Representation in the Senate is by region to ensure that each province and territory is well represented. 

-In 2015 we are adding 30 more seats to our House of Commons- we will then have 338 seats.

-The biggest difference between a province and a territory is that provinces receive their power from the Constitution Act of 1867 and territories have powers delegated to them by the federal government. A change in the division of powers between the federal government and the provinces requires a constitutional amendment whereas a similar change impacting the territories can be performed by Parliament. 

4. Past 

-Canada became a country on July 1, 1867. We had four provinces at that time: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

-The rest of the provinces and territories joined later: Manitoba and the North West Territories (1870), British Columbia (1871), Prince Edward Island (1873), Yukon (1898), Alberta and Saskatchewan (1905), Newfoundland (1949), and Nunavut (1999). 

-The Official Languages Act was created in 1969 by Prime Minister Trudeau. It gives English and French equal status in the government of Canada. This Act provides that Canadians have the right to receive services from federal departments and Crown Corporations in both languages, will be heard before the federal courts in the official language of their choice, and that Parliament will publish regulations in both languages.

5. Miscellaneous 

-Queen Victoria chose Ottawa as the capital of Canada in 1857
-The most expensive book in the Library of Parliament's collection is called "The Birds of America" by John Audubon. It is worth $10-13 million.

The Guiding Experience

Over the summer our tours get evaluated by our supervisors and they use a specific point system to ensure we are conveying accurate information that is properly linked together by our overarching theme. My theme is the legislative process- I discuss how a bill becomes a law and what needs to happen in Parliament for that to happen. The first time they evaluate our tours they follow us in our first language, our second evaluation is in our second language. At each of our stops on tour they make sure we have the following:

1. Content 

-People: Prime Ministers, Fathers of Confederations, Parliamentarians, Architects, etc.

-Place: Architecture, Art, Materials, Style, Form and Function

-Process: Legislation, Caucus Meetings, How a Bill becomes a Law

-Past: Confederation, Creation of the Parliament Buildings, Evolution of our Parliament

2. Learning Styles

-Emotive: Stories

-Sensory: Involve the senses through guided imagery 

-Cognitive: Facts, dates, concrete information 

3. Tour Cohesion

-Links between rooms on tour: Makes sure the tour flows well

-Theme of tour: Has to be evident at every single stop. Explain how each room on the tour is important to the legislative process.

4. Interaction

-Maintaining visitor attention: Make this fun for adults, kids, Canadians, international visitors

-Adapts content to meet visitors' needs: Need to consistently gauge the group to make sure they understand what you are saying 

-Encourages participation: Get everyone involved! 

5. Logistics 

-Follows time restrictions 

-Assertive communication

-Enforces rules appropriately 

6. Communication

-Voice projection, clarity and pace

-Body language 

7. Professionalism 

-Remains objective, neutral and nonpartisan 

-Respects visitors and all staff

-Understands operations and logistics of the building 

At first it was extremely overwhelming to try and cover all of the above at every stop on the tour because we only have 3 minutes in every room, including questions. My first evaluation in English was in July and it went well. I had my second one in French today and it was even better because I included mostly all of my supervisor's suggestions. I was nervous to be evaluated in my second language, however, I was pleasantly surprised and my French has definitely improved since April!

Canada Day on Parliament Hill

This summer was the first time I have been in Ottawa for Canada Day. It was also the only day this summer that all 40 Parliamentary Guides had the same day off. I really wanted to experience Canada Day on Parliament Hill because I never have and I am not sure when I will be back in Ottawa again.

We started the day off early and headed to Parliament Hill. As soon as we got close to the Hill we saw thousands of people. Wellington Street was closed to cars and packed with tourists. We got up onto the Hill around 9:30am and went right to the front of the stage. At 12pm the Prime Minister and the Governor General arrived, and the celebrations began. They each made speeches, we saw the Canadian Forces Snowbirds, there was a concert, and Clara Hughes (Canadian Olympic Champion) was the guest of honour. 

We were on the Hill from 9:30am-2pm and then we left to go to a BBQ and pool party hosted by one of the guides. We went back downtown in the evening to watch the Canada Day fireworks. I am really glad we went to experience the festivities on the Hill because even though it was extremely busy it was really fun to celebrate Canada's 147th birthday with thousands of other Canadians!

Family Visit

Last week my mom, aunt and grandma came to visit me in Ottawa! It was wonderful because I hadn't seen them in over two months and I was able to show them around the city. I gave them a tour of Parliament which I really enjoyed because they got to really see and understand what I do as a Parliamentary Guide. 

While they were here we also went to the Delegation of Ismaili Imamat, explored the Byward Market, Elgin Street and the Glebe, and took a day trip to Wakefield. We also discovered my favourite new clothing store in Ottawa: http://milkshop.ca/

We tried many new restaurants including: Maxwell's Bistro, Mambo, the Glebe's FarmTeam Cookhouse, Vittoria Trattoria, and Oh So Good. 

It was so great to see them and I can't believe this means I am halfway through my summer in Ottawa!

Life as a Parliamentary Guide

As a Parliamentary Guide I have many responsibilities and this blog post will allow me to explain what I do on Parliament Hill. 

1. Guide: For most of our shifts we are guides which means we are offering tours of Centre Block. We have recently extended the tour route so we now show visitors the House of Commons Foyer, House of Commons Chamber, Reading Room, Library of Parliament, Senate Foyer, Senate Chamber, and the Salon de la Francophonie. Each tour we give is different as we never know who will be on our tour so we need to be adaptable, creative, and engaging. Guiding is my favourite shift as I get to share my knowledge of Parliament, interact with visitors from all around the world, and I always learn something new because my visitors ask great questions. Guiding can also be the most challenging shift because we give tours to groups of 50 people and sometimes people are simply not interested in the legislative process; my goal is to try and make Canadian government and legislation exciting. Another challenge we have is that we offer tours in both English and French and sometimes people who do not speak French take tickets for the French tours; all of a sudden members of the group do not know what I am saying and maintaining control of the group becomes harder. We offer four English tours and two French tours every hour so I am always keeping track of logistics in my mind while giving my tour. I have to know where my colleagues are while I am speaking to ensure that we do not create backups in the hallways. Guiding has pushed me outside of my comfort zone because I never thought I would be very comfortable speaking in front of 50 people for over an hour in either English or French. 

2. Peace Tower & Memorial Chamber: We work in the Peace Tower and Memorial Chamber to offer informal interpretation. The Memorial Chamber is a space dedicated to Canadian soldiers who have passed away in different conflicts around the world while representing Canada. We do not give tours of this space but we are there to maintain decorum and to answer any questions our visitors may have. 

3. Greeting: This shift takes place right outside the Peace Tower, directly outside the entrance to Parliament's Centre Block. It is our responsibility to ensure we know what every visitor entering the building is there for. Essentially, no visitor can enter Parliament without speaking to us first. I love this shift because I get to spend time meeting people from all over the world, who I might not necessarily meet on tour, and I get to spend time outside.

4. 90 Wellington: This is where we distribute tickets for the guided tours. Tickets are given out on the same day, first come-first serve. Generally this is also a fun shift because we are meeting many visitors, however, on very busy days (Victoria Day weekend, Canada Day week) this shift becomes hard as we run out of tickets early. For the rest of the day we are telling visitors we do not have any tickets left and explaining how they can try and get tickets for the next day. This is probably where you will deal with the most disappointment because many people are shocked that we run out of tickets and simply do not understand why they cannot all enter the building. It is our job to explain that we have 6 public tours every hour, plus reserved groups, which means we are hosting around 3,000 visitors a day and because of security we simply cannot accommodate more. Generally visitors are understanding, however, there are always people who are persistent and ask us to make special exceptions, which we cannot. This shift teaches you how to be empathetic, but also how to communicate effectively and assertively. 

Garden Party at Kingsmere

This week the Parliamentary Guides, Pages, and other parliamentary staff were invited to a garden party at Kingsmere, the official residence of the Speaker of the House of Commons in Gatineau Park, Quebec. The party was hosted under a large canopy; there was a live band, hors d'oeuvres were served, and there was an elaborate buffet. It was a wonderful evening and provided us with the opportunity to mingle with other individuals who also work on Parliament Hill.

Kingsmere 

The Speaker is an Member of Parliament (MP) who is chosen by his/her colleagues (other MPs) through secret ballot to become Speaker of the House. The Speaker calls the items on the daily agenda, reads aloud the text of the motions before the House, recognizes Members who wish to participate in debate and interprets parliamentary rules and traditions. The Speaker is impartial as to maintain order, and to defend the rights and privileges of Members, including the right to freedom of speech. The Speaker never participates in debate and only votes in case of a tie.

The Speaker is the spokesperson for the House in its dealings with the Senate, the Crown and other bodies outside Parliament. This role is one of the most prestigious in Canadian Parliament, among Governor General, Prime Minister, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, and the Speaker of the Senate. 

With the Hon. Andrew Scheer

The current Speaker of the House of Commons is the Honourable Andrew Scheer. He was elected Speaker of the House of Commons for the 41st Parliament in 2011. He is the youngest Speaker of the House of Commons, currently 35 years old. 

Spin Dessert Cafe & Bistro

Last night a group of guides went to Spin in the Byward Market for dessert. Many of my friends had recommended this cafe and I had read some great reviews online so I was excited to try it out! When we got there we spent a good 20 minutes reading the menu because there were way too many delicious choices and no one could decide what they wanted to order. 

Essentially, they have all these different combinations of homemade ice cream and sweets and you choose if you want yours served on a waffle, in a crepe, in a waffle cone cup, or as a sundae. I finally decided to get something called "Sugar Sugar" on a waffle. This was Cake Batter Cookie Dough Ice Cream topped with brownie and cookie dough pieces- I know, it sounds crazy! My friends all got different things: Red Velvet Cheesecake, Molten Chocolate Chip Cookie, One Sweet Day on a waffle, and Black or White in a crepe, etc. I had never seen that much dessert on one table before! 

We spent the evening talking about our favourite guiding experiences so far and telling each other all the funny things that have happened to us on our tours already. It was a really fun night and I am really glad we tried this place, although I think everyone agrees that we had enough sugar for the entire summer!

http://www.spindessert.com/

Seniors' Tour

Yesterday I had the chance to give 15 seniors a tour of Parliament. When I first met the group outside I was a little bit unsure about how the visit would go because everyone was either in a wheelchair, walker or had a cane; our Parliament visits are about 45 minutes long and involve a fair amount of walking and standing. To be honest, I was dreading this visit because I was unsure how I would balance the needs of the group while delivering the appropriate content. 

After the group passed through security we were ready to begin. I did my introduction and started to get to know the group a little bit better, I was very happy to discover that they were all extremely interested in Parliament and were genuinely there to learn and appreciate what I had to share. It was easy to make jokes with them and to get them involved in the tour. I had to get four of my colleagues to help bring the group up to the second floor so we split up into five groups and each took a few seniors up in different elevators. Once we got to the second floor we began to visit the different stops on the tour. 

When we were in the House of Commons some of the seniors were tired so they went behind the ropes and sat on the benches reserved for MPs. Most tour groups are not allowed to sit on these benches, however, the constable happily made an exception and the seniors sat on the benches while I explained what happens in the House of Commons. They had some really great questions and were all very interested in parliamentary process. 

We then moved on to the Library of Parliament and I could tell that this was their favourite space; they really appreciated the art and architecture and were truly mesmerized by the room. We completed the rest of the visit and then I escorted the group up to visit the memorial chamber. I thanked the group for their visit and they told me that they loved the tour and that I was a great guide. After the tour was over, I realized that I was very thankful that I was assigned this group because they were such a great audience and they listened carefully to everything I said. I could tell that they were very grateful for the opportunity to visit Parliament.

On the way out they told me they were impressed with how much knowledge I had about parliament and one of the group members proudly told me that she was 93 years old and very happy that she came to visit Parliament. This was definitely one of my favourite groups so far!

Ottawa Bucket List

Here is a list of activities I would like to complete before returning to Vancouver in September!

1. Watch a case at the Supreme Court of Canada
2. Watch Question Period in the House of Commons and the Senate
3. Hike in Gatineau Park
4. Attend a concert at the National Art Centre
5. Visit the National Gallery of Canada
6. Spend a day at the Nordik Spa
7. Have a picnic at Major Hill Park with my colleagues
8. Explore the Glebe neighbourhood
9. Experience Canada Day on Parliament Hill
10. Visit Montreal
11. Visit Toronto
12. Try the following restaurants: Spin Dessert, Zach's Diner, and Cupcake Lounge
13. Go to the Italian Festival
14. Take a boat cruise on the Rideau Canal
15. Cycling tour of Ottawa

My First Guiding Experience

I have officially given three tours of Parliament in English and two in French! Yesterday was my first day guiding and I gave two English tours to two groups of thirty grade 8 students and their teachers. I was quite nervous because although I had spent a significant amount of time preparing I was unsure about what to expect from my first tours. I was pleasantly surprised to find both groups very engaged and interested by what I was sharing with them.

This morning I arrived at Parliament to find out I was giving a French public tour to a group of fifty visitors. I was even more nervous for this tour because I knew there would be many francophone visitors; mostly from France, Quebec and Montreal. Although I was in French Immersion throughout elementary school and studied French in high school it has been a while since I have been completely immersed in the language. Once again, I was pleasantly surprised! The visitors were very friendly and made me feel comfortable speaking in French. After giving a tour in French the English tours felt much easier.

A lot of my colleagues were sharing some of their first guiding experiences today and I have to admit that some of their stories were pretty hilarious. It's reassuring to hear about their experiences because it reminds me that we are all in this together and everyone is learning. 

This afternoon I had my first "challenging" tour. It was one of the last French tours of the day, yet since we ran out of English tour tickets around 11am many of the visitors on my tour did not speak French. This happens sometimes on very busy days, some tourists who are only in Ottawa for one day will take tickets for French tours even if they don't understand the language because they want a chance to see our Parliament building. This meant that I had to give a French tour to a group of 50 people of which maybe 8 spoke French and the rest could not understand what I was saying. However, as a Parliamentary guide I represent the Canadian Parliament to our visitors so I try to ensure that everyone has a positive experience. 

After two days of guiding I have learned to communicate assertively and to speak confidently, because if some visitors sense that you are nervous or unsure they try to take advantage of that. My first five tours have gone well so far, however, I am still adapting the material and deciding what I would like to share with visitors. My goal is to make the information I share meaningful to visitors; I don't want to tell them facts they are going to forget, rather, I would like their visit to actually make an impact on their lives.

Mini Trip to Montreal

After two weeks of training I had three days off! On my first day off my dad came to visit me after his business trip to Montreal. We had a great day exploring the city together. We went to Parliament Hill, the Supreme Court of Canada, the National Gallery, and the Delegation of Ismaili Imamat to listen to journalist Mellissa Fung speak about her experiences in Afghanistan. She offered a refreshing take on the entire topic and shared that her goal as a journalist is to focus on all the progress that has been made in Afghanistan.

The next morning I left for Montreal because a few of my friends from Vancouver study at McGill and are staying there for the summer. I stayed with my friend Lindsey and we had a great time! She showed me around the city and we spent time catching up; it was really nice to see a friend from home. Yesterday we explored McGill and then met up with my other friend, Soraiya, for dinner at a great Italian restaurant called l'Academie. After dinner we went to this adorable dessert place called Juliette et Chocolat. I wish we had something like this in Vancouver. It had such a great ambience and was packed on a Tuesday night! Today we explored Saint-Catherine Street and Old Montreal. It was a great mini-trip before I start my first day of work tomorrow.

My First Two Weeks in Ottawa

I am excited to be in Ottawa from May - September as a Parliamentary Guide! My job entails helping Canadians and international visitors better understand Canada's political system and history.

I moved here two weeks ago and just finished the extensive Guide Training Program yesterday. The training was bilingual and included all the content we need to know about the Parliament of Canada, team building, public speaking, and handling difficult situations. The topics we focused on were: people (important individuals in Canadian government), place (architecture and design), process (creation of legislation) and past (Canadian history). Some of the highlights of training included meeting the Governor General David Johnston at Rideau Hall and meeting the Speaker of the Senate, Noel Kinsella.

I will be working with a group of 39 other guides; we are all bilingual students from Canadian universities. As Parliamentary Guides, we are not given a script, rather, we design our own tours by combining the content we learned with our own passions. I will be spending some time this week creating my personalized tour and deciding what I would like to share with visitors. We offer public tours in both English and French (for up to 50 people) as well as reserved tours for smaller groups. I will be giving tours of the Centre Block of Parliament starting on Friday, it still feels surreal! The full tour route includes: the House of Commons Foyer, the House of Commons Chamber, the Library of Parliament, the Senate Foyer, and the Senate Chamber.

I have made a lot of new friends and am starting to get settled into my apartment. I love the location because it is central and I can walk to Parliament in 15 minutes. Now that training is over I will have some more time to explore Ottawa. This summer I am looking forward to watching Question Period in the House of Commons and the Senate, watching cases at the Supreme Court of Canada, visiting museums, hiking in Gatineau Park, going to the Nordik Spa, and visiting friends in Montreal and Toronto. 

Isabelle and I outside the Peace Tower on our day off!