Olivia Epley
Caerphilly, Wales
My summer has been, in so many ways, a British (more specifically, Welsh, and be careful not to 100% conflate the two!) cultural immersion, on top of the work I’ve been doing for Disability Wales.
During my first week, I impulse bought tickets to a Welsh national football game at the Cardiff City F.C. Stadium near downtown Cardiff. I sat and watched in my red and green bucket hat, a complimentary Welsh flag wrapped around me, as Gareth Bale of Wales and Kevin de Bruyne of Belgium battled it out. Afterwards, I got a Cornish Pasty and returned to my hotel room to rest up for my next day of work.
The commute to Caerphilly is a little over half an hour, and it’s first by bus, then by train, then by foot as I weave through Welsh underbrush to get to a remote office park. We work at our desks and walk my coworker’s dog, but most notably, we do important work for the organization.
So far, I’ve helped one of my coworkers with bits of consulting information. One of our duties at DW is consulting with governments, other organizations, schools, and more to help provide information on disability policy and good practice. I’ve had several assignments which involve researching various organizations and what they’re saying about a certain topic, so we can be up to date in our messaging.
I’m also working on the UNCRDP project, which is fortuitous as I spent much of my independent study working on the UNCRDP and its policy and ideology. DW’s effort involving it revolves mainly around bringing awareness of the CRDP to Welsh schools, and my coworker has gotten funding from the Welsh government to do so. I’m assisting her efforts, and most recently compiled a massive spreadsheet of every Welsh school, color coded and all.
I’ve been to several events and outings, including a tour of the Welsh Senedd (its Parliament, pronounced senn-eth), a networking event, and a tour of a potential new workplace for Disability Wales. It’s been great meeting many of my coworkers in person, when possible, and making wonderful new friends! Stay tuned for more updates.