YSEALI Professional Fellows Program

Finally arrived after an inconvenient snowstorm in hometown Denver delayed us before we ever got off the ground; just enough to miss the connection to Hong Kong and then Brunei. Delays long forgotten after being warmly welcomed by Nabilah and with each successive meeting here. A morning meeting with the Department of Environment, Parks and … Continue reading Brunei: small in land, but big-hearted people

On Friday morning, March 4th, Aprianto and I visited the Merauke Regency Government office that handles infrastructure planning.  We met with two planners, Samuel and James, and their manager.  I shared information about Charles County and our government structure.  We discussed enforcement challenges experienced in the Merauke region when multiple provinces share resources and have … Continue reading A week in Merauke, the eastern most city in Indonesia

Myinmu’s Administrator Let me first profess my love for the people of Myanmar! Everyone I have met is kind, welcoming, and genuinely friendly! Meeting with local officials in Myanmar has been both a pleasure and an honor. The nation is a very young democracy. As we know, the business of building consensus and moving forward … Continue reading Different Continents; Similar Challenges!

The last few days I’ve met many people from government directorates and NGOs throughout Jakarta. I’ve shared about Charles County, our government, the Watershed Protection and Restoration Program (WPRP) functions, the Chesapeake Bay Program and the restoration effort in the Bay watershed. I’ve learned about the current goals of the Directorates of Forestry and Conservation, … Continue reading From Jakarta to Merauke

My journey to Indonesia began on a red eye flight bound for Hong Kong at 12:15am on Friday, February 22nd.    Two flights, multiple time zone crossings, and twenty-four hours later I arrived in Jakarta at 1:30pm local time on Saturday.  After a quick taxi ride, I arrived at my hotel in Central Jakarta.  I spent … Continue reading Hello Jakarta, the first few days…

It's a memorable time for me I have chance to visit Sugar Land... Time flies so fast 💨 But now it's time to go back to DC and bring all of the solution and experience I had from Pearland and Sugar Land to solve the problems of my city. God didn't promise... Days without pain... … Continue reading My First Homestay time in my life and My last week in Sugar Land “The Sweetest Town in Texas”

This is one of my favorite TED Talks. Celeste Headlee talks about how to have a better conversation – it’s not about those skills as look, nod and smile, but actually paying attention to the conversation. In the end she told through her childhood meeting a lot of people, she “grew up assuming everyone has … Continue reading Learn from every single person you meet

November 9th 2018 marks the 65th anniversary of Independence Day in Cambodia, and it was my last night in Frankfort, Kentucky. Four weeks fly so fast, and there are tons of memory with people here. It is hard to say goodbye. Spending time to learn professionally and exchanging culturally is fantastic experience journey of my life. … Continue reading The night of 9th

Four weeks passed. Time flies! I have spent 4 weeks in the city of Dubuque and learnt a lot of things about municipal waste management, water quality management and how city of Dubuque develops sustainably. The most important thing that I have learned was the information sharing among different departments/organizations. Last day in the city … Continue reading Time with host!

Although I already knew that I have to say Good Bye after four weeks, it was hard for me to say. I got a chance to meet my second family at the City of Saginaw. They explained me, teach me, shared with me a lot of things (about works and culture) of the United States. … Continue reading Time to Say Good Bye!