YIIP Assignment # 5 - How have I changed?

Like every travel experience I've had, living and working in St. Kitts over the summer gave me some insight into my conceptions of travel, aid, culture, and our connections as people living in different international settings. My time at the BNTF was the first tangible experience I've had in the career that I hope to soon begin. It was both a motivating and humbling experience. I fully support the work we did and that the BNTF continues to do, but I was made aware of the darker sides of aid, things like intergovernmental conflicts, less standardized practices, and limits in communication.
I am a strong advocate for giving countries or communities the tools to develop themselves, and I was challenged by the complexities that cultural differences and political tension bring to this process. I'm not discouraged by any means, but have more insight into how things work - and perhaps more importantly, how they don't.

I've also had some time to reflect on what aid is, how it is perceived domestically and abroad. The suggestion that "white" people (which I was considered) aren't really helping by participating in volunteer trips (or internships). This article is one such example. Where I agree that there are some detrimental aspects of aid, the pros outweigh the cons; the benefits and the potential for knowledge sharing, and reciprocity can enhance the lives of both the community and the volunteer but also extend to a wider understanding of culture that these people will hopefully share. I might be a little optimistic, but its in my nature and I won't accept that teaching someone a skill or supporting a community meeting can be detrimental to the people who are able to find work or given a platform to voice their opinions.

I guess as a student, advocate and volunteer I've become stronger in my convictions about collaboration, especially in terms of aid and development. There are no straight answers and every situation is different, but I think the process through which questions are developed and answered speaks to our abilities as members of the international community to come together, learn and collaborate.

YIIP Assignment # 4 - What is Global Citizenship?

I’m quite sure that I’ve described myself as a global citizen at some point of my life.  This isn’t because my identity has been found in the places I’ve visited but because I look at global citizenship as I do the golden rule.

For whatever reason I feel most like myself while I’m travelling.  Far away from routine and commutes, scheduled breaks and study groups – I have a chance to look at the world in a different way, without the distractions of every day life. More importantly however, I am able to acclimate (to a degree) to a different way of life.  To different vocabulary, customs, foods, social queues.  Some of these are easier to pick up on than others, but I think as an intern, as a traveler as citizen of the world it is my duty to try and learn from these things, to try and enrich my mind through the people that surround me on my travels. I consume the experiences selfishly at times, relishing in a beautiful sunset or an inside joke with a local friend – but where I think global citizenship comes in is through my own sharing and story telling.

I think that the time I spent in St.Kitts was especially helpful in developing my idea of global citizenship because of the challenges I faced.  Sure, I spent the summer on a tropical island in the West Indies – I got to spend my Saturdays at the beach, eat fresh mangoes everyday and go on hikes through the rainforest, but I also experienced frustrating conversations about homosexuality, learned of the corrupt practices of national officials, and was dragged into office politics.  It is both these great experiences and these challenging ones that have given me better insight into how we are limited as global citizens and how we can develop.  So I guess in all, we have the capacity to be global citizens, but its not as simple as a stamp added to your passport.  Again I’ll say that it’s like the golden rule – represent and present the countries you’ve seen and experienced in the way that you would wish your country was represented. The whole picture is hard to show, but the more we see and know the more we can show and tell.