This post will (hopefully) provide a brief rundown of how I got to this moment and why I am heading to Uganda. I usually have a great memory when it comes to faces and stories I hear but the difficulty lies in placing what story went to whom. If you know me well, you have probably had more than one experience where I excitedly recant a "story I've heard" only to realize I am actually telling you YOUR story. Seriously this happens. I also have this problem when talking about my own experiences. I forget who knows what and again, MANY times I have had to apologize to somebody for failing to inform them of something kind-of significant like, "oh, I am moving to a foreign country" whereas somebody else has had the misfortune of hearing the same thing numerous times. "Oh my gosh I really love this one restaurant named 100 Montaditos. They have great food, it's cheap and...oh, I told you that already? 3 times? Oh. Well I really like it!" Thank you sufferers for your attentiveness to my 10-year old enthusiasm for small things like this.
So now I don't have to remember who I told what to. READ IT. Or don't. But here it is!
About a year and a half ago, I was working for Chrysler with no idea of exactly what I wanted to do other than that I had a huge passion for traveling due to previous short trips abroad. I also realized that during these trips, my favorite moments were ones where I learned about the people of the country and saw places that were not always considered tourist hot-spots. For example, while I was not able to spend a semester abroad due to basketball, I was extremely fortunate to visit Lebanon with my Uncle, cousin and some extended family after my senior year of college. That visit had a profound affect on me. I got to experience the real Lebanon. We did not stay in a hotel or hang out at the clubs in Beirut. We stayed in a small village which on the day we arrived, was in mourning over a young soldier killed in a helicopter crash. Of course they were happy to see us but they also were living their lives. I loved not receiving the fake reception smile or the brochure display to guide you on "what to see." I also remember driving (and driving is a kind word for what we did. Some of my extended Lebanese family sincerely believe they are of the same caliber as Dale Earnhardt.) through the towns seeing the different political banners and signs of strongly divided beliefs. One day we even had to leave early from a day trip visiting ancient ruins due to a firefight not too far away. Basically, I saw a beautiful country with incredible people whose suffering was still very apparent from their occupation by Syria 15 years before and their current struggle with Hezbollah. And most prominent in my mind was watching the news the week we returned and seeing the Beirut airport engulfed in flames. It had been bombed to bits. It really angered me. So many good people having to live their lives in fear and worry trying to survive. They are the same as Americans; hoping to improve the lives of the next generation but facing setback after setback. I knew then that I had a more specific desire than just traveling. I wanted to travel to see the REAL issues and areas of the world. I wanted to learn about why people and areas are they way they are today. That or be the next Indiana Jones. Jury is still out.
Another passion that probably helped in this pursuit is my love of history. I was the nerdy girl in school reading the "We Were There" series. For those of you who don't know these books (so basically probably anyone who reads this as incredibly, cool people will still hang out with me) it's a series of stories about different defining moments in history where they stick to factual events but fictionalize the account using little kids as the main characters. I don't think you will ever meet someone who wanted to be little Suzie tending wounds to the poor dying soldiers at Gettysburg more than me. (Is that the sound of "unfriending" via Facebook I hear?)
Regardless of my odd childhood aspirations, I think everyone can understand a lot about the current economic/global turmoil if you know a little bit about the history behind it. It's amazing that as insane or incomprehensible as some "reporters" (read: television personalities) like to claim situations and groups of people are, if you understand the road leading to some desperate acts of today, you begin to see that awful as they are, they are not all acts designed by people who just don't like McDonald's or bikinis on the beach. A "Let's kill 'em" mentality will not solve the problem. I could go on forever about this...
Ok. So I started to realize in order to work overseas and get the opportunity to travel, it just miiight be beneficial to know a little bit of another language. Profound, I know. I just didn't know HOW to do it. That brought me to how I ended up in Spain. I originally planned to make a quick stop here to get TEFL certified (TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language) and then head to China to do 6 months-1 year as a teacher absorbing the culture and picking up some Mandarin. However, I also realized how important spanish will be/already is in the U.S AND I was able to find work in the summer right away. So with that, Madrid, Spain became my new home.
The photos: Camp #1 in Cartagena, Spain. My friend Daniel as a "teacher" last year at a summer camp. This photo is NOT doctored or set-up. This is a true action shot of these kids at their feeding time like sharks around fish guts. Waiting to get into Terra Mitica, a theme park, they noticed he had galletas (cookies) and literally swarmed him. He just put up his arm with the cookie and the kids acted like he had Miley Cyrus tickets in his hands.
The second photo is camp #2 in Leon, Spain. As teachers, this was part of our required attire when we took the kids on a main road to the craft center (read; Local bar...I'm not kidding.) To my right are 2 other teachers, Amy and Sara. Sara and I clearly have different opinions when it comes to camp uniform...
The experience teaching here has allowed me to add another thing to my list of jobs I believe everybody should experience at one time in their lives. Teaching kids. When I say teaching kids
I don't mean play with kids or babysit them. I mean, put them in a classroom with all their boogers, pockets stuffed with "secret snacks" and cooties and try to teach them something. Something is really generic. That is on purpose. Try to teach them anything, anything at all. The best part? Just for fun, add to the mix that you can't understand a word they say...and vice versa. This is how I started my life in Spain. This is not for the weak-hearted. If I was completely unconcerned about becoming a social pariah, I would go up to any teacher I saw for children ages 4-8, put my arm on theirs and say, "Bless You" and walk away. I have only decided against this because I manage to put myself in enough awkward situations as it is without planning them.
While this "work" thing took up most of my time in Spain, I can't complain as it was completely my choice. You can absolutely make a living as a teacher and live rather comfortably doing a lot less but I knew I wanted to do some volunteer work and this costs money. Again, through hours of research I was quickly frustrated to find how expensive it is to be a volunteer. I felt extremely skeptical and realized I was really going to have to investigate to find a company or opportunity that had the right intentions. I also made the decision I did not want to go with a group which had a religious or spiritual agenda. Nothing against this type of work, I actually have several family members who have done things like this. However, I felt it was important for me to have no agenda whatsoever other than to do what would best help already active operations. I will be a blip in these people's lives and so I wanted to contribute to sustainable and ongoing processes without trying to introduce my own. I think if someone comes in with an education and relatively speaking, a lot of money, people will tend to agree or support whatever endeavors are attempted regardless of the effectiveness or long-term feasibility.
This is where GVN, Global Volunteer Network entered my life. www.volunteer.org.nz -check it out! Right away, they stood out. This was the only company I saw with a security deposit they were willing to pay back in full should you choose to cancel. They had a very easy to navigate webpage and they are endorsed by one of the greatest philanthropists in the world, Bill Gates. BGates? I was hooked. I sent a few questions in an email and the next day got a response. I started to get more excited and got serious about looking at their programs. There were a few things I was looking for specifically. I knew I wanted to work with people and I also wanted to go somewhere different and difficult. A lot of people have raised a GREAT point about how there are countless opportunities to volunteer in my own neighborhood. Detroit area? Really? I don't know guys, rumor has it that it's America's secret paradise... RIGHT so to that voice of reason I say I completely agree. I think it's essential to be supportive of your community and I think it is no more or less important what you do if you are doing something. However, not many people have the time or ability to go far. Things like mortgages, car payments, pets, children, or pets you treat as children sometimes make it much more convenient and practical to help out only in the neighborhood and do something like coach a youth team or have a recycle day. Or, one I hold in high regard and wish more people volunteered to do; picking up the dog poop (or bowel movements if you are Kirk Goddard) left on the sidewalks by bad owners. That is truly an act of valor, ugh.
For me, I think I am in a unique position where with my background in teaching and my willingness to adjust with frequent changes, I can hopefully make a positive impact during my experience in Africa. I am not naive enough to believe my being there will solve the problems of Uganda or perhaps even make a dent...right away. I believe the important thing is to do everything and anything I can while I am there to help. More importantly will be educating myself and others on the situation and perhaps get some ideas on igniting and bringing about change. By relaying the information back to the incredible people who will (hopefully!!) have a greater interest, I think it will encourage others to become aware of issues outside of previous knowledge learned from watching Amazing Race or Survivor. (I am pretty sure there are no hidden immunity idols but I will definitely let you know) THAT will be the difference. And finally, I am confident my home city of Royal Oak and the city of Detroit will be able to drastically improve because of the incredible people inside their city limits. There are enough incredible people who care and will provide verbal and financial support to bring about positive change. Luckily for me, I even know some of these people personally who have already made some incredible efforts and have inpired me! However, I am not so sure about the Wasiki District in Uganda. There financial resources and educational access are severely limited. Somebody may need to give them a little help and that's where I hope to help!
To summarize if you don't feel like reading the whole post, I challenge you to find someone who does not come away with a feeling of self-worth or gratefulness after doing any type of volunteer work. I have honestly never met someone in my life who walks away thinking, "well that was a waste of time I could have spent with my Wii." I am going about the volunteer route perhaps a little differently but with the same objectives as the volunteer collective. I hope to help others, help myself, and in turn, pull the whole 6-degrees of Kevin Bacon thing where I know somebody who knows somebody and good acts contribute to more good acts...Since that explanation was terrible, I am posting this video that shows exactly what I hope to be a part of but does it a lot better than my own words.
Yeah. It's awesome.
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