In preparation for our internships this summer, the other interns and I have been reading articles and books while discussing what the future holds for us. I am not going to lie, I have been slacking on the book-front. I am reading How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and Power of New Ideas by David Bornstein and Susan Davis. At first I thought that the book was going to be bland and uninteresting. However, I have read the introduction and I am actually excited to keep reading! The rest of the book will provide overviews of various socioeconomic-centric organizations, how and why they were formed, and an interpretation of their impacts. I think that this will be very interesting and I am excited to dive into it over spring break!
The articles that we read a few weeks ago really frustrated me. In one, the author discussed a sort of slum-driven poverty. I think it's pretty insane that people pay to be guided through the slums of countries; not only is does this form of tourism keep the poverty-stricken people in poverty, but it also builds on the romanticized view of the "third world" that people hold. It's odd because certain people see that it was their given right to be born into the upper-middle class of a thriving society. And then they grow up in their bubble as images of a world outside of their own, ridden with wild jungles and tribalism. So they visit these places that they are so fortunate to be able to visit, see the poverty (that they're contributing to, by the way), and then return home grateful that they are not one of those people living on less than $2 a day. It just doesn't seem right that they should enjoy watching people struggle and then not contribute to the international conversation on how to assist these people in any way.
The second article talked about Westerners who are depicted as the "saviors" of the poverty-stricken population. Indeed, it is a bit off-putting when I tell people my plans for the summer and they then treat me as though I am doing some great thing for the people there. Yeah, I want to help. But I'm not going with an expectation to change anything too drastically. Really, I'm going for the learning experience. I guess I'm going for myself. It's hard to convey the fact that it's more of a selfish thing that I'm doing rather than "saving the world." But really, how much change do they think I can accomplish in just ten weeks? I also have people saying "Oh, you're going to Africa this summer." This in itself makes me squirm: first of all, I'm going to Kenya, not across the entire continent. Second of all, that just rehashes the whole romanticizing-the-unknown thing I was talking about earlier. Don't get me wrong, I am incredibly excited and thankful for this opportunity! It's just a hard line to walk: do I try to dramatically downplay my plans for the summer? Or do I just let the people I'm talking to think what they want to think? Where is the middle ground?
Needless to say, I am really looking forward to this summer and cannot wait to start this internship!
