As a social studies teacher who loves to wander the world in the summers I struggle between wanting to bring back and make real for my students the experiences of those in other places and the feeling that I don't want to be a tourist taking advantage of the experiences of others. I made a decision a long time ago that I did not want to see the world through the windows of a tour bus. I didn't want my only experiences of a place to be a souvenier shop and a photo op, my only interactions with the local people buying bottles of water and watching staged "culture shows". I wanted to meet and talk with people and leave a place feeling as if I had made friends and maybe left a little something of myself behind. I wanted to be more than a tourist consuming resources and leaving with nothing more than some cheap trinkets and a nice photo album. In short, I wanted to help. Thanks to Mr. Sentman, my high school English teacher who wandered around tagging turtles and cleaning up beaches in his free time, I discovered the idea of volunteer vacations.
Now I'm not going to change the world in three weeks, nor do I plan to walk in and save the world or tell people how they can fix things (or even pretend to have any idea what needs to be done) intead I'm there to help, in whatever ways that are needed. Because of this belief I have always been sure to volunteer with organizations that believe in going only where we are asked to go and doing only what we are asked to do, working alongside community members on what they want to do.
I've been to India but have never been among the masses posing in front of the Taj Mahal. Instead I spent three weeks working at the Dazzling Stone Children's Home in Chennai. During that time I taught English to Kindegarten, first and third graders (using the required Indian national curriculum and working for a 17 year old principal!) During our afternoon break we mixed cement by hand and worked to build the second story of the school. This second story was designed to allow each grade level to have a classroom space with half walls dividing them. Before this space, the school was one room and classes were held simultaneously all around the room.
I've been to China but it was years before I visited the Great Wall. Instead I spent my time working with teachers, sharing our experiences as they worked to learn English and I ineffectually tried to learn some Chinese. I now have wonderful friends in China who welcome me back every time I go.
This summer I am off to Brazil to volunteer with Cross Cultural Solutions (www.crossculturalsolutions.org). I don't know what I'm doing, I will do what they ask. I can't wait to leave and will be posting about my experiences while I am there...Stay Tuned!
