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Tag: Africa

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By Megan Gardner

Culture is a difficult concept to define. Many scholars disagree on what exactly constitutes a culture. What falls under “culture”? What does not? Who gets to decide what is a culture? Where are borders drawn? Who draws those borders? In Yuval Noah Harari’s book “Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind,” Harari crafts an alternative definition of culture based in anthropology and history. He states that each society has contradictory belief systems that cannot simultaneously exist, and it is the dissonance and relationship between these ideas that form culture. In his own words, he writes that “if tensions, conflicts and irresolvable dilemmas are the spice of every culture, human beings who belong to any particular culture must hold contradictory beliefs and be driven by incompatible values. It’s such an essential feature of any culture that it even has a name: cognitive dissonance ... Had people been unable to hold contradictory beliefs and values, it would probably have been impossible to establish and maintain any human culture.” Essentially, Harari argues that culture is created by the points of contention within it. In many Western democracies, this cognitive dissonance exists between the deeply held fundamental values of equality and individual freedom. Yuval frames these as conflicting values because “equality can only be ensured by curtailing the freedoms of those who are better off.” It’s at the crossroads where these two values interact and conflict that culture and politics occur.

If someone were to take a snapshot of Tunisia at this moment in time, particularly the political landscape, two opposing sides would immediately come into view: traditionalism v. modernism. Tunisia honors its past, but simultaneously tries to move itself into the future. Tunisia is at a critical moment in its history where it is trying to build a new government. Since the revolution, there’s been an internal debate about the role that the past should play in state-building efforts. Many believe that the answers to any political question lay in the past and we simply just have to look back to find them. They focus on the glorious days of Carthage and other great empires. They believe that in order to reclaim that glory, the government should be rebuilt in a way thats inspired by the value systems of previous eras where the country was strong. In contrast, there are many who believe that the revolution should have represented a permanent cut from the past. They believe that the country needs to have its eyes fixed on the future and work towards that vision rather than continuously look behind it. The interactions between these two groups and sets of values is shaping the modern state of Tunisia as well as its culture. The revolution was not just a political upheaval, but an opportunity for cultural change.

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By Savita Potarazu

30 September 2018
Marrakech, Morocco

At the famous Matterhorn in Zermatt || 22 September 2018

There are five courses offered through the Global Health and Development Policy Program here in Geneva, Switzerland. They are Perspectives on Global Health (PGH) , Global Health and Development (DPH), Research Methods & Ethics (RME), French, and the Independent Study Project (ISP). With a total of 16 credits, I came into the program expecting the workload to keep me busy. While this overwhelmed me initially, given the new adjustments to lifestyle, culture, new social environment, and the homestay experience, I can safely say that I experienced my first month in Switzerland with an appreciable balance of academics and personal development.

Along with the advice, mentorship and guidance of the academic directors here, this balance was achieved with an active mindset to dedicate time to other activities while not getting too distracted. Our academic directors frequently remind us that the point of the academics here is to understand and internalize, not merely to learn. I have come to appreciate that the process of understanding requires immersion at a level I have not seen before. During the first few days of the program, our directors also underscored that the Swiss way is slow but somehow also efficient. While the Swiss transit systems are, on average, annoyingly punctual, tasks throughout the day and the general mentality about home life and education are taken seriously enough to allow for both self-enrichment and self-care.


World Health Organization || 24 September 2018

Prior to my arrival in Switzerland, I was very accustomed to my comprehensive, work-intensive, heavy focus on the sciences and humanities at GW. Here, our guest lecturers work at the United Nations, World Health Organization, International Office of Migration, International Committee of the Red Cross, and many, many more premier international organizations. We are provided with the opportunities to hear from them and visit their home institutions to directly engage with their work environment. It really is one of my favorite elements of this program, especially in the global health capital of the world. And while the abundance of expertise has been so inspiring and enriching, the energy drain and stress I usually associate with school is much, much less. This has provided me many opportunities to pursue individual research and make new connections with experts simply because I want to know more about the subject.

Executive Board Room, WHO || 24 September 2018

Right now, we are on our excursion to Morocco for 8 days exploring the country’s health systems and the role of global governance. In addition to hearing from experts at a much higher level, we students have the opportunity to live with host families here for 4 days and learn about rural lifestyles, health-seeking behaviors, and community development. We have only been here 2 days and I can already feel my wealth of knowledge growing!

Perhaps the biggest surprise to me during my time abroad is not that the courses of a complex global health system were going to be enriching, but that the level of immersion built into the framework of the program has far exceeded my expectations.

Rabat, Morocco || 29 September 2018

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By Brielle Powers

Deciding where to study abroad was HARD. I knew this was my chance to finally to go overseas and leave the U.S. for the first time so I had high expectations. The thought of living in a foreign country for over four months was so exciting. A part of me got caught up in the possibilities of just earning stamps on my passport by going somewhere in Europe where I could travel every weekend. Having taken Spanish for seven years, the GW Madrid program was a logical choice. The opportunity to become comfortable in the language and experience the different cultures of various countries throughout Europe was appealing.

But another part of me, the part that always tells me to not do what everyone else is doing, said ‘Brielle, this is your chance to do something different.’ I thought of a seventh grade project where my teacher had us act as the heads of state of different countries. I represented South Africa and since then had read whole library sections of books on South Africa, wanting to learn everything I possibly could about its environment, culture, and politics. As a tribute to my younger self, I felt that moving to Cape Town would be a way of coming full circle.

However, my indecisiveness kicked in and I went back and forth between Spain and South Africa for months. It wasn’t until my mom surprisingly advocated that I go to South Africa that I was able to make a decision. Despite her concern over safety and distance from home, she knew it had always been a dream of mine to travel to Africa. Afterall, when else in my life would I have the opportunity to live there for four months?

So I applied to CIEE’s Arts and Sciences program in Cape Town, South Africa where I would be able study alongside South African students at the University of Cape Town (UCT). When searching for programs I knew I also wanted to be able to continue to do service. As a member of Epsilon Sigma Alpha, GW’s community service and leadership sorority, my weekends back in DC are usually spent serving at soup kitchens and elderly homes or picking up trash on the National Mall. I knew I wanted to make service and integral part of my abroad experience so I made sure CIEE had community engagement opportunities that I could participate in to better learn about the community I would be living in.

However, during orientation, a UCT student group presented a few opportunities for semester study abroad students to join community engagement projects. It was through them that I discovered Teach Out, a UCT student organization that travels to different schools in local townships almost every day of the week to tutor students.

Entirely student run, Teach Out operates as a non-profit and provides transportation for UCT students to the schools. Additionally, UCT students on the executive board of Teach Out create math and English worksheets and answer sheets for the tutors to provide for the students.

While Teach Out operates in different schools in different townships in Cape Town for all ages of students, every Saturday morning, I tutor Grade 8 and Grade 9 students in English at Usasazo High School in Khayelitsha. While I have already participated in a few tutoring sessions, I am excited to continue to build relationships with the students and fellow tutors throughout the semester.

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By Lisa Maina

Among the many reasons I decided to attend George Washington University, one of the most important was the many opportunities I would have to study abroad. I’ve always been interested in working internationally, and what better way to confirm this than by spending a semester abroad? GW makes it so incredibly easy to do so, whether through awesome advising, easy FOFAC registration, or financial aid transferal; there was nothing that could stop me from exploring the globe.

The hardest part of the whole process was probably choosing where to go, especially because there were so many options. With choices ranging from 6 continents, 41 countries, and over 200 programs, the list of options was long. I knew I wanted to continue learning French while abroad, so that cut down my options by a few, but many still remained. After doing the necessary research, I knew I wanted to travel with the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) because of their resources, classes and global opportunities. Now most people in my position would have easily chosen to go to France, and of course I would have loved to spend a semester there, but I saw something else in my life course*. However, I wanted a different experience from the rest of my peers; I wanted to go somewhere where I could learn about the world from a completely new perspective. For this reason, and many others, I chose to study abroad in Africa, more specifically in Dakar, the capital of Senegal.

In order to be fully prepared for this journey, I wanted to strengthen my French skills as well as transition my way of thought to one more open to new perspectives. In order to do this, I chose to study abroad in France during the summer, which definitely improved my oral communication and (helped me see the world in a different way). Within 2 months, I witnessed different ways of greeting people, of eating, of travelling, of interacting with others; overall it was very different. Even though I was experiencing the culture firsthand, there was still so much I had yet to understand as I learned in my course on French Identity. Learning the history behind all the common beliefs of the French, I could begin to comprehend why their culture was so different and could appreciate what some of their values meant to them.

Overall, I learned a lot from my short stay in France but the most important was how to be comfortable being uncomfortable. Staying in a host-family comprised entirely of strangers was definitely out of my comfort zone, as well as being approached in French, not knowing how to convey exactly what I meant, figuring out news ways to communicate my needs, and just being in a fairly foreign environment. Eventually, it became normal for me to not know exactly what to do, and I learned how to be okay with it and understand that I’m not always going to be able to resolve that problem.

Having done intercultural workshops while in France, I also learned how to view a different culture with an open mind, not privy to judgement but rather to curious observation. Instead of immediately jumping to conclusions when witnessing some aspect of a culture, I learned to ask myself why I feel a certain way about this aspect, what I’m used to and why that culture might have this aspect. This way, I am less likely to dismiss the traditions of a society (which I believe one should never do, but humans are naturally judgmental), but I can analyze what cultural significance they might have and have a more objective opinion. For example, (maybe talk about French being pretentious, la bise, idk)

With all this is mind, I came home from France mentally prepared to head straight to Senegal, though definitely not physically prepared. Being that it is a third world country, there was a lot I had to consider like vaccinations, buying any products I might not find in Senegal, getting lots of bug spray and malaria pills, signing any documents I had left, and finally, packing. This came especially hard because of the conservative nature of Senegalese society combined with its incredibly hot climate. I am very comfortable in my body, so I am not afraid to wear booty shorts and a tank top when it hits 75°F, but that definitely would not slide in Senegal. Trying to find clothes that would keep me cool but covered is not something I’ve ever had to do and presented many challenges when I made my feeble attempts. After a couple unsuccessful rounds of shopping, I decided to just buy some pairs of linen pants and hope for the best. My last item to do was say bye to my family, which I now realize I did not do well enough. I guess I didn’t realize how long four months on the other side of the globe is and homesickness, no matter how much you think you won’t have it, is very real. Finally, we made the 2-hour trip to JFK International Airport, I said my last farewells (while my mother stalled to prolong my departure) and I made my way through security to await my flight.

While flying is generally pretty stressful, my arrival in Senegal was the first of many trials I did not foresee, from lost luggage to the heat to the lack of toilet paper in bathrooms, but my euphoria mitigated some of the initial stress I felt. It also didn’t hurt that I had some family friends in the city with whom to communicate any concerns, but also, my host family was most accommodating, and I am grateful to have been welcomed into such a wonderful home. Thus far, living in Africa is pretty much what I imagined and more. People on the streets are extremely kind and willing to have full conversations, which has only helped with the language acquisition. A simple “Salaamalekum” will spark a huge smile on a passing stranger and right away you’ve made a new friend. Often times, people will approach me speaking Wolof at full speed, mistaking me for a Senegalese girl, but it’s never an issue and only makes them more inclined to keep up the conversation when I say “degguma Wolof”.

After a few days of orientation, we had a cultural competency lesson on the cultural differences we might encounter here in Senegal. We split into groups and explored different aspects of Senegalese life. In my group we discussed the concentration of homeless children in Dakar and what has caused their numbers to remain so high throughout the years. Because of the reputation of Senegal as being the country of “Teranga” or hospitality, many people across West Africa know of the welcoming nature of the Senegalese. This, along with the importance of religion in this country, has enticed many young students of the Quran to leave their homes and study under the Marabouts here in Dakar. As is tradition, students are expected to bring Adiya, or a donation, in return for their studies. However, many Marabouts in Dakar have turned this sacred tradition into a form of exploitation, forcing these children to beg on the streets and receive no training after handing over what little they received from strangers. Many Senegalese can recognize these children, termed “Talibés”, and face an internal conflict when approached by one. If they don’t aid these children in collecting money, the Talibés are often beaten by their Marabouts. If they do give them money, however, they are only perpetuating a cycle of exploitation. One thing they often do instead is offer food around lunchtime when Talibés have been on the streets for many hours without food. This way they can help without necessarily supporting their manipulation.

After learning about this phenomenon, I couldn’t help but look at the young beggars in a new light, and all I wanted to do is help without harming the delicate situation. I thought about the many dangers these children face, children that are only seeking an education in the Quran, children that are only seeking a better future. I constantly wondered what could be done for these kids, and when offered an opportunity to work with an organization dedicated to their aid, I couldn’t pass up the option.

Equipe Aidons les Talibés (EAT), created by Bokoum Djibril in 2009, is nonprofit whose main purpose is to work with Talibés to provide adequate living conditions as well as offer an emotional support system in order for them to live safer lives. Working with five “Daaras”, or Quranic schools, Djibril and his team of volunteers conduct activities like happy weekend, one Talibé one sweater, Eid al-Fitr celebrations and more. They work with many sponsors to provide clothing, food, health care, education and safe play spaces for these children and foster real relationships with them. Coming on 10 years, Djibril and his team are developing more and more programs to improve the lives of Talibés as well as change the mentality of the Senegalese from feeling helpless to the situation by giving people a way to break the cycle.

Overall, it has been an incredible first month here in Senegal, and I'm very happy with the opportunities I have chosen thus far. I am ecstatic to start working with EAT and make a lasting impact on the organization, as well as effect real change for the Talibés. After meeting with a few of the other volunteers, I can tell it will be a very influential experience from which I will learn much and gain new perspectives to bring back to America.

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By teniolab

Just four weeks left. I cannot believe that my program and time abroad is coming to an end. I am not entirely sure how I feel about it. In these past two months, I have definitely “settled-in”. We have had less and less program commitments on the weekends. I have had the chance to spend more time with local and program friends. The most frustrating part of the situation is that I wish that this “settling in” sensation occurred mid-way through the semester, as opposed to happening right before I left. The benefit of having this feeling now it that it helps with the pain of leaving Botswana.

In terms of preparing for re-entry into the US, I am just trying to make the most of the connections I have in Botswana. Spending more time with my local and program friends helps to manage any sadness I feel about leaving soon. What really helps is the fact that my local friends no longer treat me as a “tourist”. They no longer take me to the super touristy or “must-see” places in town. We have reached a level where being bored but in each other’s company, is enough. For friends back in the states, I have to somehow find a way to recount my entire experience abroad. Do I just word vomit everything that has occurred over the last 120 days? Do I have them read my journal? Do I make a presentation for them? We have talked throughout the semester, mainly about my experience and the challenges I have faced. Talking in person would be a whole different story. You are going to be more vulnerable and expressions will be easily understood in a face to face conversation. Not that I could ever butcher the retelling of my semester, I just really want to portray Botswana is the accurate way.

What I’m really scared about the most is possibly seeing a change in my life once reoriented in the states. I mean, I know I have further developed my ability to adapt. But, what if I cannot cope with the reverse culture shock and immediately become disgusted by American values and stereotypes that I tried so hard to dismantle while abroad. The worst part is, I probably will not be the first to the notice the little changes in my life. It will probably be my friends and family who will see the changes first. I am saying that the changes will be bad. They may even enhance my personality. I think the key to coping with changes and reverse culture shock is to remain open-minded and give yourself time to process reorientation into the states. There is no perfect timeline for how the whole situation is supposed to unfold.

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By mhaimbodi

In my original post I stressed the importance of identity, and that for me, identity was something that I would be grappling with for the rest of my life. While my time abroad has not necessarily changed this sentiment, I think that it has given me a new confidence and maturity that can only come from time away from one’s support network and everyday familiarity. I am less reliant on the opinion of others, and I have learned that in defining identity, while your audience will always change, your definition won’t. I have introduced myself many times over the past few months, and in doing so I have gained a sort of self assurance that I didn’t know possible. I have become more confident in the impact that my words can have on others, and I am less afraid or self conscious to speak up. This does not mean that I have something to say about everything, because something that is very frustrating to me is people who don’t know when to stop talking. However, I think that the past few months have taught me about expression, and that if you have something productive to say then you should say it without extensive self doubt. Accordingly, my time has also reinforced the importance of thinking before speaking, especially when speaking about another country or culture that you are still learning about.

Upon reflection, I still am a black woman (obviously that did not change), but I think that my time in Dakar has given me a new appreciation of my mixed background. I have seen many mixed families here that have made me reminiscent of traveling with my parents and brother while growing up, and I have thought a lot about the privileges and experiences I was awarded because I have parents from two different places. I am prouder than ever to represent the histories of both sides of my family, and everyone who made it possible for me to be living, as my time in Senegal has given me a deeper reverence for family and those who came before me.

I think that the hardest part about leaving Dakar will be saying goodbye to the pace of life that I have grown accustomed to, and how welcoming the overarching community has been. I am notoriously impatient, and that has been tested greatly since my arrival in January just because of how time works here. It is very normal for things to start much later than they are supposed to, and to do a lot of waiting. This gave me a lot of anxiety (it still does sometimes), but it was also a wake up call/reminder that not everything functions according to my clock, and that sometimes it is necessary to step outside of yourself and simply appreciate that given moment. As for the welcoming nature of this community, I don’t think there has been a single day in Dakar where I’ve walked outside and haven’t greeted/been greeted by everyone I pass. It will be hard to adjust back to the impersonal society that makes up so much of the U.S, but I am grateful to know that humanity exists like this, and to have lived in a city as unique and special as Dakar.

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By Teniola Balogun

A couple weeks ago, I took a weekend trip with my friends to Cape Town. It was such an amazing experience that I am very grateful for. After a 5-hour car ride to Johannesburg, we finally boarded our flight from Joburg to CPT (it was way cheaper this way).  We had just endured a long week of midterms, so no plans were made for this excursion. Which was okay, because CPT has so much to offer. The city is very westernized which really caused me to experience reverse culture shock. At times, I felt like I driving around the Bay Area of California.

Once the plan was made, the agenda for the week included hiking, Robben Island, museums, markets, food, and music. CPT is a very big city so it’s really impossible to see absolutely everything. Which was a really hard conclusion to come to. Luckily, our accommodation was located right outside the city center. We stayed in Bo-Kaap, which is a touristy area of CPT. It is a religious neighborhood that is filled with streets of colorful houses. At times, we would see tourists stopping to take pictures outside of our place. The strip of colorful houses made it a picturesque spot to watch the sun rise and set. Another benefit of our location in CPT was Table Mountain lurking in the back. It was literally right outside of our place. After endless trips to food and art markets, museums, hiking Table Mountain and live music, we were differently ready to head back home.

CPT was such a weird change from Gabs. The entire time I felt like a tourist who thought I had turned up in California and not Cape Town. Little to my knowledge, Cape Town has a pretty dark history involving Apartheid (something they do not teach you in history class). It felt weird for it to be that westernized. It made me very appreciative of my choice to study abroad in Gabs. The culture that I have experienced in Gabs, I could not experience in CPT. I felt like I was still in America doing the exact same things (going to artsy coffee shops and visiting fancy modern art galleries). For me the whole purpose of study abroad, it to experience a culture different from your own or at least a culture that you would probably never get the chance to experience. I loved my time in Cape Town. It is definitely a place I hope to visit again though.

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By Teniola Balogun

My type B personality matches the relaxed lifestyle found in Botswana. Everyone here is moving at their own (slow) pace. Everything often starts about 2 hours late. And everyone is used to it. When you go to a restaurant, expect to be sitting for a minimum of 2 hours. It is just how it works here. Batswana are always willing to have a conversation and go out of their way to help people. I definitely think that is related to the slow pace of how things move here.

At first, I thought I would get overwhelmed by it and throw a fit. It is just something you get used it. Whenever I go to a restaurant now, within 5 minutes of sitting down, I know to always place your food order. If you don’t, you could be sitting there until the sun sets. There is absolutely no rush in this country. Apart from having a type B personality helping me to navigate the Botswana lifestyle, a person also needs to have an open-mind that goes into every situation without expectations. If you walk into a situation expected something to happen a certain, you will be disappointed. Being open to change is an important quality to have in Botswana. For example, I had a presentation scheduled for 4-6pm on a Wednesday evening. At about 7 pm on Tuesday evening, my professor emails the class to say that she wants to change the time to Wednesday 6 am. No worries came from me because, you gotta constantly be on your toes here to make the most of your experience. Nothing is set in stone. Your professor might even throw in an extra group project that was not mentioned in the syllabus just for fun. The combi you need to take to school to arrive on time for an exam may take an hour to fill up instead of taking five minutes to fill up. All of these situations become 200% more manageable if you accept that they happened out of your control and the only thing you can do now is embrace the change.

I have noticed that “going with the flow” honestly does wonders for your mental health. It frees up your mind to focus on other things that are in your control. You now have the time to fully embrace culture and experience what Botswana has to offer you if you don’t constantly focus on the situations that were frustrating.

 

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By Teniola Balogun

As a part of my Community Public Health program, we get to observe in the clinics in the Greater Gaborone Area. Wake up call is at 5:30 a.m. every Tuesday. Once we enter the clinics, lab coats are on and pen and pad are in hand. During our four hour stay in the clinics, we are able to wander in and out of the different sections of the clinic gathering information for our end-of-semester “health intervention” project. We are to observe each clinic’s use of resources, proper health waste management techniques, and overall patient care.

This past week, I was able to shadow the nursing staff at the Gaborone West clinic. This clinic is a public clinic with a maternity ward, a pharmacy, an infectious disease care clinic, and an emergency medical services unit. After attending the G-West clinic, I was able to observe the stellar clinical work that they provide for Batswana. I was impressed by how quickly prescription for medication was filled. Prior to the start of my first clinic day, a lesson on financial management was presented to the nursing staff. This concept of teaching important life skills to healthcare employers was so foreign to me, but I see the value of the action. While the clinic excelled in certain areas, issues of hygiene, crowded waiting rooms and provider-patient communication was also present. After having conversations with the health workers, I am optimistic that these issues will not persist. The health workers are aware of the problems and would like to see that they are fixed in the near future.

The hygiene issue seems to be the biggest at the G-West clinic. There is hand soap present in every consultation room, but not present in the bathrooms. The liquid soap is placed usually in “Energade” sports drink bottle. The windows were kept open due to the fact that there was no air conditioning. Despite the capacity of soap in the consultation rooms, I was grateful there is some available for the nurses. Another problem is that the nurses have to constantly re- contaminant themselves because paper towels and/or reusable towels are not available to dry off their hands. Between patients, the nurse that I was observing wiped her hands off on her skirt. She was fully aware that this was a practice that should not continue. It would have to continue because of the shortage of resources. Being the germaphobe that I am, I immediately started to analyze the number of germs that lived on the nurse’s outfit. ...continue reading "The Clinic Life"

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By teniolab

Growing up the suburbs of Atlanta, I was not a stranger to being the only one that looked like me in my classes. When I got to college, the narrative was the same. Before picking a studying abroad program, I had to research the cultural acceptance of people of color for each country I was interested in. Issues of cultural acceptance or other financial issues cause African-Americans to be among the most under-represented groups to study abroad. Because of this, it was always better to err on the side of caution when it came to picking which country I wanted to study in. This just comes with the territory of being a person of color. In spite of this, being a minority student abroad has not only enhanced my experience but it has also help me with my own personal identity issues.

I knew that once I got to Botswana I would be “invisible”. When Batswana see my skin complexion, they would immediately think of me as their kin-folk. Unfortunately for my CIEE program friends who aren’t invisible, unwanted attention follows them wherever they go. My colleagues are constantly getting marriage proposals, being stared for unnecessarily long amounts of time, and/or getting other forms of verbal harassment. This has made their transition and acceptance of life in Botswana much more difficult. And I empathize. Every girl in Botswana faces some sort of harassment on the daily, so my friends and I could relate to that aspect.

Once people assess me as Motswana, no one really wants to get to know me or hear my story. Constantly being spoken to in Setswana is the biggest disadvantage of being “invisible”. This mostly affects me because of the connotation associated with a Motswana not speaking Setswana. To Batswana, a Motswana not speaking their language comes across as elitist. That was certainly not the impression that I wanted to give off. Once I open my mouth and start speaking English in my American accent, the jig is up. They know I am American. There is a Black American female stereotype that is displayed on reality TV, which is watched by Batswana, so that was another stigma I had to work past. What’s worse is when I tell them that I am actually 100% Nigerian but born in the States. Minds = blown!

...continue reading ""You’re not a Motswana?": Studying Abroad as a Minority"

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