tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145117592063944458.post2489320116611961858..comments2023-11-02T03:40:09.064-07:00Comments on Human Perspective on Development and Environment: Where We Eat Like KingsCIEE - Thailandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702040572805817922noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145117592063944458.post-60103107862498290242010-04-30T10:48:03.174-07:002010-04-30T10:48:03.174-07:00Alex-
Having been apart of this exchange, I am hap...Alex-<br />Having been apart of this exchange, I am happy that someone was able to capture that experience in a very real way (even if you weren't actually there haha). This experience was one of the most memorable for me in Thailand, and also one of the times when I felt completely at a loss for words as to how I was feeling. I wasn't mad at these villagers for asking us for money or help, how could I be? Instead I was mad at our group for misrepresenting our intentions in our relationship with this community, and I was mad at our program for giving this community the idea that we were some kind of charity group. But ultimately it is not the program that created these circumstances where one group seemed to hold the power and one group seemed to want just a taste of it. When they started hinting towards asking our group for money I know we couldn't say yes, but I was ultimately so disappointed in myself for that reaction. Of course, I believe in the age old phrase "give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he'll eat for .... (not sure how long but I know its supposed to be a really long time)". I do agree with that phrase in the sense that communities need empowerment and resources rather than money or charity. But sometimes I feel like this focus on community empowerment is really just a way for people to literally, not put their money where there mouth is. If an ipod could really build a new community center, why shouldn't we just give the money? I guess thats where I see the shortcomings of community organizing if it is not accompanied by a true change in economic policy and structure. -SamAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145117592063944458.post-65415552654346666002010-04-30T03:19:30.800-07:002010-04-30T03:19:30.800-07:00alex,
I used to insist to my parents tha...alex,<br /><br /> I used to insist to my parents that my life goal was to move to India and live in a hut. They would get frustrated and roll their eyes at my naivety. It was probably somewhat insulting to them. My dad worked his ass off for 30 years so I didn’t have to grow up in a village, and here I am denouncing my comfortable suburban life and my over-priced tuition costs. Your powerful words remind me yet again of how lucky I am in life.<br /> My biggest challenge in life has been trying to sort through the infinite choices and figure out what I want to do when I graduate. What a joke! My biggest problem to happiness isn’t food, or health, or water, or worrying about having a place to live. My worries and “problems” are so insignificant because of a simple act of fate that I was born an American. I don’t know what I did to deserve it. As you so accurately describe, I am “undeservingly privileged.” Being on this program and seeing girls my age, I wonder what my life would be like if my dad never left Bhayavader, India when he was a teenager. I would be living in a village and maybe if I were lucky some CIEE students would come stay at my house and have an exchange with me. But my reality is not this. I am a privileged, consuming American, I live in an excessive house, buy excessive things, don’t know the meaning of hard labor, and I have all the opportunities of the world before me. <br /> The reality you so masterfully capture evokes guilt, frustration, and sadness. However, I think the truths you state and recognizing these truths are also inspiring. I am born privileged and so many people are not, which is all the more reason to live my life to the absolute fullest and truly take advantage of my blessings. We should live the best life possible and do the things we want to do, and love every moment because so many people around the world don’t have this luxury. I can’t change this system, or the way we determine currency rates, or feed all of the billions of starving people. I will never make human suffering go away. But I can use my privilege for good to the best of my ability. I can make small dents in suffering and spread positivity, and utilize my privilege in the best way possible. I thank you again for reminding me that it is a miracle that I am able to live the life I do. That considering all the suffering that exists in this world, the odds of having health, family, and the opportunity to explore ideas and diverse experiences is a true blessing.Bijalnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145117592063944458.post-9614800238586028872010-04-30T01:52:11.046-07:002010-04-30T01:52:11.046-07:00Wow Alex, this is an amazing post. I am honestly b...Wow Alex, this is an amazing post. I am honestly blown away. It reminds me of something I once read by Vandana Shiva, an Ecofeminist from India. She connects development issues to gender. She explains that the domination of South by the north, women by men and nature by humankind is rooted in the world-view that was created by western men so he could suppress and exclude the rest of humanity. It is a system that we are all a part of and feeling guilty is not supposed to be part of that system, but it is. It makes me wonder whether it is part of human nature to want to dominate. <br /> The more developed a southern country becomes, the more developed a northern country becomes, thus it is impossible to be equal mostly because of power. Just as men hold the power over women, the developed world has the power over the underdeveloped world. Just as the goal of the woman’s movement should not be to strive to become equal to men, developing countries cannot strive to become equal with developed countries. There needs to be a complete restructure of the system because without the restructure of the system, the people/ nations in power can always stay in power. That is the essence of power. This point makes me feel extremely hopeless because how do you restructure not only an entire society, but the entire world? My point is, the development of a country goes far beyond economics, it involves power. Then that brings me to the question of what does power mean? Today, power is money. How do we change this? I believe that change comes from the ground up and awareness is the first step to changing these systems.<br /><br />-CharlotteAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145117592063944458.post-57945517168867970432010-04-29T00:42:19.150-07:002010-04-29T00:42:19.150-07:00Asaween,
This is an incredible, bitingly honest pi...Asaween,<br />This is an incredible, bitingly honest piece that calls out our collective mindset as study abroad students really powerfully. I find it especially interesting that your research into exchange rates illuminates the positive feedback cycle of economic power: as a country's currency gets stronger and perceived as more stable, it attracts more global demand, which in turn wins it more strength.<br />As we attempt to establish reciprocal relationships with communities here, I find it fascinating that we seek to communicate (what we think are) hardships in our own lives as a way to relate. We want to find ways to say that we too have loans (for our prestigious education as opposed to our transportation or our next meal) and use that as a way to connect. In the end, this fear of the reactions we are met with if we translate our plane ticket costs or our incomes into Baht just leads us to stall or lie or remain silent. And this fear relies in itself on assumptions and generalizations that are for the most part uninvestigated. Our desire for reciprocity has then only spurred dishonesty and misrepresentation on our part, and a lack of real understanding of the people we are talking to.<br />During my first homestay, I told my family how much my plane ticket to Thailand cost (in dollars, since neither my Thai nor my Baht conversion were up to the task at that point). They understood, they were taken aback, and it was uncomfortable but it was not defining in the way that I think we fear it to be (or in the way it was during that exchange in the slum). I can't even claim to understand my own family's financial situation, let alone generalize about our student group or Americans in general, so honesty felt weird, but good. A few minutes later, everything was back to normal, if pet squirrels, Call of Duty, and repeated inquiries about whether one could drive to the USA can be labeled as such.Altheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06313699192507788058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145117592063944458.post-8106034249313676202010-04-22T21:39:43.435-07:002010-04-22T21:39:43.435-07:00Alex, Alex, Alex,
I loved your blog post! Although...Alex, Alex, Alex,<br />I loved your blog post! Although I wasn’t there for the exchange with the villagers I heard a lot about how awkward the situation became. It’s funny (perhaps not the right word) that talking about money is taboo in the US whereas in Thailand it’s not. I can understand why money is a topic that is “scarey” to talk about when there is such disparity in the US. Yes, there is a large disconnect between wealthy and poor Thais, but a majority lie on the same income level so discussing finances is no big deal. <br />For me, talking about privilege—my family’s income, my college tuition and how much my flight from the East Coast to Bangkok cost to Thais living in a slum—makes me feel guilty. Why is it that privilege makes not only me, but also people in general feel guilty? Guilt makes me want to do something to change that feeling and ultimately results in volunteering with social justice organizations, or in this case, studying abroad with CIEE Thailand. So with that said, is feeling guilty necessarily a bad thing?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16234808446244415388noreply@blogger.com