B's Adventure

One of my closest friends from home recently embarked on a study abroad trip that I know will change her life. She leaves today and will be back in May. Here is her description of her trip in the send off email she sent us:

A view of the Himalayan mountains
 over Kathmandu, Nepal. via

"We will travel to Kathmandu, Nepal; Amman, Jordan; and Santiago, Chile. ... Some of the things we are going to do over the next three months include camping outside of Kathmandu for a week, visiting refugee camps in Nepal and Jordan(for Syrian refugees), visiting Petra, camping in the desert in Jordan, meeting and living with the Mapuche people in Chile, and generally meeting lots of grassroots organizations and experts on human rights issues in each of these places."

She's working with the School for International Training, also known as SIT. They have all sorts of amazing study abroad programs, ranging from human rights, like B is doing, to tropical ecology. I can't wait to hear her thoughts about the whole experience when she returns. She'll be getting college credits and taking classes throughout this whole experience as she moves from country to country. It's incredible that she will witness some of the most controversial human rights issues of this decade first hand, and learn through her education and experience about the causes and issues that perpetuate them.

Reading the description of her adventure makes my life (at this time) feel a little artificial. I want to go places and learn things and help people and do some real good, rather than be here spending all my money on myself. We're privileged to be able to get the education that we receive but I think that sometimes it obscures things happening around us. My life for the past three years has been primarily focused on taking tests, going to parties, trying to make money, and wandering around Boston. I mean just look at this blog so far -- nothing on here is particularly beneficial to anyone but myself, which bothers me a bit. And while these actives mentioned before are obviously in no way a bad way to spend time, I know that I could be doing more meaningful things and sometimes worry that I'm wasting a really productive part of my life. The world is such a huge place and has so much to offer and teach.

B's journey is so the opposite of the typical study abroad experience that the average American student participates in. I think that all study abroad offered to students should be like SIT. Get people out of their little college bubbles and actually show them the world, not just the insides of clubs. Study abroad shouldn't be an extension of studying at home. (And I know not all are -- I'm more speaking to the typical and celebrated study abroad in eastern Europe by American college students. Why does this have to be the stereotypical norm?) Even my own travels thus far, while still being valuable, meaningful and helpful, (to myself at least) are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to cultural immersion and true learning. I want to be more involved with the world. I'm proud of B and inspired by her journey and wish that it is more than she hopes for and that she learns a ton. 

When I'm done with my education I hope that I find a way to somehow delay my career so that I can actually do some long term meaningful work and education, similar to what B is doing. This has always been a goal of mine, but I'm quickly coming up on the time in my life where I actually need to decide how, when and if I can accomplish this goal. Here's to starting that search!