5.29.11
Sitting in the Miami airport, I feel ready to really begin this grand adventure. There are so many unknowns and I am about to embark on an 8 week journey that will undoubtedly be incredibly memorable. I am feeling a general restlessness in life right now and I think this is the perfect precursor to this summer. Maybe it’s the fact that a ton of my closest friends just graduated college, maybe it’s the fact that I am about to be a senior, maybe it’s the fact that I don’t have a clear direction for post-college pursuits—whatever it is that is causing this restlessness within me, it is leading me to crave all the new experiences Ecuador has to offer. I desire being uncomfortable, in an unfamiliar environment, separate from the people and things I tend to put my identity in and get worth from. I am thirsty for knowledge and ready to use the wisdom I have gained and education I have received outside of the classroom, college environment, and United States.
I must say, I am a little uncomfortable with the whole concept of blogging in general. I am exposing myself, my thoughts, my experience to a wide array of people from various phases of my life. How special to have you all going through this growing journey with me. Thank you all for what you have meant and continue to mean to me. I appreciate your support and even now feel surrounded by a community of people even when I am all alone in a huge airport, and later when I will be in another country. I hope you all will learn something from all I am learning. Thanks for listening to me process all that is to come.
What I hope to gain and learn. I don’t really know what to expect from this summer but I am along for the ride and ready for whatever comes my way. The summer after my freshman year at UNC I was on staff at an inner-city home repair ministry in Memphis, TN called Service Over Self. I was immersed in the mess of the inner-city culture and inspired by the community based development that was initiated there by the Christian community. Last summer, I interned as a youth intern at First Presbyterian Church at home in Nashville, TN and found myself immersed in the mess that is high school. Both presented challenges but both were unbelievably joyful and growing. This summer will be completely different for many reasons. I want to spend some of my time this summer comparing the work and outcomes of a ministry based organization to that of a secular organization. What are their methods? Missions? How do people respond? Also, the past two summers have been highly relational. This summer I will be primarily with people whose primary language is Spanish. How will this effect my interactions, work, and well-being? Will I still be the same talker I am now and just improve in Spanish at an accelerated rate or will words by secondary to quality time and body language? As I think about my future, I always pictured myself doing work abroad but have come to realize I was more drawn to the glamour of it. There are needs and problems everywhere and ultimately I just want to be a part of the solution. I want to be wherever my skills, education, talents, and personality are best utilized. I am interested to see how I feel about working abroad after this summer. Is the desire to go abroad more about providing aid or about personal development? Is it selfish to go for personal development? I am also really excited to see all I have been learning about entrepreneurship at Carolina be used, challenged, and grown. The Social Entrepreneurship Corps (SEC) is helping locals start and run their own businesses. I am ready to be a part of this process. We are moving beyond charity and hand-outs and truly helping people help themselves and creating change in a sustainable and replicable way. Is this the way social work will be in the future? Will charities as they exist today cease to exist? How can the SEC model be used even in inner-city communities or wealthy communities in the US?
Okay that is more than enough for now. Not every post will be this long. I promise. I am about to study Spanish for a bit while sitting next to two women in the Miami airport speaking Spanish. Then, one of my best friends, Elizabeth Smith, will be joining me for dinner before we both board our plane to Guayaquil. We are picked up tonight at 11pm, driven to a hotel, fed, given a cell phone, and briefed on important safety information. Tomorrow morning we will ride a bus to our home base city of Cuenca in the Southwest part of the country. We will get to know the 20 other college interns tomorrow and begin our this grand adventure together. Ecuador here I come!
Hasta luego,
Cate
