I've been writing a lot recently- if I put this up tonight, it'll have been three in a row- a new record! This is partially because of my 'write a ton' challenge, but also somehow weirdly related to the semesters-worth of work crammed into the next two weeks that I'm truly dreading and putting off by doing these instead. Also, I can only work properly in the library it seems, and these are doable from my kitchen table so here you go. Hopefully it's not an overload, especially since the last few and this one too aren't really about any Galway Adventures, but more my daily thoughts and experiences. If nothing else, I'm enjoying doing them, as a sort of reflection similar to what I've had on past structured group travels.
I've been thinking about those travel studies and service trips a lot lately, and become rather homesick as a result. Last week was spring break for La Salle, so all of my friends are returning home from far off destinations and posting their photos. I'm here in Ireland having the experience of a lifetime, so it's not so much that I'm jealous of their trips, but I miss the La Salle community more than I thought- and I was definitely thinking I would. Probably the biggest reality-check moment for me the past few days was when I found out by an unfeeling news article that the members of our annual service trip to Kentucky had been lost in the mountains overnight. They've all returned home now, safe and as strong as ever, but having worked very closely with some of them in different service capacities, as well as just being friends, it was a scary wake up call that travelling is dangerous. I joked before about wandering around Wicklow in the snow and dark, but I can scarcely imagine what they faced and felt out there- and as the pictures went up from earlier in the week, I'm realizing how many of them I do know and deeply care about. This trip has been going for decades, and is one of the biggest testaments to the La Sallian character and drive for service that I know. The thought of something terrible happening to the group, while I'm so very far away from school, is just an awful one. Being away from home for any extended period of time means risking missing out on both good and bad events in the lives of your loved ones, and it's a hard truth I've experienced before and again now.
Service trips at La Salle are definitely some of the best programs the school has to offer, and one of my biggest qualms about going away this semester was that I'd miss out on being a part of one. However, I caught on pretty early that being in Ireland didn't mean I'd need to be disconnected from discussions of social justice. I've mentioned it in passing here previously I think, but tonight I completed the final session of a six-week Global Issues course run by Irish non-profit organization Suas. Very similar at times to the introductory class to my Leadership and Global Understanding minor, we learned about issues in Development Education, Debt, Gender, Climate, and Trade. Each 2 1/2 hour class had a guest lecturer, some of whom were more engaging than others, but almost always also had a big group discussion about the topics, some of which got rather heated.
I was the token American in a room full of mostly Irish students (one other girl was too, but she'd been living here since she was 13, so I count her as Irish), and one African man. Since most of my classes here have been large lectures, it was a great chance to really engage in an academic discussion with Irish students, and was granted a new perspective into my own culture through the eyes of others, as well as an understanding of the role Europe played in the global development discussions. We talked about a lot of topics I'd known quite a bit about before, but also delved into issues I hadn't really studied in depth until then. Following a role play negotiation meant to teach us about the inequities in the banana trade, in which I nearly got into a yelling match with an Irish boy who told me America was everything wrong with the world (but only because I first told him he was everything wrong with the world), I've now been much more conscientious about buying local and fair trade food products. And don't worry, as far as I know I didn't make a permanent enemy out of my well-meaning banana opponent.
Today's closing session dealt with the topic of "Where do we go from here?", a question meant to inspire all of us to continue living out the practices we'd been reviewing, but also with a focus on the unintended results of well-meaning but patronizing aid campaigns to benefit 'third world' countries. That's a huge ethical question I've grappled with a lot the past two years, and still don't have an answer to, but is also relevant to my studies in Ireland. I wanted to go to Argentina or Australia to work with the indigenous populations of either, envisioning myself as some sort of important do-gooder, but I'm glad I didn't. I have my whole life to figure out the best way to make a positive impact on this planet, and will continue working towards that goal, but being here has made me realize that every country in the world has an absolutely vital role to play in terms of international betterment. I don't really think it's possible any other way.
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