As I was sitting in class on Monday, and we were talking about our final exam, we talked about all of the vocab that we had to remember and all of the principles, etc. I was thinking about everything that I had to remember, and then Ashley said "we really hope that these principles are something that you could apply to your lives and not just memorize to regurgitate back at the final exam". This stood out to me because not every single principle that I have learned in class, has been truly internalized. However, I wanted to focus on the two most important principles that I have really internalized, and that I really hope to apply to my field study in INDIA.
The first one that I keep thinking about, ever since we learned about it, is being a self-starter. After reading the Ophelia Syndrome, I felt that most of this experience and what I got out of it, had to do with me, and what I was willing to do, and to put in. I am excited to go to the field and put my best efforts towards getting the best out of it. I feel like I am an outgoing person, and I love talking to people about their lives and I love getting to know them. However, I often times feel inadequate because I feel like there are people who are better equipped to do a Field Study who are smarter, and better at other things, but I have been accepted to do this Field Study, and I will do my best to make out of it, the best experience. I like that the Field Studies program emphasizes the principle of being a self-started and giving students the accountability to choose for themselves how they will act and what things they will choose to do in a foreign field. I keep thinking about how the more prepared I go, and the more I decide to do with my time and my knowledge, in the field, I will have a better experience. As the time winds down for me to go India, I think about the different issues and potential difficulties that I may face, but then I am comforted to remember that my attitude will facilitate how I well I cope with these problems and challenges that I will naturally face in the field. I really like what the guidelines to the proposal say about the experience and personal growth that we will all experience in the field. The fact that this experience is up to ME and what I will do with my time there and how I go about it, will determine how much I learn, fills me with a great sense of responsibility. With this responsibility comes a little bit of pressure, but at the same time, I feel like the more I am involved in my own experience, the more "worth it" it will be, and more meaningful.
The second most important principle in my opinion, is that of rapport. I really like international development and all of the principles found there in, but perhaps my favorite part, is that of getting to know people and building long-lasting relationships with them. I love people, and because of my major (Geography-Global Studies) I have learned about different people and cultures, and I have completely fallen in love with it all. I am excited to talk to the people of the village, and I am even more excited to talk to the women and get to know them individually, and get to learn from them. I cannot wait for this opportunity and just thinking about being able to talk to the people, makes me more excited. Only because I love it though, does not mean that I will necessarily have success right away. I know that building rapport will take time, and it will take a lot of effort on my part, but like I mentioned earlier, it will all be worth it. I am very much looking forward to this part of the Field Study, the people and what they have to teach me, is something I look forward to the most.
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