[I wrote this in a family email, and was not very concerned
about the writing quality, my apologies]
...I know I was in Peru for a couple weeks, and in Japan for
even a couple months. Unfortunately however, I was less mature, and did not
have aims for what I wanted to get out of those experiences, especially since I
had not yet started to get deep into my major, anthropology, which has really
drastically changed the way I go about thinking about my time, purpose, and
perspectives in life. Therefore, those
trips were fun, and they sparked my interest in other cultures and travel, but
they were just touristy, shallow experiences compared to the type of thing I am
trying to pull off now. With my academic training and newfound passion for
culture, social behavior, and the implications these things hold for God’s
children and our eternal natures, this trip is already different. I am invested
in the people I am meeting, viewing them more as my brothers and sisters who
have so much to offer and amazing things they can teach me, instead of just as
added décor in an exotic tour of a foreign place.
I know anthropology may not be that “practical” of a subject
(if practical is to be defined as lucrative
instead of useful or significant), but it truly is a study I wish everyone
had at least some exposure to. It shows humans as the beautiful beings they
truly are, and honestly combats prejudice, racism, discrimination,
ethnocentrism, and whatnot in better ways than any primetime special about the
civil rights movement. The training I had during my prep classes before
starting this field study, along with basic social theory, has caused me to
become incredibly cautious in the way I view other people, realizing that I am
not one to judge, since each of our lives are circumstantial, and I cannot
possibly hope to ever think in the same patterns as my neighbor next door, let
alone a Ghanaian living in my small cocoa village.
Also, as an international development minor, I have been
trying to conceptualize this experience based on the fundamental lessons I have
received in social, economical, political, and ethical issues that affect the
development industry worldwide – which is basically the groups, both governmental
and independent of government, that are attempting to enter the Third World
(Ghana included) and change things for the better – or what is contrived to be
“better” by whatever group is involved. I have spoken to several of my Ghanaian
friends here about development, and how so many of the Ghanaians I have met
seem to be obsessed with the West, and dream of moving to America or Europe.
Sometimes it is quite sad because, although I risk an overgeneralization, the
people I have met here are God-fearing, highly participant in church and
religious activity, and include praises and thanks to the Lord in casual
conversation daily. They hold to many conservative, “old-fashioned” values,
such as praying in schools, and respect to parents and grandparents. Yet, look
at America – the most highly “advanced” and “developed” nation – struggling
with these issues, allowing a blurring of ethical lines, and frankly forgetting
God in almost everything, or completely abandoning an acknowledgement of his blessings
and guidance. What I am trying to say is, “development” comes with large
sacrifices. And they look a whole lot like the Pride Cycle I am reading about
in the Book of Mormon. So, my aim in studying development is to hopefully
become an instrument of change in ways that are positive, efficient, and that
avoid the exploitation of another’s culture and the beautiful particularities
of their lifestyle that may differ at times from the Western norm…
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