{"id":68,"date":"2016-09-29T22:29:30","date_gmt":"2016-09-29T22:29:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/victoriayu\/?p=68"},"modified":"2016-09-29T22:48:54","modified_gmt":"2016-09-29T22:48:54","slug":"looking-back-moving-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/victoriayu\/2016\/09\/29\/looking-back-moving-forward\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking Back, Moving Forward"},"content":{"rendered":"

I still remember getting off the plane at the Kilimanjaro International Airport on June 20th, full of awe at the beautiful sunflowers and open landscapes surrounding me. It’d been five years since I traveled outside of the U.S., and I’d forgotten what it was like to be somewhere completely foreign.<\/p>\n

\"We

I miss this view.<\/p><\/div>\n

It’s been nearly two months now since I’ve returned home, and I’m still processing everything that happened over the summer.<\/p>\n

During my time in Tanzania, we made a total of five field visits to various villages in the Babati, Moshi, Arusha, Karatu, and Tanga regions, each for about a week at a time. Upon arriving in a village, we provided a brief introduction and received informed consent before pairing up with local research assistants to conduct individual surveys. At the end, we gave each respondent a bag of sugar to thank him or her for participating. Some days, 15-20 customers would show up, while on others, only 5-8 would come. Despite the unpredictability in attendance, however, the number of surveys that we collected amounted to 257.<\/p>\n

A snapshot of the action research process in progress, with Doreen on the left and a Solar Sister customer on the right<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Leslie

Dr. Gray, our research mentor, traveled with us during our first few weeks in the field and is pictured here conducting a survey in Arusha.<\/p><\/div>\n

Coming into this experience, I definitely didn’t know what to expect. I certainly didn’t foresee the quantity and quality of research that our team ended up accomplishing, nor did I truly realize the value that would come from the research process as a whole, and the lessons that I would learn.<\/p>\n

To work effectively with a social enterprise, I realized that it truly requires both passion for its social mission and understanding of it as a business, though balancing such elements in reality is quite challenging. I found myself constantly excited about Solar Sister but also needing to remind myself to be critical so that my favorable opinion of the organization would not distract me from being an objective researcher. I likewise struggled with navigating how to help other organizations with goals and services similar to that of Solar Sister. At one one point when visiting the CEO of another solar company operating in the Moshi region, I noticed a vibe of carefulness about sharing information. After all, even though both businesses desire to address energy poverty, they are ultimately in competition. In retrospect, I learned a lot from working alongside a social enterprise, and with only three Solar Sister staff members in the local office and a few employees in D.C., it felt like we were a small family doing something big in the world.<\/p>\n

\"The

The SCU research team<\/p><\/div>\n

\"A

We spent a lot of time with Solar Sister’s Tanzania Country Manager Fatma and her family. We always had a great time together.<\/p><\/div>\n

In addition to partnering with Solar Sister, I received the opportunity to engage closely with some of the communities that it serves. Even though I started out with the intention of attending to their interests through our research, they ended up giving me so much more. From my encounters with them, I learned early on that almost everybody within the community knew their neighbors personally, regardless of whether they lived nearby or farther away. The rough, rural, and undeveloped land that separated their houses from one another didn’t stop them from making time to chat and maintain friendships. In fact, people often reported purchasing from Solar Sister simply because a neighbor told them about the product, and they trusted him or her. Here in America, we live so close to our neighbors–literally within feet of them–but sadly, we hardly interact or even know their names. Seeing people in Tanzania cherish community with such dedication and commitment inspired me to make more of an effort to reach out to my neighbors back at home. Thus, when I returned to the states, I actually reconnected with some old friends that I had not spoken to in a very long time.<\/p>\n

\"The

Homes were dispersed throughout Babati but everybody still knew everybody else. I was very impressed!<\/p><\/div>\n

The contentment and easygoing nature of the local people further struck me. We sometimes arrived 30 minutes later to the field than we said, but the people never appeared angry or upset. When we stayed longer than expected, our hosts were always accommodating. On one of the nights in Babati, a Solar Sister Entrepreneur made all eight of us dinner despite our failure to let her know in advance that we would stay. Living in the Silicon Valley, I am so used to planning and scheduling my time to the minute, unlike many off-grid communities in Tanzania. I marveled at their willingness to go with the flow and emerge unphased. They displayed a calmness and patience with the pace of life, not appearing at all entitled to their own time but always remaining the most hospitable hosts.<\/p>\n

\"A

This Solar Sister customer kindly showed us around her house and offered us fresh milk from her cow.<\/p><\/div>\n

I have to say, though, that above all, I admired their work ethic. Many of the individuals that we interviewed, especially the women, managed multiple business activities simultaneously while taking care of their families. Although they made little income and lived simply, they all held personal goals and, for the most part, contributed to their families financially. Even after a full day\u2019s worth of work, a lot of women continued business activities throughout the evening while completing household chores and caring for their children. Then, they would wake up early the next morning to farm. These women, who work extremely hard, led me to realize the humanity of these people in a much deeper way. People in poverty are not helpless or incapable. Many of them are actually very tenacious and tough. The world often stereotypes the poor as lazy, having chosen that life for themselves when in fact that is not always the case. Take one of the women that I met in Babati, for example. She not only supported her family as a Solar Sister Entrepreneur but also earned income through weaving baskets, farming, and making jewelry, on top of being a mother to young children and performing secretary duties at church.<\/p>\n

With one of the biggest hearts that I have ever known, she blessed me in a way that I will never forget. Before we left her village, she freely gifted us nine stunning, intricately handwoven baskets to take home, one for each of us, and an extra one for our research assistant Doreen, because she knew that Doreen really liked it. We insisted on paying for them, but she firmly refused. Her generosity and love towards us nearly brought me to tears that night, as I was absolutely blown away by her kindness. She changed my life infinitely more than I was able to impact her. Every time I see the basket now, I see her face, and I remember that the poor are not simply passive recipients of charity. They have something to offer and contribute to this world too, and they have the potential to do it.<\/p>\n

\"A

A Solar Sister Entrepreneur, teacher, and mother<\/p><\/div>\n

Unfortunately, not all my encounters were as smooth sailing. I felt particularly overwhelmed in one Maasai village by the crowd of men and women that had gathered around my interview station, listening in. Feeling awkward and also wanting to protect the privacy of my interviewee, I asked Doreen to request some space. After exchanging some words with them, she told me, \u201cThere\u2019s nothing I can do. That\u2019s just the way they are.\u201d Unsure of how to react, I nervously smiled and asked if the interviewee was O.K. with them being around, to which she said yes. However, I soon discovered that the interviewee did not speak fluent Swahili and therefore needed the Solar Sister Entrepreneur who knew the local dialect to do double translation for us. At times during the interview, it seemed like the translator was answering the questions for herself rather than speaking for the customer, so I’d check to make sure that the customer truly said those things. Sometimes participants left part way through or got distracted, and I remember just feeling frustrated in those moments, feeling like I was a failure when it came to communication, which was especially disappointing for me because I have studied intercultural communication as a communication major. It was a hard experience, but also very humbling. In general, I think that translation proved the hardest part in our entire research. Despite my efforts to verbally engage the local people by learning Swahili from the research assistants and my language book, I lacked proficiency and it presented a major challenge.<\/p>\n

\"Revina,

Revina, one of our research assistants who is pictured on the left, is a native Swahili speaker and could conduct surveys much faster than I could.<\/p><\/div>\n

Nonetheless, Tanzania will always hold a special place in my heart. My experience there grew me in so many ways and gave me an abundance of beautiful memories that I will never forget, which I recorded in my journal. (I actually wrote through a whole blank journal during my stay and needed to buy a new one.) In Tanzania, I witnessed and experienced for myself how people everyday live without access to many basic components that I typically take for granted in America. Hot water, reliable electricity, local hospitals, clean water, uncontaminated food, internet connection, laundry machines, a stove that does not require matches, and cell phone minutes\/texting are all privileges. I realized that private transportation, such as bikes or cars, are not necessarily easy for people in other places around the world to afford, and I really need to be more grateful. I lived without many of these things for only eight weeks, but some people live without these things for their whole lives.<\/p>\n

\"No

No laundry machines…<\/p><\/div>\n

\"...but

…but I still love this place!<\/p><\/div>\n

One time while we were on the road, I saw a boy dressed in dirty clothes, kneeling on the street alone as pedestrians and loud cars zoomed by. With sad eyes, he held out cupped hands in perfect form, as if he had been instructed on how to beg.<\/p>\n

He completely broke my heart.<\/p>\n

Just a couple seconds of seeing this boy further reminded me of my privileges.<\/p>\n

Apart from recognizing my privileges, I learned that though I am physically small and often feel small inside, I can be a lot stronger than I think. If I knew back in January that I’d have to fly internationally on my own and work alone in the field for two weeks, I definitely wouldn’t have applied for the fellowship, because I would’ve been scared to death. Yet my experience challenged me to become a better leader and adapt to new situations. When I look back, I’m incredulous that I stayed behind after Dr. Gray and Alaina left, though I did receive an incredible amount of support from them, the Miller Center, and the host enterprise, which made my independence possible. I also discovered that I really enjoy making a direct impact on individuals and ultimately desire to pursue a career where I can focus on doing that. I think that research is interesting and necessary for helping the world become a better place, but the change that I would create on that level is not nearly as satisfying or meaningful to me compared to spending time alongside people on a daily basis. The relationships that I built with the research assistants, in which I would review surveys with them at the end of each day to ensure comprehensive and clear understanding of their notes, presented me with the opportunity to teach them more English, as well as receive insight into their thinking process. I liked playing a role in helping them acquire the skills that they hoped to develop through their job as research assistants. Additionally, I simply loved being immersed in a foreign culture, meeting people from all parts of the world, and taking on a new adventure.<\/p>\n

The best summer yet!<\/p><\/div>\n

Moving forward, I know without a doubt that my vocation consists of helping and serving people. In terms of what that looks like concretely, I have yet to find out. I am still considering my diverse career possibilities, but I do know that I would like to work internationally, impact individuals directly, and seek a job environment that I find exciting and stimulating. I really enjoyed living in a different part of the world, learning about culture, hearing people’s stories, and working with the research assistants, as well as training them, but I’m still figuring out what the next steps are that would best combine my passions, interests, and abilities. As much as I hoped to have everything figured out by the end of this fellowship, it really doesn’t work like that. I can’t force myself to know right now what I was made for, because it’s a process of discovery that can take a lifetime. I’ve come a long way considering that before college, I literally had no clue as to what I wanted to do with my life. I still have a distance to go, but I believe that as I seek God’s plan and calling for me through exploring new opportunities and continually putting myself in new situations, God in His own perfect timing will reveal what He has in store for my life.<\/p>\n

\"img_6210\"

I spent my last day in Tanzania exploring new waters, and I can’t wait to explore new ones in the future!<\/p><\/div>\n

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I still remember getting off the plane at the Kilimanjaro International Airport on June 20th, full of awe at the beautiful sunflowers and open landscapes surrounding me. It’d been five years since I traveled outside of the U.S., and I’d … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1598,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"qubely_global_settings":"","qubely_interactions":"","kk_blocks_editor_width":"","_kiokenblocks_attr":"","_kiokenblocks_dimensions":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"gutentor_comment":0,"qubely_featured_image_url":null,"qubely_author":{"display_name":"vsyu","author_link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/victoriayu\/author\/vsyu\/"},"qubely_comment":0,"qubely_category":"Uncategorized<\/a>","qubely_excerpt":"I still remember getting off the plane at the Kilimanjaro International Airport on June 20th, full of awe at the beautiful sunflowers and open landscapes surrounding me. It’d been five years since I traveled outside of the U.S., and I’d … Continue reading →","post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/victoriayu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/victoriayu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/victoriayu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/victoriayu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1598"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/victoriayu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/victoriayu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/victoriayu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68\/revisions\/103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/victoriayu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/victoriayu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/victoriayu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}