“The most important things I’ve learned haven’t been in a classroom”

The most important things I’ve learned haven’t been in a classroom” What traveling/volunteering has taught me.

Kelley and her teachers

This is my first blog posting since joining Give Your Gap. So, a big “Hey there” to all my fellow gappers. I wanted to take a minute to explain why I am drawn to give your gap.

Oscar Wilde once said, “Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” As I work to pay off my sizeable college loans, I don’t quite agree that nothing can be taught but I still like his message. I believe that the most important things I have learned and that motivate and inspire me everyday are not things from school. They are lessons learned the hard (but fun) way…through experience.

One of the most amazing things I have been realizing is that most things we think are extremely normal in our lives are in fact completely culturally biased. No one way of doing something is the right way. I remember once when I was talking to a Korean student when I was teaching ESL. The student said they had had a stomach ache the other day and so pricked their fingers to let some blood out. All the western students in the class and I looked shocked. The Korean student could not figure out what we thought was strange. He explained that in Korea, when people have stomach aches from eating too much food or something, they let a little blood run from their fingers so they feel better. To him this was the best and most normal way to deal with the issue. To us it seemed crazy. Every time I think of this story I am reminded that even the most normal and logical parts of our daily lives are strongly influenced by our culture and the culture we live in. It helps me remember that often no one is right or wrong. They are just speaking different truths.

Another time when I was volunteering at the Mosaic Project, a non-profit outdoor school program that teaches kids about the importance of diversity, peace building skills, and conflict resolution, I volunteered to wrap a gift for someone, sharing that I had been a professional gift wrapper at a store before. One of the staff members jokingly told me, “Never let a non-profit know you have a skill. They will exploit you.” What I learned from this experience was not to hide my skills like my collegue suggested, but rather to remember that I always have something to offer to an organization in need. No matter how little I think I know or can do there is always someone who will benefit immensely from my help. This has inspired me to never stop giving and to never believe I am not talented enough to make a difference.

These and countless other lessons I have learned have only inspired to learn more. I hope everyone has the chance to go out, explore the world, give back, and learn amazing lessons that were never taught in the classroom. I believe Give Your Gap offers people a way to do this and so am extremely thankful and excited to be a part of it.

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in Childcare / Education / Features / Give Your Gap / Updates From the Field  by 19 Dec 2011 1 comments

Can Travelers Change the World?

Amber and I founded this website on the premise that we have something to give to the global community – though not necessarily that we can “change the world” in that big, expansive, fundamental change that this phrase implies. Lately, I’ve had to face this question a little more. As we do outreach for GiveYourGap and make our plans for nonprofits to visit in each location, we’re challenged (in a positive way) to make our intentions and philosophy clear. Below, I’ve laid out some perspectives in the discussion about how travelers can “do good.”

Here’s one, from Matador Network: (for those of you interested in travel (aka, all of us visiting GYG!), you should check out Matador Network. It is: “an independent media company based around travel culture worldwide.” with great resources and tips for travel, and also some articles on how to “do good” while traveling.)

Matador lists out “10 ways travelers can change the world”, citing real examples. This article is a quick, easy read. So in Matador’s perspective, (or perhaps just a bloated title for this article), Yes, travelers can make a difference.

Here’s another perspective, from PEPY Tours founder Daniela Papi. The PEPY mantra is centered not “learning” – not “volunteering.” Using her multitude of experiences in Cambodia, Daniela has crafted a fine-tuned philosophy that puts us, as tourists/volunteers, as the explicit beneficiary of our travel as learners. PEPY tells us the most important thing we can do while traveling is to learn.

And here’s yet another take, which I picked up from Freedom From Hunger’s Facebook page: “The Greedy Giver.” According to this author, giving is basically “greedy.” Skees writes, “Giving gives more to us than to the supposed recipient.” Since Thanksgiving has just passed, think of the Thanksgiving Day volunteer giving food away at a shelter. At the end of the day, the person who feels the best about this act of kindness is the volunteer.

Is there a conclusion to be drawn from these varying perspectives? Maybe so. Skees wraps her article up with this thought: “Giving is greedy, and that’s OK. I believe the key is to remember to ask, “What’s needed?” and actually listen to the response.”

As for GiveYourGap, we’re taking note from the debates and feedback. Amber and I still believe that we have something to give, but we can also be more explicit about how much we stand to gain from our year “giving back.” Yes, we’re college grads, but that doesn’t really mean anything in terms of how much we actually understand the developing world, other cultures, other peoples’ needs and what role we play in them. It *should* give us the sensitivity and ability to learn, and we certainly are hoping for that. I have an inkling though, that this will be an ongoing discussion for years to come.

Until next time! -Kim

P.S. Slightly lesser-known but just-as-good community Tripping.com has a cool blog focused on social change: http://dogood.tripping.com/.

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in Give Your Gap / Updates From the Field  by 09 Dec 2011 0 comments

Voluntourism

gyg-logo-teal-transparent1The GiveYourGap team has been engaged in a lot of conversations lately about “Voluntourism.” Probably valuable to you, too – so here are some thoughts and resources for you to learn more about what voluntourism is and how to be responsible about it!

First off, what is Voluntourism?

Voluntourism is volunteering while traveling, a fairly recent trend that’s grown profoundly in the last twenty years. The goal of voluntourism is to travel and learn and making cross-cultural connections.

What to look for in a voluntourism program?

Here are five things we think are imperative when looking for a good program:

1) The history and mission of the organization. Make sure the organization is legitimate. If the org doesn’t have a website, ask for a write up of their bio. Find out the work they’ve done in the past and what their present objectives are.

2) Find out exactly what you’ll be doing. If the ad is to volunteer at a school, ask what this means. How many hours will you be expected to work a day? How many days a week? Will you be taking the kids on field trips? Will you be helping to cook, clean and feed them? These types of questions will help you get a better idea of what your time will be like at your placement.

3) Make sure you know where you’re living and whether or not you’re expected to find your own accommodations. If you’re doing a home-stay, make sure you bring photos of your family and friends and things from home that you can talk about with your new family.

4) Asked to be connected with a volunteer, either past or present, who can tell you more about their time there. Any good program will be happy to provide you with contact information. Looking at GiveYourGap profiles is a good place to start.

5) Understand where your money goes. Keep reading to find out more…

Where does your money go?

When deciding on a organization to volunteer with, it’s important to find out the fine print of the job description, especially if a fee is required for your placement. Don’t be shy to ask what the money goes to– any legitimate organization should be open to transparency and discussing these matters with you. Plus, you’re probably not the first person to ask. If you’re volunteering with a local organization, ask where your fees go: back in to the community, the organization, administrative costs, etc.

Volunteering through American organizations/companies is really popular right now, but keep in mind that traveling this way means that a lot of your money may be going to American staff and overhead costs instead of into local groups and causes. Make sure you ask for a breakdown of your fees.

No matter who you volunteer through it’s important to know exactly where your money is going!

Resources for Voluntourism
One of the hardest things to do when getting ready to volunteer is managing expectations, but it’s also extremely important! Talk to past volunteers, keep a journal, and stay open minded about the journey you’re about to embark on!

Voluntourism 101

Global Sojourn’s reading packets on preparing, learning and reflecting on travel and volunteering

Worldchanging: Bright Green: Worldchanging Essay: Creating Responsible Voluntourism.

 

Author judging a high school debate tournament in Cape Coast, Ghana

in Give Your Gap / Updates From the Field  by 17 Nov 2011 1 comments

The Beginning to Give Your Gap

Amber and Kim before GiveYourGap existed. We still look the same.

The Beginning: How GiveYourGap.Org Was Born!

Here’s the basic timeline-rundown of how GiveYourGap.Org was born:

Graduatin’

June 2011: Amber and Kim graduate from UC San Diego, think to themselves, “what to do next??!” Collectively decide: “Travel travel travel!” Some jumping and screaming in excitement is invovled.

July 2011: Amber and Kim live it up a little as post-grads, but constantly think about the trip coming up. Brainstorm lists of cities, famous sites, read a lot of travel books and blogs. But also realize tourism isn’t going to be “enough.” Begin looking for volunteer opportunities at nonprofits and social businesses around the world via websites like idealist.org, gapyear.com, anywhere google searching took us.

August 11-15, 2011, 8am: Amber and Kim reunite to discuss the trip. Share the sites/opportunities/programs each found.  complain about how hard it is to get good information about opportunities. How to know which ones are “legit”? How could we pay “volunteer fees” upwards of $1000/week? Why are the websites messy? How can there not already be a better site for people like us??!

August 16, 12am: Amber and Kim stare at each other…considering options.

“Ok Amber, what if we go from place to place and offer to profile nonprofits and social businesses and stuff? Maybe they will let us volunteer for free if we create videos about them and talk about them on a blog?”

“Omg, Kim, I think that could actually work. We could call it givingyourgapyear.com*”

August 16, 8am: Amber and Kim stare at each other again, preparing themselves for the road ahead. Simultaneously think to themselves, and then share out loud: “Damn, this is gonna be an adventure.”

August-November: Idea completely evolves through friends’ suggestions and support, non-stop emailing, networking, brainstorming, meeting with people, creating the GiveYourGap Team, recording videos and envisioning this site.

Our first sketch of the site.

November 4th, 2011: We launch the site. BOOM! WHAT UP. We hope you like it.

*Name later revised to giveyourgap.org, with some killer recommendations from friends. Check out our thanks to first followers for more of the story.

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in Features / Give Your Gap / Updates From the Field  by 31 Oct 2011 0 comments