MatthieuBraem

EXPLR292
April25,2016
PeruFinalReflection
Springbreakisatopicthateveryonelovestodiscuss.Peoplelovetotalkaboutwhere
theyaregoingandwhattheyaregoingtodothere.Mostofthetimethesedestinationsconsistof
goingtosometropicalorforeigndestinationtolieoutinthesunandpartywithfriends.This
pastspringIdidgotoaforeigndestinationandIdidhavefunwithfriends,butIalsogaveback.
Duringspringbreak,IhadtheprivilegetogotoPeruforaservicetripwiththeLoyolaMens
Soccerteam.
Lookingbackatthebeginningofthissemesterwhenclassesfirststarted,Ididnotknow
whattoexpectwhencomingtothisclass.Whenwefoundoutwehadtoenrollinthisclassand
thenwhenclassesactuallybegun,everysingleplayerontheteamwasabitconfused.This
confusionwasnotbad,buthappenedbecausewehadnoideawhyweweretakingthisclassand
whatweweregoingtodoinPeru.Ontopofthis,atthebeginningnoneofuscompletely
understoodtheconceptofcommunityservice,andevenlesstheconceptofservicelearning.
However,becauseofthiscourseIcannowsaythatIhaveacompleteunderstandingofboth.As
thesemestercomestoanend,IlookbackandIcanproudlysaythatIhavebecomeabetter
personandcancallmyselfaglobalcitizen.
TheservicetriptoPeruwasatripofalifetime.Itgavemetheopportunitytofacethe
realityoflifeandunderstandthateverythingisnotasIhaveimaginedit.Oneextremelyevident
realityIobservedwastheimpactthatprivilegeshave,notonlyonoursociety,butalsoonthe

entireworld.ThefactthatIamawhitemaleimpactsmyeverydaylife.Icanbeawareofitor
not;Icanwantitornot,orIcanacceptitorrejectit.Nomattermydecisionthisistherealityof
life.Beforethistrip,IdidnotentirelyrealizetheprivilegesthatIhave.YesIwasawareofthem
andIheardaboutthem,butInevertrulyexperiencedthem.However,nowIcansaythatIhave
becauseofthistrip.OnespecificmomentcomestomymindwhenIthinkaboutthis.Theteam
wasinCuscofortheday,andwewerewalkingdownthestreetbetweenallthesesmallartisanal
shops.TheemployeesorownersknewexactlyhowtoactwithusAmericantravelers.They
knewhowtoselltheirgoodstousspecificallybecausetheycouldallcommunicatepricingin
English.Whenthinkingaboutthatsituationfromasurfacelevel,mostwouldsaythatthese
workerslearnedthislanguagebecausethemajorityofthetouristsareEnglishspeaks.Thisis
partiallytruebecauseifyouspeakEnglish,thenitwouldultimatelybeeasiertosellyourgoods.
However,whenIlookatitmoredeeply,Itrulybelievethatprivilegesarewhatmakethereal
difference.ApersonalexampleofthiswouldbewhenIcametotheUnitedStatesforthefirst
timeandIdidnotspeakonewordofEnglish.ThedayIenteredUSterritory,noonespoke
Frenchtome,andIhadtoquicklyadaptmyselfandfindawaytocommunicatewitheveryone.
However,whenwewenttoPeru,guesswhatlanguagethebordersecurityemployeesspoketo
us?English.Thisiswherethenotionofprivilegescomesintothepictureagain.Beingwhiteand
fromtheUnitedStatesgivesyouanultimatesuperiorityoveranyothercountryandpopulation
anywhereyougointheworld.Thisissimplyduetotheunfortunatematterthatprivilegeshave
beenimplementedinoursocietyandtheworldsincethebeginningofhistory.Soyes,peopleare
awareofprivilegesit,butitishardformany,andImyselfincluded,tobeobjectivewhen
discussingthetopicbecauseIhaveneverexperiencedthenegativesideofit.Thismakesiteasy

tocriticizeandclaimtobewillingtodecreaseinjusticesandinequalities.Iunderstoodandsaw
myprivilegeswhilebeingthere,butIalsounderstoodthattheseprivilegescouldbeusedtodo
good,oratleasttryto.
Whenthinkingaboutusingmyprivilegestodogood,IthinkbacktoIvanIllichswriting
ToHellWithGoodIntentions.IdisagreewithIllichwhenhediscusseshurtingthecommunity
whenyouaredoingcommunityservice.IclearlyrememberthatwhenIreadhiswork,he
convincedmethatifyougosomewherewithoutknowingthebackgroundandthecommunity
youareworkingwith,thenallyouwouldbedoingishurtingthatcommunity.Beforethistrip,I
totallyagreedwiththatstatement.However,asoftoday,Itotallydisagreeandhavemany
reasonswhy.
ThefirstdaytheteamspentinPeruconsistedofgoingtoplaysoccerwithchildrenfrom
anextremelypoorcommunity.Theyhadabsolutelynothingtoplaywith,includingshoes.We
providedballs,pennies,andhadevenbroughtsomeofouroldcleatstogivetothem.Assoonas
thekidsshowedup,IfeltuncomfortablebecauseIwasclearlynotinmyplace.But,assoonasI
startedplayingwiththesechildrenandseeingthesmileontheirfacesIknewIwasinfactinmy
place.IwantedtobelievethatIwasnotinmyplacebecauseIhadmorethanthem.Iwasthereto
playwiththechildren,andevenbetherefriend.Afterthatday,IrealizedthatIllichwaswrong,
goodintentionscouldnthurt.Theoutcomefromusplayingwiththechildrenmaynothavebeen
asfructifyingasexpected,butitdidnothurtanyoneoranything.Itsimplycouldnthurtbecause
peoplecantellwhensomeoneistryingtohelp,isbeinghonest,andmorethanthat,theycanfeel
whensomeoneisgivingalloftheirsincereloveandcare.

WhenIthinkmoreaboutbeingsincereandhonestwithgoodintentions,Iamreminded
ofthecivicreflectionreading,Ga`teA4,writtenbyNaomiShihabNye.Inthisstory,thewoman
saysthatshewouldhaveneverhelpedifitwerenothergate.Ingeneral,andespeciallyinour
society,peopledonotusuallygooutoftheirwaytohelpothers.However,whenyoudodecide
tohelp,yougetthefeelingsofselfsatisfactionandhappiness.Therearenumerouswaysyou
canhelp.ItissaidTherearethousandsoflanguagesintheworld,butasmilespeaksthemall.
Wecouldhelpothersjustbybeingafriendlyfaceandareminderthattheyhavesomeone,even
ifitisjustforthatmoment.
InAdamDavissWhatWeDontTalkAboutWhenWeTalkAboutService,hediscusses
thetruemeaningandthenatureofserviceandheappearstobenegativeabouttheactual
outcome.Hequestionsserviceanditsoutcomebysaying,Serviceisgood,weseemtoassume
goodforthoseofusdoingtheserving,goodforthoseofusbeingserved,goodforeveryone.
WhileIwasreadingthat,Ialsoquestionedtheactualmeaningofservinganditsultimate
purposeasbeing,afterall,justaselfishact.Ipreviouslystatedthatserversareoftenmotivated
bythegoodtheywilltakeoutforthemselvesandnotforthepeoplethattheyareserving,andso
thepeoplethattheyshouldonlycareabout.WhenIlookbackatitandtrytodenyit,IfeellikeI
ambeingdishonestandtryingtohidethetruthfrommyself.WhenwewenttoPeru,wevisited
manybeautifulplaces,includingoneofthewondersoftheworld,MachuPicchu.By
consequence,canIreallysaythatwewenttoPerujusttohelp?Orwasthecommunityservice
partjustsomethingaddedtomaketheprogramlookbetter?Ifinditdifficulttoanswerthis
question.Itssodifficultformetoanswerbecausemyintentionsweresincere.Ifitwasactually

justsomethingtomaketheprogramlookbetterthenIdonotwanttohearitandadmititbecause
thenIwouldfeellikeallthehardworkwedidinthesecommunitieswasfake.
ThistriptoPeruwasnotjustaservicetrip,butalsoaservicelearningexperience.In
KeithMortons,TheIronyofService:Charity,ProjectandSocialChangeinServiceLearning,
heasksandanswersthequestionDodifferentservicelearningexperienceshavedifferent
impactsbecauseofindividualcharacteristics?Inmyopinion,yestheydobecauseevery
situationisdifferent,whichgivesadifferentoutcome.Thecountryyouarevolunteeringin,the
peopleyouareworkingwith,thesituationyouarelearningfrom,andthetypeofserviceyouare
doingAllofthesecomponentsmakeahugedifferenceinthelearningexperience.Inaddition
totheprevious,themoreyougetoutofyourcomfortzone,themoreyouwilllearn,andalso,the
moreyouwillteachandgive.Mortonalsostates,theevidencesuggeststhatcommunityservice
linkedtoacademicstudyisaneffectiveteachingtool.Icompletelyagreewiththisstatement.
Frommypersonalexperience,thetriptoPeru,butalsotheclasswasfulloflearning.
Furthermore,bothaspectsarecompletelyrelatedtoeachotherandonecantbesuccessful
withouttheother.Logically,theclasswouldnothavebeenusefulifwedidnottraveltoPeru,
andthetriptoPeruwouldnothavebeensuccessfulifwedidnottakethecourse.Regardingthe
course,itgaveustheopportunitytobepreparedforthetrip,aswetalkedaboutanddefined
serviceandwhatitmeanttohelpandserve.Italsogaveustheopportunitytoreflectandlook
backattheexperienceandwhatwelearned.Ifthisclasswerenotrequiredforthetrip,Iwould
haveforgottenhalfofmyexperiencesassoonasIcamebackandwouldrarelythinkbacktoit.
However,bybeingabletoreflectonthetripIhadthechancetothinktwiceaboutthingsthatI
sawordidandwhetherornottheyreallyhadanimpactonmylife.Afterlookingback,Iamable

tounderstandthattheselittledetailswillchangemypointofviewontheworldfortherestofmy
life.Lastly,itisknownthattheclassroomisaneffectivetooltolearnthebasics,butthefieldis
thebestwaytomasterthem.Students,inthecourseoftheirformation,mustletthegrittyreality
ofthisworldintotheirlives,sotheycanlearntofeelit,thinkaboutitcritically,respondtoits
suffering,andengageitconstructively.Theyshouldlearntoperceive,think,judge,choose,and
actfortherightsofothersespeciallythedisadvantagedandtheoppressed.(PeterHans
Kolvenbach,TheServiceOfFaithAndThePromotionOfJusticeInAmericanJesuitHigher
Education).ThenotionofservicetripasMortontalksaboutitremindsmeoftheconceptof
internship.Gotoschool,learnandmasterwhileinterning.Servicelearningisthesamething.Go
toclass,learnandmasterit,experienceitinthefieldwhileserving.
ThePeruexperienceoverall,includingthetripandcourse,haschangedmylifeforever.
InBorisNovakspoemDecisions,hewrites,Betweenhopeanddespairchoosehope:itwillbe
hardertobear.Thisistheperfectiondescriptionofwhatcommunityserviceshouldbelike.
ServingisnotalwaystheeasiestthingtodoIhavelearned.Itforcespeopletogooutoftheir
wayforothersandgooutsidetheircomfortzone.Hopeiswhateveryoneneeds.Itiswhatwill
bringtheworldtogetherandmakeitbetter.Thesadandunfortunatethingisthatinthisworld
thepeoplethathavethelessaretheonesthatgivethemost,arethemostsincere,andhavethe
mosthope.Havinghopeisaharderpaththenjustgivingup,butintheenditismuchmore
beautifulandsatisfying.