This week has been full of numerous things I would like to share with you all.
To begin, looking back on my last blog regarding my frustrations from lack of support, I’ve recently received what feels like an overwhelming amount of interest from others. I’ve discovered that although people may not specifically comment on the good intentions we may have behind this trip, merely showing interest may often be enough. Not knowing how to bring up my upcoming trip to Kenya in conversation at work, I had briefly mentioned it to a few co-workers in order to get a feel for their reaction. I guess water cooler talk spreads fast- a few days later I was being interviewed for our branch monthly newsletter. What a lovely surprise!
Secondly, I would like to share with you some of my recent experiences in Toronto. For those of you who have never ridden the Go Train before-let me tell you, it is a complete culture of its own. To start off, very rarely does any one ever talk on the train in the morning. In fact, it is so quiet that you can hear the man snoring 5 booths over from your own. Even on the way home, no one ever talks to each other. How absurd is it that most people sit so close to each other that their knees almost touch the person across from them for almost an hour, yet don’t say a single word to that person?
Another aspect of the Go Train culture that absolutely shocked me is the amount of awareness people have for others around them. More then once I have seen elderly men and women standing on the train with no seat, while commuters half their age remain seated. What’s worse is when people remain standing because someone else’s brief case remains on the seat they could be sitting in. Just last week an elderly lady hobbled onto the train car I was standing in barely able to keep her balance. On a train full of suit wearing, brief case carrying business men, not a single one offered to give up their seat for this women after glancing up at her. It wasn’t until a boy- about my age noticed and gladly offered her his seat that she was able to sit down.
I have high aspirations for myself – goals, dreams, etc. but seeing this corporate “every man for himself” life style makes me question my life path. I know that through gaining respect from others, one is able to take a leadership role and in turn make changes. We’ve seen this with many leaders, from Gandhi to Hitler. My hopes are to gain respect from others by achieving a higher education and leading others with the knowledge I’ve acquired. However, after seeing all these “corporate sell-outs”, how do I know I’m not going to turn into one of them? Is it possible to follow the system just like everyone else, yet still have open eyes? How does one keep from doing this? These are just a few of the questions I’ve been asking myself lately.
On a different note, after hearing about my placement in Kenya my Grandmother and her sister (my Aunt) came over to learn everything they possibly could about where I will be going and what I will be doing there. Even though they came over to learn from me, it was really quite the opposite. My Aunt traveled to Nairobi during the 1980’s when the UN met to discuss the role of women in Africa. It was here they presented the facts that women were completing as much as 80% of the workload in the average household, yet only receiving 2% of the compensation brought in. This is a topic she is extremely passionate about and I am so excited to hear everything she has to tell me about the history behind the country of Kenya!
More blogging to come this week. The house is back in session next week so trying to get as much as possible done before then! Woohoooo!
Hey Sam,
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to respond to your comment about becoming like the "every [person] for themselves" type of individual. I would like to say that because you are aware, you are more likely not to be like these people. I think that the first step to preventing becoming like these people is to be aware, and awarness is a powerful tool that can mean life/death, and in your case still maintaining your beliefs about community (which is what you seem to be talking about in relation to every man for himself) and I think that you, especially you, will make it happen. You don't seem like the type of person to conform to what everyone else is doing. I think this is a great thing because even if you are following a career path that might require you to look out for yourself first, you will always have everyone else's back, I know that for sure.
Chin up, Sam, you're doing great things :)