Tala Said
UNIV 190
UNIV Reflection Paper #3
Professor Daniel Amick
April 20th 2012
UNIV Reflection Paper 3
As soon as I stepped into the house of my refugee family with my peer mentor- Becca, I felt as if a strong current of electricity has rushed into my body. I was very excited to meet my family and help them with their transition to America. “The first time was always the most awkward time” is in my head; going and coming. I was pretty nervous since I’ve learned from my UNIV class that they sometimes are not friendly and open especially during the first time. I looked around me to find a little girl excitedly welcoming us. She knew who we were, and automatically got her book and yelled “help me with my homework!”. As soon as she said that, the ice was broken. We sat down as the Chai was being served. The mother of the kids comes up to me and quietly asks some help with her homework. I excitedly began teaching her, and she was very responsive. Never have I seen such dedicated people; this really proved that despite the fact of their past, they still have hope in them to create a new chapter in their lives. Time has flown and we had to leave the household. As we were leaving, we decided to plan another meeting.
I began to recall the events and what I saw, I figured that they are pretty fortunate for what they have; they have a very modern TV, modern phones, and a modern laptop. They are pretty much well off regarding those basic needs. I still felt that they needed help with their English and whatnot.
On my second meeting, the children and mother were very happy upon our arrival. We sat down and helped the children and mother with homework. In addition to that, instead of just having a one-way linear relationship, it was a two-way relationship since they learned from us and we learned from them. They told us more about themselves and they also taught us Nepali dancing. This is basically what Becca and I do; teach them, and then play with them
For me, an experience means to go into a road you have never explored before that will eventually have a great outcome, whether it was good or bad. And this path is totally new to me and I can safely call this an experience; I have learned more about the Bhutanese and Nepali culture, more about the situation that happened, and also, more about the people. Such an experience showed me that I could make a change; it does not necessarily have to be something major. I now know that I can make a difference to this family, and this makes me feel good about myself. And from this, I discovered all this devotion and passion in me that needs to be delivered to people who deserve it.
The idea of service shows the unity of the community, and that is one of the basic elements to create a better world. From community service, I was able to see the other face of life; not the luxurious one we have, it’s the hardworking life that needs patience and dedication to receive something that can or cannot be satisfying. Life is not an easy golden road that spurts goodies, it is an unpaved road, and it is your choice to choose the material- the choice of the materials should be wise. The books that we had to read in class clearly highlights the previous statement I mentioned before
The challenges I had to face other than the language barrier is to forget my culture and beliefs and start to think using their culture, because sometimes, it can create an obstacle. I am learning how to push aside my culture and put myself into their shoes. Regardless, I am willing to challenge myself and learn different techniques that can make me become more successful in life.