Some Final Thoughts

Starting in November I began contemplating just how I was going to go about summarizing my experience in the Philippines. What would be my "elevator speech?" How would I get people to care about what is happening in Mindanao, or peacebuilding, and perhaps even get involved?

I am still not sure what the answer is. It was for sure an interesting transition back to the U.S. though. It was strange in that it didn't seem too big of a change -- perhaps I wasn't being reflective enough? The two biggest adjustments that stuck out to me (aside from the weather!) were 1. I had to stop darting out into the road and start obeying crosswalks and pedestrian signs and 2. even thought there are malls and supermarkets in the Philippines I still felt overwhelmed by how much stuff is in the U.S. and how many shopping options I have.

Aside from my initial impressions upon coming home, I have now had a few months to reflect a bit more and I'm going to attempt to summarize my time in the Philippines in my concluding post.

First, there are the tasks I completed in my roles at the two organizations I worked at and for my Kroc schoolwork:

-Research on UNSCR 1325, or gender mainstreaming, in Southeast Asia. The collection of data I created was then used for a training I co-facilitated in Bangkok entitled "People's Diplomacy on Women's Engagement."

-Designed and began a major research project on the efforts of Catholic peacebuilders in Mindanao.

-And I completed my own research on the use of ritual in interreligious dialogue as a peacebuilding tool in the grassroots in Mindanao which will be used for my MA paper.

I learned a good bit from these tasks, but my proudest achievements or the events that helped me grow the most were from very different moments. Here are just a few reflections:

-Traveling around Mindanao, to Manila, and to Thailand, participating in peacebuilding workshops, speaking to Mindanaoans, my future in-laws, and women struggling to have their voices heard in their respective countries composed some of my favorite moments. I built friendships, learned new viewpoints, and was exposed to a whole other way of living. These conversations challenged me in my ways of thinking while also allowing me moments in which I could express solidarity with the struggles for self-determination and peace of my new found friends.

-Living in a place labeled a "Third World Country," an "undeveloped country," or a "conflict zone" opened my eyes to the fact that we have a very specific, and often untruthful and unhelpful, image that comes to mind when us Westerners apply these labels to other countries. We've been socialized and taught to imagine cities with starving children and dusty roads, little technology and uneducated people. We imagine constant and inhumane fighting. Sure, there are images such as these in Mindanao, just as there are in any country, including the U.S., but undeveloped countries aren't some distant "other" we assume can't handle anything without Western help. I'm particularly sensitive now to basically any commercial, ad, or documentary made by Westerners of such countries. I think they intend well by yanking at our heart strings, hoping we will get involved in a justice issue, but are we getting the real picture? Furthermore, why does it take us seeing pictures of bloated bellies or mutilated bodies to care? How can I get people to be interested in the conflict in Mindanao for more than ten minutes without sensationalizing the situation?

-For me personally, I also learned a lot about myself and my position as a peacebuilder abroad. I learned, finally, that while I must always work against my privilege, I can't let it control me. When you are genuine about building peace and not imposing yourself, people sense that and trust you, I don't have to go to great lengths to prove my dedication to promoting the rights and issues of those whose voices have previously been unheard -- these sorts of things just show themselves.

-Similarly, I gained in confidence while in the Philippines. First, I learned I don't need to let my privilege as a white American restrict my every move. Second, I gained some on the ground peacebuilding experience to back up my ideas and education. And lastly, when people stare at you all day, every day, you grow a thicker skin!

-The slow process of peacebuilding and NGO work frequently frustrated me while I was abroad. But, now that I am back home, I've been reflecting on the fact that seasoned peacebuilding practitioners frequently comment on the need to sustain long-term efforts for peacebuilding if they are ever going to stick -- they are talking about 10-15 years or more! I was there for six months -- of course I didn't see an incredible amount of change and programming!

-Relatedly, I need to learn to not get so frustrated when work doesn't move quickly. I'm a fast and hard worker, which usually means I get bored in internships, which then means I get frustrated. I've learned now the need I have for increased patience. If I'm truly dedicated to peacebuilding, this is a virtue I will need an incredible dose of.

-Lastly, I learned a ton about peacebuilding in general, all of which I could never summarize here. Just a few thoughts to highlight -- I think interreligious dialogue has an important place in peacebuilding in Mindanao. Dialogue can be done for dialogue's sake. But dialogue should also be done for the sake of working on the issues of the conflict. With either goal, if dialogues are to be used as a tool for peacebuilding, they must be used strategically -- that is with an awareness of and integrated into the holistic picture of a peacebuilding context (just read some John Paul Lederach...). I also think the situation in Mindanao could benefit from increased third party interest. Besides Malaysia (the third party neutral that leads the formal peace talks) and the U.S. (whose involvement is largely relegated to keeping "Islamic extremists" at bay and promoting their own economic interests) little is known about the Mindanaoan conflict abroad (and even in other parts of the Philippines outside of Mindanao) so there is little international pressure (and even domestic concern, outside of Mindanao) to attend to the needs of the Muslim, Indigenous, and Christian communities. Conversely, the peacebuilding processes going on in this country, while they may not have everything perfect (who does?), has a number of incredible lessons they could share with others facing similar struggles in their homes.

I am so happy with my field experience, it made me proud of my choice in going to school at the Kroc and in my choice to enter the field of peacebuilding. Peacebuilding is an interdisciplinary, uncharted, and sometimes hard to explain field, but that is what makes it so incredible. To be a part of a groundbreaking movement, one that seeks to uncover new forms of fostering "constructive human relationships (Lederach again)" in the pursuit of an end to violence and a promotion of peace, is an incredible blessing for me and I can't wait to continue on this journey, and hopefully be able to share those blessings with many, many more people and for many, many more years!

Thanks for being on this journey with me dear blog readers!

Me and the roomie say goodbye to Mindanao!

Is there such a thing as Cultural Competency?

One issue I reflected deeply upon during my last two weeks in the Philippines was the topic of cultural competency. I think of cultural competency as each person's ability to be respectful and understanding of cultures other than their own, and to, as much as possible, not offend those from another culture. In general, I think I have a pretty strong ability to do this. Although, in the last few weeks or so of my time abroad I started second guessing this.

As a foreigner abroad I feel as though a large part of my day is spent trying to practice cultural competency -- to taste that new food that looks nothing like my daily meals, to try a new dance or song or game, or to be open to new ways of living in general or new ideas about politics and religion. This of course can be exhausting. And in some ways, I'll admit, I come to resent the locals in the process, sometimes thinking, "I don't see you trying to be so understanding of my culture when you comment on my food or express shock at a traditional practice of my family!" But of course, I know I, as the foreigner, am the one with the responsibility to express cultural competency at all times.

In the second to last week I was abroad I got into a little bout with a friend. I had come to see him, just by how much time we had spend together and how similar I felt we were in many ways, including our political viewpoints, as pretty similar, despite coming from two totally different parts of the world with completely different childhoods. We were in a cab and I got annoyed that he touched the taxi driver's radio and he was annoyed that I made such a fuss about it. I realized later, that this, at least for me, was a cultural difference that I had been completely blinded to because I focused so frequently on how we were alike. I was completely insensitive to his way of being because we had gotten so close. It seemed natural for me to admonish him because I felt he should know that is not okay -- but of course he doesn't, because it is perfectly fine for him to do such a thing based on his background -- which I, in turn, need to be open to.

In the last week of being abroad the dawn masses began in the Philippines. This is a Filipino tradition where people wake up around 2am to go to mass every day, the nine days before Christmas. This is a sacrifice done to display gratitude for the Incarnation of God in the form of Jesus at Christmas. I contemplated going to one so I asked a devout co-worker what time English dawn mass was at the Cathedral, when she replied "3am," I think I said something like, "wow, Seriously???" My co-worker, at this point, turned away from me, and went quiet. I had offended. I was making my frequent communication mistake of expressing something way too strongly (and to add some context, she was the third person I asked that day and each time I asked someone the time got earlier by about 30 minutes). Yes, this is really early, but if people want to get up that early to give thanks to their God, I think that is absolutely wonderful. This is clearly not what I had just communicated.

These two events together, like I said, really made me think again about my level of cultural competency. First, it made me realize I couldn't be so harsh on locals who had frustrated me a bit with their repeated comments about my food and cooking, for example. Like my response to my co-worker -- when two cultures meet there is shock, intrigue, and questioning. This is normal and we all do it. I just have to toughen up and not take things personally, because that is in no way how it is meant. Instead, I should be happy that people want to ask questions and be open to my new things -- it would probably be worse if no one talked to me or if I never tried to learn something new about another culture.

On the other hand I realized that we all make these mistakes of cultural incompetency, that is normal too. I think now that the most important aspect of being cultural competent is humility. We have to be willing to admit our mistakes and make up for them. I made a point later of asking my co-worker to tell me more about her dawn mass experiences, what it means to her, and how beautiful I think the devotion is. This helped to get past any uneasiness that had settled between us.

We can increase our cultural competency by spending hours researching another culture and by living in a foreign country for years, but we will always make mistakes, do something that is a faux pas in a foreign place or upset someone by our ignorance. We can never know a culture as well as the one we were raised in. The best we can do is try really, really hard. And that show of sincere willingness to learn and accept may be the most important aspect of cultural competency there is.

A Philippine Wedding

During our last weekend in the Philippines my roommate and I had the incredible honor of being invited to our co-worker's wedding. The wedding was in the home province of the bride, at Lake Sebu in South Cotabato. I had heard from a friend how beautiful Lake Sebu was and I had been wanting to go the whole time I was in the Philippines. I was so excited to have the opportunity to go on this last trip to top off my time in Mindanao.

Attending this wedding was indeed a perfect end to the six months. It was a mix of indigenous and Catholic traditions, with the involvement of a priest, an Imam, and a T’boli religious officiant. To top it off, I attended with three vans full of some of the most inspiring peacebuilders in Mindanao. Numerous people noted that the wedding was a beautiful example of the efforts of peacebuilding in Mindanao -- it was a coming together of the three peoples of Mindanao to share in the love and dedication of one couple who are both dedicated peacebuilders themselves.

Lake Sebu

The wedding sponsors blessing the couple during the wedding mass

The happy and beautiful couple! Jamz and Sen!

Mindanao Peacebuilders!

Onto the reception: the "money dance"

Future Mindanao Peacebuilders

Lake Sebu again the next morning, now onto the Indigenous marriage ceremony

Jamz's entourage is gathered to follow him up the hill to meet his bride

The ceremony begins with Jamz going to meet Sen by horse.

Unfortunately, after this I dropped my camera on the cement, and don't have any more pictures. But I think you've gotten the beauty of the whole weekend nonetheless. The T'boli marriage ceremony was beautiful, with dancing and sharing of food and blessings. It truly was a perfect ending to my time in the Philippines. Much thanks to Jamz and Sen!

Back from the Philippines and my Blogging Hiatus

Well I'm back! My last month in the Philippines saw a flurry of activity -- attending a wedding, cramming in last minute travel interviews for work and my own research, spending as much time with our Barkada as possible, and buying the last of my gifts, while also attempting to cram them, and the last six months of my life, into my luggage. Needless to say, I was quite a bit stressed and lacking in much sleep in the last three weeks or so of my time in the Philippines.

Things didn't slow down much since I arrived home -- birthday in Minnesota, a week in North Carolina with my parents moving into a new house, Christmas-ing, and more birthday-ing, then back to MN for two weeks of solid wedding planning, learning to take the bus in the dead of winter, and hanging out with David and my friends I had been missing dearly the last few months, then to Florida for a quick surprise family visit to my Grandma on her 85th birthday, and then back up to South Bend to settle into my new apartment and last semester at school.

Whew...at least with my first week of school done I'm finally taking a moment to breath and to finish this blog!

Yes I haven't forgotten the blog, even if all my readers have. I've been meaning to wrap it up for two months now. I need to have some form of closure, some last reflections for my experience. So this week my goal is to wrap it up with probably three more blog entries -- so keep your eyes open!