One Week and Counting!
One week from now, I’ll be heading to the airport and I’m so excited! These last two weeks went by so fast, and I’m not sure where the time went. It’s kind of a strange feeling; we’ve been preparing for the last ten weeks for our placements but it still doesn’t seem real yet. I can’t believe that next week, I’ll be in the Gambia, teaching at Starfish International! My friends and family keep asking me if I’m nervous, but I don’t think it’s really hit me yet! Honestly, it probably won’t hit me till I’m at the airport, getting ready for my first international flight alone.
I am a little nervous about teaching the class assigned to me; I’ve taught many times before and I really love it, but this is a little different from what I was expecting (in a good way). Instead of teaching a STEM class, which is what I was expecting, it seems like I am teaching a social science class about women in STEM which is pretty cool! I was worried about finding relevant science topics that would actually be useful to the Starfish community, but I think this will be so much more beneficial to them. I’m still not sure what I’ll be doing, but I’ll be working with four other people so I’m sure we’ll have lots of ideas and different perspectives.
I am a little worried about teaching a social science class, but since it is being taught on something I am personally very familiar with (the marginalization of women in STEM and other career based discrimination), I will have at least my own experiences to share. I also look forward to hearing the other girls’ experiences with this, and how it compares across cultures. While the engineering industry in America is still pretty sexist, I know I have been very lucky, and listening to and learning about other girls’ experiences will help me understand my own privilege. Even though I am technically going to be the teacher, I have a feeling I’m going to be learning much more from the Starfish girls than they will learn from me. My only hope is that I am able to help at least one girl on her path to whatever kind of education she wants, STEM or otherwise.
While I am going to miss my family a lot, I am very excited to learn about and immerse myself within Gambian culture. I have lived in California my whole life, and while I have traveled around the United States, I have not had many experiences with cultures from other countries. I’m really looking forward to broadening my horizons and learning more about the Gambia, especially since so much is changing due to a new president after the previous one was voted out after twenty two years of dictatorship. I’ve researched a lot about the country and have even learned some phrases in Wolof, one of the Gambia’s many languages, but if I’ve learned anything from being an engineer, it’s that the best way to truly learn something is to actually do it, as opposed to just reading about it.
I’ve got to get back to packing now, but you’ll hear from me soon! And next time, I’ll be in the Gambia!
