its time to get creative

I enjoyed this reading the most of everything we have read thus far. I think it was a combination of both her writing style and content. After reading the book though, I felt overwhelmed, frustrated and helpless. She touched on some of the topics we discussed in ICS 125 like borders. With the map project we had to explain how we use borders to create our own personal maps. Nordstrom describes borders as physical lines monitored by armed forces. I think these two types are borders are a lot more similar than most would think. The borders described in Global Outlaws were just as imagined as the ones on my map; they were imagined by those in control of the trade routes, monitored by men with guns.

After we discussed the book as a class, Marcy had us break into groups to do an exercise. She instructed us to pick an issue that Nordstrom talked about in her book. We had to identify the problem, describe it, and talk about the actors who gain/lose in the situation. This alone was a frustrating task. Nordstrom exposed so many different problems of today’s society that it was difficult to pin point one specific issue. Finally, my group decided we wanted to tackle the regulation of goods. We narrowed this down further to the regulation of goods at shipping ports. We identified the actors: producers, ports, countries agencies, customs, consumers, laborers… and the list went on. Next Marcy asked us to propose a solution to the problem. And so the frustration continued. Our group had struggled to pick the issue and now we were supposed to try to solve it? Isn’t this what the UN does? If they haven’t already solved this problem, how are we supposed to? My creative idea was to develop a large electronic scanner to install in the ocean. In my head I pictured a giant X-ray machine that a boat would sail through to be scanned and searched in a matter of seconds. I came to my senses and realized this was neither rational nor plausible. But it made me realize how frustrated I really was because these are real issues and we could not come up with any real solution that seemed remotely plausible. We talked about taxes and fines for people who break the law, but the image of the little Angolan boy Okidi, selling cigarettes made us think about how this would effect people who had benefited form these illegal actions. What would happen those illegally imported cigarettes didn’t make it to Okidi. Would he not have money to get food? Would he have to go another day in hunger? Would the benefits outweigh the costs, and who would really be paying for the wrong doings. Uhg, this is way to depressing and complicated and makes me not even want to think about it anymore. ….

Maybe we are looking for the answers in the wrong places. We (the students of ICS 200S) are the future masterminds of the world and we are going to be responsible for finding the solutions. Maybe we need to think outside of the box. Maybe a giant X-ray machine in the middle of the ocean isn’t such a crazy idea! I’m just sayin’….

Empire State of Mind

Haley and I left class today with mixed emotions. We felt really guilty about the discussion that our class had about international aid and volunteer experiences in countries around the world (for our class it was mostly Africa and Latin America) since we didn’t have any. We thought that we looked dumb and probably selfish, that we hadn’t given back in the same way the EVERY other person in our class had. This turned into frustration in not being able to include ourselves in the conversation. And ur exclusion then turned to a feeling that the topic was exhausted even before the class ended as we retreated to our own conversations unable to contribute to the class topic.

There were, however, moments of relief for the bloggers of Globally Challenged, when we discussed the two readings for the day. Ben Fountain’s The Lion’s Mouth and Rachel Corrie’s Let Me Stand Alone offer two accounts (one fictional and one real respectively) of aid which allowed our class to discuss aid from a critical perspective, which isn’t often done. The main character in The Lion’s Mouth, Jill is one who is motivated by dubious or selfish reasons to get involved with aid. She also takes actions with serious negative consequences while she thinkg she is doing good in Sierra Leone. Thus, the only person she seems to benefit is herself. It was interesting to see that Kana felt many of these emotions as well in her time in Africa. Aid is a frustrating process for all the member of our class. They made it clear that it isn’t easy to go to these places and adjust working there, but that it is harder to leave.

This is a nice transition into Corrie, who is frustrated about what she is able to do in Palestine to save homes and raise international awareness. Potentially motivated by less selfish reasons than Jill, she is successful in raising awareness and communicating the help that these people needs to her family back home. However, she dies in doing so begging the question: do her ends justify her means? Is this the best form of aid to be giving? (Ah, just like Nordstrom and food for work).

These two perspectives felt like they were drowned out by the experiences of the class and this is what caused us to lose our sense of understanding of aid and of participating in the conversation. Angry about this, we discussed aid during the car-ride home. In an attempt to justify the fact that we have never volunteered in this same capacity, or just to make light of the situation, we reached an important conclusion. We loved what we had done with our summers and if it didn’t include this same international volunteerism then too bad.

ICS is a major of individuals with different and diverse interests and backgrounds and while the connection with global aid is obvious it is not the only profession that we need to think about. Working in Bryant Park or at UBS were also enriching experiences that taught us about ourselves and the world we live in. They were also both volunteer positions since neither of us got paid. And most importantly, we were motivated by the right reasons to get involved. International volunteerism maybe make more sense to us one day, but for now we will except this exclusion and have fun in New York.

I love movie days!

Today we watched a documentary called Mechina. This film was made by two of our very own ICS graduates: Matal Guttman and Madeleine Sackler. The film documented a group of Israeli students who had the opportunity to take a gap year after school before entering into IDF. I’m not going to lie, this movie was pretty emotional. It tackled some tough issues and really opened my eyes to what kids my age are like in Israel. When I think about the decisions I make on a daily basis, picking classes or deciding how and when to go to the library to do work, it makes me really appreciate what these kids are going through. At age 18, both females and are required to serve for two to three years. This is a huge responsibility and risk. At 18, I was nervous to leave home for college, and these kids have to leave their families to learn to hold and shoot a gun and they are trained to kill. I have never held a real gun before (and don’t intend to) and I can’t imagine shooting one, let alone shooting one with the intention of killing.

I was extremely impressed by the group of students of the Mechina. Each displayed an exceptional maturity. I really enjoyed the conversational tone of the documentary that gave us real insight into how these kids were feeling. I felt a personal connection to Amitai and I must admit that I did get a teary eyed when the Mechina year was over and Amitai boarded the bus with his family surrounding him to see him on his way.
I think the point of this film was to show different ways of discussing global issues. Matal made the movie because she was “frustrated with the way Israel was portrayed on campus, as a place of conflict and violence and wanted to show the human story, beyond the headlines.” The film helped to expose this global issue in a more personal way.

Maybe this is what ICS is all about: creating a personal connection with global issues. I can’t solve all the problems of the world, I cant even solve some of the problems of the world, but maybe if I could just pick one that I feel a personal connection with, I could have a real tangible impact. Hey, maybe I’m getting somewhere with this now?

Check out the facebook page for the movie. Talk about globalization and getting connected....

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This blog is untitled on purpose: get it, no language?

How awesome is this video from Ukraine’s Got Talent. At first I was a little upset that we didn’t talk about it in class, but now I realize that by trying to put the message of the video into words or by using language to describe it, we would alter the individual impression/interpretation each of us has of the video by itself. Ahh, the fruitful frustrations of non-language! Enjoy. (as a side-note: it depicts the invasion of Ukraine by Nazi Germany). Click on the screenshot for a link to the whole video!