Two months after Africa…
Posted by Rebecca Tremblay on June 1st, 2010
I’ve been home for two months now. When I first returned, I experienced reverse culture shock in a significant way. I couldn’t get over the immense clothing, book and souvenir shops at the Paris airport… perfume sold at a price that could feed 300 children, easily; Sunglasses at a cost that could build the foundation for a new classroom… It didn’t feel right. It felt very superficial. I arrived in British Columbia and was so happy to see my brother, the mountains, the ocean, forests and green grass… However, supermarkets and highways also shocked me… I had been living amidst local produce markets and dusty dirt roads for three months. I felt lost in my own culture. I didn’t get it: so much waste, excess of food, clothes, possessions, expensive electronics… Was “development” really the answer? After all, we are a product of this “development,” are we not? But are we really better off?
Most Canadians put themselves in debt just to get everything they “need:” one or more vehicles, a computer, a spacious house, vacations, insurance, mortgage, fees for everything, etc., etc. Work consumes the major part of each week. I recently saw the movie “HOME” and the truth it tells about our human race and our “developmental progress” has not had positive repercussions on the planet; in fact, we have sucked it dry of resources and water. I look at a parking lot and cannot comprehend why we would rather have a black patch of tar, instead of a lush forest or a field of wild berries… I can’t help but think that we have become brain-washed followers of a technological age with inventions that cause cancers, diseases, obesity, depression, and more, running ourselves and our planet weary in a never-ending rat race, with the theme of success. But what IS success? Have we truly SUCCEEDED, or just made a big polluted mess of everything?
I’m searching for meaning. Since I’ve returned from Africa, my happiest moment has been camping and surfing in Tofino during May Long-weekend. I was surrounded by a deep green forest at night and in unison with the cool grey waves every morning. I lived in community: with friends in a tent, and next to campers in neighbouring sites. I made meals together with others, on a fire. No city nonsense. I was in my element; nature.
After my experience in West Africa, I want to do something meaningful. I don’t ever want to work a job where I feel there is no point, where I am aiding consumerism, or encouraging the trend of money-making and the importance of “stuff.” I’ve actually been unemployed for 2 months, actively searching for a job, but not willing to apply at Wal-Mart or Tim Horton’s just to work… I want to work for an NGO, or a non-profit, or for an organization that helps others, especially children. Eventually, I would like to do my Masters in International Development and create my own NGO, something along the lines of what I accomplished on my internship: I saw the value and rewards of puppet theatre for change.
In any case, it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed by what we have done to our planet and our people… How there is enough food on the earth to feed every citizen, but it is in the hands of the few… us. I think that it is OUR responsibility to help others, since we have taken advantage of the planet and less-fortunate countries to have what we’ve got today. We really need to reduce the “stuff,” too. And the ONLY way we can achieve anything, is by applying it in OUR LIVES FIRST. So, as the wise and simple-lived Gandhi once said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Indeed, it’s the only way change will ever happen.
Thanks to those who followed my blog while I was in Africa, who encouraged me through the rough times, who cared about me and the people and children I was volunteering with, who supported me with e-mails, phone calls, puppets, positive mindsets and good advice. I couldn’t have done it without you!
To finish off, here is a short two-minute video I put together about my puppet project in Léo, Burkina Faso. I hope you enjoy it:
Best regards,
Rebecca Tremblay
P.S. Thought I’d fill you in on my upcoming adventures: This July, I will be a volunteer leader for a CISV International summer camp in Ferrara, Italy for a month. Then in August, I will start a job as a Katimavik Project Leader in Kamloops, B.C. for a year!
