Hoekzema 1 Trevin Hoekzema Prof Fritzgerald ENGL391 29 March 2011 Stop Studying Abroad I peeled my head off the

desk, wiping the sweat and drool off my face. Much to my dismay, the teacher was still lecturing, unaware, or unfazed, that I slept through half of his lecture. He was reading directly off of the slides that he would send out to us over the web each class period, reducing my motivation to actively participate exponentially as the semester droned on. One slide he read from sounded similar to the wed article Shah posted,
At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day. Almost two in three people lacking access to clean water survive on less than $2 a day, with one in three living on less than $1 a day. The poorest 40 percent of the worlds population accounts for 5 percent of global income. The richest 20 percent accounts for three-quarters of world income.

Isnt that shocking? my teacher asked robotically. A couple students gave the expected response of a nod. I resumed my position, placing my arm on the desk, my ear on the inviting sleeve of my sweatshirt, and tried to resurrect the dream world. Having grown up in America, I heard the same facts and stats that my teacher read off of the board over and over, to the point where I became numb to them. Many Americans from my generation would say the same thing, You hear the statistics, say, Wow, and then forget about them, said Jeff Yahiro, fellow classmate. The media and educational system continuously throw these statistics at the American society. As we climb in the educational ladder, courses and professors start labeling the social factors that cause the daunting statistics. Globalization,

Hoekzema 2 modernization, consumerism, capitalism, outsourcing, and off shoring are just a few of the social movements. These distant forces mean next to nothing to us middle-class Americans that are being exposed to their ideas. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the social forces mean everything to the poor of the world that they so greatly affect. Last summer, I spent six weeks with those affected by globalization, consumerism, and capitalism and my worldview changed forever. I want to feed the children, expressed Mama Unas. She was just asked what was her biggest dream. In my time with her, I saw her dream come to life. Currently, she feeds 100 children five days a week. Most of the children are malnourished and many of them are orphans, living in different parts of the community. Mama Unas is a natural leader, serving her community every day in meaningful ways. She lives in Stellenbosch, South Africa and she calls a two-room shack home. She and her husband are unemployed with five children. They live illegally with 3,000 other squatters in a township called Enkhanini, located next to a larger township called Kayamandi. There are six working toilets for the 3,000 residents in Enkhanini and out of the hundreds of shacks the people reside in only two have electricity. Last summer, I spent six weeks with Mama Unas who has no idea that her economic situation was caused by globalization, modernization, consumerism, and capitalism. No, you must! My mother always taught me to feed my guests, insisted Joshua. I cringed as I took his last pear. The sweet juice of the pear left a bitter after taste with the thought of consuming Joshuas breakfast for the next day. The smiling South African did not think twice about forcing the pear on me. As he finished up the tour of his one room shack, complete with a foot-tall single propane burner and warped cupboard, I finished the pear. I glanced up from the remains of the pear in search of a trashcan. We stepped out of his bedroom/kitchen/dining room

Hoekzema 3 into Enkhanini where I again scanned the surroundings for a trashcan. I saw a pile of rubbish weaved into the barbed-wire fence ahead, several small stacks of soda cans and snack bags in the roadside ditch, and a heap of trash in the open community dump far off down the hill. I dropped the remnants of the pear in the ditch, adding to the depressing scene. Last summer, I spent six weeks with Joshua who has no idea that the state of his community was caused by globalization, modernization, consumerism, and capitalism. Why of course, you are always welcome here! exclaimed Ferdinand. My South African friend and I were looking for a place to stay the night in Enkhanini. Lourens said that Ferdinand is constantly asking him when the next time he will come and stay in his two-story shack. He actually built the shack himself, as most do, and lives there alone. He is a clerk by day and an artist by night. His handy work and skills as a painter and sculptor have made him rather famous in the community. The lime green two-story shack is a beacon of hope in the middle of the community for those with structural issues with their shacks. Ferdinand offers his skills and services to those who need help in exchange for a smile. He does not and, for the most part, cannot charge for his services. It is not only because he is a genuinely nice, giving person, but also because the consumers of his services do not have the ability to pay. Ferdinand will live his entire life without his potential as a handy-man being realized in the form of monetary payment- an event that must happen for him to emerge out of his economic state. Last summer, I spent six weeks with Ferdinand who had no idea that his potential will remain unrealized due to globalization, modernization, consumerism, and capitalism. Mama Unas, Joshua, and Ferdinand collectively represent the poor population of South Africa and currently feel the effects of globalization. To understand their situation fully, we must spell out the generally common knowledge of globalization. In short, the practice of

Hoekzema 4 globalization is, to extend to other or all parts of the globe, (dictionary.com). In the context of the modern global society, globalization, describes an ongoing process by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through a globe-spanning network of communication and trade (wikipedia.com). This process is fueled by and fuels modernization, which generally refers to the increase in technology and to infrastructure development. Modernization and globalization go hand in hand, relying on each other as social forces influencing the cultures around the world. This is especially seen with the increase in technology. Technology has exponentially become more demanded, supplied, and produced, reaching the far ends of the world in just a few decades. A television has almost become an expectation instead of a privilege. This expectation has paved the way for consumerism. As individuals make money, they tend to use it immediately to purchase goods, such as televisions, cell phones, furniture, etc. Mama Unas, Joshua, and Ferdinand all took special interest in showing me their stuff. Mama Unas children ran up to me to show off their toys; Joshua pointed out every little trinket on his cupboard; and Ferdinand counted all the rooms in his shack during the tour (apparently a two story shack can have over 20 rooms). In no way does this mean that the poor of South Africa or the poor of the world are obsessed with consuming goods; it means that the entire world is addicted to consumption. And as globalization and modernization go together, so does consumerism and capitalism. Capitalism, as defined by dictionary.com, is an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations. In other words, capitalism is the ownership of the ability to allow for consumption. Driven by profit, capitalism not only deals

Hoekzema 5 with production and distribution, but the commercialization of products as well. Spending millions of dollars on advertisement campaigns gives corporations bigger stakes in a market, often promoting consumption of their product and ultimately profit. Mama Unas, Joshua, and Ferdinand experience the effect that ad campaigns have on the world. They tell children they need more toys, they tell young men that their success in life is rated on how much stuff they can acquire, and they tell aged adults that they need to own a big house by their time in life. Mama Unas, Joshua, Ferdinand, and other individuals might actually disagree with me. They see the recent abolishment of apartheid and the current onset of corruption as the prevalent sources for their current economic, physical, and personal situations. And I actually would not disagree with them. Those certainly are the reasons for the massive amount of poverty in South Africa. However, apartheid grew out of Afrikanerdom's painful encounter with modernization and British imperialism (Louw). And imperialism is a direct response to globalization. Corruption, which replaced apartheid as a means for segregation, is the human reaction to consumerism and capitalism. Government officials of developing countries, like Julius Malema in South Africa, often engage in corrupt practices. Their actions can be linked to their drive for power and their response to ad campaigns. They embezzle funds and suppress their people in an effort to live the life that capitalism has told them they should live. The world tendency is to label the causes for the poverty in South Africa as apartheid and corruption due to their exposure as vehicles for suppression. Here we see though that globalization, modernization, consumerism, and capitalism are the true social forces that have caused this worldwide dilemma. All four social forces are directly tied to one another; one does not survive without the other. Being an International Development and Conflict Resolution major, the majority of my classes continuously reference these forces. I am usually sitting in a 50 to 250-student class.

Hoekzema 6 The statistics are explained, the possible solutions are suggested, and each student accepts it as fact. As a middle-class American student at the University of Maryland, I am told to finish my paper here with the conclusion that the poverty in South Africa is due to globalization, modernization, consumerism, and capitalism. Most students would. Fortunately, last summer, I spent six weeks with Mama Unas, Joshua, and Ferdinand. I can say with certainty that their economic, physical, and personal situations were due to those four social forces. In the same breath, though, I can say that it does not end there. The students in the American education system who want to gain a better understanding of the cultures of the world and see the social forces they learn about in action are encouraged to study abroad. At the University of Maryland, this practice is seen in the department of Education Abroad. Their mission statement reads,
Education Abroad provides international, academically-based experiences in support of students personal, professional and intellectual development. Our programs are

designed to promote intercultural competence, disciplinary scholarship and foreign language acquisition. Education Abroad inspires and informs students, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to effectively engage with local and global communities and become culturally perceptive citizens.

Students that engage in Education Abroad are exposed to different cultures while studying at a specific university. The mission statement labels the goals of studying abroad for UMD students as personal, professional, and intellectual development. The mission statement focuses on the student and the successful engagement of the students educational experience. It does not look to inspire change in the world through this highly sought after program. The Education Abroad program might express disagreement, citing the last sentence of their mission statement, explaining that students will become culturally perceptive citizens. However this product is not

Hoekzema 7 always produced. In a survey done by the Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium of 265 students from the Northeastern US that engaged in study abroad programs, only 30% express their positive foreign interaction to encouraging a career plan, and about half say their positive foreign interaction promoted personal growth (Klenosky). We see the mission statement that expresses favorably to foreign interaction does not produce the personal and professional growth that it claims to create. The question then is how does this relate to Mama Unas, Joshua, and Ferdinand? The American public and citizens of the developed world engage in the social forces of globalization, modernization, consumerism, and capitalism, and generally do not experience the negative consequences. Generally, their only chance in being exposed to the outcomes of these forces in developing countries is through study abroad. As explained above, study abroad is an excuse for exposure. The American media and education institutions have produced a perpetual cycle. They show the world the toys they need, the stuff they should want, and the house they must have. They teach American students the reasons for social issues and propose solutions but fail to expose them to the severity of the issues. Luckily, last summer, I spent six weeks with Mama Unas, Joshua, and Ferdinand, and was exposed to the severity of poverty in South Africa. I suggest the educational system ceases in promoting study abroad and begins the practice of serve abroad. This is exactly how I was exposed to the poverty of South Africa and developed my new worldview. By serving in Mama Unas feeding scheme, helping Joshua clean up his township, and providing the tools and manpower for Ferdinand to build proper shacks, the social forces became personal issues. Serving abroad, inspires and informs students, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to effectively engage with local and global communities and become culturally perceptive citizens.

Hoekzema 8 Works Cited "About SA - History." South African Government Information. 5 July 2010. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. <http://www.info.gov.za/aboutsa/history.htm#Segregation>.

Hyde-Clarke, Nathalie. "Political Posturing and the Need for Peace Communication in Emerging Democracies: A Rhetorical Debate in South Africa" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association Annual Conference "Global Governance: Political Authority in Transition", Le Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel, MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, Mar 16, 2011 <Not Available>. 2011-01-25 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p500553_index.html> Klenosky, David B.; Fisher, Cherie LeBlanc, eds. Proceedings of the 2008 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium; 2008 March 30 - April 1; Bolton Landing, NY. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-42. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 232-249. Louw, P. Eric. The Rise, Fall, and Legacy of Apartheid. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2004. Print Malefane, Moipone. "Malema Swipes at Zuma, Guptas." Breaking SA and World News. 27 Feb. 2011. Web. 08 Mar. 2011. <http://www.timeslive.co.za/Politics/article939585.ece/Malema-swipes-at-ZumaGuptas>. Sapa. "Anglo: Mine Nationalisation a 'road to Ruin' - Business - Mail & Guardian Online."Mail & Guardian Online. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. <http://mg.co.za/article/2011-02-08-anglo-mine-nationalisation-a-road-to-ruin>. Sakoana, Thapelo. "SA 'making Progress' on Poverty." South Africa.info. 25 June 2007. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. <http://www.southafrica.info/about/social/social-250607.htm>.