Having returned from Bangladesh, there are a few reflections that I would like to share.

There are many reasons why internships are difficult; you find yourself negotiating a new organization and a new culture with many doubts about why you’re here and what you can really do. Looking back, I don’t think it ever really got easier. What I do see is a shift in myself, an acceptance that fuzziness is okay, and sometimes necessary. The ways I have learned to process things make it so that I am uncomfortable with relationships or circumstances that aren’t easily defined. Letting go of this need for clarity was part of why I began really enjoying myself in Bangladesh, and from a place of happiness it was easier to confront the challenges of this internship.

I wouldn’t be able to describe what my expectations were in May, but on a primary level they must have included learning about Bangladesh, about food security, about the functioning of an NGO. I did learn a great deal and also became aware of how little I really know about achieving food security. This kind of learning is important and because of the context in which I was learning (Bangladesh as opposed to a classroom in Peterborough), I have been affected by it. I’ve learned a lot. This feeling of having gained knowledge and experience is not surprising to me. Yet despite how cliche it may sound, there are many ways in which this summer has challenged me to learn in more than just the academic sense. And that, I was not expecting. I imagine that many things can bring about this kind of learning. It was my company this summer that pushed me in ways that I hadn’t expected.

Having just embarked on another adventure, the most meaningful thing I am taking from my summer in Bangladesh is to be open to the ways in which people and places can change you.

Category: Bangladesh, Upon return // Add Comment »