Hello there, everyone! Thank you for visiting. I have begun the process of blogging as I am planning an upcoming academic trip to the island of Zanzibar, located off the coast of Tanzania, East Africa on the Indian Ocean.
My use of the word cosmopolitan does not refer to the raunchy magazine. Instead, it refers to sociologist and philosopher Immanuel Kant's definition, in which individuals from differing communities are able to share relationships of mutual respect. A cosmopolitan person can also be described as someone who can feel at home in different parts of the world. I became a cosmopolitan when I traveled to Tanzania in 2012, and am looking forward to being home again.
I have been invited by my graduate school, Iliff School of Theology, to do a test trail for the first international internship of my masters program. Currently I am pursuing a Masters of Arts in Social Change. I am on the verge of completing my first year here in Denver, and I could not be more thrilled to embark on this incredible opportunity.
Back in 2012, I traveled to Tanzania on a study abroad program through Whitworth University along with 11 fellow students and three professors. While there, we studied politics, culture, religion, history and Swahili (the national language of TZ) for the duration of four months. Since returning, I have been itching to go back. As some of you may know, when you spend a longer duration of time in a foreign place, you become attached to the culture and lifestyle. I, too, have developed a connection to the country and its beautiful people.
I will be leaving for Tanzania on June 16th and will stay until early September. I will be living with a host family and interning at Zanzibar Legal Services Centre, a local NGO that trains community members to be paralegals in order for people to have free legal services. The center also emphasizes promoting human rights to the Zanzibar community. I will specifically be working to promote women's rights and equal opportunity. My interest lies in economic well-being for women, which might include researching jobs for women in the community and educating others on women's rights.
Throughout my stay, I will be blogging my experience so that others may get an honest glimpse of a unique area of the world, different from their own community. Until then, let the fundraising continue!
Ahsante sana (thank you very much) for visiting! Below you will find a few pictures from my previous study in Zanzibar. Stay tuned.
-Sydney
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