June 3rd

This is the part of my blog where I discuss race. So if you are extra sensitive about this subject or are easily offended please skip over this entry. I would like to start by saying that I am not a racist these are just events and things that I have observed while in Zambia.

Growing up in America I was raised and taught that a person’s race and the color of their skin is as no more significant than the color of their eye or their hair. The color of your skin frankly should not matter it is what is inside that counts. I am not saying that that is the way that it works in American society I know that civil rights and racism are still prominent issues, I am simply stating that color should not matter. Then I came to Zambia and that thinking is thrown out the window; not by me but by the Zambians I am living, working, and talking with. Just by being white I am set up on a pedestal. I am automatically considered smarter, richer, prettier, and more important because I am white. At first I found this very unsettling and I tried to fight it; I mean this went against everything that I had been raised to believe. But then someone wise pointed out to me that we cannot control the privileges we get in life. We have no control over the color of our skin, we have no control over the families, cultures, or countries we are born in therefore stop trying to fight it or change it. Instead she pointed out use the privilege that you are giving to create something good; use it to better the world. I know that the color of my skin does not make me better in anyway than anyone else, but it does put me in a position of power not because it is right or by choice, but just because Zambian culture dictates that being white is powerful.  Therefore I have an obligation to use this power to help others and initiate change where change is needed; I am not sure yet how or what I am going to do, but I hope it is good.

That’s it that is the end of the race talk so you can start reading again. I made it back to the village today and again I am overwhelmed with the joy that these children bring me. As my departure from this village nears I feel as though it may be impossible to leave them.  Don’t worry I am coming home I just was not prepared to become so attached so quickly.