Student to Student

Giving Something Back

By Jeff Talbert, Baylor Univ.

The South African flying ant is similar to a small dragonfly. I held one in front of me for several seconds, trying not to think about what I had to do. Then, quickly, I picked off the wings, pinched off the head, and popped the bug's body into my mouth. I was relieved to find that it had no taste.

The Zulu family with whom I was living smiled and laughed approvingly. By joining them in consuming this special delicacy, I bonded more closely with them.

I believe this is the first key to an appreciation of an overseas experience--relinquish your own customs, desires, and expectations and embrace those of your hosts. The second key is to leave something of yourself behind that will establish a bond.

The program with which I traveled is called Youth With a Mission (YWAM), an international Christian organization with bases in over 120 nations. YWAM owns three "mercy ships" which sail to Third World countries to provide free surgical and dental work. Medical facilities are located on board, and the surgeries take place while the ship is docked in each country. Satellite groups also go inland to where they teach carpentry, plumbing, and other basic skills.

Nobody in YWAM receives a salary. My cost for working with YWAM was $7,000 for five months. I worked and saved much of this prior to leaving, but many of my friends gave me money because my main purpose in going was to help people in need.

I docked with the ship in East London, South Africa and soon learned about the "white" culture, a mix of Dutch and British. I tried surfing and saw exotic animals. Although fun, touristing was not fulfilling.

During the fourth months, 10 of us went to volunteer in a Zulu township. That is where I learned about a South African culture that has been swept under an apartheid rug for many years. The township in which we lived is about 100 miles outside of Durban, in an area called the Valley of a Thousand Hills. Life was simple--no electricity, no running water, no need for a calendar. We were the first whites to live in the Zulu township. They accepted us warmly and without hesitation.

It wasn't always easy to live in that environment. One day when I asked my Zulu friend about the curiously-textured floor, he said, "Dung and mud." Had it been just a floor it would have been "no big deal," but that mud and dung was my bed! The toilet consisted of a rusty sheet of metal with a hole torn through it. Sleeping was also an adventure. During the night, I heard rats scampering in the walls and running over the roof beams. Often the clumsy rodents knocked debris down on me.

But my discomforts were well worth it: The Zulu family became my family and I found it hard to leave them behind.

My advice is not to settle for an overseas experience that simply earns you credits or gives you a momentary thrill. Have a higher goal--determine to give something back. This is what will fulfill you the most. To experience a country you must first know the people. You may not be called upon to eat flying ants, but sacrifices will be required.

JEFFREY TALBERT is a journalism major/world affairs minor at Baylor Univ. He also works as a teacher's aide at an alternative high school.