This is the second in a series of spotlights on our spring 2017 student interns. Learning Life’s students this spring are translating documents, conducting research, fundraising, and doing outreach locally and internationally for our Citizen Diplomacy Initiative (CDI), and other work. Amit Gerstein, interviewed below, is helping with CDI fundraising and outreach to potential partners in the Middle East, among other activities.
Where were you born and raised?
I was born and raised in Rockville, Maryland, about 40 minutes away from Washington, D.C.
What school do you attend, and what is your year and major there?
I am a freshman at the George Washington University studying International Affairs with an intended concentration in Global Public Health. I am planning on also minoring in Psychology, or Women’s, Gender and Sexuality studies.
What do you like to do in your free time?
In my free time I read and binge-watch shows on Netflix. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon is my all time favorite book (see my favorite show below) and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close my favorite movie. I love exploring D.C. and trying new foods. If you haven’t tried a sushi burrito, they are an absolute must.
Is there a life experience you have had that has particularly shaped you as a person thus far? If so, what is it, and how has it shaped you?
After high school and before attending college, I took a gap year, and I went to Israel where I spent the year working, learning, and volunteering. It was an amazing experience living in Israel and witnessing the interaction of different religions, cultures, and people. In fact, for part of the year I lived in Jerusalem, right next to the tomb of King David and the Room of the Last Supper and only a few minutes away from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Arab market, Temple Mount, and Western Wall! Being in one of the world’s religious and cultural epicenters was an incredible experience, and being able to spend my year learning and volunteering made it all the more meaningful. Over my year, I met and spoke with people from diverse backgrounds – Jews and Arabs, Christians and Druze, Palestinians and settlers, secular and Hasidic – and that opened my eyes to the complex and fascinating dynamics within Israel and the Middle East.
What are your career plans?
I’ll let you know as soon as I know!
Why did you choose to intern with Learning Life?
I wanted to be able to work with an organization that truly makes an impact on its community. I have done internships in the past where I was working on larger projects without seeing the results of my work and with no interaction with the people who I was helping. The results of my work with Learning Life, on the other hand, are tangible, and I know and can even meet the people who I am helping, which makes it so much more rewarding.
What is the most beautiful place you have seen on Earth, and why is it so beautiful?
The most beautiful thing I have ever seen was the theatrical production of Mark Haddon’s book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The way that the story and the emotions of the characters were visually conveyed through the stage-work and lighting was incredibly powerful. The show is told from the perspective of Christopher, an autistic boy, and the way the story is told, the audience can experience the world as he does, feel the emotions that he does, and see the world through his eyes.
Learning Life Holds First Live Middle East Dialogue
Samya: “I like that they [USA] have freedom of speech, and also, I don’t like that in some states they have police brutality.”
Basma: “You have to come to Jordan first, and then decide about police brutality.”
(Laughter all around.)
This brief, softly-spoken interchange occurred between Samya, a 14-year old American girl, and Basma, a 12-year old Jordanian girl, who on Saturday participated in Learning Life’s first Middle East “virtual exchange” or live internet dialogue between families in Washington D.C. and Amman, Jordan.
Not all of this first Middle East dialogue broached political topics. Indeed, much of this introductory dialogue – between three family participants in Amman, and six in Washington, plus observers and staff – focused on learning each other’s names, hobbies, and aspirations. Basma, for instance, learned that 11-year old James also likes to draw, and asked him what he likes to drawn, so James drew a neighborhood road to show her.
Kaliah and Kristin, 7 and 8 respectively, spent much of their time during the dialogue drawing, and Kaliah also presented her drawing for the Jordanian family to see.
Basma and Samya also learned that they both want to become doctors, though of different kinds: Basma, a pediatrician because she loves children, Samya, a plastic surgeon because she wants to help people with deformities.
But the conversation did occasionally turn toward social and political issues as the families answered the questions we posed, particularly “what do you like about your own country?” and “what would you like to learn about the other family’s country?” On the Jordanian side, Fawwaz, Basma’s uncle, and on the American side, Janelle, Kristin and Bianca’s mother, expressed their respective views on how children are and should be raised. As one might imagine, there were differences.
Fawwaz noted that while American children are expected to strike out on their own upon finishing their schooling, Jordanian children are expected to live with their parents until they marry, and the expectation is often stronger for daughters than sons. This is sometimes borne of economic necessity, as Fawwaz noted, but it is also expressed as a social custom intended to protect still young and vulnerable children. Janelle, in contrast, expressed her interest in instilling independence in her daughters, to find gainful employment so that they “do not have to settle” for a partner who fails them or mistreats them.
This first Middle East dialogue was part of Learning Life’s Citizen Diplomacy Initiative (CDI), which engages lower-income American families in live, internet dialogues and project collaborations with similar families in other nations. Learning Life launched CDI in August 2016 with a series of introductory dialogues between families in Washington D.C., Porto de la Libertad, El Salvador, and Dakar, Senegal.
This year, we are working to carry out the first project collaborations between families in D.C., Dakar, and communities to be determined in El Salvador, Jordan and/or Palestine. Through CDI dialogues and project collaborations, Learning Life aims to nurture more informed, skilled, connected and caring global citizens in the long-term.
Stay tuned for more international dialogue news!
Thanks to Omar Batterjee and Sarah Bel Hadj Nasr for assisting with language interpreting and photo/video recording, respectively, during the dialogue. Thanks also to John Mathena for connecting us to, and helping Learning Life to win a State Department grant to bring our Middle East dialogues to life.
Seeking Foreign Partners to Co-Organize Live, International Dialogues
About Learning Life & Its Citizen Diplomacy Initiative
Based in Washington DC in the USA, Learning Life is an educational nonprofit that seeks to spread learning in everyday life beyond school walls. Learning Life’sCitizen Diplomacy Initiative (CDI) engages lower-income American families in live internet dialogues and project collaborations with similar families in other nations free of charge. Through these dialogues and project collaborations, Learning Life aims to nurture more informed, skilled, connected and caring global citizens in the long-term.
How CDI Works
CDI puts eligible American families, starting in Washington, D.C.’s Wards 7 and 8, in live video dialogue with families in other nations. The dialogues occur about twice times per month, usually on Saturdays or Sundays, and last about two hours. The dialogues take place in the families’ homes, or in a quiet place nearby (e.g., library, office, community center) if more than one family is participating in the same locality.
The families first engage in a “get to know you” dialogue in which they introduce themselves and are free to ask respectful questions to learn more about each other. After this introductory dialogue, the families have the opportunity to collaborate on varied projects (e.g., a photo album offering their international perspectives on community change) intended to develop their knowledge and civic skills (e.g., photography, video, research, writing, public presentation, event organizing) as they work together locally and internationally.
Learning Life volunteer dialogue moderators, language interpreters and project consultants support the families in their dialogues and projects. Families that stick with the dialogues and projects over months and years gradually build a portfolio of project experiences and products (e.g., photo albums, videos, articles, reports, art, events) that document their developing local and international interests, knowledge, skills, and social connections.
Parents or families are not paid to participate; they must be interested in participating for the benefit of their children. Benefits include the ability to practice English, learn more about American society, make valuable social connections, and work on skills-building and resume-enhancing projects that can open doors to better schools and jobs.
Seeking Partners & Families
Learning Life is looking for interested (a) community organizations outside the USA willing to co-organize live dialogues between American families in the USA and families in their own community, and (b) families abroad willing to participate in the live dialogues.
Families must have:
(a) At least one parent/legal guardian or mentor, and one or more children ages 10-18 willing to participate.
(b) A total household income of less than their country’s median annual household income.
(c) Parents with less than 4 years of university leading to a degree
(d) Taken no more than two vacation flights outside their country as a family.
(e) Have few or no contacts (family or friends) outside their country with whom the family communicates.
For more information, contact Learning Life’s Director, Paul Lachelier, via email at paul@learninglife.info. Please include a telephone number and/or Skype address at which you can be reached, and best times to call.
Anacostia International Inaugural Meal Features Senegalese Feast
Last weekend, Learning Life volunteers and D.C. families converged on a unique restaurant in metropolitan Washington D.C. for an extraordinary Senegalese feast.
The lunch last Saturday, generously sponsored by CoFunder, inaugurated an international meal series that is part of Learning Life’s Citizen Diplomacy Initiative (CDI). CDI engages lower-income families in D.C. Wards 7 and 8 in live internet dialogues and project collaborations to nurture more informed, skilled, connected and caring global citizens in the long-term. To help spread world learning in Wards 7 and 8, and to enrich CDI families’ international experience, Learning Life is this year initiating Anacostia International, which will offer CDI families free, sponsored meals and cultural conversation at metro D.C. ethnic restaurants, and country presentations free and open to the public at the Anacostia Arts Center on Good Hope Road SE in Anacostia.
Fifteen guests — including four CDI families from Wards 7 and 8 plus Learning Life volunteers and guests — enjoyed a variety of traditional dishes and drinks at Chez Dior, a well-regarded restaurant in Hyattsville, Maryland, and the only Senegalese restaurant we know of in metro Washington. The feast included:
Drinks:
Bissap: a deep purple-colored juice infused with hibiscus flower
Ginger juice made with ginger root and pineapple
Pain de Singe: a sweet, silky juice made from the fruit of “monkey bread” trees
Appetizers:
Vegetarian Nems: Vietnamese-influenced fried spring rolls stuffed with vermicelli and mushrooms, served with a “nuoc mam” sweet pepper sauce
Fataya: Senegalese patties stuffed with seasoned minced meat
Main Course Dishes:
Yassa Chicken: Chicken legs in a delectable onion sauce
Tiebouzieune: Barjack fish served with carrots, yucca, eggplant and cabbage
Lamb in a Senegalese peanut sauce with sweet potatoes and carrots.
Besides tasting Senegalese cuisine, the four participating CDI families learned through invited speakers about Senegalese cuisine, the concept of “food culture” (the foods and food behaviors of a social group, including their ways of growing, processing, cooking, eating and disposing of food), food-related social entrepreneurialism in Africa, and more generally, the importance of Africa to Americans and the world.
The four families are currently learning about Senegal through live internet dialogues with two Senegalese families living in the nation’s capital, Dakar. Soon, these families will begin their first skills-building project together, creating an electronic “photovoice” album of photos they take in their own communities in answer to the question “what is the past, present and future of your community?”
As part of Anacostia International, Learning Life is planning more international meals this year at Latin American, Middle Eastern and Asian restaurants in metro Washington. Stay tuned for more!
Thanks to Samson Williams of CoFunder for helping to germinate the idea of an international meal series, and for making this inaugural lunch possible. Thanks also to Learning Life volunteers and guests Emilie Mondon-Konan, Hellen Fissihaie of F3Global, Issa Ndiong of the Senegalese Association of the DMV, and Mamadou Fall, owner of Chez Dior, for their contributions to this inaugural Anacostia International meal!
Interested in sponsoring a future meal, or getting involved in Anacostia International? Contact us at email@learninglife.info.
Where were you born and raised?
