BRODY JEWISH CENTER - HILLEL AT UVA
  • About Us
    • Community Partners
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • Impact Report
    • FAQ
  • Student Life
    • Sign up Student eNewsletter
    • Story Showcase
    • Student Leaders
    • Alternative Spring Break
    • Our Space
    • Passover
    • Jewish Studies Program
    • High Holidays
    • Jewish Resources
    • Incoming Students
    • Prospective Students
    • Blog
    • Calendar
  • Community
    • Community Newsletter
    • Parents >
      • Parent to Parent >
        • Chanukah Basketball Watch Parties
    • Young Alumni
    • Rent our space
  • Support Us
    • Donate Now
    • Give through UVA
    • Commonwealth Kiddush Cup
    • Capital Campaign
    • Jefferson Society
    • Eleventh Annual Brody Jewish Center Raffle

Day 4: Thinking about voluntourism

3/8/2018

 
Picture
​Today's post is from second year Birthright Intern Colton Sheehan.

Today we took a slight hiatus from working at the school and instead went on a few excursions. We got to sleep in a little before heading off to Bluefields Organic Fruit Farm, where we received a tour from the owner himself. For anyone skeptical of the powers of organic food, the man was 54 but looked half his age and had the nimbleness of an alley cat. He showed us around his garden, which seemed to be chaotic compared to the well ordered farms we are used to, with different plants strewn about haphazardly. He explained that this was a way of resembling nature, a common theme his farming strategy. As we walked among the trees and bushes, he pointed out some of the crops we may never have seen before, such as the nasberry or the Jamaican Apple. We got to try many of these fruits, as well as a coconut fresh off the tree and sugar cane cut from the stalk. To finish the tour, he showed us the view from the top of the hill, an incredible spectacle and the most common draw of tourists to Bluefields. Check out the organic farms Facebook page here:https://www.facebook.com/bluefieldsorganicfruitfarmtours/

We spent the next few hours of the day lounging at Bluefields beach, a local beach that is seldom visited by tourists. The weather was immaculate, the water was marvelously blue, and the sand was perfectly white. It honestly looked like a scene from a postcard. Unfortunately, barely anyone was able to escape the harmful rays of the sun, so we all look a bit more red than we did yesterday. Luckily some still had aloe Vera stalk from the organic farm to rub on their sunburn. 

While at the beach, we had a long conversation about the idea of “voluntourism” and our definitions of service. For those who may not know, voluntourism is the intersection of volunteering and tourism, in which participants spend their vacation completing volunteer activities while also engaging in tourism (such as going to the beach). There has often been debates about whether or not voluntourism is beneficial, as it takes jobs away from locals and replaces them with potentially unqualified tourists. Objectively, our trip is considered voluntourism, so we had a debate amongst ourselves to determine whether or not we believed we were having the most positive impact we could on the community in which we’re volunteering. And honestly, we generally felt like we really aren’t benefitting the school in the greatest way possible by entering their classrooms and taking over for teachers, which is what we have been told to do. However, I personally feel that what we bring isn’t just the physical manpower, but rather the cultural exchange that comes with immersion. That is a large part of the service we are providing and it has a large impact on the young impressionable kids that probably do not meet many Americans. Even a small interaction can make a big difference. 

After the beach we went back to have dinner with our host families. We had some down time which I spent playing soccer in the street with some locals. Then we went to a presentation about Rastafari, a religion practiced by some Jamaicans that originated from an Ethiopian King. Finally we ended the night with a culinary arts demonstration, as many of the host mothers taught us how to make the dinners we’ve been receiving over the past few nights. Of course, this involves more eating, as the food we made had to be consumed. Afterwards we went home for the night and prepared to go back in the classrooms the next morning. 

Thanks for reading and we’ll be back tomorrow with another blog post! Lata!

Comments are closed.

    The Brody Jewish Center, Hillel at the University of Virginia, is the focal point in a renaissance of Jewish life for the 1,000 Jewish students on Grounds. ​

    Archives

    September 2021
    July 2020
    June 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    September 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    November 2017
    September 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    August 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014

    Categories

    All
    AIPAC
    Alternative Break
    Ben Edgar
    Birthright
    BJC
    Brazilian
    Brody Jewish Center
    Bystander Intervention
    Charlottesville
    Engagement Interns
    Environmentalism
    Etai Pinkas
    Fall Fest
    First Year Connection
    Freedom Seder
    Golan Heights
    Green Dot
    High Holidays
    High Holiday Services
    Hillel At UVa
    Holocaust
    Hoos For Israel
    Hug And Wrestle
    Humpback Hike
    Israel
    JEI
    Jewish Conversation
    Jewish Leadership Council
    Jewish Women's Group
    Jiu Jitsu
    JSJC
    J Street UVa
    Krav Maga
    Leadership
    Leadership Retreat
    Mark Strauss
    Mississippi Delta
    Passover
    Peer Network Engagement Intern
    PNEI
    Pro-Israel
    Rosh Chodesh
    Self-defense
    Shabbat300
    Shabbat Around Grounds
    SHAG
    Sleepout For The Homeless
    Social Justice
    Spoken Word
    Sukkot
    Sunrise
    Sustainability
    Taglit-Birthright Israel
    University Of Virginia
    WaJewWa
    Whitney Perlen

    RSS Feed

The Brody Jewish Center
Hillel at the University of Virginia
1824 University Circle
Charlottesville, Va - 22903 

(434) 295-4963     -     info@brodyjewishcenter.org

Connect with us on social media!

Get the most up-to-date news, photos, and information.
The Brody Jewish Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. ​ 
 
© 2019 Hillel at the University of Virginia
  • About Us
    • Community Partners
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • Impact Report
    • FAQ
  • Student Life
    • Sign up Student eNewsletter
    • Story Showcase
    • Student Leaders
    • Alternative Spring Break
    • Our Space
    • Passover
    • Jewish Studies Program
    • High Holidays
    • Jewish Resources
    • Incoming Students
    • Prospective Students
    • Blog
    • Calendar
  • Community
    • Community Newsletter
    • Parents >
      • Parent to Parent >
        • Chanukah Basketball Watch Parties
    • Young Alumni
    • Rent our space
  • Support Us
    • Donate Now
    • Give through UVA
    • Commonwealth Kiddush Cup
    • Capital Campaign
    • Jefferson Society
    • Eleventh Annual Brody Jewish Center Raffle