The Sexiness of Community

I’ve posed this question on my blog before, but why is it considered so much sexier to travel and volunteer abroad?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the importance of community. I used to scoff at people who would talk about others who “did a lot for their community,” thinking that that was boring, and why did they stop themselves there- why didn’t they try to get out of their community? As I get older I see how naïve I was to think of those people as naïve. Now I think they’re the ones that have it all figured out. Not to say that it isn’t important to travel and see other parts of the world. I personally would not have made this realization had I not traveled first in Europe, then in Africa.

Take for example a recent UNC graduate Kane Smego. I met Kane through my best friend Mariah a few years ago and have since seen him become such an important part of the Chapel Hill/Carrboro community. I don’t know him that well, but do know that he has traveled extensively but chooses to put his life work and energy into his community in a number of ways, especially through the art of spoken word. He is very active in the Northside community and has started a youth spoken-word group with his friend CJ Suitt, also an incredible spoken word artist and active community member. I saw a performance of this group when I was at home in April and was so inspired. This is just the tip of the iceberg of what Kane has done in his community and to me Kane proves that investing in your community reaps so many benefits, and can even be sexier than traveling abroad.

None of this is to say that you can’t create community wherever you are. That is totally possible. Finn and I definitely have a community here… but it will never be home. Community abroad is a weird thing because our community consists almost entirely of other foreigners. The same happened in Tanzania- the people I keep in touch with the most are other foreigners that I lived and volunteered with. Sure, I definitely connected with the children I worked with when I visited the TunaHAKI community every day, but I would never be able to call myself a true member of that community.

Some may argue this may not be the case for those who choose to be “out in the bush” and make it a priority to be the only white person around. But at the end of the day and at the end of that experience, to where do they usually return? Home. While they could have been a part of a foreign community for some time, will they ever really be able to call themselves a full-fledged member? How much rides on your place of origin, and how much rides on your skin color? I don't have the answers. 

      Through all of this I have gathered that there are both benefits and drawbacks in being bicultural, but the one big drawback that is keeping me from pursuing a life abroad is that of transient or half-assed community. Some people may not agree with this notion and that is totally fine- I applaud anyone who feels they are truly able to find a fulfilling community in a developing country, especially a white person in Malawi. I know now that my community is in America, namely North Carolina. I have noticed in the past that I have tried to rid myself of that, as there are plenty of things about North Carolina that I don’t like. However, now I see that it is not a bad place to call home- not only is it not bad, but I am incredibly proud when I tell people where I am from. Am I a citizen of the world? In some ways, sure. I’ve been to a few places. But that doesn’t mean I have to spend my life on the road. It can mean that with whatever small amount I have learned through my brief traveling stints I can be a better community member at home. Sure, I still have plenty I want to see and definitely plan on traveling in the future, but not with the same motivation I have had in the past of trying desperately to make a brand new community. I have to nurture the one that is already home in my own unique and sexy way.