International volunteering is growing at a rapid pace. It is a wonderful way to see the world and to connect to people of different cultures. International volunteers from America can also play a role as an ambassador for our country and our people. It is a wonderful antidote to the pathetic foreign policy coming out of Washington these days.
During our trip, our group struggled with two unique challenges that are quite common in international volunteering- language barriers and cultural misunderstandings. These barriers made the work at time more difficult but also gave us great insight into ourselves and into American culture.
The language barrier was a significant issue for us though we managed to work our way through it. Our construction manager spoke no English and only three in our group had decent Spanish speaking skills. We would often have to stop what we were doing to get one of three members of our group to help us interpret. The construction manager was new to Habitat and didn’t have a lot of experience in working with volunteers. He communicated through our interpreters and gave many directions using the international language of pointing and making gestures. My years of playing charades came in handy.
We found ourselves in a few instances having to go over work because we didn’t understand the directions. When we conveyed our concerns with the placement of a shipment of gravel on the site, it was interpreted that we wouldn’t move the gravel from the truck. A few minutes later the women who were home in the neighborhood were in the back of truck with shovels removing the gravel. We had to coax them down from the truck and apologize for the misunderstanding. By the end of the trip we were very careful to repeat our understanding of directions.
The group also struggled with a few cultural issues. We were told during our orientation that it would be common for our construction manager to get to the site later than we would arrive. He would get there on “Tico Time.” Every morning we would be ready to go and often we had to wait for our directions to come when the manager arrived. Having grown up in an Indian family, I am very aware of the cultural nuance of time. Indians were known to be late to many functions and we would call it “Indian Standard Time.”
For the people in our group that had the American mindset of time and getting things done in a rapid pace, it was very frustrating for them to work in this environment. You could hear their comments when the construction manager finally arrived in the morning. We had to manage the expectations of the group as well as convey to our construction manager that he had volunteers who were ready to work and that he was losing valuable time by not fully utilizing us.
Shortly after the trip was over, I read this passage in the book, Three Cups of Tea by the mountain climber turned nonprofit executive, Greg Mortenseon. I thought it was quite fitting for our experience.
” That day, Haji Ali taught me the most important lesson I’ve ever learned in my life…We Americans think you have to accomplish everything quickly. We’re the country of 30-minute power lunches and two-minute football drills. Our leaders thought their “shock and awe” campaign could end the war in Iraq before it even started. Haji Ali taught me to share three cups of tea, to slow down and make building relationships as important as building projects.”
Though the barriers were unique to this volunteer experience, they helped us better understand the people we worked with and provided a great learning atmosphere.
Submitted by Sam Singh
Sam Singh is an affiliated consultant with the Lansing-based firm, Public Policy Associates. He currently is on sabbatical traveling the world. You can contact Sam at singhsam94@gmail.com
Filed under: Volunteerism | Tagged: habitat for humanity, international volunteering
