STEP Reflection Name _Trina Langsenkamp__
For your reflection of your STEP Experience, please do the following:
1. Fill in the Reflection Form below and post it on your respective STEP experience page at u.osu.edu.
2. Upload 1 – 2 pictures from your experience to your u.osu.edu post if you have some.
3. If you created a separate blog, video, digital story, etc. about your experience, please attach a link to your creation to your u.osu.edu post as well.
STEP Experience ______Study Abroad______
What? – A detailed description of what you did during your STEP experience.I attended the May semester Southern Africa study abroad trip where I spent the month traveling the southern tier of Africa learning about culture, history, contemporary politics and so much more. We stayed in major cities such as Johannesburg, Durban, Harare, Bulawayo and Mutare throughout Zimbabwe and South Africa, as well as smaller villages and townships in between. We attended museums, galleries, cultural centers, schools (both public and private), and township hotspots. We learned about the aftermath of apartheid that still affects the continent and the pervasive racism by seeing the stark contrast between the rich white and poor black citizens that left us shocked. We also explored the geographical and ecological diversity from large cities, to national parks such as Matapos, to wonders of the world like Table Mountain and Victoria falls. We documented our travels with journals, photographs, written assignments and final papers in addition to class discussions on site. Additionally, I posted a blog article summarizing my experience and what I learned from it.
http://www.trinalang.com/blog/africa-cannot-be-fixed
So What? – A personal response to your STEP experience, including feelings, thoughts, judgments, and what you have learned about yourself and your assumptions from what you did and how you reacted.
I learned an incredible amount in just a month while abroad. In addition to learning in depth about historical and contemporary happenings that I previously knew little about, I was able to meet and connect with people across the world and understand just how truly beautiful and diverse our planet is.
Now What? – Discuss how the things you experienced and learned during your STEP experience will affect your academic, personal, and life goals moving forward.
As a future educator, I plan an incorporating what I learned not only in to direct lesson plans but also in the way I understand cultural, racial and ethnic backgrounds of my students. This trip taught me about hardships people even in our own country have faced that I knew nothing about because I had been blinded by my own privileges. This will not be the case for all of my students, and this trip has showed me how to understand those different than myself.