Outside of My Comfort Zone
“Life Begins at the end of your Comfort Zone”
I am at my best when I am at home with my family or going to school. So leaving home to immerse myself into another culture was an exciting and fearful experience and definitely out of my comfort zone. I was excited about meeting a new family and enjoying their lives but also fearful of the unknown. What will their home look like? Will the family include me in their daily activities? What will we do for two days? It is funny how things all work about – just need to have a little faith and are open to having a new experience.
For two days, I stayed with the most loving family with five children. I also experienced several things that were outside of my comfort zone:
• Living with three cats that were trying to get in the house (I do not like cats and also I am allergic to them). These cats were used to being in the house and did not like having to stay outside.
• Walking in the garden to drink coconut milk or the forest to eat sugar cane.
• Taking cold showers (most families in smaller towns do not have hot water)
• Walking on the streets where dogs freely roaming (I learned to be careful around the dogs)
• Attending a Catholic Church (Good to learn about other religions)
In order to grow as a person and a rehabilitation counseling educator, it was important for me to explore the lives of people with disabilities in Belize and other countries. I wanted to compare the research about people with disabilities in Belize with reality. Therefore, I had the opportunity to tour and spend time with residents and staff at several mental health facilities in Belize. For approximately thirty years, I have been comfortable around people with disabilities in the United States and have been an advocate for the rights of people with disabilities. So it was extremely hard for me to see the limited resources and services available for people with physical and mental disabilities in Belize. It just broke my heart. However, I realized that mental health services in Belize is totally different than the services provided in the United States. And I had to remind myself of the Star Trek’s Prime Directive which prohibits personnel from interfering with the internal development of another civilization. What gives me the right to say what would or would not work for people with disabilities in Belize?
The purpose of a cultural immersion experience is to not only learn about another culture, but also for students to become more aware of their strengths and weaknesses, bias, stereotypes, and prejudices. Hopefully, what I learned from being in Belize will help me grow as a person, a counselor, and an educator but especially as an advocate.
Post By: L’Tanya (Terrye) Fish
Doctoral Student & Teaching Assistan
tNorth Carolina A & T State Universit
yDepartment of Human Development & Service
sGreensboro, NC
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