Erika Beedle Reflection #5

Erika Beedle

Comm 211

Reflection #5

            In class we watched the documentary “Living On One Dollar”.  I really enjoyed watching this documentary and would enjoy doing something similar to this. By the end of the documentary the boys were struggling with a challenging question: what can we do?  During my travels to poor countries I have found myself asking that very same question.  You can volunteer, raise awareness, and donate money to other counties, but that can only go so far.  After I return home from a country I suffer from a temporary depression knowing that people are suffering all over the world, even in the United States, and I am living a wonderful life.  Over and over again I ask myself that same question, what can I do?

            By taking this class I have learned that intercultural communications and cultural competency may be able to help me solve my question.  I know I will not be able to change the world and stop poverty, but my being a positive, culturally competence being, I can change the environment around me.  By communicating with people from different cultures, and by sharing my thoughts with people of my own culture, I will raise awareness.  People need to understand that there is poverty all over the world and that we can do something about it.  America is becoming more diverse every single day, and if people know how to properly communicate with others from different cultures, this can be a great thing.  The world is also changing everyday and I hope we are changing in the right direction.  More stories like “Living On One Dollar” need to be told and shared with the world.