Far Away Shores

Photo is taken from behind a person standing on the shore looking towards water. There are people in the water.

There is no research experience that will humble you more than gaining wisdom through immersing yourself in another culture. Completing my international field placement for the Masters of Developmental Practices degree took me to Visakhapatnam India for a life changing opportunity to work with tribal farmers in the Andhra Pradesh region. Part of my research involved meeting with program leaders from VIKASA, a non-profit organization in Aruku Valley and sharing cross-cultural wisdom with each other from our lived experiences. The language barrier was a difficult obstacle we had to overcome from day one. This image is of my daughter at Ramakrishna Beach on the first day of our three months stay in India. We couldn’t communicate with our hosts because of the language barrier but we could all enjoy the excitement of putting her toes in the ocean for the first time.