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Michigan in Color
Monday, November 26, 2018— 3A
Nestled in the dirt, under the roots
of a date tree
Half of my heart waits
Calling out to me desperately
I’m walking, earbuds in
Down the streets of a city I don’t
think wants me
My feet hit the pavement to the
rhythm of music
In words that aren’t my mother
tongue
While my mother’s tongue struggles
to pronounce the words that make
up this new land
Hard L’s and unrolled R’s and
sounds that warp her name
Twisting, turning, tangling until
they weave something that makes
the most familiar parts of herself
seem like strangers
And
I wonder if
Home sounds the same to her in
this other language
In this other world
Where neighbors are distant and
the family that moved with her is
the only proof of the dusty streets
she used to live on
Where golden shrines that used
to dot the city, like glimpses into
heaven
Were filled with throngs of people,
crushing together to get closer to
God, to each other, to the promise
of forever
And if the only promises she knows
now are the ones that were never
kept
I wonder if
My father hunched and shoveling
the mounds of snow that taunt him
every winter
Remembers the feeling of the desert
that used to warm his feet
As he played soccer, shooting goals
the way he later had to shoot guns
If every time he watches the
news, he remembers the feeling of
shrapnel piercing his chest, or
If, every time he bites into American
fruit,
He remembers the fruit picked
fresh off the tree of his family home,
sweet juices dribbling down his
chin
And tastes the nostalgia
I wonder if
Every time the words of their
mother language die on their
tongues, my siblings are reminded
of the graveyard their mouths have
become
Or if they are homesick for a home
they’ve never set foot in,
If they set a seat at the table for
the distant relative who will never
come
And stare at the empty seat and feel
an anger as consuming as the wars
that tore their homeland apart,
Wars that left their parents walking
on the earth as strangers
Floating between two worlds
Always islands
I wonder if they still know that love
isn’t always a four-letter word
Or that words can say things, but
they can’t feel things
That the ache in their chest from
missing something makes it real
And that, just because something is
missing, doesn’t mean it’s gone,
I wonder if I —
The music stops
Underneath the palm tree, half of
my heart is wailing,
Railing against its earthen confines
But its voice is muffled against the
dirt
“Come back to me,” it begs
But I am deaf to its noise
I press play again and keep walking
in the wrong direction
Contemplating homesickness in the
wrong language
Longing
AYAT ALTAMIMI
MiC Contributor
How did you hear about
your internship?
The
Human
Rights
Campaign has always been an
organization I have wanted to
work in, either for an internship
or for a career. As for my specific
position, I actually didn’t go
through the typical application
process. I connected through
an alum who happened to be
the internship manager and she
was kind enough to take me into
her department! So, for half of
my internship, I worked under
her as the Pride and Events
Intern and as the Outreach and
Engagement Intern under a
different supervisor.
What made you want to
apply?
When
I
started
my
sophomore year, I came in with
the goal of interning with a
major non-profit for summer
2018 and interning with a
major corporation for summer
2019. For choosing my non-
profit, I wanted to intern for
an organization that not only
grew me professionally but also
broadened my understanding
of society and how I operate in
it. I identify as a heterosexual
cis-gender Black woman, and
it has been an informative and
transformational
experience
uncovering the privileges that
I have been navigating in my
daily life. While
I
have
many
thoughts
on
navigating life as
a Black woman,
I
have
not
reflected enough
on
how
my
more privileged
identities,
such
as
my
sexual
orientation,
play
an
equal
role in shaping
how I navigate
the
world.
Additionally,
I
wanted to find
more
strategic
ways to combat
homophobia
in
the
Black
community
as
it is still an issue that plagues
Black culture.
What are your favorite
memories
from
your
experience?
My
favorite
experience
from
my
internship
was
the Washington, D.C. Pride
Festival. Under my internship
title,
my
responsibilities
included
planning
and
overseeing the logistics of pride
festivals all over the nation.
It was an amazing experience
to be able to see
both the behind-
the-scenes
work
behind
pride
festival
participation
and the physical,
colorful
manifestation of
months’ work. I
had so much fun
and I loved being
able to enjoy the
music,
dancing
and
diverse
representation of
experiences that
are
frequently
dismissed
and
ignored
during
other
festival
environments.
What
is
the
culture
like
where
you interned? Any advice
for
prospective
interns
interested in non-profits?
Imagine
the
type
of
workplace
that
your
high
school pushed onto you as an
explanation for enforcing the
school dress code. Now imagine
the opposite. That is the culture
at HRC. In the 90-degree heat,
HRC
prioritized
employee
comfort over rigid dress code
systems. I was able to do my key
work responsibilities in shorts
and sneakers. I appreciated how
HRC trusted their employees
to know when to dress up and
when to dress down.
The work culture also made
sure to prioritize active over
passive action. Multiple times
my job called for dropping
my work and heading to the
Supreme Court and the Capitol
to
protest
unjust
politics.
The work was challenging
and
emotionally
draining,
but it is imperative that large
organizations such as HRC
have an active field experience.
I would encourage anyone
who
wants
to
intern
at
non-profits
to
utilize
(the
University
of)
Michigan’s
large
alumni
network
and
just reach out yourself! I got
this incredible internship by
networking on LinkedIn, and
if I can do it, anyone else can as
well! I would also invite anyone
to contact me at any time with
any additional questions they
have about HRC. I would be so
happy to answer.
Finding my dream job: Interning
in a nonprofit in Washington D.C.
NA’KIA CHANNEY
MiC Senior Editor
This past summer, I went on a
Global Intercultural
Experience
for
Undergraduates study abroad
service trip to Cusco, Peru. To be
completely honest, I chose this
country mainly because I wanted
to see Machu Picchu and because
I’ve always wanted to go to South
America as well. I didn’t really
know much about Peru or Cusco
prior to getting into the program
and attending the learning team
meetings.
The work we were doing on
this trip involved getting up
early every day, a lot of mud and
a lot of manual labor. Still fresh
in my mind are the squeals of
the guinea pigs and the chirps
of the baby chicks that we had to
try not to step on while working
inside people’s homes in the rural
mountainside of Peru. Other vivid
memories I have are throwing up
on buses, hearing my groupmates
throwing up on buses, nights
in the San Jose Clinic with an
IV attached to my arm and
headaches so strong I thought I
might faint. Of course, that’s not
what I chose to showcase on my
social media, but a lot of the times
it was not easy. Between the high
altitude and the freezing nights,
and half of our group contracting
salmonella, I can’t say we didn’t
experience
hardships
during
this trip. I’m not going to lie and
say it was all glamorous and
Instagram, travel-blog worthy.
I’m not going to lie and say I didn’t
have a few mental breakdowns,
go to sleep shivering under
several blankets riddled with
homesickness or daydream about
Arabic food.
What
I’m
also not going
to do is gush
about how this
experience
made
me
so
much
more
thankful
for
what I have,
because
that
was
not
the
purpose of this
trip.
Before
embarking, a lot
of our learning
team meetings
stressed
the
importance
of
abandoning the “white savior”
mentality and not going in
with the intention of “fixing”
a community that was doing a
perfectly fine job at making a
life for themselves. The purpose
of this trip was to become fully
immersed in a country and its
culture, to partake in a mutually
beneficial
relationship
and
to work with a community to
better their conditions while
simultaneously
learning
and
gaining
firsthand
experience
in a culture a world away from
our own. Most of the time I was
there, I felt as though I was the
one that needed help or guidance,
not the other way around.
However, my time in Peru
did provide me with countless
worthwhile
memories
and
valuable
insights.
While the language
barrier
often
made it difficult to
understand
each
other, I learned that
communication
transcends
verbal
expression.
The
universal languages
of
compassion,
kindness
and
hospitality seeped
through the cracks
of broken Spanish
and
confused
pauses. I felt it
when the locals in the homes we
worked in brought us potatoes
and popcorn and rushed to get us
mud and rocks when we ran out.
I felt it when my 7-year-old host
sister hugged me after I walked
in the door at night and when
my host mom put a jar of olives
on the dining table every day
after learning I liked olives. I felt
it when taxi drivers tried their
best to converse with me using
slow, simple Spanish, trying their
best to understand me and learn
where I was from and what I was
doing in Peru. Being the only
visible Muslim in seemingly the
entire country made me nervous
and self-conscious at times, and
while I certainly felt out of place,
I never once felt unwelcomed.
People always say studying
abroad changes your life. I don’t
know if my trip “changed my life”
per se, but it definitely changed
me. It made me more adaptable,
more equipped to deal with
uncomfortable
situations
and
being unsure. It gave me amazing
friends that I wouldn’t have
met otherwise. It allowed me
to basically live like a local for a
month, becoming fully immersed
in this country by learning
about its history and interacting
with its people. It challenged
me to adapt to an unusual
setting rather than expecting
my surroundings to adapt to
me, as Americans often do. I
think everybody should study
abroad at some point in their
undergraduate career, if able to. If
it does anything, it changes your
perspective on travel and being a
tourist, volunteer, voluntourist or
whatever it may be. My advice to
anyone who is going on a service
trip or study abroad experience
is to take all the expectations
you have prior to embarking
on the trip and dispose of them
entirely. It is best to go in with a
fresh mind and open heart, ready
to take on whatever challenges
and triumphs the country and
your program throw at you. Be
open, be present, be respectful
and mindful, try to learn and
practice the language while
you’re there, show gratitude,
show
humility.
Remember
that what distinguishes you
from just an average, mindless
tourist is your desire to truly
learn about and understand the
place you are in — its history
and cultures and traditions and
people and struggles. Remember
your experience is partly what
is planned on your agenda and
mostly
the
unfiltered,
raw,
beautiful
moments
that
no
camera can capture. And also,
don’t forget to buy at least one
cheesy tourist sweater.
Study abroad: A whole world away
MAYA MOKH
Assistant MiC Editor
This past summer, LSA senior
Zainab Bhindarwala spent a
month in Prague, Czech Republic
taking a class on Nationalism,
Minorities and Migrations in
Eastern Europe through the
program “CGIS: Cross-Cultural
Psychology in Prague, Czech
Republic.”
How did you hear about this
study abroad program?
The CGIS newsletter.
What made you want to apply?
The title of the class drew me
in. I’ve never been particularly
interested
in
traveling
to
Europe, and I knew very little
about the Czech Republic prior
to this experience. I applied to
this program hoping the class
would help me with the thesis
I’m writing this year.
What is your favorite memory
from your experience?
One of my favorite memories
from this trip is when a couple
of us ended up having lunch
with our professor. Getting to
know her and learning about
Czech culture outside of our
classroom
setting
was
so
interesting. We saw a new part
of the city and talked about the
differences between Czech and
American cultures. I loved that
my professor never questioned
that I was American. She asked
all of us questions about the
United
States
without
any
hesitation or assumption that
I would know less than my
white peers or that I would
have a different experience than
them. After spending 20 years
convincing people in my own
hometown that I was indeed an
American just like them, it was
refreshing not to have to prove
it with every sentence and every
action. I didn’t think someone
assuming I was American and
not questioning it would affect
me that much, but it did.
Was there anything that you
struggled with during your
study abroad?
Ramadan started while I was
in Prague. I knew Ramadan
and my study abroad program
would overlap when I applied
to the program, and I honestly
wasn’t too concerned — I knew
I would be back home for most
of the month, and I wouldn’t
really be missing any major
nights of prayer. It wasn’t until
the first day of Ramadan came
that I realized exactly how
much I missed being around
my family during this time.
For the first time in my entire
life, I didn’t hear and say the
phrases “Ramadan Mubarak”
to countless people. In fact,
thousands of miles away, in
Prague, nobody wished me at all.
Of course, I called my parents,
and we wished each other over
the phone and I got texts from
family members and some non-
Muslim friends wishing me a
happy Ramadan, but it was so
different from actually hugging
someone,
saying
“Ramadan
Mubarak,” and asking them to
pray for you as you promised
to do the same for them. Even
though these things were just
tradition and not actually part
of religious prayers, the feeling
of community is what I missed
the most.
Any advice for prospective
students
interested
in
studying abroad?
Look at all the study abroad
offerings — don’t skim over
any program because you’re
not interested in visiting that
country. A lot of people choose
their study abroad programs
based off where they want to
travel to. I did the opposite. I
applied to this program because
the class sounded interesting
— even though it was nowhere
close to the region I was actually
interested in traveling to. Even
though this decision could have
gone horribly wrong, it ended
up being such an incredible
experience for me! In the
short time I was in Prague, I
learned so much about myself
and a whole region of the world
I never really paid attention to.
Don’t limit yourself by sticking
with what’s safe and somewhat
familiar. Take the plunge and
go somewhere unexpected —
you might be surprised by what
you find there.
Summer in Prague
ZAINAB BHINDARWALA
MiC Senior Editor
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MAYA MOKH
“My time
in Peru did
provide me
with countless
worthwhile
memories”
Interested in becoming a part of Michigan in Color next semester?
Email michiganincolor@umich.edu for more information!
“While I have
many thoughts
on navigating
life as a Black
woman, I have
not reflected
enough on my
more privileged
identities”