Hey
I just finished my first draft for my postrgrad application and I was wondering if someone can look at it and give me feedback.
Its pretty long. I'm really sorry. The coloured sections are those I don't like =(
There are the questions I'm required to answer in the statement:
Please describe an intercultural interaction you have had
and how it has been important and significant in your life.
How can you use that experience to contribute to SIT's
learning environment?
What effect have intercultural experiences had on your
education and career choices?
What is the relationship between your personal/career
goals and the mission and goals of SIT? How can SIT
help you to further define your goals?
As I approached the one year mark as a participant of (on) the Japan Exchange Teaching (JET) Programme, I was standing in front of Narita International Airport, waiting to welcome the 2009-2010 JET participants. My partner at the "Welcome Station" was rather interested in the fact that I am Jamaican. He was also interested in finding out which Bob Marley song is my favourite. This was a question I could answer without hesitating. Not because I have been asked numerous times since I have lived here, not because the speech of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie has been converted into a song by the King of Reggae and had become one of my favourite songs within the genre, but because War and the message it embodies is representative of the change I want to be a part of introducing to countries frayed by conflict. A postgraduate degree in Peace and Conflict Transformation would allow me to fuse the elements of philosophy and action; calling into reality Sochiro Honda's quotation that "action without philosophy is a lethal weapon, philosophy without action is worthless." A degree in this field provides a philosophical and practical basis on which I can build. Helping conflicting peoples make the transformation into cohesively functioning cultures, putting an end to the strife and wars I have seen documented in some many textbooks as a History major. (But) Long before I spent so many hours pouring over History books, I slid down hills on banana leaves and ran the 100 metres barefoot on the hot asphalt; finding my unfocused childhood mind being intrigued by the political instability on the the Haitian shores. I wanted to solve the problems which led to first coup against President Jean Bertrand Aristide, hoping to help a country which had been fighting its own development since 1804.
Something drew me to Haiti, it was more than the images of a country struggling to heal its shattered framework for development. When President Aristide sought temporary refuge in Jamaica, it painted the island as a safe haven for the Haitian refugees who are now citizens. My love for Haiti fueled my need to study the wars throughout history, examining their causes and their role in fashioning new countries, dividing and uniting ethnic groups, wiping out races. Even though I had fallen in love with a country I had never visited I clung to its culture, hoping to one day travel to the island and experience it all first hand. The first time I met a Haitian I was 12 years old; I had just passed my Common Entrance Examinations and was officially a high school student, I, was in fact, en route to school to collect my welcome package. This brief encounter of congratulatory exchanges helped me make friends for life. For the first two years of high school I spent Thursday afternoons with my Haitian friends. They told me stories of life on the streets of Port-au Prince, being forced into exile for being supporters of Former President Aristide's political ideology and of the family and friends that had been left behind or failed to make the voyage across the Caribbean Sea. These stories strengthened my resolve to work with those whose lives has been shattered by conflict and forced to find solace in foreign settings, ejected from their homeland and without a sense of belonging. Inspired to study History, I was introduced to a world where countries struggled to coexist peacefully, striving to find a balance of power without offering their counterparts the upper hand, playing the essential zero-sum game. While at the University of West Indies I minored in International Relations, which complemented my major. My classes in International Law, International and Regional Organizations and Theories and Approaches to International Relations, helped prepare me for a world where different cultures meet on a common ground, an interest in peace and global development.
A year and a half ago I exchanged my island home for another, [font#FF0000]Japan. Japan, a country which typically beckons alluringly to lovers of anime, Eastern culture, healthy living and sushi- well, surely sushi is a stretch- offered me more than your Lost in Translation-esque take on life as an exchange teacher. By moving to Japan, I was given a chance to live in a post conflict setting, albeit 64 years after the fact. As an exchange teacher, I have been able to observe the Japanese way of non confrontational problem solving, often considered innately submissive but which in my experience seems to be an appreciation for peace. While discussing the recent resurgence of nuclear power with my adult students, they informed me of the Japanese three point policy on nuclear weapons (non possession, non importation and non production); emphasising that as the only country to be attacked by an atomic bomb during a period of war, Japan wants to set an example for the non proliferation of weapons, reaffirming their belief that humans are capable of good deeds. Appalled by any suggestions of retaliation and a need for revenge, they embraced the relationship with the United States, their former foe now ally, citing a need for cooperation among states and distaste for conflict.
This world view is shared by my teenaged students as well. Through Global Studies classes, my students take cultural journeys to the Middle East, Africa and even to neighbouring Asian and South East Asian countries, fostering understanding of different cultures, races and lifestyles, learning about child soldiers in Sierra Leone and the displaced of Darfur, children their age, children deprived of a childhood. I am continuing a tradition that I had been a part of: teaching global citizens, fostering ambitions, asking my students to open their minds to the world around them, helping them understand the Rastafarian motif of words, sounds and their underlying power; many wars have been won and avoided through negotiations and with kind words.
Being a product of international exchange teachers who fueled my desire to read, my need to explore the world and see what existed beyond the blue waters of the Caribbean, I am able to understand the anxiiety my students feel when sharing their culture with a foreigner, by participating in activities such as the "A Very JETNET Christmas" and "The International Arts Festival," I was able to interact with our participants outside of the confines of a classroom. Living in Japan has taught me to appreciate more than the superficial nature of a culture, but that which makes each culture unique, learning that cultural differences should not hinder communication but be used to fosters free exchange of opinions. The differences between Western principles and Eastern traditions are often juxtaposed in an effort to underscore cultural differences; but having lived in Japan, I have come to realize that humans regardless of creed, race or nationality have an inclination towards a peaceful coexistence.
Like my students, I anticipated the arrival of overseas teachers each year. For three weeks I lived with foreigners who brought more than treats for good students, but a presence which opened the doors to a world beyond rote memorization, a world where different countries, cultures and people coexisted. They regaled me with tales from the outside world, feeding my big dreams and cocooning my childhood ambitions. Like them, I would one day leave my home country hoping to promote grassroots internationalization , not only to my students and coworkers, but also to the people in my community and my counterparts on the programme who had stepped outside of their traditional comfort zone and opted to live and work in a foreign country.
What initially started out as an interest in a neighbouring Caribbean country has grown into a career choice, one which will ideally be for an intergovernmental or nongovernmental association which is proactively involved in conflict resolution. By participating in XXXX's Masters of Arts programme and capstone course, I will be able to actively help countries struggling to recover from periods of conflict, working with experts in the field who actively strive to find solutions to disputes and help countries recover. A masters degree would help me learn the theories which are applicable to the world of peace and conflict analysis while giving me the opportunity to apply these theories practically.
Thanks much for your time.
I just finished my first draft for my postrgrad application and I was wondering if someone can look at it and give me feedback.
Its pretty long. I'm really sorry. The coloured sections are those I don't like =(
There are the questions I'm required to answer in the statement:
Please describe an intercultural interaction you have had
and how it has been important and significant in your life.
How can you use that experience to contribute to SIT's
learning environment?
What effect have intercultural experiences had on your
education and career choices?
What is the relationship between your personal/career
goals and the mission and goals of SIT? How can SIT
help you to further define your goals?
As I approached the one year mark as a participant of (on) the Japan Exchange Teaching (JET) Programme, I was standing in front of Narita International Airport, waiting to welcome the 2009-2010 JET participants. My partner at the "Welcome Station" was rather interested in the fact that I am Jamaican. He was also interested in finding out which Bob Marley song is my favourite. This was a question I could answer without hesitating. Not because I have been asked numerous times since I have lived here, not because the speech of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie has been converted into a song by the King of Reggae and had become one of my favourite songs within the genre, but because War and the message it embodies is representative of the change I want to be a part of introducing to countries frayed by conflict. A postgraduate degree in Peace and Conflict Transformation would allow me to fuse the elements of philosophy and action; calling into reality Sochiro Honda's quotation that "action without philosophy is a lethal weapon, philosophy without action is worthless." A degree in this field provides a philosophical and practical basis on which I can build. Helping conflicting peoples make the transformation into cohesively functioning cultures, putting an end to the strife and wars I have seen documented in some many textbooks as a History major. (But) Long before I spent so many hours pouring over History books, I slid down hills on banana leaves and ran the 100 metres barefoot on the hot asphalt; finding my unfocused childhood mind being intrigued by the political instability on the the Haitian shores. I wanted to solve the problems which led to first coup against President Jean Bertrand Aristide, hoping to help a country which had been fighting its own development since 1804.
Something drew me to Haiti, it was more than the images of a country struggling to heal its shattered framework for development. When President Aristide sought temporary refuge in Jamaica, it painted the island as a safe haven for the Haitian refugees who are now citizens. My love for Haiti fueled my need to study the wars throughout history, examining their causes and their role in fashioning new countries, dividing and uniting ethnic groups, wiping out races. Even though I had fallen in love with a country I had never visited I clung to its culture, hoping to one day travel to the island and experience it all first hand. The first time I met a Haitian I was 12 years old; I had just passed my Common Entrance Examinations and was officially a high school student, I, was in fact, en route to school to collect my welcome package. This brief encounter of congratulatory exchanges helped me make friends for life. For the first two years of high school I spent Thursday afternoons with my Haitian friends. They told me stories of life on the streets of Port-au Prince, being forced into exile for being supporters of Former President Aristide's political ideology and of the family and friends that had been left behind or failed to make the voyage across the Caribbean Sea. These stories strengthened my resolve to work with those whose lives has been shattered by conflict and forced to find solace in foreign settings, ejected from their homeland and without a sense of belonging. Inspired to study History, I was introduced to a world where countries struggled to coexist peacefully, striving to find a balance of power without offering their counterparts the upper hand, playing the essential zero-sum game. While at the University of West Indies I minored in International Relations, which complemented my major. My classes in International Law, International and Regional Organizations and Theories and Approaches to International Relations, helped prepare me for a world where different cultures meet on a common ground, an interest in peace and global development.
A year and a half ago I exchanged my island home for another, [font#FF0000]Japan. Japan, a country which typically beckons alluringly to lovers of anime, Eastern culture, healthy living and sushi- well, surely sushi is a stretch- offered me more than your Lost in Translation-esque take on life as an exchange teacher. By moving to Japan, I was given a chance to live in a post conflict setting, albeit 64 years after the fact. As an exchange teacher, I have been able to observe the Japanese way of non confrontational problem solving, often considered innately submissive but which in my experience seems to be an appreciation for peace. While discussing the recent resurgence of nuclear power with my adult students, they informed me of the Japanese three point policy on nuclear weapons (non possession, non importation and non production); emphasising that as the only country to be attacked by an atomic bomb during a period of war, Japan wants to set an example for the non proliferation of weapons, reaffirming their belief that humans are capable of good deeds. Appalled by any suggestions of retaliation and a need for revenge, they embraced the relationship with the United States, their former foe now ally, citing a need for cooperation among states and distaste for conflict.
This world view is shared by my teenaged students as well. Through Global Studies classes, my students take cultural journeys to the Middle East, Africa and even to neighbouring Asian and South East Asian countries, fostering understanding of different cultures, races and lifestyles, learning about child soldiers in Sierra Leone and the displaced of Darfur, children their age, children deprived of a childhood. I am continuing a tradition that I had been a part of: teaching global citizens, fostering ambitions, asking my students to open their minds to the world around them, helping them understand the Rastafarian motif of words, sounds and their underlying power; many wars have been won and avoided through negotiations and with kind words.
Being a product of international exchange teachers who fueled my desire to read, my need to explore the world and see what existed beyond the blue waters of the Caribbean, I am able to understand the anxiiety my students feel when sharing their culture with a foreigner, by participating in activities such as the "A Very JETNET Christmas" and "The International Arts Festival," I was able to interact with our participants outside of the confines of a classroom. Living in Japan has taught me to appreciate more than the superficial nature of a culture, but that which makes each culture unique, learning that cultural differences should not hinder communication but be used to fosters free exchange of opinions. The differences between Western principles and Eastern traditions are often juxtaposed in an effort to underscore cultural differences; but having lived in Japan, I have come to realize that humans regardless of creed, race or nationality have an inclination towards a peaceful coexistence.
Like my students, I anticipated the arrival of overseas teachers each year. For three weeks I lived with foreigners who brought more than treats for good students, but a presence which opened the doors to a world beyond rote memorization, a world where different countries, cultures and people coexisted. They regaled me with tales from the outside world, feeding my big dreams and cocooning my childhood ambitions. Like them, I would one day leave my home country hoping to promote grassroots internationalization , not only to my students and coworkers, but also to the people in my community and my counterparts on the programme who had stepped outside of their traditional comfort zone and opted to live and work in a foreign country.
What initially started out as an interest in a neighbouring Caribbean country has grown into a career choice, one which will ideally be for an intergovernmental or nongovernmental association which is proactively involved in conflict resolution. By participating in XXXX's Masters of Arts programme and capstone course, I will be able to actively help countries struggling to recover from periods of conflict, working with experts in the field who actively strive to find solutions to disputes and help countries recover. A masters degree would help me learn the theories which are applicable to the world of peace and conflict analysis while giving me the opportunity to apply these theories practically.
Thanks much for your time.