Module 1 complete, module 2 started

Well, officially finished the first third of SOP! Personal reflection completed and started module 2 (Conflict, Violence and development). How the first part has flown. When looking back I can see the changes in me, to jump out of my comfort zone and be prepared to accept new ways of thinking. I won't lie, the journey has not always been easy but it was never going to be easy! Hearing the history of England from the perspective of people that we, as English people, have hurt is not easy. To realise that my education has let me down in that they never taught me about the British Empire is not a comfortable feeling. People have been hurt by it and communities are still working towards healing this damage caused is not good. Why did our education let us and the people we hurt down by not telling us about it? They feel betrayed by this fact, should we feel like that too? It is hard to vocalise how I feel about it all, I think this is because I have not yet identified how I feel about it all.

Tomorrow we will celebrate International Womans Day, what will you be doing to celebrate what the strong women in your communities have done? It will be a new experience for me and I am looking forward to it.

When I look at all the issues we have been covering I am starting to realise how many priviledges I have as a white person. The fact that I do not see race as a barrier to having relationships with people is a priviledge. When you are coloured and at the hands of white people experience discrimination this is a priviledge you no longer have, the white person has taken it away from you. Even my social class gives me a status that I have never identified with. This has been a difficult lesson and one I am still learning about and will be an ongoing journey even away from India.

When we look at development, I ask the question, who defines what is development? Is it the west with all the money or is it the money that defines it? Can we not look at development in a different way, away from the economics of the capitalist society? I don't know the answer and I don't know if I will find out.

So many people here give me points to think about and I am grateful to them for it. I am learning a lot in class but even more from the people. They make the programme. Next week we go on our second of 3 field visits, this time I will be visiting Koppal. Stay tuned to find out more.

Rachel