A Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges to Promote Asian Studies
ASIANetwork Freeman Foundation
1998 Student-Faculty Fellows Program
for Collaborative Research in Asia
Excerpts from Students' Reflections
Jane Tiedge, Augustana College:
I have many different feelings towards China and the people that I met while there. I did not go over there with specific expectations. At my age (43 years) I know better than to do something like that. I went to China with an open mind and with the knowledge that it was a developing country - a third world country. However, I have to admit that I did have some trouble adjusting to certain aspects of the social conditions and behaviors that I found throughout China. That withstanding, I was able to overcome those feelings and have a very successful research trip.
Jan Brunson, Eckerd College:
I learned things not found in textbooks. The experience in Sri Lanka was my first chance to put into practice the research methods that I have learned throughout my undergraduate studies, and my first true immersion in a foreign culture. This experience at the undergraduate level is invaluable as I apply to graduate schools and fellowships. And in my projected career as a college professor, I will continue to conduct and publish this kind of research. On a more personal note, I also learned much about myself and built character as I overcame challenges.
Andrew Busch, Illinois Wesleyan University:
I can say that this experience has affected me unlike any previous experience. This experience has both depressed me and given me hope. It has also opened my eyes about the ways in which people live in other parts of the world. Seeing the enormity of problems for myself was very disconcerting, as was coming back to the United States and realizing the materialism and outright gluttony that our culture tends to produce. At the same time, seeing people living happily throughout all the hardships still amazes me. I was brought to tears at more than one point by the amazing generosity that I was shown, and at my own culture's lack of similarly generous acts. Overall, I feel that I have come back a bit more pessimistic about the direction in which human society is going, and a bit more realistic about the problems that we face in trying to make the future better.
Karen Stoll, Kalamazoo College:
I was able to attend a number of religious celebrations and rituals myself, which was very helpful in gaining some more objective insights into the practices. There are some interesting discrepancies between what the women stated about their religious lives and what they actually do. On the whole however, I believe that this research was successful and, at the same time, that there is much more research to be done in order to gain a broader understanding of women's roles within the Buddhist life in Sri Lanka.
Stacey Brown, The University of Puget Sound:
Conducting research in Dharamsala, I was able to see and experience what I was researching, an opportunity most people do not have. As a woman following my own spiritual path, I discovered and journeyed with Tibetan women and with Yudronma on theirs. I believe it is important to document and tell Yudronma's story. In the sixty odd years she has lived an exciting and terrifying life which many of us could never begin to understand. But as a woman, with her faith, she survives. So, here I am with her words and her pictures opening new doors in my own life, I am only opening the door a bit wider to learn, discover, and tell my own stories of encountering remarkable people in the world.
Elizabeth Noble, Skidmore College:
The issues I encountered while researching the role of Tibetan Buddhist Nuns in Ladakh, a region of Northern India, provided immense personal and academic growth. As I have only once before briefly traveled in an underdeveloped country, the trip provided a constant educational experience. The first few weeks, everyday I encountered some part of the culture that filled me with amazement or repulsion. My attitude towards the diverse cultural differences varied throughout my time there, as I slowly began to understand the complexity of the economic and developmental issues, as well as just settled into the culture. Although I have learned that I would most likely not want a career in the field of anthropological research, I have developed a strong interest in community development issues, which I would like to pursue further. Overall, I feel the research project was an invaluable learning experience.
Paul Boruta, St. Olaf College:
Conducting research this summer in China on an ASIANetwork-Freeman Fellowship was an exciting and rewarding experience. I learned much from working with Prof. Pomponio, not only from her broad knowledge of China's economy but also from her personal experiences growing up and living in Shanghai. The process of conducting research 'from scratch' was both fun and exhausting, and the lessons learned from it will undoubtedly benefit me in my future research. The experience of living and traveling in China has left a lasting impression on me personally. I was rewarded time and again by the friendships I made with Chinese people during the course of our research. Having studied Chinese for almost eight years, I felt fortunate to have the opportunity to put my language skills to use and to cross cultural barriers in a country so different from my own.