The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2008

Math Enrichment for Your Kids (and You) AFSA member Andrew Erickson writes from Bogota to recommend a math resource for high school students that Foreign Service families can enjoy through an online connection. He tells us that the St. Mark’s Institute of Mathematics, founded by Dr. James Tanton and supported by St. Mark’s School in Southborough, Mass., “is a non- profit organization serving those interested in practicing and experi- encing the joy of true mathematical thinking as a creative and per- sonally rich endeavor. Its outreach work is directed towards students, teachers and parents, offering enrichment, assistance and fun.” What started out with a note placed by Erickson in the Embassy Bogota newsletter led to notes in other embassy newsletters and more than 300 Foreign Service families around the world now subscribe to the free monthly math newsletters, including “Mathematical Puzzles without Words.” The institute is looking for feedback on what would be of most help to Foreign Service families. Possible future plans include online Web lectures and lessons, Web-based enrichment materials and additional newsletters of different types. A brief online survey to enter your ideas is at www.stmarksschool.org/math/survey. If you have any questions about the institute or would like to receive the newsletter (it’s all free!), please send an e-mail to mathinstitute @stmarksschool.org . 70 F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L / J U L Y - A UGU S T 2 0 0 8 M y three years in Vietnam shaped my perceptions more than any other experience in my life. I encountered prejudice and learned about being aminority. I witnessed poverty and saw the developing world firsthand. And I learnedhowculture shapes life, work and behavior. At the International School of Ho Chi Minh City, Americans were a minority. Most studentswereVietnamese orKorean, with a total of over 20 nationalities. I encounteredprejudice againstAmerica for the first time, thoughnot fromVietnamese students. Theprejudicemostly came from Western students, driven by objections to America’s foreign policy but extending to its culture, history and people. Iwasnot justBen; Iwas “theAmerican.” I was torn betweenmy own disagreement withU.S. foreignpolicy, loyalty tomycoun- try and its historic values, andmy desire to beacceptedby students andteachers. There werealsotensionsamongothergroups,par- ticularly betweenKoreans and Europeans. Afterenduringthesetensionsforoverayear, I tookaction. Duringmy sophomore year, I spearheaded the creationof the “Students for Tolerance Committee” to raise aware- ness and reduce hostility at school. My school experiences were comple- mentedby invaluable lessons about pover- ty and its problems that I learned from liv- ing in a developing country. In Vietnam, I saw families living inmetal shacks. I saw peopleuse the SaigonRiver as a toilet, drink its water and bathe andwash their clothes in it. I saw children working in fields and begging on the streets. Although I wit- nessed these events daily, my most direct experiences of poverty and cultural dif- ferences came from volunteering at Bien Hoa Orphanage. The orphanage showed me the hard- ships orphans face. The air insidewas filled with the stenchof urine, feces, warmmilk, mucus and sweat. Therewere rooms filled withdozens of tiny,mewlingbabies. When we, a group of nine volunteers, held the babies, we could feel their heavy, impaired breathing. Caring for so many tiny chil- drenwas a Sisyphean task. Only two care- givers worked at a time, and they con- centratedonmechanical tasks suchas laun- dry, cleaning, andbottle-feeding. Theyhad little time to play with the children. We alleviated some of the strainbut even aswe held, rocked, fed and played, there were unattended children screaming for atten- tion. Iwouldconsoleone child, but as soon as I divertedmy attention to another baby, the child I had just put downwould resume howling. At BienHoa, I learned that when peo- ple are concerned about survival, it is dif- ficult to be altruistic. The women who worked at the orphanage seemed more concerned with keeping their jobs than with the children’s welfare. They rarely let the childrengooutside because they feared that any injury, even a scratch or bug bite, would jeopardize their employment. When one of our teachers donated a pair of shoes, a woman on duty took them for her ownchild. When someone is inpover- ty, short-termgain is a higher priority than moral correctness. Perhaps moral cor- rectness is a luxury reserved for thosewhose immediate needs are satisfied. The orphanage also taughtme the chal- lenges of working with people froma dif- ferent culture. Culture is more than diet or apparel; it influences one’s way of life and work. In America, people dispose of things without hesitation, but the women at Bien Hoa were raised to conserve. Wheneverwe tried to change a diaper that was not bursting, they would stop us. Although we saw children suffering from diaper rash, defying thewomenwouldhave been terribly disrespectful. So, although we changed diapers when we could, we never openly disobeyed the women who worked there. Thanks toVietnam, I better understand themeaning of diversity. I recognize that culture shapes attitudes. I amable to func- tion in foreign or new environments. I have more insight into prejudice and the way it excludes and divides people. I also recognize the serious need that exists in the world andour duty todo something about it. Although I still have a lot to learn about theworld, living inVietnamhasmademe wiser and broader-minded. o A F S A N E W S 2008 AFSA MERIT AWARD “BEST ESSAY” Waking Up in Vietnam BY BENJAMIN WINNICK AFSA NEWS BRIEFS