Beckett Christensen ’24: Ingenuity In Action reflection

Ingenuity in Action experience: Off-campus study

Where: School for International Training’s Art, Religion, and Social Change program in Jakarta, Indonesia

What: Traveled and studied through a Gilman Scholarship for fall semester 2023

Major: Religion; Minor: politics

I think that my background as a service industry worker provided a sneaky advantage in a foreign space. I often found myself wandering off and starting conversations with strangers, much different than my cohort members who generally kept to themselves. I think that this allowed for a particularly enriching experience, as I held no fear of conversations with strangers and new experiences. This was also likely furthered by my position as a white male, as I am frequently allowed more comfort in social settings in the United States.

I attempted to leave any and all expectations and experience at home, and to approach my time with a clean slate and open mind. I would say that perhaps the experience of practicing detachment allowed me to face the new environment free of judgment or comparison, and to accept it as it was on its own.

In cities full of Western tourist-centric restaurants, I would choose to sit and eat in the local warungs (shops). I opted to attend local religious ceremonies and rituals, took trips with local friends that I met, and made a commitment to speaking the language even when others spoke English to me. While others chose projects that allowed them to stay in hotels and comfortable Western settings, my project forced me to travel about on my own, relying on the host culture for data, using one-on-one conversations rather than surveys, forms, and data harvesting via electronic methods.

Read six more student reflections on their Ingenuity in Action experience.