My Story

Shared by Helen Senecal

In thinking about my experiences with diversity, I remember the feeling of "difference" during a trip to visit my daughter. She was volunteering in western Africa with the Peace Corps and I decided what a great opportunity for new experiences a trip to Africa would be.

Suddenly finding myself in a foreign culture, not speaking the language and clearly standing out in the crowd was a new experience for me. Everywhere we traveled I felt as if we were on display. We were stared at, pointed to, whispered about, and usually followed by curious children. Trips to the local markets to purchase goods and food were nothing short of a bargaining experience. And I quickly learned that preconceptions of white affluence predetermined price. It became apparent there was a price for us and a price for the locals. We were treated differently, almost begrudgingly polite. I remember feeling uncomfortable, especially when we were given priority over the locals when waiting for taxis, or waiting to be seated in the local café. I remember the day a taxi driver stopped to order a local woman out of the taxi so he could pick us up and drive us to the next town. To him we represented a higher fare, a definite income and status among the other drivers. I may not have understood the language, but I clearly understood the rudeness and disrespect he showed her. We accepted his offer, only after agreeing to share the taxi ride with her. The look on his face of total disgust and disbelief said it all. There was a definite discomfort level between myself as a white woman and the local women, coupled with a sense of distrust. My daughter explained that in some ways we were viewed as competition. We represented things as women that they had little or no access to in this third world country.

I began to draw on my recollections of discussions in my women's studies courses to frame a point of reference and context. Actually getting to put theory into action, I found that these insights proved helpful and I was able to look at this trip from two differing perspectives or positions: dominance and subordination. I began to understand how they must view me and how that view shaped their reactions to me. With this realization, I began to wish I had more time to extend my stay and "learn". Perhaps that's why I push study/travel abroad so much. It presents a wonderful opportunity to learn so much about yourself, and about the fact that we are more alike than we are different.

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