Why bother leaving home?

By: Kim Sanchez

InteRDom Correspondent, Kim, has completed three years of her Bachelor's degree in Film and Video at the Visual Arts College at the University of Toledo in Ohio. She is participating in the 2013 10-week Caribbean Summer Program. You can read more about Kim and her participation in the Correspondent Program here.


"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page." St. Augustine
 
Everyone around me seems to have a fear of traveling. They believe that other countries are foreign and dangerous. However, I believe the world is simply too big to stay in one place. I have this unsettling feeling that I’m living in a cage with the door wide open and that's why I have to leave.

I'm a filmmaker. I make short films about myself and the world around me. I'm so interested in how a filmmaker can manipulate images and sounds to tell a story and be understood. Just in the past year I've travelled across the US, to Portugal, and to the Azores for filmmaking. I just can't stop leaving! I'm realizing now that my art is making me mobile, but what I really want to do is mobilize others. I want others to watch my films and then be inspired to take action in some way. This is why I'm leaving for the Dominican Republic.

For 10 weeks this summer I'll be working with La Fundación de Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE), a nonprofit organization that promotes human development and globalization in the Dominican Republic. I couldn't have dreamed of a more fitting opportunity! 

As an audiovisual intern, I will be involved in shooting, mixing, and editing video productions for the organization. In addition, I will live in student housing and take classes at La Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE). I'm so excited to become a part of this organization and use my skills to help educate and reach others.
 
I leave tomorrow. I am very excited to be part of this organization and to use my skills to educate and reach others. I'm really stressed out juggling work, moving into a new apartment, and preparing to travel abroad. I've been practicing my Spanish, but I'm still very nervous about speaking. I'm an adaptable person, but my deepest fear is that people will speak too quickly for me to understand. But this is exactly what I want! It's not supposed to be easy and pleasant all the time, if it were, why bother leaving home? I want to be challenged. I want to learn. I want to grow. This is why I have to leave, and it's why you should too.