Kimberly Le Post #1

Hello all. My name is Kimberly Le, but everyone can call me Kim for short if you please. I'm currently a junior at Simmons double majoring in Marketing and Communication. I have taken one leadership course at Simmons so far and this course/trip will be my second. I strongly believe that in a persons' lifetime, the best thing you can do for yourself is to go out and see the world because the world is so beautiful. There is so much to see and learn that maybe one life isn't even enough. I spend all the money I have on seeing what else is out there because life is just to precious to be wasted in one isolated city.

In this trip, as crazy or maybe not so crazy, as it might sound, I sort of am hoping to find my spritual self, you know, find out why God put me on this green earth. I've been doing a lot of soul searching since January of 2007, tracing back to my roots, to my heritage, my hometown where I was born and raised, and I still can't figure out as to what I am suppose to do, who I am, and so hopefully, I can get a little closer to my search so I can find my purpose.

Section from Pre-departure paper: Out of the seven most developed countries in the world, the U.S. has the highest percentage of poverty, with 1% of the population controlling the economy. Similar to India, the U.S. has an increasing widening gap between the rich and the poor. Likewise, the U.S. and India both share the Future Orientation dimension in which the U.S. does encourage individuals to delay instant gratification by planning and investing in their future through education and hard work. But unlike India, the U.S. has a more individualistic perspective rather than an “Institutional Collectiveness,” in which social institutions encourage and reward collective action and distribution of resources. In the U.S. this individualistic ideology leads people to be more concerned with their personal well-being and self progress, rather than the collective well being of their society.

See everyone Sunday!