Skip to Content
Report an accessibility problem
ASU homeMy ASUColleges and schools

Lists, lists and more lists

Posted on April 29, 2015 by
Davi Briggs

Lists, Lists and More Lists

By Davi Briggs

In preparing for our program to Guatemala, I have been making a lot of lists. Lists about what I should pack:

  1. Pants
  2. A hat
  3. Snacks
  4. Copious amounts of sunscreen

Lists filled with exclamation marks, reminding me of important things to do before leaving:

  1. Fill prescription for malaria pills!
  2. Photocopy passport!
  3. Print travel insurance card!
  4. PACK SUNSCREEN!

(Clearly sun exposure has been a concern.)

And lists of things I expect to learn or better understand through participation in this program:

  1. How Guatemalans perceive current development in their country
  2. What Guatemalans say they need to be happy
  3. Strategies Guatemalans are currently using to better their lives
  4. If Guatemalans love coffee as much as I love coffee

I will stress that there are a couple key things that I hope to gain by participating in this program. First, I see this program as an opportunity to practice community engagement in Latin America. As an individual interested in international development work, I believe that development strategies cannot be successful unless they have local support. While I do not expect to walk away from this program an expert in community engagement,(although “Davi Briggs, Community Engagement Expert” does have a nice ring to it), I do expect to walk away better versed in tools used for stakeholder involvement. This is especially important to me as I plan to apply such tools to my future research.

Secondly, I am honestly interested in learning how Guatemalans define happiness. For me, happiness is:

  1. Spending time with friends and family
  2. Being able to support myself
  3. Traveling
  4. Buzzfeed videos of adorable puppies and kittens

I would imagine that, perhaps excluding number 3 and 4, happiness to me and happiness to Guatemalans is not so dissimilar. That being said, while my happiness can sometimes hinge on material effects like owning a personal computer and buying that cute item that I don’t need but really, really want, these things may not be factored into the average Guatemalan’s life the way they sometimes factor into mine. To be clear, I do not think that is a bad thing. While I may confuse what I need to be happy versus what I want, perhaps the average Guatemalan better understands this distinction. Maybe, in speaking to stakeholders in Guatemala, I will learn that happiness for them is proximity to their friends and community and ability to support their family. Maybe I will learn that, while personal computers and really cute items are desirable, stakeholders place higher importance on experiences, rather than things.

If you really thought about it, what would make you happier?