3/13/2006 - Developing Herself, Along with the World; Nancy Benjamin, Ph.D., Senior Economist, Africa Region, The World Bank
Nancy Benjamin decided to plan her own AFS experience after watching her French host sister, Claire, transform from a confused stranger who had trouble deciphering popular song lyrics into an all-American teenager over the course of a year. “Everything in the United States was different, but Claire was game for everything, including American football, pep rallies, rock concerts, AFS fund-raisers, surprise parties, and graduation ceremonies.”
Nancy got her own chance to immerse herself in a new culture when she was accepted for an AFS summer exchange to Istanbul, Turkey, an experience that she described as life-altering. “Along with the many cultural and natural wonders of Istanbul and the great joys of neighborhood life with my host family and their friends, my summer in Turkey was a unique opportunity to get a closer feel for the Middle East and for the Muslim religion and its history.”
The trip to Turkey marked the beginning of a life spent traveling, as Benjamin was soon on her way to France to visit Claire and her family. She says that the trip “solidified my French, which ended up having a profound impact on my career.” In college, she majored in economics and wrote her doctoral dissertation on Cameroon, a French-speaking country in West Africa.
“I became a university professor of international and development economics, teaching students from around the world,” said Benjamin. She also worked with international development agencies, including the International Monetary Fund and the U.S. International Trade Commission, before accepting a position as a senior economist for the Africa Region within the World Bank.
“I work on French-speaking West African countries, including Benin and Senegal, a largely Muslim country,” explained Benjamin about her work in advising developing countries on their economic policies. She is quick to acknowledge that it was her AFS experience, both as a host sister for Claire and then as a student traveler herself, that helped her to develop the variety of skills needed to communicate effectively across cultures.
“My exposure through AFS to a variety of languages, cultures, families, and religions gave me precious skills from experience, which helped me become a more effective world citizen.”
Nancy says that she keeps the memory of her exchange experience alive within her own family by talking to her children about her host sister, now a professor of English in France. “[Claire] taught me to play the guitar she brought with her, along with several French folk songs that I still play today and sing to my kids.”
Reprinted with permission from the P.S. Partnerships, AFS-USA, New York, USA, February, 2006.
To reprint the article, please contact Olayinka Fadahunsi at ofadahunsi@afs.org
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