This past week we have been recovering from and reflecting on our 10 days spent in El Salvador. From speakers to hikes to beaches to bucket bathing, our trip provided us with lots to talk about. Moreover, our professors encouraged us to think about connections and similarities between the situations in Mexico and El Salvador.
With these ideas in mind, we spent our last religion class discussing the people that have impacted us each the most throughout the semester. We wrote down their names on puzzle pieces and took turns putting the pieces in the middle of a circle, each of us explaining why we chose the people we did. Some names were almost predictable—the outspoken women of feminist organizations, the strong support staff at CGE whose stories we’ve had the pleasure of hearing. But other names were much less noticed or well-known—a wise host father only some of us were able to meet, a character in a story we read, a professor we met the first week at orientation in El Paso. This activity enabled (or maybe forced) us to do what many of us will continue doing when we return to wherever home is—remembering.
Our last political science class had a similar goal of reflecting on this past semester. They, however, asked us to look to the future. The professors posed the question: “What have I learned this semester that will enable me to be a better global citizen?” We had some time to think about it and then we stood outdoors and took turns saying our piece. I spoke about how I feel like I have been wasting all my “power” or “privilege” by doing nothing. I am honestly not involved at all on my college campus and, coming here, I am a little embarrassed by that. Something specific that I hope to become involved in upon my return is immigration advocacy and policy work.
On Thursday we all presented our final projects about our time spent in El Salvador with a focus on how we will each best be able to share what we learned when we return to the States. To give you an idea of the different mediums people used, one student created a brochure to distribute at her university to raise awareness about the similarities between U.S.-El Salvador relations in the 1980s and 1990s and U.S.-Iraq relations today. Another student did a series of drawings in watercolor that touch on the brutality of the Salvadoran Civil War and our on interconnectedness to the earth. Some wrote speeches, another choreographed a dance, and another created a reflection journal for her little sister. It was a full-day affair and by the end I think we were all exhausted, relieved, and proud of our classmates.
We spent a lot of time our last day talking about reverse culture shock and what we can do to ease back into “American culture.” After the reorientation our professors came and surprised us with an informal and a bit tongue-in-cheek graduation ceremony. The interns Laura Litwiller and Julie Rogers worked to give us each very fitting “awards.” For instance, when they called me to get my diploma (in the form of a mini yearbook of sorts) they read “Warm and full of laughter, she might punch or poke you, but she’ll hug you right after!” Our ending for the semester was fitting—we all went out for el plato rico de pozole.
After that we went our separate ways. Most of us stayed and flew out on Sunday, some left sooner to travel, and some are traveling for much longer. As excited as I am to see my family and friends, I’m nervous to go back to a place I have been critiquing and, frankly, not liking very much for the past four months. On this balancing act, I wish my fellow classmates, my new sisters, all the luck I can muster (even though I know they don’t need any of it).
Our group on the last day of the program
1 comments:
This was a cool blog! I'll try to remember not to "go up too many ladders."
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