In 2007, I spent two weeks in Mexico learning about border issues, as well as Mexican culture and history. Ever since, I have had an insatiable desire to explore the people and culture of Mexico. I began to follow immigration reform more closely in world media, as well as sharing my experiences in my friend groups, church, and school. Mexico became so much more to me than the country with which we share a border. Unfortunately, a potentially large and certainly vocal group of people in the U.S. have made it clear that they believe that is all Mexico should be. By spending four months in the heart of Mexico, engaging with its people and with others who share a similar passion for the country, I will be able to learn more thoroughly and deeply about Mexico. A mentor once taught me that people often characterize a nation by its poverty and forget about the richness of its culture. By participating in the service-learning program in Guadalajara, I am confident that I will learn just as much (if not more) about the richness of Mexican culture as I learn about the poverty.
Having a global focus is something that continues to become important to me. Realizing that I am a tiny piece of a much larger global community is humbling. Studying and serving in Guadalajara will make the huge world much more manageable. Becoming fluent in Spanish unlocks, essentially, an entire hemisphere of the planet. I will learn more than just a language, though. The service-learning component to my study abroad experience will teach me about the Mexico’s past as well as give me an opportunity to become part of its future. My experience will be more than taking classes in a different country. It will be filled with diverse and unique encounters with an even more diverse group of people. I hope to gain a stronger sense of personal identity while still thriving in an ever changing global community.
The best way I know how to explain what I will give to this program is to say that I commit to giving myself, fully and wholly. I will engage my mind, body, and spirit in ways that are outside my comfort zone. Because of that, I will give my passion, enthusiasm, and vitality to every encounter I have. I will be consistent in the classroom, in my host family’s home, and in any service agency with which I have the opportunity to work. I also plan on giving to the program when my four month experience in Guadalajara is complete. I will be an ally and an advocate for the people with whom I meet and share. My passion will not be quelled in four months; a service-learning opportunity is really only the beginning of my relationship with Mexico and its people.
I can only begin to list the ways I will benefit from a hands-on service-learning experience combined with classroom education. The Spanish language is something I want to explore, study, and utilize in future academic work, as well as along my career path. Knowing Spanish more accurately than any text book can teach me will change the way I pursue ministry and social work, while opening more doors to new experiences. My service-learning experience in Guadalajara will be a richer one than if I solely took classes at a university. There will be more balance in my life for those four months because I will be actively engaging with the things I am learning about in the classroom. My identity will be developed and well rounded. The quality of my service will be better, which will make me more efficient, leading to better relationships in the service agency, the classroom, and at the house which will become my home. When I was discerning which program to study through, IPSL stuck out as the obvious choice. I cannot imagine a better way to solidify classroom learning than to experience it firsthand.
