This weekend was a second one in a shoreline Paradise, as our group descended upon the mostly undeveloped rainforest region of Tikal in the northernmost part of Guatemala.聽 This past week we finished our first section of intensive Spanish and we will all be moving up a level and changing around classes in the week....
Three reports from India
I鈥檝e really enjoyed the time we鈥檝e had at the Sarang Center. Each of us takes Hindi class, cross-cultural psychology, and a third class each day. I, along with Kerm, Ryan, Laura, Carmen, Tessa, and Rachel, take cooking class from our Hindi teachers, Anu and Gautham, every day. I鈥檝e really enjoyed class as we鈥檝e learned how....
Guatemala – a day at the beach
I can鈥檛 believe it has been seven weeks since our trip began. It has been exciting. Every day there is something new to learn to and to see. Right now I am learning a lot of Spanish, a lot about Guatemala, and am getting to know my host family. I have a Mom, Dad, Grandma,....
Bedouin night and Petra
Although many of us were not quite ready to say goodbye to Damascus, we were all excited for what was to lie ahead in Jordan. We spent the first two days in the capital of Jordan, Amman, where we had time to explore the city and meet with the MCC representatives in Jordan. We got....
Mayan spirituality and culture
This week our theme was Mayan spirituality and culture. We started out by hearing some of the history of the Mayans and how they鈥檝e been influenced by Western ideas and practices. Even the people who do still practice Mayan spirituality have incorporated other doctrines and traditions. I never really knew much about Mayan spirituality, but....
The final week in Syria
Sa’lam Everyone! Sadly we had to say goodbye to Syria this week. We had our last Arabic class Wednesday where we had our final exam which was just a short conversation with our teachers. I’m happy to say that we all passed the class and are now at level one. It鈥檚 sad to be leaving....
Delhi, India
Namaste to all back home! Greetings from India! I was excited when I was asked to write this week because I knew exactly what I wanted to share with everyone back home. I wanted to share about getting to hang out with some kids from the slums of Delhi. We met with the leaders of....
Report from Guatemala
This past week has been a nice chance to settle into the routine of our lives here in Guatemala for the next while.聽 Returning to the houses of our host families every night finally feels a little bit more like home, using the camionetas (public buses) is not as daunting a task as a week....
Visit to Lebanon
Marhaba! We’re back from Lebanon safely, and I’m in the dormitories at St. Elias Monastery again in Syria. It’s good to be 鈥榟ome.鈥� That’s right; our place in Damascus, Syria now feels somewhat like home. Damascus is familiar to us, with more or less some semblance of routine: wake up, eat breakfast, then hop on聽a....
CASAS and homestays in Guatemala
As we were ending our stay in Mexico, we had some time to reflect on our experiences, and lots more on our ride back to Tucson. The time in Douglas/Agua Prieta really put things into perspective for all of us. Seeing all that was going on was both eye-opening and grounding for us. From meeting....