Thank you, Soweto
Oct. 1, 2011 One of my of host sister’s concerns when I left Soweto was that she wouldn’t have anyone to eat her curried chilies with. Anyone who knows me at least a little would assume the departure of my appetite to be a blessing, but not for Dimakatso. I love to eat. I know....
Soweto history tour and Emshukantambo High School
South Africa is a country of boldness and vibrancy, and it’s hard to believe I have been taking it all in for the past 18 days already! The people here are so welcoming, and I think that their past challenges have truly shaped their relational culture and hospitality. My host mother (Mme Esther) shared a....
Soweto, South Africa
Nervousness, frustration, excitement, joy, loneliness, love, fear… each of these emotions has crossed my mind at least once recently. I may have been on cross-cultural for only two weeks so far, but it is definitely already turning out to be an adventure! Honestly, I still have a hard time believing I am actually in South....
Climb to Machu Picchu
Lima, June 15, 2011 As our Perú cross-cultural came to an end we got to visit and see places you only dream of seeing. We started off with a train ride to Machu Picchu. On our journey to Machu Picchu we had time to relax on the train, play games, and just enjoy each other’s....
Peru sights and sounds
Hola from Peru!! We just finished our week of Spanish classes this Friday and it was a great week of learning for all of us. We spent Saturday the 4th, in Chincheros. This was a beautiful plaza. Chincheros is a Q’echwa word that means city or place of bright colors. There were many farming terraces....
First five days in Peru
I can´t believe we’ve been in Peru for five days already! Time has been flying by! I hope to briefly reflect on our time here so far from my point of view, which hopefully expands across the group. We were able to make it to Lima, Peru without any flight problems. The only small glitch....
Holy Week in Antigua, Guatemala
This last week, our FINAL week, we traveled out of Guatemala city and into the old, colonial capital of Antigua for Semana Santa festivities. During the week we stayed in the beautiful Lutheran Retreat Center run by an indigenous women’s cooperative. As we wrapped up this semester with final presentations we also ventured out into....
Salvador Urbina, Chiapas, Mexico
A break from the city, time to relax in a tranquil little town, and all the coffee we ever wanted to drink. What a wonderful ten days our group spent in the coffee growing community of Salvador Urbina, Chiapas, Mexico. While we spent a lot of time embracing local culture: sitting around, talking, and watching....
Nazareth Village and the Jesus Trail
After our week at the kibbutz and at Oranim College, we made our way to the small city of Nazareth for the next stage of our adventure. We are staying in the middle of the old city in a nice hostel with nice people, but then again, when aren’t the people nice here? We spent....
Free Travel Reports from Guatemala
After 8 weeks of Spanish classes and living with host families here in Guatemala City, we had a week of free travel where we could go anywhere we wanted (within reason, of course). Our group of 20 students split up into smaller groups and most people headed to the beach, but my group of five....