I arrived in India just over one month ago. Since that time I have seen many things and learned a lot about both India and myself. Our extensive travelling during the first few weeks led me to be extremely excited for arriving at Vijnana Kala Vedi, a cultural arts center here in Kerala, where our....
Reports from Southern India
Being in Southern India has been a pleasant change. The weather is hot, there are palm trees everywhere, we can actually see the countryside, the people are friendly and we eat with our hands off of banana leaves. The past week has been very eventful. In the city of Guruvayoor, we saw a Theyyam, which....
“There’s so much to think about…”
So I’ve been thinking about the whole idea of Syncretism, Catholic vs. Evangelical, and the ongoing process of change within the Church here, as Rafael was talking to us about yesterday. I’m kind of struggling with it all. Is all syncretism bad? Is my belief a result of syncretism? It doesn’t seem like it, because....
Climbing the Fuego Volcano
Rolling through Antigua this weekend was quite amazing. Even though the country of Guatemala is roughly the size of Ohio, it contains over 30 volcanoes, which are enormous. When I actually (more or less) reached the top of Fuego, I realized how drastic the country really is, in terms of geography. You drive from the....
Two journal entries from India
On January 20, our group arrived in Kolkata. As I stepped out of the train station, my first impression was that this was the most polluted place I had ever been. At that point, I wasn’t very excited for our stay. Looking back, however, the things we saw made it the most memorable place we’ve....
Mayan Culture
I think you can learn a lot about a group of people by the way they dress and by what food they eat. This occurred to me as I read about the Mayan people. It was very interesting to read about their farming and cornfields. “If there are no tortillas served, you have not eaten....
Two journal entries from Guatemala
There is so much suffering all around me here. Actually, today was the first time I thought maybe Guatemala is not as ‘broken’ as I thought, but rather I am looking through a magnifying glass at how broken humanity is in general. I remember the night our Guatemalan group visited Guana Chapi. I’ll never forget....
First impressions of India
It’s pretty hard for me to believe that I have only been in India for one week. It seems so much longer ago that we all said our goodbyes and boarded the bus at EMU. In that week so much has happened! I have seen the awesome beauty of some of the world’s most magnificent....
Una Marcha de Paz – A March for Peace
Play video “Juntos como hermanos, miembros de la iglesia vamos caminando al encuentro del Senor.” Together as brothers and sisters, members of the church we gather together to meet with God. Words of a Catholic gathering song. Words of peace. But this time it’s not just words, it’s action as well. Today, our group had....
Reflections on returning to Spain
For the past three weeks our group has been living in the vibrant country of Spain once again after spending five weeks in Morocco. The minute I stepped onto Spanish soil only a few kilometers from the African continent I instantly felt more relaxed, and as we drove up to the small town of Montoro....