A few weeks ago I co-hosted a J-term sharing event on campus. We wanted to provide an opportunity and casual space for students to have lunch together and share about their experiences on immersive programs during J-term. It was sponsored by MIIS Student Council event and more than a month after our return, a good time to get together and decompress on J-term experiences. My co-host was Chris Callaghan, the first year MPA representative, and I, I am the second year IPS representative, hosted the event. We organized a lunch in the garden on a sunny Thursday. Around 15 people came representing all the Immersive Learning trips: El Salvador, Peru, Cuba, Rwanda and the Philippines. We sat around picnic blankets talking about our J-term travels.
Our Green Thumb Garden, March 5, 2015
We had chosen a few prompts beforehand to get the conversation going (What were the best moments of the trip? What was your ah-ha moment?), and from there we were off and running. It became clear that a major running theme of the research trips this year was: “This will not be the same as last year.” Peru Practicum research was particularly focused. While last year we charged the Sacred Valley with four data collection instruments and a topic that could fill 8 PhD dissertations, this year’s group focused on evaluating agricultural practices. The group who traveled to Cuba was much smaller and had more of a natural focus on history. It was an eye opening study on capitalism, and a political experiential learning experience to the max – “you just have to go,” they all said.
The El Salvador team not only partnered with local community organizers and EcoViva, they stayed with families in home-stays and returned with seriously impressive Spanish skills. The DPMI Rwanda group worked with Partners In Health, focusing on community health and development. For many, this was their first time in Africa.
The stories go on and on.
The travel bug was clearly a contagion among this group. The tone was positive and there was a feeling of relief in listening, reflecting and sharing stories. It’s amazing to think back on the expectations of graduate school and compare to the doors that have opened through MIIS to go abroad and engage with development practitioners. Clearly, a lunch hour was not enough time to delve deeply into the details of travels, recount personal conversations, or flout philosophical realizations. Hopefully there were new connections made, new motivations stirred, and a re-energizing into the wide array of research and reporting projects going on around campus.