Nervously awaiting their cue, a group of seniors sit at the front of the large crowd. After Mr. Host gives the call to worship, Dr. Riemer gives some short introductory remarks. Three seniors walk to the stage, sit down on stools, and read from their journals, which contain their thoughts and reflections from their trip to Peru.
Setting Up
Dr. Riemer...
It's 7:30 am. Mr. DuRoss rapidly walks up to the student's room and ferociously bangs on their door. The sleepy students slowly proceed to wake up, brush their teeth, and drag themselves to breakfast.
After entering the kitchen, the students crack some eggs into a pan and prepare themselves some PB&J's, creating an exquisite and healthy meal to start off...
During the summer, I was fortunate enough to travel to Guatemala with 13 other Jesuit seniors, where we plugged ourselves into the culture through learning and experiencing their daily lifestyles. Not only were we fortunate enough to have an amazing faculty team, but we were also able to share our experience with another Jesuit senior from Mexico. The thing...
¡Me cargas! ¡Me cargas!
The excited children scream in the ludoteca, or play center, of the local parish center in Andahuaylillas, Peru. As you put one on your shoulders and carry him around, tons of other children grasp on to your legs wanting a turn. Without worrying about the events of the day or even the time, you put each...
It’s 3 am. Nine Jesuit students, five medical professionals, Mr. Von, and Mrs. Sanchez all stumble into DFW airport. With them, they each carry at least one, black, 50-pound supplies bag along with a bag for their personal belongings. Ten hours later, the group lands in Guatemala City. They wait for Mr. Von to go through immigration and customs...
A thick smog coats the skyline, smearing the clouds and swallowing the towering San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles. We walked single-file, cautiously, further and further south of downtown. As we proceeded, we watched as city blocks became more barren. It didn’t seem like street sweepers even bothered. In-N-Out napkins and heroin needles alike were sprinkled along street gutters.
When...
“Saving our planet, lifting people out of poverty, advancing economic growth...these are one and the same fight. We must connect the dots between climate change, water scarcity, energy shortages, global health, food security and women’s empowerment. Solutions to one problem must be solutions for all.” (Ban Ki-moon)
The Trip
From June 2nd until June 9th, a group of sixteen Jesuit students...
Cusco, Peru
Snow-capped peaks of the sacred valley pierce a strikingly blue sky. Jolting along in two weathered, foreign pickups, thirteen American passengers restlessly fidget, smothered in colorful plastic bags of donations for the young children of the village of Sullomayo. Their slight physical discomfort, nearly sacrilegious in the presence of such shockingly beautiful mountain terrain, shrinks as the rising...
