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...
"Ay, ¿qué ónda? (Hey, what's up?)" A group of excited students in red t-shirts burst through the terminal doors and flocked to their new families. New friendships were beginning and old friendships were strengthening as the Mexican students were welcomed into the Jesuit Dallas community.
For three weeks this April, eleven students from the Jesuit school, Instituto de las Ciencias...
Fifty pound medicine bags, nine students, six doctors, three days, two teachers, and one mission. Jesuit students were playing Uno on the filthy airport floor in Guatemala City, excitedly sharing their spring break plans and interest in medicine. Advised not to pet the wild dogs, they rushed into dented vans, roused by the deafening roars of motorbikes and the...
