It is only after experiencing the country first-hand with an open mind that a person can truly return with an accurate narrative. Prior to going on a Faculty-led Immersion to Guatemala, I noticed a pattern of advice I, and others attending, would receive from both friends and family--individuals who had yet to travel to Guatemala. This ranged from advice to be careful, to watch our backs and stay in groups, to that people carry around machetes. If not "safety tips”, some of us were told we would come back feeling grateful for our lives in the United States. This left us ill-informed of social customs, home life, traditions, and the people of Guatemala. Instead, information was given which created a false picture. It became easier to prepare for the worst, to have feelings of fear and pity, to have a lack of trust, and to stray from embracing the country and its culture. The goal of this presentation is to show that the best method to prepare adolescents to defend themselves from common U.S. misconceptions about other countries is to provide opportunities for abroad and immersive experiences, including service projects, market trips, and living with host families.
Our project, The Modern Pilgrim, will illustrate our experiences walking the Camino de Santiago during the summer of 2024. We will include various pictures from our experiences in Spain, Portugal, and France, as well as other physical items. These might be our official Pilgrim Passport (with stamps from along the way), and pins and trinkets that we think hold cultural significance. Because we did an honors contract centering around the Camino immersion, we also have about ten pages of journal entries from pilgrims that we encountered. Essentially, we asked pilgrims about their motivations for taking on the historic walk and had them write these in the journal. Our goal was to create a collage detailing the motivations people have for walking to Santiago. The diversity was incredible! Religious reasons, personal reasons, losing a loved one, finding yourself, making peace.. these were just a few responses. We thought that CERCA would be a great opportunity to inform the community about the Camino de Santiago, and the incredible culture surrounding it.
