Good News--But a Complication

Great news! I entered an essay contest at work and won a free trip to accompany a study abroad program for one week. I can't believe I won something so amazing!! I think I am going to Italy and I think I will use some of the extra money I am earning from teaching an extra class at the university to pay for my husband's way.

One problem is working out the house building. I think we will go in May, and we don't plan to finish until June. I definitely don't want to pass up a free trip to Europe!

Here is my essay, by the way. My husband really helped me narrow the focus. I guess it worked--the person who read my essay aloud to announce me as a winner was almost choked up. That surprised me!




White Wash & Wisdom

Tom Sawyer never said anything about white wash burning and eating away a person’s flesh. But I figure the white wash Tom used was more of a watery paint mixture. The calcium mixture we were slopping onto the adobe huts of the Tarahumara dried on our skin and slowly gouged holes into our arms, legs, hands and any skin we left bare. We spent the better part of two days in the hot Chihuahua sun, splattering white wash onto small stucco huts, curing the mud and preventing deterioration. In many ways it was miserable: hot, painful, and tedious. Yet it was here I discovered I wanted to do this every single day.

In college, I struggled to identify a major I felt committed to. I finally found a fit with sociology, yet with my decided major, I still had no idea what career to choose. I applied for a sociology study abroad as a confused 19 year old, hoping to do something fun and apply my education in a hands-on experience in an unknown land. We spent the better part of the semester observing poverty and racial stratification and participating in humanitarian service. Somehow leaving all of the distractions of home behind and dedicating myself to improving the problems I actually studied in class narrowed my focus. I had an epiphany and knew I had to find a career where I could empower those who lacked opportunity. I became a counselor.

I never met anyone who participated in an international educational experience who regretted it. Most actually seem to credit study abroad as one of the pivotal points in their lives. For me, my white wash scars have faded to the point where I am the only one who knows they are there. But, I will forever celebrate the knowledge I received in Mexico, not only about sociology in action, but even more, a little bit about myself.