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The travel journal will be the place for students to share their experiences while traveling. Once the students are on-site, they are asked to post reflections, observations, pictures, stories, poems, and more. Our whole community appreciates the opportunity to be part of the group’s adventure, and as the course comes to an end, each group…
The travel journal will be the place for students to share their experiences while traveling. Once the students are on-site, they are asked to post reflections, observations, pictures, stories, poems, and more. Our whole community appreciates the opportunity to be part of the group’s adventure, and as the course comes to an end, each group…
The travel journal will be the place for students to share their experiences while traveling. Once the students are on-site, they are asked to post reflections, observations, pictures, stories, poems, and more. Our whole community appreciates the opportunity to be part of the group’s adventure, and as the course comes to an end, each group…
The travel journal will be the place for students to share their experiences while traveling. Once the students are on-site, they are asked to post reflections, observations, pictures, stories, poems, and more. Our whole community appreciates the opportunity to be part of the group’s adventure, and as the course comes to an end, each group…
Today we went to Old Town, San Diego where we met up with Professor Alex Gomex, who is a border activist. Everyone took part in a scavenger hunt around Old Town, looking for significant historical landmarks to gain general knowledge about what Old Town was like 200 years ago. After the scavenger hunt, we sat…
Today we visited Old Town San Diego-the birthplace of California. To me, the most memorable part of the “tour” was learning the town’s history from Dr. Alex Gomez; however, the story conveyed to me by the plaques/exhibits neglected a lot of what I learned from him. I learned a lot about the Mormon Church’s participation…
Our course instructors report that last night the group settled into their hostel before enjoying some authentic Mexican street tacos and meeting with Alex Gómez and Maria Galleta who will be their guides and teachers on this learning journey. Today the group explored Old Town and its historical sites as they relate to the story of…
The travel journal will be the place for students to share their experiences while traveling. Once the students are on-site, they are asked to post reflections, observations, pictures, stories, poems, and more. Our whole community appreciates the opportunity to be part of the group’s adventure, and as the course comes to an end, each group…
The travel journal will be the place for students to share their experiences while traveling. Once the students are on-site, they are asked to post reflections, observations, pictures, stories, poems, and more. Our whole community appreciates the opportunity to be part of the group’s adventure, and as the course comes to an end, each group…
On Saturday we started our morning with a light run and learned some new running drills from Coach Abel. Later in the day we started our Homestays and met our “Mama” hosts and their families. We all began by walking each other to our specific houses together while meeting each host. The home stay experience…
Today we continued with our training by doing speed work. Our Kenyan coach Abel created a challenging workout for us to do on the dirt roads thoughhout the Kithoko community. It was a tough workout of timed intervals at race pace or “fartlek.” We jogged back to Tiriji Ecocenter as a group and enjoyed a…
Today’s morning run was different than any other run because we ran with kids from KACH. After our easy paced hour run, we continued the construction project building another guest house in Triji. We enjoyed traditional chapati and tea during our construction break. After lunch, Felix taught us common Swahili words that we can use…
Today we woke up extra early for our morning run as we had to drive towards Mount Kenya for the start of our run. The course Coach Abel picked out was a beautiful 20km (10 mile) run through small villages. When we ran through the villages, everyone was very curious in us and would cheer…
Kenya running has been awesome so far. We started the day with a great hill workout that our Kenyan coach Abel created for us – after a warm-up jog on the red dirt roads through the morning mist, we ran an awesome set of hills. When we returned to Tirji Ecocenter, we enjoyed a healthy…
On our last day in Nairobi, we took some time to be tourists as we visited the Giraffe Sanctuary and Elephant Orphange. The morning was filled with a pure, childlike excitement, as we got to feed and even kiss the giraffes, watch in awe as baby elephants stampeded aroun in the mud, and even catch…
Shawn and Fay report that the group had a great first day at the Kitohoka Amani Children’s Home (KACH) where they were learned about the project work they will be doing and also heard from Dr. Karambu (Executive Director of IPI). The group is in good spirits and will get a student post up as…
The group began their day visiting the Sheldrake Elephant Orphanage and the Giraffe Center in Nairobi before making the drive to Meru. They have now arrived in Kithoka and settled into IPI’s Amani Children’s Home where they will work and train for a majority of their days in Kenya. Shawn and Fay report that the…
Today we went to a Kenyan track meet in the town of Machakos. Our running coach for this trip, Abel, grew up in the area and ran races there when he was younger. Everyone was extremely welcoming as most of the Kenyans have been. Numerous people came up to shake our hands when we entered…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]It’s hard to believe that our time in Tijuana, México has already come to an end. In just a few short hours, we’ll cross the border on foot and end up back in the United States. It is baffling to think about just how easy this process is for us, our greatest obstacle being…
After a long direct flight, the group arrived safely in Nairobi. Immediately after their arrival, they had the opportunity to meet with officials and professional runners from a national Kenyan running association. In the days ahead, they plan to attend a running competition and visit an elephant orphanage and a giraffe preserve before heading to…
We woke up early to the sound of Church bells, dogs barking and extreme heat. With little rest, we set forward to the day ahead. Our first adventure of the day was getting breakfast, everyone got eggs and filled up with energy for the rest of the day. After that, we went to the factories…
Immigration. Deportation. Separation. The wall. With each passing day these words take on more and more meaning both in further complicating how we view the issue and in deepening our understanding. Not only has this course challenged us intellectually, but the emotional aspect continues to arguably be the most difficult element to process. It is…
Our course instructors report the group had another full day and after spending the morning at El Desayunador providing meals for 700-1000 refugees and homeless they had a chance to explore and learn more about Tijuana with Maria, Director of Madres y Familias Deportadas. The group finished with a discussion of Haidt’s Moral Pillars.
Today was another awakening day on this trip. The Desayunador was a great place to not only help others but also help ourselves. We may not have made a huge impact on others but we did help those few volunteers in the helping of hundreds of people. Our volunteering made the day easier for those…
Our course instructors report that the group had a day of learning service as they served breakfast at El Desayunador and heard the stories of the people being fed there. It was a busy day and they plan to have a student reflection about the day up in the next day or so.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]Today we went to the Mexican side of Friendship Park. We worked with Daniel, the founder of Friends of Friendship Park. Our group pulled weeds, reorganized the compost bin, and fixed the park grounds. It was a real eye opening experience because on the weekends the US visitors are allowed to have contact between…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]Today we started out day at a church in Jacumba, California. After a short breakfast, we proceeded to the US side of the border in San Diego to visit Friendship Park. We talked to U.S. Border Patrol Agent Gonsalez who mans the Friendship Park section of the border. We learned about the various challenges…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]Yesterday, we left the airport at around 2 pm and went to Chicano Park. Chicano Park is iconic in San Diego for the murals under the freeway. We walked around and did an ice breaker activity about what our intentions were coming on this trip. Mel, Grace and I were chosen at “random” to…
Hoy es el primer día! We are super tired tonight but are off to a running start. We visited Chicano Park with stunning murals and then drove to Jacumba. We are all currently at the church after a surprisingly okay dinner at the only restaurant in town. That’s good though because we’re eating breakfast at…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]This afternoon, a majority of the students began their course with a trip to Chicano Park where they explored the history of the border region and its unique culture through the prominent murals in the park. After the final student arrived, the group headed to the small border town of Jacumba, California, where they…