This is a guest blog post from our student social media ambassador, Anthony. Currently studying abroad on the semester program,聽
I鈥檓 writing this four days before we have to go back to the states, but I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 fully hit me yet how much I鈥檓 leaving behind. We鈥檝e gotten to sit down and eat with the residents at Programa Casa de Refugiado, listening to those brave enough to share their migration stories. We鈥檝e visited so many incredible community organizers, (including an entire activist family in the ravine where they lived and worked) to learn how they fought imperialism, capitalism, and environmental gentrification. We鈥檝e gone to UNAM鈥檚 botanical gardens, beautiful landscapes, and traditional Milpa farms that compelled me to consider how food ends up on my plate in the states. No matter what we were studying, you could feel the level of care put in by every lecturer. The effort put into every excursion and exercise.
But it鈥檚 not just the academics that made the trip. Making connections in Mexican spaces has created some of the most memorable social experiences I鈥檝e ever had. Whether it was as grandiose as my first-ever Easter mass in a traditional Mexican catholic church, or as simple as watching the Oscars in Spanish with my host family. I belted Mexican 80鈥檚 power ballads at my first gay bar鈥檚 karaoke night, queer friends and strangers alike sharing joy. I saw so many concerts, drag shows, and art exhibits that I couldn鈥檛 have ever afforded back home, because the amazing creatives behind it were friends from my program. Even something as simple as strangers greeting each other on the street felt so eye-opening. Everything in my time here has challenged how I thought communities were 鈥渟upposed鈥� to interact.
The knowledge and socialization I was getting from the program inspired me to pay it forward. The directors of our program gave us a lot of opportunities to contribute to Cuernavaca while we were here: One that I took was helping to teach English to kids at the International House. Not only was that experience wonderful, it opened the door for me to serve at my first internship with the CT Institute for Refugees & Immigrants this summer. I may have to physically leave behind the amazing friends, mentors, and experiences I had here, but I can bring the drive for justice and communal support they all created.