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loved one came on the screen and my eyes filled with tears,” she said. “It just shocked me how easily I had come to visit them when they had no possibility of visiting their husbands or sons in Wisconsin. It is one of those things I just could not hold in. The utter absurdity of it hit me like a wall in that instant.”
summer.12//Edgewood College magazine
Students also spent time at a home for girls aged five to 14, called “La Casa de Buen Pastor” or “The House of the Good Shepherd.” According to Whitaker, it provides a stable, safe environment for about 60 girls whose families can’t afford to feed them every day of the week. Edgewood College students helped them with their homework and played games and just spent time with them. The group attended an outdoor mass with about 600 residents who Whitaker believes had never seen people who look so different than they do. The mass was delivered in Nahuatl, the area’s indigenous language, by a Dominican priest. Whitaker was overcome with emotion by how welcoming the previously surprised and apprehensive parishioners were following what she surmises were the priest’s introduction and words of welcome. Bailey Kaiser (who graduated Magna Cum Laude in May 2012, a double-major in Spanish and Sociology) was also moved by the reception the group received. “We had the incredible privilege to be welcomed in by the community. I felt completely undeserving of their kindness. They didn’t know us and had every right to dislike us. We as U.S. citizens represent a country who has contributed to the poverty
and joblessness that tears these small communities and families apart,” she reflected. Also while on the trip students learned about area organic farming cooperatives and the work of a human rights organization called “Los Centros de Los Libres” or “The Center for Women’s Freedom.” They also spent time getting to know a group of students attending the University of Guanajuato. The course was particularly meaningful for Fatima Segura Ibarra, a sophomore who lived in Mexico until she was eight years old. “It was very exciting for me to learn more about the country where I once lived,” she said. “I love helping people because I believe in change. I would love to go back to Mexico, especially to the indigenous communities to offer my services and help them out.” She added, “I really enjoyed being a translator during the trip because I felt helpful and it reminded me of when I first arrived in the U.S. Not being able to understand or speak the language is a horrible feeling. I was glad to help and let my peers know what was going on so they could feel part of the conversation and not feel left out.” For Kaiser, her roots too gave special meaning to the course. Raised in a small dairy farming community in Wisconsin, Kaiser said the course related to her community’s experiences after an increase in the immigrant population. “There was tension, a