El Salvador immersion

By Colleen Sinsky & Eric Pressberg

It couldn't have felt like less of a Santa Clara moment than on the warm summer night that we followed machete wielding Salvadorans uphill through corn fields and forests.

When we reached the summit we were awestruck by an unobstructed panorama of stars. Miles from the nearest city or paved road, we lay on our backs and watched meteors dash across the black sky, unhindered by light pollution or traffic noise. In the distance, a lightning storm flashed silently above the Chinameca volcano. Trying to overcome language barriers, we gringos talked and laughed with the Salvadoran kids, showing off flashlight tricks and naming constellations. That night we fell asleep soundly in our hammocks, content and exhausted.

For the first half of September, we were part of a delegation of sixteen students who traveled through El Salvador to immerse ourselves in the culture, music, food and history of the Central American country.

We roamed the cities and spoke with community leaders, human rights activists, a Supreme Court magistrate, a dynamic nun, a Jesuit priest, civilian groups who experienced firsthand the brutalities of the civil war, government officials of the two leading political parties, Christian groups involved in promoting social justice and aid workers from the US, all of whom gave us a wide variety of viewpoints.

We listened to heart-wrenching testimonies of the civil war. We saw proud men and women break into tears as they recounted stories of their family members being tortured and murdered, and we reflected at the long wall of names of the thousands of civilians martyred.

During our 6 day home stay in the campo, or countryside, we learned how to roast coffee beans, kill rattlesnakes and make tortillas. We herded cattle and hiked to the top of a mountain.

At night we watched fútbol with our host families, learned about the land ownership battle the pueblo had won against the rich, and slept to the sounds of roosters, pounding rain and barking dogs.

Our group had conversations with Salvadoran leaders about the recent 12- year civil war in which 75,000 people were killed. The war sharply polarized the country and left a culture of violence still seen today. Controversy over the U.S. backed death squads and the assassination of several Jesuit priests led to the creation of a shaky relationship between Santa Clara University and El Salvador, so that students can directly experience the ramifications of the brutality and learn from historical mistakes.

Immersion trips contribute to the Jesuit idea of educating the whole person beyond the classroom. In our experiences on various trips, we've been made uncomfortable and pushed to challenge ourselves. We have been able to experience realities so far from the Santa Clara bubble and play with some amazing kids who will never have the same opportunities that we are so lucky to have.

Fundraising opportunities make it possible for anyone to spend an alternative spring break volunteering to rebuild in New Orleans or celebrating Thanksgiving in Nogales, Mexico.

To the credit of the Ignation center, the applicants chosen for these trips represent a broad spectrum of ages, majors and viewpoints, and the groups form a dynamic bond.

Immersion trips also provide an alternative to those who are unable to study abroad or those who have but want to continue to explore new parts of the world. The purpose of immersion trips is solely to educate and to truly immerse students in a culture drastically different from our own. These trips look at the bigger picture and examine societal issues from a variety of viewpoints, through conversations with locals involved in all kinds of work.

Immersion trips offer a safer, more intellectually involved alternative to independent travel.

The strongest feature of the trip was the unique collection of the people we met. These meetings were planned months in advance and couldn't be found in any guidebook.

It was impossible to return from El Salvador unchanged. Though short, the trip broke our hearts and brought us closer to solidarity with the Salvadoran people.

Visit the Ignation Center for Jesuit Education on the university Web site or stop by Sobrato 105 to learn about specific trips.

Colleen is a senior economics major. Eric is a senior philosophy and economics double major.