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Students Immersed in Experiential Learning During Trip to El Salvador | Western Colorado

Students Immersed in Experiential Learning During Trip to El Salvador | Western Colorado

Ten weary Grand Junction residents left their guesthouse in San Salvador for the airport at 3 a.m. Sunday after spending a little more than a week in El Salvador, visiting Grand Junction’s sister city, El Espino, and other spots around the country. The travelers were mostly students and faculty from Colorado Mesa University (CMU), along with Sara Spaulding, director of communications and community outreach for the city of Grand Junction, and tour guide and current City Councilmember Anna Stout.

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The timing of the trip was intentional, as it coincided with the 20th anniversary of Grand Junction’s sister city relationship with the small Salvadoran community, which began in 2004 after a sociology class at Mesa State College. This year’s trip was part of a one-credit political science course.

The local nonprofit Foundation for Cultural Exchange (FCE), which facilitates the relationship between the sister cities and manages a scholarship program for youth in the community, coordinated the delegation’s logistics.

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During the packed nine days, the delegates spent the first four nights in the homes of high school and university students who receive scholarships through the FCE. While in their homestays, they participated in activities with the 30-plus students and their families on the scholarship program, such as preparing traditional Salvadoran dishes, spending a day at the local school, and visiting neighboring communities like Cojutepeque and Suchitoto.

In the capital, they visited the home of the late archbishop and recently canonized Saint Oscar Arnulfo Romero, where he was assassinated in 1980. They also spent a day with the spokesman/press attaché of the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador and visited the Universidad de Centro América, where six Jesuit professors, their housekeeper and her daughter were assassinated in 1989. They also visited a museum about the country’s 12-year civil war.

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They also met with the son of the late Fernando Llort, El Salvador’s most prominent artist, at his gallery and studio. They spent time with Canadian-Salvadoran director and producer Alfonso Quijada, who is working to put El Salvador’s film industry on the map, and discussed his vision for the country and his upcoming Apple TV+ film, Tomorrow Before After. They also got a geology lesson on the rim of an active volcano from CMU professor Dr. Javier Tellez.

Courtesy of Anna StoutThe Grand Junction delegation poses with students in the FCE scholarship program in Grand Junction’s sister city, El Espino, on Wednesday. Courtesy of Anna Stout

Throughout the trip, Dr. Holly Oberle, professor of political science, led frequent in-depth lectures on broad topics, beginning with “What is Democracy?” and encompassing political and cultural issues that were vividly illustrated by what the delegates saw and experienced.

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But the lessons that took place were not limited to academic lessons; every aspect of the trip was designed by Oberle and Stout to expose students to experiential learning.

Dr. Tim Casey, also a professor of political science at CMU, attended as a “fly on the wall,” as he described it in terms of his role as a professor in the course, but as a full participant in the experiences and lessons of the trip.

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“It was basically 24/7 learning from a fire hose,” Casey said. “Everything was a lesson to be learned, even things like getting gassed unexpectedly or driving through city traffic.”

Casey was part of the original efforts to establish the sister city relationship in 2004 and has been a supporter of the FCE’s work for the past two decades. This was his first trip to the country.

“What I loved about the trip, especially for the students, is the diversity of people they met,” Casey said. “They went far from home, not just geographically, but socially, from the absolutely powerless, from whom the students could learn so much, to very prominent people who have real influence on Salvadoran culture and policy.”

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The delegation spent the last day of the trip taking a painting class with one of Llort’s students high in the mountains overlooking Lake Ilopango after visiting the colorful national craft market and before having a fortunate audience with Quijada. The day ended with a group reflection on the impact of the experience.

“I knew (the trip) would be good for our students, but I underestimated how much opportunity our time there opened up for them,” Casey said. “They were able to see the world in a completely different way, but also themselves and their role in the world in a different way. They saw their power to make a difference in the world. It’s huge.”