Off to the village we go!

Hola!

We are heading to the village of Yaxcaba! It's a sister parish within the Mission of Friendship. We may or may not have access to the blog and wifi there, so stay tuned later in the week to read about our experience! We will return on Wednesday afternoon/evening. If you don't hear from us, we are in good hands at the village, and surrounded by people with great hearts! We are all very excited!

Hasta la vista!
Merida Group :)

A birthday away from home!

I was lucky enough to celebrate my birthday on our first full day in Mexico!  I was a crazy day.  I counldn't have asked for a better way to spend the day.  I got to learn about Mayan history, which was awesome.  I have always loved Central and South American history, so learning more about it, not from a borrowed library book, just amazed me.  We got to go the a beautiful church (the oldest cathedral in Latin American) for mass in the morning.  I have never celebrated a birthday away from my home and my family, but I wouldn't have wanted to celebrate with any other group of people than I do here in Merida.  At lunch (pictured above) I was sarenaded with the traditional Spanish "happy birthday" song and some others like "La Bamba".  After metting students from a local English school, we got to shop around.  The three girls that accompanied a small group of us became fast friends, even connecting on social media to keep in touch!  After a long day of the town we came back to the mission house to settle in for the night.  We got to meet two amazing, and super entergentic women who also work for the Mission of Friendship.  I got to meet so many interesting and amazing people on my birthday, which only added to the hype of it all.  To finish the night I was surprised with another (and the most special) round of the American "happy birthday" song with a Spanish twist and some delicious cake from our lovely hosts and the rest of the group.  I was a little upset at first that I wouldn't be with my family on my birthday,  but celebrating in Merida was beyond amazing! The people here truly made this birthday I will remember forever. I thank all of the people here again for this truly amazing experience!

Forever and always I'll be,
Delaney McMeekin

Street fairs, and birthdays, and Merida, oh my!

Hola amigos! Happy Birthday to Delaney today!

Waking up to the sun shining and the birds chirping was a great way to start our long day! Today was spent in downtown Merida! We attended mass at the oldest Cathedral in all of Latin America, and what a breathtaking experience it was! Some of the best parts of lunch were watching Parth and Alex order an entire chicken between the two of them (they ate it all!) and then a trio serenading Delaney for her birthday. They finished their performance with the song "La Bamba" as we all clapped and sang along. Delaney got a SWEET piece of cinnamon cake :) What an awesome way to celebrate a 19th birthday!

My favorite moments today took place at the street fair while we were exploring and purchasing some Yucatecán goods, including earrings, blankets, hammocks, backpacks, dresses, hats, and corn ice cream! My first moment, that should give everyone a good laugh, was when I tried on a traditional dress. The dress got stuck around my hips and Erin L. had to help pull it off of me while the market man just stood there and laughed at me. Needless to say, it may have been a few sizes too small! The market man and I may come from different places on this earth, but our humor was all the same! The next moment was when I was walking from one stand to another and I felt a small tap on my thigh. When I turned around, a beautiful young girl was smiling at me, holding a bundle of homemade bracelets! As we sat aside from the hustle of the street fair, she picked out some of her favorite bracelets for me to purchase and in that moment my heart was filled with so much joy and love. She couldn't speak English and I could barely speak any Spanish to her, but we were able to communicate with our smiles, our eyes, and touch! Those five minutes with that young girl completely made my day and touched my heart. It's the simple things that make life worth while.

Mucho amor,
Sara

Safe and sound

Hola! We are coming to you from Merida, Mexico!! We had a long day of traveling, with no problems.  We were greeted by the two lovely ladies, Tricia and Lenora from the Mission of Friendship.  We hit the town to see some of the great night life full of singing and dancing.  Followed by our first taste of traditional Mexican food.  What an amazing first night to start our adventure!  Everyone is tired out and safe here at the mission house.  We are all resting up for a big day tomorrow.  

Be sure to check in tomorrow! :)

Up up and away!

Bienvenidos!

We are off on our first leg of our journey! After receiving a short blessing this morning under the Gannon arch, we departed from our campus with our sights set on Cleveland. Our excitement is out of the roof!! Stay tuned :)

Hasta la vista!

All about us!

Maria C. Flores

Secretary for the Global Admissions office

I have a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and currently student of the MBA program at Gannon University.

I have worked for 5 years at Gannon University originally as an accounting assistant at the Finance Office and right now being the secretary for the Global Admission’s office for 2 years.

Born in El Paso Texas

Mexican-American bilingual Spanish-English

I enjoy my work since it gives me the opportunity to interact with students from all backgrounds. I like being the first contact when our international students are looking for information about the university and then when they decide to come, being the one that welcomes them to our country and our university. It is so rewarding <3

(Not Pictured)

Hola! My name is Emily Muntean and I am the Resident Campus Minister for Finegan Hall at Gannon. This is my second year here and this will be my second ABST. Last year I was lucky enough to accompany an amazing group to L’Arche Ontario. I am so excited to accompany another equally amazing group to Merida, Mexico this year! While I developed a great appreciation for Mexican cultural during my undergraduate studies “next door” in Austin, Texas, this will be my first time traveling to Mexico. One of the things I’m most looking forward to on the trip is celebrating Ash Wednesday while we are there. This will be the second time observing Ash Wednesday in Central America. Overall, I’m really grateful for the opportunity to be a part of another wonderful ABST experience and can’t wait to see what happens!

My name is Joe Tokasz.  I am 21 years old senior philosophy major at Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania.  My home town is Elma, New York which is a small town East of Buffalo, New York.  I am also a Minor or college seminarian for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo in formation to the Roman Catholic priesthood assigned to formation at St. Mark Seminary in Erie, PA and academic studies at Gannon.  I am one of the co-leaders of the 2017 ABST to Merida, Mexico.  This is my second time participating in an ABST, my first time leading one.  Last spring I participated in the El Arca de Mexico (L’arshe Mexico) ABST and traveled to Mexico City.  I have found a great learning experience and came back from last my ABST experience last year with many insights into our shared dignity and love of life with our Mexican brothers and sisters.  I hope that this year’s trip to Merida will give the twelve of us insights into the unique culture and life of the Yucatan region of Mexico.

Erin Lipnicky

Merida 2017 Co-leader
Junior Physician Assistant major
Gannon Dance Team junior captain
I am so excited to go back to Merida this year; I was also a member of the 2016 group.  :)   I can't wait to facilitate this experience for a new group of my peers! 

(Not pictured)

Name: Lydia Fennessy

Hometown: Monroeville, PA

Major: Physician Assistant

Hobbies: I am the copy editor of the Gannon Knight, I play the clarinet in the concert band, and I sing in the church choir at the Mary, Seat of Wisdom Chapel. I love to read novels and to write (though my writing is mostly of the non-fiction variety). My passion for helping others was instilled in me at a very young age by my two wonderful parents who met through their involvement with the youth group at my home parish.

I am very excited to go to Merida, Mexico to serve the people at the Mission of Friendship! This will be my first experience traveling out of the country, so I am looking forward to taking that leap out of my comfort zone. I am also really looking forward to working with the children while in Merida. I have always had a very special place in my heart for the little ones of the world. Their joy for life and pure innocence always inspires me to be a better person. I know this experience will help me to be a more well-rounded person and I am hoping I will be able to take something from this trip and apply it to my future career as a PA.

Hi, my name is Taylor Beggan and I am a sophomore PA major here at Gannon University. I am a member of Gannon’s dance team as well as Phi Sigma Sigma. I am very excited to travel to Merida with such a wonderful group of people! I am very interested in helping the community and immersing myself in a culture that is different than my own.

Hello friends! My name is Samantha Griswold, but everybody calls me Sam. I’m a senior journalism communication major and I live in Erie, PA, though I’m not technically from there. My dad was in the military when I was growing up, so we lived in a lot of different places, like California, Alaska, Mississippi, and South Carolina. I consider myself a feminist, a ferocious reader, an avid, thought-provoking writer and somewhat of a self-proclaimed music connoisseur. I enjoy traveling, as well as baking, making people laugh and watching Disney movies. I am super excited to go on this journey to Merida, Mexico and interact with the girls at Nueva Vida. My only other trips outside of the country were to Canada, so I am looking forward to gaining these new experiences in Mexico.

Sara Crandall

Hometown: Cattaraugus, New York

Major: Occupational Therapy

I enjoy reading, traveling, playing volleyball, going out to eat at new restaurants, playing with my dog, and spending quality time with family and friends.

I am looking forward to learning a lot from the people and their culture in Merida, Mexico and I am excited to experience the simplicity of an ABST trip!

(Not Pictured)

Hiya! I'm Delaney McMeekin, and I am a freshman, Early Childhood and Special Education major here at Gannon. Im from Brockway Pa.  I like to travel, try new things, and play with my puppy back home.  I am super excited to travel to Mexico!  I love working with people and learning from them.  I hope to learn lots from not only the people we are going to connect with but the people I'm traveling with as well!  I can't wait to learn more about this new culture and new friends!   

Erin Behe

Hometown: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Major: Physicians Assistant 

Hobbies: Running, singing, and dance.

I am excited to go to Merida to learn about a new culture and expand my appreciation for diversity!

Parth

Alex

It's almost time...

The Merida, Mexico ABST group is hurriedly packing, organizing and preparing for our departure from campus tomorrow morning at 10:00am! We can't wait to share our adventures with you through our blog! Please check in everyday! :)