Hola from Merida!

Greetings from the heart of Mérida, México, everyone! As this message is being written, our group is heading off to bed after a long, yet wonderfully fulfilling two days of action here at the Mission of Friendship. Although our group only departed from Erie two days ago, our group dynamic is so strong and we are very excited to see where our energy takes us as we embark on new projects and experiences throughout this week.

Our trip began Saturday at 7am, when we met under Gannon’s infamous arch. Over the span of 10 hours, we drove to Cleveland, flew to Houston, played many games and got to know each other during a four hour layover, and eventually arrived safely in Mérida. We were immediately met by Lewis and Tricia, our gracious and wise hosts from the mission. As we cherished the warm weather (which is a stark contrast from Erie’s most recent temperatures) and the new environment, Tricia and Lewis welcomed us to Mérida and prepared us for our next experience, which included spending a night in downtown Mérida. To round out an exhausting day of traveling, we watched folkloric dance and tried “Marquesitas,” delicious snacks made from cheese, Nutella/caramel, and a waffle-like cone. Our group definitely wants to bring those home!! In addition to the marquesitas, highlights of the day include Ryan flying for the first time and a few other group members traveling out of the country for the first time! Unfortunately, one of our group members, Emma, had a circumstance that prevented her from continuing the full experience with us this year, but we are still grateful that we got to spend time during day one with her. She will be greatly missed and in our prayers.

Waking up feeling refreshed and eager to learn, we spent another day in downtown exploring and learning. With the support of Valentina, Steve, Jose, and Lewis (others associated with the Mission), we attended mass at the first cathedral built in north and South America,visited El Palacio del Gobierno and Casa Montejo, and ate lunch at La Chaya Maya. Many members of our group stepped out of their comfort zones today by immersing themselves in the Yucatecan culture, and specifically demonstrated their willingness to learn by trying new foods (like shark) and speaking Spanish with local vendors at Mérida’s Sunday Market. Overall, the day was full of positive vibes, laughter (mostly because a bird decided to use the bathroom on my shirt, which Mackenzie was wearing), and deep conversations about life. We completed the day and built our bond even more with  a two hour reflection session at the mission. We would once again like to thank everyone for their support and eagerness to engage with us as we continue to grow during our ABST experience. We can’t wait to share the rest of our adventure soon!



Meet the 2018 Merida Group!

Hello everyone! We are less than a month out from our trip to Merida and are busy making last minute preparations for what is sure to be an amazing trip. We thought now would be the perfect time for you to get to know our team.

Students

Emma Hesch

Junior Social Work major

Hometown: Lockport, New York

"I am super excited about my upcoming trip to Mexico! I look forward to learning about a community different than my own. I can’t wait to immerse myself in my travel experience and make a difference in the lives of others! I especially look forward to spending the week with other Gannon students and making memories that will last a lifetime!"

Mackenzie Wenrick

Public Health major, class of 2019 

Hometown: Woodward, PA

"I am most looking forward to expanding my 

worldview and immersing myself in a new culture." 

Kate DuCarmeSophomore Physician Assistant major
Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA
"I am looking forward to interacting and learning from a new environment. I am excited to push myself and explore beyond my comfort zone."

Ryan Young

Freshman Biology, Pre-Med major

Hometown: Punxsutawney, PA

"I am most looking forward to living among those in the Merida community and experiencing the different culture."

Dorian Tamburlin

Freshman Psychology major

Hometown: Kersey, PA

"I'm looking forward to helping/meeting new people, giving back to a community, and having a chance to travel with a purpose."

Sydney Khreis

Freshman Biology, Pre-Med major (Psychology minor)

Hometown: Grand Island, NY

"I'm most looking forward to experiencing how Mexico's culture differs from ours and trying new foods."

Student Leaders

Noah Repko

Biology, Pre-PT major

Hometown: Erie, PA

"I'm really looking forward to spending time getting to know the people from the Mission of Friendship as well as their culture! We are very blessed to have the group that we do this year and we all bring something special to share with the people of the Yucatan."

Lydia Fennessy

Junior Physician Assistant major

Hometown: Monroeville, PA

"I am most looking forward to returning to the country I fell in love with last year on my ABST! I am excited to share in my love with a wonderful group of students we have this year." 

Adult Accompaniers

Sarah Ewing

Dean, Morosky College of Health Professions and Sciences

Hometown: Linesville, PA
Education: B.S. Biology (2001), Ph.D. Comparative Biomedical Sciences (2007)

"[I am] most looking forward to the opportunity to learn and work with Gannon students as we support and interact with our friends and partners in Merida."

 

Hello readers and welcome to the Merida 2018 ABST blog!

We are currently busy preparing for our trip in February through group meetings where we have learned a little about the Mission of Friendship, Mexico and each other. We are looking forward to learning even more about the Yucatan peninsula and the people who call Merida home.

Our group includes seven students, two student leaders and two adult accompaniers, all of whom have different strengths to bring to the Merida team. Look for an update in early January to learn more about the individuals making the trip to Merida this spring.

Thanks for reading!

Merida ABST 2018

American food

Hello everyone!

We are safe in Houston, ready to depart for Cleveland and make our way back to Erie. As you have read all week, these past seven days have been filled with so much love, generosity, and cultural diversity! The most exciting thing about sitting at this airport was filing our bellies with some cheeseburgers, French fries, and salads! YUM! We are feeling thankful to be back in the states and also for a long day of traveling to reflect on all of our experiences and memories! We are excited to share everything with you all, our loving families and friends! Thank you all for checking in on the blog all week and supporting our trip. Blessed for a super safe trip thus far!

Post ABST blog posts will be going up throughout the next week few weeks and months!

Love,

Merida Group :) 

Where's Alex?

Where do I begin? I'm pretty sure that I accidentally ate my weight in food this week, but in all honesty this has been a life changing week for me. Being able to meet everyone that we met was unbelievable. Padre Felix is truly an inspiration to me. He treats everyone as if they were his best friend from childhood. Padre Felix taught me a lot about how to treat people. This man that we had never met before gave up his own bed for us to sleep in. This man devoted his life to help others and bring others up. Padre Felix is one person I will never forget. These past couple days we spent some time at the Nueva Vida Program with the girls that are a part of it. The girls that go there spend the morning at school until about 1pm then the go to the Nueva Vida Program until around 7pm. While they are at the program they have chores that they have to get done, then there is time for their studying. While at the program they have English classes, computer classes, or life skills classes. This program is help these girls learn responsibility and other skills they will need for the future. While we there all of the girls touched all of our hearts. Leaving today was very difficult for all of us, but the girls made us promise to come back next year.

This group that came on this trip are all fantastic people. These people not only helped those we came to help, they also helped me. They showed me the goodness in everyone and even though we all come from different places, we can all still come together to help others in need. Erin L., Delaney, Taylor, Lydia, Sara, Emily, Joe, Erin B., Sam, Maria, and Parth all shared this special experience with me and with that they all hold a special place in my heart.

Don't worry I'm alive mom,
Alex Wood

Tag, you're it!

Hola!

Our day was filled with Roses!!! In the night we reflect on our roses and thorns of the day (highs and lows) and today roses were being thrown around left and right!! What a beautiful and joyous last day in Merida. We visited the nursing home, medical dispensary, and then returned to the girls after school program again. Bingo, or should we say Lotería, was a fun hit with the residents of the nursing home. Overall, we all felt a new sense of respect for our elders and enjoyed spending time with all of them! At the medical dispensary we received a better understanding of the Mexico health care system  and many of us took interest in that since a lot of us are health care majors! Finally, back to the Nueva  Vida was where we spent the majority of our day. Our main purpose as a group today was to give an English lesson. Using the book "Beautiful Hands", we read to the girls and then worked on colors, animals, numbers, and everyone's craft skills! In the end, we had created this wonderul rainbow of everyone's traced and cut out hands. The girls were so intelligent and bright. They most certainly are going to grow up to do amazing things in this world and be very successful women! Positive energy and love kept us going strong on this final day! These day have been filled with so much love, laugh, and lifd and the words we are writing down in this blog don't even begin to describe how amazing the experience really was. The goodbyes were the hardest part of the day, many tears were shed, and definitely was our group thorn of the day. We do not say goodbye though, we say see you soon!

We leave tomorrow morning bright and early with a 4 hour layover in Houston so there will be more thoughts and reflection to come!

Buenos Noche!

Girls rule, Alex drools

Hey guys!

Today was a beautiful and wonderful day!! We were up bright and early to head off to check out the specific programs ran by Tricia and the Mission of Friendship.  Our first stop was the daycare that is ran by the Mission.  The director of the daycare has been there from the start, Silvia.  The kids were very excited and willing to play with everyone.  We learned that they love sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and dancing!  We have never seen so many kids who love to hug and kiss as much as them (slobbery kisses)!  Next stop was the Amigos Program.  We learned how families from the states sponsor families here in Mexico.  It's nice to see the sponsors money really goes to a great cause and good hands.  The rest of our day was spent with school aged girls at Nueva Vida.  This is an after school program where the girls learn English and other subjects, responsibility, and friendship!  The girls were very intelligent and have big dreams!  This showed us how similar people are around the world, because once we got to talking we learned that the girl wanted to be doctors, teachers, engineers, and more... just like all of us!  Our service projects today included: repainting walls at the facility, clearing weeds, reorganizing supplies and different areas, and cleaning up the road and walk way between the daycare and the girls program.  Tricia has been our host and guide through this whole experience and today we got to see how big her job really is and how much of an impact she makes on these young girls lives, pushing and supporting them to be great!  She is an outstanding women and has been inspirational to us all!

WE LOVE THE MISSION OF FRIENDSHIP!! :)

Goodnight family and friends, xoxo