Category Archives: Guatemala

Mi latinidad and love for science

Hello! I am a student double majoring in Biochemistry and Spanish. I am also planning on getting the Spanish and Health Certificate offered at UMass. My spanish major relates greatly to my biochemistry major because it allows me to formulate my thoughts through different lenses. Many times in the biochemistry core classes students only focus on memorizing and analyzing material in a more factual way. My Spanish major has allowed me to take classes where we discuss humanitarian problems occurring not just in medical settings, but all over the globe. I truly believe taking Spanish classes have allowed me to mentality relax during the semester and not stress too much over my science courses. I do believe studying is important but my Spanish class discussion reminds me that there are far more important things than just your studies to worry about. My Spanish class discussion reminds me there is work to be done, not until I graduate from college or medical school, but change that can be worked for currently. I truly believe my Spanish and biochemistry majors complement each other. Taking classes in the liberal arts and science college is such an amazing curriculum to follow. The Spanish classes allow me to stay true to my roots by reminding me of the beauty in my latinidad and learning to embrace it, even as it shows up in my science careers. Being aware of one’s identity is super important as it allows youth to acknowledge what position you are in and how to manipulate this in a beneficial way for others. Helping others looks differently, but the reason and passion to help should always come from selfless motives. 

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Alternative Options to Going Abroad

Since seventh grade, I have actively been learning the Spanish language. Once I reached high school, I began to grow a love for the Spanish-speaking country, Colombia. I love their food, listening to Colombian music, their history, its landscape, telenovelas, and the overall beauty found within the country. Needless to say, for years, I’ve been wanting to travel to Colombia. Not only to gain fluency and to explore the country, but to pursue my honors thesis. The amount of times I have switched my major at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is mind-blowing, but something that has always remained constant in my field of studies is my passion for humane immigration reform in the United States. 

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My Spanish Major

Watching the sunrise on top of Volcán de Acatenango.

I originally decided to choose Spanish as my major because I wanted to learn a new language. After my first semester at UMass Amherst participating in the Spanish program I am now questioning what will my future career be, and how can I relate my Spanish major to that field. I want to be a teacher, and after reviewing the STEP program for Spanish majors at UMass, I have decided that I wouldn’t really enjoy teaching a language as much as I thought at the beginning of this semester. Now I have decided to double Major in History and Spanish completing the STEP program for History, because really my fascination with History is what led me to major in Spanish in the first place.

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Finding Comfort in Being Uncomfortable

Currently, I am finishing my Fall 2019 semester of my senior year of college. However, it wasn’t until the end of my sophomore year that I fully declared my major in Spanish. Between graduating high school and entering college, I took a gap semester to Central America. Therefore, I entered UMASS in the Spring semester. Not only was I unsure of what I wanted to study, but I also wanted to be involved in an experience involving learning about other cultures. I additionally wanted to focus on my own personal growth. Initially, I was extremely nervous going to a location that I was unfamiliar to. When I mentioned to other people where I was going for my gap semester, often times, their reaction wasn’t as positive as I anticipated. This was commonly affiliated with their ideas regarding safety in such areas. The initial responses I got from other people about where I was going provoked high anxiety and doubt in continuing with the program. However, it was one of the best things I have ever done. Continue reading

Sustainable Tourism

For my integrative experience, I took a gap semester and traveled with a gap year program called Carpe Diem. With Carpe, I traveled in a small group to Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Honduras for a total of 3 months. I lived in Guatemala and Nicaragua for 5 weeks each, and then stayed in CR and Honduras for only a week each. My trip consisted of traveling to and staying in a new place just about every week, which allowed me to see and experience a ton. During my experience, I learned a lot about sustainable tourism, sustainable volunteerism, and sustainable travel, and I wanted to share some things specifically about sustainable volunteerism, because service learning is something that many students consider when thinking about an integrative experience. Continue reading

Mentor opportunity with local non-profit

Be a short-term mentor for university students from Latin America!!

Every summer in July and every winter in January, a non-profit called ITD (Institute for Training and Development, Inc.) manages and runs a Study of the U.S. Institutes Program (SUSI), a prestigious program that is sponsored by the U.S. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. State Department. The program entails five weeks of intensive academic study in U.S. Policymaking, Entrepreneurship, Economic Empowerment, Leadership, and Politics. The highly competitive scholarship is awarded to twenty undergraduate students each time, all young leaders from Mexico and Central and South American countries.  In the summers, the students who come to ITD are from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala; In the winters, they are from Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil. The students live in Amherst for three and half of the five weeks of their program, and attend specialized lectures at Amherst College and at ITD. Continue reading

Learning Spanish in Guatemala

I’ve done a fair amount of traveling since high school, but probably the most life-changing trip for me was the first one I ever did to Guatemala. It definitely wasn’t a country I planned on going to. I had initially wanted to go to Argentina since I was interested in its culture and knew more about it than a country like Guatemala, but in the end it was too expensive and too far away. However, I asked two people that I knew that had gone to Spanish language schools and they both suggested places in Guatemala. One was in Antigua, the most touristy and arguably most beautiful city in Guatemala, and the other was in Quetzaltenango (Xela), the second largest city in the country. I decided on the school in Xela because it looked slightly less touristy than the other one. Otherwise, I didn’t really know anything about them or anything about the country. Continue reading

Studying Abroad in this Hemisphere

As a Spanish Major, I find that the majority of my classmates choose to study abroad in Spain. Spain has a lot to offer in regard to history, culture, food, night life, etc. but I always wonder why more students don’t choose to study abroad in Latin America. There are so many historically and culturally rich cities and countries here in this hemisphere. Also, if you are studying Spanish for your career so that you can communicate with Spanish-speaking people in the United States, the overwhelming majority of them are going to be from countries in Latin America. It will be helpful to know more about the countries and cultures that they come from, and to know how to speak the kind of Spanish they speak. Continue reading

Wait, Latin America Isn’t All the Same?

Latin America is more diverse than many people think. During my travels throughout Central America, South American and the Caribbean, I’ve come to realize how greatly this is so. Latin America is not simply a part of the world marked by the Spanish language, a warm culture and the love of fútbol. It is much more, much grander… It much more unique than that.

Having had the opportunity to travel throughout the various locations mentioned above, I’ve gained a deeper understanding of what it means to be Latin American in these parts of the world and how Latin American cultural identity can differ. Although not an expert on Latin American history and culture, the experiences I’ve had while traveling throughout Spanish speaking countries have been quite impactful and insightful and have lead me to various conclusions regarding the uniqueness of the Latin American regions/countries.

Below I’ve highlighted some of the ways in which Central America, South America and the Caribbean are different and what I found to be particularly special about my time in each location. Continue reading