Hello, All--
The oft-promised, often-delayed blog is here. Probably not set up right, but it's a start. Let's consider it a Beta Blog. For some reason it automatically put in a picture of me and a link to my website. Oh, well.
Please mess with it, and let me know if it's doing what you think it should do. Either post comments or email me at jgmetzker@charter.net.
John
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ReplyDeleteJohn
Hey Jeremy. Good to see your name under the list of contributors. Maybe you could post a picture of you and Ben. It seems like forever since I've seen you two...
ReplyDeletelove
Aunt Judy
This is quite an interesting project and many thanks, Brother, for setting it up. I love the photos from all of you. One question: How come I'm marylee instead of Mary Lee?
ReplyDeleteWhat's everybody doing for Easter?
Love,
Me
Just to let everyone know, in case you don't already: Jaimie is having her surgery March 18. For more details, or to keep posted on her great progress, go to caringbridge.com
ReplyDeleteLove,
Sis, etc
About Micaleen's Spring break:
ReplyDeleteCourse gives a glimpse of life across the border
Teresa Bigelow, Contributor
Published: Wednesday, April 22, 2009
When the words Tijuana and Spring Break are mentioned in the same sentence, many San Diego State students may think of a slightly dangerous place to go for underage drinking.
But students who were enrolled in General Studies 350 this semester might have alternative thoughts.
The course, applied international health and human services, focuses on global health, poverty and other challenges faced by countries worldwide. The class allows students to apply what they learn in class lectures to an international setting.
Students enrolled in the course this semester took a nine-day trip to Tijuana during Spring Break, with a purpose that is a far cry from cheap margaritas.
The class bunked up, four to a room, at a facility called The Posada, which is owned and operated by Esperanza Mexico, the non-profit organization the class worked with while staying south of the border. The first few days were spent helping to build the home of a family in need. The 17 undergraduate students, accompanied by graduate teaching assistants, Jennifer Smith and Noe Crespo, enjoyed home-cooked meals prepared by local members of the community, hauled bricks and set up walls for a family living in poverty.
“It is easy to believe the stereotypes about Mexico , but it takes experience to understand the truth,” Marvic David, a student on the trip, said. “People made us feel at home.”
The remainder of the week was focused on creating a broad understanding of various issues in Tijuana concerning health and human services. In addition to lectures from multiple guest speakers throughout the week, the class visited various clinics and agencies in Tijuana , such as an AIDS clinic and an orphanage.
“It really opened my eyes to the poverty that exists only 20 minutes south of my comfy home,” Micaleen Fulkerson said. “I felt so proud to have helped a small part of such an important organization.”
There was also some time for fun. Students were treated to movies, mariachi bands, piñatas and more during their stay in Mexico .
“A great strength of this program was in the relationships that students formed with each other, Esperanza staff, and the local community,” Smith said.
However, the fun and practical learning environment the course offers is not limited to Tijuana . Those who enroll in the same course this summer, beginning on May 28, will have the opportunity to travel to Thailand from June 5 to 17. Students can expect an experience similar to the Tijuana trip, with a focus on issues such as HIV/AIDS, poverty, substance abuse and child welfare.
Many students said the program had a significant impact on their attitudes and perceptions of places outside the United States .
“There are those experiences like what we had in México that are rare and forever impacting, and are what make me feel more in touch with the world,” Rosanne Edu, a nother student on the trip, said. “Too often do we get caught up in ourselves and our own lives, turning our cheek on the realities of others, especially our neighbors.”