Next stop, Guatemala!
Five months ago I decided to take advantage of the incredible opportunity to travel abroad to Nepal with the Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives’ Global Sustainability Studies Program. I eagerly submitted my application, applied for scholarships and started researching everything I could about my host country. Once accepted I purchased my plane tickets, visited the travel clinic through ASU’s Health Services and enrolled in a seven-week pre-departure course.
By the end of the course I was finally feeling prepared for my weeks abroad. I had learned key phrases, greetings and some cultural norms. We were taught valuable lessons to strengthen our global perspective, for example the difference between Cultural Relativism — the effort to understand a practice on the basis of the cultural meaning of the society in which it takes place, and Ethnocentrism — judging the behaviors and decisions based solely on our American values and standards. However, in the last week of the course, just two weeks ago, a sudden turn of events halted all of our study abroad plans.
On April 25th a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal causing devastating destruction and leaving the country in turmoil. Since that earthquake, Nepal has had multiple aftershocks and experienced another large earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 on May 12th. Traveling to a country in such despair would only cause further challenges for them and it was best for everyone involved to cancel the trip.
As a sustainability student, many of my courses have stressed the importance of flexibility and adapting to difficult situations. Although very different (and at a much smaller scale) than the circumstances we learn about, my classmates and I were all able to adapt to the situation presented thanks to the help from our professors, program coordinators and many others. We all quickly changed our travel plans in order to best fit our needs and desires. Personally, the best option for me was to attend a different Global Sustainability Studies Program, Sustainable Neighborhoods for Happiness™ in Guatemala.
The knowledge I gained through this experience will not be lost. In fact, it will be extremely useful and something I will take with me for all my future travels abroad. I am very lucky and excited to learn about another culture and apply some of what I learned over the last several weeks to the experiences I will have in Guatemala.
I will be leaving for Guatemala just two days after I would have left for Nepal. The months, weeks and days leading up to my departure have already been such an adventure; I cannot wait to see what else is in store! I am so thankful and excited for this opportunity and to learn how sustainability and happiness are connected. Nepal, I hope to see you someday very soon but until then, Guatemala here I come!