An update from Georgia, a Perkins School of Theology student studying in South Africa:

My trip to South Africa has been truly awesome. The most emotional tour for me was the visit to Robben Island. I had not realized that it was also a whole community and not just a prison. The place was cold, hard, echo-layered and haunting. The very thought of Nelson Mandela surviving 27 years of imprisonment there was almost unbelievable. You could sense the evil and the hatred with each step taken.

Yet, in spite of this — and upon his release from prison — Mandela called for reconciliation and forgiveness. This truly exemplified the teaching of Jesus Christ.

Robben Island Prison

Nelson Mandela’s cell

Because one summer was not enough, I returned to SMU-in-Taos this year to take Business Law classes. Although I knew what to expect this time, Taos did not fail to provide me with new experiences and opportunities to build great friendships.

One of the coolest things about school out in Taos is that some days I would wake up before 6 a.m., hike the trail up to the ridge of the mountain behind campus, and then descend in time for breakfast at 7:45 a.m. Remarkably, I’d easily be in time for my 8:30 a.m. class. The quiet and serene climb provided me with personal time for prayer or contemplation. Sometimes friends came along, and I can assure you that you get to know your companions well on the tough and rocky ascent up a mountain.

In fact, I believe a group of people cannot help but become friends after they’ve worked together to accomplish a common goal. Conquering mountains has that effect on people. For this reason, I believe my hiking adventures were my favorite part of my May term.

One Sunday, I woke up early and drove with my friends Danny, Stephen, and Kyle to the base of Wheeler Peak, which is the highest peak in New Mexico. I had climbed this mountain the previous June and knew it took around seven hours to make the entire trip. Although there was a trail that led to the top, we heard snow made the path undesirable so an alternative route up the mountain was necessary.

We determined that the best method would be to climb straight up the mountain. It was a sunny 70 degree day, we had phones, a GPS, and all essentials to safely get to the top, so we began our climb. When the incline got too steep, we put on work gloves and continued on all fours.

Generally, climbing straight up a mountain is a bad idea. Switchbacks are usually used to make a climb manageable; however, without a trail we disregarded this convention and dealt with the consequences as they came.

I’ll readily admit that I was the slowest of our group. After climbing for over an hour, we passed the tree line. Each time we thought we were nearing the top, we’d cross over a ridge and see that an entire mountain still lay ahead. We looked below and could see the minuscule people walking at the base, and soon the people, too, disappeared.

As we were climbing over rocks, the wind picked up because we no longer had the trees to protect us. I had been using the long grass pull myself up, and soon it disappeared into rocks. We would never be able to climb down this way because the mountainside grew much too steep.

With each pause in our journey, we’d just stare out at the beautiful, mountainous region around us. We were walking through entirely untouched land, and I remember my friend Stephen said to me, “Monica, you’re probably one of the only girls to ever hike this way!”

No sooner had he said that than an older woman came trotting down the mountainside by herself with no hesitation in her step. She was practically a mountain goat. Humbled, we realized that we were not exactly pioneers of this land. But this did not dampen the sense of adventure we felt.

Thus, we made our way to the top, where we had to walk along the ridge to reach Wheeler Peak, which was still a far way off. With our jackets on and the wind pushing against us, we made our way to our destination. Once there we ate lunch together and enjoyed the view from 13,167 feet.

On the way down, we determined that we should follow the path of previous hikers. We saw vast expanses of snow and decided that sliding down snow would be fun and efficient.

Let me tell you that sledding down that mountain in the summer was one of the most fantastic adventures I’ve had at SMU-in-Taos. Together we cheered each other on as we quickly made our way down from Wheeler Peak just in time for the volleyball tournament and bonfire that evening.

Sharing that extraordinary day brought our hiking group closer in an unspoken way. Not everyone who goes to Taos has to hike massive mountains, raft in the Rio Grande, or horse ride through the New Mexican desert. But the greatest gift that the campus gives its students is the opportunity to have these great adventures each day if we wish.

A few of the books I’ve been referencing

I’ve been referencing a lot of books to write this monograph. I have to check through a book that was written in the 1980s to see which species were reported in the area, then see how to identify those species, then I check from a book written in 2012 to see if any species’ names have changed or if new species have been reported or if I have to remove any species if they haven’t been reported recently to be in the area.

I am also looking through a third book that describes how many Native American tribes used certain plant species as a food, drug, decoration, etc.

It’s all really interesting and I’m learning a lot, and my monograph’s coming along great. I already have 83 pages. But I think I’m getting a little stir-crazy sitting in the library all day long.

My 83-page monograph

Today I thought was going to be like any other day – that I would spend all day in the library as well.  Really, though, I only spent maybe two hours working today.  Around 10 a.m. Dr. Ubelaker took the botany and parasitology students to his house. After we finished and had lunch back on campus, the other botany student, Mindy, and I decided to join the parasitology students to help set the mouse traps in the forest by the art barn.

As we were walking along and setting the peanut-filled traps in the brush, Wade and Rea, two of the students, were telling me that a few days ago they found a large skull and some bones in the sagebrush field by the art barn. I was so excited. I really wanted to see these bones, so after we set the traps we went off searching for the bones.  We ended up finding the skull that they had found days ago as well as some other bones.  I think the skull might belong to an elk, though it could be a cow; we also found the scapula and some vertebrae to the elk/cow as well as some canine mandibles, scapula, and various leg bones.  I was so excited that we found so many bones.

The Rio Grande gorge

We then set off for Walmart for a tub and some hydrogen peroxide in order to clean the bones.  We went back to the parasitology lab, and I was able to scrub some of the dirt off the bones and started soaking the skull and other bones in the hydrogen peroxide but soon realized I would need more if I wanted to clean all of them.  Maybe I can take another trip out there later.

After dinner, Wade asked us if we wanted to go to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge.  So Wade, Rea, Rose, Mindy, and I piled into Rea’s truck, and we drove out for 30 minutes to see the gorge.  The gorge is about 500 feet down and it was really intense to stand on the bridge and look down. It was really gorgeous and I’d love to visit it again.

My photography exhibit at Bali Arts Day on the final day of the program.

My last two weeks here in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia were very exciting. Bali upped the ante as it continued to show me things about its culture, resulting in the addition of a new layer to my global perspective. Bali showed me its heart, its core, and opened itself up to me through its kind people and especially through the classroom of its city streets.

At the beginning of my stay here in Bali, I wondered why Bali was so famous. I attempted to discover why so many people travel to Bali and what it is that can supposedly be found here. So, after three weeks of intensive culture lessons, excursions to numerous temples, many traditional dance performances, and a couple 6:30 a.m. photography class field trips to high schools and fishermen villages, I found some answers.

At the Sacred Monkey Forest in Ubd, Bali, Indonesia.

Here in Bali, I experienced Macaque monkeys perching atop my back as if I were a limb of a tree; I experienced a relaxing facial and foot massage; and I ended up telling and exhibiting a photographic story about the cultural walls that divide foreigners and native people.

After these fresh experiences and many more just like them, I discovered why Bali is so famous. Because of such precious moments, I realized Bali holds the prowess to push people out of their comfort zones, to try something new and downright cool. The culture here in Bali is so unbelievably welcoming that it creates an atmosphere of boldness. It exists as a paradise, but is more of an environment to experience and try the things one couldn’t or wouldn’t do regularly, things one can’t find anywhere but here.

Although I had a short stay in Bali, I attempted to absorb as much as I could about Balinese culture and way of life. As I was not learning the language intensively this time while abroad, I had to pay more attention to the inherent cultural walls that exist between foreigners and native people, walls that are fortified by language differences.

Despite the language barrier that existed, the universally used ear-to-ear grin did not fail to work as a functional way of communication. The language of joy and expressive appreciation is one that the Balinese people truly understand. This language that the Balinese people speak effortlessly reiterates the strength, peace, and contentment that can be found in rooting oneself in faith, family and community.

Traveling to and from Bali also reminded me of the excitement of travel. The snapshot of an elderly Chinese man taking a selfie on the plane before takeoff in Hong Kong will frequently reverberate in my mind because it sums up what traveling is about; each time, a new documentable adventure awaits, a new culture anxiously wishes to greet foreigners and educate them about the throes of its past and the beauties of its heritage and language.

As I continue to travel and expand my horizons toward the goal of working internationally, I never want to forget the novelty that comes with a first introduction, with touching down on foreign soil for the first time. Yes, the cultural walls that exist and that must relentlessly be torn down with each new cultural experience can be exhausting and discouraging; but the joy that comes in discovering the answers to your burning questions is one the greatest treasure I feel one can gain.

Traveling to Bali reminded me of the vastness of the world and my part in the big picture. I look forward to getting to see many more parts of the world while getting to know and communicate with each culture I encounter on a greater level of cultural understanding and partnership.

A view of Seminyak Beach in Bali after the sunset.

Flatbrook River in northwestern New Jersey, one of our sampling sites.

When I told my friends what I was doing this summer, most of them responded with something like “Really? But there are no forests in New Jersey!” Now I have my own proof for them that the heavily urbanized state really does have wilderness.

I am part of the program “Environmental Research on Forest Lakes” Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU). It’s an internship funded by the National Science Foundation and hosted by Montclair State University in New Jersey. Along with ten other students from many different colleges, I am living in a NJ School of Conservation cabin in the beautiful Stokes State Forest. I can wake up, walk outside, and see a doe and her baby fawn less than twenty meters from my porch. I canoe in the lake nearly every evening and catch turtles. It’s pretty fantastic, and to top it all off, I’m being paid to be here!

Despite the REU title, my research will actually be about rivers. Two other students and I make up the Ecology & Environmental Chemistry team. We will be examining how urbanization affects water quality. As anyone who’s flown into Newark Airport knows, the northeastern coast of New Jersey has an extremely industrial landscape. The Passaic River, which empties into Newark Bay, is one of the top ten most polluted rivers in the United States. Yuck! Generally, the river flows from west to east, beginning in a forested rural area and moving through the increasingly developed land. We will be taking water samples from over twenty sites along the river and analyzing them for forms of nitrogen, phosphorus, and microbes. This should help us pinpoint areas where these pollutants are entering and what could be done in these specific areas.

My focus is on nitrogen, which is actually found as ammonia, nitrite/nitrate, and organic forms. It ends up in rivers and oceans mostly from storm water runoff carrying excess fertilizer from fields and lawns. Why is that an issue? Think the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Too much nitrogen can make too much algae, and too much algae can make water too dark and too deoxygenated for healthy ecosystems. It’s called eutrophication, yuck!

We will also be sampling the Flatbrook River in northwest New Jersey that is almost completely surrounded by state forests. It’s considered to be the cleanest river in the state, and I find it quite lovely. Sampling water all along this river will give us an understanding of how a river would be without the effects of urbanization.

The proposal is typed up, I’ve given the presentation, and this week I go into the laboratory to prepare for testing. Next week the field work begins!

Today, Michelle and I went to an orphanage in Cape Town called Nazareth House, which takes care of orphaned children from birth until adulthood (unless otherwise adopted), as well as senior citizens in need.

Nazareth House, at Table Mountain

Many of the children suffer from health challenges such as cerebral palsy, HIV/AIDS, burns, and other maladies. Today, I mainly worked with the 12 infant children, caring for their basic needs and trying to give them as much one-on-one attention as possible. A few of the children were incredibly tiny, as they were born prematurely. It was so sad to think that these children are without parents (many of them came to Nazareth on their first day).

Michelle primarily worked with toddlers, playing with them in the beautiful yard filled with palm trees. The women were short-staffed today, and so they were very grateful to have our help. Because of the children’s position, we were not allowed to take pictures of them; however, I did take some pictures of the orphanage so everyone could see how gorgeous it is sitting right at the bottom of Table Mountain.

At Pine Town Methodist’s community garden

A few days ago, we also had the opportunity to use our green thumbs. We divided up into several groups and assisted some of the caretakers at Pine Town Methodist church by helping them work in their community gardens. The church has created many of these gardens all around the rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal. They are a cheap way for the caretakers to provide nutritious fruits and vegetables to the many orphaned children who are now in their care. It was impressive to see how the Zulu people use everything they have for multiple purposes. They do not use any unnatural chemicals or pesticides and use all organic fertilizers. This helps ensure the safety and freshness of the food. They gave me some to sample and it was easy to notice the difference. The gardeners begin and end every work day in prayer and were so hospitable to me.

As I sit alone working in my New York City room, all I can think about is how much I miss Taos. Images of the picturesque New Mexican landscape fill my head despite the illustrious skyline of Manhattan outside of my window and the breathtaking madness on the streets below. NYC does not have that precious vibe found only in Taos, and while I love finance, the busy hours of Excel modeling, and business dress codes, life is so wholesome and simple in Taos.

SMU-in-Taos offers student opportunities unlike anything other schools provide.  On a recent off day, I wore one of my SMU-in-Taos t-shirts around the city. During our outing, a few of my fellow interns asked about the program. Throughout my explanation and stories of Taos, their eyes continued to widen.  They were shocked SMU had such an expansive campus in such a special locale so different from a “typical” college property.

One coworker compared our campus to a summer camp for celebrities.  While I thought it was a humorous remark playing into one of SMU’s stereotypes, he had a good point.  Who else can explore the luxurious mountains through so many activities in an often unknown and exclusive location while still being productive and getting a few classes accomplished?  Sounds like special treatment to me!

If you are a current SMU student who has never been Taos, I strongly encourage you to consider the opportunity.  You may have excuses – I had them, too.  However, you cannot dismiss the advantages offered by the quick schedules offered during the May and August terms.

Scholarships are available, and you can even be an RA, like me, to further cut down on tuition!  SMU-in-Taos enables you to have your extraordinary summer internship as well as having an educational vacation in Taos.  Grab a group of friends and go have the best summer experience to date. The professors are incredible, the food is outstanding, the town is adorable, the people are absolutely precious, the weather is perfect, and the potential adventure is unparalleled.  Do it.  Take the step and branch out, even if “nature” is not really your thing.  I promise you won’t regret it.

At work with the Water Literacy Foundation

Oftentimes when you are traveling, you have to put your trust in random strangers. No? Well, maybe that’s just my experience then.

Traveling to India alone was a journey in and of itself. When I boarded the plane in D/FW, I had no idea what or who was waiting for me on the other end. I have only ever flown alone one other time in my life, but I was young enough to be a part of the program where flight attendants escort you to where you need to be. So I did not know what to expect after I landed in India, let alone what to do during my connection in London.

Luckily, I met some pretty awesome people on both flights. On my way to London, a 16-year-old French foreign exchange student sat next to me. It was great to see how we both helped each other out. The way she talked about being away from her family for six months gave me courage about being away from mine for two, and I was the older girl who offered her protection. Together, we made our way through the London airport until we were forced to separate during the security process.

The person sitting next to me on my flight to Bangalore was equally awesome. She went by Sunny, and she gave me all sorts of advice for my time in Bangalore. She really helped to calm my nerves, and I am so thankful for my time with her. However, once I landed in India, my nerves came flooding back. What if the guy who was supposed to meet me wasn’t there?! After all, it was 4 in the morning. Everything went smoothly, though, and after about an hour waiting for my luggage, I was in a car on my way to the city. After 20 hours of traveling, I slept the rest of the day.

Path to the Water Literacy Foundation

The next day started my adventure in India. The only thing planned was to map out my path to Water Literacy Foundation and meet my boss. This took all day. I wish I could write about all of my bus adventures … but they would make up an entire blog alone. Never again will I be afraid of the Dallas public transportation system. I am constantly lost and unable to communicate with the conductor. I can only imagine what the locals are thinking.

Rice for dinner

I arrived to meet my boss, who works from his home. While I was waiting, I became acquainted with his entire family. Indian families truly are remarkably hospitable. They cook me a traditional Indian meal twice a day, which is normally rice that I eat with my right hand, and oftentimes serve me chai, which is my new favorite thing in this world.

My boss is an incredible man. I will go into more detail about him and his mission at a later date, but it is an amazing opportunity that I have to work with him. Right now, my work includes a lot of PR due to the fact that I speak English. In return for this, Mr. Masagi takes me to his project sites and teaches me about his rainwater-harvesting systems. For more information, his website is www.rainwaterconcepts.co.in

Overall, my first week in India has been, what I would call, crazy. Some interesting facts about adjusting to the culture here: I shower out of a bucket; as I mentioned before, I eat with my hand; and traffic lanes are more like guidelines that may or may not be followed … especially when there is a cow in the middle of the road. Also, do not eat the street food.

Perkins Theology students, with Professor Evelyn Parker (back row, third from right) and South African guide Dulce (next to Dr. Parker), visit the Seth Mokitimi Methodist Seminary in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) South Africa.

An update from Jessica, a Perkins School of Theology student studying in South Africa:

The first couple days in Cape Town, we were mostly tourists. On Sunday we went to a Methodist service, and then immediately following, we joined church members and served lunch to the homeless. We were humbled by the way they gave of themselves to the people; some of the volunteers were even homeless themselves. There were some mothers with their children, which was very hard to see — but expected. Some of the groups will be working with the homeless more later this week.

After lunch, we went to Table Mountain, Cape Town’s most well-known landmark and one of the world’s seven natural wonders. We took cable cars to the very top, and it was so sunny and clear we were even able to see whales in the ocean. Talk about a mountaintop experience!! It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

At Robben Island

Immediately following, we went on a tour of the town and to the city square where Mandela made his first speech after his release from a 27-year prison term, which he served on Robben Island, in Pollsmoor Prison, and in Victor Verster Prison. Afterward some of us went to Constantia Winery, which is a gorgeous vineyard at the bottom of a mountain.

On Monday, we went to Robben Island, where Mandela was incarcerated as a political prisoner for 18 years. After we left the port, we went to Museum 6, which is a museum commemorating apartheid and all of those who experienced displacement during that time.

Nelson Mandela’s prison cell

I was even able to speak to a man of Indian descent who was displaced. He actually heard about the government order from the newspapers on his way to work informing him that he would soon lose all he had. A few days later he stood outside and watched his house bulldozed by government officials. Today what few houses remain standing from the displacement are worth millions (many of them owned by the so-called “pure” whites who took over their homes). Thus, the same people who contributed to apartheid are still reaping benefits from the segregation today.

After the museum tour, we were able to decompress at a beautiful white sand beach and got to put our feet in the Atlantic Ocean (our second ocean of the trip!). It was freezing cold, but so wonderful to see a natural wellspring of hope after witnessing such devastation.

On Tuesday, the real work begins. We are divided into three groups: one will be working with Nazareth House Orphanage; another will be at Marsh’s Children’s Home; and another at parliament. We will keep you updated on our experiences and reflections on hope.