Global Engagement

Mar 28 2022

Before we left for SST, we were told to prepare some gifts for our host family. The suggestion we got was to prepare some things from Goshen or our College. But at that time the bookstore was already closed. I...

Mar 26 2022

Nina and I keep in touch regularly with the students via phone calls and texts, but we especially enjoyed visiting students at their service internship placements throughout the last few weeks. We continue to be so grateful for the many...

Mar 21 2022

Soccer games with the family, an example of so many things I’ve experienced and learned throughout only six short weeks in Ecuador. Every Sunday except those during which we were out of town visiting Mindo or Tena, my host dad...

Mar 16 2022

There are a lot of hard things in Quito. For instance, my walk to the Fundación, where we have our classes, is up a very steep hill. My little commute is one of the best parts of my day, however,...

Mar 13 2022

The names of the people in the photos are me (Antoinette Mpawenayo), my host grandma in Philly (Popo) and my roommate (Courtney Templeton). The two photos are important to me because they show an amazing relationship that Popo and I...

Mar 13 2022

As the saying goes it’s always sunny in Philadelphia, however, that doesn’t mean it’s not cold. So, here we are another frigid day, but sunny, in downtown Philadelphia. Now, you may be wondering from the photos why we are gardening...

Mar 13 2022

This is a photo of Ben and I with our host parents Pak David and Ibu Eva at the 17 anniversary of PPC (Philadelphia Praise Center). On this day we attended church with our host parents to celebrate the 17th...

Mar 13 2022

This a photo of my host family I was staying with for the previous 5 weeks. From left to right is Oliver (the baby), Kevin, Sandy, Trey (my roommate), Joy and I. Although I do not have a picture from...

Mar 13 2022

One of the highlights of my SST experience was celebrating Chinese new year with my host family. This was my first time celebrating Chinese New Year, and I didn’t know quite what to expect. Pastor Aldo had mentioned when we...

Mar 13 2022

In Philly, I stayed with Hendy and Marina and their three kids Judah (middle) , Levi (left), and Asher (right). Staying with Indonesian host families was a great opportunity to practice our bahasa and learn more about Indonesian culture before...

Mar 13 2022

This initially started off with my host mom, Sandy, asking one evening if my classmate, Brady, and I are going to be busy the following Monday night. I had to regretfully remind her that we were going to have class.…

Mar 13 2022

During weekly lectures with guest speakers, we learned a lot about how the Indonesian immigrant community supports each other. One of those ways is through food. Sharing meals brings people together and fosters a sense of culture through the traditional...

Mar 12 2022

One theme that I have been thinking about following our time in Philadelphia is unity and diversity. The Indonesian community in Philadelphia is incredibly diverse. It is composed of individuals from a broad range of locations and islands, which also…

Mar 12 2022

About halfway through our time in Philly, in the third week of February, Modero Dance Company began their weekly Balinese Dance classes open to the public. Sinta is the woman who teaches this and a variety of other dance classes...

Mar 12 2022

So…What have we been doing lately? Well – the blog has been quiet recently because we have been very very busy! We heard February 22nd that all of our visas had been approved to travel to Indonesia! This in itself...

Mar 04 2022

Friday March 4, 2022 I am writing from the Amani Gardens Inn in Nairobi. Today we made the trip from Mpala Research Centre to the big city to prepare for our flight home on Saturday. It was tough to say...

Mar 03 2022

Students left for their service placements on Saturday morning  all arriving by the evening and greeted by their new host families. 🙂 We mentioned previously that last Thursday afternoon we spent some concentrated time discussing/reflecting/anticipating the upcoming transition to service...

Mar 02 2022

Tuesday March 1, 2022  Today was our first day of collecting data for our individual research projects. Mira is working on bird responses to smoke with Alex while Willow, Amelia, Jesper, and I are working on counting ants as an...

Mar 01 2022

Monday Feb. 28, 2022 Today we had a much-needed day of rest after a week or so of intense work. While Ryan headed to Nanyuki for the day to get new tires on his Land Rover, the rest of us...

Feb 28 2022

Sunday Feb. 27, 2022 After an intense week of burning, the Goshen team was ready for a relaxing day of fun. Naturally, that meant we woke up bright and early at 6:30 to head to Ol Pejeta, a ranch that...

Feb 27 2022

During our last week of the “study” portion of the term, students traveled to several hours east of Quito to explore the upper Amazon basin. We combined several experiential learning activities – both cultural and environmental, based on the region’s...

Feb 27 2022

Saturday Feb. 26 Today we finished the last of the 36 small 30m X 30m burns in the KLEE plots! I am thankful to all the students, Mpala Research Centre staff, and research colleagues. Asanteni! Here is a video of...

Feb 26 2022

Friday Feb. 26 Today we got up early to burn and discovered that, as with most fieldwork, plans change. Our colleagues from Harvard were having trouble with some drone equipment they were using in the KLEE plots and we got...

Feb 24 2022

This blog reports on the 2022 research trip to Kenya where I am collaborating with colleagues from various universities (UC Davis, Karatina University, and Utah State University) to implement prescribed burns inside the Kenya Longterm Exclosure Experiment (KLEE).  With me...