SST

Jun 19 2022

On Friday night we celebrated our host families with a small program and party. Adama opened the meeting and translated when necessary. David gave a small thank you from Goshen College. The heart of the program was statements of gratitude...

Jun 09 2022

We had a wonderful week last week hosting some faculty from Goshen College and making our way North to the city of Otavalo in the province of Imbabura.

Jun 05 2022

In this post, Ryan and Olivia reflect on their experience with food in Senegal. Food and Culture Food and cooking are a central part of culture and over these last four weeks, our group has enjoyed cooking and eating local...

Jun 04 2022

In this post, Emma Zehr and Caleb Gingerich reflect on their experience with language in Senegal. French and Colonialism My host family does not speak any English. I took a semester of elementary French prior to arriving in Senegal, a...

May 31 2022

After two busy day trips, we spent Saturday in the village of Ngollar. Adama, our local coordinator, and his extended family invited us to visit their village to get a sense of rural life in Senegal. We knew that there...

May 31 2022

Our third week focused on the religious context of Senegal, particularly on the role of Sufi Islam and the different brotherhoods. We had two lectures to start the week. On Monday we heard from Moïse Diémé, who spoke with us...

May 31 2022

On Thursday and Friday of our second week of study we visited Saint-Louis. Saint-Louis is located at the mouth of the Senegal River a few kilometers from Mauritania. It is the site of West Africa’s first French settlement and is...

May 28 2022

May 26 2022

Breeana Wheeler is a biochemistry major and Brandon Jimenez is a peace, justice and conflict studies major. In this post they reflect on the tensions between tourism, being a tourists and remembering the history of the slave trade at this...

May 26 2022

Language During our first week in Senegal we connected with host families and figured out the rhythms of study. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings consist of language study.  Yacine Diatta teaches an hour of Wolof. Then students have an hour...

May 25 2022

One of the texts for our term is Hans Rosling’s Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think.  I believe one of the great benefits of the book is that it…

May 22 2022

After two days of normal class schedule in Quito, we wound our way through the mountains to the northwest region of the Pichincha province where we explored the cloud forest. With historical and indigenous peoples contexts in the back of...

May 15 2022

The first week of class are already behind us!  Wow, we’ve already covered a lot of ground and feels good to start to settle in and find a new routine between classes and host families. Here is a glimpse of...

May 11 2022

On the evening of May 6, a Friday night, fifteen Goshen College students flew into Blaise Diagne International Airport. The airport is 45 kilometers east of Dakar and some 25 kilometers from Thiès where the Goshen College Senegal program is...

May 11 2022

In early April, the Yoder Lind family returned to Senegal. We came early to prepare for this summer’s Goshen College semester of global engagement in the land of Teranga –a Wolof word roughly translated as hospitality but with shades of...

May 09 2022

Welcome to Quito! We are so pleased and honored to welcome 21 new students to this beautiful country of Ecuador. And welcome to you, who may be following along and supporting our journey from afar. After picking up students from...

Apr 13 2022

We wrapped up our semester with a weekend full of reflections, discussions, relaxing and fun at El Refugio where we had the decompression and processing time we needed to close out our time together here in Ecuador. Thanks to those...

Apr 13 2022

There are only a few kaki lima, or street food stands, near the campus of Universitas Nusa Cendana (UNDANA) where I am located for my service assignment, and outside my neighborhood along the busy coastal road the little mobile stalls...

Apr 13 2022

These photos are from a short adventure I had about a week and a half ago with one of the friends I have made here, Titan, and one of the teachers at the university that has been helping me navigate...

Apr 13 2022

During my placement at Interfide, I was given the opportunity to visit some highschools and help with the “The Power of Goodness” program. The power of goodness is a workshop that Interfide does that teaches people how to love your...

Apr 13 2022

It’s difficult to pick one experience that sums up my time here in Indonesia. I think the difference between here and the U.S. is the pace of life here in Indonesia. The morning after I was dropped off at STT...

Apr 13 2022

At this point you are likely wondering “what on earth is a ‘kebun’ “? Well luckily I am here to enlighten you: “kebun” is the Bahasa Indonesia word for farm, plantation, garden, gardener, and many others. It is one of...

Apr 08 2022

During the service portion of SST, I have been volunteering at a foundation called Su Cambio Por El Cambio (SCXC) in a little town called San Simon. SCXC’s primary missions are to provide a safe after school environment for local...

Apr 05 2022

While our SST group was in Philadelphia, we were all assigned Indonesian language buddies to help us practice our bahasa Indonesia. Me and Antoinette were assigned Yaya. We talked to her quite a bit in Philadelphia, and made plans to...