moriah vanderburg – The Hilltop Monitor

From the Journey: Moriah Vanderburg

Amy Mullen — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 15:00:46 +0000

Between semesters at William Jewell College, senior Moriah Vanderburg spent two months this summer in Cuernavaca, Mexico using her Journey Grant. Cuernavaca is an hour and a half outside of Mexico City and home to La Universal, a university that works with Augsburg College in Minnesota. Vanderburg studied at La Universal and took classes like “Women in Latin America versus Women in the World” and “Mexican Literature.” She is a Spanish and education major at Jewell, but in the program at La Universal, she was the only person that was not studying social work. This is due to the fact that the program focuses on the impact the institution is making in the area. She heard about the opportunity to study there through an older student at Jewell. Outside of the classroom, she was welcomed by a family in Cuernavaca, she embraced the culture by learning more about the Spanish language and experienced the adventures that can be found in Mexico.

During her time living Cuernavaca, Vanderburg gained a deeper understanding of the value of family. The house she stayed in was small, but it sheltered multiple generations of the same family, including the grandmother who had fallen ill. Vanderburg helped with taking care of the family that welcomed her. She was fluent in Spanish before traveling to Mexico but quickly became proficient in the local dialect spoken. She even picked up on Mexican slang after being surrounded by the family’s younger generations.

Every Saturday, Vanderburg went on a field trip with the other members of the program at La Universal. On these excursions, she saw the Frida Kahlo House and trekked up a volcano. Since being home, she has been able to maintain contact with the family she stayed with, thanks to Facebook. Vanderburg used her Journey Grant to expand her knowledge of the Spanish language and found experiences that she will carry with her forever.